Chiang Rai + Ry

My bulleted update was kind of vague and boring so I will try to put some extra effort into this post to be a tad more descriptive. So I am living in Thailand if you didn't previously catch that. The city I live in is beautiful. Everywhere i look i see lush forests, mountains, and huge trees draped in flowers in bright oranges, pinks, and reds. I am still getting used to the fact that they drive on the left side of the road and the almost unbearable heat. Temperatures hit around 100 degrees farenheit on any given day with a large dousing of humidity. We have air conditioning but our hours for use have been cut down to only turning it on at nights. Our trusty fan lovingly named Tory doesn't do a whole lot for us. Merely lying your head on a pillow is too hot for comfort. Beautiful wats or temples are scattered everywhere you look with monks draped in orange silk. Everyone even the smallest of children give you a respectful bow when they see you. The food is spectacular ( even the coagulated blood and pig intestine aren't half bad). I live with three other girls, one gecko (Clarence), and my newest friend Toshiba the caterpillar. Our days haven't found a schedule yet but its been a thrilling ride. Nearly everyday we meet with new NGO's (non governmental organizations) or leaders of local communities. We have already spent hours volunteering with autistic kids, gardening in the Buddhist Temples with monks, did arts and crafts with kids affected by HIV, planned projects with multiple schools, went into Burma and met with an NGO that works with child prostitution and human trafficking, today we met with a rural agricultural village and planned construction and tree planting projects, and i was present with the prospect of living with some indigenious tribes for 3 days a week for a variety of projects. I have already found myself amazed with the Thai people and their love for their land, children, and for me. We have so many outstanding projects that we are going to start working on in the next few weeks i can't wait to get started!