thailand blog

We got an earlier start this morning & left to the Lahu village to help plant rice. It was such an amazing experience. We did a small area for about 3 hours & it was so tiring. I was getting light headed from bending over so long & my back killed. Haha they are so much quicker than us at it buuuut they do this for a living everyday! They make about 200 baht a day/7 dollars. I'll send a picture of the rice fields so you know what exactly it looks like. We went in barefoot in this calf deep muddy water & would stick a small little bunch of this weed type looking grass into the mud. It was kinda relaxing at first but that went away pretty fast. Being barefoot in the mud was nice & soft though. It's so crazy to me that rice comes from these plants. They offered us lunch after so we ate with them just on the side of the fields. Very similar to last nights dinner with them but a few new dishes. Same hot HOT stuff. Haha They are so kind to feed us I try to get the message across to them how much I appreciate it by smiling & saying thank you even though they don't understand. Actually I usually say it in Thai because we have been learning basic Thai here, but I don't think these villagers even spoke Thai. So something kinda interesting about these villages that we go to is that they all speak their own different tribe languages. They don't speak Thai. Well some of them learn it in school but a lot of them don't know it. Kinda crazy! After lunch a couple of us went & picked up some of the Akha boys after school & took them to the pool for swim lessons. Madison & I were in the back of the truck with them & it was surprising how much we were able to communicate with them from basic Thai that we know & hand motions. They are such punks! But so so sweet. I offered them an apple & they are all so caring and just took a bite & passed it on. The pool was so relaxing & different than what we usually do. Maybe cause I wasn't really teaching, I just went along for the swim & good time. Wearing a swimsuit felt really weird though. It was the least amount of clothing I've worn in quite some time. Haha but it felt so nice being in the pool & just relaxing! We went strait from the pool to their village & finished up the canal & played with the kiddos. I was so so tired by this point, I literally could have fallen asleep on the playground tires. Were finally home now & I just finished hand washing my clothes. Today I learned how to plant rice & hand wash clothes. Sick. I really feel like I learned a lot today & everyday really. Things that I really probably would never need to know specifically for my own life, but these experiences are changing & shaping me just as it is them. This trip has already been such a growing experience. I love it. Another solid day.

The rice field

Lunch with the villagers

The cutest boy you will ever see

David