Moments from Dancing in Thailand

Moments from Dancing in Thailand

Lilly Grant Summer 2011

Stephanie Rupp

Ups, and downs, leaps and turns, we truly “danced” through Thailand in every sense of the word. In short, we experienced many adventures! You can read about a few below.

This is a “short” collection of feelings and thoughts throughout our trip…

June 24

Helpless…arrived in Bangkok, Thailand after 30 hours of travel, left my credit card on the airplane and I don’t speak English…How will I get it back?

June 25

Excited…walking through the Bangkok neighborhood observing life in Thailand, wondering did my students live in wooden houses like these?

Proud…finding our way to the Sky Train, connecting to the subway, and then train station…without help…Amazing Race-Here we come!

June 26

Exhausted…Traveling on the overnight train to Chiang Mai, listening to the clanging of the train cars at 2 am.

Welcomed…Kind workers and beautiful atmosphere at the Riverside Guest House in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We were invited to make this our second home, and we did. Beautiful tropical garden, swimming pool, coffee shop. Ah!!

June 27

Empathetic…trying to imitate and read/sing Thai with my dance instructor. Made me think about my students who struggle to read English and often resort to just copying the sounds I produce.

Impressed…formed a new appreciation for Southeast Asian dancing…everything must be so precise! The hardest part of the dance was the “walk”. I bounced too much!

Fulfilled... going to a cultural dinner/dance show that evening observing and appreciating the beautiful, harder-than-it looks Southeast Asian dance.

June 28

Blessed…3 years of marriage today! Trekking in the mountains nearby Chiang Mai-Elephant ride, Bamboo raft, visit to Karen village, beautiful hike to a waterfall!

Scared…We started slipping out of our seats when the elephant stepped down a steep slope…hold on!

Wet…Riding on the bamboo raft. Too bad, I didn’t bring a change of clothes!

Touched…Buying a bracelet from a Karen girl with a beautiful smile in the village. She should have been in school, but she was here selling items to tourists with her family. As she tied the bracelet on my hands, I started crying…I don’t know exactly why.

Defeated…Trying to barter at the Night Market…it seemed much more difficult than China.

June 29

Panicked…Arriving in a new town, Mae Sot, only to realize, I forgot my camera on the bus from Chiang Mai and it just left! Using broken English, a man told us to go with the tuk-tuk driver (Moped with a bench to sit on) to catch the bus. We hoped he understood what to do. We chased after the bus…and we caught it! Then, the tuk-tuk driver took us to the wrong guest house. In my panic, I didn’t notice that Ban Thai is different than Baan Tung. Thankfully, we were only a few blocks away and we walked!

June 30

Delighted…observing and teaching Karen and Burmese refugees at a Christian school in Thailand

July 1

Nervous…before returning to the refugee school, we were taken to Thai school to judge an English contest…oh the adventures!

At home…interacting with the Karen and Burmese refugees at the Christian school…it could have been a newcomer class at my school, with the exception of the noise, shouting, random chickens and dogs entering the classroom, rain leaking through…etc

Surprised…finding out that the manager at our guest house has relatives in Fort Wayne. He hopes to come and live there someday. It was very good to hear his opinion on the refugee camps and life in America.

July 2

Sad…going to the border market, we could see Burma, but the bridge was still closed…so we couldn’t go. However, some still go. This is the worn path to the river.

Adventurous…feeling out of my comfort zone as we came to the YWAM base to find we were staying in a large Bamboo hut, bathroom outdoors, bucket showers, many bugs, mosquito net...this is an authentic Karen village…I better get used to it!

July 3

Honored…to live with Karens and attend church. As they sang, I praised God for their lives and thought of my students who also love to praise God through music

July 4

Inadequate…trying to figure out the Karen village way of living from squatty toilets to showering with a bucket, to laundry by hand…all at the YWAM base

July 5

Hatred…for ANTS!! Besides biting me in bed, the fire ants have conquered my snacks, bag, T-shirt and video camera. They are NOT my friends! The phrase, “Ants in my pants” has an entirely new meaning for

us!

Blessed…Teaching dance to twenty college students and adults. Everyone was excited to learn. The language barrier was broken as we learned and laughed together! The students will use the dance on our trip to another Karen village this weekend. (Ryan danced too! :) )

July 6

Hot… trying to sleep without AC or a fan, or a window, on a hot, humid night made me feel a little grumpy. At the same time, I had to think, “This is good for me. It’s okay to be uncomfortable.”

July 7

Awed…watching /helping the YWAM director’s daughter learn how to walk! It was amazing time full of laughter and joy!

Speechless…worshipping God through prayer, song and dance in multiple languages simultaneously. Our God is Lord of the Nations!

Content…taking a daily walk with Ryan to the little hut down the road where they sell snacks! We like rice, but three times a day can get a little monotonous.

Embarrassed…dancing in the center of the circle of Karen students...we were playing “Hot potato” with a cup. If you had the cup when the music stopped, you had to break dance in the center of the circle! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!

July 8

Excited…when a Thai wild dog responded to my voice…most just ignored me! He even looked like our Lab, Biscuit. I decided to name him Ty.

Loved…listening to the message from the YWAM speaker, hearing that it doesn’t matter what I’ve done. When God looks at me, He sees righteousness, not because of what I do…because of Jesus…wow!

July 9

Honored…visiting homes, praying for the people in the isolated Karen village with YWAM students

Amazed…walking up 95 steps to the church at the top of the Karen village for a special service put on by the YWAM students including singing, testimony and the dance I choreographed. At one point, the battery-powered electricity went out…so we used candles.

July 10

Proud…listening to Ryan preach the Sunday morning sermon in the village…good simple truth.

July 11

Sad…saying goodbye to our new YWAM/Karen friends in the hills of Thailand. We will never forget them!

July 12

Sluggish…walking around the town of Mae Sot in search of a Paow hospital because I needed medicine. We found a hospital, but it was the wrong one. One hour later, we returned to the first hospital because Paow was nowhere to be found. Got my medicine, only to found out that we were at the right hospital all along. I received my doctor visit, lab test and medicine for $20 US in 40 minutes. How’s that for efficiency?

July 13

Mixed Emotions…as we entered the refugee camp. My thoughts were of my students and their families in Indiana. My prayers were with all the displaced people whether they have resettled in a third country, in a camp, living illegally, or living in their homeland waiting, waiting, waiting for peace.

July 14

Adventurous…riding a bike (on the left side of the road) through the busy streets of Mae Sot

Tearful….Saying goodbye to our friend/server at Casa Mia restaurant. We loved the food and service.

Nostalgic…Thinking this will be our final night in Mae Sot. We have loved living here, having daily adventures, interacting with the beautiful, kind, hard-working people . We’ll never forget it!

July 15

Unfair…Watching the Thai police stop our bus on the way to Bangkok at a checkpoint to check identification and papers. After checking ID, they made one passenger leave the bus. We are all humans. Everyone should have the right to travel.

Thoughtful…Touring a famous and intricate Buddhist temple in Bangkok. It was interesting to watch people dedicate their lives and prayers to a statue. Thailand is an active Buddhist nation.

July 16

Overheated…Walking through the tourist-filled, busy streets of Bangkok. We were warned it would be hot! Water, water, water!

July 17

Frustrated…Trying to find a reasonably priced, semi-American meal at the Japanese airport. I ended up getting noodle soup

Excited…Seeing my childhood friend and her husband in Hawaii. It also felt GREAT to be back in the United States of America!