Trading In My Beach Shorts For Snow Pants!

(Left to Right) Mita, Reena, Wanna, Ratanna, Me!
(Left to Right) : Ben, Matt (Mita's husband), The BIG J, Luke

Song of the Day : Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation"

I've been so bored these past few days, that I actually caved in and went to work yesterday. As a matter of fact I am in the office right now! I won't go into detail about the internal issues going on but I know for sure I let the "team" down for going in. Let's just say the once happy OPENaid family is now divided! So when I say "team" I mean, Wanna, Reena, Mita and Luke. I feel bad for going in despite our lengthy times of UNPACKING and agreeing we will no longer go to the office. The only reason why I went in yesterday was because Ratanna had invited me to visit and I couldn't say, "no". That and I wanted to also say goodbye. Yes, I am thinking of packing it up and packing it in. I find there is so much work that needs to be done here, that 1 or 2 extra months won't be enough. In order to be a volunteer for this organization, 6-12 months is more ideal to make the work more effective. Right now, I am not mentally or financially prepared to do so, nor able to commit for such a longtime. Perhaps in the future, but right now it isn't possible.

Yesteday I talked with the Ratanna and the new girl Noi , just to get information about what is going on and what not. Then they asked if I wanted to go to the slums with them. We went to 2 of them. Many tourists and even Thai people do not know about the slums because they are usually hidden behind the bushes. When we explain to people what we do, they look at us strangely and ask, "There are slums in Pattaya?". There are a total of 38 slum communities in Pattaya which consists of 30-80 people per slum. I think on the outside Pattaya looks good. The miles and miles of beaches, the newly constructed condos and homes and shopping malls, but deep in the bushes there is a lot of sadness and poverty.

While I was there I felt enlightened and realize that what is going on internally does not matter at all because the cause is so great. It was really sad being at the slums. I really do not know how they do it. To live amongst the trash. No electricity or running water. To top it all off, one of the slums we visited is right by the go-kart track, so you can hear the roaring of the cars as they whizz by. The houses in the slums are made with a mix of materials mainly of cardboard, and scraps of cotton material. The more "prominent" homes are made of tin, slabs of wood with cracks in between to cover as much ground as possible, and with broken glass as windows. There was one old lady who was in her late 80's who is paralyzed and hasn't moved from her "bed" in 15 years! The family can not afford to take her to the hospital for further examination. Only recently was she able to lie on a mattress that OPENaid has donated. It was hard to imagine she was lying down on an old carpet used as a mattress on a wooden plank. When we said, "Sawadee!" (Hello) She cried. She had tears rolling down and Ratanna told me she is thankful for the mattress. I felt bad because as soon as I walked in, I took a deep breath because I was exhausted from the heat and my eyes started to water and I felt like hurling. The old lady hasn't bathed in I don't know how long so she reeked. Again, I blamed my tears on allergies. I tried so hard to hold it in, and to calm myself so that I don't hurl. I was told that everyone in the community takes turns keeping her company. Talking to her. Giving her water. Turning her over to prevent getting bed sores. Her "house" consists of a tin roof with no walls. They used plastic tarp as a wall to shield her from the elements. The other side of her home is open.

We also met up with a lady named Jintana who has HIV. It was sad to see her frail body, but she was smiling offering us water and snacks. The new girl Noi felt uncomfortable being around her. She comes from a rich and educated background and think it is a poor person's disease. Many people in Thailand are not educated about AIDS and HIV. They think if they touch someone with the disease they will be affected. Hopefully, Noi will soon learn and understand that it is ok to touch someone who is affected. Ratanna said that Jintana feels sad many times because when she tells someone she has the disease people run away or say mean things to her. So to lift her spirits whenever we visit we always hug her, shake her hand, touch her arm so that she doesn't feel like a monster and that not all people are ignorant.

For a moment yesterday and even today and I guess from now on, I will only think about the cause and not about the internal bull-ish. I think what OPENaid does is amazing. I like the fact that they support the needs that most organizations here don't bother with, or even think about.