no nail through the foot...yet

Day 3 on the job site, Nam Kem, completed. So far, I'm safe, though this job site is terribly unsafe.

volunteering has been really great. a few things about it: there are about 100 volunteers here, at least, at any given time, so there's lots of neat people to meet. really helps me develop a deeper love for people, seeing so many foreigners that are giving of themselves. we all have our reasons, and while most of us enjoy what we're doing (more than staying in our home countries) so there's an element of selfishness in it, i'm still impressed by people's hearts. i think there's lots of room in other places hit by the tsunami to take this model (i'd need to stay here to learn lots more about it) and start new projects. with my skills, fundraising, outreach, organizing, etc. - maybe that's the type of thing i should be doing while i'm abroad. i fear that i don't have the guts to do something big and bold and lasting. it's so much easier to bounce from project to project, with some travel in between. but for now i'll look mostly for thai-led (and vietnamese and indonesian and whatever else) groups that i can lend my services to, and keep my eyes open for a place where i might be able to join together with a community in need and people ready to invest some time and energy in something lasting.

there's quite a party scene here at night, which is interesting. i feel a bit old, sometimes. my life is quite enjoyable, but i don't think i do a very good job of good old fashioned fun. partying, staying up late laughing and drinking with people, going swimming in the beach and playing a game of water polo at midnight under a full moon, that kind of stuff. so i have to force myself to go out. most times i do, i have a good time. two nights ago, i had a phenomenal time. i went out to meet my work site crew (5 of them) for dinner. two women - kate and angie - both lovely, as well as a bunch of swiss germans and two guys from england. we had a good time, but conversation sometimes seemed forced. that's the way my whole work group feels - like we all like each other, but there's no magic chemistry. but then afterwards, i sat down with a group of australians all here for one to two months. they've been assigned to the beach cleanup. yeah, they get to hang out on the beach all day, but they also have to well, clean up. i guess it loses its charm after a day of picking up other people's trash. keep in mind, trash still keeps washing up on shore after ages and ages - i guess it's caught in the reefs. and there are still shoes of people who presumably perished in the tsunami, or lost their shoes and clothing. resorts they pass on the beach are totally deserted. one has the nationalities of all of the dead written outside of the rooms in which they were staying - one very expensive sofitel hotel. it's a really wild place to be right now.

anyhow, i went out with the australians to a bar next door - the happy snapper. we ended up staying out until 1. they gave me a nickname - shazza. my first cool nickname since 97. i gues it's the australian shortened version of sharon. or shaz, for short. had all-out fun, lots of laughter, for the first time in ages.

this weekend i'm just relaxing. i've found a christian church i can go to tomorrow for services, with a bunch of other volunteers at differnet projects. i've found a christmas eve dinner (two actually) with lots of volunteers, and the center is sponsoring a dinner on christmas day, which i have volunteered to cook for. we have a wood-fired stove to use. i think we might make pizzas, in addition to a few turkeys! yum! my first experience with a wood-fired stove.

so there are a lot of compelling reasons to return here. lots of infrastructure, lots of travelers, a community to support volunteers, good nightlife, lots of good cheap restaurants (a 2 dollar dinner is standard). i still like the place i'm staying at outside of town though i'm thinking of moving into town tomorrow because i think it'll be easier to go out. and it's just 2 bucks a night. employee housing, someone's out of town.

hm, what else? i haven't been practising my thai very well. i know, it's bad of me. it's so hard. i learn something literally a dozen times (like how do you say "what's your name?") and yet i continue to forget and have to ask again. khun chi arai, maybe is the thai for that statement, but still i forget. and change one tone a bit, and it's a different word. the other day, i thought i was saying "the rain is okay" when someone told me to sit out the drizzle. instead, i kept saying "the rain is delicious, the rain is delicious". i mean, i guess spouting poetry unintentionally is okay, but my mistakes aren't always so inocuous, i'm sure.

the thai people are great. only one weird experience so far. last night a young man grabbed my arm as i walked with two other women in a side street from the beach late at night. he was drunk, trying to introduce himself. i was with a thai woman and she spoke to him but she thought he was burmese because he didn't seem to understand. thai men aren't sexually aggressive and it's very taboo to touch people of the opposite sex so even though he was young i am surprised if he was thai. so i will be careful not to walk alone, i didn't expect something like that, when i'm in remote areas. but most young men are very nice. for example, last night we were hanging out at a bar, upstairs. it's actually more like the living room of the people that own the bar and live upstairs. lots of cushions, buddha statues, beautiful woodworking from burma. the brother of the owner came upstairs with his friend, brought thai rum (yuck!) and sodas for us, and popcorn, and we played darts and connect 4 for a few hours, and then he drove us home. quite polite, just wanted company, no icky feelings. most of my experiences with men and women both have been so great, no weirdness underlying it, not trying to get money from me or pick me up. people here are largely wonderful.