Family matters...

Some people have asked about my parents being in Thailand with me. Basically, they found an amazing "buy one, get one free" deal on their flight so they decided to take a well-deserved vacation (really, my mom is so overworked she hasn't slept more than 3 hours a night in the past couple weeks) and come see me speak.

Seriously though, this deal is amazing! China Airlines was founded in 1959 and they are celebrating their 50th anniversary by offering tickets at 50% off to anyone born in that year. If you know anyone who is turning 50 this year, you can let them know before the deal ends on March 31st - China Airlines flies to a lot of places. The airline also offered a 40% discount on their 40th anniversary, so now my mom jokes (and hopes) that maybe they will offer tickets for free the year she turns 100...

From the Land of Smiles...

Sorry for the delay (attributed to 2 days of flying + troublesome internet at the hotel).

Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand! สวัสดีค่ะ (sa-wat-dee kah)! You can't see it right now, but I am giving you a virtual "wai." The "wai" is a slight bow with both hands held together in a prayer-like manner. It can be used in greeting, in thanks, or as an apology. Apparently, it has even been adopted by some Western institutions here in Thailand...

A Ronald McDonald "Wai"

(Not my picture, as my camera was out of batteries)

Anyways, I have really enjoyed my time here so far and am definitely meeting amazing people and trying incredible food, as I had set out to do.

Good People

During breakfast on the first day, I ran into fellow presenter Ryan Hreljac from Canada, Founder of Ryan's Well Foundation. Ryan is a remarkable 17-year-old who has raised millions of dollars to bring safe water and sanitation to over 611,512 people in 16 countries. When Ryan was in the first grade, he was inspired to action after learning in class that there were many children around the world without any clean water to drink. I think his story is such a powerful example of the importance of education and the potential of our youth.

Ryan is on spring break right now, and has already spoken at Doha earlier this week! (As my friend M said, "don't any kids just play soccer and remain ignorant of the world anymore?") While he is clearly a very impressive and talented kid, he is also very down to earth. I think a lot of youth here at the conference will be able to relate well to him and be incredibly inspired by him. One of the most rewarding parts of what I do is getting to meet such motivated, dedicated people - though I have to admit, meeting someone so young and accomplished has made me a little nervous about speaking at this conference! I am definitely the least experienced and credentialed presenter, especially when compared to previous presenters like Dr. Jane Goodall (I am also probably the only one without a Wikipedia entry). That's okay, I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm here to learn as much as I am here to contribute - and I have so much more to learn, really.

My first engagement is tomorrow at the International School of Bangkok. I am really looking forward to interacting with all the educators, administrators, and students - it's so fulfilling to share stories and ideas for a better world with people from different backgrounds; I always walk away with new knowledge and restored optimism in our future.

Good Food

When traveling, why not use the opportunity to try all the food? My favorite pastime in any tropical country is to try all the different fruit. My parents and I were picking up fruit for lunch at the local market on the way to Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) when we saw what looked like giant loquats. Loquats remind my family of Taiwan so we were very excited to buy them. I was just commenting to my mom about how I have never seen loquats of this size and thought that they almost looked like mangoes, when my dad bit into one and discovered that lo and behold, it actually was a mango - a very small mango. Tart, but delicious nonetheless.

Large Loquats, or Small Mangoes?

(On a teacup saucer for reference to scale)

Actual Loquats

(Maybe my family just has bad eyesight, but I feel like there's some similarity, no?

The mangoes we saw even came in a bunch, much like this...)

What amused me most was how the seller also said they were loquats - in Mandarin even! Now we know that she was just repeating what we said without full understanding, but her intonation was perfect and convinced us to buy them. The sellers we have encountered here have remarkable memory and are familiar with at least a couple words in nearly every language. Their street smarts never cease to impress me; I know I would not be able to do what they do to survive.

The informal market system is also fascinating to me. At one point, we were trying to buy guavas on the street but the seller was asleep and no one around us could wake him up. One of the guys in the area calmly strolled behind the table, took our money, handed us the guavas, and put the money in the sleeping man's pocket. He even dug out some change for us. When the sleepy seller woke up with a very confused expression on his face, the impromptu seller simply explained the situation and left. I am trying to imagine a stranger helping someone with a customer in the US, but somehow I doubt that there would be enough trust for that to be commonplace.

After visiting Wat Arun, on the way to which we took the wrong ferry and ended up walking 3 miles (just taking the scenic route, albeit not intentionally), we checked out Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). The long walk in the humidity built up our appetite, so we went to Cabbages and Condoms, an amazing safe sex themed restaurant where condoms are served after each meal in place of after dinner mints.

Good food and fun decor made from condoms make for an entertaining night. I have to admit that I was impressed with the life-size condom Santa Claus and Superman. My favorite dish was the Mieng Kham, a traditional Thai snack that consists of coconut, shrimp, lime, shallots, ginger, and chili wrapped in a betel leaf (incidentally, the betel nut is also the most widely used stimulant in the world and is highly addictive - oh, the things you learn at Berkeley, where you can take many classes on drugs).

Mieng Kham

(Picture from realthairecipes.com - fun site, check it out)

Restaurant proceeds support the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), an incredible nonprofit organization that provides services in family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention, poverty reduction and rural development. I have long been a fan of social businesses like this and Know One Teach One (KOTO) in Vietnam, which aims to break the cycle of poverty by providing hospitality training to street youth. The PDA even runs a hotel called the Birds and the Bees. The PDA's amazing efforts are headed by Dr. Mechai Viravaidya (fondly called Mr. Condom in Thailand - I'm not kidding), who will also be speaking at this conference. Through humor and innovative practices, he helped Thailand achieve one of the fastest fertility declines in the modern era and did a truly admirable job of turning a taboo topic into one that is interesting and "sexy," if you'll pardon the pun, to compel a conservative society to begin discussing issues like overpopulation and HIV/AIDS. He was even able to open an abortion clinic next door to the restaurant - an impressive feat, considering that abortion on demand is technically illegal in Thailand. It just goes to show the respect that Dr. Viravaidya commands. They say that some people still refer to condoms as "mechais." I cannot wait to meet him!

Good Times

I expect to be able to write a lot on this one after the conference, as it will be full of good people AND good food! Unfortunately, my next update will probably not be for a week or longer because I will be busy with the EARCOS conference and speaking engagements at the International School of Phnom Penh. Until Cambodia!

Setting off...

Tomorrow, I am embarking on a new journey to discover myself and the world around me. I hope that over the next 6 months, I will be able to work on some interesting projects, learn as much as I can and explore how I can better contribute to society. Of course, I plan to play as hard as I work; I am really looking forward to meeting different people and experiencing new things, especially the food! I am so lucky to have this opportunity and I can't thank you enough for your support - I hope that in return, I can populate this blog with photos and stories that you won't find too boring!

The itinerary so far (if you are interested in visiting, please let me know!):

-Thailand: EARCOS Global Issues Network Conference

-Cambodia: International School of Phnom Penh

-India: PowerPump Project

-Ghana: International Development Design Summit (IDDS)

I apologize for the long and cumbersome URL, but most names were already taken. In case you are interested, "El Gran Sendero" roughly means "The Big Trail" in Spanish. Since this post is a little dull without a picture, I'll throw one in - it's an oldie, but a goodie (and definitely more fun than a generic one of me packing). I am so grateful that I got to work with teammates with such heart, and I am very excited to be able to see some of them again!

The Amazing PowerPump Team at IDDS 2008