Farewell Kids, Farewell Volunteering

For my last day volunteering at the GHRE Pakarang Learning Center, a farewell celebration was given to Matt and I for the time we had spent there. It was a bittersweet day as I played games with my young students and gave them tearful goodbyes. I am going to miss them tremendously!

***Permission to use the photographs below have been granted by GHRE***

Some students modeling the animal face masks I helped them make.

Matt and the "Little Big Man" on campus.

Blowing up balloons for the farewell party.


My shyest and my giggliest students.


Teaching the students how to play Jenga. They loved it!


I made the kids peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so that they could try some "American" food. It received mixed reviews.


Heartfelt speeches were made that brought tears to my eyes.

Two of my third graders demonstrating the English speaking skills they learned from me. Too bad no one caught this on video!


The sweet kids gave me goodbye gifts. One boy gave me bright neon pink nail polish!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering with GHRE and the kids truly made my time there worth-while and so rewarding. I plan to come back to GHRE and visit the children again sometime soon. I mean, how can I not? They are absolutely PRECIOUS!

© Connie Hum 2010

5 Reasons To Feel Homesick

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE TO TRAVEL. There's something thrilling and exciting about finding myself lost in a foreign country, trying to make my way around, learning about the language, people, food and culture. Still, (and I think most travelers out there will agree with me) once in awhile I feel a pang of homesickness creep in, taking hold just when I least expect it. I could be walking into a national museum, taking a ferry across to some small, remote island or searching for a local restaurant to eat dinner when BANG! I long for something simple and familiar. Something to remind me of home.

Other times, the life of a constant traveler can get frustrating and the creature comforts of being home is like a beacon calling me back to "normal" life.

Here are the top reasons I start feeling homesick while traveling.

1. Hot showers. It's pouring down with rain outside (hey, it IS monsoon season in Thailand) and I just want to take a hot shower. Okay, it doesn't even have to be HOT, a lukewarm shower will do. Just not another cold shower!
   
   
2. Soul food. There's only so much pad thai or döner kebab or dhal fry or insert any country's national dish here that I can eat before I just want something home cooked. More specifically, something cooked from my mother's house. I think this is really a testament to my mom's cooking that I can travel to all these places with delicious food that I love and still want to eat something my mom can whip up for me in 20 minutes. Or maybe not because I'd kill for an In'N'Out burger right about now as well.
   
   
3. Friends and family. I love meeting new people when I travel. I like the back and forth between two strangers meeting and the camaraderie one feels with a fellow traveler but on certain days it can feel forced. Am I just spending a day exploring ruins with Jorge, the gun-loving, recreational drug user from Colombia, who I have nothing in common with just for the sake of having company? I don't know but sometimes, I just want to go out for a beer with one of my best friends and have a gab-fest about silly things like Joaquin Phoenix's bizarre career change or debate about who, in fact, was Papa John.
   
   
4. Unwrinkled, clean-smelling clothes. I'll be the first to admit that I'm no clean Jean. Household chores are just that: chores I try to avoid at all costs, but for some reason I have always loved to do laundry. I love the clean smell of clothes fresh from a wash. I haven't experienced that smell in AGES since I started traveling. Being crammed into my backpack, no matter how nicely folded, for days on end, getting thrown and bashed around on trains, planes and buses, not to mention hanging off my sweaty back for hours, has left my clothes smelling...well, less than clean, let's just say. With my moldy, wrinkled clothing, I look more like a hobo these days than a traveler. I just want to look and smell decent, is that so much to ask for?
   
   
5. Space. My home consists of a backpack. I'm essentially a turtle, treading through life with my home attached to my back. Oh to have a room of my own again! No more living out of a smelly, dirty, tossed-around bag. Things would be there because I wanted them to be there! How utterly blissful that sounds...
   

Traveling is great, no doubt. And "home" is ultimately where the heart is. Even though sometimes I do long for the old familiar things, I wouldn't give up this life of travel for anything in the world, even if it means taking cold showers, smelly like mold and sweat, settling for Skype dates with loved ones and giving up the notion of personal space. To me, travel is worth those sacrifices.

**When do you feel homesick during your travels? What do you to do cure it?**

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Iceland

A new feature on Connvoyage, a 3 photo montage highlighting the best memories from my past travels! Enjoy!


The natural beauty of Iceland as seen driving along the Ring Road, the highway that encircles the whole of the island. Gorgeous sky and scenery for miles and miles. Everywhere was basically a photo op! I never had such a good time being stuck in a small rental car with 3 other people.


My friends, Jake and Beth sharing a lovely moment at a rest stop along the Ring Road. Yes, this is a rest stop!


My absolute most memorable moment from my Iceland trip: seeing the Aurora Borealis. This may in fact be one of the most memorable moments of my life! Seeing it was absolutely surreal, I couldn't believe it! The Aurora Borealis is simply amazing.

© Connie Hum 2010

Stop the Eat, Pray, Love Comparisons, PLEASE!

In no way do I have a thing out for Liz Gilbert. I think it's fantastic that she did all the things she did in her book, "Eat, Pray, Love" and I think it's even better that she was able to inspire people to take life into their own hands and make a change.

With the new Julia Roberts movie adaptation of the book garnering much press and attention on people leaving their "established" lives to travel the globe and find love and inner peace along the way, I've been getting a lot of attention from friends, family and even journalists asking me how I've been inspired by the book.

Let me set this straight: Eat, Pray, Love did NOT inspire me to live the life I am currently living. And I doubt that it was the catalyst for many of the world travelers making their way around the world right this minute, no offense Liz Gilbert.

Yes, I may be gratuitously eating my way around the world and yes, I did in fact go to a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat and yes, in fact I have fallen in love ( a number of times) during the course of all this. Does this mean that I have a story similar to Liz Gilbert's? Not by any stretch of the imagination! First off, I backpack around the world. Second, I'm on a major budget since I haven't had a paying job in almost 2 years and I'm living off my hard-earned savings. And lastly, no one is financing this journey for me in any way (unless YOU'd like to, hey, I'm open to the suggestion). No book deals, no film in the works, no donations, nothing.

People travel for a number of reasons, all individual and unique to the traveler in question. Just because someone has gone down a similar road as we have, it doesn't mean we're copy-cat travelers. I think that idea does a disservice to Liz Gilbert and to every single traveler out there.

We're all trying to make sense of the world and how we fit into it in our own ways. Let's give each individual due credit here.

And Liz Gilbert, if you're reading this, I wish you continued success in life and love, along with everyone else reading this, traveling or otherwise!

© Connie Hum 2010

Old Phuket Town

Phuket has made its name with travelers in Thailand for its gorgeous beaches and ready-to-party atmosphere. Most people arrive into Phuket and head straight for the beaches, skipping the old-world charm of Old Phuket Town, just 18 miles/30 kilometers south of Phuket International Airport, almost entirely. They don't know what they're missing!

What Old Phuket Town may lack with respect to white-sand beaches and a raging party scene, it makes up for in generous amounts of charm and a bustling art and culture center, not to mention the amazingly authentic Thai food that can be found around almost every corner. Acting as Phuket's main economic hub, Old Phuket Town deserves to be discovered and explored for at least a day or two for its unique blend of old and new, traditional and modern, simplicity and style.

The first thing visitors to Old Phuket Town will notice is the unique Sino-Portuguese architecture thrown in with a significant amount of Mediterranean flare. It's a captivating blend of style and history! Streets are lined with homes and buildings in its original pastel-colored architecture, beckoning you to stroll back through time. Many of these Sino-colonial mansions have been converted into restaurants or shops, a clear example of melding the old with the new but while retaining their originality and allure.

I'm a total sucker for beautiful, decorated doors and my eyes were getting their fill of amazingly striking and colorful doors around Old Phuket Town. Street after street, door after door, I continued to see doors more intriguing and artfully crafted than the last.

I discovered a non-descript local restaurant to pop in for a Chinese-influenced Thai meal that made my taste buds jump for joy. The food was plentiful, delicious and ridiculously cheap. Half hidden by shrubbery and located just off of one of Old Phuket Town's main roundabouts, this little family-owned restaurant served up ready made fare from a glass cart. The dining area was practically the family's living room and was decorated with antiques and hand-made recycled paper products like vases, coasters and handbags. Next best thing to Mom's cooking!

More strolling around Old Phuket Town revealed a number of boutique shops, cozy cafes and bustling art centers and galleries. Interspersed between these modern additions were old printing factories and Chinese herbal clinics. It sounds like things should feel out of place with one another but they didn't! It added to the allure of Old Phuket Town.

With all its activity, Old Phuket Town still manages to exude relaxation and quaintness. Perhaps it's not a bad thing after all that so many people skip out on exploring Old Phuket Town. It certainly doesn't mean you have to. I'm glad I didn't!

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Peru

A new feature on Connvoyage, a 3 photo montage highlighting the best memories from my past travels! Enjoy!


Markets are the beating heart and living pulse of a country. There's no better way to see a new country's way of life, culture and people than at a local market. The sights, sounds, smells, food and bustle of the people inside a local market reveal a slice of normal life, something tourists will never see at famous landmarks or from inside a hotel room. At this local market in Cuzco, a young boy stands watch over a plate of chicken feet, advertising the colorful alpaca hats behind him.


Islas Ballestas is often referred to as the "Poor Man's Galapagos," but this serves as grave injustice to these islands. The teeming life and diversity on Islas Ballestas deserves a name for itself. The large number of guanay guano birds, blue-footed boobies, sea lions and penguins, to name a few of the species of life that inhabit Islas Ballestas, deserves to be brought out from the shadow of the Galapagos. The dramatic rock formations that make up the small islands form a perfect backdrop for nature-watching. For the lucky few (myself included), dolphin sightings are not uncommon in Islas Ballestas.


The ruins of Macchu Picchu peeking through the early morning mist evoked in me a feeling of awe, discovery and beauty. Exploring Macchu Picchu after a day of hiking to the top of neighboring mountain, Putukusi was reward enough for a sore-legged traveler. My day wandering the grounds of Macchu Picchu will forever remain one of my favorite travel memories of all time.

© Connie Hum 2010

Teaching English: A Lesson Learned

Disclaimer: The children I teach, due to special circumstances, need their identities to remain anonymous. Therefore, I am unable to publish any photographs of them. But trust me, they are ADORABLE!

A couple of weeks ago, I was teaching Conversational English and the topic was "democracy." The students, acting as Congress, were to come up with ways to make their school better.

The students were very realistic about how they were going to improve their school. They understood that improvements meant money and they knew there wasn't any. The changes the students wanted to implement were simple and their suggestions revealed exactly how they felt about their education.

Being children of (mostly illegal) migrant Burmese workers living in Thailand, these children do not have access to education in Thailand. The only way these kids get any form of schooling is through the work of NGO's like GHRE that provide the education pro bono. Many of these students are eventually forced to drop out of school in order to work and help support their families.

The "measure" that the students unanimously passed was LONGER class periods, extending their existing 45 minute lessons to 55 minutes. Because the students all have responsibilities at home, they couldn't stay at school later in the afternoon to make up for the additional time. Every single student was willing to cut their lunch period short in order to have the longer lessons. Why? "Because we want to learn more before we have to stop to work."

It breaks my heart that these kids are such bright and eager learners, but without the necessary opportunities available to them. In a much kinder and fairer world, these children would have the same rights to education as many of the children in other countries, without fear of getting pulled out of school to work in rubber plantations, fisheries or the like.

This lesson was an eye-opener to how lucky we are in the Western world to receive education and never fear having to leave school early to help feed your family. I just hope that soon, everyone in this world will have this same opportunity.

If you would like to help support education for children in lesser circumstances, I highly suggest you make a donation to GHRE, or any other educational NGO for that matter. The work these organizations are doing are phenomenal and they can all use our support! If you cannot provide monetary assistance, consider volunteering abroad the next time you travel. It will give you a travel memory unlike any other and the incredible feeling you get from giving back is reward enough! I recently wrote a guest blog about international volunteering that you should read if you plan to volunteer abroad.

Last but not least, as I have spent three months with these children and have come to care about them very much, if you have any old children's games, toys, clothing, books, etc. that you would like to donate to them (and I know they would be absolutely OVER THE MOON about it), please send them to:

GHRE/FED
PO. Box (13) Takuapa Post Office
Takuapa, Phang Nga Province 82110
Thailand

If you want to organization a collection of items for donation, but are worried about the cost of shipping to Thailand, send me an email and we can come up with something!

Let's help make a brighter future and a more just world for these lovely children to grow up in!

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Istanbul

A new feature on Connvoyage, a 3 photo montage highlighting the best memories from my past travels! Enjoy!


Oh, how I loved crossing the Bosphorus and approach this amazing view of Eminönü! It felt like the city was just waiting for me to unlock all of its secrets and magic each time. This photo was taken with my Diana F+ lomo camera in black and white.


Balkan music and gypsy dancing all night long at Istanbul's Hıdrellez Spring Festival. The music was incredible and the company was excellent. These guys sure know how to throw a party! One of my more memorable nights in Istanbul!


One of my favorite places in Istanbul, Büyük Mecidiye Mosque in Ortaköy. Gorgeous views, fabulous cafes and delicious kumpir (baked potato with all the fixings you could ever imagine), what more could a girl ask for? It was my perfect Istanbul afternoon.

© Connie Hum 2010

Road Drip

In celebration of the Buddhist holiday, Vassa (also known as the Buddhist Lent or the Rains Retreat), schools in Thailand were closed for two days, giving me essentially a four-day weekend July 23 -27.

Matt and I decided to take the opportunity to explore a bit more of Thailand. We packed a weekend bag and took off on our moped for a four-day road trip. Unfortunately, the weather was not as cooperative as we would have liked and it ended up being a road DRIP. It rained every day during the weekend and instead of making it as far as we had originally planned, we stayed all four days in Krabi.

Despite the rain, the four days in Krabi was relaxing, just the thing we needed. Matt and I enjoyed the freedom of sleeping in and doing absolutely nothing. We spent a lazy afternoon playing Scrabble, which was very fun, especially since Matt and I are so competitive with each other...in a good way! For the curious, I won (by a lot).

All the well-known fun activities that can be had in and around Krabi, including rock-climbing, diving, hiking and lazying on the beaches were scrapped due to the rain, leaving Matt and I with little to do in Krabi. Luckily, the beautiful mountainous scenery and the huge street markets, especially the weekend market, dotted around town kept us amazed and amused. Besides, eating is one of our favorite past times so I really can't complain.

The variety of street food on offer in Krabi's numerous street markets was truly vast and mouth-watering. There were plenty of juicy chicken satay dribbling with peanut sauce, aromatic duck noodle soup, spicy and tangy papaya salad, fresh fruit, enticing balls of meat on sticks and of course, pad thai.

I don't think there was a single food stall I walked past and thought to myself, "No way would I eat that." Well, except maybe this one!

© Connie Hum 2010

Connvoyage: TOP TRAVEL BLOG!

Today I received some pretty exciting news. Well, at least to me.

Travel-avenue has just featured ten (ten!) of my past travel blogs of 2010 on their travel site! Eight (eight!) of which were named "Top Travel Blogs!"

Wow! I'm so happy and pleased with myself, not to mention excited!

Just thought I'd share the news with you!

© Connie Hum 2010

Don't Delete, I DO Eat Meat!

Oh, to think that just a mere two months ago, I was a vegetarian! Although I still like the idea of returning to vegetarianism at some point in my life (well, maybe in spurts), I have adapted well in Thailand to the full onslaught of meat appearing in my meals again.

One night, I noticed a rather busy looking, though completely non-descript, restaurant tucked away from the main road near Ban Niang as Matt and I sped by on our motorbike. Not knowing what kind of restaurant it was, but deciding the locals should know better than us, we decided to give it a try on a Sunday night.

The restaurant is a Thai version of do-it-yourself hot pot. Matt and I each pay 99 baht (barely over $3) and we literally eat meat until we make ourselves sick. It's fantastic! You get a clay pot and a kettle of soup for the table. From the buffet area, you choose all the meat and sides you want. As you can see from the picture, we (well, mostly Matt) load up with as much meat as humanly possible. And this is just the FIRST round!

Once you choose your meat and sides, you place a chunk of fat on the top to grease up the cooking area. Then you start piling on the meat to cook. It's a fun process though during our first attempt of cooking the meat, Matt and I piled too much meat on and ended up with a few burnt pieces because we couldn't turn the meat over fast enough. No fear, Matt soon mastered the art of flipping the meat. After dinner, our bellies are protruding quite rotundly but that doesn't stop us from helping ourselves to a couple scoops of ice cream. Our favorite flavor: taro. What a perfect way to end a meal!

This has become our Sunday night ritual ever since.

© Connie Hum 2010

Don't Wait, Food Stalls!

After having spent several weeks living in Khuk Khak, Thailand, I have discovered the BEST food stalls among the many in the area . The food found in these unassuming stalls literally blow you away with their deliciousness and their small price tag. They certainly have impressed me! I frequent these food stalls so much that the proprietors must think I have a tapeworm!

One of the more common food stalls that you find on the street is of the meat-on-a-stick variety. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan for anything on a stick, with the exception of popsicles and corndogs, but when you can get a big, tender honey-glazed bar-b-que chicken on a stick for 20 baht (the equivalent of 60 cents USD), how can you resist? And believe me, I don't even try! The best part? The stall is stationed in front of the 7-11 in Pakarang, right across the street from my apartment!

Thailand is hot, even in the rainy season. Most days you need a nice, cold beverage to help cool you down. Thai iced tea with milk (cha chuk) is practically a national drink and it's the perfect solution on hot days. You can find it almost everywhere. However, finding the right blend of ice, tea and condensed milk required some research that I was happy to conduct. Too much sweet, as it turns out, can be too much of a good thing for me and my pick ended up being a mildly sweet version from a road-side cafe. 20 baht later, I'm cool and ready to hit the beaches again!

When I'm in the mood for something fruity and refreshing to help cool me off, I opt for a banana smoothie. I chanced upon this little gem of a smoothie out of necessity one day. I was starving and decided to give the closest noodle soup stall to my physical body a try. The woman was making a banana smoothie as I ordered my lunch and as it was another hot day in Thailand, I ordered one as well. Oh, serendipitous day! The banana smoothie is one of the best I've EVER had and I ended up with brain freeze more than once as I couldn't get enough of it! As an added bonus, the noodle soup was pretty darn tasty too! This little market food stall, with a grand total of 45 baht (about $1.40) for a hearty bowl of noodle soup and a huge serving of banana smoothie, makes it one of my favorite go-to lunch places.

Speaking of noodle soup (and my mouth is already watering!), one of my absolute favorites in the area is a fantastic noodle soup stall on the side of the road in Khao Lak. Not only is the noodle soup there superb, but there's another dish there that's equally as delectable and mouth-wateringly enticing: a Thai rice dish called something like cow can moo. At least that's the way I remember how to say it. Cow can moo is stewed pork leg served over rice with a side of mustard greens. The sauce from the stew is then poured over the rice for added flavor. It's so good! When we want to splurge on a night of good food, Matt and I head over to Khao Lak, order up an iced roselle drink (a hibiscus concoction) and beef noodle soup each then split a plate of cow can moo between us. At the end of dinner, we're both stuffed to the brim with delicious Thai food and our combined wallets are only 110 baht lighter ($3.41).

Although I definitely have my favorite places to go for food, there are still so many stalls around and I'm certain that there are tasty delights just waiting to be discovered. I have one and a half more months left to find more hidden culinary treasures and as long as my tapeworm is up for it, I'm game to keep eating and discovering!

© Connie Hum 2010

Mai Thai Life

As of June 8th, I have been calling the village of Khuk Khak in southern Thailand my home. I will be living and volunteering here for the next three months. I am sharing a wonderfully spacious apartment (welcome, visitors!) with my boyfriend Matt, who is also here volunteering.

We are surrounded by either long stretches of beach and sky or lush, green jungles. There are even a couple of elephant camps a short distance from where we live and seeing elephants grazing in the fields is a common occurrence. It's actually pretty cool to have elephants as neighbors, those party animals!

The organization that I am volunteering with is the Grassroots Human Rights Education and Development, or GHRE for short. I work with Burmese migrant workers and teach English to 2nd, 3rd, and 5th graders every day in Pakarang, a village 5 minutes away from my house, and conversational English classes twice a week with older students at the Youth Outreach Center in Khuk Khak. Each afternoon, I am back at the main GHRE office to plan and prepare for the next day's lessons and to work on other organizational and administrative projects for GHRE, including creating an on-line store for the Women's Education and Development Association, a division of GHRE.

In the evenings, Matt and I go to the beach (weather permitting) and surf, shop at the local market for food, take rides on our motor scooter through the jungles exploring the many little nooks and crannies in the area or go home and play badminton in our living room before eating a hearty and delicious Thai dinner.

My days are long and exhausting but the rewards of volunteering and living in Thailand are more than worth it.

I guess my Thai life isn't exactly a Mai Thai life, but I'm finally doing something that I've been wanting to do for a long time so I can't complain. In fact, I'm a lot happier here than I have been for awhile and THAT'S a good thing.

© Connie Hum 2010

Phuket About It!

After all the hustle and bustle, not to mention the sweltering heat and humidity of India, Thailand has been a most welcome respite. The weather is warm and humid, but of a tolerable degree with the occasional monsoonal rainfall. Ever since Matt and I arrived into Thailand a few days ago, we've been pretty much spoiling ourselves rotten.

We stayed at a nice and rather posh hotel along one of Phuket's many gorgeous beaches, a rarity in the backpacker lifestyle. One of the many perks of this particular hotel room was that the shower was actually separate from the toilet so that whenever we had to use the commode, it didn't require that our feet be wet. Ah, what a life!

We rented a stylish moped for a day, zipping along in search for secluded beaches to snorkel in. I'm pretty sure Matt and I stopped traffic all over Phuket because we were so darn stylish (obviously it had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Matt's moped driving skills, or the fact that the headlight didn't work when we were driving home on the national highway after dark). It's always a fun day when you're on a moped.

We splurged on a side trip to the island of Ko Phi Phi, including 2 SCUBA dives in the Andaman Sea. It had rained intermittently throughout the night before so made the water visibily less than ideal, but I did still manage to see a Bamboo Shark hiding out underneath a rock and a Spotted Eel, among a myriad of other fishes like bannerfish, scorpionfish, pufferfish, clown fish and the like.

Most of all, Matt and I have been spoiling ourselves on street food each day. No doubt, the Thai know how to do street food. I ended my 4-month (mostly) vegetarian stint with a feast of juicy chicken legs, seafood pad thai and endless beef and pork curries. Even though I ask for "no spicy" most of the food is still hot enough to get me sweating. Thank goodness for the Thai iced tea to keep my taste buds in check. I'm in culinary heaven and I'm looking forward to trying more Thai food in the coming months.

The laid-back vibe and natural beauty of Phuket is enough to make us never want to leave but we're looking forward to starting our volunteer program in Khuk Khak in a few days with GHRE (Grassroots Human Rights Education and Development), working with migrant Burmese workers.

Besides the rewarding experience we're sure to get out of volunteering for the next 3 months, Matt and I are only going to be a hour and a half outside of Phuket so we'll be back. Our last days in Phuket? Phuket about it!

© Connie Hum 2010

Trekking to Hell and Back: The Annapurna Circuit

Now that I'm back on level ground breathing oxygenated air and not carrying a backpack full of trekking gear everywhere I go, I can look back on my time trekking along the Annapurna Circuit of the Nepalese Himalayan mountain range and say that is was, by far, one of the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done (this is my FIRST attempt at any form of "trekking"). Suffice to say, the 14 (yes, 14!) days I spent trekking up to a height of 5416 meters to Thorung La, the highest point along the Annapurna Circuit, were well worth it for the spectacular views, the physical challenge, subsequent victory and lifelong experience, despite the toll on my body and mind.

Prayer flags flying in the winds of Thorung La

I'm glad I trekked the Annapurna Circuit but I have to admit, when I agreed to go trekking with Matt and Craig, I didn’t really understand what I was signing myself up for. I only assume that they didn’t fully divulge the actualities of trekking in the Himalayas to me because they knew I probably would have stayed in my nice, warm, low-elevation hotel room.

Matt and Craig relaxing after day 1 of trekking

First off, and this may be somewhat apparent to most people and it should have been to me except it somehow wasn’t, trekking is HARD! Besides the obvious fact that waking up at dawn to hike up a mountain into thinner air for five or more hours a day is physically draining, it’s also mentally exhausting.

Along the trail, Matt and I overheard someone say that "50% of trekking is 100% mental" and at the time, the guy just sounded ridiculous and I'm kind of embarrassed to say it, but he was right. So much of trekking IS mental and on the days where I wasn’t mentally prepared for the hours of walking, I found myself dragging my feet and needing more "time-outs" often than days where I was “in the zone.”

Clearly, this was a day I was NOT "in the zone"

Secondly, Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is actually a bit fun. Yes, AMS is very dangerous and people can and have died from AMS, but when you’re up at a higher elevation and your brain isn’t getting all the oxygen it needs, things can get really funny really fast. AMS is, in fact, a cute mountain sickness. In my uncontrollable fits of laughter, something in my throat must have dislodged itself because whenever I laugh hard, a distinct rattling sound emanates from the back of my throat. I think the rattling sound is still there though it’s hard to tell since I’m longer prone to low oxygenated fits of laughter that I’m down from the mountain.

Matt suffering from "a cute mountain sickness"

Thirdly, trekking is expensive. Ridiculously expensive, comparatively speaking to other travel costs. The cost of equipment, trekking permits, lodging along the trail and the (mostly bad) food at the lodges all add up to a large sum in the end. Matt and I didn't take out enough cash in Pokhara and since ATM machines are non-existent along most of the trail, we ended up having to borrow money from Craig. I guess we shouldn't have splurged on all that garlic soup and pots of milk tea... Or we should have just been better prepared and brought more cash with us.

Lastly, I learned a lot about myself while on this trek. I learned that I can achieve anything (namely, trekking for 14 days up to a high altitude) if I put my mind to it. I learned that between the option of taking a freezing shower surrounded by freezing cold mountain air and NOT taking a shower, I'm okay with NOT taking a shower for at least three days. I learned I'm okay with not changing clothes and socks for that same duration if it means not having to get naked in that same freezing cold. I learned that I can feel no shame in squatting down and relieving myself pretty much anywhere, even right outside my lodge room door (especially on cold nights because that means no need to walk in the cold to get to the squat toilet outside). I learned that I don't function well in the cold (as evidenced by all the other things I have learned). And I guess more importantly, I learned that I'm not such a princess after all. Or maybe I'm still a bit delusional from the lack of oxygen...

All in all, trekking the Himalayas in Nepal was an incredible experience and I'm so glad that I did it (and made it over the pass)! The memories of it will no doubt last a lifetime!

© Connie Hum 2010

Lies, Lies, Lies (Or, Volunteering in Nepal)

Sooo…I don’t know how to say this but the volunteer organization that I was supposed to have been working with, Nepal Volunteers Council, is really a scam. This is deeply frustrating and upsetting because I was really looking forward to all the good work I thought I was going to be taking a part in. The more I learn about “volunteering” in Nepal, the more I see how corrupt and downright deceitful it is. Surely there are legitimate organizations doing good for the people of Nepal, but there are also many others who are just out to make money for themselves. My experience is just one of many horror stories I’ve come to hear in recent days.

The director of my organization kept emailing me while I was in India, telling me that the students were very excited to meet me and asked me to arrive as soon as possible. I booked a flight to Kathmandu just so that I could get there sooner, spending about $145 on the flight. Upon arrival, I paid another $100 for a 3-month visa.

The first day I get to the organization’s office, the director tells me that the organization has hit a “financial crisis” and that they cannot afford to pay the rent for the office space, much less any of the educational programs that I was supposed to have been working on. Then the real kicker: there are NO STUDENTS and NO PROGRAMS at all!

Shocked and disappointed doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. Why did he tell me that the students were excited to see me and that I needed to get to Nepal as soon as possible when there were NO STUDENTS? He kept trying to reassure me that they would find students but that they need to charge them in order to fund the programs. Um, WHAT??? I didn’t come to Nepal to teach kids who could afford private English lessons! He also kept saying they were hoping that the volunteers could help “donate” to the organization to help them stay afloat during this “financial crisis,” obviously hinting that I should make a “donation.” I didn’t offer to make a donation but I made several suggestions as to how he could fund-raise for the organization but he didn’t seem overly interested in those ideas.

It gets worse.

As I was also living with the family of the director, I started noticing some odd things. On at least two separate occasions, I realized that someone had gone through my things while I was out of the house. I discovered that I was missing 100 rupees (equivalent to $2) as well. I have two doors in my bedroom; one I use (and padlock whenever I leave the house) and one that was “locked” and leads to the bedroom of the director. It has a sizable gap in the middle and you can literally see into the opposite bedroom from the other, which made me feel slightly uncomfortable, and forced me to kind of hide in the corner to avoid being seen when changing. One rainy night, I discovered that the door wasn’t in fact locked because the sister of the house came barging in through that door, making sure that I had properly closed the windows. I tried to jam a wooden stick in the lock the next day so that they wouldn’t be able to come into my room through this door, but when I came home again, I saw that the stick had been broken and removed from my room. Twice I did this and twice the stick had been removed. Finally, I had one of the brothers nail a lock to the door so that I could make sure that I could lock all the doors leading into my room.

Why did I stay a minute longer after this? Well, there’s another “volunteer” from France living in the house and I can’t very well just leave Sylvia in the house to fend for herself. Sylvia has been here for a month on an “internship” through her school and has done absolutely nothing since she arrived, which also means that the entire time I was in India and being told about the eager students, the organization was already defunct.

To make matters worse, we discovered that the family had been scamming money from Sylvia left and right. They told her that the second-hand cell phone she wanted to buy was 6000 rupees (approximately $85) and that the sim card for it was another 4500 rupees ($64). I knew right away that that was an absolute lie and took Sylvia to a mobile shop where she could have bought a brand new phone AND sim card for less than 3000 rupees ($43). Sylvia also told me that the sister asked her to help pay for some of the food that they had been preparing for her. That was another 7000 rupees, which is actually enough to feed the entire family for half a year!

After all this, I told the family that I was going to leave and search for another volunteer opportunity. The very next morning, the sister came to my room and asked me to help pay for food. She had the audacity to ask for 15,000 rupees!!! That’s over $200. And I had only been here for a week! It took all my strength not to reach over and slap her. I flat out refused saying that I came with the understanding that I was going to be volunteering to help Nepalese children and that there was going to be no fees. She was quite disappointed because I was “from America and had American dollars, which is so much compared to Nepalese rupees.” I explained that I quit my job a YEAR ago and haven’t had hardly any income since so I couldn’t afford to give her money. I’d be happy to help out around the house but I wasn’t going to give her any money. She walked away empty handed and very disappointed. She’s basically been ignoring me ever since. And I haven’t been offered second helpings at meal times either.

So now Sylvia and I have left the house and the organization and are trying to find alternative opportunities. Wish us luck!

© Connie Hum 2010

Kathmandu Doo

One week into my life in Nepal and it’s already so different from anything I’ve previously known that I feel I’m almost in some sort of a parallel universe. It’s not necessarily different in a bad way, but it’s just new and well, different. Sometimes I laugh just thinking about how things have changed and what everyone would think if they could just see me now because I know that most of you could never, in a hundred years, imagine me doing some of the things I’m doing now.

I am living in a house in the mountains of Kathmandu Valley, just about 4 kilometers outside of Kathmandu. My Nepalese family consists of two parents, three brothers (Keshab, Manoj and Mahesh), a sister (Rupa) and another volunteer Sylvia, from France. Each evening I help Rupa cook dinner for everyone in the family. We are strictly vegetarian in the house and to be quite honest, I’ve quite lost the taste for meat so I’ve been pretty vegetarian since India.

We have two cows that supply us with our daily milk. I hope to get to milk one soon, though the family has told me that the cows only allow the parents near them. Everyone else they try to kick. I’ve never milked a cow before and I think it will be quite fun, even if it’s just for the novelty of it, both of trying to milk a cow and of possibly getting kicked by one in the process.

I have a sparse bedroom to myself (along with the occasional visiting spider and lizard) with a bed, desk and window looking out over the hillside. Sometimes there is electricity, most times not. The squat toilet is in a shed outside of the house and I shower with cold mountain water and a bucket over the toilet. Speaking of the toilet, I’m trying very hard (okay, maybe not TOO hard) to convince myself to “go native” in terms of NOT using toilet paper (yes, even after two-sies) and just use my hand and water bucket to wash up afterwards. I haven’t managed it yet and it’s not looking like I will any time soon. UPDATE: I literally, JUST went native. Didn't have a choice. It wasn't all that unpleasant but I'm not sure if I will continue with the practice. Sorry if this is TMI but I'm just trying to keep it real. =)

Outhouses, cold showers and using my hand to wipe myself after using the squat toilet. This is certainly a long way from jet-powered hot showers and cruises on the boat in the Mediterranean but there’s something to be said about the simplicity in the life I’m living now. And nothing beats the gorgeous night sky I get to see each night. Sometimes when I’m looking up at all the stars I’d forgotten existed, I think this life is worth it. Until it’s time for my morning shower, then all I can think of is how nice even lukewarm water would be just then.

© Connie Hum 2010

So They Think I'm a Nepalese Prostitute...

First off, it may sound funny and to be honest, after I am out of India, I will be able to laugh my head off about this but as it stands, I'm still in India and it's really not funny at all.

Basically, there seems to be a large number of Nepalese women who do actually come to India to work as prostitutes since there is no other way for them to make money, in Nepal or otherwise, and with the high level of ignorance and racism in India, Indian men see me (and I kind of look Asian, ha ha) walking down the street with a white man (my friend Matt), they just assume that I'm "working".

The situation hasn't been dangerous or anything, but it is well annoying and stressful for both me and Matt. It's impossible to walk down the street without men staring at me, often "accidentally" grabbing my hand or brushing up against me.

I don't want to add to the racism and make it seem like every single Indian man is doing this to me. On the contrary. A majority refer to me as "madam" as a sign of respect, even if it's a bit strange. And one night, when a young drunk man was leering at me on the street, another Indian man stood up for me and said something to him in Hindi. The situation escalated to a heated argument on the street and a crowd started to gather. I quickly left the scene but went back to find the kind gentleman the next day to thank him for stepping in. His response was "He was not right and he needed to be told that." Matt has been a knight in shining armor this whole time, protecting me when necessary.

So although I've been dealing with a lot of unnecessary stress and harassment from one side, I've also been able to see the side of some people that is good and noble, and that makes this whole experience not so bad after all.

© Connie Hum 2010

The Road to Enlightenment: Are We There Yet?

When I signed up for my 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, I don’t know what I was expecting. Ideally, I just wanted to learn a way to relax and slow down my mind when it starts running away from me and getting a little too overwhelming. I would have been happy to walk away from the retreat with that knowledge and nothing else.

My heart just about stopped on the first night when Guru-ji started talking about taking our first steps toward enlightenment and liberation. Enlightenment? Liberation? WHOA! I’m completely in over my head! I just came to learn how to sit still for an hour and relax but I’m going to be taught how to be enlightened? Okay, COOL! Very quickly I started having images of me leaving the ashram in a state of pure bliss, with rays of light literally beaming out of my pores as I showered every person and every thing in my path with happiness, love and compassion.

Clearly, the road to enlightenment is not an easy one and certainly not one that can be reached at the end of 10 days. But it’s hard to not think that maybe, just maybe, you’d be the exception.

I will be honest in saying that the 10 days were not easy and there were a few moments where I thought that either I couldn’t go on or that I didn’t belong in such an intense course. Sitting still in one position with my eyes closed for an hour at a time proved to be very difficult for me, but by the end, I managed to maintain aditthana, strong determination, during my meditation sessions and I lasted through the hour-long sessions without moving.

One thing that caused me frequent frustration was that I would quite literally spend half of my meditation sessions thinking about the most random things and not focus on my actual meditation. I grew to learn to accept my mind was where it was but in the beginning, it really bothered me that I very obviously wasn’t going to be on the “fast track” to enlightenment.

Observing “noble silence” for 10 days was surprisingly easy, which was a bit of a surprise. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to NOT communicate with anyone (both verbally and bodily) but after the initial day, it was FANTASTIC be able to really focus on myself and my meditation. In fact, when we were able to talk again at the end of the course, it was nerve-racking just thinking about what I would say to people and how I was going to interact with them!

As soon as we were talking, my “Dhamma Sisters” and I immediately felt a close bond and connection to one another. We had survived such an intense experience together and although we hadn’t spoken to one another, much less acknowledged each other’s presence for the last 10 days, it was as if we had known each other for years. It was an incredible bonus in an already rewarding experience to share, bond and connect with these women over our experiences together at the retreat.

I don’t know how much of the actual theory and technique I believe in but I know that I gained a lot from the experience and I’m really glad that I did it. I’m interested in continuing my meditation practices and have been doing my best to meditate for at least one hour a day. I see some benefits and think that as I progress on the “road to enlightenment,” I will slowly get closer and closer to a better understanding of myself at the very least.

That’s not too bad for someone who went in just wanting to sit still for an hour.

Bhavatu sabba mangalam!

© Connie Hum 2010

The Good, The Bad & The Yellow Sari

THE GOOD: I've left Mumbai with my traveling head back in its proper place and I couldn't be happier! Another good piece of news: I've been invited to an Indian wedding! While visiting the Ellora caves, I met Nazir, who is getting married on March 23. I told him how I had always wanted to go to an Indian wedding so he invited me! HOORAY!

THE BAD: Logistically speaking, attending the wedding is going to be difficult for me as I should be in Rajastan at that time, preparing to leave for Nepal. Attending the wedding is going to require back-tracking to a place I've already been to and shorten my time in Rajastan, a place I've yet to discover. What to do?

THE YELLOW SARI: While I was still trying to make up my mind about attending the wedding, I met a lovely family in Nasik who sort of just took me into their home, feeding and piling me with inquisitive questions. I asked about Indian wedding etiquette and I expressed how much I loved saris and how I'd love to wear one to the wedding, provided I did in fact end up going. The next morning, when I went over to say goodbye to the women, they brought out a stack of new saris and told me to pick one. They were giving me a sari as a gift! I was so completely touched and asked them to choose the color for me. They chose a gorgeous, yellow sequined sari for me to wear to the wedding and showed me how to wear it. The women also had me try on one of their wedding sari's, which was a beautifully beaded dress. It was quite spectacular and the ladies were thrilled to see me in it.

How incredibly generous and nice of these people! I wish I had had more time to spend with them but I had to leave for my meditation retreat. They have invited me back to their home so I really hope I get to see them again.

And I guess this means I'M GOING TO THE WEDDING! How can I not go now that they've given me a sari to wear? Pictures to come of course!

© Connie Hum 2010

Salaam Bombay!

So here I am in Mumbai (previously known as Bombay), India, a place that I have wanted to go to ever since I was a little girl and saw a Bollywood movie playing at a childhood friend's house. What kind of magical and crazy place created such colorful and exuberant things? Oh, India...

Yet, now that I find myself here after all these years of anticipation, I don't know how I feel about actually being here. Granted, when I first arrived, I was on the recovering end of rubella and basically took a few days to rest and mend but I can't seem to find my usual enthusiasm and curiosity for exploring a new place. Maybe because every single time I've ventured out into the city, I've literally seen people defecating and urinating in the streets (I kid you not). This makes Mumbai a little scary to me, not to mention grossly unappealing. And this is coming from me. ME! The girl who always talk potty.

The truth of the matter of why I haven't been so excited about Mumbai has to do with the fact that I plain out miss Burma. Even after just a few days, I already miss that messed up country and hanging out with my cousins. In fact, on my way to the airport in Yangon on the day I left, I remember thinking about how I was going to miss it. I just didn't realize that it was going to be so soon!

I'm really looking forward to going back to Burma before returning to the States next year. But first, I need to get my head back into the traveling mode and start experiencing India! Wish me luck!

© Connie Hum 2010

Fortune and Doom

The other day I decided to go with my mother and her sisters to get our palms read. I don't really give fortune telling much stock since I'm a firm believer that you are in charge of your own destiny and that you can make your own luck, but I thought it would be a fun and interesting experience.

My fortune, as told by a Ph.D. in Palmistry (does that really even exist?) is as follows:

• I will meet my future husband this year (talk about pressure and expectations on every boy I meet!)
  

• There will be 3 suitors and I should choose the one my mother chooses (hmm...wonder if there was any bribery taking place?)

• I will get married by the end of next year

So if indeed my future is literally in the palm of my hands, everyone should be getting ready for a pretty awesome wedding party next year! Haha!

Now for the doom part. Don't worry, it has nothing to do with my fortune! For some very odd reason, my month in Burma has been plagued with inexplicable illnesses. This is rather puzzling to me as I usually do not get ill, especially while I'm traveling. So far, I've had three days of hotel confinement, moving only between the bed and toilet, a short but ferocious bout with dengue fever and now, a horribly itchy red rash spreading all over my body! The only thing I can think of saying in response is in Burmese: "Dohk kah beh!"

The year is still early so we'll just have to keep an eye out to see if my fortunes come true. Only time will tell. But then again, I too am a player in this game of life and my future will be what I want to make of it. In any case, this just keeps things a little bit more interesting!

© Connie Hum 2010