Week Without Walls: Chiang Mai, Thailand

WOW! I am officially in love... with THAILAND! What an amazing place! I just spent the last week in northern Thailand: Chiang Mai region, with three colleagues and 40 seventh graders for our annual Week Without Walls service learning experience. It was incredible.

I highly recommend checking out Chiang Mai if you ever make it to Thailand. Now I have yet to go down south in Thailand, to see the beautiful beaches and teal blue green waters, but I know for a fact that I would not hesitate a second to go back to Chiang Mai and spend a good amount of time there.

We worked with a program called Into the Wild, which is run by a former ASD teacher. He was wonderful with the kids, and has been operating out of the Chiang Mai region for some time, so he had local connections and really helped us out tremendously. We also worked through the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures, which is a stand up organization that does so so much more than climbing. It is well known throughout Asia and operates to the highest level of safety and professionalism. AND all of the instructors are fantastic with the students....

We hit the ground running with activities as soon as we got there. We had been raising money for a local nursery school in a small village outside of CM. We painted there entire complex and cooked with them, played with the kids and were able to purchase brand new playground equipment. The ASD students were fantastic and worked hard and sincerely enjoyed spending time with the little Thai kids.

We also got to experience a few things that pushed the students outside of their comfort zones. We went ziplining through the rainforest. The operation was called Flight of the Gibbon and the experience was top notch. There were over thirty platforms and all different kids of ziplines. It really takes some guts to jump off a platform over 200+ ft up and cruise an 800 m zipline in under 30 seconds (fast). The views were absolutely awesome while doing so as well. One of the ziplines is attached to your back and so you get a running start and jump off the platform Superman style. Of course I enjoyed every second of it. Some points were a little crazy, but it is interesting being the "supervising adult," because you really cannot show any other emotion other than excitement. There were a few instances where I was seriously anxious, but I just had to be sure to keep smiling and encourage my group that "this is SO awesome"(which it was)!!!

We did some amazing trekking throughout the hills and bamboo forests using only a compass and rough directions for a 10k hike. The kids complained the entire time and I sounded like a drill Sargent constantly telling them to move faster and pick up the pace. I sincerely thought that they were going to hate this part, and some of them did, but the majority of them realized that the whole point of the activity is to really push themselves, and emotionally tell themselves to keep going even when physically it seems impossible. It just makes me so happy as an educator and proud of these kids when they can come to that conclusion on their own.

Rock climbing was by far the highlight of the trip for me. It really pushed me physically and that is what I was looking forward to. We did some caving and saw some beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, along with some bats. We did an easy rappel first and then climbed up into a giant cave. Here we had to zipline across to the other side of the cave and then get transferred to an abseil line (rappel with no feet- just straight down). The scary part (even though 100% safe) is that while they are transferring your harness you are just hanging there. you grab onto a rope and hold yourself up while they get you from one line to the abseil. Oh and your about 135 feet up, with nothing between you and the rocks far far below. It was insane. My heart rate was through the ROOF! Again, I loved it, but I also had to make sure that the only emotion I was displaying was calm and excited. Not "Holy CRAP!" You control yourself down the abseil and by the time I reached the ground, I wanted to go right back up and do it again. Of course, I am somewhat of an adrenaline junkie.  The other amazing part was the actual rock climbing. The way you have to strategically think about where each hand and foot placement is and where your center of gravity is located is challenging, but very rewarding. I am definitely going to look into doing more climbing. I ended up doing two 25 - 30 m climbs. It was really fun, but we ran short on daylight in the end.

We had wonderful food, and were able to spend some time in the night market in Chiang Mai. We saw beautiful and intricate Buddist temples and really had a fantastic trip. I will absolutely be going back, sans children. Enjoy some pics.

Painting first coat!

Ziplining

Gibbon

Ziplining

Buddist Temple on our trek

Getting ready to rock climb!

Some Cave exploring

Beautiful- no filter

Papaya Salad- so delicious

At the nursery school!

Climb ON!

Across the zipline and straight down the 40 m (135 ft) abseil

Some Monks

playing in a waterfall

ZIPLINE!

Finishing our trip with a traditional Thai lantern celebration launch.

The POPE!

Happy New Years Eve 2013! Cannot believe we were this close! 

Catching Up! 2013: Sri Lanka and Italy!

Wow! 2013 was just rubbish for blogging about my travels, but I vow (as it is the January tradition) to be slightly better this year. I managed to get two trips in this fall, one to Sri Lanka and another home to the United States. I also had my first visitors! Mom and Dad managed to make it to the sandpit and we all galavanted off to Italy for a week to ring in the New Year.

Sri Lanka was beautiful and peaceful and very third world. I have never experienced the craziness of driving that occurred on our trip. Our driver was amazing and was able to successfully avoid tuks tuks, semi trucks, other cars, motorbikes, bicycles, as well as cows (sacred) and dogs (everywhere). We traveled to the interior and stayed in the jungle, did some hiking and relaxed. All in all, I wasn't that impressed. It was cheap and the people that were helpful to us were amazing, but I guess I expected something slightly different. If I had to recommend Sri Lanka, I would say head to the beaches or make sure you are doing something super adventurous, like white water rafting or canyoning. Never the less, it was beautiful and I got some stunning photos.

I'm about to climb this giant rock- Lion's Rock. It was high. 

Hey friends! 

These monkeys were jerks. They will climb onto your and unzip your backpack and steal stuff. 

Sunset in Sigiriya. We climbed a rock by our hotel to get this. 

Right after returning from Sri Lanka, I headed back to the States for my Nana's passing. It was nice to be home with family and celebrate her long and full life. I am so happy that I decided to make that trip home, as I know looking back on it, I would have regretted not being there with family. I got to experience a little bit of fall (forgot how much I miss seasons), and see Owen and Annie, and my sisters. 

November came and went quickly, as we had random three day weekends and Thanksgiving stuck in there too. Before I knew it, Mom and Dad arrived in DXB for their adventure here! It was so much fun. We did a lot of tourist stuff that I had yet to do, so it was great to be able to explore my own city too. We went to the Burj Khalifa, the Burj Al Arab, on an Arabian Safari, to the Gold souk and the the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. We also got to celebrate Christmas with some of my colleagues before taking off to Italy. 

Windy day on Sunset Beach by Burj Al Arab

Textile Souk- Dad looking thrilled. 

Gold anyone?

Mom and Dad and the Burj Khalifa! 

High Tea in the Sky room at Burj Al Arab! 

Just a nice Rolls...

On Safari- adrenaline pumping dune bashing craziness.... into the Empty Quarter. 

Camel Ride! 

Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi. 

And then we went to Italy! It was amazing. We started in Florence and went to Venice and then Rome. Such great food and wine and walking around just taking it all it. I love all of these cities, but Florence takes the cake. We saw all of the fun and historical sights and a LOT of art, but it was all worth it. The highlight of the trip was being in St. Peter's Square on New Years Eve and learning that the Pope was making an unannounced appearance. We were able to stick around and get up close to see him! It was amazing and truly the best New Years Eve I will probably ever have. We finished off 2013 walking the streets of Rome, taking in a rock concert at Circo Massimo and drinking mini champagne while watching the fireworks over the Colosseum. It was a wonderful trip.

Florence

Wine and a sparkly building!

Gondola ride.

On top of St. Mark's in Venice

Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal in Venice

Early morning Rialto Bridge

NO ONE IS HEERRRRE! At the Colosseum.

Selfies are essential inside the Colosseum.

Trevi Fountain

January 1st 2014, going for a Roman stroll. 

Swiss Guard

Seal inside St. Peter's

Stunning

St. Peter's at night. 

2014 has started to cruise on by, as January is quickly coming to a close. I have made all my resolutions and they involve health and happiness and travel. The countdown towards my next adventure is inside the one month mark, as I head to northern Thailand (Chiang Mai) for Week without Walls. Myself and three other colleagues of mine are taking 40 seventh graders on our annual service trip at the end of February. We are visiting a rural orphanage in the hills of north Thailand and will be building a new building for them, as well as renovating the existing ones. We also get to experience Thailand culture, zip-lining through the rainforest, rock climbing down into amazing caves, and connecting to ourselves and one another with Buddist principles. I look forward to it very much. 

As the Italian's would say: Ciao! 

Back in the sand pit for year two.... my oh my!

WOW! I cannot believe how much I has happened since last post. My apologies for anyone who actually likes to keep up with this. The summer flew by, and I had two trips packed into one on the way back to the states. Amsterdam and Iceland, and both were fabulous. I was relieved to get home and spend time with my family, meet my niece Annie, go on the water-slide (over and over) with my nephew Owen, and relax in beautiful Minnesota. I was able to take a trip out West to Portland for a conference with some ASD people, and before I knew it, the summer was closing and I was counting down my days until I arrived back in the sand pit. I'll try to give a little overview of Amsterdam and Iceland first, and then some summer pics.

Amsterdam! So awesome. I can totally see myself visiting this city on every trip back to the states. It helps that it is such a major flight hub. It was the perfect way to unwind from the school year and just enjoy the European city on foot and ride the ferries on the canals. I ended up visiting the Anne Frank House, which was completely moving and unbelievably emotional. The Van Gogh museum was also an experience, but not quite as shocking as the infamous Red Light District. The row houses were old and beautiful, and the canals were busy with boats of tourists, fishermen, and private houseboats. I loved every minute of this city, and know that next time I visit, I will have to rent a bicycle and pedal my way around as the locals do. Here are a few snapshots from Amsterdam.

Canals and Church bell towers! Love! 

From Amsterdam I flew to Iceland. The trip started in Reykjavik and went around the main road or "The Ring Road" around the whole island. Iceland was other-worldly in it's landscapes. It has stunning waterfalls, mountains, black sand beaches, active volcanos, natural hot springs, glaciers and iceberg filled lagoons. the villages are small, but the hospitality is charming. The weather is uncooperative, and the sun never sets in the summer months, but I will remember Iceland very fondly. I recommend going there to be in awe of Mother Nature and her power, especially before it is too late. Below are some pics and where they were taken. Enjoy! 

Hot Springs- Blue Lagoon. Yes, it really is that color. I went in... it was HOT. 

Viking Beer deserves some horns! 

Viking man with my coffee- Thief! 

Lava Rocks

Gulfoss - massive massive waterfall.

Behind the Waterfall pictured below....

Taken around 3 am... it's light out. 

Iceberg lagoon at Jokulsarlon.

Gulfoss adventurousness ! 

Iceberg lagoon

Black sand beaches from lava flows over millions of years

Cool village on Eastern coast of Iceland called Seydisfjordur

Mars? Nope. Just crazy Iceland landscapes. This place reeked like sulfur. Nasty.... but cool. 

Exploring a lava tube in the lava fields of Myvatin

Climbing up this GIANT lava crater.

Natural hot springs at Myvatin

Husavik- an awesome seaside village on the North coast of Iceland

Going Whale watching in Husavik... so excited! 

Stunning

We saw this whale breach probably 35 times. Just unbelievable.

Godafoss- the waterfall of the gods.

Of course I had to get a few swings in...!

Reykjavik's famous church.

The Sun Voyager- a seaside statue honoring the Viking's that settled Iceland. 

WOW! That was a ton- hopefully you liked some of the pictures. I know it was a bit much, but I actually took about 1000 pictures while there, so you definitely got the shorter version. 

I wont go too much into my summer, but it was so wonderful to be at home and enjoy the Minnesota outdoors. I was on the lake, up at the cabin, in the cities, and seeing close friends and family. It is crazy how much can change in one year and how much can actually not change. Sitting down with some people felt as though I had not even been living abroad for the last few months. 

I am excited for the year ahead. School has started well and it was my birthday. My advisory students went all out and decorated my classroom. They are amazing and it made my day. We have some exciting trips already planned for this year. In just a few days we have our Fall Eid break. The way it falls on our calendar lets us have a whole week off so some friends of mine and I are heading to Sri Lanka for a few days of fun! I will try to be better about posting now that I am back and traveling around. Until then.... cheers!