sa wat dii ka! this is my new headgear for a good chunk of the trip as i received my assignment this morning and i am spending a week or more on a muslim island a good ways away from our base. i have to be careful about what i wear, i'm not allowed in mosques (boo), i must keep my head covered, and i won't be seeing any pork for a while... i'm excited!! i'm doing a story on the culture of the island, which locals are concerned about preserving since the influx of tourists in the 90s. i'll be staying in a thai girl's dorm at the school i'm covering, which no foreigner has apparantly done (according to one of my coaches).
they also have a different greeting than the traditional thai wai, which kendrick and i will demonstrate here :)
yesterday we visited the pier built by kenan institute asia, our host group here in thailand. it was built after the tsunami as part of recovery efforts and includes a boat repair shop. the boats here are long tail and are used for individual, small fishing enterprises.
a fisherman at the boat repair shop, framed by prayer flags (maybe?)
thai popeye at the navy restaurant we ate at... his forearm is a bit large and seemed to be broken off and supported by a piece of wood.
sea turtle hatchery owned by the navy base... turtles are an endagered species here, so the navy helps them out. these are only 15 days old!
this little guy is sleeping
zach climbing the police boat that washed ashore 2km during the tsunami.
+ +
about half of the group has already left for their stories, but i won't leave until tomorrow. today i'll exchange some money, swim a little, get a royal family polo (which honors the king and is always appropriate) and MAYBE get to ride an elephant. this is my number one objective while i'm here (after, of course, producing an awesome story).
the journalist blood in me is pumping and i'm ready to START. i won't have internet on the island, so more updates when i'm back!
4 comments:
"Oh, baby!" (imagine laura martin saying that) I will be praying for you on that little island. Is anyone else going? translator? protector? stai tendo! dio ti benedica! love you!!!
I just read your blog entry. My name is Gabriela and I am from Switzerland and I am married to a local Thai from Koh Yao Noi. I have lived on the island for the last two years and helped with the set-up of a children community center on the island (www.koyao-ccc.com). Maybe you want to get in touch with Tim, the director of the center, he knows the Thai language and culture very well and is also married to a local. I myself am in Switzerland with my husband for a few month.
The island is very safe and everybody is extremly friendly. It is a very special place!! You do not have to wear a head scarf, but it is nice if you cover your legs and shoulders. The people there do not care what kind of religion you belong to, they let everybody be the way they want. Tourism unfortunately started to develop quite a bit over the last two years.
Will be interesting to read how you like it on the island!
enjoy it!
gabriela
WOWWWWWWW!
Go Abby!
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