How To Move to Thailand...

or possibly How Not to Move to Thailand.

I have never planned my own adventure into another country, and Thailand won't be an easy job. Luckily, I won't have to do the planning alone over these next several months. Planning ahead is not really a forte of mine. I am more of the "up and go" on a whim sort of person but when you expect to find a place to live and a job in a country that is thriving on sex trafficking of women (a huge portion of Thailand's GDP), a little bit of planning is probable in decreasing your likelihood of coerced abduction. As my FCC adventure staff director always says: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

Here is what I have discovered thus far in the beginning stages of our process to be in Thailand by the end of this summer:

1. Find a reliable site that gives you information on when to apply for a Visa and what type of shots you will be needing. travel.state.gov is good for any general information on countries including entry and exit requirements, and how to prevent yourself from being arrested by the same cops who promote the sex trafficking of naive, young woman travelers. An appreciated service to have. Also, look at the country's embassy site. The one for Thailand is the Royal Thai Embassy.

2. Figure out generally what you want to be doing and begin to look for opportunities in different regions. Often I have become frustrated with the lack of job openings for my field of study, and once and again I threaten to just show up in Thailand and renew the search. In moments of clarification I realize this is a terrible idea. Even be creative. If you have special skills that you may offer a company look into contacting them about providing you the opportunity to come over and help them out. I started making an Excel sheet of National Parks I would be interested in working for in Thailand and Malaysia (just in case) and will one by one look in to each of them.

3. Start saving money now. It is much less expensive to live over there but you never know what kind of shenannigans might happen while abroad. Expect the unexpected is a popular cliche for a purpose.

That's pretty much it so far. More than likely once 3 weeks prior to take-off rolls around I will be completely re-thinking the efficiency of my planning methods. Plans in the near future are to start learning some of the basic words and phrases, and creating a more in-depth plan.

The thrill of adventure is sneaking up on me.

Seasonal Love

I love when the sun hits Autumn's template
And the way a crisp breeze sweeps through the trees
Scattering leaves into the rush of air
And pursuing to meander
Down toward the earth to rest

As the season advances
And the ground begins to firm
I miss the golden rays of light

But I love when lights reflect off the snow
And how gently a bird's tracks imprint on the soft surface
All is placid and whispered
Only the crunch of footsteps,
Or the flapping of waxwings on ashes,
And the call of a chickadee
Ignite the wisps of air with harmonies

As the season advances
And the ground begins to soften
I miss the smell of choke puffing from chimneys

But I love when the buds shimmy heavy ice from the branches
With promise of magnolia blossoms soon to come
As the ease of green washes over the landscape
Painting flesh over the bare bark
Furnishing shelter for the flocks and choruses

As the season advances
And the ground begins to warm
I miss the whisper of intrinsic beginnings

But I love the sounds of bullfrogs along the lake
And lightning bugs glittering the air
Storms cool with a sweet smell of rain
As thunder soothes my soul to rest

As the season advances
And the greens turn to colors again
I miss the laziness of heat and retreating naps in the shade

There's something perfect in this tulip

There is something quite perfect in this tulip. If you see it from a genetic glimpse, then you see where somewhere in it's germination the DNA faltered. This single red petal is caused by a mutation, and the imperfectness causes it to be different from the dozens of yellow tulips that surround it. Yellow tulips can be said to symbolize "bright thoughts." Red tulips "perfect love." Without this mutation there would only be a sea happy thoughts but instead there is a wave of perfect love as well.

Currently I feel an imbalance in my life. Something is not quite right, and my ability to handle changing environments has faltered. I am missing this red/yellow combination that this tulip has that makes it subtly more perfect than the others. It is a perfect balance.

*this photo was taken in Central Park, New York*

Trawl Net Adventure and Code Purple

Sarah, Amelea, and I (or formally known as "First Flight" or "Sky Island" people) went on an adventure to Wanchese yesterday. More specifically to the Fishing Industrial Park. This was not just a random adventure out, but yet we were looking for a trawl net with the grand idea in mind that we could suspend it from branches and create a "springboard" for our kids on Friday (today).

It took a few phone calls on Amelea's part to find Faron Daniels who runs the Wanchese Trawl and Fishing Supply store. She spoke with him on the phone and he invited her to drop by because of her slow accent over the phone. We ventured out and had an experience that will be kept in our memories for quite some time. Our first introduction to Faron was through a very intense, verbal argument he was having with a customer that had not paid his bill in over a year. Faron firmly told him that if he wasn't making enough money then he shouldn't be fishing. The man angrily left as Faron turned to the three of us, awkwardly posed in old fashioned chairs, and asked, "What do these boys want? Which one of you is Ohio (Amelea)?" He was friendly, in a very southern manner. If you're not from the South then this style of joking is with bold, can be taken as rude, comments from an already burly, inherently intimidating man. He guided us to the warehouse where all of the rope and nets are kept. A skinny dog tied to a rope wagged her tail and growled at us. Very mixed signals. He kept asking what size net we wanted, but we still weren't even sure he was just going to give some to us or if he expected a discounted price. Even when I asked him, he didn't give us a direct answer. In the end, he gave us 20 feet of brand new net, and offered his son up for marriage. We kindly declined and went on our way but not until after he asked us to return for a visit. We definitely are.

The actual net is suspended a couple of feet off of the ground. Although we have fit 7 adults on it at one time the plan was not to have more than 3-4 kids "learning to fly" on it at a time while we spot them from the edges. I can post a picture when I am able to get one.

Today was pretty sad. The smoke from the fire at Alligator River has caused a Code Purple warning. Which is the worst warning. The childcare centers are not allowed to let their kids out of the building because of hazards for children with respiratory issues. Our playwork narrative has been canceled for today, with hopes of re-scheduling for Monday. Everyone is pretty upset that we had to put our excitement on hold for each of our "play habitats", and we have been in front of our computers throughout the morning trying to upload photos and update blogs.

The weekend begins.

Viewpoint of an "IT"

Today our challenge took us into the enemy's territory. We actually had to create an enemy territory. All week we've been protecting ourselves from the mysterious "IT" creatures that lurk everywhere and today we had to place ourselves in their mindset in order to design an "IT" den. I was sort of lost on what to do until I saw Molly digging a "bathtub" in the black, moist mud. This area would be completely uninhabitable if it weren't for the roots of trees holding the earth together. The effect of this causes a vibration in the ground when it is walked/jumped on. So we cleared away the roots while some built a bridge from stray logs across a forbidden stream of mud. Some people have fallen in an ended nearly waist deep in mud.

And it smells. Bad.

What a great day.

Captivated in a world of play

So much has happened in the past few days!! I don't have a lot of free time, nor the energy during any extra half hour to update this. So I find that my list of things we have been doing is backed up pretty far.

Let's start with Friday; the reason I am here! Friday our first group of kids came to play in our play pockets. The Adventure Theater was a success, minus enthusiam from a child or two. But really I cannot say for those kids if they didn't enjoy the experience because perhaps they did. The first group did not have long enough to actually create or act a skit. The second group contained three gung-ho kids, two boys and girl. The girl had an incredibly imaginative mind and created all sorts of stories and a really cool "ant" type creature. The boys made bows and arrows and hunted down here creature in about 20 seconds and proceeded to smash it to pieces. The last group was filled with young girls who were shy and desired to be Indian queens and princesses. They didn't so much as act out characters or roles but I think they enjoyed holding royal staffs and wearing leaf crowns.

The other groups had some really cool things going on with a Bug City, a Fire Escape, a neat mud trampoline, and creating creature masks. Already we have re-grouped and have been conjuring up themes for this Friday's rendezvous in the woods.

I was pretty wiped by the end of Friday. Saturday we rose early to head to the waterside Farmer's Market. There were a lot of homemade crafts and a couple of produce stands. I imagined more people selling fresh shrimp and fish but that definitely was not the case. Still enjoyable. We walked back to the Guesthouse and prepared for the annual Crab Rodeo at Pea Island. Imagine a group of 12-15 college aged kids sitting along shallow, still water each latched to a piece of hemp string tied around a chicken neck. Kara used a plastic bag to "catch" the crabs as well pulled them out of the water and into the cooler. Eventually a car nearby let us borrow one of their nets. Overall we caught 8 big crabs, enough just for a taste. Some went wind surfing afterward, others to a lighthouse, and still more went to the kite flying at Jockey's Ridge. By the time the car with the cooler arrived to the house most of the crabs were dead and still some were dying. It ended as a fiasco and crabs were buried in the backyard.

Kite flying at Jockey's Ridge was phenomenal. We're not talking about tiny little kites you can make at home with tails and other weak sauces. These were HUGE!! There were squids, a whale, a scuba diver, and other various twirling and whirling kites.

Saturday night we ended with live music at a local, and very tiny, bar. There was barely room to fit our group comfortably plus a handful of locals. But we made it work, we are all proving to be comfortable near each other. Terry and Will met a man that takes sunset tours out on a sailboat and promised to take us Sunday night...for no cost!! We rode with other tour folk (several tipsy older couples) and it was one of the most relaxing experiences I've had. Smoke from the smoldering fire surrounded us but it hazed the ugly picture of mansions and hotels along the shore around us.

Yesterday we began Week 2 with Phil Waters, a brilliant playworker for the Eden Project in the UK. Check it out!! They have the largest indoor rainforest and the biomes are all "bubble" shaped to conform with the landscape. We have a narrative that we have been following the last couple of days, dodging and guarding ourselves from a population of "Its" that take the form of anything! My name in "Courterfall" (Waterfall = Courtney) and my powers (inspired by a small piece of the obituary page) allow me to cremate the Its. We're all totally into the narrative and have spent the past couple of days building the most pimped out fort, villages for our Guard Its (just accept it) and beach sculpture.

I am learning so much in a single day between the seminars and interactive sessions! I hate not updating frequently enough that I can do more creative reflection of the things we have done rather than just trying to list all of the things that have been going on. I reflect in excess amounts but we do so much here that most of it comes out.

But however I leave with one thought that occurred to me earlier: When captivated by a moment, where you become completely involved with what is "in hand", you are playing. It doesn't matter if you are in a formal work setting, school, climbing (for me), or whatever else you are playing. And play is a keystone for happiness. Do the things you love. It makes waking up each morning fun.

Status: Still a blast!!

"Today I saw the world differently because..."

I saw it from a picture frame. Literally!

Our first activity this morning (Thursday) had us taking foam boards cut and pieced into picture frames, and then we followed up by finding a stump, or a branch, or a bug, whatever interested us and placing the frame around it. It forced me to look closer to the intricate nature of the environment instead of just "trees and soil." Often I look through a broad scope instead of allowing myself to see details. In a science-y description I see populations not individuals. Today I saw the world as an individual. And I feel that I played with it the same as I had the opportunity to play with Terry and Debi while creating our skit for the "Adventure Theater" (actual name pending).

Everyone's play pockets came together today. In just a few hours everyone transformed the forest into other worlds and places inviting imaginative minds to wander through. I wish I had time to describe them all!

Yesterday (Wednesday): There were several highlights to yesterday. From games with Jess to seeing 6 bears at the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge! Afterward we drove down one of the main roads where the fire initially occurred. Bonnie (who works with the USFWS) describes it as a "moonscape." Some bases of trees still had small flames flickering around the bases. A few of us got out to take pictures which turned into drawing on each other with ashes. As hungry as we all were, it was great for us to take a few moments to play in the woods (what were once tall pines and thick vegetation).

Update about feelings toward the internship: Still incredible. This has gone beyond my expectations of experience and fun.