240 Kilometer canoe trip!

Early morning pre-heat=happiness

Last week Paul and I both had vacation time and were looking for an adventure.  We found our answer through a random stop at a canoe maker in a city near the border of Myanmar called Sangkhlaburi. To our surprise when we walked into the Sanghalei Canoe & Kayak Company we met a pleasant Canadian man named Brent. We explained to him our goal of completing the journey from Sangkhlaburi to Kanchanaburi and he chuckled a jolly laugh and promptly pulled everything together to enable us to embark on our journey the next week.

April 25th: Bright and early we were sent off from the guesthouse pier and enjoyed a beautiful day of canoeing Khao Laem Lake.  We encountered some frustrating wrong turns as we tried to navigate the lake through dry season with a map that vaguely resembled what was the current reality.  After a lunch of homemade tortillas, mangoes and oatmeal we enjoyed a tail wind that brought us to an island 5 kilometers or less from Paul's Peace Corps village.  We took a swim/shower and enjoyed the beautiful sunset.  We were proud of our first camping dinner, a combination of crushed black beans and ramen.  Exhausted we crawled in the ten and could barely stay awake until 8pm.  

Paul getting his paddle on.

April 26th: We woke up bright and early to capitalize on the calm morning and cooler temperatures.  Today was spent navigating around islands and  inlets.  The heat was intense and shade was lacking.  Paul managed to take refuge from the elements in a cave during our swim/lunch break.  We were quite disoriented on the lake and took a wrong turn towards the dam.  Luckily, we realized it quickly and didn't have to backtrack far.

April 27th: We met Brent for a portage around the dam at a small town called Tongphaphum. Although it was only 2 days on the lake I felt like a cave woman as I reentered society and sat in a CHAIR while eating food at a restaurant.  After restocking our supplies we headed to the river and were quite overjoyed to see it moving quite fast!  The rest of our day was spent merely steering our way through the windy river wishing we had bought cold beers to enjoy our float trip. The scenery was beautiful lots of tropical birds, high mountains and jungle. 

April 28th: More of the same blissful currents and swimming breaks.  We pirated onto a floating hotel and ate lunch in a hammock.  Paul enjoyed looking at each and every hotel!

Watching the beautiful sunset from our island campsite on day 1

April 29th: River honeymoon over (well kind of)! The river unexpectedly widened and the current slowed WAY down! The mountains fade away and we find ourselves surrounded by farm land.   Not all is lost we enjoyed seeing water buffalo and elephants escaping the heat in the river.  

April 30th: Where the hell are we?  The river has taken us on a convoluted, windy course.  Kanchanaburi (our final destination) feels like it should be around any corner yet, it never appears.  We are still enjoying the river but, ready to shower and eat "farang" foreign food.

Paul enjoying our daily swimming break.

May 1st:  Man, are we ready for Kanchnaburi.  We flag down nearly every fisherman we pass to gauge our location and every person gives us a different answer.  However, we gather from all the sources that Kanchanaburi will be attainable to reach today!  After some vicious stretches of head winds and running on almost zero for food. We are relieved to start seeing more houses and karaoke boats, a sign of civilization.  We arrive in Kanchanaburi excited but completely disorientated.  With no fanfare we high five and get a picture, pull our canoe up and indulge in a cold beer and papaya salad to celebrate!

A typical view during our lake portion of the journey

Mango Season!

Bountiful mango trees

Mango season is in full swing here in Thailand.  Which means mango trees are overflowing with this sweet, delightful fruit.
 For less than .25 cents I purchased 5 mangoes from my local market just yesterday!

One of the joys of living in a tropical climate is getting to experience a plethora of new fruits and veggies that are usually way to expensive to risk buying in a grocery store in the Midwest.

 Without further ado I would like to introduce to you one of my new, favorite fruits...the mangosteen

The mangosteen in all is glory (Google image)

Thailand take 2

Hello to all after a long hiatus of traveling I am back in the blog world.  Once my computer arrives I will try to do a photo summary of the last 6 months of adventures around Nepal and India.

I am currently sitting at a desk in air conditioning at my new job as a high school English Teacher in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.  It was definitely not something I intended to do, move to Thailand and teach English  however, I am satisfied with my situation.  It is looking to be a good year.

Paul and I celebrating Songkran

What the hell is Songkran?
Songkran is the traditional Thai new year.  The way it is celebrated is like most holidays with a lot of alcohol and music.  The difference is the entire country of Thailand has a water fight.  Literally everyone everywhere is throwing water at each other.

It is considered a blessing when someone douses you so, after getting a bucket of water thrown at you, you say thanks and carry on.  On top of that our faces are smeared with a fragrant chalkesque substance, I guess you could say its the cherry on top of the blessing.

I loved this holiday and would highly advise America to adopt it! :

Stories of Courage

This week was great. I had the opportunity to join the "that takes ovaries" campaign and head into the villages around Delhi that we work with.
Through a 4 day workshop we encouraged the women and girls of the village to share stories of courage. This is what we got:
Day 1: Adolescent Girl’s Session
Shared Stories of Courage:
Rakhi’s Story: Two boys were doing acid I told them not to and because of my persistence they eventually stopped.
Teku and Kaishma’s Story: Our parents wouldn’t let us do anything, not even leave the house to visit our grandparents.  We stood our ground and continuously demanded to be able to go out.  Eventually my sister and I made the decision that it was our right to be able to leave our house so, we went out.  Our parents realized that we were capable and continued to let us leave.

Bhauti’s Story: My uncle would drink and when he drank he would beat his wife.  I saw this happening and didn’t think it was right. So, eventually I got up the courage and told my uncle to stop. He listened and stopped.

Phuspa’s Story: My brother was smoking, drinking and not going to school.  My parents were very frustrated with his behavior and responded by beating him.  It wasn’t helping my brother wasn’t changing his behavior.  I noticed this and told my mother that instead of violence she needs to talk to him.  My mother took my advice and through talking to him he listened and now goes to school and stopped drinking.  
Muskaan’s Story: I was walking with my mother when I noticed a small child in the road and saw that a car was coming towards him.  I saw that he was going to be hit so I let go of my mother’s hand and rushed over to the small child and saved him from being run over by the car.

Mamata’s Story:  I was really sick for a long time but my husband and mother in law didn’t take my illness seriously and continued to make me do all the housework regardless of my condition. My husband was very lazy and would smoke and drink all the time.  I realized this isn’t how I want to be treated so, one day I stood up for myself and returned to my family’s home. My husband was shocked and came to get me when he came I told him I would to go unless he changed his behavior and started treating me better. He was very surprised but agreed and now we are back living together and his behavior is much better.

Megha’s Story: I am a good student and enjoy going to school.  Because of my high scores the other students make fun of me. One day I stood up for myself and said “I’m good at what I do, don’t make fun of me.” Since that day I have the prestigious role of classroom monitor.

Kajal’s Story: My family didn’t have enough money for me to go to school but, I really wanted to go. So, I saved up all my pocket money, I never bought candy or anything and eventually I saved enough to pay for my school tuition. Now I am going to school and paid my own dues.

Momal’s Story: I was at the market and noticed a man drop his money. I grabbed the money and ran after the man and returned it to him.  I could have kept it but I knew it wasn’t mine.

Feelings/Reactions to stories:
“I’m proud of Mamta’s story of leaving her husband now he knows he can’t abuse her.  Her story is important for all of us because it could happen to any of us and we must have courage so stand up for ourselves.”
“I liked the story of saving the child.  It was very courageous and she saved a life.”
“I liked sharing my story because it felt good to open my heart and let out something so personal.”

Indian Rupees

Money Quirks:

Well, hello there Ghandi!
(Photo taken from Wikipedia)

India is a quirky place.  With that statement this blog could be quite long but, I will focus on the quirkyness of money in India.


The first quirk is the ubiquitous issue of change.  Everyday I must start my day by strategizing how I will obtain small bills in order to barter effectively for that day.  In the USA  most store owners forsee that they will need change throughout their day. Therefore, they make it a point to set up their cash registers appropriately so, as not to hinder business.
But, in the land of India the responsibility falls on the customer to have exact change. Many a time I have been turned away because I didn't have exact change for the item I had hoped to buy.

Ripped Bills:
Quirky India two revolves around ripped bills. Never before have I had to be so diligent in checking over every last paper rupee I receive to assure that there isn't the slightest rip.  People are constantly rejecting currency due to tears rendering it useless.  This means that being the unaware, foreign lady I have received a lot of reject money due to my ignorance of this issue. I am happy to report I am now a rupee nazi, turning paper money down left and right!

Currency Exchange:
After spending the better part of an hour wandering around trying to exchange my last chunk of Nepalese Rupees for Indian Rupees with no luck, I learned about the prohibition of importing or exporting Indian Rupees. 

Human Trafficking FAQS

Namaste,

Photo from worldvision

I am currently in Delhi, India interning with the organization Apne Aap, an ngo that combats sex trafficking. I encourage you to check out their website here to learn more.

Apne Aap means "self help" in Hindi and their focus is on increasing choices and opportunities for women in prostitution and/or their children.

The issue of human trafficking  is one of the biggest injustices of our time and it is only increasing.  I feel more attention needs to be brought to this cause to end the suffering of millions of people.

Posted are some FAQS regarding this booming industry.I hope these numbers shock you into action or at the very least encourage you to research more into this issue.


FAQS:

What is trafficking?

Although various sources and people have multiple definitions, the UN Protocol’s definition is widely cited stating:

“Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour, or services, slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.”

Elements of Human Trafficking

v  The Act (What is done)

           Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons

v  The Means (How it is done)

           Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or                  vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim

v  The Purpose (Why it is done)

           For the purpose of exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others,

How many people are trafficked every year?

•   It is difficult to get an exact number due to the underground nature of the industry. However, it is estimated 10-30 million people are living in slavery NOW. (Multiple sources: ILO, Siddharth Kara, Kevin Bales)

Who are the trafficked?

• According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(A Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 12 February 2009, the most common form of human trafficking today (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls.

•   A child is trafficked every 30 seconds (UNICEF)

                                                                                        

Why are they trafficked?

•   There are at least 12.3 million adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor and commercial sexual servitude at any given time.( United States Department of State, The 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (2010), citing ILO statistics)

•   Economic profitability: Human Trafficking is a 32 billion dollar per year industry.  (The United Nations)

Where is this happening?

•  Human trafficking affects every country of the world, as countries of origin, transit or destination - or even a combination of all (UNODC).

What is the world doing about it?

•   At the international level, the adoption in 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women and Children marked a significant milestone in international efforts to stop the trade in people.

•   Each national government that has ratified the UN protocol is now setting up National Plans of Action and changing the law to:

             · Prevent trafficking in persons

             · Protect trafficked persons

       · Prosecute traffickers and end users

At the national level, governments around the world are passing new laws to punish traffickers and demand. Some of the countries that have addressed demand successfully include: Sweden, South Korea, Phillipines, Chile and East Timor


What can you do about it?

• Sign Apne Aap's petition here.  This petition will be presented to the Indian Parliament in an effort to ammend the Indian Immoral Traffic Prevention Act.  The ammendment aims to take the criminalization off of the women and onto the traffickers. 

• Educate yourself:  Read the state department's TIPS Report (Trafficking in Persons), google search: human trafficking, pick up a book on the issue.

• Write your representative:   In the USA state law dictates the penalties for traffickers and prostitutes.  Research the laws and write your representatives to put pressure on them to make the laws more stringent towards traffickers and pimps.

What the heck is a eunuch.

Eunuchs:
The other day I was reading the always enlightening newspaper The Delhi Times.  The front page article was about a large fire that had broken out and 16 eunuchs died. Read story here. Which led me to my next question what the heck is a eunuch?

Picture from: www.hijrasofindia.wordpress.com

This bizarre phenomenon has been happening for thousands of years in various countries throughout the world.  The word eunuch is derived from the Greek language and means "bed keeper".  These people were literally men that were castrated when they were young in order to lose their sexual desires which enabled them to "watch over" the harems of women.

This is still occurring in modern times. From what I understand in India the eunuch community actively continues to promote this practice in order, to bring more numbers into their minority population.

Inquiring minds may want to know...

Eunuch Lane in Bombay has more than 2,000 eunuchs in prostitution. The eunuchs, or hijras, have deep religious roots in Hinduism. As young boys they are abandoned or sold by their families to a sex ring and taken into the jungle, where a priest cuts off their genitals in a ceremony called nirvana. The priest then folds back a strip of flesh to create an artificial vagina. Eunuchs are generally more available to perform high-risk sex than female prostitutes, and some Indian men believe they can’t contact HIV from them. (Robert I. Freidman, "India’s Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to An AIDS Catastrophe," The Nation, 8 April 1996)