Days 1-7 |
Days 8-14 | Days 15-21
Reconstruction
Day 8: July 21
Author: Michele
Location: Chaolak
We arrived at the crack of dawn to Tony Lodge. After collapsing into bed for
a few hours, we were rounded up at about noon to go tour the city and witness
the damage caused by the tsunami. A, the leader of Chaolak’s DPF branch,
brough us to a number of devastated sites and introduced us to a couple of her
volunteers, making clear to mention their own personal losses from the wave.
The trauma put us all into a relatively pensive state as we continued the tour,
but after a swift lunch at the beach we seemed to be back in our element. Post
our beach lunch endeavor, we hopped in the van and made our way to one of the
camps where about 200 families are staying while their homes are being reconstructed.
The kids in the community had put together a number of dances. Alexis played
a good song. After dinner we returned to Tony’s and had a fabulous forum.
It was pleasant to be able to finally get to know the group on a deeper level.
Divide and conquer
Day 9: July 22
Author: Will
Location: Laem Pom, Khao Lak
Thoughts of the Day: We all arrived and separated into two groups almost immediately.
One group worked predominately on building the walls of a home and the others
hauled bricks and cleared rubble from around a home. We all were sweating in
the blistering heat and we had sore hands, backs and bodies. After lunch we
swam and tried some tightrope walking. Emily was stung by a jellyfish and Alexis
helped to ease the pain. We got to know the crew of volunteers who ranged from
US, Scotland, Canada, Switzerland, and more. We went to a funeral in the evening.
They had identified the body of a local man and we were invited to see the
ceremony.
On the move...
Day 10: July 23
Author: Noah
Location: "Sea Gypsy" Community north of Phuket
We drove south towards Phuket. We went to a community of “Sea Gypsies”,
essentially people who are constantly on the move and who live by and rely
on the ocean, and then we helped to build a library. We hauled sand, mixed
cement, and painted plywood. Some people bought handmade boats from local craftsmen.
We all swam in the ocean after the hard work. The sea had it’s way with
us. The waves were huge. Raz won the “stay standing as long as
you can” contest. Then we had a squeeze and a forum on homesickness.
Spicy Tummies
Day 11: July 24
Author: Lauren
Location: “Sea Gypsy” Community north of Phuket and
Patong Beach
We returned to our gypsy community to finish the library. We also picked up garbage
and painted a Lifework’s mural. Our plans didn’t run perfectly so
the group hit a bit of a low, howeber, things picked up when we got to Patong
Beach in Phuket. We swam, rode wave runners, went shopping, and watched a beautiful
sunset. We had our first day of sea-sickness though. Emily and Raz came down
with some spicy stomach.
play day!
Day 12: July 25
Author: Julia
Location: Ban Bang Muang
We started the day bright and early. Everyone was exhausted from the previous
two days of construction and driving. Energy was fairly low for the beginning
of the day. After leaving the two sick ones (Raz and Emily), we arrived in Ban
Bang Muang, where the children greeted us with their usual unending amount of
energy. We then divided into groups where we held eating contests, water balloon
tosses, crab tying contests, and a kid carrying contest. Most of us were full,
so eating was a problem. We had a child guided tour, which showed us their conditions
and two missionaries. During our free hour, we talked with some of the monks.
The second half of the day consisted of sports which were actually races. When
the activities were over, we had some free time many sat but Jess, Sophie and
Illana played Frisbee. It really became fun when we played with the older kids.
Some played soccer which truly proved how great these kids were on their feet.
We finished and went back to have dinner and danced. The forum was a good one,
putting what we’re doing into perspective. It made us realize why we are
here and we only have three weeks to give. We need to give it our all for these
kids who need it so badly…..time for bed.
If I had a boat..
Day 13: July 26
Author: Ella
Location: Ban Bang Muang, on a fisherman's boat
After sleeping in, which was greatly appreciated by most of the Lifeworkers,
and making a brief stop at Ban Bang Muang, we embarked our local fisherman boats.
We navigated for several hours under the boiling sun and the pouring rain before
arriving to a gorgeous and deserted beach filled with crabs in large quantities
and starfish. We had lunch on the beach and then swam to cool off. After that
we re-embarked on our boats and relaxed before we reached our next destination.
We stopped for a while and the Thai people along with Joe and Allison picked
muscles from the water. We did another final stop to attempt to catch fish which
was some what unsuccessful. One Thai person did catch a fish but it had to be
released back because it was toxic. After the boat ride we all went back to the
camp and played with the children before having dinner (and eating the muscles
that had been caught earlier). We finally got back to Tony’s Lodge and
did the squeeze and went to bed.
I thought we were snorkling..
Day 14: July 27
Author: Abby
Location: Boat/Cave/Waterfall
At the crack of dawn the Lifeworkers embarked on what they thought to be a
snorkeling trip, but they were oh so wrong. We once again began our day with
the van ride to a lovely boat where we relaxed for awhile and sun bathed on
the roof. The boat made a short visit to James Bond Island where we were attacked
by jewelry saleswomen. Then we stopped for a lovely lunch followed by some
adventurous cave action. They pointed out animal shapes throughout the cave
which was very cool. Then another van ride brought us to a gorgeous waterfall
where we swam and took cool pictures. Because we had an hour to kill before
dinner, the vans were to take us up mountainous terrain for some gorgeous scenery,
but unfortunately one van had to stay back because Alexis got a stomach-ache.
After dinner in a random restaurant (which happened to be the exact same meal
as lunch) we took a long ride back to Tony’s Lodge to squeeze and catch
some much needed zzzzz’s.
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