1,000 Steps

This Saturday, it was my room-mate's 39th birthday. She wanted to do something fun, so we decided to climb Pu Keng Mountain. It's one of the tallest mountains in the province. We piled up in the van with some local friends and headed to the mountain in the morning. Now, I knew it wasn't going to be some easy hike. So, I put on some tennis shoes, leggings, shorts, and a sporty shirt. Plus a hat. This attire means that Holli means business. I've got my backpack and water bottle. Ate some eggs, got my protein, and I'm ready to roll.

My room-mate was dressed similarly. Then? Our local friends show up. They look really cute. Cute, dressy tops. Jeans, cute shoes, and bedazzled hair clips. My first thought was... Well, this should be interesting once they start climbing.

On to the mountain! The mountain looked so mysterious and intimidating from the car. You couldn't see how far up it went into the sky because of the mist and clouds. We found the path and started our journey. Up, up, up. Slowly but surely. Up over 1,000 steep concrete steps to the top! At this point, my cute little friends weren't feeling so cute anymore. He he he!

They had signs for a "secret tunnel" and a cave near the top. In the Vietnam War, people lived in these tunnels and caves while the bombs were exploding around them outside. While we were climbing, we could see huge craters in the ground from bombs that had exploded in the past. It was fascinating to walk through this tunnel and the cave... Just to imagine how people ate and slept in such damp, dark places while the world outside was caving in.

Anyways! At the top of the mountain, the mist had cleared away. You could see out for miles! Rice fields, other mountains, small towns and villages in the distance. Wow. I know that it might sound cliche, but if you can see something like that and not think that God himself created it, then I wonder how you can believe in anything at all. True beauty.

At the end of the day, I had jello legs and slept in my hammock for a while.
If you can't seem to find something beautiful and good in this world, then climb to the top of a mountain and look around. The world won't seem so big and scary anymore. And you'll think... There is something more to this life. Something beautiful still exists.

Blisters and Backaches

Well! I certainly had an interesting day this past Sunday.

On Saturday, one of my favorite students and soccer players asked me to go to her farm with her. I told her I'd go and wanted to see what it was like. I got up early on Sunday morning and went to her house. Her family has 8 kids. We were all piled up in a truck. Haha! Pretty interesting experience in itself.

They had a pile of chopped off grass stalks in the back of the truck (along with half of her family). So, I asked what they were going to do with those. She told me we were going to plant them. I'm thinking... Oh, Ok. How hard can it be? Just stick some grass stalks into the ground and call it a day, right? Then I asked her how long we were going to be there. When she answered with "All day long," I began to doubt myself and wonder what I'd gotten into. There was no turning back at this point.

Next stop? The market. You gotta have something for later to eat. She and I got out of the truck and went to purchase some things. She said to me, "Do you like fish soup?" And I just told her I'll eat whatever she eats. We ventured to the back of the market where they have all these buckets full of fish, eel, and frogs. Alive. And picked up a couple of fish in a bag. Eventually, they stopped moving...

To the FARM! When I say farm, you're probably thinking of some nice little red barn and fences with chickens and pigs inside. Stalls with horses. Maybe a pond with some ducks. Meeeee toooooo. I thought this too. I was so incredibly wrong.

We turned off onto this really bumpy dirt road and stopped at a shack, got some hoes and shovels, and drove to the next bamboo hut thingy. And I took a look at the "field." Fallen trees everywhere. No gate or ladder to get over the barb wired fence. Just some tree branches to climb over. Thus began my first day in my life doing intense manual labor for 8 hours. FOR FREE... Haha. With small hoes and shovels, we plowed out rows of dirt and planted the entire truck full of grass stalks (which are itchy). We ate fish soup as a family outside on top of leaves. Apparently this is a make-shift picnic table. And we sat together squished into a hut and listened to the dad tell stories while it rained. Never in my life could I have experienced a day like this in the USA. I went home with a sore body and blistered hands and crashed at 8pm.

Experiencing life here makes me all the more thankful.
I've always had food on my plate, and my baby soft hands have never known such work.
Count your blessings...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Culture Shock.

So far, I've posted pretty positive things on this Blog. And, I have had some cool, fun experiences here. But, I just want to write a little bit about the difficulties of living here. It's not all glorious.

I'm 22 years old. I just graduated college almost 1 year ago. And here I am, little small-town Southern me, across the globe. What on earth did I get myself into? This is the question that I ask myself from time to time. It comes in waves and phases. As of late, I've had a heavy dose of culture shock!

MINDSET

Here, people like to laugh things off. If something bad happens, laugh about it. If you feel awkward or embarrassed, laugh. If you're angry, laugh. If you lose, laugh. SAVE FACE. Do whatever it takes to save face. Even if you have to lie. Save face for yourself and your family no matter what! This is pretty much opposite of USA culture. Yeah, I'm sure of it. In the USA, people teach you in school to speak your mind, be yourself, and take a stand for what you feel is right. Man, that'll earn you nothing but a friendless life here. But guess what? I'm not in Kansas anymore, guys. This is life for the next year and 8 months. And some days, the differences in mindset are not so noticeable. But some days, they do.

TOPICS

What do you usually talk about when you meet someone? A foreigner specifically. Maybe you talk about the weather first. What the weather is like at the moment. Then maybe you'll ask them what the weather is like where they are from. What's your name? Where are you from? Do you have any brothers and sisters? Where did you go to school? What did you major in? Etc. You know, small talk. I miss this. Haha! I never thought I'd say that. But, I miss small talk. It surely beats the pants off of being asked if you have a husband before anything else. Where do you work? Do you have a boyfriend then? How much money do you make? BAH! This is so so so different. If I come back and ask extremely personal questions the first day I meet you, then I apologize. But here, it's normal! A new normal.

MEAL TIME

Let's gather round the table, give thanks, and each have our own personal plate of food to devour. We can sit in chairs and have a grand ole time. This is America. He he he. You may be thinking... well how could it be so different where you are? It so is. First of all, everyone sits on the floor to eat. Either you sit on the floor or sit on a wicker/bamboo stool that's maybe 6 inches off of the ground. It's like being on the ground, but not. You may get your own spoon. Maybe. And you may get your own chopsticks. It just depends on the food offered. All of the food is sitting on the table. You just take bites of whatever you want. That's how it goes down brothas and sistas! And, there are no drinks... but there may be one glass. You down the drink in the glass and pass it to the next person. Same glass, 5-10 different folks. Don't worry. It's just building your immune system. That's all.

My sweet room-mate diagnosed me with culture shock tonight. He he. Yeah, she's right. It's when the differences just start to grate on your nerves, make you angry, sad, or whatever. Really, they make you feel like you're going insane. So, I wanted to let you in on a little sneak peak of my culture shock. This is real life: dealing with at least one of these differences on a daily basis. And this is just a small sampling of them. I'll spare you the gore and detail. Just know that after 4 months, it has hit me.

But, in the words of on of my best friends, Hope, "I'll be fine!"

The real issue lies in the fact that I copped a quarter of my thumb off today. Don't trim your bushes with a switchblade knife.

THUMBS UP SHAWTY! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 4 in 1

Wow, have I been busy this past week. The locals really know how to partay! I've been to parties everyday for about 4 days straight. When I say party, I don't mean some silly drop-in that you stop by and bring a gift to in the states. I mean... THROW DOWN! Sorry for my slang, but basically it means to party hard and long while giving partying utmost effort.

I'm talking about 10am-1am bashes. That's intense when it's happening for 4 days straight! Good thing I love a good party. The locals love to drink, dance, and eat together. So, we fried up some chicken feet and blared music all day long. I think I lost about 15% of my hearing in the process. SO MUCH FUN!

So, the tradition here is to pour water down the back or front of your friends for the New Year and wish them health, wealth, luck, and prosperity for the year. I h
ad wet clothes... underwear and all... for 4 days. People even rode around in trucks with buckets of water and water guns and had water wars around town. LOOK OUT if you're on your motorbike!

Speaking of motorbikes, I'm officially a BIKER CHICK! Look out Myrtle Beach! Summer 2015, I'm joining the fun!

 Before the big shabang partying began, I got a chance to go to the temple or "wat" with one of my good friends. We are both wearing the local dress. I don't have a shirt like her's because I'm too chunky! HE HE HE! In those baskets, there are dollars, snacks, drinks, sticky rice, and flowers for the monks. I just borrowed a basket for the picture. But, this experience at the temple was pretty amazing.

All of the people stand in 2 extremely long lines. They await approaching a set of long tables that have many bowls and baskets on them. In each basket, they place a ball or rice, a snack, or money. First, they pinch off the rice. Then, they touch the tip of their forehead with the rice and say a little blessing. Lastly, they drop the rice in the basket. They repeat the ritual until all the contents of their basket have been given. 

STRANGE????.... yeah. But this ritual is common here. 

Tri-lingual Adventures

Day trips are superb. Especially when the people you go with speak different languages. We had a van full of 8 people heading out to see the Plain of Jars and some awesome views around the Province. I loved site seeing and being able to explore the country a little more. What made this trip most interesting was the diversity!!!! Diverse-City is what it felt like.

Chinese
English
Lao
and a little Bahasa Malaysia

What on earth is a girl to do? Well, thank God that smiles and laughter are universal. I think that by the end of this experience, I'm gonna be a beastly charades player. My mom always tells me, "I just don't see how you were able to communicate at all." Me neither, momma! It's an act of the Lawd most high!

People are bonded by togetherness, food, and a tid bit of crazy-funny. If you have the ability to entertain people without words, then you have the upper hand here. Ha ha! Lucky for me, JC blessed me with super amounts of silly insanity.

I recommend that everyone should go on at least one Tri-lingual adventure in his or her lifetime.

Sometimes, I just wanna speak Spanish

I'm not sure if you've ever had this experience before, but I'd like to think it's more common than not.

English is my mother tongue/ first language. You all know this. And in elementary school, middle school, high school, AND college, I studied significant amounts of Spanish.

Long story short, I know more Spanish than I do the local language here. It's just easier. The words are pretty similar, and the alphabet is the same. THE ALPHABET IS THE SAME! That is such a blessing. I never want to hear anyone complain about Spanish being difficult ever again in my life. It's really not that hard. There are no tones and you don't feel like you're going to swallow your tongue when you speak it.

Anyways! In my mind, I go through this process when I'm speaking my new language. I listen to the person I'm talking to, I think of a response in English, then I think.... How on this Earth do I say that in this language? I know how to say it in Spanish. Maybe if I say it in Spanish, they will somehow understand.

Guaranteed fail every time, but goodness people! Sometimes I just wanna speak Spanish!!!!!!

                                                                        END RANT

"Don't go chasin' waterfalls"

I don't know if you remember that TLC song from the 90's, but I loved it! Still do. And, when I was little, I used to think it said "Don't go, Jason Waterfall." Jason Waterfall would've been the coolest name ever though, right?

Anyways, there are no typical Western "fun" things to do here. KFC and McD's haven't even breached the realms of this country yet. Nor have any movie theaters, mini-golfs, malls, bowling allies, arcades, or anything like that. So, you gotta make your own fun! The task sounds like a beautiful challenge to me :D :D :D :D :D

PLAIN OF JARS

Locals LOVE to go to the Plain of Jars and take photos/picnic. Basically, there are all these huge jars that have been carved out of stone and placed on hills for some unknown reason. Maybe graves, maybe a water storage system, maybe some kind of religious ceremonial grounds. So mysterious! Put a Holli in a place like this and this is what happens... Push ups, baby!

WATERFALLS

We've been having some pretty awesome adventures here in the beautiful Asia. You kind of have to be creative when there's literally nothing "entertaining" to do. The plus side of this is that you get to enjoy some pretty amazing scenery and great views. Since it's not rainy season, the water level's lower and the falls are smaller. Cool thing about that is getting to climb down the rocks (in flip flops) and explore all the parts of the waterfalls! B-E-A-you-tee-ful!

                                                                       Free Fallin'

                                              

Funny story to go along with this one. One of my friends who went with us doesn't have the best balance. And, we didn't exactly have safety nets or anything to hold onto. Ok, so, my friend is doing the whole arm flailing thing that you do to balance yourself right before you fall a WHOLE LOT. I'm thinking... she's gonna bust it man. Just wait. Plus, she's wearing a ghetto version of Croc's. That's a recipe for certain disaster at all times. I made it do this awesome ledge that looks like a smaller version of Pride Rock and have my feet dangling into the water when I hear.... THUD! Homegirl just hit the ground. Fell right into a large puddle. And man, it wasn't one of those "I'm good, I'm good" hop right back up falls. She went down and stayed down for a hot minute. ~END
                                              This pic was taken moments before the fall.

TEMPLE LIFE

I'm from the South, and there are literally churches an every street corner. Well, this aint the South! Welcome to the Temple Belt of the world. So, what does one do with so many temples? I've seen some crazy art and crazy looking rituals, BUT! the single-most appealing and tempting thing that I've laid my eyes on has been the gong tower! Three stories high. Tight swirly steps going all the way to the top. A big chime at the bottom. AND a huge drum at the very top! Fully equipped with golden dragons and elaborate decor. And you wonder why A.D.D kids have so much trouble concentrating. Shiny? Drum? OK, I'm going up!!!! My language helper told me I'm sooooo naughty! Tee hee hee hee hee!