Female Buddhist Monk and TB Hospital

I hope everyone is happy in their nooks in the world You are probably getting sick of my emails but here is the next one whether you like it or not. We are in the beach town of Sa-am which is only about 3 hours from Bangkok. It rained a little today and the waves aren't that great but it is nice to be able to relax a little from the schedule that we have had lately. We just went to a restaurant where a woman was singing Karen Carpenter and John Denver songs. It has a different feel when it is in a Thai accent and L's sound like R's; other than that she sounded pretty good.Yesterday we went to the Chest Disease hospital and met with the smartest man that I probably have ever met. He treated the doctor that was the first doctor to treat SARS and is important in the control of the avian flu. It sounds pretty scary this bird flu. they estimate 300 million deaths if it ever turns into a pandemic becuase it kills over 1/3 of the patients with the disease. At least I will probably be working in the hospital then and exposed to the patients with the disease at that point and won't miss all of the excitement. He then took us to see patients and tested our clinical skills (which I don't really have after one year of medicine). We saw HIV patients with Pneumocystis pneumonia which you don't see in the states because of the availibility of antiretroviral drugs. A rare case of fibrocystic lung from scleroderma. And a man who has to get a lung removed because of tuberculosis that had ruptured one of his lungs. It was pretty sad, but he will feel much better after he gets it out.That night we went to Siam Center which was a fancy mall in Bangkok. They had all of the stores of an upclass new york department store: Armani, Ferarri, Lamborgini, etc. We then took Tuk-tuks (motorcyce rickshaws) to the golden palace in bangkok. It was pretty intense as they raced through traffic, cut off cars and weaved to get in infront of the first line of cars at the stop light. Definitely an awesome way to experience Bangkok.This morning we went and saw the only ordained female monk in Thailand. She was ordained in Sri Lanka because they aren't allowed to be ordained in Thailand because of tradition. It was interesting because she was a mother to 3 kids and a grandmother of 1. She was also a TV reporter back in the day. When her kids were grown she left and became a monk which means denying yourself of all attatchments like family. They come and visit now and again, but she isn't as involved in their lives as a normal Thai grandma. She has two ladies studying under her at the monestary. She was very intelligent. She had a PhD in philosophy and religion from a university in canada. It was interesting because we were able to ask her very frank questions. She said that she believes in providence meaning that things always work out in the end. She said that she didn't know if it was God or not (buddhists don't profess to believe in diety.) But she felt that providence, karma, and/ or God was helping her do her work. When asked about Buddhist philosophy about the beginning of the world such as evolution or creation she said "Why ask questions about things that we will never be able to prove either way. The solution will not change how you live your life. Focus on what is happening now and fix what you can." They said that their focus is about fixing yourself through medition and work.Interesting philosophies, and I think that the middle road concept is a good idea and would think that it could help the obesity problem in our country.Well I will probably write again next week. Scott

AIDS Hospice

Today we went to a Buddhist temple in Lompamburi that also serves as an AIDS hospice run by monks and staff. Some people come because they can't pay for AIDS medications, others come because their communities reject them, and some people are left by their relatives at the doorstep and never return. It is a really beautiful but emotionally hard place. We went and talked to people with severe stages of AIDS. Most of them couldn't speak. You could see their bones through their skin, Koposi's sarcomas on their skin, and many lost bowl control. One man was trying to drink soda pop for some nourishment and kept throwing up and they had a hard time getting him to keep from wasting away. Another 16 year old girl was mentally retarded and got AIDS from the man who raped her. She was crying in pain unconsolably. It was so hard to see.We talked to a 29 year old woman who got married to a man when she was 15. The man had slept around before they got married and had AIDS though nobody knew about it. He cheated on her again and they divorced leaving her with AIDS and a child. When she got sick, her exhusband's family took away her son (which she doesn't know if he has AIDS because they haven't let her see him for the last 5 years). Her family took away all of her belongings and told her that they wanted her to die. They wouldn't take care of her when she got sick and told her that she was only a burden. The people in her town tell her that she is ugly and hold their hands infront of their mouths as they pass her because they dont want to "catch" AIDS. She is incredibly skinny with the weight that she lost and she is too far gone to take antiretrovirals. All she can do is wait for death. She said living in the hospice is good because everyone accepts everyone and helps each other. They have become each others family. She says it also scares her to death as she sees people in worse conditions than her and people die because she knows that she will have to pass through the same conditions. It was quite hardWe talked to multiple people with similar stories. All said that they wouldn't go back to their homes even if they could because of the rejection they felt. They said the hospital was their family. They helped with everyone in the "hospital" and the children's hospice. They said they lost a 4 year old last month and that this year they had lost 11 people so far. 11 of their friends and "family" who they watched suffer with the same fate that they would face.We went to a buddha statue that had thousands of bags of ashes of cremated bodies that their families wouldn't come get to bury. I lost it there. It was so hard to see so many people who had to die whose family had rejected them to the point that they wouldn't even collect th eir remains. Many people would say that AIDS is their fault because they had sex, they took drugs, it was karma or God's curse on these activities. They are people not sins

AIDS Hospice2 and Chinese medicine hospital

My card ran out yesterday so here is some more updates.Anyways at the AIDS hospice they had sculptures made out of the bone fragments of AIDS patients which was a little disturbing, they then had body parts in formaldehyde of AIDS patients which was pretty disturbing, and then they had a different museum with naked stuffed bodies of AIDS patients with their pictures when they were alive which was very disturbing. Especially it was weird to see the ones that had sex change operations.That same day we went to some cool ruins that had hundreds of monkeys running all over. I felt like I was in a Indiana Jones movie. The monkeys were pretty funny until they would jump on you. They were a lot calmer than i thought that they would be though. They jumped on one girl in our group and wouldn't let go of her hair. Another girl was wearing a skirt and the monkeys would grab on the edges. I had one or two jump up on me. They didn't bite, but it was a little unnerving. there were tons of baby monkeys too. It was pretty cool.Today we went to the traditional chinese medicine hospital. It makes you look at alternative medicine in a different light when it is in a place that was as professional, hospital smelling, and with doctors rushing around with too many patients for the time they had. It was interesting we saw acupuncture with the burning incents on top of the pins, herbal pharmacy with over 500 medicines including gecko on a stick and antelope horn, cupping where they burn a match and create a negative pressure in a cup which pulls up the skin into the cups, and of course massage. these doctors would see over 100 patients in less than 6 hours. We also got some acupuncture done. I was healthy so they just put the pins in my arm. However, some students wanted to try to fix their ailments one girl had pins in her head for dizziness (it only ended up giving her a headache) Another guy had a bad back and they did a rolling needle device which punctured his skin and then put the cups on his back. it sucked the "bad blood' out and gave him a hicky on his back that will last a couple of days and he said that he actually felt worse. some of the patients we talked to swore that acupuncture had helped them incredibly. One woman who had suffered stroke said that it had stimulated her nerves in way that she was able to walk again. Another lady who was in for treatment of arm weakness said that it had given her a lot more strength and the herbal medication actually turned her white hair back again. It was interesting lecture that we had also about the Yin and Yang of the body and the universe. it makes you wonder and there probably is a place for it in medicine, but i think there probably needs to be a lot of research done.we also went to the slums of bangkok today where in one slum 100,000 people live. we visited an NGO that is working with the people to help schools, community projects, and housing rights for the people. they also do AIDS and drug campaigns to help the people. i just could n't believe that there were that many people living in make shift housing in the swamp lands. The tin roof houses were right next to each other, garbage was everywhere, and the water underneath the houses smelled terrible. with the polution of bangkok and close living conditions made it a huge problem for tuberculosis and respiratory problems, and dengue fever.

Burma and Refugee Camp

Yesterday we went to the market at the border of Burma and Thailand. One of the guys in our group had to renew his visa so he was going to cross. The people at the Thai customs said that there really wasn't anything to see and was $12 to cross. We were debating on whether to cross the bridge over the river that separates the two countries. I figured that I probably would regret for the rest of my life if I passed up this opportunity so I went which I am glad that I did. Borders are so crazy: even though we were only a hundred yards from Thailand, the people looked different, they dressed differently, they spoke a different language, they used a different alphabet(if you can call it that), their temples and buddha looked different, and they even had a different attitude than the people in Thailand. They were more out spoken (kind and respectful but more aggresive for business). Some of the women and children had their faces painted white, and the men and women wear surrongs(spelling?) We got over there and saw one of the temples which their buddha looks for feminine than the Thai buddha and has a dot on his forehead(Indian like). I forgot to mention that when we got to the border, the Myanmar border control took our passports and $10, so we were traveling around without our passports which made me feel uneasy. They did this because they only allowed us one day into Myanmar and figured that this is the best way to keep us out of their country. As we were wandering around, I could help from feeling overwhelmed to think that these people had a tyranic government that only took advantage of them and caused fear and I was there as a tourist. It was no wonder that people were crossing the border illegally through innertube taxis on the river below the bridge. I know that with all of the horrible things about the government in Myanmar, I still feel intrigued about the country and wanted to spend more time.After Burma, we went to a national park and say a huge waterfall in the same style as Havasue Pai (limestone and red mud cascade.) It was a blast. It was great to see the country like this. We stopped and took pictures in this guys rice paddies. I think that rice paddies are incredibly beautiful the way that they form different evelated layers of lakes of bright green rice plants. Maybe it is because they are so different than anything that I have ever seen.Today we went and watched how they spray homes for mosquitos. We went to an old woman's house that had walls of criss crossed palm leaves for walls on three sides of the house, an open side facing her crops and a roof made from shingle like arrangements of stacked leaves. They used to use DDT to spray the homes until 1998, but now the use less effective sprays to not hurt the environment. Many people debate whether or not they should use DDT because if they don't spray the crops and only spray the homes, there would be more insect repellant coverage for the humans and less exposure to the environment (less soft shelled song bird eggs) Many people can't understand how the government will protect animals while their children are dying from malaria. It is an interesting debate. After watching the spraying, we went to a muslim neighbor hood in Mae Sod with an entomoligist to look for mosquito larvae in standing water pools. We found tons of larvae in old tires, water pitchers that they catch rainwater for drinking, and pets dishes. The mosquitos that lay eggs in man made containers cause Dengue fever while the mosquitos that cause malaria only lay eggs in mud and the natural environment.After this we went for a drive around the refugee camps. We couldn't go in because there is a huge load of paper work and security that goes involve in order to protect the refugees from the Burmese government spies and possible people trying to hurt them. The camp itself is huge and looks more like a city of thatched roofs. It was very clean and looked like a great place to live from the outside. As we drove passed the barbed wire fences, we waved to waved to the men, women, and children and they enthusiastically waved back. They seemed very happy. We saw groups of kids playing soccer and the camp was bordered by a jungle and steep cliffs so it seemed like the people could use the land to grow food. I thought that the security and the money of the camp along with natural resources were a lot better than the harrassment of the Burmese army, relocating every 3 months, and sicknesses that they had to experience while in Myanmar. This is only an outside perspective and it would be very interesting to hear what the people had to say. This camp has been around for over a decade. With the situation in Myanmar it is interesting that we don't hear about it anymore. I guess Iraq, Iran, and Afganistan have pretty horrible situations too.

Burma border

Right now I am at an internet caf� across the street from a bar where a Thaiman is singing Jimmy Buffet songs. This town that I am in now is probably thecoolest and craziest place I have seen yet. There are no tourists. The onlywhite people are the aid workers from the various NGO's in the area helpingthe Burmese refugees. Today as I walked through the market. I was prettyovercome by the different smells and sights of Asia. I say Asia because thereare Thai's, Burmese, Indians, Bangladeshians, and Chinese from what I can tellfrom the faces and the clothing. Many people have their faces painted withwhite mud to protect them evil spirits. The streets are narrow with vendersselling chickens (live and dead that have been sitting out for days),cockroaches, snakes, frogs (fried and hopping) and tons of fish of anincredible variety. I could sit and watch these people for hours. I havelearned to ask simple direction and barter in Thai, but I don't understandwhat they say back and it is pretty funny. To tell you about my weekYesterday we were in Lampang. We learned about occupational health here inThailand and saw a couple of factories and the working conditions of theartisans who make the things you see in the market. It was pretty crazy.They had a stone lathe that would cut these stone bowls. They were outsideand had the craziest electrical system that I have ever seen.We are in Mae Sot which is on the border with Burma (Myanmar for all of youwho agree with the current dictatorship about how "Burma" represents theEnglish colony.) Today was one of the best days because we got to meet someincredible people. We met a lady who left Burma in 1988 because thegovernment was killing all of the people and students who wanted democracy.She came to the border and started a clinic to help the refugees and migrantworkers. Now the clinic has grown to have 40 inpatient beds, an operatingroom (very rustic), a delivery room and pediatric clinic. It was awesome.She also started a school to help the Burmese illegal immigrants on theborder. The immigration situation is very interesting in Thailand. First ofall they don't allow any person who isn't Thai become a citizen. Companiesthat employ foreign workers have to pay higher health insurance for theseworkers (to encourage them to higher Thais) but it evens out because they paythem a lot less. This way it doesn't strain the Thai's health system. Itisn't a bad idea. They also had a prosthetics clinic to help all of thepeople who lost limbs from land mines. The people that were making theprosthetics had wooden limbs themselves. It was great to see that people whohad fake limbs make and train other who suffered from the same situation.There were a couple of fourth year medical students from Europe doingrotations in this clinic. Maybe I will get to come back also.We then went to an organization that trains backpack medics that go into Burmato treat the people that are being neglected and discriminated by thegovernment. The Burmese government forces these indigenous people into forcedlabor, routine raping of the women, and burns their food sources to keep themfrom "becoming a possible threat." It is terrible. The World HealthOrganization ranked Burma's health situation next to last in the world. Themultiple tribes of people have to relocate their towns 3 times a year in orderto keep from becoming slaves to their government. They aren't a threat, onlyan easy target. This organization trains backpack medics which are peoplefrom these villages to bring medicines, teach health practices, and helpdeliver babies. They said that in the last 3 years that they have had 8 oftheir backpack medics killed. They usually die by either by the army shootingthem down or by the many landmines that are through out Burma. It is aterrible situation. These groups of medics haul 220 pounds of medicalsupplies through the mountains of Burma looking to help the people. One ofthe tribes by the way are the Karen's, no joke. It isn't pronounced the sameway, but it is interesting. It was incredible how organized this group wasand the records that they kept. I think that it would be interesting to doresearch with this group about the diseases of oppression.

Diarrhea in a monks squatting toilet

We went to Chaing Dao in the northern part of Thailand for the last couple of days. There is tons of AIDS cases here 1000 and there are only 70,000 people.We went with the hospital education committee to a buddhist temple to teach the community about AIDS, give free tests and talk about tuberculosis. It was great because the whole town came out and we kneeled in the temple and talked.I had my traditional traveler's diarrhea for the trip and it had to hit me with in the middle of this talk. I had to go ask the monks in the wat to use thier toilet. It turns out that you have to squat on the toilet in order to go. I thought that it was going to be awful that my legs would go numb. However, maybe it was the pain was relieved or the monks chanting in the background, but I felt very relaxed and I think that it might be the way to go. I got back to the talk and enjoyed the rest of the night. It has been plain rice and coke for me for the last couple of daysThe next day we talked to the director of the hospital who talked about the situation with AIDS in the community. He talked about how they are solving AIDS with the volunteer health workers and the free once a year tests or you can get one at the hospital. Thailand has started makin thier own antivirals to treat AIDS and treatment is only about twenty bucks a month in comparison to the $2000 in the US a month. They use US antiretrovirals after they show drug resistance to the Thai drugs. We also went on a tour of the hospital where we got to see the dentists office. Their was a monk getting work done by a woman, which is pretty ironic because women aren't allowed to touch them.We asked why she could do this, the dentist said that he had no choice. Most dentist in Thailand are women.We then went to the AIDS orphanage where we met the Thai catholic nun who takes care of over 50 kids whose parents died of AIDS. Families usually take care of the orphans however, because of the cost of AIDS medications they can't afford to have the kids. So they leave them at the orphanage. Sometimes ,for some strange reason, the kids after recieving care don't present with the AIDS virus after a couple of months. They are then adopted by foreign families. Unfortunately this is pretty rare, and they usually take antivirals for the rest of their lives. They lost a 6 year old last month. The nun was still very distraught because of it and she kept asking if we heard about new drugs and our opinion about antivirals on the market. We then went to see the kids at school. These kids because of the stigmas of AIDS have to go to their own school. It was great to see them that they are as hyper as regular kids and were very happy. They are kind of aware of their disease because they have education about their disease since they are 4 years old. Many of these kids go on to get degrees.We went to the elephant hospital today. And we went on another elephant ride and saw another elephant show. THis was a show of elephants not able to work any more. They also had paper for sale made out of elephant dung.We are now in the city of Lam Pang for all of you Thail geography wizardsI'll update you later

Thai massages are not for the unflexible

ON Friday we went to the department of traditional medicine and learned a little about herbs and even put together an aroma therapy ball. They then gave us 30min massages that cost around $5. It was part of the experience so I had to pay. In Thai massage they massage along the "energy lines" of your body which turns out to be your major nerves. It actually is pretty painful. The lady who was giving me my massage was laughing the whole time as was I for a couple of reasons. First of all I am very tickelish on my feet, thighs and armpits, I couldn't stop laughing. Second of all, I cant touch my toes so when she tried to stretch me out, my whole body would move. It was quite a sight and other massage therapists came over and were laughing at me too. I don't think that I will ever get one again, although it did relax me quite a bit.That night we went to Pat Pong which is the "high class" red light district at a bar. They had great Pad Thai. They had a midnight market and went shopping. Some people in our group went to a show where a woman would shoot a ping pong ball and darts that would pop balloons out of her woman parts.(This is I guess famous tourist attraction, most people say they are throughly disgusted). I felt that would be way too traumatizing to see and would probably prevent me from getting married, so I opted out with a group of other students. While we were waiting at an outdoor table, this drunk 70 year old woman kissed her hand and than put on my cheek. I just laughed. 5 minutes later she rested her head on my shoulder and puckered her lips for about 2 minutes. We laughed so hard, and got some funny pictures. That night a group of us went to the clubs in Bangkok and had a great time. They were probably the poshist clubs I had ever been to and most crowded. However, it was really safe; I thought that I would have to hold onto my wallet and camera(which I did) but with all of those people around us, no one tried to pick pocket any of us.Early the next morning, we took a flight to northern Thailand to Chang Mai. It is a really friendly city and we are staying in a great hotel in front of the midnight market. We went to a bunch of shops of teak, jewelry, and silk all of things that were out of my price range and so I sat while other people shopped. We then went to a Hmong village on top of the mountain surrounding the city. There were a bunch of naked kids running around and some traditional shops. It had an incredible view of the valley.We then went to a Buddhist temple, Dai Suchet which was on the base of a cliff. When we got there, there were a bunch of monks chanting and it was getting dark. One of the monks gave me a blessing. He chanted prayers and sprinkled water on me. He also tied a string around my wrist for good luck. I then used these prayer sticks to tell my fortune, and I guess the blessing worked because my fortune came out that I would have fortune in life and love in the future and just be patient. I am bringing this fortune home for mom.Today we went to the elephant park. It was awesome! We went for a 30 min elephant ride which was pretty intense. They aren't as smooth as horses. They are the coolest animals. They had around 40 elephants at this place. It wasn't a zoo with them in cages, they were roaming around. They had a show where they had taught the elephants to play soccer, play harmonicas, and paint pictures that were actually really good. They painted trees, flowers, and even a picture of an elephant. It was incredible that they had that kind of dexterity with their trunks. The paintings were being sold at $50 and up (which is the Guiness Book World record of most expensive paintings painted by an elephant)We also went to an orchid farm. All of the flowers have to be hanging in the air with water underneath. THe roots don't reach the water, they absorb nutrients and water in the air.Well, I have to go eat again. The food here is too good. Eating is one of the best parts of the trip.

Leprosy and dermatology Hospital

Today we spent the day at the leprosy hospital in Bangkok. We had clinical lectures about how to prevent, diagnose, treatment, and side affects of drugs for leprosy. It was interesting because they skipped leprosy in my microbiology class because there were only 10 cases in the US last year (they were from armadillos in Texas!!) However, there were over 400,000 people who were diagnosed in the world last year (mostly India, Brazil, and Africa.)I always thought that leprosy was painful because of the sores that they had. Most of the sores are painless. When it actually causes nerve damage, which keeps people from injuring themselves, tissues die without the nerve signals and falls off, and they get infections.It is an awful disease. Mostly because of the social stigma associated with it. the people and thier families were ostericized from the community and know live in slums and apartments within the hospital compound. Their children in the past weren't allowed to attend school with other children. It was hard to see people with amputations everywhere, but they were happy.Leprosy only infects 5% of people who are exposed (if you are exposed constantly like in a family house, you are more likely to come down with disease) and only with people with specific genetic characteristics and are immune compromised. It usually affects children and takes years to develop. There are other skin conditions that you develop in the tropics that are pretty awful if you have a bad immune system. Which is pretty bad if you have AIDS. AIDS is the number one killer in Thailand.I know this is off topic but I wanted to write this down because I ran out of time yesterday. We went to a maternal health hospital and we learned some interesting things about Thailand. One of the things that I thought was different was that Thais don't beleive in adoption or abortion. If a girl doesn't want her child, there is usually an aunt, cousin, grandma that will take care of the baby. It is very important to keep the family in the family.They have a huge family network for support(and pressure) because it isn't an individualistic society like we have. I thought that it was probably easier for the girl and the child because they were able to see each other but without the pressure of having to survive. I think that it is probably hard on people without children, but they have lots of opportunities to raise children because of their culture.I hope everyone is alright Scott

One night in Bangkok....

We just got back from dinner at a Lebanese restaurant with real lebanese people. The menu was in Arabic and was in the Arabic district of Bangkok. Great food. Our professors than walked us through the trashy red light district (in comparison to the more formal red light district where the rich people go.) It was a very "in your face" place with girls and girls who used to be guys in provocative clothing and strip joints. It was pretty uncomfortable and a little unnerving because I was acosted and groped by people that I couldn't distinguish their sex.We finally got out and were waiting for a cab and a 40 year old prostitute with big red cheeks and bags of her stuff was trying to get customers for the night. She was really gross and grabbed my arm and didn't want to let me go. She only wanted the equivalent of $1 to take away my virtue. If all temptations looked like her, heaven would be easy to get. I thought of all of the diseases that she probably had. I then thought about the life that she was living and how she was probably looking for food and could only feel sorry for her. As the foreign guys passed by, I actually hoped someone would take her up on her offer because it broke my heart to see her rejected again and again with all of her earthly belongings in the bag next to her and she was only trying to survive.It is crazy to think of the different situations that life takes us. Why are we born into the family that we are born into? It doesn't make sense.I will write more later

Buddhist monks and Dried Fish 1 again

Hello Everybody.

My first try at this failed so I am going to email this again.This week has been awesome. On Sunday, we went to the temple (buddhist that is) or in another words a wat. We went to Wat Pho which has a huge 160 foot reclining skinny golden Buddha It was incredible. The temple grounds was a variety of colors and spires. It made me think and contrast to the cathedrals in spain and latin america because they were gray, dark, and had images of Christ bleeding and saints suffering while Buddhists temples are red, green, orange, blue, and yellow with buddha smiling. Instead of motivating people with guilt and a sense of right and wrong, the motivation is nirvana, middle road, and inner peace. I think this is why Thai's love their king instead of fearing him like dark age europeans do. The buddhist monks also wear bright orange instead of the brown and black of christianity.However Buddhists do have some different and suppressive beliefs. An important buddhist monk, who is good friends with the king, spoke to us in perfect English for class on Monday. he has a MD from Thailaind, MS and PHD from Oxford and a THD from Harvard. He explained to us buddhist beliefs and how they correlate to health care in Thailand. The majority of the Thais follow a "belief" that karma is that bad and good things happen to people because of what they did in a previous life. This have been used to justify royalty and leaders in a religous way. ALso that a woman is a woman because of a previous sexual transgression. First she was an animal for 500 life times, a prostitute for another 500, a lesbian for 500, a heterosexual woman for another 500 and will then become a man. I thought this was a little ironic because here in Thailand a woman can become a man for a couple of hundred bucks instead of going through all of those life times!!!This monk is contraversial because he does go against some of this thinking and describes that Karma is misunderstood. He also said that the Thail King is more of a calvinist than a buddhist. (this comment would usually have you put in prison but he is a personal friend of the King and is protected). They do have some great beliefs that maintain community, help others, and balance. I think that I metioned in part 2 that this guy started a health care reform that has just been passed in the government. Pretty cool stuff.Well.. I will send more later

Sawadii from Thailand

Hello Family,I arrived in Bangkok, and lost a day of my life in the process. I will never know where June 7 2006 went. It was only a 17 hour flight with a two hour in Taiwan from LA.We have gone to a couple of Buddhist temples and today is the King's birthday.There are going to be some pretty big parties I guess. Everyone is wearing yellow shirts to support the king and his face is everywhere. He has ruled for the last 60 years. There was a yellow shirt shortage and the government had to regulated prices on the shirts because people were getting taken advantage to support their king.Yesterday when we were on the metro, one of the girls that we are traveling fainted because of heat stroke. It was pretty scary. Everybody wanted to help and three people had smelling salts on them. We finally got her some where cool and got her gatorade and everything was alright.It is frustrating for both parties that none of us speak Thai. I am trying to learn some phrases. The taxi driver yesterday just laughed at me as I was practicing. THe only way that I found a way to email you is because "internet" is a universal word. Thank goodness for globalization.I hope everybody is doing alright.Scott