Choowea Evolving

Like a Song in Sangklaburi

2008-12-07T09:21:00.001-08:00

We spent the final days of our trip together painting an absurd amount of murals at the Baan Unrak Children's Home in Sangklaburi, Thailand. This organization provides food, housing, love, and spiritual support to 150 children--mostly Burmese refugees--and vocational skills/employment to many single mothers. The kids are all vegetarians, and meditate/chant twice a day, in order to find inner peace, via the Neo-Humanist path (love and respect for all beings in the universe). We came in to spread some major art love, like paint coats walls.
Below is our Under the Sea mural. The children loved this one. They tried to touch each animal on the wall, even if it meant running and jumping AT the wall.

The Mystical Gate: a commissioned image, that was a big hit with the founder of the home, and will reportedly be used as a new logo for the organization.

The "Hand"scape mural: we painted a giant landscape on the wall,

and then talked with the kid's about different ways of caring for the environment. The children then lined up,

to make environmental pledges which they sealed by placing their painted hand on the wall,

creating an evolving hand-scape of earth-loving promises!

And...a bonus mural! Some kids collaborated to design and paint their own ideas on the wall, with slight guidance from Bri and Lisa.

Sweet Pai

2008-11-29T07:45:00.001-08:00

Pai proved to be a funky lovable little town, crawling with silly hippies and drunken vikings. We nibbled healthy food,

and bonded with the best elephant owner, an attractive woman named Thom--as well as her massive friends.

We rode bareback on the relaxed animals, for a extreme swimming experience, aka. the elephant rodeo, a.k.a. a giant elephant throws you off its back into a river, while you try to hold on to its ears. Luckily, we impressed Thom and she invited us to a special government official's party that evening. We drank whiskey, made friends with a strange man named Tiger, encouraged people to eat and enjoy themselves, and sang several karaoke hits for the crowd. "Imagine" went over pretty well, but "Country Roads" and "Leaving On a Jet Plane" were slightly less successful.... above:our crew...bottom left:tiger...bottom right:karaoke wonders

Chiang Mai

2008-11-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

Mollie traveled first to Chiang Mai to help celebrate the 100 year anniversary of The Mckean Rehabilitation Center (http://www.blogger.com/www.mckeanhosp.org/), started by her great grandfather Dr. James Mckean. Standing tall above the other guests she gave an impromptu speech and cut the ribbon to the new Mckean history museum.

In Chiang Mai we kicked it with Mollie Noi's Thai family. We slept
in a beautiful wooden house filled with antique treasures, mosquitos, and
loving energy.

The family, led by Great Aunt Renu (80 years old, full of life and dirty jokes) and cousin Kimmie (living life with love) took us on adventures in and around Chiang Mai.

We saw.....22 month old baby elephant, ate so much food it hurt, a daily dose of chile to keep us younger, and many beautiful old temples

Loy Kratong= festival to celebrate the river, letting go of the past and welcoming a bright future with kratongs (floating flower boats) and rice paper lanterns which burned new constellations in the sky. This also meant lots and lots of fireworks!

Mekong River

2008-11-16T06:54:00.001-08:00

Long trip to Thailand became a time for reflection, card games, and rain. Two days of drifting, against the grain of the Mekong, slowly navigating whirlpools and inner landscapes.

Greeness and love of Laos. Good to have to slow down and just be in transition firmly and quietly. An exciting race to the border and we arrived in Chiang Mai, invited to take shots with some wily Israelis!

Happy Americans in Luang Prabang

2008-11-15T08:05:00.003-08:00

Oh Joy! The discovery of many Americans became a cause for celebration the first morning of our time in Luang Prabang, a beautiful river city sans tubing.

We welcomed OBAMA as our new president (hip hip hurray) , causing tears of joy with Mark, an expat Georgian friend who owned a bar with a big projector screen of CNN. He opened up bottles of champagne to all the anxious and excited Americans who spent the morning yelling, cheering, and getting excited by the TV reports on his bar. Folks around, Laotians and travelers alike, congratulated us!

We spent the rest of our time seeing beautiful waterfalls, being amazed by the treasures at the night market, eating bananas and tasting sweet sunsets.

Drinking for kids in Vang Vieng

2008-11-04T22:43:00.000-08:00

Four Turbo anxious Obama Fairies stayed 4 days in a both stunningly beautiful and sickly Western imported Cancun style Vang Vieng, Laos. At the Organic Farm we feasted on Mulberries in Mojitos, Harvest Curries, and Shakes. we did jumping pictures with our favorite dudes.

It was a beautiful land of drunken generally whitefolks and tubes - we are unsure of this tradition's history, but it is definitiely in the present. Our job at the farm was as barpromotors for the farm's Mojito Bar - it gave all proceeds to the local school, a project of the farm.

We worked with Robert, a frenchman who taught us about the evils of bread and milk, and were able to interview all the folks we'd meet later on, ziplining, mudfighting, sliding, down the river.

We gave the mojito bar a make-over by candle-light.

It looks a little like it was painted by children...how appropriate.

Halloween Abroad/COPEing

2008-11-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of the bigbad Secret War the US waged on Laos for 9 years? It turned Laos into the most bombed country on earth (to this day). We dropped more bombs on Laos than we dropped during all of WWII. 30% of the bombs didn't explode, which meant that they still go off today - especially as the poverty-stricken Laotians resort to the calculated risk of scrapmetal collecting.

We learned a lot at COPE, a rehab center doing hella to help those hurt by the bombies and the residual effects - the US has given very little aid. http://www.copelaos.org/. also, sign here to help petition banning cluster bombs - they become civilian land mines after they are dropped because of their high failure rate. http://www.handicap-international.org.uk/page_249.php

Celebrations erupted in Vientiane too, as we had to scare away some evil spirits. Pictured: The Pirate, The Universe, The Toothfairy. We rocked a Laos wedding party (the folks wanted to set us up with a goldminer?), a bar full of bugs and beer, and an odd dance party. Vientiane proved to be a calm capital, flat, on our way north!

4,000 Islands Lao Lao Di Li

2008-11-04T22:40:00.003-08:00

We spent 4 magical days in Si Phan Don on Don Det and Don Khon. The Chai toned Mekong River swiftly wraps itself around these 4,000 peaceful islands. Life is hardwork but slowly paced, the people generous and gentle, and atmosphere peaceful and replenishing. Funny mix of backpackersilly and Laoslifeworking.

4 Turbo Faires and Clifford --ben jensons trusty steed-- equipped with a small boom box playing nostalgic tunes, joyful hearts, and an adventurous spirit set out for a day of fun.

With plenty of Lao Lao, papaya and sticky rice, and a downpour to wash away our traveler grime, we beared witness to a churning waterfall,

electric green/yellow rice fields,

staring (but harmless) water buffaloos, and naughty monks smoking cigarettes.

Happy22nd birthdaybri bri bri! We celebrated the dinasaour sounds of Bri's birth with a day of free drinks, delicious pizza, and creative art time. We happily/hysterically laughed, got caught in the dark on the other side of the island and returned home to a giant birthday spider. We love bri soooo much!

And, we stayed with magical kind, drunk people. Lao Lao!

Extremely old stones and wonderful young children in Siem Reap

2008-11-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

After Pnomh Penh, a place many tourists to Cambodia skip, we took a boat up the Mekong (and got extremely sunburned) to Siem Reap, the most visited city to see the amazing temples.

Despite some illnesses, we were able to reunite with a lost Choweean and her momma (the Ruedigs!). Julia's mom treated us so well and took us on an amazing tour of Beng Melea, some temples far outside of Siem Reap.

Our tourguide, Dyka's, story was as sad as many Cambodians; his father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge, and he fought them as a 15 year old with an AK-47. And he was so kind and friendly and wonderful, like most Cambodians - if you ever need a guide, we have his email.

We also spent a day at The Global Child (theglobalchild.org)! We stumbled upon them by chance and spent two half-days doing art lessons and being insanely inspired by both the children and the amazing organizations that do their work in this world. Check out stayanotherday.org if you are ever travelling to Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam for other inspirational places to visit and support!

Phomn(enal) Penh

2008-10-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

After being quickly herded to a small moto-pulled cart called a tuk-tuk, we set off into the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. During rush hour, with countless motorcycles, bikes, tuk-tuks, and cars going every which way (a meticulous science, a feat of magic to navigate), it is hard to believe this city was largely uninhabited during the reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). The Khmer Rouge was only officially in power for just under four years, yet during this time nearly a quarter of the population was killed. We learned about the genocide when we visited Tuol Sleng, the former Khmer Rouge prison that now serves as a museum to the genocide, and the killing fields, which is a site of mass graves a little outside the city. Below is a photo from Tuol Sleng, of the individual cells built to contain prisoners who would later be interrogated, tortured, and/or killed.

This is one of many many stark portraits of Cambodians murdered during this time.

The Killing Fields was a heavy place; it holds a very tragic history. Many Cambodians were murdered in this field, around 30 years ago, but now it seems disconcertingly calm and quiet. These skulls, behind this glass, are part of a monument to honor the many lost in the genocide.

Sinchai Gave Us Crabs!

2008-10-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

This man, the amazing Sinchai, planned our days with a succession of delightful adventures, involving lagoons in caves and an unsuccessful du-gong (manatee) quest. He also gave us crabs,

in exchange for a sign we painted for him.

Learning to recharge joy, we opened up new spaces between moonrises and luscious deeply inspiring sunsets in this remote Thai fishing village.

Warm water lapped at our doorstep on a deserted beach while moonlight bathed singing fisherman hard at work.

We were told the village of Chao Mai, a fishing village and port of Thai sea gypsies, contained many secrets, mysteries, and stories. However, the man who told us this excused himself to converse with other people and then we failed to find him again. So what can we do but believe him about the secret mystery stuff?

Penang Ping Ping Ping

2008-10-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

A long busride took us to Penang, an island in the NW of Malaysia that was a convergence of 3 different cultures: Chinese, Malay, and Indian.

This meant of course such good food. The shops - blacksmiths, restaurants, junk shops - were tucked into dark pockets of the old colonial buildings that crookedly lined the windy streets.

Colourful Times at SMK Tengku Mahmud, Besut

2008-10-18T05:59:00.001-07:00

We are teachers!
The "Each One, Teach One" lesson plan: we did blind contour portraits with the kids and then had them write about different things they wanted to learn and teach. The exercise was about acknowledging all the knowledge you want to gather, and have the power to share.

We gather with Puan Ramlah, in our baju kurungs, to celebrate the joys of middle school empowerment.

Jubilant artists jump with excitement about the finished mural: The Promise Tree...which encourages viewers to make environmentally friendly decisions.

Perhentian Islands

2008-10-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

Ellie-less but generally happy, especially after Ramlah, Ellie's mentor at her school fed us a Hari Raya feast of cookies soup heaven, we headed out on a boat to magical islands that were definitely paradise, but also made us question who decided white sands and blue waters and palm trees were paradise, as opposed to maybe a hot spring in the Sierras, your own backyard,or a Swedish granite beach. Some dude wanting to sell tourist packages to stressed out white folks?

Nonetheless we frolicked like mermaid kids with black tipped sharks, movement inspiring jelly fish, hella frantic frenzied fish, vaginal 80's color coated clams, stunning coral reefs and a bad ass turtle.

Kicking it in Kuala Lumpur

2008-10-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

After some thrilling times in Kuala Lumpur, being metropolitan and living it up in a sweet apartment of a new friend (well, new to 4/5ths of us) with great views of the city,

We embarked on an elephant mystery date with some other new friends. It became traumatic at a haunted waterfall, but we stuck it out and pushed on through.

our friend aie, sounds like eye, showed us around the batu caves and tolerated our singing all songs with i in the title and lyrics. we learned proper toliet etiquitte with the help of funny signs.

Singapore Story

2008-10-18T05:52:00.001-07:00

Singapore was the site of our glorious reunion, and the entire city-state glimmered empathetically.

Singapore deliberately sparkles into your eyes. Performances lurk with glittering precision in specific spaces. This was intensified by the fact that our time there overlapped with the first ever Formula One night races and so there was additional excitement plotted to please tourist eyes.

our adopted texan parents, geralyne and rick, housed us for a night, took us out to eat, and took us for a day out at the singapore bird park.

Learning to find our feet in this long journey together!

Meet Choowea

2008-10-18T05:51:00.001-07:00

Over a year ago, 5 energetic and curious creatures dreamed up an adventure in South East Asia. From different spaces on the globe, we gathered Sept. 24th and are now in the process of realizing our 2.5 month dream journey.

With an improvisational travel style

we hope to deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world,
balance deep sadness with hopeful joy,
remain open and curious to daily miracles,
lay stones for future collaborations,
see our responsibility as privileged Americans more widely,
practice evolving feminisms,
make reverberating connections with humans and places,
stay conscious and responsible travelers whenever possible,
and be blown away by the many ways of giving and receiving love!

YIP YIP YIP