Farang Baa

HELLO! So i got about two hours into my day off and the camera in my battery died, so no post and barely any pictures. :( Straight after getting off the taxi Steph and I went and split a pizza at one of many Thai run italian places. Actually later in the day we went back to the same restaurant and split a bruchetta and another pizza- yum western food! At the center we eat rice. Rice with chicken, rice with curry tofu, rice with beans, you get the idea. Once a week we eat some type of western food- usually pasta or fries(chips, apparently) or sandwiches or something. Answering a question about the volunteers, we've got one Thai, four Dutch, one Norwegian, two New Zealanders, two germans, three brits, and one other american. We spend a lot of time comparing notes on words used for different items. My Thai is coming along quite well(for an american...), as Steph had already spent a month here and taught me some words. Farang Baa means "crazy foreigner". Good for when I do something stupid.
Hua Hin was really relaxing, after our first pizza, we wandered to the beach(not a great beach, dead fish and trash scattered about), but the first Thailand beach I've seen, so I took it. We found a clean stretch, rented lounge chairs, and people bring beers right to you. I got a pic right before my camera went out. After the beach we did a bit of shopping- I learned how to haggle in Thai. Didn't buy much, I think I'll do that a little later in my trip. The about ten of the other volunteers met us around 8:30 and we all had dinner at a seafood restaurant over the water. Really cool. Then to a bar and then home at 2am. Very late night, especially since I had to get up at 6am and scoop bear shit. Hope you're all planning a trouble filled Halloween!
Dad- through in a pic of Andy the hornbill who lives here. He kind of just hops around and we set food out for him. I don't know anything about the wild birds here- I know, i should be ashamed...

Oh yeah- I changed my settings so now anyone can comment, you don't have to log in.

Update from the jungle

Ok so my cleanliness levels have dropped a bit. Today I put on clean pants and the sensation was a bit too unfamiliar. ha, well I guess thats how it goes.
There are a lot of volunteers here right now- a bunch are leaving this week but for right now we all have some time on our hands, which is nice. I spent an hour and a half this afternoon watching the three elephants we have here. They are all extremely tame and not really too fenced in, so you can go right up to them. Very cool. There is a separate program here where you can take care of the elephants but you cant do that and the wildlife center at the same time so I think i'm going to pass, although I might change my mind.I would get to ride them into the lake to wash them...
I've had requests for more pics, so I've added a bunch, plus some videos(I LOVE my digital camera). The building is called the volunteer house, where we have all of our meals and hang out when there are no jobs to be done. Stayed up late playing word and car games last night- I learned some new ones for those los angelistos that like that stuff. Don't lie, I know you do. There's also a picture of two of the volunteers, Noelle and Steph(the only one that came at the same time as me, an adventurous Kiwi) in the lake after we all cleaned the otter pool and got disgusting. The otters are friendly enough that they stay in the enclosure while you clean it, walking on you and sometimes the occasional love nibble. Those are some of the gibbon islands in the back. Also a pic of a dusky langur, quite possibly the cutest damn creature here. They make kind of a weird purring type noise.
One video is of Gilbert the gibbon playing in his cage. He's right next to the food shed and really friendly, though we're not supposed to touch any of the animals, he reaches out and holds you if you are working there. I told you they can move quickly. The other video is Mieow the tiger, who's probably got the saddest/most interesting story here. He was a gas station attraction, tied up and fed chicken scraps and twinkies from birth. By the time the center got a hold of him, he couldn't even sit up due to major nervous system problems(which he will never recover from), infections in his stomach and where they declawed his front feet. He's got a big enclosure now and a pool to play in. He's sweet and can't move very fast but he IS a tiger so we don't go in with him. Ok, enough out of me. Tonight we are all getting together at one of the farther volunteer houses for a massive game of Kings and most likely excessive drinking. Tomorrow's off so I can sleep as late as I want. Next news from Hua Hin! Talk to you all soon!
ok so the videos don't seem to want to upload. will try again from hopefully a faster connection in hua hin. lata!

Daaa bears

Hi everyone! I am finally getting used to this place, and feeling very settled among the aminals and other volunteers. I'm also learning quite a bit about the illegal animal trade in southeast asia, and realizing the absolute importance of the place that I am working. Its too depressing to get into here, but I urge you to look it up on your own if you have the stomach for it.
In other news, i added some pictures of where I am staying(like the bathroom? quaint, isn't it.) And since we leave our shoes outside, most mornings there will be a toad in at least one of your sneakers. Thank god no scorpions yet.
Yesterday I spent the morning emptying the bear pool, scrubbing the algae off and then refilling it. Threw in a picture of that and also of Oompoom the bear, who live in a cage in fish market and never saw the light of day until he was moved to the center. There was actually a special on animal planet about it. He's not angry in the pic, he just wanted a banana. Day to day here is hard work, but laid back at the same time with plenty of time to get to know the other volunteers and take pictures of the animals. I got to be on monkey duty today, which means going around to all the gibbons, macaques, and langurs, and giving them treats. Lots of fun. I actually got grabbed by a monkey for the first time today too. Wasn't paying attention and he grabbed my arm and pulled me pretty hard against the cage. Then he let go. They think its quite a fun game, trying to catch the volunteers.
I've got my first day off on monday, and i'm going into Hua Hin on sunday night and about 8 of the volunteers are meeting us there monday night for some old fashioned drinking and pool. I'm very excited to see a bit outside the center. Well, gotta run and get a pancake from this lady in the village before i go back. She's got a stand on the side of the road and the pancakes are only 5 baht each(like 10 cents). AMAZING! Keep emailing me- i love getting news from home. Miss you!

Not in Kansas anymore

Well, here I am in Thailand, completely way the hell out of my comfort zone. Cold showers, no real plumbing, no shoes indoors. A bit of culture shock, but in a good way. The Wildlife center where i am staying and working is absolutely beautiful, and the other volunteers are super chill. Lots of europeans, some new zealanders. So far the work is hard(i mean elephant shit is heavy, right?) but rewarding. The animals here have all been rescued from places where they were kept doped up and used as tourist attractions or kept in tiny cages and not fed enough or the right food. And there's a vet here, so i've been buggin him to let me sit in on the stuff that he does around the center.
I spent this morning(every day starts at 6:30am) cleaning up bear poo and feeding them tons of fruit and veggies. Then cleaned and refilled the water buckets for the gibbons, which is more challenging then it sounds. They are wicked smaht and their arms are long and when swinging they can move up to 30 miles per hour in their cages. They like to grab and pull and scratch. But it keeps you on your feet i guess. good times. Then back to the bears and then helped the vet with a two hour leg amputation on one of the local dogs. Oh, and in the middle of the day we froze some coconut milk around peanuts and gave it to the gibbons to play with and keep them entertained. There are always things going on here and activities to get involved in. Took a swim in the lake too near the eight gibbon islands across from the center. At night i only get two hours to walk to the village, go online, and buy stuff i need, which is why i can't email everyone individually. started this instead. Soooo, its good here. Lots to get used to, but i seem to be getting more comfortable to the way of life. Really excited for my first day off so i can see what thailand is like outside of this place. Pictures soon. Miss you all very much. I could really go for some Doughboys right now....alas...