Still Here in BKK

Greetings from someone who is ashamed to admit that for the first time ever, she did not vote.

I hope all is well. I haven’t written since (your) spring. Spent most of April and the beginning of May in Canada on a much deserved break.

[snip]

I returned restored and rejuvenated to Bangkok to discover that about a
million ants, all carrying eggs, had decided to make the plant in my cubicle their new kingdom. (I never had these problems in Canada). Naturally, the first thing I did was run out and buy a highly toxic spray
(even an environmentalist has her limits). I think I sprayed enough to kill any ant within a 10 km radius. Problem-solved! My boss and colleagues, however, for some reason weren’t too impressed. When they
discovered what I was doing, before even welcoming me back, they immediately ran to open all the windows in the area. I had no idea my boss could move so fast! Yes, Sarah was definitely back.

These past two months have truly been a learning experience for me, a city slicker:
1) found out how milk is produced (something I could have lived without knowing), got to taste fresh icecream and even got to milk a cow. My aim was atrocious.
2) found out how eggs are produced (not as scary as the milk thing) and that some chickens are smarter than others. They are the ones that clue in much quicker that the eggs aren’t being fertilised and stop producing eggs.
3) found out that if you want to make money, forget the stock market, breed fighting cocks.
3) met with the president of a Canadian company that is building the first potash mine in Thailand and followed that up with a visit to the villagers fighting the project. The Thai government went so far
as to change the law so that the Canadian company could exploit the sub-surface minerals. Made me embarrassed to be a Canadian.
3) learned more about the elephant situation in Thailand. In the past, elephants were used for logging. Because logging is now banned in Thailand, the elephants and their mahouts are unable to make a living anymore. The mahouts end up taking their elephants to Burma where they continue to log. However, the owners are unable to provide enough food
for their elephants so they give them amphetamines to keep them working. On occasion, the elephants step on landmines and get a hoof blown off. A few of these elephants are transported back to the elephant conservation centre in Lampang, Thailand where they are treated.
4) Visited an AIDS clinic and had a doctor and pharmacist explain more about the virus and its treatment. Also met some HIV-infected volunteers.
5) Visited a self-sufficient community run by monks. The entire community is vegetarian, they do not use any money, everyone wears the same clothes, and they all walk around in bare feet. It was really an amazing
place to visit. Everyone we met seemed to have an inner glow to them and truly seemed to be happy and at peace, even the teenage boys we met shovelling compost.
6) and lastly, I discovered that my powers at crashing computers in Canada and in Africa are just as powerful here in Asia. The computer I was given lasted less then a month, before suffering a hard drive failure
last week. The replacement computer they gave me is unable to read its CD-Rom drive, making it impossible to upgrade the virus-scan software, and regularly makes it clear that it does not like me.

On a separate note, just finished an excellent book called E=MC2 – A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation. The book was unbelievable. The truth truly is more amazing than fiction.

[snip]
Have a great day!

Sarah