Welcome to Nong Bua

Right now I am lying on my bed, listening to the chirping cicadas outside and reflecting on the amazing day I had. I had the pleasure of walking throughout almost all of the 163 houses in the village today and hand out pamphlets explaining who we foreigners are, why we are here, and how we cleaned the water. We also invited them to a meeting tomorrow morning to show them the slide show of how the water is cleaned. I am really excited for this meeting. PJ was so helpful all day with translating and talking with all of the villagers. Many of the people were not home because they were out in the fields picking rice or on their longon farms. In the afternoon Mr Sawat the head of village heads came around with us and I had so much fun. The people welcomed me and Jess into their homes and offered us fruit and water. They all thanked us for cleaning the water and told us that once the government installs new pipes they will for sure drink it. As we left each house they customarily wished us good luck and thanked us which I thought was so sweet. Before talking to us today everyone was surprised to find clean water in their taps and didn’t know why. They believed the government paid for it and even paid us to be here. Most people, however, didn’t even know we were here which surprised me. We have been living and working for them for 3 weeks and today was the first day they knew anything about us.
My favorite part of the day, by far was when Mr. Sawat drove us by the rice pattys to visit with the villagers who were not at their homes because they were out working. While PJ(our translator) explained to the women sorting the rice about the work we have done, Jess and I got to go out into the field and the men showed us how to pick the rice so that it can then be replanted. I had so much fun with this! Ever since we got here I have wanted to learn how people actually grow and farm the rice. The villagers were more then happy to show me and seemed excited to have us come out and see how they work. After a long day of walking in the heat we were driven back to Warm Heart and then Aomdoi for a relaxing evening. I am really psyched to see the response at the meeting tomorrow. Hopefully a lot of people will show up to put some pressure on the government (who is trying to get re-elected since it is election season) to replace the pipes so that the people can drink the newly cleaned water. They all seemed very excited to be able to drink it and I am glad that they will have clean water.

I’m sitting on my bed in my room at Aomdoi and I have never experienced a moment of bliss quite like this one. It’s raining outside and aside from being a huge fan of lightening, thunderstorms and quiet rainfall, the light rain is only adding to the magnificence of Thailand. All of the windows are open beyond the screen and all I hear is the rain in rhythm with the cicadas and crickets.

The people are so different here, everyone is so kind and their warm eyes greet you long before they bow down to a wai. As we left the Sripoom Guesthouse in Chiang Mai this afternoon, the cute couple that owned it was sitting around a table watching TV and eating longon. They remembered us from before and asked about our day and how our shopping went. They asked Jess if she found the wood carvings she had been searching for and when she responded no, the older gentleman immediately said that he would inquire about and let her know next weekend if she comes by. We chatted a little longer and they offered me some fruit with the biggest smile on their faces. As we got ready to leave they said thank you and take care and come back soon. The culture is so beautiful here, they are generous and kind and so giving even when they have so little. After we got back into town at Phrao, we rode home on motorbikes and the sun had just set; twilight in its entire splendor followed me home. I thought of Pau-Dang and Pau-Twan, the two gentlemen that work with us at the system and how they tirelessly stay with us helping all day even though they are just volunteers. I wonder what they are doing tonight, if they are spending time with their families or drinking with their friends in town. It’s timeless here, you don’t recognize where the time goes, although that might be because I don’t live here.

I feel cleaner when I’m surrounded by nature and so close to the mountains and the clouds. I love it. How simple, but hard their lives must be. I’ll always remember Thailand this way, rice patties illuminated by the sky and the rice farmers in the water toiling until the late hours of the day. I feel rejuvenated and hope I can take this feeling home with me for a little while.

You Learn More On The Spot

Our first week of work deemed more beneficial for me in understanding this water system problem than much of the work I did back home. As a person who is interested in our perception of the world around us, I find it really interesting how being in a setting, hands on with a problem, greatly increases the level of understanding. Just on our first day alone, when we were taking measurements and drawing barebones sketches, I learned what an aeration system, backwashing, and polishing filter all were.

Having a professional engineer on site is also incredibly helpful, and necessary. When someone has been inputting information into their minds for so many years about the same types of problems, they have a huge database to draw from when it comes to solving new issues. There is just nothing to be said for the knowledge that life experience gives you, and I believe if young people and older people communicated more we would be able to learn and solve so many other problems.

I am also intrigued and impressed with Thai society and customs. Everyone here is always smiling, patient, and helpful. Things tend to operate more slowly and there is not such a rush to be so “on task,” as it is at home. I would think that I would find this lifestyle slow, boring, and frustrating, but I actually think I have taken a lot from it. My “Type A” personality, which usually is trying to handle, and manage a million things at once has realized the mental benefit and relaxation behind slowing down. There is a whole life to fill with things to do, and I should only be doing those things that really matter to me. The rest is just noise and clutter.

The project itself is going smoothly. We spent the first few days evaluating the system and much of what needs to be done. We also have begun collecting samples of water from various locations to be tested once our testing kit arrives. We have met with the government twice and both times have been very successful. I also spent a day in Chiang Mai (the closest city) with Mr. Kilany and Carole (one of our translators from Warm Heart) and we were successful in finding some of the supplies that are necessary for our implementation trip that is coming this January.

We are making great progress with this project, and I am recognizing not only how our newly acquired knowledge will help these people once we are done, but will also help our chapter of Engineers Without Borders grow when we take on new international projects. There are so many things one doesn’t think about until they are actually in the situation, and now that we have been here, we can share this knowledge to future travelers.

Missing home tremendously, and looking forward to an outstanding semester this fall.

We arrived!!!

After 27 hours on planes and sitting in airports the Rutgers team of Engineers Without Borders finally arrived in Chang Mai. Our team is composed of five engineering students (Dave, James, Jess, Reema, and me) and one professional engineer, Mr. Kilany. As I got off the plane I could feel that I was not in Jersey anymore. Believe it or not, there is a place with much worse humidity. As the taxi drive away from Chaing Mai airport and traveled down the narrow streets to the Top North Guest House my excitement I became more and more excited for my upcoming adventures.

Chang Mai is a wonderful city. It is not busy like New York or Bangkok but has distinct personality and character. On Saturday we walked around the city and explored the Buddhist Temples, or Wats. These temples are like nothing I have ever seen. The four I saw were so well preserved with exquisite artwork and a peaceful atmosphere with which I could really enjoy the Buddha’s. The Thai culture shows so much respect for the temples and for all people which is such a nice change from the competitive American, academic culture that I am used to. As I entered these open air temples I was dazzled. The gold, intricate designs along with the floral offerings and paintings made each temple unique and special.

We also explored the markets and silver district where we could shop for souvenirs. The jewelry stores had beautiful ruby pieces that were all out of my budget range but I found an adorable dress at the market which is now part of my wardrobe. Along with the shopping and fun we ate lunch at a cute vegetarian restaurant and I topped it off with a much needed sweet and refreshing mango shake that defiantly helped make the heat bearable.

My first night in Chiang Mai was concluded with a cultural show performed by the Lanna or local hill tribe and accompanied by a traditional dinner. This was probably my least favorite part of the day and I learned the least about Thai culture. The first part of the show consisted of tribal women dancing in a swaying motion while twirling the hands to show off long fingernails. The next four dances resembled the first one just without fingernails, then with candles, and other tribal outfits. The show concluded with a one man sword dance which had the most character out of the previous performances. The after show seemed to me like a cry for money. It was held outside, no longer around the dinner areas and was an exhibition of their children dancing. Only one child smiled during her performance which was comforting to see but I really felt bad for these children having to perform for foreigners in order to bring money to their families.

So far I think that we all really love it here and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!!

So close, yet, so far.......

Since the last post, about a week ago, we have been doing the things that we do best- surveying and sampling. We have been very busy trying to collect as many samples as we can from the various water sources around town, public and private. Most importantly, we have tested the main water for the village multiple times. This will give us a very good and probably more accurate idea of what plagues this water than only testing it once. At this point we have about three more sets of testing to go, including the main well and tap water for Village 5, a neighboring village to Nong Bua, which has similar problems. We are hoping that they, in fact, have the same water problems as Nong Bua, so that when we to devise a solution we can fix both villages. The idea of a solution is still quite a long time away. We need to analyze all of the data from the surveying, which has been completed with much thanks to Nong Oi, P'Kit, and P'Da, who worked tirelessly to gather info and translate it into English, and get the results from the testing center in Chiang Mai. 

   

As we finish the testing and the data entry, we also begin wrapping up our stay here in this beautiful country. Today is the staff appreciation party, which doubles as our going away party, and tomorrow, is our final day at work. Laith and Jess, along with a few of the UCSD students will take an overnight bus to Bangkok, and Ronn and I will take an early morning bus to Chiang Rai, my final adventure of the trip. Ronn will be traveling for a few weeks after Laith, Jess, and I fly home, but as excited as we are to see everyone at home, we do not want to leave. All of the people working here, Thai and American, have become more than just co-workers. We have become friends with everyone here and we will bad to have to say good-bye. Thankfully, we will need to come back for the next stage of our project. We are so close to coming home, but we are still on the other side of the world. See you in America. 

The Final Pieces of the Puzzle...

And the pieces are finally beginning to fit together...

This Tuesday, Laith and I took a trip to Chiang Mai to collect what we needed to begin testing. This was only after collecting water samples to bring with us to leave at Regional Medical Sciences Center for arsenic, nitrate, and biological testing. They asked us to bring 5-1.5 Liter plastic water bottles for chemical testing and 1 sterilized glass bottle for the biological testing, which was sterilized at the local hospital. Rose came with us to help us translate for Laith and I. We described the tests that we wanted and left the samples and forms with the Medical Laboratory with a quick wai and a korp-kun-krap.

We took a quick side trip for lunch and then immediately proceeded to the "Chemical Store" where we would buy our elusive standard solutions and glassware. We walked away satisfied with our purchase. Now, we had nearly all of the equipment and supplies that we needed to begin the testing, it was the deionized water that seemed to be really holding us up.

Meanwhile, back in Phrao, Jess continued to follow P.Da and observe the surveying. She also managed to enter all of the completed health surveys into the newly created Access database. The surveys are looking great and we are all optimistic that they will give us the necessary information to move into the next stages of our project, determining the real problem in the community.

All we need now is the deionized water, and Laith was all over it. He first tried to go to the hospital to acquire the missing solution but was only able to find sterile water, which wouldn't work as well as deionized or even distilled water. Next, he tried the pharmacy, but found himself empty-handed. From there he was pointed in the direction of the auto shop where he would only be able to find distilled water. Who would have expected to find distilled water at the auto body shop? Finally, after weeks of planning we were able to begin preparing our water testing kit for work. By the end of the work day on Wednesday we were ready to use our Hach testing kit.

Thursday morning, after our quick daily meeting, Ronn and Jess went to town (Nong Bua) to fetch a bottle of water. And let the testing begin... We anxiously started our testing from the main village well, looking to see what the problems were that plagued the water system. At first glance, it seems that manganese seems to be the biggest problem in the water, but I do not want to make any premature assumptions.

We plan to continue to enter and analyze the surveys and continue to test the water from various village sources, maybe even bringing some of them to Chiang Mai for more testing. As more water is tested and more surveys are entered we will be able to paint a bigger and more accurate picture of the entire situation and get a grasp on possible solutions.

Let The Testing Begin!

First of all, I am extremely excited to announce that we have received the water testing kit that we have long awaited. We were all filled with emotion as we watched the delivery man make his way into the Warm Heart Office carrying the equipment. In addition to the testing kit, we have accomplished a number of other goals this past week. David has created a database where the surveys will be uploaded and analyzed. Jessica and the translator, P. Da, have collected a lot of surveys. We have also finalized ordering a number of standard solutions required for testing.

Tomorrow we are going to begin testing the water supply of Nong Bua. We will perform a biological test and a few chemical tests which are not covered by the water testing kit. Then the samples will be brought to a water testing lab in Chiang Mai. The remaining tests will be conducted later after we have obtained all of the necessary equipment, which will be bought in Chiang Mai.

For this week we have also planned to acquire information about the health status of the people and the healthcare system of Phrao district. We will obtain these details from various public health offices with the district.