Thailand

    Where does one begin when recounting a story? Do I first start with our food exploits? I could talk about how we feasted on locus, grasshopper and a local fruit called durian, a fruit that is illegal to eat on trains in Malaysia due to its smell and has been likened to skunk spray with a hint of sweetness. I could start with the elephant rides through the jungle. About how some places take great care of the magnificent creatures and then about how some places don’t. I could begin with the train rides. Here is where we met the only two American travelers on our entire journey and wonderful globe trotters from Holland, England, and France. Maybe I should start with the beautiful scooter rides through the mountains. Or I could begin with the riots, the violence that sprung up, and a country buckling down for the “Red-shirt” confrontation. No - I will start from the end. We flew to the States via Tokyo Japan. This was an adventure unto its own, never before had missing a flight turn into such good fortune.

    We sat on the runway waiting to be taxied into our off loading dock. We sat, and we sat and we continued to sit for well over an hour and a half. When we got off, the flight attendants were busily trying to find us new flights and we were joined by two very disgruntled fellow travelers. The two travelers were adamant about getting a flight within the hour – full or not. Having just arrived from Thailand, Joe and I took a different approach to the matter at hand. We insisted they take their time. After all, we were in Japan. Twenty minutes later, we suggested a flight leaving the next afternoon. They were pleasantly surprised and offered to give us free hotel stay, three free meals, a free upgrade to business class, and then because we looked cold, they gave us free fleece jackets. This was by far the best missed flight.
    When Joe and I left Thailand, we left behind life-long friends. Renee, Amy, and Audrey were people we met on our second day and we continued to travel with them during our stay. Like us, they were only visitors in that beautiful land.
    We also left behind a country on the eve of chaos. The red-shirts, the military, the police all massed together right beside the tourist district. Gun fire could be heard. Propaganda echoed down the alleyways. Blood filled the streets. And every few blocks, we were reminded of the ensuing confrontation by blockades and groups of protesters.

    Somehow, with the world crumbling around the Thai people, they still managed to inspire a great sense of awe. In the face of utter political disaster, the people continued to believe in the “soombai soombai” way of life. This is their version of go with the flow. That is exactly what we did. As the world behind the walls got crazier, we simply moved on from city to town and town to village. The chaos seeming to follow in our wake.
Although we were seasoned travelers, we returned changed. We gained a deep respect for the Thai people. To be as happy as they are in the situation they live in shows they have figured something out; something worth striving towards. And like any traveler, we cannot help but feel the longing to return, at least for a moment, to a place so majestic. As my friend would say “Saudade bate na coração.”

    We are only visitors on this floating island amongst the stars. This mortality, it seems, has always driven people of different eras and places to travel. The earliest people sought food for survival, others looked for the infamous fountain; still others ventured out to guide lost souls or find themselves. I am no different. I have realized my mortality. My moment upon this earth is indeed brief, and so I take my leave yet again. I do not seek survival. I do not quest for the fountain. I do not claim to save souls or even search to find myself. Instead I hope to strengthen old friendships and create new memories with my two companions: One, a fellow Catawba Alum Joe Brooks and the other, an old high school buddy, Ben McCreary. My next stop: the mysterious and beautiful Thailand.
    Be it the lush tropical jungles, quintessential beaches, or the under rated Thai cuisine; Thailand is by far the most impressive country I have come across. Situated just above Malaysia and in the heart of South East Asia, Thailand is a favorite destination among my once fellow foreign teachers. Eleven months ago I found myself departing South Korea three months earlier than my teaching contract said. A little miss communication between my school, headquarters, and the ROK Government (pronounced rock by the local ex-pats) lead to an expedient exit. A few days later I found myself spending nearly 30 days backpacking the country of Thailand. I traveled by boat, train, bus, and tuk tuk. I stayed in everything from hostels to bed bug infested shacks. And yet, Thailand still holds that special something in my heart.
    What is it about Thailand that makes me go back? Maybe it’s the architecture – the old world meets new look. One could find magnificent Buddhist temples towering above houses and local eaters or dives. Maybe it’s the “Thai spicy” food that surpasses any eatable heat rating of the Americas. What about the melting pot of culture Indian, Malay, Burma, Chinese, Filipino - the list goes on and on. Maybe it’s the attitude in which much of the county seems to live its life – what the French would call “c'est la vie” or the Costa Rican’s “pura vida” attitude. Could this be it?
    I just don’t know, but one thing is true. Whatever the reason, Thailand somehow satisfies the urge to travel and see the world. After all, I am only a visitor here, and there is still much to see.

~ Jon Rhodes
Catawba Alum 2008

A Promise Made and Not Forgotten

    There is something different about my friends tonight.  I can see it in their eyes, afire with life.  There is a glimmer of apprehension and exhilaration.  I notice the change in the way they speak rapidly -  excitement pushing forth words faster than their thoughts.  I can see it in the way Joe's fingers rhythmically tap the steering wheel. A nervous twitch made noticeable only today? And then there is the sudden prolonged silence of my ADHD, fast talking, easily excited, surf buddy Ben - a rather unusual change.  This was odd indeed!

     It is not often that one sees such changes to those so close.  I have been witness to such a change before, when first time travelers return from epic adventures.  They have the same giddiness as they recount tales of voyages to far away lands, as they describe mythical creatures they encountered, and cultures strange but wondrous.  This must be the difference I have noticed.  This is the reason they walk so swiftly onward to the airport check-in lines.

    You see, the farthest from home Ben has ever traveled is Florida, a trip from my freshman year.  And Joe is still fairly new to this international traveling.  He has South Korea and Costa Rica under his belt.  But what makes this trip so interesting is how it all came to be; a promise from long ago...

    Ever since I've known Ben, he has expressed incredible desire to experience the world.  He is smart, very friendly, and open to new things.  But, he lacked something, he didn't have the desire, the motivation to change his world.  So, I made him a promise.  I said, "Ben, I'll make you a deal.  If you ever get the courage to acquire a passport, I'll stop what I'm doing and join you."  That was three years ago.  I got a phone call in late January, Ben got his passport and fate came a calling.

    In less than a month we decided a destination and added another friend.  In my typical international travel preparations, I waited until the last moment to pack.  I throw enough clothes for 3 full days (a 10 day journey), the list of items my girlfriend requested, my wallet, and food.  On the way out the door, I realize a missing necessity, and run into the house for my passport.  Yes, my typical travel preparation...


   What was even greater is we arrived at the airport at 2 AM.  A message from earlier that day indicated we were leaving at 4.  I assumed this meant the flight.  However upon arrival at the empty kiosks I soon realize my error.  Our excitement peters-out when we learn that our flight is actually at 6:10 - a whole 4 hours later.  Well, at least we are on time...


    What a start, what a journey this will be.

The plight of two teachers

A deeper look into the plight of two once upon teachers...

    The teachers’ room was adorned with our usual school colors, bright greens, light yellow gold strips, blues, and whites. Our desks were a cacophony of class materials, language books, novels… the usual paraphernalia expected for an English teacher. The two Korean Teachers had already arrived preparing their class’s lessons and organizing the report cards that our limited Korean could not contribute to. Even our third Korean teacher had arrived early, supposedly getting in hours to avoid staying late. The only thing missing - us the two native English speakers.
   
    Oh yes, on this beautiful spring day – we were in a meeting. It was not the typical meet with the director pep talk, nor was it this is how you need to improve. This meeting was something else. With an artificial calm and transparent composure our director confronted us with a situation. He said, “I think we have a problem. Immigration needs to talk to you.”

Whoa?!?!?!

     Wait a second Jon, take a breath things are ok.  Well, I guess he is calm should I be? I wondered to myself: how soon will we need to see them? After all, we have class in 15 minutes; maybe tonight after work or probably tomorrow.

    As if reading my mind the director said, we must go… NOW. That’s when it hit me. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Suddenly all the horror stories of "Locked up Abroad" flickered through my mind like a whorl wind. I would not end up like that… or at the very least, I’ll have a book, my cell phone tucked away, and my I-pod with me.

    With little time, Aileen and I went to our apartment grabbed our essentials, a book, a change of clothes, tooth paste, toilet paper, the usual things one might require if thrown in jail. Oh yeah, and we empted out our entire Korean bank accounts just in case we needed to show we meant business - and by business, we meant the ability to purchase a ticket outta there, and by the ability to get outta there, we really meant bribery if it came to it. 

    Now we were set. We had our supplies, we had our money… nothing else in the room were REALLY necessary. We had practice thinking this through just in case the nuclear threats from Kim Jong-il ever came to fruition. Yes, we were as ready as one could expect from a 15 minute notice. We were officially wanted by the South Korean government, we were renegades, outlaws. I felt like Robin Hood, wanted by the state, and a hero to the people… and I still didn’t know why we were headed to immigration.  All I knew; this was going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.

to be continued…

    My roommate walked in and told me of something crazy. Something so inspiring I cannot do justice by writing much about it. I have to show you. The potential it has to change the world – I mean WOW! Now, before I show it, please realize the technology is still first generation; like comparing the Mark I computer (the size of a room with capabilities of a squirrel) to that of a modern laptop.  This game was displayed at the 2009 comic con.  Rundown,:you put on head set, concentrate on the ball, headset reads thought theta waves and turns fan on depending on level of concentration, you control the direction of fan with knob. Okay - enough said.




    Ok so maybe you won't find it as cool as I hoped. But just think, accessing the ability to move objects with the mind. What next, accessing the internet? downloading information directly into the brain? This is Matrix stuff here. Paradigm shifts in all fields - education, science, social networking, communication rather than e-mail you have t-mail (thought message). Ok, I’ll stop being so dramatic…

But what if????

'Ailuropoda mellanoleuca'

    One of my regrets from traveling was missing the chance to see China.  I don't mean Hong Kong, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, or fields of never ending rice patties.  No no no, what I missed out on was hunting for the elusive creature of China!


    Now, I don't mean bang bang with a huge spark and projectile.  I'm talking a grand expedition, an epic adventure, a quest to the mysterious hidden mountains.  The living spaces of the wondrous Ailuropoda melanoleuca, which by the way means "cat-foot black and white".  Oh yes, this vicious creature stalks its pray on quiet feet likened to a cat, and it's powerful jaws capable of tearing through the tough, chewy, fibrous parts of... bamboo???
   










    Well folks, I don't need China!  That's right, rather than a safari into the wilds of Asia, one simply needs to learn how to navigate a concrete steel jungle, looming towers and spires of apartment buildings, winding river-like subways and dangerous metallic creatures with bright white lights.  After an unknown amount of subterranean travel time, one would reemerge from the bowels of the Earth to find oneself a few blocks from Starbucks - a most important stop for warmth on these cold snowy days.  Then onwards across the street to the National Zoo in Washington D.C.
















    I have tried to see the pandas many a times.  After the nth attempt during the warm months, I finally tried after a snow storm.  Huzzah! Who knew that pandas needed snow to encourage them to romp outside!!!!!   And here he is... Tian Tian

Another Tribute to Korean food

The other day, I introduced a group of friends to the wonderful world of Korean style food! And then today, I swooped in again to add another item to their foreign foods repertoire.  The first was rather simple to make.

jeonbokjuk

This one was simple too, it just took an epic amount of time and some really large pots!  Oh yes, that is a river of cheese (which was hard to find in Korea) and yet, that is Korean red pepper paste!

dalk galbi

The beauty of this style of cooking, at least this is how I have come to find it, all i have to do is find things I like, and put it into a pot. Although there is more to it than that, this hap hazzard method seems to work out fine. Believe me they taste better than they look.