First Tea House

Well I still don't have all the pictures I want for last Saturday but this will have to suffice for now and hopefully i can share more soon. Saturday the 14th Matt helped with some electrical stuff at the hall so he was out of the picture. Literally. Until the evening which will be covered in a future post. I went downtown early. All by myself. Such a big girl! I hailed my own cab, negotiated my own fare, kept track of my route so I knew that I was safe. Arrived at the hall for an early visit and then went out and about with Jody and Kerry from England. We went to a proper Myanmar Tea Shop. They are very popular here and this was my first time at one. Here I am, drinking tea like a proper lady:

The milk in the tea is sweetened condensed milk. VERY sweet. The Tea House:

The monks here come in a variety of ages.  Males enter a monastery on their youth and then later in adulthood for a limited time.  They always wear their robes and they many times will be carrying a pot for donations.  This little monk approached us with his pot.

We went to walk around the market again and saw our favorite artist working on another painting.

After the market we caught a taxi back to House 5 where I headed off to the train station with my friends for a Train Tour of Yangon.  Next post!

Another Week

Well, I won't bore you all with every mundane detail from last week but I'll share a few:).  Tuesday I had some help in the morning.  A brother whose name is pronounced Brawn Shauw. It is NOT spelled like that.  Well my trick to remembering it was the term "Branch Out"  So when in casual conversation I mentioned how he had helped me and called him Brawn Chow I got laughed at hysterically.  Turns out that Chow means some sort of crazy person.  Hmm.  So at least I didn't call him that to his face.  At least I hope not. I think they thought that I was the crazy person of the moment. :)  Try saying it though.  You have to really be specific to not make the second part of the name sound like "ch". That afternoon there was a party in the Maintenance department for a send off to a couple who has been here for several months.  I'm not in the maintenance department but turning up for a couple tea breaks got me an invite.  :D  They will be missed but since they are from the states, there are good chances of seeing them again!  I used my awesome photography skills to take a picture of the department.  Which was with another person's camera so you can't see it.

Wednesday I snapped some pics of the local construction ladies:

Here is how we ride to meeting Wednesdays.  At times we have had many more people in the back of the vehicle.  It can be quite hot, but when you are moving you get a breeze.

On the way we witnessed a bus race.  Managed to grab a pic of the buses:

This "Tri-Shaw" driver and his passenger were very friendly:

I walked in the door and there was Courtney, once again we displayed that great minds think alike!

On the way home we tried to take pictures of the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is practically impossible to do at night in the back of a moving vehicle.  However, I got one that I dressed up as "art".  You get the idea.

Thursday we went to the missionary home to ready some rooms again. Took some pictures on the way back:

Buddhist Nuns

It was such a hot day.  I have never sweated so much just sitting in a car before.

I spent Friday in the kitchen, and I helped Kendra make the exotic dessert of Apple Crisp.  Yum!

After work we went to a little outside area and had beer.  It was a BYOS place. (Bring your own snack!)

There were geckos all over the sign:

Apparently there are geckos everywhere.  And why wouldn't there be, with a constant supply of food in the form of bugs, which are EVERYWHERE.  Ants. Mosquitoes. Spiders.  And others which we haven't seen and that is just fine by me.

Well that was our week.  We had a fun and jam-packed weekend. But we need to collect some pictures before we post it so I will work on that as I can.  Please keep in touch if you have time.  I know everyone is busy with their summers, but we miss you all!

Second Weekend

Saturday the 7th of July we met downtown to go out and about.  We started our day in the torrential rain:

Since it was raining so hard we ducked into  J Doughnuts, which is like a Dunkin Doughnuts and had a break while we waited it out.  My feet were soaked all day.  We went to the market and ran a couple errands.  I picked out fabric for my first Myanmar outfit.  I fell in love with it so I had to buy it then and there.   Matt approved.

Courtney is modeling the fabric for me.

Then Matt picked out his first outfit here:

Here he is at the shop where he bought it.  Pictures to come with him modeling a Myanmar Man Skirt!

We checked out an artist's studio.  We are SOOOO buying a painting here.  Just browsing for the one we fall in love with.  We got to watch him at work:

We stopped by some other shops and learned about jewelry and jade.  (Really wish our friend Jessica was here to give us her expert advice.)  :D  Then I went to visit someone with Courtney.  In the evening learned how to play a game our new friends from New Zealand brought here and then we reconvened at our house later to play some party games with some more friends. 

Sunday we had meeting, prior to which I made omelets and Matt got to have breakfast in bed for the first time in I don't know how long.  Unless you count the toast I made him in Thailand.  We walked in the rain and got SOAKED after meeting while we were on our way to the missionary home with our friends that were staying there until the end of their assignment here.  My shoes dyed my feet and so that took FOREVER to wash off.  That is all for now, time to get back to work!  Talk to you soon!

Working in Skirts and My New Career in Hand Modeling!

Wednesday I was occupied in the Home while Matt was occupied in the area under construction.  Here are some pictures he took.

A view towards Bethel from the new building:

Isn't the moss cool?

A view of the space:

A local construction company is working on the building.  When it rains, as it is apt to do here, then some of the workers nap:

Comfy!?!

We have seen new methods of transporting materials:

Wow!  These ladies are such hard workers.  They move all the materials and do not rest until the work is done.  Yes those are WOKS!  So, if you are looking for a new use for them, or planning a home improvement project and want to work on your balance at the same time? Dust off the woks ladies! Oh, notice the skirt? Um, ya.  Those of you who know me may remember me making occasional tiny comments about the impracticality of working in skirts, as portrayed in certain publications of certain future events?  WELL.  I guess I have to shut up about that now.  Looks like you CAN do hard physical work in a skirt.  A LOOOONG skirt.

Wednesday  evening was Matt's first meeting part in Myanmar:

He was being reasonable, AND yielding too!

Thursday we went to a gathering hosted by a family that has moved here from Australia.  We had  a great time.  Unfortunately we didn't bring our camera as it was locked away in Matt's Container.  Others took pictures but we haven't received them yet.:(

Friday morning I was at loose ends having finished all I had to do for the week.  So I was assigned a special project.  It turns out that people here usually wash all their food down the sink.  Out of sight, out of mind?  Well, if you don't have garbage disposals then the drain gets clogged.  WEEKLY.  So I made a sign for one of the public kitchens.  What not to do, (wash food down the drain) and what TO do, put it in the bin.  My first experiment in hand/dirty dish modeling.  I was quite proud of the results.  I should mention that my friend helped me, and so it was joint effort.  She was the photographer and translator.

High School Computers is FINALLY paying off!  And no, that is not MY plate of uneaten food.  I arranged it to look like that but my Dad taught me to clean my plate and I do.  Almost always.  Unless it's Fish Head Soup....Also you might notice the scale in the second picture?  If you ever come here,  don't use it.  It LIES.  It is at LEAST 4 pounds off.  (Seriously) Every week it lies.  Also I think since we are at sea level it affects the readings further.  The air is thicker here you know?  Probably the humidity is doing something evil too.

After my project I was still at loose ends and was given permission to sit in on a meeting to encourage the kitchen staff.  The brother from the reference I gave earlier was the conductor and afterwards we had tea and cookies.  YUM!

By Friday you can be so tired, sometimes you just have to stay in and watch TV in the evening.  Which we did:)  I don't like to brag but we are expert TV watchers.  Then again, I guess it's not an ENTIRELY unheard of skill:D

I'd write more but my computer keeps sending my cursor all over the page which makes it difficult to keep my patience.  And my place on the page.  Love to you all! More later!

A Bird's Eye View and Yummy Food

Monday the 2nd I went with a few people to prepare a guest room for a couple that is soon to go back to the states.  They are actually having overflow into a missionary home.  It was my very first missionary home that I have ever seen.  Quite interesting for me:)  The missionary couple is from Japan and it is their second assignment.  They were so nice.  From their window I had a view of the city I have not had before. They let me take some pictures of the view:

The grouping of red buildings apparently used to be the parliament?  Anyways, it has only been out of use for a few years and it looks like it's this ancient building up close.  That is what the weather will do here to a place.  Maintenance is constant if you want a building to be in good repair.

Close up of the building.

The gold spire is one of the many pagodas here.  The river is beyond.

View of the street from above.

 Saw some more rats on the street Monday.  Yuck.  Monday was my first day of tummy trouble.  They assure us it's totally normal and happens to everyone so I carried on as usual.  Mostly.  It has continued through the week, however it seems to be getting better.  Haven't lost any weight yet, so can't be too severe.  The food here is just too good!  We had our study of the WT for this week in the evening.  It is such a nice article.

Tuesday the 3rd I went to house 5 with some other gals for cleaning in the morning.  For lunch was a special treat:

Nao with the sushi!

 The sushi is made every few weeks in the kitchen, led by a team of 3 Japanese ladies.  A very popular lunch!

Lychee Fruit.  Juicy and Good!

YUM!

Gourd soup, Sushi, Wasabi, Steamed Veggies, Fried Prawns, Rice and Chili Sauce.  My favorite meal here so far!

Tuesday evening we had a quiet evening in and Matt prepped for his part on Wednesday Meeting.  That's all for now!

The First Full Weekend

Saturday was our first day out and about in Yangon.  As it happened it was a beautiful day and so we were able to walk around without using our  umbrellas. Yay!  And without getting dirty feet. Double Yay!  When we left the hall we saw this adorable girl selling grapes:

These twins were so cute:

We saw our first REAL game of Basketball:

As we walked we discovered a Myanmar Muffler Shop:

Just pull up on the curb and they will take care of you right away.  No waiting.  There are stores like this all over the city.

Here are some pictures we took as we wandered:

 Thought of Zak with this pic:

All the furniture is hardwood.  Solid.  Makes it so heavy.

We went with some friends while they did their shopping and we learned some good places to buy stuff.  You can get so many things like you can at home.  Even Haagen Daaz ice cream.  We won't be purchasing that though because it's a little out of our budget.  Try 16 bucks a pint. A PINT people!  No way!   We did pick up some bargain priced movies though!

Here we are at the end of a great morning:

In the evening we went to House 5 which is where some other people live.  Our friend Allison made a Thai Green Curry that was amazing and our friend Rachel made a Mango Pineapple Sponge Cake.  Yum!

Saturday and Sunday were our first days of seeing rats.  We saw lots of rats.  All dead though.   One just outside our door when we were coming home.  He had just appeared there. So we got as close of an inspection as we would want. It kind of concerns me because I'm wondering what is causing the RATS to fall over in these random public places? Maybe people left bait out? Oh well. 

Sunday we slept in, had pancakes again.  Yumo!  Went to meeting and afterward I spent the evening in the kitchen making dinner and cookies.  FYI: don't try to pick up a cookie with jam in it fresh from the oven.  It MAY burn and leave a blister.  It just MAY!  I nursed that on ice while watching some TV show we had bought earlier.

Well that was our first weekend folks.  Hope you are all well!  Miss you!

Wednesday to Friday

Wednesday the 27th Matt hung out in housekeeping and I spent the day in the kitchen.  Matt cleaned his heart out while I did various things, amongst which was this:

Well at least now I know how you get bread to have that delicious color on top!

This was what we had for lunch:

The food here has been overall really great.  Although most of it is different than what we are used to, it has wonderful flavor and it's like eating at an exotic restaurant every day.  Sometimes it is very spicy but it is quite mild compared to Thai food.

Thursday morning we both started doing what we came to do.  More on that over time.  Lunch on Thursday was  definitely exotic. 

Notice the small portion of green stuff at the top?  That stuff is HOT!!! A little goes a long way, let me tell you.  We thought of you Andy, you would love it.  We did.  The unfamiliar combination at the bottom of the plate was noodles, veggies and squid.  The squid wasn't as rubbery as some that we have had and the flavor was quite interesting.  In a good way.

We had a rainy ride on the way to meeting and snapped some pics, after our lens defogged that is.

People here do not travel anywhere without an umbrella.  Not even just down the street or around the corner.  Let me revise.  SENSIBLE people do not travel without umbrellas.  Now from what you know of us, would you say that we are sensible?  You be the judge.  I'd say it's half and half.  That phrase "caught in the rain"?  So true. Just saying.

Here is a pic for Guy and Bill.

This is our C.O.  He is from the Philippines.  He gives amazing illustrations that are to the point.

I'm not at liberty to divulge any at this time, Matt was taking fervent notes so I imagine he may make use of them when we get back:D.

Friday it rained some more, although unlike Wednesday and Thursday it didn't rain so loud during the morning program that we couldn't hear a thing!

At Friday lunch they served a good variety, most of which was great and all of which I tried.  Matt got cold feet after seeing the first brother retrieve the coveted fish head from the bowl of soup.  I manned up and tasted it.  And then asked Matt if I could NOT finish it.  Ugh.  At least I get points for trying right?  Right?????

The reference we shared in an earlier blog is of a brother that still serves here at Bethel.  We had the privilege of spending some time in conversation with him and his wife and the feeling you get after such a conversation is priceless.  Totally upbuilding to see such amazing and humble examples in real life.  Just one of the MANY things that can happen when you make yourselves available to travel in this way. Any of our friends that has thought about reaching out for this work, or a similar work, please consider it more!  You will absolutely not regret it.

Saturday we were exposed to some new things.  Next blog. Stay tuned!