Day 11 Last Clinic Day and Celebration

Fifth and last clinic day.  And what a day it was!  Our biggest of the week; 66 patients.  A new village and a very supportive village leader.  We were welcomed with tea and all the village kids were lined up for exams within the first half hour.  Our team of interpreters knew that we wanted extraction cases first, and before we knew it, it was 12:30 and time for lunch. 

Since it was the last clinic day I decided to have ALL the students have the experience of pulling a tooth.  All were excited and a few were nervous.  Interestingly, four of the six were lefties which makes it easier for teaching. After choosing six patients,  I loosened the teeth, then had the students finished the extractions.  A good time was had by all.  Each day we come up with a team name, then have it translated into Thai.  Today our name was “Tooth Collectors”!

Friday night was our celebration!  The village wanted to show their appreciation for our time and dedication to the projects. They served us a great meal including some of their favorites including cicada salsa.   Many dressed in their finest for singing and dancing.  We joined them in several dances around the fire.  We also entertained them with skits and singing.  Again, many laughs and tears.

 

Day 10 Fourth Clinic Day

The main project, by the way, is huge.  They are digging, laying and covering several miles of drinking water pipe for two villages.  Much of it is 2 inch pipe, all the work is hard and dirty.  Fortunately much of the digging was started by the villagers, but it is still a daily challenge to accomplish all that they have to.

 

Our fourth clinic was at yet another village.  A Karen village.  We are staying in a larger village, about 600 people, that is composed of both Akha and Lahoo people.  Our clinic yesterday was in a Lahoo village.  Each village speaks a unique language and has unique characteristics and customs.  For instance in the Lahoo villages, the men work the fields and the women stay home, cook and raise the children. In the Akha villages, quite the opposite the true! 

This makes translation sometimes difficult.  Typically, one of our translators goes from the village language to Thai, then another takes the comment from Thai to English.  It can be slow.

We checked all the village kids, not too many cavities.  This picture taken in the school room where we worked shows why!

 

This is our Day IV team including some of our Thai interpreters

Greg and his buddies at the local fishing hole

Day 9 Third Clinic Day

Off to a new village today.  We have 9 students helping us.  A couple are feeling under the weather, others just need a break from the main project of laying pipe. 

We started the morning looking at all the children.  Most had very nice teeth.  Only one wouldn’t open her mouth and one we asked to return in the afternoon for extractions. 

All lined up, ready to see the dentist

We saw about 50 today, many extractions and an afternoon of cleanings.  Cleanings are hard.  Heavy tenacious calculus, hard on our fingers, we are getting blisters!  I would much rather pull teeth.

There was a surprise.  The villagers brought in a worker from the rice fields.  He has sliced open his knee; actually quite deep, all the way into the muscle.  They asked me to see him.  After we cleaned it up, I realized the wound needed to be sutured closed.  So…suturing a knee isn’t much different then sewing up the mouth and I went to work.

I would like to thank Dr. Marvin Ordway, my friend and a veterinarian in Twain Harte.  Our offices are adjacent.  As I have visited his clinic over the years I have taken the opportunity to watch him sew up numerous cats and dogs.  I used a similar technique!

This little guy is listening very carefully!

Day 8 Second Clinic Day

Today, the invitation was sent out to a neighboring village to come to the dental clinic. Hierarchy is big in Thailand.  Firstly, you have the “native” Thais.  These are people who basically live south of the Northern Highlands.  They have citizenship and they are more involved in education, culture and society.

The Hill Tribes or ethnically Chinese from migrations hundreds of years ago and have always been considered “different”. Indeed, not all have citizenship.  It is earned through education and wealth.  Then, in the village itself, there are castes, as well as a caste system between villages. Way too complicated for us to understand.

Anyway, today was a quieter day.  Maybe 30 people were seen, 20 treated.  More cleanings today.  In the afternoon, we cleaned all the cook’s teeth.  The cooks are not from this village, caterers, I guess.  They have done a nice job with meals. Nice variety.  Always rice, but many types of fruits and vegetables, prepared many different ways.  And a surprise now and again.  There was a big bowl of Oreo cookies for breakfast today!

This is how my morning starts everyday.  Under the house, watching all the animals running around as I am on my laptop, (behind the pot of tea).

This is the gal that had 4 teeth removed the day before, she dressed up and came back to have one more removed!

 Day II team

This is my favorite picture so far.  Gloria was cleaning this gal’s teeth and her cell phone goes off.  That isn’t too unusual now days, but they normally just let it ring.  Not her, she answered the phone and wouldn’t stop talking!

Day 7 First Clinic Day

It is Monday.  We set up our dental clinic in the little school house next to where we meet for meals.  One room to triage the patients, the other for treatment.  We have three or more locals to help with the interpretation and six students. Frequently we need to translate from the village language to Thai, then Thai to English.  It takes time.  Also, two students to assess each patient, take blood pressure and determine the chief complaint. Then four students assist and clean instruments.

Getting ready for business

 

Gloria working with our student, “headholder”

Now you know why my back hurts when I get back to the States

We saw about 50 patients today, treating around 30-35.  Many extractions and a few cleanings.  About 25% of the people had silver fillings, so they have seen a dentist in the past.  Most of the teeth we pulled had very large abscesses.  These people will feel better!

This gal needed 4 teeth taken out.  All in front and very loose.  So…I am assisting a student and letting her extract the teeth.

Day 6 Village Life

IT is 7:00AM as I write this.  I am below the house we are staying in.  The owner of the house, always has a cup of tea waiting for me when I come down the stairs first thing in the morning.  He speaks no English, but is very friendly and enjoys looking at my pictures on my computer. 

Not sure how many people or generations are in this house.  Upstairs are four rooms, the living room with the TV and refrigerator and our bedroom and two other bedrooms, both very small.  Both very small.  They have sleeping mats in both, no furniture other than a table the TV sets on. Grandma is the only one traditionally dressed, she wears a headpiece that looks very much like a rural mailbox!  Everyone else wears more modern clothes.  Below the house is a small kitchen building, another bedroom where grandma lives, and the bathroom.  Next to the building is the cistern that holds their water with a hose that goes into the bathroom. 

 

The door on the right is the bathroom/shower

Next to me are two motor scooters and the laundry drying. Around me are the chickens.  They are everywhere! Roosters, hens and their newly hatched chicks.  And, just now a mama dog cruised by with her two little pups, into the kitchen they went; they were quickly shooed out. 

Entrance to our “host” house

Marcos, the 21 year old son, who does speak fairly good English, was talking to me, when all of a sudden this chicken goes scooting by.  He snatches it up by the legs and tells us this is breakfast for the family!  He gives it to dad, (the tea-man) who quickly dispatches the chicken by ringing its neck.  He next defeathers  the bird in boiled water, it is gutted, off goes the head, he then opens and strips the intestines. He gives the body  and the intestines to his son and all the left over parts are fair game for any cat, dog, or chicken that walks by!  One minute the chicken is pecking around the courtyard, the next he is being minced for breakfast.

It is Sunday morning and everyone is getting ready to go to Mass.  They do dress up.  The older you are, the more traditionally dressed.  They wash up, brush their teeth at the cistern and head up the hill.

All dressed up for Mass

Later…..just returned from our trip into Chiang Rai.  They boarded us into first pickups then vans to the city of Chiang Rai.  The northern most large city below the Burma border.  This weekend is the yearly Hill Tribe Exposition.  All the Hill Tribes from northern Thailand demonstrate they culture, housing and foods.  Sorta like a mini-Epcot! 

After buying a few souvenirs and trying chicken knees, into town for lunch, then we visit what will someday be a world famous Buddhist monastery called The White Monastery.  18 years on the making, the a architect/visionary expects this to take his lifetime to and perhaps longer to finish it. It is stunning!

 

             

Day 5 Pakia Village

We woke up around 4AM to the sounds of many roosters. Many, many roosters.  The ones that had a full throttle wake up call weren’t bad, the problem was with the ones that choked or gagged at the last syllable!  The fleece sleeping bags were not enough to keep us warm, tonight we wear more clothing. 

TRAVEL TIP:  Gloria is now in the habit of “borrowing” an airline blanket on our outbound leg in case of need, then returning it on our return flight.  The blanket helped, but she needed more!

Breakfast of rice porridge, bread and jam.  Found out that a little bit of “sauce” for the porridge goes a long way; very hot!

 

This fella is our next door neighbor, right outside our window!

Today we had “church” for our group and some of the ADRA employees, this afternoon is Vacation Bible School for the kids and orientation for the group concerning the irrigation project.

Greg preached for church

Kids are cute all over the world!

Chasing bubbles.

Day 4 Overnight train to Chiang Mai

Yesterday was spent at the Bangkok school campus. Reorganizing and repacking for the train trip north.  Several walks to the main street to hit the local bank to exchange dollars for baht, and the 7-11 for water and ice cream.

Good food.  Typically two or three kinds or rice, different vegetables and pineapple, mango and watermelon for dessert.  The school is grade 1 through 12 with 1,200 students and climbing.  They just finished constructing two 6 story classroom buildings.  A sign at the entrance states that all students must speak English at all times!

We arrived at the train station at 6:30; left the station at 8PM.  A teeming mass of humanity waiting for trains leaving every 15 minutes for all points Thailand.  A mixture of locals, tourists and “checked out” world travelers.  Quite an eclectic mix.

 

Life aboard a sleeper train is like no other!  Two seats facing each other are converted into a double bunk.  A porter converts for you with a fresh sheet, pillow and blanket.  As that is taking place, ladies are coming through every few minutes wanting to sell you all sorts of food and drink.  All this is taking place in a 50+ year old car with way too much baggage for comfort.  I went to “bed” at 9:00 sleeping with my backpack at my feet, a water bottle, and my camera in one pocket and our passports/money in the other.  Thank heavens for pharmacology! 

(This is “daytime”)

Now, it is 12 noon and we still haven’t gotten to Chiang Mai!  It was discovered midmorning that the train was too heavy to “get up the hill” so we waited a couple of hours for another locomotive to help us ascend to our destination.  Last night we were told we would arrive in Chiang Mai at 9:30AM, now we are looking at 1PM.  “Thai time”.

(This is “nighttime”)

Long story short, we arrived in Chiang Mai 6 hours late! (3:00PM) One problem after another, we ended up being on the train for for 20 hours, rather then the 14 assumed.  Actually, the kids were great, not much food, but plenty of time to doze, read or play cards.

After arriving at ADRA headquarters, ((Adventist Development and Relief Agency) we had a late lunch, a bit of orientation, we then all piled onto 5 vans and two pickups for the trip into the hills.  3 hours later, after dark, we arrive at our destination!

The village was waiting for us with a banner and and an official greeting.  After introductions and dinner, we were all assigned different houses to sleep in and finally to bed, after 3 non-stop days of travel!

Day 3 Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok 2 hours late due to the deicing at Seoul.  Took an hour to get everyone on the bus, then a long ride to the church/school we will be staying at before we head up north.  We got the group settled around 5:30AM, turned the lights out at 6:10, wake up call at 6:30!.   Uh…not much sleep.

We gave a chapel for the local high school at 7:00, then breakfast, then get ourselves organized to take the overnight train to Chiang Mai.

 

This is our group in front of the 400+ students at the school

Big group of kids.  This is an “English Language” school.  Students are from the wealthy residents of Bangkok.  Drivers bring them to the school in very nice cars.  Religion is taught, but they call is “values class”.  Only a smattering of the students are Christians, a few Buddhists, most have no faith background.  Kids are very smart but also very materialistic.  As the pastor told us, “we plant the seeds”.   I think it appropriate.

It is unlikely I will be able to upload my blog up north.  The village is quite remote and it is unlikely I will be able to get to Chiang Mai during the week.  I will journal each day, then when we get back to Bangkok, I should be able to get caught up with the uploads!

Day 1-2 Traveling to Thailand

We met the group from Rio Lindo Academy this morning at SFO for an 11 hour flight to Seoul, South  Korea.  Forty high school students and eight sponsors.  A bit of a snag for two foreign exchange students from Zambia.  It was discovered at check-in that they needed visas to enter Thailand.  Calls to the travel agent and the consulate weren’t adequate to allow them to board.  We are hoping to get them on a later flight today.

Many of you know Gloria dislocated her right shoulder 2 1/2 weeks ago.  She was dreading sitting in the plane all the way to Thailand.  Well, in an almost full 777 we ended up with a seat between us!  Not exactly business class, but enough room for Gloria to prop up her right arm.

I am writing this at 34,000 feet as we fly over Alaska!  The shortest distance to South Korea is straight north along the US west coast over Mt. McKinley, the Bering Sea, Russia then south to Asia.

Hmm, 7 more hours to go!

3 hour layover in Seoul.  Went to a Korean “fast food” in the airport.  Greg though he ordered a beef noodle dish, ended up with octopus; chewy! 

In the plane now to fly to Bangkok,  still at the jet way.  Waiting to be deiced!  A bit chilly here, about 2 inches of snow on the wings.  We are expecting 100-105  degrees in Thailand.

We are now descending into Bangkok after a another 6 hour flight.  Finally got some sleep, it is around 2AM here; noon California time.  Our pilot announced it it 88 degrees here! 

It has been 29 hours since we left home.  We still have an overnight train trip to Chaing Mai tonight.  We can stretch and rest up today in Bangkok.

I hope when we get to the Bangkok airport I can upload this,  it may be our last chance to do so for a while!

Countdown to Thailand

We leave in three days.  We have our dental supplies ready to go.  Two 50lb. suitcases with all of our supplies and equipment for 200 patients.

We leave SFO at 1pm on Tuesday, arriving in Bangkok via Seoul Korea at midnight Wednesday.  Thursday we catch up on sleep, spend some time at a mission in Bangkok, then take the overnight train north to Chiang Mai.

On Friday we travel to the village where we will spend the next 8 days where we will be installing a pipe to provide clean drinking water for the villagers and setting up a dental clinic.

We are travelling with Rio Lindo Academy.  This is my third trip with them, Gloria’s fourth.  Previously trips have been to Peru, Mexico, and India.  40 high school kids.   A last minute addition to the group is our youngest son, Greg.  He is a junior at Walla Walla University in Washington, and a former student at Rio Lindo.  He and we are excited that he will be joining us for the next two weeks.