Goodbye Thailand

Hi Everyone,

It is with great sadness that I write my final post to you all, as our Thailand APPE has quickly come to an end. This rotation has taught me so much; I was thoroughly able to learn about Thailand's health care system which allowed me to reflect and compare it to ours in the United States. This APPE also allowed me to immerse myself in a third world country and learn much about a different culture-- both unique experiences that will allow me to become a better future pharmacist. While I believe a strong foundational education is important, I think it is equally as important for future health care providers to seek opportunities to implement and gather knowledge outside of the classroom, let alone internationally. I would recommend this APPE to any student interested in becoming a more understanding and empathetic health care provider because Thailand has absolutely provided all of us with an eye-opening, yet fun experience that we will never forget :)

Thanks for reading!
Tiffany

The end of the beginning

As the end is near for this rotation, I would like to take some time and reflect on how much this APPE has changed me. Not only did I learn about Thailand's healthcare system and how it differed from the USA but I also learned so much about myself. I grew as a person by learning how to interact with patients on a whole new level. They have different styles of dealing with patients here and I admire all the faculty and students that I had the pleasure of meeting. I will not only take back the knowledge I learned about dealing with difficult patients (ex. language barriers) but also this is the first rotation that I fully got to immerse myself into patients. I am so excited to be headed back home to my normal routine and also excited to further my learning however this was such a strong APPE to start off with. I am so thankful that my school enabled me to experience this and I will forever take what I learned here in the past 4 weeks and apply it for the rest of my days in practice and life.

Time to relax!

We arrived at our last stop on this amazing journey, Ko Samet. Ko Samet is an island about 15 minute boat ride off the coast of Thailand and it is absolutely beautiful. This part of the trip I have realy enjoyed because it gave us time to unwind and reflect on our trip over the past four weeks. Last night we all went out to dinner and then stopped on the beach. We reminisced about our time halfway around the world and talked about our favorite parts and maybe our not so favorite parts. It was a great way to wrap up as we near the end of this trip. Time to go enjoy the last few hours!

-Gutto

P.S. The food I am craving most is buffalo sauce.  I cannot wait to put buffalo sauce on everything I eat when I arrive home.

My Personal Legend

As Block 1 comes to a close, I wanted to compile a few of the thoughts and feelings that I have from being in Thailand. To many people looking from the outside in, an international APPE may seem like an extra block off because of all the time we have to explore a new country and its intricacies. However, what is unseen are the hours spent learning about a new healthcare system, the defined roles of healthcare providers, the thought process of clinicians as they diagnose and treat based on different guidelines and the cultural differences that apply to their health system. Yes, Thailand or any international APPE for that matter, is not mandatory to have a holistic understanding of pharmacy. However I've realized the importance of expanding my horizons, opening my mind and learning things outside of my scope to develop my character in various ways. One day we will all be able to return to our professions as our homebase but its important to pursue our other interests as well so that we never have any regrets. I chose to come to Thailand because I wanted to learn more about another part of the world, because not all the patients we treat or people we meet will be of the same background. It is important to be able to connect with others, celebrate differences and learn from each other in the process. I am so happy with the growth i've seen in my self from these past 4 weeks. As I stated in my last post - this is only one small piece of my 'Personal Legend' that I plan on continuing to mold :)

Thanks for the Memories and Lessons, Thailand! Till next time ~

Fun in the Sun

Hi there,

Yesterday, a day without any plans, was much needed! We woke up, went to breakfast (which was amazing), and then headed straight for the beach. I applied some sunscreen of course and brought my sudoku book for something to keep me busy. It was so relaxing, listening to the waves hit the shore while soaking up the sun. The girls and I had some mojitos to maximize our relaxation. We took a break to get lunch and then decided to check out more of the beach. In either direction there are many other resorts and restaurants. We stopped at an outside restaurant where the rest of our crew (aka the boys and Dr. Krebs) had settled nicely in a few bean bag chairs. We enjoyed the sun and each others company for a while before heading back to our resort. It was a perfect day although I did end up with a slight sunburn on my face. It's hard to believe our trip is coming to an end.

  

Talk again soon!
-Lindsey

Beach Day!

FINALLY a day without plans, a day to go with the flow and a day of pure relaxation. Today we had an incredible spread for breakfast and then headed to the beach. What a perfect day to take out a book and read - in the shade of course! Regardless, as far as I try to hide from the sun it always follows. So I found an umbrella and sat with my book, The Alchemist. If you haven't read this book, it is a MUST READ. The thing with this book is that it's important to read between the lines. Simply reading the text can feel like any ordinary story but when you take the time to dissect the sentences, you reach a much deeper understanding about life itself. One of my favorite references is that everyone has their own "Personal Legend". A personal legend is one's destiny in life and the act of identifying our purpose so that we can do what ever it takes to pursue it. There are often so many things that hold us back from pursuing our deepest desires. Responsibilities can make us believe that our passions are not priorities or maybe that following our dreams only amounts to a smaller piece of the larger puzzle and then logic kicks in to deter us from following that route. Whatever it maybe, I loved opening this book again on this trip and for my upcoming blog I would like to reflect on why this book helped me to be more open minded on this trip especially!

Seema 

Van time = Nap time

By the looks of all these blogs it seems as if we don't stop experiencing everything that Thailand has to offer and honestly we don't stop. The common theme these past four weeks in traveling in the van to our next exciting destination. We could be in the van anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour on our way to visit clinics and hospitals depending on traffic so the thing that seems to happen the most is falling asleep in the van. Once we found out the seats reclined in the van it was game over. We all fell victim to it and they honestly were the power naps we needed! There are so many pictures of each of catching the others asleep in the van but I feel like that would be cruel to post such embarassing photos of everyone...ok maybe I'l post just one.

Pha Chor

Hey everybody!

It has been a few days since I have posted, mostly due to the fact that we have done quite a bit of traveling the last couple of days. On our last weekend up in Chiang Mai we split into two groups. One group went to the elephant sanctuary and the other trekked up to Doi Inthanon National Park and admired some amazing sites. Justin, Seema, Dr. Balk and myself took the more site seeing approached and it did not disappoint. We made three stops, the temples at the top of Doi Inthanon, Wachirathan Falls, and Pha Chor.

All three sites were absolutely beautiful and believe it or not it felt like we experienced three different seasons. At our first stop at the top of Doi Inthanon (the tallest mountain in Thailand) it was just above 60 degrees and raining and it reminded me a lot of a Maine April. Then our van driver Burt took us to Wachirathan Falls and it was stunning! It has been years since I've been to a waterfall and it took a lot of self control to not want to jump in! The last site was probably my favorite and was completely unplanned, it is called Pha Chor. Pha Chor is a cliff in Chiang Mai that is caused by an uplift in tectonic plates and also by wind/rain erosion. Prior to the uplifting it was a riverbed so it left a fascinating structure behind.

-Gutto

The Spice of Life: Justin's Final Reflection

Every culture around the world has some way to reference a deeper level of understanding, a sense of self, or a subconscious. In ancient Chinese culture they refer to the ying and yang; the ultimate goal of balance for everything in life, in Thai culture they refer to different feelings  as earthly elements that need to be in balance, in classic christian culture we tend to reference the spirit and morality to find enlightenment and happiness. No matter the terminology or belief, we all try to find meaning in life and purpose behind what we do.

I like to imagine my soul as a bowl of soup, with my life experiences being the various spices I add. As we learned in our Thai cooking class, there are countless spices and herbs one can add to soup to make it spicy or sweet, salty or bitter, to add color or change consistency, the possibilities for a single bowl of soup are infinite. Even from the same broth, you can diversify your soup to exactly what you like. My experiences in Thailand have rocked my world and shaken me to my core in both extremely positive and enlightening ways. Coming from the quaint and quiet mountains of western Maine, I'm extremely thankful for the life lessons I obtained but you can only learn so much from a set standard of surroundings. Through my life I've learned you need pressure and discomfort to grow, much like metal you need to add heat and pressure to reshape and create something much more beautiful than before.

We've visited an AIDS hospice to meet patients who are on deaths door, we've been to an orphanage created due to the massive human trafficking problems in Asia, we've been to TB wards, visited communities and homes of patients with no money and no insurance. The most shocking part of these heart-aching visits was the demeanor, humility and happiness in each location. The positive outlook of life from those that are truly struggling breeds hope and happiness thats much more contagious than the infectious diseases and viruses battled in Thailand. Aside from harder visits we've also played with tigers and elephants, ate scorpions and bugs, ventured into the most obscure and stimulating environments of Bangkok, swam in snake infested jungle rivers, visited the most beautiful temples, bartered with countless street vendors and made lifelong connections with colleagues half way around the world.

Some like their soup hot and some like it sweet, I personally like a diverse range of flavors that confuse your tongue and build a flavor so unique you will always remember it. You can never predict how cultural immersion will change you but you always know you'll never come back the same person. Years ago I made a vow to never stop experimenting and challenging myself, with this I've added spices and herbs to my soup that I didn't know existed before I left Dixfield, ME. My time in Thailand is almost over but I'll never forget this clinical excursion and the lessons will stick with me to not only influence my personal life, it will also shape my practice of pharmacy for years to come. 

So to close I propose a challenge to anyone who reads this post; don't settle for bland soup. Challenge your ideals and views, put yourself in uncomfortable and strange settings. Go to a country where you can't speak the language, if you help someone what doesn't understand your words they'll still understand your heart. Regardless of whether your comfortable with your soup or want a change of flavor, never stop adding more spice.

-Justin R.

We have Mustaches now!

Fun fact: facial hair blocks up to 95% of UV rays! For those of you that know me well, I'm a major facial hair enthusiast and take pride in designing, styling, and sporting various facial hair styles in an attempt to reflect my individuality. With this, our group of men on the trip decided we wanted to do something unique with our facial to hair to match, be able to expose more of our face to get a nice even tan, and most importantly to celebrate Dr. Krebs' birthday! Above you will see us sporting our new "summer staches", this is the first time I've seen my chin in 14 months and this is the first time Dr. Krebs has shaved his beard in 5 years!

-Justin R.

Ko Samed

After a long journey around Thailand, we have finally arrived at out last destination of the trip. Ko Samed is a tropical island off the southern cost of Thailand and serves as one of the top beach resort locations in all of Southeast Asia. Most of our trip has been clinically intensive, however this last leg is designated purely for reflection and relaxation. We checked the UV scale today and the sun is beating down at a UV of 11 out of a 12 point scale. For reference, the highest UV rays get to about 8 our of 12 in Maine's peak summer. We're doing our best to lather up with sun screen and stay hydrated while we enjoy these last few days before heading back to the United States!
-Justin R.

Ko Samet

Just checking in again!

Today was the first day we spent at Ko Samet, after driving about 4 hours from Bangkok. Our resort is amazing, great pools, awesome room, happy hour around the clock, right on the beach etc. We all went to dinner together on the beach. It was a super cute set up where we sat right on the beach on pillow chairs set up at the tables. After dinner, we watched a fire show, where a group of guys did these awesome tricks. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen, and the pictures definitely do not do it justice, but I included one anyways. It's hard to believe that this trip is almost over but I'm looking forward to spending the weekend in Ko Samet, and even more for  a beach day tomorrow!




I'll update you again soon,
Lindsey

Place of True Protection

More than one million current Thai nationals are infected with HIV/AIDS. With the first major outbreak of HIV/AIDS in 1992, missinformation and social stigma spread much faster than the disease itself and patients infected were neglected and shunned by the masses. Unfortunately Thailand still faces issues with these lingering stigmas and lack of education about the disease, resulting in patient's families abandoning them and society ignoring them and not providing any care. Luckily, the Buddhist monks took it upon themselves to help and founded Thammarug Niwaet (Thai for "Place of True Protection".

Currently, this location serves many roles for HIV/AIDS patients like schooling for affecting children, hospital care for patients abandoned by families, hospice care for patients dying from the disease and proper storage of ashes for patients with families that have disowned them and don't want their remains after death. In the temple at Thammarug Niwaet, over 10,000 bags of ashes are stored from AIDS patients who have passed away from the disease and have no one to take their ashes. With the years education, the monks have helped combat this heartbreaking social problem but their work is still not enough. This facility continues to expand and bring in more patients due to a lack of funding and care for HIV/AIDS patients.

-Justin R.

AIDS Hospice

Hi there,

Yesterday we visited an AIDS hospice clinic on our way back to Bangkok. It also had a museum that we were able to visit, with preserved bodies of patients that had died of AIDS. Although this sounds a little scary, it was actually very interesting. The woman that was giving us the tour said that these would be the last preserved bodies that the museum would have due to unpopular opinions about the storage of actual bodies. She also showed us the many bags of ashes and bones that were stored there. These bags are the remains of patients whose families did not want to keep them. There were large bags in the back, that had not been ground yet and smaller bags all around of those that had already been ground into fine powder. This was extremely saddening to me, to see the hundreds to thousands of bags that remained, meaning this many families did not want to give their family member a proper burial or funeral solely due to the fact that they had HIV or AIDS. It goes to show that there still is an unfortunate stigma that is present towards these patients, not only in Thailand, but around the world. Next we were shown around the wards where the patients stayed. They were separated into a men's ward and a women's ward downstairs for the patients that needed daily assistance and constant care. Upstairs was another men's ward for those that were able to help themselves with daily activities and did not need as much constant care. Then there were small huts outside that were for patients that were able to take care of themselves. Our tour guide told us that they lived there because they did not have anywhere else to go, often due to being shunned by their families. This was a very tear jerking experience, seeing all of their faces and frail bodies, although some still managed to smile and say hello to us as we walked by. I can only hope that as we learn more about this disease and through the spread of knowledge and facts, we can minimize the number of patients infected and the stigma that has evolved around it. 

 

 

Check back in later!

-Lindsey

Checked into Paradise: Reflection-Mode

We have finally arrived to the last leg of our Thailand APPE! Touchdown in Koh Samed!!! 'Koh' means island in thai. This island is located in the Gulf of Thailand and approximately 220 km southeast of Bangkok. To arrive here we drove for about 4 hours and then took a 7 minute ride on a boat to the island which felt almost like a larger jetski's! So far it seems to be a weekend getaway location for Thai people but also for those in neighboring countries! The beach sand is soft and the water is warm. There are pools, beach side activities and a lot of quiet nooks to reflect and relax. Tonight we are getting together to have dinner on the beach and watch a fire show as well! A few more nights together and off we go on our separate ways (bittersweet). I'll check in tomorrow :)

Seema

HIV/AIDS hospice center

After a couple days of long hours on the road, it's been difficult to find time to blog. I will say that podcasts have been saving me during these road trips and I definitely recommend listening to "Serial" if you enjoy podcasts and haven't already! I've really liked having some downtime to do something I enjoy instead of having to study. Especially when it can be non-pharmacy related to keep the balance and unwind :)

But on to more APPE related things...on our way back to Bangkok yesterday, we stopped at an HIV/AIDS hospice center and it was the perfect way to end the learning experience we all have had here in Thailand. At first we were shown around a Museum that displayed some of the bodies of patients at the center that had succumbed to their illness. Although graphic and potentially disturbing to some, I thought it was a nice way to honor the patients and bring attention to the lives lost where families could come pray for their souls as well. In casings, there were ground and unground ashes kept in bags, mainly of the patients whose families did not want to keep the ashes. That really stung me in particular. It is sad to see the stigma that is still held by many in this country about alienating the members of their family who were infected by HIV/AIDS. Whether it is lack of education or ignorance, it is sad to think that many patients are still embarrassed and resented by those that they need support from. After that we walked through the various floors where male and female patients were kept separately. There is an area of the facility that houses individual patients who can help themselves, and other patient who are debilitated and need on-the-clock care. Of those who are unable to care for themselves, the self sufficient patients volunteer their time to help. I remember, very vividly, the look on the faces of the patients we walked past. At first their heads were bowed down but once I smiled and said "Sawadeeka" to them, they lifted their heads and returned an even bigger and warmer smile! I held back a few tears because I was thinking about how sad it was that they were ashamed or unwilling to make eye contact out of fear of being judged all because it is probably a common response they must receive! If I could stay and try to change that stigma in Thailand and in the world for that matter I would do as much as I could. We are all human - no body deserves to feel that way! It's 2018 - we have more resources, more knowledge and more facts to spread awareness about this topic and still a lot of people hold strong to their beliefs against such patients. Its very sad. I hope the smiles I shared gave those men and women even a sliver of happiness.

I later walked up the "Stairs to Heaven" which is a set of over 100 steps that led to a beautiful temple on a hill. Lindsey, TJ and I followed the monk into the temple and I closed my eyes and said a short prayer for those patients. The monk followed by giving us three a 'water blessing' shortly after.

Seema

Elephant Hospital

Most of our time here in Thailand has been spent in hospitals, today's hospital visit proved to be a little different though! The elephant (or "Chang" in Thai) has so many meanings and variations in Thailand. Today we had the privilege of visiting the Thai national elephant hospital where elephants from sanctuaries, farmers, elephant shows, zoos and the wild come to get the highest quality of care. This center is vital to the retention of Thai tradition and for the survival of the species. Due to the extremely lucrative black market ivory trade in Asia, the number of wild elephants has dropped to under 3,000 in Thailand due to poaching... just a fraction of their former glorious population size.

At the hospital, nearly 90 elephants are full time residents and serve to the benefit of their wild counterparts by showing off their skills in elephant shows for tourists and elephant enthusiasts. In a much similar fashion to the use of work horses in the United States, elephants have been used for centuries to help loggers and farmers in Thailand move lumber and tools. At the show, we got to see the immense strength of the Changs and how they move lumber and are used by traditional Thai residents. We also got to see some of the more skillfully trained elephants do some artwork and take some of our colleagues for a ride in a river! Today's cultural experience was a lot of fun and heartwarming. The tale of elephant populations being decimated is a hard pill to swallow, but seeing how the Thai royal family is tackling the problem by funding a national hospital and using trained elephants to bring in income and donations to take care of all elephants in Thailand was an amazing experience.

-Justin R.

Alumni Involvement in International Outreach

One of the greatest keys to University success and institutional advancement is alumni involvement. As a fairly new program, the University of New England's College of Pharmacy is in its infant stages of alumni relations due to the small number of alumni and few years of practice under their belts. This year our Thailand clinical outreach excursion was lead in part by one of our very own; Dr. John Balk from the UNE COP Class of 2013. John currently practices as an ICU Clinical Pharmacist at Houston Methodist hospital in Houston, Texas. As a student, John was one of the first students to travel to Thailand on behalf of the University of New England. With his experience from traveling to Thailand multiple times along with his extensive clinical knowledge, "Jono" was able to enhance our ability to understand the differences between the United States and Thai healthcare systems while challenging our critical clinical thinking in a way that was useful in both countries. For many of us on this trip, Jono is the first alumni we have worked closely with outside of the College of Pharmacy. His knowledge, clinical conduct and dedication to the program he obtained his Pharm. D. from is inspiring and sparks excitement for our careers after graduation. At the beginning of this trip I never imagined I would meet a complete stranger half way around the world who would shake my understanding of pharmaceutical practice and life beyond school in such a positive way in just 2 weeks. Unfortunately Jono had to head back to the states this past Saturday to get back to work in Houston, and to our surprise his departure brought tears to most of the students. Very rarely do we get the chances in life to find a new and unexpected roll model, for this experience in Thailand I am extremely grateful and look forward to my future as an alumni. With more dedication and involvement from alumni like Jono, I think the UNE College of Pharmacy can take its next step to
establishing itself as a true leader in pharmaceutical education.

-Justin R.

Orphanage Visit

Today - 6/25/18 - We had the experience of visiting the Baan Mitratorn Orphanage and Princess Ubolratana School. This place is supported by the Royal Majesty, Queet Sirikit. Baan Mitratorn is operated by the Sisters of Saint paul de Chartres, Thailand and it is a home that develops the orphans' lives that are underprivileged. Many children in this learning center are HIV infected or have been abandoned by their families in places near and far in Thailand. In addition they run a non-profit private school that strives to improve the quality of education for young people of the villages in the countryside of those that are poor, orphaned, HIV/AIDS infected and at risk of human trafficking/abuse. It was so nice to see, first hand, how well this facility was set up to offer a safe place for children in need of care and love. During our time there, we had interactions with some of the children. The following picture of me was taken by their photographer and have been blurred for the protection and privacy of the child. If I could, I would plan to stay and volunteer there for as long as the rest of our trip here is! However, I have strong hopes to come back some day and spend time with the children. Apparently, it is not common for these children to be adopted so a lot of them stay for as long as the education supports, Kindergarten till 9th grade. After that, the organization helps children find their way to further education but some make their own decision to go to vocational school. All funds are raised from donations and the community to support these children. Interacting with these kids was my favorite part after learning about the cause. These innocent souls, living their lives happily, are so attached to the people who help at the Orphanage! So grateful for this experience today...my heart is warmed.

Seema 

HIV/AIDS Clinic and Orphanage

Today was one of our last clinic visits of the trip and our last fill day in Chiang Mai. We started the day early, to make a 1.5-2 hour car ride to Chiang Daw Hospital. We were given a couple of lectures to go over the hospital and the programs for HIV/AIDS and TB. After the lectures we were given a tour of the hospital. We were able to visit the emergency room, the delivery room and maternity ward, the pharmacy, the thai traditional medicine ward, and the lab. The main focus of the hospital and our visit was HIV/AIDS. A lot of what we were shown is very similar to what we are used to. One of the major difference that I noticed was the delivery room. It was set up with 3 beds in the same room, only being separated by a curtain. We were also told that no family members, not even the father of the child, is allowed in the room while the mother is giving birth. They said it was to avoid over crowding, but still, I was very surprised by this. I have attached a picture of the room.

After lunch we visited the HIV/AID Orphan Care Ban Mitrathon. The orphanage began as a school for grades 6th to 9th in order to help prevent young girls from being sold into the sex trafficking trade. The school then opened the orphanage for children affected with HIV/AIDS and those non-infected, as well. They sent the children to local schools prior to the 6th grade, but later found out that they were not being allowed inside with the other students and were being treated unfairly. So they decided to bring the children back to the orphanage and now have school from kindergarten to 9th grade. The children at the orphanage range from 3 months old to 20 years old. Most of the children today were in school and attending to their chores so we were not able to interact with them. We were able to see and play with 4 beautiful young girls, aged 3 months, 8 months, 2 years and 3 years old. All of the children were so well behaved and seemed very happy and healthy. It was such an amazing experience to be able to play with the girls and see them open up to us as time went on (they were all very shy at first). It really pulled at the heart strings and it was sad having to say goodbye but I am glad I was able to be a part of their day.

This is the picture of the room for children that are in kindergarten and 1st grade.

  
Here I am with some of the little ones!


And just for fun, here I am using the little kids bathroom! Enjoy, lol.

Thay's all for now!
-Lindsey

Tiger Kingdom

Hey y'all,

Yesterday was a day to never forget. I finally got to see my favorite animal up close and personal, the white tiger! It was such a neat experience being able to get so close to them and pet them. I also was able to feed one of them chicken from a stick. Being able to experience this on my trip is something I didn't think was possible. I may or may not have had to buy a couple souvenirs.

Thats all for now!

Anthony

Fun Filled Day

Hello again, it's me!

Today was an eventful day for us and I'd love to share with you everything that we did! We started out visiting one of the Buddhist temples, called Doi suthep, on one of the mountains in Chiang Mai. To get to the temple we had to drive up the mountain on a twisty-turny road. Then we had to walk up about 300 steps in order to get to the entrance. This resulted in an amazing view, overlooking the city. We also spotted one of the largest flies I've ever seen, laying dead on the railing. While inside the temple, Seema and I decided to get blessings from a monk. While kneeling in front of the monk with our hands held together he chanted and splashed us with water. It was quite a memorable experience.
    

Next we went to the Umbrella Factory, where we were able to see the process of how the hand manufactured umbrellas were made. The umbrellas are primarily made out of bamboo and dyed using mulberry. These are not your every rainy day umbrellas but more of a high tech, 99% UV protection umbrellas. Once the umbrellas are put together they are painted with some of the nicest artwork I have ever seen. At the factory there was also many locals sitting around doing these amazing paintings for visitors. I decided to get elephants painted on my phone case. It only took the women about 10 minutes and she said it would last up to a year or two. I love it and can't wait to show it off!
  

Then we went to the Silk Company where we were able to see the entire process behind making and weaving silk. This includes silk worms, boiling the cocoons and hand weaving. We were welcomed with free beverages and then shown around the factory to see the process. At the beginning of the tour, we were able to compare many different kinds of silk as well as artificial silk. It was really cool to be able to feel the differences. I had no prior knowledge of how silk is made other than that silk worms are involved and that it takes a lot of work, making silk material expensive. To my surprise, the entire silkworm cocoon is placed in a pot of boiling water, with the worm still inside. This allows for the breakdown of the serricin substance of the cocoon, loosening the silk filaments, which can then be pulled and spun together into a silk strand. The strands are then hand loomed (weaved). Using the machine they are able to make about 4 meters of fabric per day. We ended the tour at the shop. There were shirts, scarves, ties, you name it, at high quality for a much lower price than we would find in the U.S.!
  


Our last visit was to a nearby tiger reservation. We were able to enter one of the cages and pet the small tigers. I asked one of the workers many questions, as I am often skeptical of these types of environments. I am pleased to say that the tigers did not seem to be sedated and the worker said that after 5 years they are released into a much larger reservation where they are able to roam around more freely. The small tigers that I encountered seemed very playful and happy. The one thing that I did not like was the small area that the tigers were kept in. However, each one had their own pool for when they are hot and to drink from, as well as tires and other toys to play with. Also, I did learn that tigers live about 5 years longer in captivity. 


Thanks for checking in!
-Lindsey

Buddhist Temple

Hello Loyal Readers :)

This week is a blogging week again so I wanted to share a few fun facts that I have learned recently about Buddhism and a temple that we visited this morning! We climbed about 300 steps to a temple called Doi Suthep. It is a sacred site to many Thai people and is named after the mountain it is located on. Once we were inside the temple grounds, appropriate attire of covered shoulders and legs is required out of respect for the temple and the culture. The views that we could see of all of Chiang Man were breathtaking, as we were on top of the highest peak looking down! I was particularly interested in the fact that many of the statues and shrines were influenced by the Buddhist and Hindu religion - some of Buddha and some of the Hindu God Ganesh. 

Upon entering the sacred area, Lindsey and I were told that getting blessed by a monk at the temple was appropriate even if a person was not a follower of the Buddhist faith - so naturally, we wanted to see what it was about! We kneeled before the monk and placed our palms together in the form of prayer while the monk chanted and spritz water over our heads four times. After a little bit of research I found out that the offering of holy water symbolizes calmness, clarity and purity of body, speech and mind. Water is also meant to remind us to cleanse ourselves of our attachments and generate generosity, compassion and wisdom. What a beautiful message - I feel very grateful to have had the chance to blessed by a monk today. 

After that, I noticed that many Thai people had purchased a lotus flower and candles and were walking clockwise around a centered shrine of Buddha with those items in hand, for a total of three times. The number three in Buddhism represents "Three Jewels": 1. Buddha 2. Dharma (teachings of Buddha) and 3. Sangha (the community of believers who follow the teachings of Buddha). 

I was inspired by the way every detail of the procession had a meaning behind it! This is very similar to my religion, Hinduism, and therefore extremely interesting for me to learn about. Buddhists seek to reach a state of Nirvana which is about peace, spiritual joy, compassion and reaching a refined, subtle awareness. They follow the path of Buddha, Siddharta Guatama, who went on a quest for enlightenment in the 6th Century. There is no personal belief in a God, but rather that nothing is fixed or permanent and that change is always possible. 

I hope you learned a little of something new today :) Check in tomorrow!

Elephants!

Today some of the students went to an elephant sanctuary. Thailand only has 6,000 elephants and what I found most interesting was how dedicated these people were to protecting their elephants. In this village, when a person becomes old enough, they are given an elephant and it is their duty to protect and take care of it. This is a 24/7 job because if these elephants go without their partner for even an hour they become worried and anxious, often resulting in housing or village damage. These people legit devote their lives to these elephants and often times never get to leave the village.

Upon arrival we were given blue outfits to wear because elephants can only see two colors, blue and yellow. When the elephants see our blue outfits, they think of food and come running up to us. It was amazing to see how massive yet gentle these creatures were! 

Unfortunately, today ended on a sad note as we had to say goodbye to Jono who had been advising our trip for the last week and a half. He is a UNE alumni who currently works in a critical care unit in Houston, Texas. In our short time with him, he managed to not only teach us a great deal of pharmacy, but created relationships with us that will carry far past this experience. He will be greatly missed! 

Elephant Sanctuary

Hellooo,

A group of us visited an Elephant Sanctuary today & it was so much fun! Most of these elephants were rescued. Some interesting things we learned were elephants live up to about 60 years old, female elephants who become pregnant are pregnant for TWO years(!!!), and adult elephants are given 4-5 liters of Moonshine once a month to help with digestion (they can & do get drunk lol). We got to play, feed, and bathe some female and baby elephants-- here are some pics!

We carried baskets full of bananas to feed the elephants

Us bathing them in the water

 😍

Group pic 🐘🐘

Today was also our preceptor, Jonothan Balk's, last day :( we have been so lucky to have had him here with us & we miss him so much already!