David's Journal
This is unbelievable!! No running water, no electricity, hanging with Buddhist monks, volunteering at a local foundation with activities from stuffing envelopes, playing with kids, I'll be shoveling old food to make compost, same with some human waste, some gardening, etc.
We wake up around 5:30 or 6:00 because that's when the sun comes up. We are in the country, so it reminds me of Vietnam in the both movies --I'm so LA, a lot of them were shot here, but also from books and newsreels.
The food is wonderful--lots of it and so dang good! The Buddhist monks are awesome--very friendly and fun. They want to talk with us to practice their English, they all love Eminem--I'm pushing Bruce Springsteen, but to no avail.
I am have a truly amazing experience, but I gotta tell ya two things--it's hot as hell here and humid. Also I am looking at life differently in a lot of ways. This really is great It's a very different way to travel--very eye opening.
OK, More later--no time and on internet here, time is money. Hope all's well in LA.
Later in Trip
I finished the program this morning and am now in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon. I am at the Hilton, called here the Conrad--Thais must be on a first name basis with hotel moguls! I will relocate to a much cheaper guest house, but wanted to really enjoy things like air conditioning, running water and electricity. Here's what I am looking forward to the most--no mosquitoes!!
It really was unbelievable--difficult to describe. We learned how to make candles--very useful at night, we chopped wood--gotta boil water for drinking, and we went to the Thai National Buddhist office-a very unique opportunity that many of the monks had never done. It is the HQ and administrative offices for the 30,000 Buddhist temples in Thailand, the 10,000 in planning or under construction and the 100 or so outside of Thailand. We went to the foundation that is our local volunteer partner and helped move debris from a pile into a ditch and we were working with kids that helped us. I'm the injury guy--got a blister chopping trees with monks, fell off the dining area in the dark one night--forgot that the edge is less than a foot from the benches--just three feet down, but fell into a fence and cut my hand--no biggie, just a cut and a little embarrassing--it was before the beer. Mom--don't worry, not injured!
On Friday--yesterday, cooked all morning for the family and the monks--the latter can't eat after noon. We made our own dishes, so I made, you guessed it--chili. We then learned Buddhist meditation, played games against the monks like at summer camp--we won, but they are competitive! I got injured there too--in one game a blind folded team member tries to hit a big can as their team mates guides him or her and the opposing team yells to distract them. Advice--don't stand too near the can. I got whacked, but Robyn hit the can, so I'll take one for the team!! It was a lot of fun. We finished last night with dinner, not for the monks, and then our closing ceremony--they gave us new names--mine was superstar--and then one of Mommy's (our hostess likes that name--she's like my Grandmother, Tia) granddaughters is a Thai dancer and played a traditional Thai instrument called a Kim which is Thai for Kim. I performed the Navy part of my one man show and people loved it. Now I can say Lost Child has gone global!!
I can't begin how to describe to y'all this experience. Travel always puts perspective on things and how much I appreciate our country, and you always learn about other cultures, but to have the experience we have had with a family is basically that works so hard to feed and take care of us, but calls us family and treats us that way; to live in such a basic, and let's face it, primitive environment but to really have everything you need; to let to know another religion, but one that is non-exclusive with a lot to offer as a philosophy of life; to meet four other Americans who are such cool people and to make new friends in them. It really has been amazing, and it will take me a while to a long while to learn all I have learned from this. It's just hard to describe, but I feel truly blessed by this whole thing.
OK enough touchy feely crap. I'm going to go do something I haven't done in over a week--put hot water mixed with soap on me body. And get this--it comes out of a pipe!! You can turn it on or off and regulate both temperature and pressure! And later tonight--are you sitting down? I'm sleeping on a bed!! Get out of town! Take the bus! No mosquito net!!
I gotta run before I spend too much $ on the net.
Looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back.
Let's just say this--my life has changed because of this, but I am still a Catholic actor in LA. Just a more grateful one, and hopefully a little more enlightened. We shall see!