Acclimated and Ready to Roll

Home stay: Done--Set Lau
Foundations: Done--Set Lau
Language: Still in Progress--Yangmai Set
Wan a teed, pbai meh nahm mun--Sunday I'll go to the Mun River

Now that foundations and the home stay are over and my language is such that I can comfortably converse with those I am required to in order to survive in Chiang Mai, ISDSI has moved me (and my fellow students) into apartments in the 'downtown' of the city. We are now to fend for ourselves for a week every month--feeding ourselves, getting our own laundry done, doing our homework, buying water, walking to school--this week is the week before we head out for our three week field courses which the program prides itself in.
I write this post on the Thursday night before we leave on our first field course experience. The course is "Human Rights and the Environment," and it is focused on how government and corporate 'enclosure' on villages in Thailand in the form of Dams operates and how Grassroots organizations are formed to counter such projects. Basically, like the title implies, the class is meant to relate how human rights and environmental concerns, two ideas that are often separated when being protected, are actually very closely entwined with each other. By analyzing river communities and how the construction of Dams has or will affect the livelihoods of individuals within those communities, we are meant to get a better understanding of how human rights and the environment can work together.
On Sunday we will leave for the Mun River in the East for two weeks where we will talk with villagers who feel the impacts of the Mun River Dam. The third week will be in the North in Mae Hong San. (I am pretty sure these are where we will be--if not, than I'll post that when I return). I know we have home stays while we are in the East, I think for about a week. This time around we will probably be staying two to a house and for a shorter period. I have been told to expect spicy food in the East, at least spicier than that what we've been eating up here in the North. I am excited for it, but I'm not sure I can say the same for my bowels. We'll be canoeing down the river while we're in the North, though in the Eat, I think we are taking it mostly by foot.
I'm stoked for the experience. I am ready to try out some new areas of Thailand.