We are in Thailand where I am teaching a
class (biostatistics) to nursing students who are doing their MS in nursing.
This is an off-campus program by the Loma Linda University School of Nursing.
We did the same thing in 2012. The students meet here at the Asia-Pacific
International University (APIU). APIU is the former Mission College. We are on a beautiful campus 2 hr. north of
Bangkok out in the country. The students will come here for a month each year
for 3 years + some online education. There are 35 in the class. They come from Malawi, Cambodia,
China, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Solomon
Islands, Thailand, and Zambia. We have 6 students from Zambia. They are
starting a nursing program at Rusangu University in Zambia. Rusangu University
has recently been built on the same mission property where we spent our 7 years
(69-76) in Zambia. Three of the Zambian students (all males) are getting their Masters in Nursing in preparation for teaching in the new nursing school.
Our travels:
Wed. July 8, 11 am: we leave our home in Loma Linda
for our flight from LA to Bangkok with a 1.5 hr. stop-over in Taiwan. In
addition to our bags we carry 4 large bags of text books for various classes in
the program. Our 14 hr. flight on China Airways (C-A) to Taiwan is only half
full so Eileen and I quickly each grab 3 seats to ourselves and sleep a lot of
the trip. I had very briefly looked into getting business class seats, but at
an extra $2,000 I gave up that idea. Glad I did with all that
room in economy. Very good treatment on C-A.
Friday, July 10, 1:30 am: Arrive at the Suvarnabhumi
Airport (got to get used to unpronounceable names here) in Bangkok. We have a
total of 8 bags with us. I hadn’t thought about customs (all those new text
books), and just took the line “Nothing to Declare” and was waived right on
through.
A van from APU was waiting for us and we did the
2-hr. trip to the University. By the time we got to our guest room it was 5 am
(we are 14 hrs ahead of Loma Linda) and crossed the International Date Line so
we had made the whole trip in about 28 hrs. We gained a day on the way over
which we will loose on the way back.
Eileen has requested the same guest room we had in
2012. It is a nice large room with everything we need for a month stay. All our
meals are taken in the University dining hall, where they prepare special food
and a reserved eating area for our class. We get very good food in a large
variety (watch out for the HOT spicy stuff). Sometimes even cooked cucumbers!
We spend the next few days sleeping off our jet lag
(Eileen tries Melatonin) and reacquainting ourselves here at APIU and meeting
the students. We rent a motorbike for the duration of our stay ($3/day). Good
way to take short trips around the country and to the market where you can find
a huge array of fresh fruit and vegetables and deep fried crickets,
grasshoppers, grub worms, every chicken, pig and other animal, foul, fish and
toad parts imaginable. Also a health professional (he displays a certificate to
prove it) with several dozen bottles of potions which contain labeled cures for
every malady from the 7-year itch to mother-in-law troubles. Even one labeled
“sex-love”. On inquiry, he instructed Eileen that just one drop on her wrist is
enough to secure a complete cure! She tells him with a jerk of her thumb “that
guy over there needs it”!!
We have come a week early to do some traveling in
Thailand. We explore several ideas for an excursion and settle on a trip to Kanchanaburi. It is here that the WW2 historic
“Death Railway” traversed the “Bridge Over the River Kwai” and through the
“Hellfire Pass” (Google those if you have forgotten your WW2 history, how
thousands of POWs died). Kwai is pronounced like “way” with a k in front.
Tuesday, July 14: We catch a
van ride to the Victory Monument in Bangkok then get a taxi to the Bangkok
Adventist Hospital (formerly Mission Hospital) where we will stay overnight. The
Hospital is closely associated with APIU. When we reach the hospital, I am in
the back seat and take my wallet out of my pocket to pay the fare. While
counting the money I lay the wallet on my lap. I then get out of the taxi and do
not notice my wallet falls to the ground. There are several attendants there to
welcome people to the hospital. One sees my wallet fall and picks it up and
hands it to me. Wow! A close call! Got to be more careful ( he did get a tip).
We have a nice room in the hospital on one wing of the OB floor which appears
to be empty. In the afternoon we visit a huge near-by outdoor market and buy
some ripe mangos. These markets are something we wish everyone could
experience.
Wednesday, July 15, 6:30 am we
are picked up for our tour. This will be a 2-day private tour, so we have a
tour guide and a driver. Our tour is booked through mybangkoktours.com
Our first stop is the grave yard in Kanchanaburi where the
British, Dutch and Australian POW’s who died building the railway are buried.
The USA POW’s who died were brought back to the states after the war. Then to
the bridge over the River Kawi.
There actually were two bridges built over the river by the POW’s (A steel one
and a wood one which were continually bombed by the Allies). We then get on the
train and cross the bridge and travel for about 45 min where we detrain and
have lunch. This is a huge tapioca growing area.
Next stop is the
elephant farm where we get to ride Kip, a very well-behaved elephant (which
Eileen declared much more interesting than she had anticipated) who even takes
us down and back up a steep flight of steps to the river. We then do a short
bamboo raft trip on the river (no elephants allowed on the raft).
We then go to a
beautiful resort (pungwaanriverkwai.com) where we are to spend the night. It is
out in the country on the banks of the river. A most beautiful place to
celebrate our 48th anniversary year – we actually first met 50 years
ago this month.
Thursday: July 16 we visit Hellfire Pass museum and
then hike to the pass. After knowing what happened here we feel like we are
walking on sacred ground.
When you enter the museum you are asked to remove
your shoes. On our way out, when Eileen
is trying to put her shoes on she has a hard time – can’t figure out why.
Our last stop of the day is the Tiger Ranch where we
get to take Jupiter, a full-grown tiger, for a walk. Quite an experience. We
actually got to pet a dozen tigers of all sizes.
While at the Tiger Farm, suddenly Eileen remarks
“these are not my shoes”. She tells our guide that she thinks she put on the
wrong pair of shoes back at the museum. Our guide calls back to the museum and
asks if anyone has reported missing shoes. Someone has! Our guide tells them
where we are and fortunately they will pass near in an hour. The shoe mystery
is solved. They come by and exchange shoes – which look about the same. I chide
her a bit about getting the wrong shoes – which she chalks up to “a senior
moment” – and then pointedly reminds me that carelessly losing one’s wallet in
a foreign city is much more serious then getting the wrong shoes! She is right, I suppose.
Now on to Bangkok where we will spend the night
before heading back to APIU on Friday. It was well worth the trip.
Friday: July 17. We get a taxi to Victory Monument
and find the van which will take us back to APIU. The first thing you will
notice on the highway here in Thailand is the huge billboards. When I say big –
I mean at least 6-10 times as large as anything in the states. These things are
monsters. Tonight we will be back on campus.
Saturday: July 18. In the afternoon we accompany the
students to see the big Buddha up on the mountain about an hour from APIU. This
is a huge Buddha up on the side of a mountain – 626 steps up and 626 steps
down. A good cardio-vascular workout! Wonderful view of the valley from up
there. Eileen is the oldest in our group but not the last one to reach the top
– Bravo!
Sunday: July 19 we go for a long motorbike ride and
I spend some time preparing for my class. This is supposed to be the start of
the rainy season but this part of Thailand is in the second year of a serious
drought. Lots of the green plants are beginning to show obvious stress.
Monday: July 20 I spend in class prep as tomorrow I
begin teaching. I will teach mornings from 8-12 for the next 10 school days.
So what is Eileen doing while I am teaching and
working on lessons? Well- she brought along a large stack of papers and notes
that she has been making/collecting over the past few years (she says I
exaggerate). These need to be reviewed and acted on! Also her e-mail in-box
containing 1,100 items – some from years ago need to be answered. So watch out
– you may be getting another e-mail to read. There is good internet in our room
and a washing machine near. Workers come by and clean our room 3-times a week.
Eileen also spends a lot of time in the beautiful university library. Oh –
Eileen also spends a lot of time at war with ants. Twice she has woken up in
the middle of the night to find tiny ants crawling on her and in the bed. They
are so small it almost takes a magnifying glass to see them. They seem to be
attracted to her more than me – I guess it’s because she is so sweet!
To be continued
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