Video: The Importance Of Language

I have decided to make a serious effort at learning Burmese. Back home in Canada I wanted to do the same thing but it is near impossible to do. In the dump thou I have 100 or more teachers willing to help me. The people here actually enjoy helping me learn, they enjoy giving back. They are teachers who will laugh and share their knowledge to this wannabe Burmese speaker. It is also indirectly a great way to connect and make friends. I have found that people from Asian cultures always love  it when you try to speak their language.

Speaking a bit of Thai in the dump yesterday to a Burmese lady helped to clarify the importance of language to me. I have been sort of blindly watching  for so long here (4 years or so), always only seeing and looking for visuals to photograph that I forgot the importance of listening and learning that way as well.

In the video I was trying to speak a bit of Burmese (only know a bit) to the 80 year old mother of Dowe-OO when a young child walking by with his mother started to cry. I looked over and the child went into a bit of "Who is that big white guy shock." and stopped crying out of curiosity, so cute to see. I found out the mother spoke some Thai. She told me she worked in Mae Sot, washing clothes (I think) and that she did not have a motorbike but cycled in each day to work. That is a bit of a long haul as even on my motorbike it takes me maybe 20 minutes to drive in from Mae Sot.  She also later told me where she lived and invited me over the next day.  My Thai seemed to be a bit better than hers but I am far from fluent.  But just having a little bit of Thai speaking ability made all the difference, I learned many things from a 2 minute talk as a result.

Language, language, language. I got to learn me some Burmese! I am like a deaf man in the dump. I will only learn more about the families lives by first learning more language myself. I am now 53 so learning a new language at that age ain't the easiest of things. I have thou in the past had a bit of a language learning gift. It not easy for me to learn, not as easy as some people certainly but I think it is a bit more easy for me to learn Burmese than some of my friends back home, maybe I just work harder at it, not sure. Maybe the photography pushes me forward, I know with more language, better pics will come of it. Photography has always ruled everything in my life and seems to have lead me down the good path. I like to follow where it takes me.

Anyway, lets try to learn Burmese. Ouch!! My head and mouth hurt already! This should be interesting.

Lets summarize my goals this trip, make a documentary film, shoot 240 sheets of 8x10 and hundreds of rolls of 35mm film, do $3273.43 CAD worth of donation work and now LEARN BURMESE..

No problem! Easy Speazy. Let's get to it :))

Wicked Dreams

Did not have a good sleep last night, only about 5 1/2 or 6 hours. I fell asleep around 530am. I had trouble with my com (computer) before my regular bedtime and then it kept me up for hours. Eventually I rebooted in SAFE MODE before going to a recovery from Oct 23. After all that I was able to restart the machine properly. I am not a computer guy so doing that sort of thing is stressful. I need my computer for my work, it is vital, so I was quite worried. Eventually when it all got taken care of and things seemed normal I was able to sleep.

Then I went into strange dream mode. Not sure why but I dream a lot, too much maybe. After dad died the dreams were always about him, sometimes they were very difficult to deal with, waking up in tears that sort of thing. Last night I had 2 different tough dreams, two that I recall, I think there were more.

1) I dreamnt of a girl, Nong,, who I knew well back in 1999 and a bit in 2003. She was a street worker, a sweet girl with a good heart. Nong had a troubled alcoholic father,and grew up in a poor tough section of Bangkok. She had 1 daughter in 1999 and later 3 children in 2003, her Thai husband was a security guard. When I met her in 2003 she had lost lots of weight and was struggling to support her 3 children. I think she ate less so her children could have more. In my dream she was crying and vulnerable, speaking to me of her life. It was very difficult to see her in pain. I remember tears running down her face as she spoke to me in broken English.

Nong 2003, near the home she shared with 3 children and her Thai husband

2) The second dream was about me and a number of other people. We were all in a hospital going through tests and then diagnosed with various forms of cancer. Mine was a more severe type. I was in a room, the medical people put me on a list, my name was in the more advanced type cancer section with  one other person.  All I was thinking in the dream was, "Now I cannot finish my work! How can I finish my work if I have cancer?"

Hopefully will sleep better and longer tonight. It is now 1210pm  I will write a few blogs, boil some eggs for breakfast and clean my apartment  (to keep out the insects, especially cockroaches). The plan then is to go to the dump with the 7 sets of boots at around 3-330pm. After handing out the boots, making 35mm photos, and learning more Burmese  (my head hurts already). I will drive home, wash up, clean my pants, shirt, boxers and socks. Then wash my filthy boots. All of that takes over 1 hour. I will then go to Lotus department store on my bike, have a restaurant meal of some kind (not eating that well) before going grocery and supply (need 2 kinds of tape) shopping. Will then return to the room, put the bought food in the fridge, write my blogs, roll some more 35mm film ( the scotch tape is for that) and go to bed again, hopefully around midnight.

Then another day of much the same thing after that, and after that, and after that.

Video: Found The Missing Video Files- Boy Working

Here is a short video of one of the young boys working. I have photographed this boys family many times over the years. I believe they use the rice in the pail to feed their pigs. If my Burmese improves enough in a month or 2 I can ask him myself how the rice is used. The children in the dump work very hard. I wonder what percentage of his body weight this heavy pail of wet rice was.

Some More Selfies With The Dump Children

The children in the dump love to have there pictures taken and then viewed on the LCD screen. I shoot mostly film cameras so they do not get that. They look at the cameras and want to see the pics, but I cannot show them, then they are confused. So I also take some digi photos and video to make them happy.  They always laugh and get so excited when they see themselves. The little girl in red could not stop giggling through out our little photo session. She was laughing and talking with her mother, sister through out, so happy!

Here are a couple of selfies, me in my goofy but very necessary hat, sweating constantly, them filled with the joy of youth, the joy of childhood. The lighting conditions as you can tell were extremely harsh. This is around 4pm in the afternoon today.

Selfies Oct. 27, 2017 with the dump childrfen

Loading 35mm Film

Opened up my first can of 100 foot b/w Tri-x tonight. Will get 18 rolls of 36 out of it. I placed the shot-exposed film in the now empty can and taped it up. I will develop this film back in Canada sometime in 2018. I hope the pictures made lead to more exhibitions, more artist fees and more donations for the “Families of the Dump”. When the pictures help those pictured it is a perfect circle of life.

Note* 22 rolls of 35mm film shot so far.

See You Tomorrow!

As I was leaving the dump today one of the dump boys yelled out “See you tomorrow!” in English. The local Sky Blue School teaches the children a number of languages one is English. Many of the children know a few English words and phrases. Much of my efforts to communicate in the dump involves speaking Burmese along with Thai followed by English. Sometimes I feel like the United Nations trying to understand and also get my point across.

It was nice to hear the boy wanted to see me tomorrow. I feel an obligation, maybe that is the wrong word, a responsibility to make the pictures and the donations on a daily basis.

As I type this it is now tomorrow, better go to bed today is another important day at the dump.

7 Boot Orders

The boot orders are climbing! I got 7 today, 5 size 9s for young boys and girls and 2 size 10s for older women. I already bought the boots, they cost 1360 baht, 200 each for the 9s (some are 9 1/2)  and 180 each for the black 10s.

Thank you to all those who donated money to help by boots for the families, the children.

Today's bought boots 7 pairs for 1360 baht

Making Pictures To Hand Out, Old And New

Am going to do up a series of photos both new colour digital stuff and old b/w film pics from years back. The idea is to hand them out to the family members as gifts. I have done this in the past to great positive response.

Blind Burmese Mother 80 Years Old

A man named Dow-oo who lives in the swamp shack area of the dump introduced me to his mother who 80 years old and I think blind (or has very damaged vision). I had driven him to the area where his mother lived then back again to his home on the motorcycle. I am not sure what he wanted of me but I could tell he loved his mother very much and was worried for her, she is about my own mothers age.

One cute thing was that people smiled as I drove by with Dow-of on the back of the bike. Maybe I will end up becoming a bit of a chauffeur with this thing.

The Families Are Teaching Me Burmese, My Head Hurts!

I have started a program of learning to speak Burmese. With over 100 teachers, in the dump, how can I fail? Will do my best and see how it goes. Had so many words fed to me today, I am a bit dizzy with it all. Still in even the short time since the learning has started, things have improved rather dramatically, there is an added connection happening. I feel that this trip my interaction and closeness to the families might improve 10 fold, or even 100 fold. Language, the ability to talk, to share stories, ideas, feelings is extremely powerful.

I had a longer talk in Thai with a Burmese lady today in the new living area for the families. We were able to joke, learn from each other, talk about many things. She works in Mae Sot and drives a bicycle there daily. Imagine if I could speak to everyone in the dump in there own language of Burmese. What could be done then! What new level of connection, trust and friendships would develop?

Another Wonderful Day With The "Families Of The Dump"

After another long sleep (10 hours?) and a quick breakfast-brunch of cold chicken and cereal, I headed to the dump at 3pm. Still making some motorcycle driving errors but arrived at the dump unscathed.

I gave out a food bag to the family with t he laughing red shirted girl. Then took a few photos, the mother looked a bit uncomfortable so I moved on to another area to make pics. Eventually I ended up with Dow-oo and his mother before going into the main garbage working area and learning Burmese and did 35mm work and a few videos. That is the place I also got 7 boot orders for tomorrow.

Overall another wonderful several hours, joking and talking to the children and adults. Hopefully I got some good photographs as well.

Note* I am having problems with my laptop again, it is not restarting properly. Currently writing this blog entry on my iPad.

Video: MAY-MO-DEE

Here is a short video of a boy in the dump digging out fruit to save (forget his name now have to ask again, I have trouble remembering Burmese names). He was helping me learn the word ORANGE in Burmese, LAY-MO-DEE (you go up in tone on the DEE). A wonderful boy who comes from a large family with many children. The little girl I think might be from the family as well, not sure never met her before yesterday. She did not say much. I have noticed that quite often the young girl children in the dump families are much more quiet, almost mute compared to the much more active, vocal and playful boys. A bit of a generality but it seems to be the case more often than not.

In my first few dump visits I have noticed more people eating directly out of the garbage (children mostly, sometimes scolded by parents). The young boy is also in the attached picture made in late 2015. I managed to step on a nail seconds before I made the shot, went through my boot and grazed my left foot drawing blood. Got the shot thou!!

Just going to have a bite of cold chicken with bread to eat with  milk before heading back to the families. Yesterday the sun in the dump at 3pm was much too hot, felt like I was melting. Am aiming to arrive closer to 330pm today, it gets too dark to shoot around 630pm. Will take another food donation bag. I have a set of boots to deliver also but am unsure where the man lives who ordered them. I will keep then in my room until I find him again then can deliver the boots the next day.

Thanks to all those back in Canada and in the USA (forgot to mention the USA in an earlier blog, sorry LH), who donated funds to help the people here.

Note* The boy is gathering up some fruit found in a garbage dump bag, for later use.

Video: Families Working The Garbage October 26, 2017

Here is a video I shot today of some of the work done around 430-530pm. It has been 5 hours since I left the dump, I have washed, showered and washed again, have gone to a nice restaurant and had a good meal but I can still smell the garbage, can still feel it leaking into my boots, can still see it in my minds eye. The dump is so over powering. If not for the good people there, the friends I have made I would not have the strength to go back. I dread that smell that place but the people, I want to be next to them joking, learning from them, trying to understand their lives and of course helping as much as possible.

I need to toughen up, get over it, deal with it. How can people live in that world day in day out, for christ sakes I have been photographing the same families doing the same things for 4 years now, almost 5.

Potato Chips

This trip I decided to throw a bag of potato chips in with my daily food donation bags to the dump. In the past I have mostly kept it to staples like rice, canned fish etc but thought why not give the kids a fun food.

Today's food bag, the first this trip that has been donated had a bag of chips in it, which went straight to a number of children in the swamp dump shacks. The people who donated some money back in Canada helped give a baby-child in dump today a little treat. Thank you for that!

Note* I will make copies of these photos and others I took and then give them to the parents as keepsakes. The snapshots that have handed out through the years I occasionally see again years later.

Young baby girl enjoying her chip

Daughter who is new to me, the father I have known for around 4 years

New people to the dump, TWINS, eating their potato chips

My Studies

I am trying to immerse myself in the Burmese culture, trying to learn some of the language.

ORANGE = LAY-MO-DEE
HAT = OWE TOWE

Also using a Burmese app on my iPod.

How are you doing? = NEY-GOWN-YET-LAU

Am also trying to learn the kids names. Doing a video of many children saying their names, then will try to remember the face and the name. Most names are like 3 or 4 syllables so difficult.

So So Tired!

Today after leaving the dump, I was pretty well spent. I was there  for maybe 4 hours but walking through the garbage, finding pictures, is terribly tiring. I decided to treat myself to some good food tonight so went to a restaurant for the first time since I came to Mae Sot. 

I will have another long sleep tonight to energize myself for the coming days. I have not even started to shoot the 8x10 camera or the video for the film. If the 35mm work is so difficult for me how the hell am I going to do the other stuff?

The Families Are Teaching Me Burmese!

Had a lot of fun learning Burmese from the families today. Now that I know how to say "Da-beh-lou-koh-deh-lay (What is this?).  I then say "Burma Saga" (Burmese language). I have many people to teach me now, the children especially like to join in helping me with my pronunciation.

After 6 months I hope to be able to have little conversations, not sure I can reach that level thou. Still its worth trying. I was pretty good at Thai after my first 10 months back in 1999.

It is great fun for everyone and draws lots of smiles and some laughter. People always like when you try to learn their language, it is a great way to make friends.

People Drinking, Children Eating From The Garbage

I saw a lot of children eating directly out of the garbage today. More than I have ever seen before. There must have been 5 or 6 different kids eating things they just dug out of the filth. Some of the
older people also partook. I saw one man (have a video of it) popping a sealed water cup with his finger before drinking out of it. One older lady found a bottle of water but it was not sealed so she just poured it on her hands.

I offered the older lady and man some of my water (YEE in Burmese) but they refused. The man smiled when he said no, then I heard him saying something about water to a friend. Maybe he mentioned that I offered him mine. I find so often that the westerners who help people in places like this often hold themselves superior. They distance themselves, often do not become deeply and personally connected to the lives of the people they are helping, they live on the periphery. I do not want to do that, I want to be as one with the families, or as least as close as I can be. My nationality, money, skin color, language, history, culture and privilege will always distance me somewhat. But I want to make an effort to be as close as I can be. As close as is it is possible to be.

More Hellos From Old Friends

As I was leaving the dump today, getting on my motorbike an old man who was a friend from  previous days said "MING -GAU-LAU-BAU" (hello) to me. He said it before I saw him. He then asked what I thought to mean "When did you return? I told him 5 before. 5 in Burmese is NAU. I did not know the word for days but I think he understood me. He nodded and smiled at my reply, then repeated what I had said. I am surprised how many people remember me from 1 year and 6 months ago. Its a good feeling to be remembered and greeted like this. Very rewarding. You get the feeling your doing something good, that your having a positive effect on the lives of others.

Note* Difficult to type just now, I am working on my bed, in my room, in the dark. Little bugs keep climbing all over the white screen, counting 6 right now. Insects are pretty hard to avoid in Asia. My room comes with spiders, mosquitoes (sometimes) and a variety of small flying and crawling things, no cockroaches thankfully. Guess I need to get used to them, they are here to stay.

Exploring With The Motorcycle!

I have been driving here and there, back and fourth with the motorbike. Will need to get some gas soon, running short now. What a joy this thing is to ride, I feel like I am 15 again, riding my trail bike with my cousin Randy on uncle Franks acreage near Spruce Grove Alberta. Sometimes I get lost, but who cares easy enough to stop and turn round, then speed back.

Today I did a bit of  low speed driving helmet less near the dump, no one on the road but me. Every time my hat almost flew off I would slow down. Loads of fun. Just me my motorcycle, my cameras and lots of sugarcane fields.

My motorbike and me

A Great Day At The Dump

Spent about 3 1/2 hours from 3pm to sometime after 6. I left just as it was getting dark. There was lots of joy in the dump today. The first load of garbage brought in lots of valuable cargo, clear plastic bottles etc. People were digging and grabbing furiously. Even as the garbage dumped out on the ground people were laughing. You can pretty much get used to anything if your good people, they can find happiness and joy in the most difficult working environments.

Lots of laughing going on today, more than I can remember in a long time. Even the garbage trucks dropping a bunch of water drew smiles and laughing form several of the older women. Now it is quite easy for me to work in the dump, access to making pictures is easy now. Many of the people here now know who I am, and what I am about. Only the newer people seem a bit wary. I will try to break down some of those barriers and make friends with them.

I better try to go to sleep. dogs are barking loudly outside on the street, it is 1241am, they do this every night. Also man bugs buzzing me, had something crawling on me a few seconds ago, some kind of larger winged creature.

With two young boys  at the beginning of the day, with my new goofy hat (helps protect me from the sun

Apartment Sounds.

A new sound was just heard from my apartment window. It seems to be a Muslim call to prayer in Arabic, gone now, then comes back and is gone again, there must be a mosque somewhere nearby. Lots of noises can be he heard from my 5th floor ESTATE, traffic, mainly noisy motorbikes. Dogs barking throughout the night on and off, in the morning dozens of bird singing sounds. Strangely can barely hear anything going on at the apartment next door where I think multiple men live in one room, the apartment walls are quite thick. The apartment management also has a strict quiet time after 9pm. They also request you shut down your motorbike before entering the apartment parking lot and push it up to the parking area under the apartments to lesson noise pollution. Sort of a courtesy thing.

Freedom! Plus It's Fun!

I love riding my motorbike, it gives me a freedom I have rarely had in Thailand. I can go where I want when I want and stop wherever I want. I love it! I can make pictures here or there, visit the dump 5 times a day if I need to. Having my own bike is wonderful all round. Heck outside of the chance that it could kill me (lots of wacky drivers in Thai including myself), it's great.

I felt more comfortable driving the bike this second day than I did the first. Hopefully tomorrow will be better still. I try to follow the example of good motorbike driving Thais and follow their leads. I am also getting to know where things are in Mae Sot. Today found the bus station, Lotus store, Robinson store and the dump.

Overall things are working out great with the bike, outside of me forgetting how to start the darn thing today. I need to  continue to use caution. I had planned to go early to the dump tomorrow while it was still dark. I think thou driving the motorbike in the dark all the way to the dump is still a bit risky. I will go later in the day a few more times before doing dark time driving of any kind. Once I am completely comfortable I will try driving in the dark.

Caution is warranted. Thailand is ranked second in the world in deaths do to road accidents, about 24000 die each year. 80% of those deaths are people driving motorbikes. Check out this shocking BBC article.
Life and death on Thailand's lethal roads

What's For Supper?

Tonight's sorta, kinda, Gerry cooked meal? A piece of fried pork,  flavored with chili powder and peas. Later on I also had some corn on the cob and raw green onions with bread-butter and milk (one of my Canadian staples, onions help keep me well). Am doing very basic cooking but it's fun!

Pork (Chili Powder) and Peas

A Unique Thai Moment

This probably falls into the too much information column, but here it goes!

So remember that very spicy fish I told you about? Well by the time I made it to the Lotus mall store I was paying for eating it,, my stomach was a gurgling quite a bit. Off to the washroom after asking for some help finding it.

Thais have the public mall washroom thing figured out very well. There are certain things Thais do very well, much better than in the world of Canada. Banks are great, you often can sit at a desk when dealing with your teller, they offer a wide variety of electronic services unavailable back home, great customer service etc. Another simple example is rolling walkway style escalators. they have the ability to lock down the wheels of your shopping cart. You can go down or up very steep escalator with a large loaded down shopping cart, hands free. Public washrooms in malls are also usually very well designed. They play loud music in the washrooms with exhaust fans a working hard, eliminating many evil sound effects (if you get my meaning) as well as diminishing many unwanted smells. Another public washroom benefit is the privacy, the doors are not filled with holes and large cracks and the stall sides and doors go down to about 6 inches off the floor. You have your own almost home like private throne to do your business on.

So I was on my throne doing the spicy fish business thingy when 2 Thai ladies in the washroom started laughing and telling jokes to each other in Thai. One of the weird parts of Thai public washrooms is that cleaning women can be in the washroom at anytime. They come right in and work along side the men using the facilities, this can be a bit off putting! You can be standing in a urinal or sitting in a throne stall and they will be right there with you (or almost). So I am working hard and CONCENTRATING when I hear all the joking and laughing going on just a foot or so outside. Then I see a blue mop come sloshing through under my front door and on the floor at the side in the stall next to mine. The mop is mopping the women are joking, and I am losing my concentration. This is as I said earlier rather distracting.This goes on for about 5 minutes. Slosh, mop in, mop out, joke,, giggle, laugh, jabber, jabber, jabber, slosh, giggle, laugh, laugh, sloshity slosh, slosh.

Only in Thailand! At least the washrooms are almost always clean!

Today's Stuff

After my long sleep and weird dream I managed to get a lot accomplished today.

- Drove down to Lotus shopping center. Now I know how to get there! And where to park the motorbike.
- Got a haircut for 210 baht ($8.03 CAD) including tip. The man who cut my hair took his time and did a great job. In malls haircuts always cost a bit more, this one thou was well worth it.
- Went shopping and bought a bunch more groceries for myself and also bought some food for donations.

- Paid my Nok Air airplane ticket bill at the bank. I fly to Bangkok on November 3 and back to Mae Sot on November 10. The total cost for both tickets is an amazingly low 2132 baht ($81.56 CAD). That is only $40.78 CAD each way. The huge benefit is that it is fast and easy, about 1 hour flight time to Bangkok. With this bargain basement fare I am not allowed check in luggage only 7 kg of carry on, in one bag.

- Packed my groceries, both in my backpack (thanks Larry L) and in 3 bags hanging from my motorbikes handle bars (a Thai thingy). Drove back to my apartment.

- Parked, climbed the 5 flights of stairs. Put away all my food stuff, including chicken of a couple of types, pork of a Korean type, fruits, and frozen shrimp. Also bought a hair dryer (for drying the inside of my dump boots) and a small clock. Time is important to me here, want to make sure I make the most of the time I have. The clock is a reminder that my time is passing minute by minute. Got to get things done.

- Got back downstairs onto my bike with a camera in a bag and a set of boots. The idea was to find the dump on my own and pass out one bag if I could.

- Before I left I paid my apartment rent for November, 3924 baht ($151.44). It will be higher next month when my electric (using lots of A/C) is figured in, also the water.

- Could not start the bike, called Pee Noy asking for help. Then nearby man selling fried chicken came over and showed me what I was doing wrong. You need to push on the left back break a little while pressing the starter, some kind of safety protection. Called Pee Noy again, told him that I did not need his help.

- With surprisingly few mistakes found the dump quite easily.The highlight was going up one dirt road before coming to a dead end. I decided to turn round when a little old Thai lady sitting in a nearby hut waved me forward. There was a tiny path through the bush-jungle. I was unsure. She wanted me to go that way? She asked if I wanted to go to highway. I said yes, she told me to go ahead. So off I went into the jungle down this little itty bitty path. A few minutes later I came out of the bush onto a small paved road which connected me to the highway. After crossing that I was home free and connected to the side road that got me to the dump in another 5 or 6 minutes.

- I made my way to the dump, handed the boots to the father of the groom (his son had ordered them) then photographed for 30-40 minutes. The light was going so I got back on my bike and headed home.

- Back home it was the same routine, went down the same itty bity path but going the other way. Waved and thanked the grandma who was still sitting under her little roadside shack (wonder if she sits their all day everyday, looking to help lost farang?)

- Along the way I stopped at Pee Noy's store (in the countryside) and bought some water. He teased me about my phone call. He teases me more and more now, guess that is a sign we are becoming more friendly. When I was at the store a man came in to buy some cigarettes, he could afford a whole pack so bought 5 cigarettes that Pee Noy's wife put into a little plastic bag for him. Imagine that buying 5 cigarettes at a time. People back home smoke that many on one of my nigh shifts, they are not allowed to smoke onsite so do it out front of the guardhouse.

- Stopped and watched guys playing kick -foot style volleyball (forget what its called).They were damn good, amazingly good for some young men on road in a far off corner of Thailand.

- Drove around a bit exploring, looking for what was where and trying to remember how to get there.

- Made my way home and cooked-ate dinner, then wrote this blog,

A good day. I also packed my 3rd bag of food. Will take them (all 3?) and hand them out to 3 exceptionally poor families in the swamp area of the dump tomorrow morning. Now that I have the drmp route figured out I can visit often. I love my motorbike!

3 food bags and boots ready to go

Sample food bag

The Burmese Lessons Begin And, "What The Hell Am I Eating?"

I had to a man, an older man at the dump yesterday teaching me a bunch of words in Burmese. I wonder if he was a teacher, or an official person of some importance before he started his life in Mae Sot dump. He seemed to really hate being there, he seemed to hate working in that terrible environment (who wouldn't?), more so than many other family workers I meet. There was a sense of loss and sadness to the man. He wore a sort of a jaunty little golfing style cap, the kind my dad used to wear. The hat as did he seemed very out of place in the garbage.

Here is one of the words he taught me:

Camera =  KIM-FRAU or it KIM-FRAH (got to check again)
Update* Was told by another  old friend camera in Burmese was KAM-MER-RRAU, Maybe the other man was teaching me the Karen Language. Too many languages here!! Gives me a headache!!

I am also using my iPad to learn an important phrase or words now. If I can learn one word or one phrase a day (a tall order). I will be able to communicate so much better with the families. Most of the people there cannot speak English or Thai so I am very limited, too limited, frustratingly limited!!! When it comes to exchanging ideas with them.

Here is the phrase of the day.

What is this called? = DA-BEH-LOU-KOH-DEH-LAY

DAMN...am eating breakfast, am eating some kind of canned fish as I type this blog. DAMN HOT!! TOO DAMN HOT!!, not sure I can finish it. Just picked up the can at the store without knowing what it was. That is what happens when your in a strange supermarket where much is unfamiliar.

Update* I managed to finish the spicy fish (tuna?), guess I am toughening up food wise a bit. Tasted rather good in the end, still very spicy but a good kinda spicy! Plan on buying several cans of this stuff the next time I see it. Now I just need to find me some salt and pepper for the eggs.

Slept 10 hours

Had a 10 hour sleep, feel a lot better. Went to bed just after midnight last night and woke up at just after 10am today. I guess I really needed the sleep, hopefully this will help my energy leave some.

Dreamed a lot, my last dream was the strangest. I was racing some white girl with red hair and freckles to work in Canada. The race was ti my job out in the countryside where I work security. We were both driving some kind of open air motorized vehicle. She was less than 100lbs and I was over 200 but I still won the race because I made a driving mistake (wrong exit) but was lucky and got a green light at an intersection, she was stuck at the opposing red light. I coasted to an easy victory.

Time to wash up, have a bite to eat and then take my Thai motorbike for a spin, plan to go to Lotus, the big Lotus shopping store across the highway if I can find it. Later on if I can I will do my first drive to the dump with some of the donated goods. I might try that around 3pm when there still is plenty of getting lost light left. Want to be on my way back before it gets dark (around 6pm). After I figure things out I can drive my motorbike in the dark, not now.

Wonder if I will meet any red haired freckled white girls along the way today, we can race!

Grocery Shopping Day 1

I took the motorbike onto the streets of Mae Sot and bought a bunch of groceries tonight, plus 2 pairs of size 11 rubber boots (earlier post). Will try to make it to the dump mid day on my own tomorrow to hand everything out.

Here is a photo of the supplies for the first 2 bags. I bought the smaller rice size, maybe I should have bought the bigger size. I was worried thou about weight. Last year the food bag sizes and the weight of the bags was rather overpowering, it really war me down. I am trying to make things a bit easier, but not sure that is the best way to go. I should probably push myself harder and get this done right. I need to factor in the motorbike, not sure if that will make things easier or harder. Getting supplies from the stores should be easier, taking everything to the dump? Not sure yet. Will probably have to do smaller batches with more loads-trips.

I will figure out the cost of this buy and add it to the RED donation buy link in the coming days. Feel too tired now, too worn out to do it now, 1146pm now, been on the go since 5am this morning.

Food for 2 donation bags

Apartment Wild Kingdom

Thai has all kinds of little creatures and not little ones that as a Canadian I am not used to. In the kitchen just now as I was boiling some eggs I got to watch a jing jok (gecko) capture a fly in in the window area. The jing jok is quite smart, he knows that at night (like now) that insects will be attracted to the light. I think I will call my jing jok who loves to eat "Noodle".

Yesterday when I came home late at night, I found a super large grasshopper of some kind on my door. I touched it to make it move before I opened up my apartment and the thing spooked and jumped away from the wall and off the 5th floor balcony, disappearing in the abyss below. Did it survive? Who knows? It probably did.

Update* Thailand like most moist countries is a land of insects. I am trying to keep all the areas where I eat and store food very clean. I dispose of garbage quickly, pick up any dropped food, bread crumbs etc. I put most everything I have food wise inside my sealed little fridge. The idea is to keep the ants and cockroaches away. Any food of any kind that hangs around my room will attract ants and cockroaches. If that happens I have a big problem. I can take most anything but cockroaches, they really freak me out. None seen so far this trip, lets keep it that way!

Kub Rot Motocyke Cha Cha Mak!

When I drove the motorbike to the grocery and boot stores I was driving VERY slowly. Or as Thai people might say "Kub Rot Motocyke Cha Cha Mak!" which means "Drive the motorcycle very slowly.

How slow was I driving? I had to decide whether to stay behind the old lady on the bicycle or pass her. Eventually I did pass her, but it was a close call there for a while! It is amazing how much traffic there is in a small town like Mae Sot. Trucks, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, people and dogs are  FRICKING EVERYWHERE, coming from all sides, all angles at the same. As an added bonus in Thailand they drive on the wrong side of the road! At least from my farang Canadian perspective.

Will take it  nice and slow at first, until I get my motorcycle legs again. I have not driven a bike for at least 4 years and the last time I used to drive a motorbike often was when I was about 16 years old. That would be 37 years ago.

Having a bike is a great benefit, I have freedom to move now like I have rarely had in this country. I need to figure out how to mount my tripod and all my gear to the bike. I did a bunch of grocery bags, back pack and large floor brush (sticking out of the backpack) today.

Gerry The Cook!

I am trying to do my own cooking in my Mae Sot apartment. I am a terrible cook but am trying to channel my late father who was very gifted when it came to making food. As I type this am frying up a chicken breast in butter, with green onions and chili powder (I do not have any salt, pepper etc).

Will see how it goes! Got to eat, to stay strong. Maybe some corn on the cob later, or something with eggs (I am becoming part chicken now, "cluck, cluck"). I was hoping to have a feast of green onions tonight but I forgot to buy salt!! Cannot eat my green onions with bread and milk, if I have no salt. Might do a restaurant my first in Mae Sot this trip tomorrow night.

Tonight's attempt at cooking

Video: My First Day Back At The Dump, Swam Home Area

This video was made today, my first day back at the dump after being away for around 1 year 6 months. It was shot at about 620am. The huts are located in area around a swamp/slew . This is the first time I met the women washing rice (mid video) There were also some shacks located farther back in the bush, including the shack for the father and mother of the groom (I photographed their sons wedding back in 2013). The father of the groom is the nice man at the end the end of the video. He is also the man from the "Scream of Joy Boot" story from a few years back (see link).

"Cry Of Joy" Blog Boot Story From 2015
Higher Quality YouTube Version Of Video

Running Donation Money Spent Total Listed At The Top Left Of The Blog

I am going to keep a running total on the left side of this blog for all donation money spent. I will list it in baht I think as that is a bit easier. The number in BLUE is the amount of money I have to donate, and above that is the donated money spent in RED. Everyone who contributed can monitor how their money is used.

It is a bit complicated to calculate everything 100% correctly sometimes. Today for example I bought my own groceries alongside the donation food stuff for the first two families. I have everything listed together on one receipt written in Thai. My Thai reading ability is rather poor (child like) so I might be making a few small mistakes now and again. I will as always try to do the best I can and to be completely honest and transparent as possible.

2 Pairs Of Rubber Boots Bought

Bought 2 pairs of rubber boots. I explained to the man at the shop that I had bought boots from him before, and that I was giving them to people who worked at the dump. He told me  the price was 220 baht. I offered 400 for 2 pairs. He accepted then came back with the boots and 140 baht change from my 500 baht bill. What?? Why??? He told me that if I would come to his shop all the time he would sell me those same boots for 180 baht a pair. The quality is better,  I have the money from the donations, this man is honest and good hearted, so why not! I will buy all my boots from his shop during my stay in Mae Sot. Works for me!

2 pairs of size 11 rubber boots bought for 2 young men in the dump

Video: Kids Playing In Fire Hose Water

When I was leaving the dump today at around 10am, several young boys where playing on the new highway in hose water. The highway is not used much yet but was very dirty from the nearby dump. Some local workers came in a fire vehicle of some kind to wash the mud off the roadway. Kids being kids, they jumped right in!

Driving A Motorbike, Getting Lost?

I got my motorbike today from Pee Noy. He rented it to me for 180 baht a day. This is probably a better deal than I could have gotten in a pro motorcycle lending shop. I got the larger bike at a cheaper price from a friend. There is a certain amount of trust here. He let me have the bike without photocopying my passport or putting down a damage deposit of any kind.

I need to take extra good care of his bike. On the days I am away in Bangkok or elsewhere I will take the bike back to him so I do no have to pay any rental fees.

I am worried about my first trip to the dump on my own. Pee Noy took me 2 different ways to the dump today. The old way, the way I kinda new is now closed for some reason, possibly construction. I know I am going to get lost going to the dump, I need to take my time and figure out a safe and good route there. I will be using this pathway many times. But first I need to get lost a bit!

This should be interesting. Heck at least life is not boring here! Everyday is a new adventure.

More Tired Than Normal

After coming back from the dump today, I felt wasted. Worn right out after only 4 hours with the families in the garbage and near their homes. How the hell am I going to last 5 plus months? Maybe I need to go there one day, take the next off and keep up that routine. Not sure, got to do something, eat better, sleep better etc. I am doing so much now at home (apartment) now also, editing, writing this blog, washing clothes, cooking, keeping in touch with family. I have had no time to write in my diary, too much on the go. Need to find extra energy some how.

Movie Title? "The Children Of The Dump"

I am trying to find my films story. In Canada I was thinking of doing the film on one dump family that I have known for several years but now I wonder, how that can be done. I met the family members, said hello (adults knew me, father was very happy to see me, the children did not remember me (kinda did, kinda did not) but I did not find their home. Many homes in the dump have been moved to an area in front of the school. I believe the organization eyestoburma has helped relocate the homes off the dump grounds but still within a short walking distance of the work. Some families are still living right next to the dump, basically on it (see the videos), that is still a bit of a grey area for me. In the days to come I will learn more about who is where, and what the living conditions are exactly for all the families.

Below are some photos of the lovely children I met today. I will try to get some of the donated money (in food bags) directly to their homes. I plan on going shopping tonight and making up some food donation bags for various households located in the shack swamp area of the dump (discovered that place today for the first time). First off I will try to get food donation bags for both families with the children pictured below. Will try to get those bags to them tomorrow.

If !!! I can manage to find the dump on my own with the rented motorbike, which will be challenging.

I feel very tired, only did 4 hours in the garbage today but am rather wasted. Hopefully I can get my wind in the coming months of work. The cries of Gerry today from many old friends was joyful to hear. That sort of happy to see you response gives you renewed energy. I will need to pace myself, turning into an old shit way too fast! Will head out to the dump for the first time alone on my motorbike tomorrow, mid day. I plan on getting lost, so best to do that in bright daylight. Lots of people die on motorbikes in Thailand, I do not need to add to those statistics.

Children living in the swamp shack area of the dump. Never met them before.

Another new family, the young boy only has his right arm-hand

I Got My Motorbike!

I got my motorbike today from Pee Noy. He rented it to me for 180 baht ($6.92 CAD) a day. This is probably a better deal than I could have gotten in a pro motorcycle lending shop. I got a larger bike at a cheaper price from a friend. There is a certain amount of trust here on his part. He let me have the bike without photocopying my passport or putting down a damage deposit of any kind.

I need to take extra good care of his motorcycle. On the days I am away in Bangkok or elsewhere I will take the bike back to him so I do no have to pay any extra rental fees. Not sure this is as good a deal financially as buying a bike, getting all the legal stuff done, then reselling it later. It is certainly way easier thou.

Motorcycle Helmet Boy

Gerry!!! Gerry!!!

On my first visit back to the dump today after being away 1 year and 6 months I heard "Gerry!" called out by 3 different dump family folk. The father of the groom, the groom and a lady I had forgotten, did not recognize her. Rather strange that a person you do not remember, remembers and calls out your name within seconds of seeing you.

I am happy my name was remembered by some. Many others remembered my face, they smiled and said hello when they saw me It probably happened more than 10 times today, maybe 15 or so times, lost count. It was a good day.

Amazing First Day In The Dump

I went to the dump this morning at 6am with Pee Noy. I was surprised how much had changed. The garbage dump seemed much smaller, significantly taller but smaller in overall size. Much of what I had known before was now gone, a whole section of the dump homes, the oldest part was simply gone, there were large unbroken piles of garbage where the homes had been. It had all just disappeared, it was very shocking to me. Every time I return to the dump, major changes have occurred.

I went later for a walk in a new area I knew a bit about but not much. Four or five young boys took me on a walk through the new shack living area. I think the shacks and the families mostly now all live in an area created by Fred Stockwell and his group eyestoburma. The new housing place was cleaner than living nearer the garbage but rather congested and the homes seemed smaller than I remembered from before in the dump. Many but not all the homes seemed to have power of some kind, there was even a few little satellite dishes in some areas (for TV?) along with what looked like water piping. It looked to be a real mixed bad, every home seemed a bit different, not sure everyone had all of the benefits but some certainly did.

One area that was completely poor just like before, maybe poorer was the swamp shack area (see video). There was no power, no water piping, no satellite dish stuff of any kind there. It looked barren. desperate and forgotten and seemed a very difficult place to live. I am not sure how many families lived in that place, probably from 5-10, it was hard to tell.
YouTube Swamp Shack Area Of The Dump

I am also not sure if there is still night time work being done in the dump. I did photograph some dump work today but it was only 2 small garbage trucks and work group of 12-15 people. I will find out more of what is going on in the months to come, will post updates as I learn them.

A difficult but rewarding first day.

Poem: "And You Call Me Coloured"

**And you call me coloured**

Written by an African child and nominated by The United Nations as the Best Poem of 2006.

"When I born, I black.
When I grow up, I black.
When I go in sun, I black.
When I scared, I black.
When I sick, I black.
And when I die, I still black.

And you white people.
When you born, you pink.
When you grow up, you white.
When you go in sun, you red.
When you cold, you blue.
When you scared, you yellow.
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you grey…

And you calling me colored."

Off To The Dump Tomorrow At 6AM

Well at 6am tomorrow I am off to the dump again for the first time in about 1 year and 6 months. I am excited to see everyone, hopefully they are all in good health with no deaths (that has not always been the case). Will not take any donations (food etc.) with me tomorrow, I plan a 3-4 hour walk round with my 35mm Tri-x gear only. Later when I get my bearings a bit I will dive in with the 8x10 camera, the film making and the donation stuff. Will probably get some boot orders etc tomorrow. I wonder how many of my old friends will be there and how many new faces there will be. It is thundering outside as I type this, hopefully at the dump the families are protected from the rain. I am sitting in my apartment like a king but they are all out in the elements.

Enough Gear?

So here is my radically streamed down gear for the trip. I have 35mm film, 8x10 film, digital, and film making stuff here now. Sort of overwhelming. Hope I can use most of it to good effect. Now let me try to organize all this stuff!

Too much stuff? Probably!

Harrison changing bag, Gitzo tripod (2 heads, video and 8x10) , 3x35mm bodies with lens (24,35,60)

VIDEO: A View From My Kitchen Window-Many Noises,

I woke up today, my first morning my new apartment to the sound of music and traffic at 840am . The traffic out front of the apartment is quite noisy, I need to get used to that, no choice now, I signed at least a 3 month lease. There was also loud music playing, not sure from where, last night many wild dogs barking. A variety of noises on multiple levels. I need to work with it. There was also the sounds of singing birds and beautiful light coming through my kitchen window.

The view from my Mae Sot kitchen window, Oct 23 2017

Dreams Of My Father

My first night in Mae Sot in my new apartment I had a dream about dad. In the dream dad and I were talking, he was getting better, stronger. I spoke to mom about his remarkable recovery, I asked her "Is he getting stronger? better?" Mom said she thought he was. My father looked healthy and happy. Then at the end of the dream, dad tried on a beautiful black suit with a grey tie. He asked me "What I thought of this?" meaning, did I think it was OK for him to wear the suit and tie in his coffin.

Then I woke up.

Am In My Apartment In Mae Sot!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow what a day, am completely warn out. Here is what happened.

- 645am woke up in my Bangkok Hotel
- Quick shower and dress then took my bags down to the lobby. 1 bag of about 70lbs, 1 bag of about 50lbs and 1 knapsack of about 30lbs, about 150lbs total.
- Got a taxi to take me to Mochit bus station, I had a ticket for a 815am departure on a VIP bus to Mae Sot.
- Arrived at the bus station around 740am, little traffic, taxi fare 83 baht.
- Loaded the bags onto the bus at around 805am, departed at 815 as scheduled.
- Long bus ride of 8 hours 15 minutes, often winding, often slow, sometimes a bit dangerous. We stopped at about the 4 hour 30 minute mark for a washroom break and a bowl of noodles (included in the ticket price, along with a blanket a big seat, water, a cookie and a bun).
- Arrived in Mae Sot with a at 430 pm. Had a headache and a bit of motion sickness from all the winding driving road stuff.
- Telephoned Khun Noy, the man who drives me around in Mae Sot.
- Khun Noy took me to the apartment I had found online. I had communicated 2 days earlier with the manager of the property via LINE messaging. She knew I was coming in advance.
-  Khun Pui (apartment manager) showed me 3 rooms, one on the first floor, one on the 4th and one on the 5th. I liked the 4th and 5th best. The 4th floor room was not clean yet so I took the 5th floor room. The room cost 3500 baht ($133 CAD) a month, plus power and water, it should run about 7000 baht a month ($266 CAD), maybe cheaper.
- I did all the paperwork necessary, paid my refundable 5000 baht damage deposit minus a cleaning fee of 500baht.
- Khun Noy carried up the 50lb bag, I did the knapsack and 70lb one at the same time. Here is a note for future reference, DO NOT carry100lbs of baggage up 5 flights of stairs again Gerry!! I almost died with that effort, my right arm is still sore. Was OK until floor 4, floor 5 did me in.
- I asked Khun Noy if he would drive me to the Lotus store so I could get all my household living supplies then come back in 1 hour after I purchased everything, to drive me back to my apartment, he told me he would.
-  Went to Lotus and bought around $186 CAD worth of supplies. Bedding, pillows, towels, toilet paper, water, food (all kinds), dishes, forks/knives/spoons, a one burner electric stove,  clothes, soap, drinks, batteries, extension cord, etc etc etc.
- Got back to the room with all the supplies just before they locked the front gate (that happens at 7pm). Paid Khun Noy for his driving and help.
- Hauled everything up 5 flights of stairs, it took me 3 trips.
- Started to unpack, broke a glass pot lid (DAMN!), cleaned up the mess. Put away the food, took a shower, cooked some eggs, and corn.
- Set up my computer, the free WIFI here is fast, thank goodness.
- Had a supper of boiled eggs, corn, cold pork, bread, water, bananas. Wrote a long long blog about what I did today!
- 1040pm now.

I still need to make up my bed, hope the bedding fits, and unpack all my bags, camera gear, film making gear. I will take tomorrow off work and make my new  home beautiful. The plan is to go to the dump the day after that tomorrow for the first time. I also might be getting a motorbike from Khun Noy, The going rate in the shops I think is 200 baht a day, I might be able to rent his automatic bike for 100 baht a day.

AM EXHAUSTED!!! Here are some photos from this long and difficult day. I will sleep in tomorrow. Almost ready to start photographing and doing my movie. All this planning, all this work and the real work is just beginning!

After a long tiring day my new bed with new sheets awaits me

Rainy Day In Bangkok

Raining a lot in Bangkok these days.

Rainy Day In Bangkok, October 21, 2017