Hello dear friends and family and I guess maybe some other people!
It is August and we are deep in the middle of an even rainier than usual rainy season. Even with the air conditioners on, the battle against mold is never-ending: clothes never fully dry, and just keep getting wet from riding on motorbikes in the rain. The sun rarely makes an appearance, and when it does it is fleeting.
This is the daily weather report in the newspaper that is the same EVERY DAY.
On top of being inconvenient and a bit gloomy, this rainy season also brings flood risks. I am lucky that my house is on high ground, and I have been able to avoid flooded streets in my daily business. The worst that has happened was getting stranded in Mawlamyine for 5 straight days, cutting a highly anticipated trip to Yangon in half. Even then, the flooding was not here, but on the way, closing down the highway. The road was closed for so many days that I ended up flying to Yangon (a 45 minute, very overpriced flight).
So yes, it's raining, and a lot of time these days is being dedicated to rainy day hobbies and activities. In July a group of 5 of us joined a boxing class at a pretty fancy gym we 'discovered', and this has been a sanity-saver. Since we had to buy a membership for the classes, we have also been trying out some of the other classes and meeting the other trainers. There really aren't many foreigners in Mawlamyine, and we seem to be the first to go to this gym, so lots of the trainers and other members are pretty intrigued by our presence. Everyone is extremely friendly and welcoming, and it's been a really excellent experience.
Rainy season has put a bit of a damper (GET IT) on exploring and roadtrips, just because driving a motorbike in the rain is truly as unpleasant as you're imagining. The monsoon rain is Canadian thunderstorm rain ALL THE TIME, so imagine a wall of high-velocity raindrops hitting you going 40km/hour with only a thin plastic rain coat on. It hurts, it's cold, it's hard to see anything, and I swear everyday one of those high-velocity raindrops manages to hit me RIGHT in the tear duct. Not to mention, arriving everywhere, all the time, soaked, isn't really a good look for anybody. I get wet from like right above the knee down, but also a circle right in the middle of the top of my chest. If I'm on the bike long enough, these two wet zones will eventually meet in the middle. The potholes are also getting REAL serious, as water just erodes the pavement and new potholes seem to appear every night, some of the like a foot deep.
While caves are out for rainy season, waterfalls are definitely in. Spending a day in and near a waterfall is a really popular activity for the locals, and most of us are lucky to get invited to tag along. Finding the waterfalls without the help of someone to show you the first time can be a bit difficult. Google maps are not very useful here, and there are very few road signs, or signs at all really. But once you find them, it's great to know you can go back and enjoy a swim!
Other good rainy day activities are getting clothes made at one of the many many tailors with inexpensive fabrics, board games (we played risk for 5 hours a few weeks ago) and baking (just got an oven), along with classics like reading, Netflix and playing on a small keyboard that a bought a few months ago.
Alright, seems like I've complained enough about the rain for now. Outside of #monsoonlife, things are going quite well. With some help from another Cuso volunteer, we managed to create a website for Jeepyah (where I work), which you can see here:https://jeepyah.org/ I have never made a website before, and it's something that I can actually show off to people, unlike most outputs of my work (although these are also available on the website in the Publications section). Some cool new projects are starting up, one working on engaging women in politics and elections, another addressing gender-based violence and harassment and stigma around talking about sex. I really love working with my local colleagues and am very excited to see what they will achieve with these projects! Please, if you want to support me through Cuso, I'm still nowhere near my fundraising goal despite several stern talkings-to (take pity on me I'm such a bad a pathetic fundraiser!)
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=3869366&langPref=en-CA
My language learning is coming along quite nicely, especially with how little effort I've made and how bad of a student I've been. I think living here in Mawlamyine, rather than in Yangon, is making the difference. In Yangon heaps of people, including taxi drivers and people working in shops and restaurants speak English. In Mawlamyine, if you want to eat in most of the restaurants you better do it in Burmese! Taking taxis here also usually requires at least a little Burmese. In addition to Burmese, I am also learning the Mon language, which all of my work colleagues speak, most as their Native language (Burmese is a second language). In Mon I know the essential words like eat, come, chicken curry, fried pork, rice, home, go, and how to greet people and be polite and stuff. The sounds in both languages are quite difficult, but Mon takes the cake guys. There's one sound that is like "mb" that comes from the back of your throat, and I straight up can't make it. Not even close. Luckily, I'm getting enough brownie points with the limited language I can use to get by.
And last but not least: Ontarians, rejoice! I am still planning to be home for Christmas this year, and should be around for at least a month. Please try to limit the snowfall and windchill, I don't think I'll manage it very well at all this time around.
Many thanks for reading this and continuing to not forget about me! I really appreciate it 😍! See you in December, or even sooner if you want to come visit (October and November are great weather here!)
It is August and we are deep in the middle of an even rainier than usual rainy season. Even with the air conditioners on, the battle against mold is never-ending: clothes never fully dry, and just keep getting wet from riding on motorbikes in the rain. The sun rarely makes an appearance, and when it does it is fleeting.
This is the daily weather report in the newspaper that is the same EVERY DAY.
On top of being inconvenient and a bit gloomy, this rainy season also brings flood risks. I am lucky that my house is on high ground, and I have been able to avoid flooded streets in my daily business. The worst that has happened was getting stranded in Mawlamyine for 5 straight days, cutting a highly anticipated trip to Yangon in half. Even then, the flooding was not here, but on the way, closing down the highway. The road was closed for so many days that I ended up flying to Yangon (a 45 minute, very overpriced flight).
 |
| A photo taken by a friend's friend who got stuck halfway to Yangon. This is the bus I would usually take. |
So yes, it's raining, and a lot of time these days is being dedicated to rainy day hobbies and activities. In July a group of 5 of us joined a boxing class at a pretty fancy gym we 'discovered', and this has been a sanity-saver. Since we had to buy a membership for the classes, we have also been trying out some of the other classes and meeting the other trainers. There really aren't many foreigners in Mawlamyine, and we seem to be the first to go to this gym, so lots of the trainers and other members are pretty intrigued by our presence. Everyone is extremely friendly and welcoming, and it's been a really excellent experience.
 |
| The gang with our teacher. He's happiest when we are suffering. |
Rainy season has put a bit of a damper (GET IT) on exploring and roadtrips, just because driving a motorbike in the rain is truly as unpleasant as you're imagining. The monsoon rain is Canadian thunderstorm rain ALL THE TIME, so imagine a wall of high-velocity raindrops hitting you going 40km/hour with only a thin plastic rain coat on. It hurts, it's cold, it's hard to see anything, and I swear everyday one of those high-velocity raindrops manages to hit me RIGHT in the tear duct. Not to mention, arriving everywhere, all the time, soaked, isn't really a good look for anybody. I get wet from like right above the knee down, but also a circle right in the middle of the top of my chest. If I'm on the bike long enough, these two wet zones will eventually meet in the middle. The potholes are also getting REAL serious, as water just erodes the pavement and new potholes seem to appear every night, some of the like a foot deep.
 |
| Monsoon street fashion |
While caves are out for rainy season, waterfalls are definitely in. Spending a day in and near a waterfall is a really popular activity for the locals, and most of us are lucky to get invited to tag along. Finding the waterfalls without the help of someone to show you the first time can be a bit difficult. Google maps are not very useful here, and there are very few road signs, or signs at all really. But once you find them, it's great to know you can go back and enjoy a swim!
Other good rainy day activities are getting clothes made at one of the many many tailors with inexpensive fabrics, board games (we played risk for 5 hours a few weeks ago) and baking (just got an oven), along with classics like reading, Netflix and playing on a small keyboard that a bought a few months ago.
 |
| Not just Risk, Game of Thrones Risk |
Alright, seems like I've complained enough about the rain for now. Outside of #monsoonlife, things are going quite well. With some help from another Cuso volunteer, we managed to create a website for Jeepyah (where I work), which you can see here:https://jeepyah.org/ I have never made a website before, and it's something that I can actually show off to people, unlike most outputs of my work (although these are also available on the website in the Publications section). Some cool new projects are starting up, one working on engaging women in politics and elections, another addressing gender-based violence and harassment and stigma around talking about sex. I really love working with my local colleagues and am very excited to see what they will achieve with these projects! Please, if you want to support me through Cuso, I'm still nowhere near my fundraising goal despite several stern talkings-to (take pity on me I'm such a bad a pathetic fundraiser!)
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=3869366&langPref=en-CA
 |
| JCSDO staff and students of their training course |
 |
| My supervisor and I wore the same shirt to a meeting |
My language learning is coming along quite nicely, especially with how little effort I've made and how bad of a student I've been. I think living here in Mawlamyine, rather than in Yangon, is making the difference. In Yangon heaps of people, including taxi drivers and people working in shops and restaurants speak English. In Mawlamyine, if you want to eat in most of the restaurants you better do it in Burmese! Taking taxis here also usually requires at least a little Burmese. In addition to Burmese, I am also learning the Mon language, which all of my work colleagues speak, most as their Native language (Burmese is a second language). In Mon I know the essential words like eat, come, chicken curry, fried pork, rice, home, go, and how to greet people and be polite and stuff. The sounds in both languages are quite difficult, but Mon takes the cake guys. There's one sound that is like "mb" that comes from the back of your throat, and I straight up can't make it. Not even close. Luckily, I'm getting enough brownie points with the limited language I can use to get by.
And last but not least: Ontarians, rejoice! I am still planning to be home for Christmas this year, and should be around for at least a month. Please try to limit the snowfall and windchill, I don't think I'll manage it very well at all this time around.
Many thanks for reading this and continuing to not forget about me! I really appreciate it 😍! See you in December, or even sooner if you want to come visit (October and November are great weather here!)
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