#maetaoclinic

[simplearchitecturethings]

New Mae Tao Clinic campus during construction. #maetaoclinic #maesot #communityarchitecture #thaiburmaborder #drcynthiamaung #hospital #francpallarés #healthashumanright #architectureinthailand #communitybased (at Mae Tao Clinic)

[simplearchitecturethings]

Back revisiting Mae Tao Clinics Kindergarten/ Nursery finished in 2016. It's beautiful to see how the community has adapted the space to their needs. #mudbrick #ecological #communityarchitecture #maetaoclinic #maesot #thaiburmaborder #socialarchitechture #socialimpact #lowbudget #adobebrick #naturalbuilding #kindergarten #nursery (at Mae-Sot, Thai-Myanmar Border) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzcM1BUJizM/?igshid=idl9mqbyscl8

[simplearchitecturethings]

Construction process at the new training center site for Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot. The construction for 10 buildings is underway to finish in time for Mae Tao Clinic's 30th anniversary in late June. #communityarchitecture #socialarchitechture #socialimpact #maetaoclinic #maesot #thaiburmaborder #thailand #trainingcenter #healthcare #healthasahumanright #brickbuilding . . . . . @pitchjuntamunee . @mae_tao_clinic @safechildthailand @rob_whitelaw (at Mae-Sot, Thai-Myanmar Border) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuxqgvdFsoL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=n3sq871qdili

[simplearchitecturethings]

New staff house for Backpack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) a community based organisation in Mae Sot. #lowbudget #communityarchitecture #maesot #thaiburmaborder #archilovers #thaiarchitecture #naturalventilation #maetaoclinic #staffhouse (at Mae Sot)

[simplearchitecturethings]

The view from Mae Tao Clinic's new Reproductive Health In-patient Department towards the mountains along the Thai-Karen border. #maetaoclinic #maesot #thailand #healthasahumanright #cynthiamaung #freehealthcare #socialarchitecture #communitybased #karenstate #architectureforall by Timothy Syrotha (at Mae Sot)

[simplearchitecturethings]

Kindergarten & Nursery for Mae Tao Clinic during the construction with Volunteers from Casira, an organisation based in Quebec, Canada. #maetaoclinic #thaiburmaborder #casira #communityarchitecture #earthenarchitecture #earth #earthen #lowbudget #kindergarten #architecture #sustainability #doityourself (at Mae Tao Clinic)

[simplearchitecturethings]

A 100 meter long corridor is visually connecting Mae Tao Clinic's three In-Patient Departments to enhance communication within the clinics facilities. #maetaoclinic, #maesot, #communityarchitecture, #communitybased #thaiburmaborder, #hospital, #francpallarés, # (at Mae Tao Clinic)

[simplearchitecturethings]

Mae Tao Clinic's Kindergarten & Nursery - Playful Facade #maesot #lowbudget #earth #socialarchitecture #earthenarchitecture #albertcompany #architecturapovera #architectureinthailand #sustainablearchitecture #kindergarten #adobebuilding #maetaoclinic #mudbrick picture by Timothy Syrota (at Mae Sot)

[ahumanintraining]

Moving out

It’s almost time to say goodbye to this quaint little apartment that I have called home for the last month (almost). Just cleaning up the last of my mess and packing up my stuff to head back to Bangkok, and then soon back to the United States. I’m still surprised that I actually didn’t take very much with me, just a half suitcase of clothes and a backpack with a laptop and a couple notepads so to be honest, there wasn’t much packing for me to do.

Going to miss this simplistic life, and as the calendar starts to shift to November, I’m getting antsy about going back to a life of medical school application hiatus and not feeling like I’m getting anything done. But what can I do? The plan right now is just to apply to some temporary jobs or internships, make the most of this break that I have (if I can allow myself to take a break before four more years of intense schooling), and see where that takes me.

Of course, taking a break means watching a crap ton of anime, which in turn makes me write a crap ton of fanfiction, which in turn makes me feel like I’m wasting my time and not doing anything productive with my life and feeling like a failure. Sad days.

Anyway, moreover, I’m a tiny bit upset that I’m missing Daylight Savings Time since I’m not in the United States. I don’t get to gain this extra fake hour back. Although I guess when I fly back I’ll gain a whole day (or a half day at least) again. And then I can also get a bunch of leftover Halloween candy that’s on sale. Woohoo.

[ahumanintraining]

Dogs a-howling

I know that dogs are descendants of wolves, but it never occurred to me that the first pack of collective howling that I’d hear was from a bunch of stray dogs in Thailand. Amusing, nevertheless. Makes me feel like I’m out in the woods, rather than in the middle of a relatively populated town.

[ahumanintraining]

Blisters and bites

I’ve started to form blisters on the soft first-world bottoms of my feet and on the insides of my hands, and the mosquitoes have started attacking me. I hurt and itch all over. I count about 8 mini blisters and god knows how many bites.

Good news however, is that I felt actually useful today! Mostly with English translation for various documents and with computer skills with Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel and various other file explorer organizational things. I was able to help out a number of different team members and I think I was able to more comfortably navigate the office and inserting myself into their work. Also I was sorta informally assigned to redo a poster presentation on dengue fever.

Of course, today was a little bit busier than the past couple of days, but I hope that my help today is a gateway into myself being more comfortable in the workplace as well as the rest of the team members being more able to discern what I would be able to help them with.

[ahumanintraining]

Tired in Thailand

Yawnnnnn, first time I’ve had to wake up via alarm during this entire trip. I’m sure not sure how my body was able to miraculously wake up on time like I needed to do all the other days, since technically 6:40 a.m. is probably the latest I’ve woken up this entire week I’ve been abroad.

[ahumanintraining]

Friends n stuff

Just Facebook messaged a ton of friends from back home (although, god knows why they’re awake), and the one thing I’m thinking is how grateful I am of the internet. Much love for this privilege of wifi.

Also I can watch my anime and later, can watch American Horror Story streaming. Life is good.

[ahumanintraining]

Lifestyle changes

Got out of work early today. Thinking about the things that I appreciate in this lifestyle that I sorta wish I could bring back to America:

the fact that there’s no shame in living a conservative life - mismatched furniture, using buckets from ten years ago, washing your own clothes

wearing sandals all the damn time

the grimey-ness (if you know me, I love being barefoot and don’t mind dirty places -- as long as I have a place to come back to for a shower haha)

the water-efficient bathrooms

hot water is basically a staple

outside markets and the abundance of fruits and vegetables straight from the ground as opposed to only in supermarkets

Although, I would seem extremely weird if I tried to sell a home with a shower but not a tub.

Things I miss about America:

the music (I guess I could get that online though)

being able to speak normally -- It’s not like I don’t know the language, but it’s hard to interact with others at the same level that I had back in the States

Also I’m super glad that being a Stanford graduate means as much as having any other American degree. To some extent, it’s nice that Stanford doesn’t mean anything there. However, it does also mean that Stanford probably isn’t even within the knowledge of the community because the opportunities offered here are so much less than in America -- and this saddens me a bit.

Anyway, regardless of how much I am enjoying the life that I’m living right now, I of course miss my home country. I’m thinking about how much of a risk and how hard it was for my parents to throw everything they knew away in order to find more opportunity in another country where they don’t have a full grasp of the language, the lifestyle, or don’t even have a degree/education that isn’t recognized.

I’ve always known that I have been lucky and so fortunate to be in America, and that despite the many problems in my home country, I can’t help but be grateful for what I do have, especially coming here. I’m not settling for what I have, but it does remind me of the privilege I have growing up in America.

**Also I still haven’t figured out if I prefer to refer to the US as United States or America or USA. I think it depends on the language I’m speaking at the moment. A quick analysis of my written content above shows I prefer America...although I feel like that orally I’m more likely to say United States...I guess I’ll have to open a new self-study haha. Linguist troubles and musings.

[ahumanintraining]

International rates

Damn it, I accidentally texted a friend while walking out of wifi zone. For once, green doesn’t mean go. I’ll have to pay for this later. -__- No pun intended at all. It’s not even funny.

[ahumanintraining]

The end of the beginning

I just had dinner for the first time in the new apartment -- biryani and some boiled potatoes, both heated up via rice cooker. Today was a pretty slack day -- as a new volunteer, I didn’t have any prior assignments or duties, and my supervisor was out on conferences all day. Essentially I didn’t do very much aside from introduce myself in my stumbling Burmese and get to my know my office space. Although, I guess I did get to visit the Children’s Development Centre, which was a lot of fun.

I’m truly grateful that my mother is here with me to be honest. I probably could have been fine independently, but having her around is quite a bit of company. She also ensures that I actually eat. xD. Which is probably the most important.