Well after what feels like 3 weeks of craziness, I'm slowly getting back to my routine of eat, sleep, work, study, reading… The past week and a bit threw me off my finely-tuned system of getting as much done as possible within a 24-hour period. Not counting my social life (which coincidently enough is almost non-existant), I have two jobs (possibly 3), studying my Masters online and via distance ed, and trying to stay healthy and in shape. So what threw me off this past week and a bit?
Well, it was this rural development tour I went on with the agency that sent me to Thailand. It was the first time to get out of Bangkok and the craziness of urban life so it was a nice change. The one-week tour was basically checking out rural development projects and alternative types of agriculture (i.e. organic) around the Northeast Region of Thailand, aka "Isaan". The tour touched on a whole lot of issues from politics, development, agriculture to just group dynamics, especially when you're bascially living and eating with people you hardly know for a whole week.
All in all the tour was great! We had a chance to see organic farming in action, a herbal hospital (where I was able to get free meds!), a very impressive wat/temple, and met great people from all over Thailand. Oh, did I mention that we were able to see "wildlife"? Yep, with the roaming cows, the firery "mot daengs" (red ants), mosquitos galore, and a spider the size of a small bird, this was definitely an interesting week.