letter home #6: the ongoing saga
hello to all
once again, thank you so much for your emails. i have been getting status reports in my inbox that my emails aren't always going out, hotmail is quite obviously swamped. i have waited in line for one hour at this cafe, as it is the only one i know of on the island that has hotmail up and working. i dont know why...but for some reason, it isn't working. so i am sorry if some of you have missed some of the emails. you can always email my mum, choccow@aol.com, as she has the best record of my whereabouts, etc.
at any rate, another day in paradise.
not quite funny. but we all have our survival skills.
things here are alright. i sit here in great part because i dont want to sleep. i am going to school tomorrow and will be teaching what should be a normal school day. last week school was closed one day, and the rest of the time i was volunteering and not many students were present, and so i didn't get a chance to see "who was around." but tomorrow i will. nine days after the disaster and things here are starting, ever so slowly, to feel ok. i feel that i can take about three minutes during each day to take a shower and think about nothing before i am jolted back into it. life is hard in the community here.
on a personal note, to add to this drama, i moved on friday. and to anyone who has ever moved (i am a pro) this was hard. it was the last thing i wanted to do...take time to sort out a new house. and to add to it, i have moved in with my boyfriend, which has drama of its own. things are going well, and it is nice to be able to be together and know we are safe. but on the other hand, we see this situation very differently. from his standpoint, this does not affect him. it affects people around him, but people die all the time. the thai outlook is quite different. he does not get down about it, and doesn't understand why i do. i am alive, and so is he. we should be able to move on. but for me, there is a farang community here (farang = 'foreigner' in thai) and there is a duty for me to look after those so far from home. everywhere i go i see farangs with sadness in their eyes. the farangs who have sorted their business out here have gone home, a week ago. the only ones left are a)those who live here, and i probably know them. or b)those who are scouring the hospitals day in and day out hoping to find their spouse/child/friend/loved one. this is hard to handle. right beside me there is a russian woman who is looking for her husband. deja vu, didn't i write the same thing yesterday? these things are all too common.
150,000.
150,000.
i don't even understand it. 150,000 dead. i get ill at the thought of one death. how are we supposed to manage this many? this is a true trial of the human spirit.
at any rate, we will move on. we have to. that's what humans do. we play with the hand we are dealt, and we move on. we have to.
with that i think i shall take a ride to the top of the mountain on the island for a little peace. it is a nice retreat these days. everything looks so peaceful from up there.
we shall see what tomorrow brings.
please check out my blog, as i will be adding donation links in a few minutes.
www.isobella.blogspot.com
also, those in ontario, i have an interview shceduled for tomorrow night (tuesday night) with ctv in patong re working with the embassy. should be interesting.
also, mum, i have been sending emails to gareth and muff but they aren't going through. can you email them and tell them everything is fine, and i dont have any new photos? the story is a go, brought tears to my eyes, especially the ending. please be on the look out for this.
much love,
bisous
love heather
the woods are lovely dark and deep
but i have promises to keep
and miles to go before i sleep
and miles to go before i sleep...
once again, thank you so much for your emails. i have been getting status reports in my inbox that my emails aren't always going out, hotmail is quite obviously swamped. i have waited in line for one hour at this cafe, as it is the only one i know of on the island that has hotmail up and working. i dont know why...but for some reason, it isn't working. so i am sorry if some of you have missed some of the emails. you can always email my mum, choccow@aol.com, as she has the best record of my whereabouts, etc.
at any rate, another day in paradise.
not quite funny. but we all have our survival skills.
things here are alright. i sit here in great part because i dont want to sleep. i am going to school tomorrow and will be teaching what should be a normal school day. last week school was closed one day, and the rest of the time i was volunteering and not many students were present, and so i didn't get a chance to see "who was around." but tomorrow i will. nine days after the disaster and things here are starting, ever so slowly, to feel ok. i feel that i can take about three minutes during each day to take a shower and think about nothing before i am jolted back into it. life is hard in the community here.
on a personal note, to add to this drama, i moved on friday. and to anyone who has ever moved (i am a pro) this was hard. it was the last thing i wanted to do...take time to sort out a new house. and to add to it, i have moved in with my boyfriend, which has drama of its own. things are going well, and it is nice to be able to be together and know we are safe. but on the other hand, we see this situation very differently. from his standpoint, this does not affect him. it affects people around him, but people die all the time. the thai outlook is quite different. he does not get down about it, and doesn't understand why i do. i am alive, and so is he. we should be able to move on. but for me, there is a farang community here (farang = 'foreigner' in thai) and there is a duty for me to look after those so far from home. everywhere i go i see farangs with sadness in their eyes. the farangs who have sorted their business out here have gone home, a week ago. the only ones left are a)those who live here, and i probably know them. or b)those who are scouring the hospitals day in and day out hoping to find their spouse/child/friend/loved one. this is hard to handle. right beside me there is a russian woman who is looking for her husband. deja vu, didn't i write the same thing yesterday? these things are all too common.
150,000.
150,000.
i don't even understand it. 150,000 dead. i get ill at the thought of one death. how are we supposed to manage this many? this is a true trial of the human spirit.
at any rate, we will move on. we have to. that's what humans do. we play with the hand we are dealt, and we move on. we have to.
with that i think i shall take a ride to the top of the mountain on the island for a little peace. it is a nice retreat these days. everything looks so peaceful from up there.
we shall see what tomorrow brings.
please check out my blog, as i will be adding donation links in a few minutes.
www.isobella.blogspot.com
also, those in ontario, i have an interview shceduled for tomorrow night (tuesday night) with ctv in patong re working with the embassy. should be interesting.
also, mum, i have been sending emails to gareth and muff but they aren't going through. can you email them and tell them everything is fine, and i dont have any new photos? the story is a go, brought tears to my eyes, especially the ending. please be on the look out for this.
much love,
bisous
love heather
the woods are lovely dark and deep
but i have promises to keep
and miles to go before i sleep
and miles to go before i sleep...
posted by isobella at 9:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home