Take Nothing but Pictures, (a T-Shirt, and Postcards)….Leave Nothing but Footprints.

Before today, I was so excited about seeing Myanmar, the land unscathed by modernism. I wanted to see the mystery and tranquility of Myanmar. Instead I found the war-torn, oppressed Burma. I discovered a people who found the will to smile, against a military junta that controls every aspect of their lives, from their possession of money to their conversation with me-the foreigner. I found a simple people who have little cognizance of life on the other side of absolute poverty.

Today, I found myself in a state of intrinsic conflict. One side of me looks forward to my SAS city orientation and traditional dinner and dance performance. However, a greater part of me does not want to spend one dime to support the regime that continues to starve the Burmese people of growth, economic recovery, and communication with the outside world. Burma is the only country that is holding a Nobel Peace Prize recipient under house arrest. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is a prisoner of the war against political liberation in Burma. One professor suggested that Archbishop Desmond Tutu did not sail on the fall 2006 voyage because he refuses to step foot into Burma. (He will sail the entire spring 2007 voyage.) At times I wonder why we didn’t visit Thailand or Singapore. Nevertheless, here I am, a foreign visitor in one of the strictest dictatorships on earth. Let’s see what happens.

Day 1- City Orientation

A Potential Career?

The night before disembarkation we had a GREAT diplomatic briefing. The vice consul for Burma is young, sharp and hip (sort of). He spoke of U.S. and Burmese relations with clarity and confidence. For the first time in a long time I thought, “I could see myself doing that when I grow up.” The term “when I grow up” is somewhat elusive; but lately I have been trying to figure out what to do with my life, and now I am researching the U.S. State department. After the meeting I spoke with Walter, the diplomat, and he said there’s no academic prerequisite to the diplomatic field. An applicant must simply perform well on the Foreign Services Exam that’s given once a year. Diplomacy would give me the opportunity to travel, the power of influence, and the capacity to improve international relations. However, it would take me away from the U.S. (i.e. my family and friends) for months and months at a time. I’ll keep chewing on this…

Around Yangon on the big bus and Agga the ULTRA friendly monk…

At 9:00 on October 9th, I boarded a coach bus with Kiyanna and Jihanne to learn about the history and culture of Yangon, Myanmar on a TEN hour city orientation. I was tired just thinking about the length of the day, but the city is very difficult to navigate and the public transportation is nearly nonexistent. To make matters worse, our port is 45 minutes from nowhere and it’s not safe for women to travel alone in Burma. SO, the city orientation proved our safest and most efficient method of widespread sight seeing.
Our first stop? Sule PAGODA. That’s right, I got to see THREE more pagodas today. While I thought I was finished with pagodas, these were particularly beautiful because they were all guilded. The gold and whitewashed architecture made the pagodas look like fantasy lands. Also, many Burmese people were “chillin’” at the pagoda, so I got to observe some intracultural interaction first hand. Some children screamed and ran when they saw us. Adults stared and giggled, and some managed to ask “Where you from?” After about 15 minutes, I saw one of my peers chatting with a monk (in English) so I joined the conversation. 20 minutes later, Agga the monk, and I had talked about everything from the ups and downs of monastic life to family and the oppressive Burmese regime. As I rushed to find the rest of my group, he offered an email address and volunteered to be my personal tour guide around Yangon. Now, he is a monk, but he could be a fake (He also talked about wanting to have a family at some point if he could leave the monastic lifestyle.) Long story short, I was not about to be that girl on the front page of American newspapers with the headline “U.S. citizen, Rhonda Allen, Missing for 14 Days Under the Assail of Imposter Monk.” I rushed back to the bus and we traveled to Shwedagon Pagoda where Agga met us. I was becoming uncomfortable with his company, so I tried to ditch him (almost unsuccessfully) at the Shwedagon Pagoda. This site was also beautifully adorned with gold and a 76 carat diamond at the top of the highest stupa. Now I don’t know why I thought I would be able to SEE the 76 carat diamond at the top of the pagoda. Needless to say, I was highly disappointed and slightly amused by the fact that I could only see the baseball size diamond in the brochure. LOL. After the Schwedagon pagoda we traveled to the Trader’s Hotel for a very tasty lunch. Everything seemed sterile and so I ate to my heart’s content. I don’t know if I’ll do that again. I’VE BEEN SICK FOR NEARLY TWO DAYS. After lunch we went to Scott Market where I bought a t-shirt and postcards from a little boy on the street. Then we went to an outdoor tea shop where my friends tried tea and snacks. We also visited the National Museum which cleverly eliminated all signs of political and ethnic conflict from the exhibits. I did get to stamp paper with the museum’s seal. This made me nostalgic of my days of Park Rangering at Central High National Historic Site! While we were inside the museum, the daily afternoon monsoon rains began. For about one hour, it POURED. Our tour was supposed to take us to China Town, but the area was flooded to ankle depth. Our tour ended with an abbreviated photo stop and hotel visit. I stayed on the bus for those stops. It had been a LONG day! Despite my fatigue, I was very glad that I went on the city orientation. I do wonder how my $62.00 was spent and how much of it went to the government. After this trip, I decided to spend as little money in Burma as possible. Although my friends are going back to the markets, I just don’t want to spend any more money here unless it directly benefits the people of Burma.

Day 2- Su Htoo Panh Orphanage and the DEEP sleep.

At 9:00 I boarded another big bus for a long BUMPY ride down the dirt road that leads to to the monastery/orphanage. Our driver whipped and swerved to avoid cattle, pigs, and people along the way. After 30 minutes we arrived at the orphanage and were welcomed by 30 children singing and blessing us. Our trip leader advised us to be hesitant about taking pictures and to follow the lead of the children (in terms of our interaction.) After a teaching demonstration and meditation, we gathered a few toys and children to play with. I colored, sang “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and made silly faces and animal sounds with kindergarteners Seneca and two other children (I can’t even begin to spell their names.) At first they were afraid of me, and simply drew what I drew on their papers. However, after a while, they were giggling hysterically and mimicking my English. ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider” was a HUGE hit, and even though they didn’t understand the words, they “sang along” and copied the movements. After play time the students meditated again (silently) before we helped serve them lunch.

Sidenote-En route to the orphanage, our guide thanked us for our donation and told us that our funds helped purchase school uniforms and meat for the children’s otherwise vegetarian lunches. When I arrived at the orphanage, I read “Welcome Donors and Tourists” on the chalkboard. These and other nonverbal signs led me to believe that this particular orphanage has an agreement with Destination Asia (our travel agency). I wonder how many tourist dollars they receive annually, and I also wonder if the students actually receive the level of education that was displayed for us. The facilities were rudimentary and there were animals, bugs, and standing water everywhere. Even the kitchen was housed in a shack that had little separation from the elements. I realize that I don’t have enough details to draw a conclusion about a potential disconnect between donor dollars and direct service to the students; so I just tried to make the best of my time there without too much over analysis.

After serving lunch we returned to the ship. Potable water is hard to find in Myanmar and India so the ship is trying to conserve water. But this afternoon, I took a much needed shower and a nap. Now, I don’t know what my body was trying to tell me, but my nap lasted for SEVEN hours. I woke up for a cheeseburger (which happened to be stale and disgusting) and girl talk and slept for another seven hours. I don’t feel like I missed much because I’m not trying to spend my US dollars in Burma. Additionally, I still have a Buddhist novication ceremony and traditional dinner/dance to look forward to.

Day 3 Buddhist Novication Ceremony

Day 4 Traditional Dance and Dinner

I don’t have much commentary on days 3 and 4. I didn’t feel well and I was extremely exhausted. I’ll upload pictures of Burma and India next week.

Always,
Rhonda