Ovitraps and Flooding

To start building an Ovitrap, you have to remove the top off of
1.5 L pop bottles and spray paint them black

You wrap a piece of black cloth around a piece of bamboo
and attach it with thumbtacks (not an easy task).  Then, you roll the cloth over the top of the bambo (as seen above) and use a bow saw to cut the bamboo so it is only about 1.5 inches thick

These pictures both show the inside of the Ovitrap.  A nylon screen has been attached to the bamboo and the cloth is attached to the outside of the pop bottles.

An ovitrap works by filling the bottle with water to right under the screen.  Because the cloth goes down into the bottle, it will become damp and the entire cloth will get wet as the water seeps up the sides of the cloth.  Mosquitoes will be attracted to the device, because it will be placed in a dark area and they like to lay their eggs on dark, damp surfaces.  They will lay their eggs on the cloth.  When the eggs hatch, the larva will drop through the the screen into the water.  When the larva matures, the mosquitoes will be too large to fit back up through the screen and will die.

My first picture of flooding.  The flooding is now higher than the blue and white striped roof.  I went boating through this area last week.

All of these homes are on stilts or are floating homes.  The water path between the homes used to be a road

You can see the reflection of water inside the home.  Although they have a makeshift path to get them to the street, they cannot avoid the water in their own home

The Floods are Here

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the water blanketing the road in front of me. Less than a week ago I was able to ride my bike down this street without getting wet. Now, it would take a lot of effort just to peddle my bike through the current that swept across the road, and I am sure I would have many people running out of their homes shouting "mai daai, mai daai!" (You can't go through there). I am sitting in the cab of a truck heading out to deliver medicine to the elderly who are trapped in their homes because of the flooding. The back of the truck is filled with boxes of medicine that my office is donating to the people in the villages. There are about 10 of us going out today to three of our communities to give these items.

At first, it is not too difficult. The water is only about 4 inches deep in most places, and as long as you are wearing sandals and roll up your pants you are good to go. It isn't until we reach the home where their makeshift walkway sinks down 2 feet that I begin to see just how much the water has risen in just a short week. The owner of the home had to boat out to the road so we could hand her the package. We move on from this village and go to the next. Instead of taking the truck, we decide to go on foot. The road is clear and dry to it is easy to trek down the road. You would think that this community is in good order, at least for the next couple of weeks, until you look more closely at their homes. Many of the homes are set lower than the road. Water coats the floors and threatens to rise higher towards beds and tables. Belongings have all been stacked near doorways so they could easily be removed from the homes. As we walk further down the road, I notice that there are tents set up blocking any vehicle from passing around them (these are tents that are used for parties, not camping tents). As I get closer, I realize these tents are now two families homes. Their homes, which are right across the road, are covered in water. The tents hold all of their belongings. Beds have been set up, kitchens have been prepped, and even the refrigerators have their place in the middle of the road. In a couple of weeks (if not in even less time), the water will rise again, and these families will probably have to move for a second time.

It is at this point that we board a boat to reach our final communities that we are going to see today. We have to walk through about 2 feet of water to get to the boat at this point. We all have life jackets, but as I look into the faces of those in the boat with me is see apprehension drawn across each one. I ask if anyone knows how to swim. Heads shake and hands grip the seats as the boat rocks. I try to ease their worries by telling them that I can swim and I will save them if they fall out, but I might have made the situation worse by even mentioning that there was a possibility of falling out of the boat. Oops! It takes me a while to realize where we are once we reach the destined village. We have already gone to 6 houses before I realize that 4 months ago, I went to a meeting and introduced myself to the people of the community in an open yawn that was now 8 feet below the water level. Here, the first stories of homes were no longer visible below the surface of the water. I can barely make out where I believe the road used to be. In most places in this village, the water is between 8-10 feet deep (that is my guess at least). Most of the homes on stilts look like they are just sitting on the water; stilts no longer visible. Dogs sit at the water's edge on porches and cats climb across the roofs of homes. Chickens are left in cages on landings or they have been left further up the road where the waters haven't reached yet. Again, I cannot believe that the water has risen so quickly in just a few short days.

On our way to our final village, we pass under a bridge and have to duck low in the boat to avoid the power lines which are about 2 feet above the water. Here I see entire homes underwater forcing the families out. But, I also see children playing in the water, and men attempting to fix up their homes as they stand in the water. Where we deliver most of our supplies, it is only about 5 feet deep. We make our way through and deliver most of our supplies. After 4 hours in the flood zones we are finally done.

This picture was taken about a week ago.  The bushes you see right at the front of the picture are no longer visible and the blue and white stripped roof on the left side is now covered in water.

I mention all of this because I know people back home are reading about my adventures in Thailand. Everything, the good, bad, fun, and sad times. I want to explain about what goes on in my Tambon and how the people are affected by it. These floods occur every year. Every year families are displaced. They loose possessions, are forced from their homes, and then must go back and clean up the mess that was created by the floods. These families, many of them, live in homes where the walls are made from the tin that roofs are made of. Large pieces of cracked wood make up the floor. Many do not have air conditioning and are forced to use only fans to cool themselves in our hottest time of year. I am amazed at how good spirited all of the people are. Every person that I met yesterday greeted me with a smile. Every person thanked us for the medicine and wished us luck on the rest of our journey for the day. It was amazing to see such hope in a situation that, to me, seemed so dire. If I came across flooding like this in the states, I don't think I would see the smiles, hope, and good spirits as I see here in Thailand. We still have a few more months of the rainy season with more and more rain getting ready to pour down. I am told that September is the month that we have the worst flooding. With the way that things are going now, I am sure that there are going to be many more misplaced families before the end of the season.


 
In other news, I just came back from an English Camp in Noen Maprang (still Phitsanulok) this last weekend where we painted a large world map on the side of a school. We were working with 10-12 year olds and teaching them about geography. It was a ton of fun but SUPER tiring. After doing laundry yesterday, I was finally able to catch up on my sleep. I leave on Friday for another geography English Camp in Wang Sai Phun, Phichit. We won't be painting a map in this one, but it is a two day, overnight camp. I have already warned my office that I may be sleeping on Monday because I will be so exhausted from the camp. I am excited to get the experience though, because I will be creating a camp for my village in the near future.

A picture from the English camp.  I'm not in it but you can see the world map that was painted in the background

I finally have almost all of my supplies together for my Ovitrap project to trap and control the mosquito population. Today and tomorrow I will be building these traps and having my Balot test them out in his home. At the end of this month, I am headed out to Korat for a conference to help me create a project out of these Ovitraps. If all goes well and my community likes them, I may be spending September or October teaching people about them and helping them make them. The Ovitraps will allow people in my village control the mosquito population without using the chemical sprays that are normally used. Also, it will trap the mosquito larva that the people like to use as bait for fish. So really, my project is good for two things, mosquitos and fishing…win, win.

New house and bugs

New house.  New bed.  New sheets.  New fan.  What more can one ask for?  Last night, after sitting down to eat two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and taking a much needed ap-naam (shower), I headed up to my room for some R&R.  I spent an hour and a half earlier this evening washing all of my clothes and attempting to find random places to hang them around my house to dry since I don’t have anywhere to really do that…it was time to relax for the night; read a book, watch some shows.  I read for a while and then sat down to watch a couple episodes of Californication. 

I’m chillin’ in my bed, my fan blowing across my face as it turns from one side of the room to the other, when I see a bug on my computer screen.  I quickly kill it (sorry, Thailand) and continue watching.  It is a short time later that I have to brush another bug off my arm, then my face, and then another two on my computer.  What is going on?  I sit up in bed.  Holy cr*p!  There are little dark spots – bugs – all over my bed.  Not just a couple, but at least 100.  Then I look up.  My entire wall by my light is coated in these little bugs hopping over one another in attempts to be the closest one to the light. 

I grabbed a pillow case I wasn’t using and quickly went to work at killing as many of these suckers that I could on my bed and brushing them off. With each swipe of the towel more bugs came to take the place of the ones I just removed. Ugh!  Not fun.  Where are they coming from?  I get up from my bed and look around.  Ever step squishes more and more bugs, grinding them into my feet.  Finally, I reach my windows, my screened windows.  Armies of tiny bugs are attacking my screens searching for an entrance to my room.  These bugs are small enough to fit through the tiny spaces in the screens and they are slowly making their ways through the open slots.

I know immediately that it is my light that is causing them to all want to enter my home.  I look out into the street and see that my light shines the brightest on the entire block.  I quickly turn off my light in hopes that will drive the bugs to my dimly lit window and out of my house.  The bugs immediately set out for my computer screen.  I turn that off.  And then, I am laying on my bed, huddled under my blanket hoping that swarms of bugs are not meeting on my bed for another attack. 

Bored.  It’s been about 30 minutes sitting in the dark.  Its about 8:30.  I’m not tired, not ready to sleep, but I can’t turn my computer back on.  Instead I decide to try a tiny flashlight and read a book.  Not even a minute into reading I already have 4 bugs roaming around the outside of my kindle.  Light out.   Time to count some sheep.

This morning:  I wake up to hundreds of dead bugs coating all surfaces of my room.  Time to do some cleaning.

Next night:  I was sooo tired from not sleeping well the night before I fell asleep at 730pm.  No bugs entered my room!!! YAY!!! And, I woke up this morning and almost all of my clothes are dry!!! Double YAY!!!

Update on the flooding:

Today, I took a couple bike rides around my Tambon with my Balot and my Ron Nayok.  We had a few days of constant rain and the water from northern Thailand if finally making its way to Bangrakam.  There are two sections of my village that now have some slight flooding with the river covering the road and houses cut off.  We were able to bike through one section where the water was about 4 inches deep but were told that we should not attempt to bike through the other part of town where the water was deeper.  Families have started to build make shift walkways 2-4 feet off the ground to battle to coming flood, but eventually, even those might not be high enough off the ground. 

When I come back from Bangkok I will attempt to take some pictures of the areas so everyone can see what is going on. 

Oh, and I now have a project to work on!!! Ovitraps to help get rid of the mosquito infestation.  We have already had at least 2 people in Bangrakam come down with Dengue so I proposed a device that another volunteer is implementing in his area.  They love the idea.  I hopefully will be part of a workshop at the end of the month to help put together the project idea and implementation of it, but if not, at least I know what I will be working on for a little while…and by then, it will be time for me to start thinking about a leadership and empowerment came that I want to do for the youth early next year…then, it will be time for the Thai Youth Theater festival that I am helping to organize…slowly but surely, I am getting more work to do.

Apparently, a tropical storm hit Vietnam a couple of days ago, so now the rain is being passed onto Thailand.  It rained all day yesterday.  Not that I am complaining; It forced me to work on my packing and allowed me to stay in all day watching movies (with my A/C on, of course).  Today, moving day, the rain has let up a little.  We have had some sprinkles here and there, but overall, it’s a nice cool breezy day…a day that I could LOVE if I didn’t have so much laundry to do.  Ugh!  I should have missed a little work last week to get it done in the nice washing machine on a hot sunny day…but no.  I thought I would put it off until the weekend…the cool, rainy weekend…bad idea.  So, now I am moving into my house with dirty clothes.  Luckily, my Balot and I went and bought buckets and scrub brushes to wash my clothes with so I have those ready when I need them.

So, I didn’t get the cute little house on the corner with no walls.  Instead, I am moving into a 4 story row house.  Yes, I said 4 stories.  It is huge.  I won’t use the 1^st or 4^th floor very often though as they are filled with the landlords items.  Instead, I mainly will inhabit the 2^nd (the loft area) and 3^rd floor.  The loft is a great area because with the front “door” open and the ceiling fan on, you get a nice breeze.  I was given two chairs by my Balot so I can sit out there and drink coffee in the mornings or read books in the afternoons.  The 3^rd floor is where my bedroom is.  The room itself is enclosed and windows screened so I don’t have to worry about bugs or mosquitoes.  My Nayok bought me a bed, sheets, and a pillow for my room.  So far, I have nowhere to put my clothes, so that is going to be an interesting experiment (although I bought many hangers today).  People are going to flip out if they see them stacked on the floor around the edges of my room. 

Outside of my room there is another large room with a bathroom (no shower) attached to it.  This is what I am going to call my exercise room.  I am going to buy a yoga mat and hopefully start doing some P90X in the near future.  Other than that, it will be a room that will be a lot of fun to run and slide down in a pair of socks. 

The 4^th floor is full of my landlords stuff, but there is a door that leads out to the roof.  On a cool day, I could probably sit on the roof and feel the breeze flowing by.  On a hot day, it is where I am going to be drying all of my clothes (once again, not sure how that is going to go down yet as I have nothing to hang my clothes on). 

People have been super nice giving me a bed, blanket (I had a choice of light blue, dark blue, or leopard print), pillow, sheets, cups, broom, mop, and various cleaning supplies.  I have purchased: 2 washing buckets, hangers, hanger clips (for socks and underwear), laundry basket, fan (I think I will buy another one, but they are expensive), and a fridge.  I have spent a TON of money…I think it comes out to 5800 baht almost $200.  That is about a month and a half of rent. 

What do I still need to buy:  racks to hang my clothes, shelves, hot plate, lamp, plates, bowls, pan, cooking utensils, dish towel, curtains, extension cords…and then I get to carry it all back to my place on my bike…sometimes, I really miss my car.

I’m super excited to spend my first night at my place tonight.  It’s going to be strange having that big ‘ol house all to myself.  OH wait…I forgot…the bathrooms.  The one upstairs is a toilet only.  There is one on the first floor, though, that is bath and shower…bucket shower, and both bathrooms are squat toilets.  Guess I’ll be working out my leg muscles for the next two years.

Update:  Last night, my bucket shower was heavenly.  I felt so gross after carrying everything around, and attempting to set up things without A/C is no fun on a humid day.  But, my shower felt amazing…until I got out and started sorting again only to realize I was going to need another shower before going to bed.  Oh well.  I slept well and only woke up once in the middle of the night to someone slamming their door while a very loud motorcycle drove by.  I woke up at 6am to birds singing, people talking, and the sun glaring in through my window since I have no curtains.  All in all, a good first night.

This weekend I am heading into BKK for a Thai Youth Theater meeting.  I am leaving Thursday night and will be home Sunday afternoon.  Next week is a 4 day week because it is the Queen’s birthday on Friday, but I will be headed to another volunteer’s site and be working an English Camp there on Saturday.  We are going to be talking about geography and painting a world map – something we will be doing at my site in the future.

My bed with awesome sheets.  The too small blanket is actually towel material

The front of my house.  Hopefully you can get an idea
of how my front doors open...you can open them across the
entire front of the house.  The 4 open window are my bedroom

1st and 2nd floors of my house.  The door in the back
leads to my creepy alley.  That is where I will do my laundry
and dishes

My loft area with my lonely fridge

3rd floor.  Open space.  Balcony in the back and my bathroom is right next to it

Upstairs bathroom.  No shower, but there is a bucket shower on the first floor

4th floor.  No room for any of my things here

It was raining so I didn't want to go outside.  This is on the 4th floor roof.  This is where I will be drying my laundry

My bedroom