Curtis

So I think this trip has finally hit everyone. Before, when we were in Yangon, we were really just tourists, taking in the sights, eating the food and generally just enjoying the company of others. Now, after a 6 hour train ride, we got into the village and were greeted with something we were never expecting. It seemed like the entire village were out to see these weird people get off a bus. We had gone from pigeons to eagles. There were cameras everywhere and children at the front to greet us, people were standing there wanting to shake hands, say hello to us and take pictures of us. I'm very certain that most of us were not equipped to deal with such a greeting, let alone the amount of celebration that had gone into our arrival. We walked up to our shelter, a retreat named after St. George, and were taken to plastic stools where we sat down. Then children dressed up walked up in front of us and started dancing. It caught us completely off-guard and I really wanted to cry, being overwhelmed with so much emotions. I’ve never seen such a sight in my life nor an experienced such a well prepared celebration for our arrival.

All the emotions are still sinking in to me. It’s definitely a lot to take in at once or over a short period of time. We were given gifts of traditional shirts to wear for the wedding today, and to also keep, being a gift. They’re really comfortable to wear and also look very nice. Wearing them at the wedding exposed how easily they allow cold air through however. Sitting at the front row for the wedding really made us feel chilly, and we couldn’t get our jumpers because they’d cover the shirts.

This afternoon, we went back to the church with sports equipment for the people our age, and that ranged from about the years 15-25. It was a great afternoon, it started slow, about one person was there to meet us, and then they slowly started to increase in numbers as did the number of people in each team for our volleyball game. That game went on for about an hour and by that time we started to guess that everyone had showed up. So at that time we started to introduce some new games to play. We got out the Frisbees, the set of badminton equipment, a soccer ball and a few other things. We alternated between sports for the afternoon, making such an interactive day with the amazing people of Thandoung Gyi.

Jenny

Greetings J Wow, so many stories I don’t know where to start! The bread over here is quite sweet. One day over here a 6.8 earthquake hit India and we felt the tremor at 5:40 in the morning – but don’t worry, we’re totally fine!! I’m so glad I packed an earplug, the bus ride to the village was up a mountain (and more hairpin corners than Tassie and NZ combined, with much narrower roads). The greeting we recieved when we arrived in the village was so overwhelming – most of the villagers were crowded along the road, they had a pipe and drum band, when we stepped off the bus they all crowded us, taking photos and reaching out to shake our hands, then walked with us to our home for the next week, where the children and adults proceeded to preform a few different traditional dances and musical items respectively, all in traditional dress. I’m still processing the surreality. We attended a traditional wedding, which was gorgeous, then did some sightseeing and learnt about the history of the village. In the afternoon we interacted with a range of ages at the church that the community built by hand, playing volleyball and soccer and Frisbee. A peek-a-boo trick I’s learnt from Dad worked with the kindy kids we visited, I coaxed a smile and giggle from most (except one who covered herself in a blanket and fell asleep). I’m loving the view, so many photos of sunset and sunrise over the mountians and through the trees. 



Hannah

Yesterday we began our journey to the village in Than Doung Gyi. It started with a 5:40am wake-up from the tremors of the Indian earthquake, which was lucky because Teagan slept through her alarm, meaning we weren’t woken up. The train ride to Toungoo was the most interesting train ride I have ever endured. As we rocked up to the train station, it looked like we were going to Hogwart’s, but the train was a very old train. The whole 6 hours of the train ride was constant up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down, side to side and side to side and side to side. The noise of the whole ride sounded like a really loud horse was trotting beside us. I was imagining the train ride to be like a bullet train that runs through Europe with staff walking around with trolleys full of food. But for the whole 6 hours of the train ride and another half an hour later, I still hadn’t eaten anything besides a piece of watermelon that was bought from one of the people who came onto the train at one of the stops. There were people selling either watermelon, sweet corn, beer or cigarettes. One thing that I have learnt from that train ride is that I am able to sleep anywhere, anytime and in any condition. Although the train was as loud as someone screaming for 6 hours, and the train tracks was causing you to constantly get air time, I still managed to get sleep. Once the ride was almost over, we had to start getting our suitcases and everything off the train. The train has windows with no glass on them, which meant I nearly fell out of the moving train while getting luggage to people. Was a very stressful time. We then arrived in the town of Toungoo, where we were taken to Mummy’s House Hotel for lunch. I got very freaked out when I had to use a squat toilet! Next was our 2 hour journey to the village; 30 minutes through Toungoo, 1 hour 30 minutes up hill. I was so shocked at how much uphill we were going. When we were driving up to the village, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. The whole entire town was standing, waiting for us. As we got off the bus, there was music, shaking of hands, and the brightest smiles I have ever seen. It was so overwhelming and brought me to tears of happiness. We were then taken on a parade with everyone following us, music still playing, up a hill to the house we were staying. There were 16 children standing there with leighs, waiting for us and as we walked up they placed them around our necks. We were then sat down, given hot tea and watched groups of children do traditional dances for us. I honestly don’t remember the last time I smiled so much, my face muscles were so sore. While all of this was happening, we had someone filming the whole thing with a really big professional video camera. As we walked into the house, there were a set of traditional clothes waiting for us all as a gift. We were honestly treated like royalty. Dinner was then held at the Groomsmen’s house, where we were taken up to a special room to have dinner. I tried this 'meat’ that I really liked, it tasted like beef and I decided to tell Father Noel of my experience and I then found out that I was eating liver. This was probably one of the best days of my life. Today we started off with a traditional Burmese wedding. It was a really cool experience. We then had breakfast at the Bride’s house and then had a bit of a tour day of the village. We got to visit a few kindys and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen, and again, left me with really sore face muscles. This afternoon, we met with the youth group, aged 15-25 and played sports with them for hours straight. It was so much fun. These past few days have been very full on but they have been amazing. The village is so secluded, no words could really explain to you until you see it for yourself. It has the most amazing scenery as well, mountains everywhere and it’s stunning.

Spencer –

Getting up early to leave for Toungoo, and then further to Thandoung Gyi, created much excitement and anticipation throughout the group. We spent a 6 hour-long train ride which was quite interesting. Each stop was very far apart, but the landscape and countryside was something to behold. Just outside the city was quite ‘shanty-town’ looking, but the large golden pagodas protruded the landscape. It was very interesting to see despite how poor people may be, they still make the largest effort they can for their beliefs. All along the train, there were vendors selling various meats, watermelon and sweetcorn – quite different to our public transport back home. We eventually arrived in Toungoo, where a bus was waiting for us which took us to the village of Thandoung Gyi. No one was prepared for the way the people greeted us… basically the whole village was at the base of main road, playing music on drums and flutes, and handshakes all round. We got off the bus and walked up the hill with them to where we were staying. This whole moment was so overwhelming and touching. I was smiling from ear to ear, while at the same time trying to hold back tears. It was so heartwarming to see how excited everyone was, just for us being there. Day 4 started with the group attending a traditional wedding in the village, and then moved onto visiting various schools. The children were so adorable, and just made me smile. A lot of them didn’t really warm to us much, but those whom did, made me so happy. The afternoon was filled with joy and laughter… we pilgrims went to the local church to spend time with the church youth group. The kids were ranged from age 15 to 25 roughly, so not really kids I guess. We played different games and sports like volleyball, soccer and badminton, and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. I just felt genuinely happy being with the Burmese teenagers… the only thing that I was disappointed about was the fact that I really wanted to talk to them more, but their English wasn’t that strong. After arriving in the village, I have definitely realized I am here for the right reason, and am so appreciative of all aspects of how I got here, and the people living here alike.


Tamara
The journey to the village was very long, first it started with a 6hr train ride and when I say train you can’t compare it to Trans Perth, this train was the bumpiest and loudest ride I have ever. It constantly sounded like a very heavy horse trotting on metal, we all gained air from the bump throughout the journey. The last bit of the train was very interesting we had all our baggage that we had to get off with not a lot of time, I ended up right on the edge of moving train with luggage and all the people were trying to jump on and it was all a bit crazy. The 6 humorous hours of the train ride ended and we were straight on to the bus, driving up and up and up and up, numerous times I kept saying it can’t be that much further up, but it was. To try and describe where we are is very hard, at every point on this village you look out and you see nothing but trees and mountains, no sight of life besides the village itself. The arrival was amazing and very overwhelming, we pull up in our bus to many people awaiting us with music, smiles and a lot of handshakes.They were so happy we were there. The kids performed a dance and greeted us with tinsel necklaces and tea. I can’t put into words how incredible it was. The kids over here are gorgeous. Mum you would want to steal them all, even though some of them are very shy and unsure of us. Playing various sports with the youth kids 15-25ish was heaps of fun , but I just felt like they were laughing at my soccer skills all the time, but I think I redeemed myself in volleyball when I spiked it down and they all cheered for me like I was a hero. I can say my expectations of the village were completely wrong but in a good way, life here has been full of happiness.