Lahu village life

We create the world that we live in, and live in the world that we create...

For the past two weeks, my world has been a slatted bamboo hut perched on stilts 4 feet above the steep hillside with plenty of room for pigs, dogs, roosters, and small children to dart, crow, and lounge in the dust underneath.

It's a Lahu hilltribe village with blue tin roofs and an hourly timekeeper in the form of fix-it monk in a small, white temple cramped inside with speakers and engine parts in various states of disrepair. The top of each hour from 5am until 10 at night announced with a 10 second blip of some commercial showtune or long-forgotten lullaby piped out across the hillside with enthusiastic volume.

The roosters were not content waiting until 5am to announce the coming arrival of the sun (which didn't rise until 7, thank you very much), competing for the earliest bird award at last count won before 2 am. Which of course wakes the dogs, who bark for the sake of barking, proud to let anyone or any dog know that, yes, they heard that too...

I just returned to Chiang Mai yesterday afternoon after a 12-day Thai Massage intensive in a village 2 hours away in the back of a pickup with 10 people + backpacks squashed into place. We piled out onto the crowded, polluted streets like clowns from a VW bug, dispersing into the maze of guesthouses, intenet cafes, used bookstores, and 7-11's, Certificates in hand, 90 hours of training under our belts, a couple dozen meals of sticky rice and heavily chilied vegetables churning in out guts.

Doobiyoo! Doobiyoo! (hello in Lahu, pronounced like the letter W, with a slight inflection)

Meditation and yoga every morning with at least 6 hours of giving and receiving every day...hmmm, a small break with a trek to a nearby waterfall for a swim in bikini tops and pants...pants?? hmmm...the unusual female village taboo of revealing the knees. Shoulders (the usual taboo in Thailand's wats) didn't garner a second look in the village, and breasts flashed frequently, but gasp! keep those bony patellas covered! The only story relayed to me by our teacher Fiona to explain this village phenom is that because of the public bathing areas and lack of privacy (bamboo huts are not known for their acoustics, or their soundproofing abilities), the only body part women kept sacred for their partners was their knees, revealed to their husband's adoring gaze during love-making...of course, this theory has limited validity, but I kind of like it.

The roadwork underneath our bamboo practice platform and occasional intestinal eruption not withstanding, the course went smoothly and I for one learned A LOT. So grateful to have that opportunity to study and practice...volunteers lining up as we speak, and hopefully by the time I return, will have sufficient skill and confidence to pass along this amazing work.

I'd post more pics but it takes a LONG, LONG time to upload any images...a few now for your perusal...

Peace and love...