what to do?

In places I've lived in the US I have seen beggars. I often offered to buy them food and was sometimes turned down.

When I used to lead teams overseas I would tell participants that although it seems heartless, it is best not to give money to beggars. Most of the beggars don't get to keep the money you give them, it usually goes to the person who is pimping them. Those scenes in Slum Dog Millionaire are not made up. Children are pimped as beggars. Children and women are disfigured in order to earn more money as beggars. I don't really want to reward those actions, even though I feel compassion for the person in front of me who is begging.

Now I live overseas. Beggars approach daily. We've lived here long enough to know which beggars work which corners. Beggars congregate in tourist areas - the Russian Market and Riverside. There are land mine victims, women with children, and sometimes just children. Sometimes the children look drugged - which I am told is not an uncommon practice. This picture is one mother who approached me near Russian Market. Her child is alert and not lethargic. I bought them a green mango, which was the only food that was available in close vicinity. She took it and left.

Kenyon spends a lot of time at the Riverside area during the day while I am at work because he likes the restaurants there and they have wi-fi. He told me he purchased a mother and child food once. He was so angry because she didn't eat it. She immediately took it to some man standing on the sidelines a little distance away. According to Kenyon the man seemed upset she had food and not money.

I had a similar experience with a little boy inside Russian Market. I bought him fried noodles. He didn't eat them. He handed them over to some man.

I don't know how to deal with this. I don't know what to do. Should I ignore the desperate people begging because they are being pimped by an evil man? Should I give them money because at least it will satisfy their pimp for that day and maybe they will get to eat? Should I give them food in the hopes that from time to time they will actually get to eat it?

What to do? What to do? I don't know. What is the right thing to do?

let's go fly a kite...

Kenyon and I recently attended a kite flying event at a local children's home. The children are orphans, but the center is set up unlike most orphanages. Children at this site live with a family in an actual home. The house parents raise the children as their own. Each home is assigned approximately 5 kids. They often hold community events at the site - cultural shows and things like this kite flying event. People from the community come to the center for the events and the children who live there get to be kids who are part of a larger community network. It's a novel concept. I attended for no other reason then it seemed like a fun thing to do on a Saturday morning. I really liked watching the kites fly and the kids have so much fun.

This guy had to rescue his kite from a tree.

Just another Saturday morning in the country of endless summer. How are you liking the snow in your town? Ready for spring yet?

threading

Threading is a hair removal technique popular in Asia. Have you ever tried it? For our wedding in India my friend Somya threaded my eyebrows. That was the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing. It was the best! I did not (and still don't) understand how someone can do this to themselves. Somya tried to teach Fiona and I the fine art of threading. It was hysterical (and pathetic). At the beach in Cambodia there are ladies who will walk around and offer threading. I had my legs and eyebrows done.

What a life - sitting at the beach, listening to the ocean waves, and having a spa treatment done. There are many perks to living in Asia - this is only one of the many.

Christmas Day photos

I am obviously behind on posting photos. Here are some photos from Christmas Day 2009. We paid for a buffet lunch at a nice hotel in town known as the Himawari. I used to stay there when I would visit in my old role. Our companions were my boss and his family. The girl in the photo is Sophie, his youngest daughter. After lunch, we spent the afternoon hanging out by the pool. It didn't quite feel like Christmas, but it was a very nice day.

water festival pics

The water festival happened in October, but I am finally getting around to posting pictures. My dad and I flew to Bangkok (BKK) the actual day of the festival, but we did get to see some of the boats practicing for the races the day before. Enjoy the pics!

The color of their shirt represents the province they are from.

How do these skinny little wooden boats hold so many men? How do they stay afloat? It is an engineering wonder.

I imagine this little boy is dreaming of the possibilities.