Before building the office: Foundation.

Back wall of the office after plaster and before paint.  



Always hard at work. 

Bathing in the Lake.

Myself, Ryan Libre, and Mase before Chiang Mai departure



Earthen Building

February 15
Morvrijansana?  I tuck my legs under on the cold earthen floor and stretch my spine out as far as possible.  Mornings in Pun Pun (the village next door to Ryan's place) are completely opposite their hot, dry daytimes.  A couple more people file in, grabbing their straw mats and shuffle across the floor to find a spot in morning yoga.  The sunlight is beginning to beam through the windows, highlighting the continuous dust clouds filling the air.  People are clearing their noses of the residue from last night's sleep.  'Begin to fill the belly with breathe..and place your tongue on your paletta.'  The instructor allows for 10 minutes of medition and deep breathing.  I feel myself drift back in and out of sleep, my body releasing all of the muscles from laying bricks.  We've been here at Ryan's workshop for 8 days now.  We are working on an adobe brick office (a structure made from dirt and earth) so that he can keep all of his photographs.
February 17
7 AM.  The buzzing of the adobe hung nam (toilet) is loud and makes me want to do business as quickly as possible.  Always cover with rice husk in order to create air flow and prevent the flies from coming.  The hammering and drilling begins.  I will carry a few bricks and then begin mortering and scraping the office. 
7 PM.  Flying, dreaming, floating in the air! The 5 Rhythm Dance is a form of meditation for Thai women in PunPun.  The bright orange, red sun 'cradling' (MS) the mountaintops naturally brings me to another world.  Nan shouts, 'Flowing like a river, avoiding rocks, move like your body want!'  Sand paper feet and loosely kept material sweep the floor as we create a shared energy in the room.  I glide my hands through the space and transition to Staccato.  This part is to be very choppy and represents focus.  We enjoy a couple rap songs and are told to envision a dream that is presented with an obstacle so that we must turn and go another direction to achieve it.  The panicky, quivering motions of Chaos help to release the pent up focus, followed by Lyrical:  'happy time and celebrating peppy music'.  Finally we are calmed and centered with Stillness, which brings us back to the breath. 
February 23

We spent the last two and a half weeks in the beautiful mountains of Chiang Mai wwoofing with Ryan Libre, a California native.  He owns a plot of land in the forest about the size of a football field:  plenty of room to set up shop and prepare for a couple weeks in our tents.  There is a lake about a mile and a half away for which we run to every night before dusk to wash away all of the dirt and sweat from the days work.  What a beauty! The little ripples from the feeding fish are starting to bother my mind less and less as this becomes the standard routine.  Sometimes 2-3 visits to the lake is needed to boost energy levels and fight the bolstering sun!

Our main focus was building an adobe brick office although we also learned many other things.  Growing and maintaining a small organic vegetable garden, traditional vegan thai cooking, making ginger wine, solar power, fighting forest fires, photography, and sustainable living to name a few.  On one of our first days here it was called to our attention that the crackling dry noise in the next village was actually a forest fire that broke out and needed tending to midday.  A couple hundred people from all of the villages ran out and together we began digging a trench around the fre, stomping weeds and chopping grass in hopes that it would die when hitting our creation.  Eventually water, slashing, and determination by the entire community put the flames out.  Mase and I managed to set up a few Muay Thai boxing sessions with a local Chiang Mai boxing alum for about 100 baht/hour (roughly 3 US dollars).  We were not able to speak much english with him although we were able to guess what his gestures and grunts were referring to which commands.  Overall, it was well worth the bare feet and knuckle blisters! 

Although I missed meat in my diet, the vegan meals cooked here were some of the freshest and best I've ever had.  Pad Thai, eggplant, mushrooms, green curry, potatoes, sprouts, tamarind, passion fruit, every vegetable imaginable, and loads of colorful foods are usually picked and grown not more than a half mile from the compound.  Last night we all decided to balance out the weeks of veggies and celebrate with a few Chang beers, some sugary biscuit treats, and a homemade fresh cut french fry bar with 3 different sauces to dip into!.  I will surely miss Ryan's place, but have been able to assure him that we will return someday!