Stories from Thailand

Hi guys,

already 2.5 months back in Thailand! In June I started my 1-year term at AIESEC Thailand, a quite insane experience so far. As at the last time, scroll down to look at the pictures, if you are bored with reading exciting stories ;)

Clashes in Bangkok

Right after arriving, I got to know one of the saddest chapters in the Thai history. You might have heard about the conflict in the TV. Basically there are two policital competitors in Thailand, called Yellow Shirts and Red Shirts. The Yellow Shirts support currently the government, while the Red Shirts wanted to overturn the government in the last months.

For weeks, the red shirts blocked the Thanon Ratchadamri, one of the biggest and most important street in Bangkok and claimed the area as law-free zone. To keep away police and army, they built a wall of wheels and woodern sticks. From this base they organized protests that ended in many cases bloody, like one in Silom (inner city): two granades were thrown at a subway station right at noon, 2 people died.

Quite scary for us, since our office is a 5 minutes walk away from the closed area and on our way to the office we passed army with machine guns and protestors against the red shirts selling Thai flags, pipes etc. At the end of May the government stormed the law-free area with army forces. As a result the violence escalated and the red shirts occupied several places in Bangkok and burned down the Central World, one of the largest Shopping Mall right in the center of Bangkok. At this time there was a national curfew and no one of us was allowed to leave our houses before 9 pm.


Central World after the clashes.

Center One burned down as well.

During these time I started to use Twitter, I never took it very serious before, but with this tool you get the latest news minutes after, with photos, videos. Also this map was very helpful to see which areas where dangerous to go lately.

To stay in Bangkok at this time was not as dangerous as many poeple all over the world thought (scared by the news in TV), but still it was a scary and sad feeling to drive in the bus and see smoke and burning houses. We all hope this will never happen again, the political situation remains unclear though and in some provinces (not Bangkok) there is state of emergency.


The Thailand-India-Ivory Coast Story

I don't know wheater to laugh or to cry about this story. A guy from Ivory Coast (West Africa) staying in India contacted me a month ago to apply for an internship AIESEC is responsible for. Actually I was happy to talk to a guy so near to Ghana (he even used to live in Ghana). But then things turned worse.

The normal process to apply for an internship is to have an interview by Skype or phone between the candidates and the company and after the company accepted, the candidate books a flight and comes to the country.

But this guy couldn't wait and booked the flight immediately without having an interview or any backup plan. I told him before, it will be not easy for you to find a job quickly in Thailand, if you don't get this internship. His reply was, I'm the right person for this internship, I will get the job.

One week later I met him the first time in person. I remember the time, it was 2.20 pm. We had a lunch and talked about this and that and eventually he told me:

He: "Good news, at 3 pm I have an interview with the company" (I was fairly surprised, usually the interviews are arranged through AIESEC)

Me: "Wow cool! At which day?"

He: "It will be by today!"

Me: "What??? Where is it??" (It was 2.40 pm)

He: "I don't know exatly, somewhere around here:..." (he showed me his notes saying the company is at the other end of the town)

Me: "You never gonna make it till 3 pm, you will be at least 30 minutes left"

He: "No problem, they will understand it!"

I coudnt quite believe it, because this was his only very good chance to keep staying and have a nice time in Thailand! 4 days later it was clear that he didn't get the job. We tried to help him out and get him another job at a school in Bangkok (English teaching). We even arranged him an interview at 9 am with the director of this school. At the evening before I talked to him, that was the first time I became really angry. He told me he will not be able to make it at 9 am, because the traffic in Bangkok is so bad ha would have to wake up 5 am, etc. etc. I mean, this was his last chance to get a job in Thailand, and he demanded his 10 hours sleep in the night!?

So we cancelled the interview and I predicted him that was the last time I helped him.

2 weeks later he called me another time, telling me he wanted to fly back to India (and then back to Ivory Coast) and have a guess what happened? HE MISSED HIS FLIGHT, because of "bad traffic"!.....That is it so far, updates follow.


Lost-My-Wallet-Story

Arghhh! Some of my friends back in Münster or Tübingen might know it: I lose my wallet regularly, but I was amazingly lucky in the last years and always got it somehow back, by friendly foreigners, by myself or by the government.

Losing the wallet in a bus in Thailand, is a mistake you shouldnt make though. However I managed to leave it and seconds after getting off I realized it and took a taxi immediately. Unfortunetely the driver coudn't speak any English, so it took a while to explain him with my poor Thai to follow the orange bus number 77! As he realized it he run scared as well and accelerated massively. That might be the reason why he took the wrong way at the next intersection.

My situation was not the best at the moment: Now I realized that I had no money to pay the driver, my mobile phone had ran out of credit and the key for my house was in the wallet by the way (plus credit card, cash, driver licence and a couple of other cards).

The driver was the best example of Thai friendliness though: He understood that I didn't have money and switched the meter of. He even drove me through the half city for free to a bus station where I could try to catch up this unholy orange 77 bus and search for my wallet in there. (I noted the driver's phone number to call him later)

After two ours stopping busses and searching desperately for my wallet, I gave up. Luckily Khwan had called me in the meantime and we went home and called Pete in Germany to lock my credit card.

On 11 pm I got a call: "I have found your wallet, can you come to Mo Chit?"

Oh my god!! Lucky again! The bus driver had found the wallet and besides that he waited 2 hours for us to pick up the wallet, I love Thai honesty.. I even had to almost force him to take a couple of Baht as appreciation..

Visa Run in Laos

In order to renew my visa, I have to leave the country every 3 month. I have to admin it's a little bit annoying, but fun at the same time! Last month I went with Khwan to Laos, here some pictures:

Market in Laos. The food is similar like in Thailand, for me slightly less delicious though. Highlight: Cheap and excellent Laos Beer!

Yet another must-try: Grilled frogs! The meet itself is crab to be honest, but they filled the stomach with some herbs, which were awesome.

Kanuing at an amazing landscape

One highlight of the trip: Around 20 meter high swing over the river, after enjoying a flight in the air, the jump in the cold water is still pretty high and can hurt! Surpise: Even Khwan dared to fly a couple of times ;)

MC at AIESEC

Right after arriving from Ghana, I started my incredible work as MC at AIESEC. It is hard to describe this work properly, it is extremely challenging and unique, that's what I can say for sure after the first 2 months. If it is meet big companies (e.g. Coca Cola, Electrolux, HSBC, Reckitt Benckiser, Nielsen,...), facilitate training for and coaching our members, analysing the organization and planning the next year, organize and promote our next National Conference, developing new products, etc., there is no time to get bored.

I have a wonderful team as well, Charmy, Aum and Zong from Thailand and Dessy from Indonesia.

Fun at the office: On the right Dessy, then myself with a bad-taste-but-cool-shirt, Aum, Andy, Earth and Troy.

Headache topic: Work Permit and Visa Training at Chulalongkorn University

Board Games at Battlefield Bangkok

Some of my friends might know, I love to play each kind of board games, preferably the ones who last 8 hours minimum and are played by real gamers (freaks) :D

After month of total game abstinence I found my paradise: The only (!) gamer shop in Bangkok, and I bet it's the only one in Thailand as well: Battlefield Bangkok. Usually Thai people are neither big book readers nor big board game players, this shop is an exception. Every weekend you can find lots of both Thai and expacts to compete against eachother playing all different kinds of games.

Our second session there was Twilight Imperium, a really nice game, we used to play that back in Muenster as well a couple of times. Even though we couldn't finish I loved it so much and will repeat it definetely soon!

My last weeks in Ghana

2 months in Ghana and only 3 days left. I start to feel sad, as it was a very exciting time here. I can impossibly write down everything I experienced, but I will describe the highlights:

CAS Catholic Action for Streetchildren

Unfortunately, the project I actually work in, was one month postponed. We still could prepare the workshops, make promotions, seek sponsorship and so on. But I was not completely satisfied with this, since everything moved quite slowly. Normally you cannot have more than 1 meeting a day, because you cannot control the traffic, you have to find the place (there are hardly any signs with street names), you probably have to wait for the person, the meeting last normally longer then you would expect. People are also often not reliable. For instance, we invited 6 guest speakers for our workshops, 3 of them didnt show up, even though they confirmed a day before. One even switched off his phone and we couldn't reach him the whole next week.

Luckily I got a contact of CAS (Catholic Action for Streetchildren), which is a school for street children in Accra. Most of them don't have parents anymore or were left alone by their parents. They sell water or anything else on the streets and some of them are prostitutes to survive. The school is completely funded by private investors and provides a program for the children and a chance for them to leave the streets. The children can come and go whenever they want, no-one is forced to do anything. Otherwise they would probably quit. Children who stay long enough to develop themselves and show commitment have the chance to get sponsorship and learn to repair cars, fridges, to do computer work, arts or anything else to earn money.

In this school I work 3 days every week and I love it!

This is the class room. The children (they are 8 to 18 years old) learn here English (most of them speak the local language Ga or Twi) or Maths. Additionally, there is a special topic each week like tolerance, trust or creativity. Sometimes, these guys were quite tired and it took quite an effort to wake them up again. But the teachers (Stephen on the pictures) are really really patient with them and never get really angry. However, they are highly respected by the kids.

After class, the chrildren have the chance to participate in different activities like making bags, wallets etc. out of the empty water suchets which you can see always on Ghana's streets. I helped mainly in the computer workshops rooms, where the chrildren play educational Games to learn typing, maths, geography etc. Most of these games were over 10 years old, so I installed more modern and useful games and introduced them to the children. I really have the feeling that I could help a little in this way.

Church visit


Most Ghaneans visit church every Sunday, some even every day. The lady at our street who sells pancakes invited us to join her to church. It was quite different from churches in Germany, just watch the video!

YES Project

In the last weeks we finally started with our workshop that we planned and prepared so long.

YES project opening ceremony. We had three guest speakers talking about women and entrepreneurship, the economic situation for small businesses in Ghana and a concept to promote entrepreneurship. It was very interesting! Later we split the students into groups and they started to create their own business plans.

10 days travelling through Ghana

This was a huge adventure. In the Easter weekend we visited together with 8 or so other interns the Volta region, which is in the East of Ghana.

On a Church in Ho Hoi, the capital of the region. From this town we started two day trips, to the largest waterfalls in Ghana and to a mountain where we had a view to Togo. Actually I expected not too much, since Ghana was in terms of sightseeing rather disappointing, but this trips were simply awesome!

They sell not only water in these sachets...

arrrrgh!

2 hours climbing to the waterfalls. It was extremely hot on this day and the way was steep as hell, so 3 of our group had to give up and go back after half an hour.

But the waterfalls (called Vli) were very rewarding and we even could swim in this lake and use the waterfall as a shower! 100% refreshment!

Next to the waterfall live a big crowd of bats...

...that were hunted by the locals. By the way, I also ate a bat accidentally, because I thought it was a chicken. It looked and tasted similar, but was a little skinnier. Other strange things I tried here were goat, cow skin and crocodile.

Tatjana, Jaqueline and Ana on the top of the mountain. Where are they from?

With Ruben (Netherlands). Behind us is Togo!

On a strange tree.

Beautiful rain forest.

After this weekend we said goodbye to our group and I continued the journey with the two Dutch guys Ruben and Metthew. We crossed the whole Volta lake (the largest artificial lake in Ghana) by a ferry in 30 hours! We actually wanted to sleep on the deck, but 5 minutes after departure it started to rain and thunder like hell! It was quite scaring and in the night it got even quite cold, so we went into the sleeping room where we could sleep on benches. We also met a couple of Germans there who joined us in the next days.

View off the ferry.

The ferry stopped around five time to load in cargo.

Crossing the lake on a quite crowded boat.

Playing a local card game (which is really funny) at the national park Mole. The guy on the right introduced himself with a complicated name and added "But you can call me Prince!". During the games he made really funny sounds and became excited. He was one of the funniest persons I met in Ghana :)

On our tour in Mole we so plenty of antelopes....

....and one African elephant!

In the north of Ghana we spent one night in a little little village (around 10 houses), where one family lived. They produced almost everything they needed to live themselves. They grew up goats, pigs and chicken as well as different kinds of corn. No-one of them could speak English, but our guide Adams (on the left) explained everything really well.

The village.

Our last spot was the second largest city in Ghana, Kumasi. I love this city, since it is busier then Accra and has a beautiful market and a great chief and king's palace. On the picture I buy amazingly cheap and cool boxershorts. (1 Euro each)

On the market.

The largest market in Ghana. You can watch the people producing food, shoes, belts, decoration, simply everything..

Operation CIRCLE

Maybe you remember that I descriped last time the co-drivers of the Tro Tros (the busses here). When the Tro Tro goes to the Circle, the most famous roundabout in Accra that includes a huge station and a market, the co-driver shouts CIRC CIRC CIRCLE. We all found this funny and so we had on the 30 hours ferry trip the idea to start our own business. We designed simple t-shirts with the label CIRC CIRC CIRCLE. We were three: Matthew, Ruben and I invested each 47 CD to print in total 30 t-shirts. Unfortunetely the whole process took us almost 2 weeks, so Matthew and Ruben were already gone when it came to the actual sales.

Our marketing strategy was simple: I guess we were the first white poeple selling stuff on the streets to locals ever, so we expected a huge attention. Nick even wanted to arrange a local newspaper which failed in the last moment. Naturally, last Friday we started sales on the Circle itself. Within minutes, plenty of locals formed a circle around us, in this moment we were the main attraction at Circle ;) Unfortunately, no-one wanted to buy, because the price of 6 CD was simply to expensive for them. However, it was a funny experience to switch the sides and get to know how it is to bargain as a seller. Our initial price was 8 CD, last price was 6 CD, sometimes we reduced it even to 5. (we bought the shirts for 4,70)

Ana (Brazil), I and Nick (New Zealand) sell shirts at the Circle.

After a while we moved to Oxford Street which is in a richer area of Accra. Here sales went up like hell, we could sell more than 15 shirts, before we went exhausted to a near bar to celebrate a success with a couple of beer towers. There we agreed after tough discussions that we would have a CIRCLE party next day and sell the last shirts exclusively for the guests. And it was a great success of course. Just look at this picture:

Random pictures

Having a meal in our room.

Morning after a rooftop party.

Stall in Kaneshie market.

I try to teach children Thai. Later I noticed however that my spelling was completely wrong!

Homers, the restaurant we ate almost every day.

In the last years, the value of money was changed. Locals often still use 30.000 instead of 3 CD.


When it rains in Ghana, then it rains hard!

Random thoughts

Malaria

Malaria is more common in Ghana then I expected. Another intern who lives in Kumasi had recently Malaria and at the same time all (!) 4 of his roommates got sick. All of them had taken prophylaxis against Malaria. Luckily, there is a quite effective treatment against the disease, if you see a doctor immediately. Anyway, I'm a bit scared: Another intern died from Malaria a month after returning home, as he didnt realize fast enough that the fever he had was caused by Malaria. You can get Malaria even years after you got the actual infection..

Energy and water

One of the major issues holding the economy down is the unreliable water and energy system. In the last weeks they had problems in Accra to supply every house with energy, since they had to repair some spots. So they switched off the electricity in certain areas and continued after a couple of hours with the next area. That means, in our area (Russia) we had often no energy 6 - 12 pm or 6 - 12 am, sometimes in the afternoon. However, the sad thing is that they didnt publish a schedule for the switch-off-times, so the times were completely random and unpredictable. I still can't understand why they didnt..

Homosexuality

I had quite a few discussions with Ghanaians about this topic. Gay couples are still not tolerated by society in Ghana (and probably most other parts in Africa). The main part of Ghana's is very religious (Christian-Catholics). You cannot possibly show your homosexuality in public, if you don't wanna be blamed or at least less respected. However, there seem to be a positive development, as some of the young and highly educated people start to be more tolerant. So why can you often see two guys holding hands at the streets of Ghana? According to the locals, it is just a expression of good friendship!

Hospitality

I didn't even know it before I came here, but Ghana is one of the safest places in Westafrica. It was really bad luck that they try to rub me twice in my first days. Since then, nothing like that happened. The locals are VERY friendly and help you always if you ask kindly. When you walk through the streets you probably hear a couple of times people shouting "White man" or "Obrooni" which is the same in the local language Twi. That is not meant to be an offense, it is just an expression of excitement or hospitality.

Bargaining

You should have a passion for bargaining if you want to pay the right prices. The discussions can be very direct, in beginning it seemed to me even aggressive or rude. But even after the toughest discussions, the people are best friends again. One time we argued almost an hour about a payment and they shouted and were really hostile (it was quite scary), but 20 minutes later they helped us very friendly like nothing had happened. Everybody uses phrases like "I beg you", "small money", "don't do this to me!" or "don't make me suffer!" to make it very clear that the price is not good! We copied these phrases and use them now as well, we got a lot of funny talks in this way.

Volunteering in Ghana

I observed that there are plenty of volunteers in Ghana who all try to help the local society. Unfortunately there is often a lack of funds at the same time, because investors are rarer than NGOs or volunteers. Without these funds it is hard to use the available manpower in a efficient way. Ideas and willing to change are there, but the money is missing. Most of the volunteers in Ghana have to set down their expectations in the beginning realizing that development is very slow under these conditions.

Phrases

There are very funny phrases and strange words. To catch some-one's attention, you just make a noise like a snake: sssssssssttt or pretend to give a long and incredibly loud kiss. You hear this noises a thousand times a day. Other often used phrases are "Are you sure?", "You are invited!", "You are welcome!", "Ohhhh no no no no!", etc.

The End

In only 2 days I have to leave Ghana and start my new life in Thailand! I'm very sad to leave the life here and with it all my new friends. But I look forward to seeing Khwan and all my friends! :) As some of you might know, the political situation is currently quite unstable. If you are interested you can see the latest Bangkokpost-News on the right site of this page. I'm excited how the situation will look in reality.

Geburtstag, Wahl und neue Aussichten

Hi ihr alle! Erfreulicherweise hab ich von einigen von euch gehört, dass ihr den Blog regelmäßig lest, obwohl selten Kommentare geschreiben werden (außer Tschindi natürlich :P ). Das motiviert mich natürlich, weiterzumachen!

Mitte Januar haben wir mit einem großen Projekt angefangen, SMILE 2010! Der Name stammt übrigens von mir, worauf ich natürlich unverschämt stolz bin. Im Projekt kamen 20 Praktikanten aus aller Welt (z.B. aus China, Japan, Indonesion, aber auch Polen, Kazachstan und sogar Kenya) nach Bangkok, um an Secondary und High Schools zu unterrichten und kulturellen Austausch zu fördern.

Bevors ernst wurde, gabs natürlich noch ne "Pre-Tour", also 2 Tage Strand (Kho Samet) und Sightseeing inklusive Waterskiing, Fischen, ein Delphin-Show und unter Wasser gehen (mit einer schwerem Taucherhelm, war mir allerdings zu teuer).


Nicht alle Praktikanten kamen sofort mit dem Essen klar. Die Kenyanerin aß in den ersten Tagen nur trockenen Reis, weil ihr alles andere zu scharf war.

Eine Woche später war dann eine große Konferenz mit 150 Leuten, auch aus einigen Nationen.


Die Konferenz hatte das Thema Leadership - hört sich ziemlich ernst an, aber nicht vergessen: Das ganze ist in Thailand, Spaß hatte definitiv erste Priorät, macht euch ein Bild mit diesem Video:



Zur Erklärung: Es ging darum, je einen Becher Nudeln in Viererteams möglichst schnell zu vertilgen.

Auf dieser Konferenz wurde auch der neue Landesvorstand fürs nächste Jahr gewählt. Es gibt einen Prädident und 4-7 Vize-Präsidenten, die für eine bestimmte Funktion verantwortlich sind (z.B. HR, Business Development oder Finanzen). Jeder der Kandidaten hielt eine Rede und musste sich anschließend den Fragen des Publikums stellen. Und der beste und schönste der Kandidaten war.......ich natürlich! ;)

Ja, ich hab mich dazu entschieden für den MC VPER zu kandidieren: Vice President External Relations. Die (für mich) gute Nachricht: Ich war der einzige Kadidat für die Position! :) Allerdings braucht jeder 2/3 der Stimmen, um fürs nächste Interview zugelassen zu werden (confident vote)


Das ganze lief so ab, dass jeder, der eine Frage hatte, die auf einen Zettel schrieb. Die Fragen las dann ein "Alumni" (ehemaliger AIESECer, im Bild hinten rechts) vor. Für mich war das ganz nicht einfach, auch weil dieser Fragensteller einen ziemlich starken Thai-Akzent hatte (das ganze war natürlich auf Englisch) und ich bei einer Frage 3 mal nachfragen musste, um sie richtig zu verstehen! Beispiele für die Fragen:

How will you handle the language problem? (bezieht sich darauf dass viele Thailänder kaum englisch sprechen)
What is your vision for AIESEC in the next years?

Anschließend bekam jeder, der gewählt wurde, d.h. über 2/3 der Stimmen hatte, in einer offiziellen Zeromonie Wasser über den Kopf geschüttet (alte Tradition)! Zum Glück ist Bangkok auch abends warm (ca. 30 Grad)..

Ums kurz zu machen, es gab 2 Wochen danach noch ein Interview, das ich nicht "bestanden" hab. Zu meinem Glück bekam ich aber aus verschiedenen Gründen noch ne zweite Chance und bin jetzt offiziell Vizepräsident in Thailand! Mein Term beginnt im Juni und dauert ein ganzes Jahr. Ich werde also noch ne Weile länger hier bleiben. Und ich freue mich wahnsinnig drauf!

So, genug dazu, jetzt noch einige Bilder aus der letzten Zeit:


Der Belgier Jonas (3.v.l.) hatte uns diesen Ort empfohlen: Billigster Pub in Sukumvit (berühmte Straße in Bangkok)! Der "Pub" war dann ein Tisch im Freien und es gab genau einen Bierturm, der unzählige Male nachgefüllt wurde. Ich bin übrigens grad am Biertesten (wer erkennt alle 5 Marken?)....


Khwan in einem japanischen Restaurant. Sushi und andere Leckereien! mhhhh


Meinen Geburtstag hab ich in unserem Haus gefeiert (zur Zeit wohnen hier nur Yuki, Tom und ich)! Und es war ein Riesenspaß! Ich hab gleich 2 Torten gekriegt, siehe Bild.. Die von Khwan ist übrigens ein blauer Pinguin :D


Jeab war auch da! Eine Freundin aus den alten Tagen in Münster!


Wow!!


In einem deutschen (!) Biertempel. Eigentlich ein Gebäude, aber es könnte ein Bierzelt in München sein. Es gab sowohl Dunkel- und Altbier als auch Weizen! Fußball gabs auch zu sehen (alle Thailänder lieben übrigens deutschen Fußball, hier kommt sogar die deutsche Bundesliga in der Glotze) und - nicht ganz so typisch deutsch - Thailändische Tänze! Fun pur!


Eine Freundin (übrigens mit lustigem Spitznamen: 11 (oneone) ) hat uns zur Kirche eingeladen! Kirchen sind so selten in Thailand wie Tempel in Deutschland, aber in Bangkok gibts natürlich einige. Hier wird laut gesungen und gebetet, es gibt einen Beamer vorne und es ist ganz und gar nicht leise.



Eine schöne Tradition: Alle die zum ersten Mal da sind, können sich davor fotografieren lassen und werden während des Gottesdiensts offiziell begrüßt. Wie herzlich diese Begrüßung ist, seht ihr im Video (am Anfang werden Khwan und ich auf der Leinwand gezeigt). Meiner Meinung nach können die konservativen Kirchen in Deutschland hiervon einiges lernen. Ich bin mir sicher, wären sie auch nur halb so lebendig wie hier, sie würden doppelt so gut besucht!

Danach gings ab zum Shoppen in Jatujak Weekend Market, einem der größten Märkte der Welt. Hier gibts einfach alles zu kaufen, von Millionen T-Shirts über antike Münzen aus aller Welt bis zu ganzen Bäumen. Generell wird Thailand nicht übermäßig viel gehandelt (nicht wie z.B. in Ägypten oder in Teilen Chinas, wo man den Preis 80% niedriger ansetzen sollte), aber mit etwas Übung kann man meistens etwas rausholen. Dabei ist allerdings Lachen und Humor wichtiger als harter Verhandlungsgeist.



Hier wird der berühmte Thai-Tee gemacht! Ähnlich wie der Kaffee hier, unglaublich süß, aber lecker..


Die einzig mögliche Konsequenz nach diesem Markt: Kiloschwere Einkaufstaschen!

Meine letzten Wochen waren wieder unglaublich abwechslungsreich und spannend, manchmal stressig, manchmal lustig, manchmal verwirrend. Die Zeit hier ist aber definitiv eine unvergleichliche Erfahrung.

Mein Job hier ist diese Woche offiziell zu Ende. Im Mai fängt dann das meine Vorstandszeit hier an. Im März und April würde ich gern nach Afrika. Darüber hab ich schon längere Zeit nachgedacht und recherchiert und hoffe es klappt alles. Davor gehe ich evtl. noch nach Chiang Mai hier in Thailand in einen Tempel, um Meditieren zu lernen. Das würde bedeuten: 7 Tage ohne Internet, Bücher, Telefon und jeden Morgen um 4 aufstehen und ab 12 Uhr mittags nichts essen.

Ich weiß noch nicht, ob ich alles schaffe, was ich mir vorgenommen hab, ich halte euch auf jeden Fall auf dem Laufenden.

Wies aussieht, werd ich das nächste Mal an Weihnachten zurück in Deutschland sein. Ihr wisst ja, ich vermisse euch alle, wo immer ihr zur Zeit seid. Denkt mal drüber nach, nen Urlaub in Thailand zu machen. Ihr seid immer willkommen und ich versprech euch, ihr werdet ne unvergessliche Zeit haben!!