Today is Karen New Year. (The Karen are one of the ethnicites from Burma here in Mae Sot.) So we have a day off. It is always my substitute birthday, since we ignored my actual day. So far today I have had some amazing experiences:
Breakfast. All four of us took a ride to the Muslim part of town. We ate awesome stuff: roti (fried dough w/condensed milk on top) and soup with naan with sweet (again the condensed milk) coffee. The kids behaved. The atmosphere was wonderfully Mae Sot: plastic stools, wooden tables, Thai people, Indian Burmese, Burmese Burmese.
Massage: WBoy to school, WGirl down for nap with Nan Sigh (our nanny/housekeeper), WParents are off for massages. What is better than 1 hour Thai massage at 9am on a Wednesday? Nothing. I’ve started going for massage behind the Mae Sot Hospital per the advice of my co-workers. It is excellent: safe, clean, nice ambience, no cell phone chatting, no TV.
Karen Dancing: In honor of Karen New Year, there is a celebration today the clinic. We stopped in to see Karen dancing and were not disappointed. The Karen kids know how to dance: complicated dances that go on and on. Plus cool outfits. 
Jewelery Window Shopping: We walked through the jewel shops that line central Mae Sot. We were mostly ignored, since the gem trade is a serious business here and we were obviously clueless, non-serious shoppers. I just want a band with a couple of Burmese gems to wear over my very plain wedding band, since the engagement rock stayed home. Max, referencing my concerns about the provenance of my diamond, said about these stones: “Talk about blood diamonds.” Yeah, we’ll probably pass on purchasing. But still its part of the Mae Sot experience to check them out.
Chow: Of course we ate. At Borderline. Burmese Tea Leaf Salad, the tomato salad and veggie rolls. I’m addicted.
Coffee: At Hazel’s, the saving grace of the foreigners of Mae Sot. Excellent coffee (b/c you know I drink it now), A/C, comfy chairs, and a very Western feel. Thais frequent it as well but you are likely to see a handful of farangs, who you already know, seeking refuge from the heat…and the town.
Recycling: So at Hazel’s, this flyer catches my eye: Plastics for Kids. Or something like that. So I call the number and learn that this organization is collecting plastic and aluminum garbage. This is great because there isn’t recycling in Mae Sot. Nope, it’s not great for that reason. It’s great because the organization works with the kids who pick through garbage all day every day to provide money for their families. I guess they sell it to some local Thai recycling business. Lovely.
So this organization has a drop-in space (see pic) for the kids to come and well…be kids. So by bringing our plastics to this organization, the kids can play and still bring home money to their families. By the way, some kids walk from BURMA!!! to get to Mae Sot to pick through garbage. According to the woman that I met at the organization, they cross the river into Thailand and walk the 7km+ into town, sometimes with “a baby brother or sister on their backs”. Ugh.
I am going to talk to the foreigners that I know and see who else might be interested in recycling.
It’s been a great day. Happy Un-Birthday to me!
