Wednesday, February 14, 2007

This blog comes from Blythe Cherney, sophomore Sociology Major from California Lutheran University. Blythe comes from Visalia, CA.

Dear friends and family,Happy Valentine’s Day!! This update finds our group full of religiousmusings. As we have begun to prepare for this week's mid-term examination,we have all delved deeply into the study of Thailand's major religion:Buddhism. From the classroom to the wat (temple), we are learning moreand more about the religion that our host country reveres, and with eachlesson, we are discovering the amazing amount of similarities it holds toour Christian faith.Friday's culture class was arguably the most exciting yet, as it took us ona tour of five major wats around Chiang Mai, including both city and foresttemples. The beauties of the temples are second to none; the sacredness ofthe grounds is clearly felt, regardless of the throngs of tourists. Afterour tour we stopped for lunch at Krua Sawatdee (a buffet and Karokerestaurant). We really enjoyed singing our own songs and listening toChiang Mai's version of Tony Bennet (an amazing singer and the owner ofthe restaurant).

Saturday morning, we disembarked for a weekend of continued study and fun.We drove south to Lampoon, visiting two temples on the way. A highlight ofthe journey was the chance to explore an impressive cave, complete withhundreds of bats. By late afternoon we arrived at our final destination:the forest temple, Wat Doi Long Tham (The temple on the mountain behindthe cave).The grounds were stunning; truly a retreat from the business of everydaylife. That evening, we were participated in our first lessons in sitting,standing, and walking meditation. The only complaint was that it was tooshort. We were extremely fortunate to have two Buddhist monks from ChiangMai as our traveling companions, translators, and meditation leaders. (Both were interns in the English Department at Buddhist Universitylocated Wat Suan Dok where I am doing my internship.)Sunday morning, the group woke up at the unforgiving hour of 5:30am, inorder to go to the local market to buy food and give alms to the templemonks. Upon our return to the temple, we were able to offer the food tothe monks, and then enjoyed the plentiful leftovers for one of the bestbreakfast buffets in Thailand.The weekend stay finished off with another meditation class followed by anherbal sauna at the temple. Our time there had truly been full of, as PhraGabe would say, "body and mind food."

We send this week’s e-mail with best wishes to everyone we hold dear. Aswe hold you in our thoughts and prayers, please continue to keep ourstudents in yours, as we each deal with our own personal challenges andtriumphs.Mindfully yours,Blythe Cherney and SST 2007

See all of the pictures of this past week athttp://travel.webshots.com/album/557544127dUGPMd for Wat Tour and Lunch http://travel.webshots.com/album/557574208vBsIUW for Meditation

P.S. Shawn Livingston continues to improve. Today he opened one eye and tried to get out of bed. His mother was here to seethis miracle. He has a long way to go but every journey must begin with asingle step. Please keep him, his family, and our group in your thoughtsand prayers.