Trekking to Karen village.

Okay. So much has happened that I really cannot possibly write it all out for everyone. I would be here at the computer for hours and I just dont feel like doing that. But in a nutshell....Gen, Jaime, and I took a trekking tour from Chiang Mai into a national park to meet and stay with a Hillside village tribe. The Hillside tribe that we particularly stayed with are called the Karen people. Our guide, Seren, is from this tribe and happens to speaks english as well. He knew the north mountains like the back of his hand. He spoke his native language and Thai as well. We were in really good hands. Seren showed us incredible waterfalls and rice terraced fields and tarranchulas...it was awesome! But the best part was meeting his family in the village and drinking with them, talking, and eating. They wore handmade woven clothing which looked truly similiar to the woven clothing of the Mapuche indians in Chile. It was really fascinating to see the native clothing and how the old ways and styles are mixed with the more modern times. For example, they lived in bamboo huts and prepared food over fire and lived very much as simply as I had learned the Mapuche tribe did in Chile. And yet, however primative this may seem, they would use cell phones. And some of the younger tribesman would wear more city-type clothing while their wife and children looked very much old style...with woven longskirt, poncho-like dress shirt and silver plugs in the ears with little strung beads that would connect the two earrings on the two diffrent ears. Really wild and beautiful! Anyway, we trekked for 2 days and besides visiting the tribe, I got to RIDE AN ELEPHANT!!! And I mean ride (no seats!) by seating on its neck with my knees resting behind her ears! It was incredible! I really cant explain the feeling. Also, we went Bamboo rafting down a river thru the jungle! It was crazyyy!!! It was so rickety! We flipped like 6 times! It was truly amazing though! We were soaked! But that didnt matter because the New Years has started here and kids are chucking buckets of water at us like there is no tomorrow! We were touring as an international group of 8 (two Germans, two Belguims, one Canadian, and us 3 American girls) and we were riding back to Chiang Mai (from trekking) in the back of a pick-up. Sure enough, there were a bunch of young Thai kids lined up on the roadsides with buckets full of water ready and waiting at hand! Hahah!! It was so hilarious! We all pretty much got drenched and no one escaped the wrath of the giddy Thai kids. All I remember is that I got a bucket of water thrown at my face time after time. It was nuts and chaos between laughter and yelling. It was great...did I mention that this tradition doesnt stop until the 17th or so?! Oh well...it really doesnt matter because the weather here is so fricken hot and humid anyway. It is actually refreshing to get a face full of water!!! hahahah!!
Anyway, I have got to go now. Tonight we are going to a Muay Thai Boxing fight with some Thai friends of ours. It is gonna be so awesome and probably bloody! I will tell you all about it next time! Take care all!
Much love,
Maumau.
besos.