Listening to the Lady

It’s been almost ten years since I sat in a small classroom in Chiang Mai and  listened to Christina Fink slowly reveal the story of Burma. I was young, only 19, and the scale of the tragedy being played out there was difficult to fully comprehend.  I learned very early on that going to Burma was not something that those who supported the country should do.  For so long, I listened to the Lady and her plea for tourists to stay out of the country until the situation improved.  It didn’t matter how many times I passed through Thailand, I followed her lead and left Burma to sit silently to the Northwest, a tragic mystery that would remain undiscovered until change came.

But time moved on.  I got older, I made more trips to Thailand, and I eventually entered the Asia Pacific Leadership Program, roughly nine years after my first visit to Asia.  Within my first few days in Hawaii I had 4 new Burmese friends, which is four more than I had had up to that point in my life.  I talked with them, we watched documentaries on the recent monk-led protests, and all of a sudden a clearer window into their country began to open.  The idea of me finally making a trip there began to feel more real.  Actually being able to go and visit with people there who I considered good friends made a potential trip feel like something that could be cherished rather than ignored, despite what ASSK said.

These thoughts began to feel more real during the initial meetings with my Group Independent Study and Travel (GIST) partners during the last weeks in December.  Over the course of GIST there are three group meetings (orientation/lanch, mid-way reunion, and final wrap-up/presentation).  From the start, Burma was floated as a potential final meeting place and the group quickly coalesced around the idea.  In my next post, I will comment on the actual experience in Burma and what the lasting impressions were.