Lantern Wishes

Gentle readers, my faith has been renewed. I left you yesterday a wilting city-flower and come back to you a scraggly, yet determined weed (and isn’t that what a wildflower truly is?). We had another long day here at Wildflower, but with some high points that have renewed my spirit for Immersion Week and our remaining days.

After the women’s meeting this morning, we were told two interns were needed to run the day care for the entire day as the “regular” teacher (actually, she’s a substitute for the regular teacher who just left the school and who Wildflower is now looking to replace) could not come today. Vanessa and Ross quickly volunteered for baby duty, leaving Bobby and myself to head down to the garden area to work in the “greenhouse.” There is no actual “traditional greenhouse” here as that would be idiotic (it is certainly hot enough and moist enough just outside for even the neediest of plants); instead the “greenhouse” is meant to house those baby plants that need a little extra care and consideration until they are ready to be planted in the ground (ones that might wither in direct sunlight too soon). The structure (a long rectangle) stands at the edge of the garden and is formed of bamboo, with slats covering the top, black netting across one side, and ivy trailing up, providing more shade, on the other.

The gardening ability at Wildflower is sadly lacking and nowhere is that more in evidence than in the greenhouse. It is clear that at some point a woman lived at Wildflower who knew what she was doing, as seeds were put into each pot to grow and pots were stacked along the side shelves. However, it is also clear that since she left, no one with any real knowledge has taken care of the greenhouse. There is an old woman here at Wildflower, Esther, who spends her days in the greenhouse “working,” but we have been told she has some sort of mental disability and is not able to do much. It seems that the other women noticed her preoccupation with the greenhouse and other plants and simply left that area in her charge. Unfortunately, her care seems to include merely moving plants around from shelf to shelf in one small corner of the greenhouse and not watering them at all. Consequently, all her plants are dead. The plants at the other end of the greenhouse, in contrast, are drowning. As you must all know by now, each morning we get up to water the garden by hand. We fill watering cans from water in the canals and go along to each row to water the plants and tend the garden. The greenhouse has not be watered by hand, however. Attached to the side of the greenhouse is a hose and the women have simply taken to spraying the interior of the greenhouse with the hose haphazardly, creating a mud-soup on the ground and a death trap for any plants unlucky enough to be caught in that general vicinity.

When Bobby and I were led into the greenhouse it looked like something out of a horror film, where massive, violent creatures would spring up to take us down into the depths of mud and slime one by one. I can honestly admit that I feared for my life at that moment. Images of The Creature from the Black Lagoon played through my brain. Panong quickly left us on our own to “weed” the plants, which proved to be a fruitless exercise as ivy covered the side areas so completely the small plant boxes could not be reached in most places and were filled entirely with weeds (no desirable plants left) in others. My years spent gardening with my family (though I didn’t contribute much during those years, I will admit) quickly came back and I was able to visualize how the greenhouse would ideally look if we were given free reign over the project.

Bobby and I went back to Panong and were told we could do as we liked (which, hopefully, was not just the sweet Thai agreeableness we’ve heard about that masks a no as a yes). I took charge and Bobby was happy to follow my lead. We quickly began scrapping all the plants that were obviously dead and clearing the aisle of the overgrown plants and plants simply growing in the aisle (to give you a full understanding of how wet this area was…these plants were technically water plants). We then began picking up the plants lining the walkway on either side that had, in most cases, become way too big for their pots and were beginning to root through to the ground beneath. In many instances we had to yank and tug several times before ripping the plants free and setting them out of the way. We then moved on to the ivy. The idea of the ivy was good and the original intention for the plants was obvious. The women wanted to grow several ivy plants they would then plant around the outside of the greenhouse and train up the trellis to provide a natural source of shade. There had been no follow-through on this plan, however, and the ivy plants were allowed to take over the entire greenhouse. Vines attached to plants in pots on the inside, were covering ¼ of the entire space, crisscrossing across the floor and trailing from every available surface. The outside of the greenhouse, on the other hand, had almost no ivy. Bobby and I quickly began work untangling the vines (we wanted to keep the length to begin the process of training the vines up the outside) and moving the plants outside. We worked for about an hour, sorting vines and plants, and replanting the newly freed vines outside. As soon as a plant was in the ground, it was watered, and the vines were wound through the trellis, ready to begin the process of doing their jobs.

We still have a lot of work to do in that area and Bobby and I volunteered for greenhouse duty again tomorrow (the regular day-care teacher will not be there then either) so that we could continue to implement our vision. We are repotting plants that have outgrown their current pots, putting others in the ground, and resorting/reorganizing the entire greenhouse for more effective use. Once that project is complete (hopefully we can get it all done before leaving on Saturday) I will take some time to talk to the women about proper greenhouse care (using a hand watering can to water the plants so as not to drown them, watching the plants closely to see when they are ready to be planted or repotted, etc.). While I do not claim to be an expert at gardening (and I’m sure many will agree with that statement), I do know some common sense tips and tricks that should help them have a more successful greenhouse project.

A Surprising Revelation: I’m sure most of you have noted that I have been surprised many times during my stay at Wildflower; weeding was not done for months or more, the garden had been let go completely until it resembled a wild jungle, and the greenhouse was a disaster. This all surprised me greatly as I had been under the impression, from what other interns had said, that Wildflower ran like a well-oiled machine. I suppose it is hard to find the flaws in a project such as this one if you are only an afternoon visitor once a week. It would take living in the space, as I have now done, to see where improvements and changes need to be made. One of the major obstacles towards making these changes and improvements is the fact that turn around here is so fast. Women come and go, some staying for a few years, others for only a few months. While Wildflower tries to teach these women skills for life (education, professional skills, health, etc.) it is hard to cram all of that new knowledge into the short time the women stay here. It is only natural that something has to give, and that something seems to have been the gardening projects, which is too bad, as the garden could support a lot of people if it was run a little differently. But more on that another time…

We ended our work in the greenhouse at the usual time, ate lunch, and then Bobby and I took over baby duty while Vanessa and Ross went to teach the men English. There was only time for the single lesson as other BABSEA interns showed up at 1 pm to give a lesson on the law and rights. Thus, for about an hour (while the kids were napping and it only takes two to watch them) two of us were free. We had had an inkling this could occur on Wednesday and prepared a plan accordingly. If two were free for any decent length of time, they would borrow a bicycle, ride down the road to the 7-11 and buy some desperately needed provisions to get us through the next couple days (sodas, chips, anything not rice and soup, etc.). Bobby and I stayed with the children while Vanessa and Ross set off for the store. I am happy to report the run was a complete success! I drank an orange soda this afternoon and enjoyed a bag of “extra barbeque flavored” chips for dinner (something that was desperately needed as Sa Ae, the fifteen year old mother, cooked dinner and it took the word terrible to a whole new level – the level with orange grease floating on the top of the “soup”).

After our snack fest, which occurred after we returned all the babies to their mothers at 5 pm, Muan showed up with some paper lanterns we were instructed to light when dark fell. At 7 pm we headed out to the central driveway to light our lanterns (two each). It was incredible. All the kids and Moms came out to help and watch. We affixed circular slow-burning wicks to a thin wire “X” attached to the bottom of a paper lantern. Once the wick is lit, the flame heats the air in the lantern causing it to lift up and float away. As you let go of the lantern you make a wish and let it go off into the sky, the white paper turning a brilliant orangish-red as the flame burns brighter while it drifts away. If you are quick enough, and send the lanterns off in a row, they form a trail leading up into the sky like a giant staircase, your wishes blown away by a warm night breeze. It was a beautiful sight and everyone (kids and Moms alike) got into the process and had a wonderful time. It was another simple moment that brought a great deal of happiness and joy. As we left the circle when the last light from the last lantern had faded away, we saw the sky light up in flashes of orange on the horizon, heat lighting striking far away.

It was an incredible night to be out and an unforgettable experience. Hundreds of pictures were taken of the group and kids (who ADORE having their photos taken), the excitement palpable in each. While it is now well past my bedtime and I have another early day tomorrow, I feel rejuvenated once again. This wilted wildflower has been given another drink of water and will persevere. As I end this post, the lighting continues to flash in the sky, creating a brilliant nightlight just out my window, Thailand visually serenading me goodnight.