document.write('\x3cmeta http-equiv=\x22x-dns-prefetch-control\x22 content=\x22off\x22/\x3e\x3col class=\x22tumblr_posts\x22\x3e\x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eTalia\x26#8217;s thoughts\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3eHi Everyone!\x0a\x0aMy free weekend in Chiang Mai is coming to a close now (we have to\x0aleave for a little city call Chiang Saen just north of here in about\x0aan hour and a half), and I am hoping to fit a quick update in and let\x0ayou all know how I am doing. \u00a0If there are typo/grammar errors, so\x0asorry - this keyboard at the hostel is a little defective.\x0a\x0aAnyways, my time in Thailand so far has been so unbelievably\x0aemotional, unique, conflicting and eye opening. \u00a0I arrived in Bangkok\x0aon Thursday the 30th, and we really got straight to business and hit\x0athe ground running on the 1st. \u00a0First stop was a place called Home of\x0aNew Beginnings. \u00a0I would describe this place as somewhat of a halfway\x0ahouse for girls/women who have been rescued from the brothels, red\x0alight districts, etc. \u00a0The house is located in the heart of one of\x0aBangkok\x26#8217;s red light districts called Nana Plaza. \u00a0Basically, the staff\x0adoes nightly outreach in the various red light districts in Bangkok.\x0aThey go into the clubs, order a soda or orange juice, and begin simple\x0aconversations with the girls, in hopes to return on a consistent basis\x0aand build a sense of trust between the staff and prostituted women.\x0aThe home will also host weekly parties for any amount of girls, just\x0ato have a weekly escape from the bars/brothels and to actually see the\x0afacilities and the choices that ARE available to them. \u00a0It\x26#8217;s\x0ainteresting, often the house has to pay the fee to the bars for each\x0agirl to actually leave the bar and attend these parties, as if the\x0ahouse is a man that wants to take one of the girls out of the bar. \u00a0A\x0alittle weird to think about, but also necessary for some of these\x0agirls to actually get a chance to see things outside of the bars and\x0abrothels. The goal for New Beginnings is to take a girl out of the\x0abrothels/clubs, give them shelter in the home, provide them with\x0aenglish classes and vocational or university options, stipends for\x0amonthly costs, as well as emotional support. \u00a0Their perspective on the\x0aissue is to save one girl at a time - each and every life is valuable\x0ato that one person. So even though the results are on a smaller scale\x0a(they only have capacity for 15 girls) that is 15 girls that will have\x0anew opportunities and a chance for a better life.\x0a\x0a\x0aSo that Friday, we had a basic introduction to the issue of human\x0atrafficking and sex slavery/tourism. \u00a0Here are some of the \x26#8220;facts\x26#8221; (I\x0adon\x26#8217;t know the research behind this, so I hate to say FACT. But from\x0awhat I\x26#8217;ve observed, I\x26#8217;d imagine that much of it is completely true).\x0a70% of tourism in Thailand is considered sex tourism (this includes\x0aprostitution, sex shows, and things you wouldn\x26#8217;t believe). \u00a0Sex\x0atourism accounts from almost 20% of the nation\x26#8217;s domestic income - so\x0aif the industry were to collapse, the entire economy would really as\x0awell. \u00a0They say that Thailand\x26#8217;s greatest means of money are rice and\x0asex. \u00a0Prostitution is also illegal in Thailand; however, it is RARELY\x0aif ever enforced, as most of the clubs in the red light districts are\x0aowned by the police, police use these women, and if a policeman makes\x0aan arrest they are usually just looking for a little extra pocket\x0achange and a bribe. \u00a0The only real way to get arrested for using a\x0aprostitute is if you rape the girl or boy (and usually only\x0a\x26#8220;westerners\x26#8221; are caught with this). Another piece to the puzzle is the\x0aidea of elder respect in the culture. These girls/women/ladyboys are\x0ausually sending this money they make in the brothels back to their\x0aimpoverished families in the north. \u00a0While this profession brings the\x0agirls and their families great shame, in the eyes of buddah, Buddhist\x0aalso believe in the idea of karma. \u00a0So what happens to them in this\x0alife is a direct result of something bad they did in their past lives.\x0a\u00a0Conversely, the bad that they are doing in this life is balanced out\x0aby the good they are doing to their families by supporting them, and\x0athey will be repaid in the next life. \u00a0So even if a girl desperately\x0awants to leave the bars and brothels, if the parents wish for her to\x0astay and continue to make money for them (as much as 6000\x0abhat/month=200$) the girls must stay in Bangkok or whatever city they\x0awere trafficked to. \u00a0 Ok, so here\x26#8217;s a LITTLE bit of the background,\x0athere is literally so much more that I could never fit into this\x0aemail. \u00a0But if you have any specific questions, let me know and I\x26#8217;ll\x0ado my best to answer.\x0a\x0aAfter the introduction, the home had  one of their lunch parties and\x0athe girls got to leave the clubs to come and spend some time. \u00a0We had\x0alunch with about 40 of them and had a great time. \u00a0They loved taking\x0apictures and just playing around and laughing - escaping for a bit. \u00a0I\x0acouldn\x26#8217;t imagine what these young girls were going to be doing in just\x0aa couple hours after we leave for our Shabbat dinner. \u00a0Too\x0aheartbreaking. \u00a0That night we had dinner at Chabad in Thailand and\x0athen on Saturday some of the kids and I went around Bangkok to see all\x0aof the temples and palaces. \u00a0Then on Saturday night, only the girls of\x0athe group were invited to do outreach with The Home of New Beginnings.\x0a\u00a0We each had one American partner and a Thai translator. \u00a0I went with\x0amy friend Natalie, and we spoke to a girl who was 30 years old with\x0atwo children back north with her family. \u00a0In simple English, she said\x0ashe hated her job and she actually had a \x26#8220;boyfriend\x26#8221; in England who\x0asends her about 10,000 bhat a month and comes every September to be\x0awith her. \u00a0This is very common - many of the girls will have multiple\x0a\x26#8220;boyfriends\x26#8221; sending them money in return for a promise that they\x0awon\x26#8217;t continue to work in the brothels. But the girls continue to work\x0aand send this money to their families. \u00a0I can\x26#8217;t even describe to you\x0awhat this Nana Plaza looked like. \u00a0Imagine you were in a sex mall,\x0awhere you could just pick out a girl as easily as you could pick out a\x0adress or a pair of shoes. \u00a0These Thai women are wearing next to\x0anothing bikini tops and thongs, and all have numbers pinned to them -\x0aso you don\x26#8217;t even have to know their names or point, you just say a\x0anumber to someone. \u00a0What was interesting to me was that all of these\x0agirls looked BORED. \u00a0Not like strip clubs in the US where I\x26#8217;d imagine\x0athat he girls are somewhat engaged with the crowd and actually working\x0afor customers\x26#8230;these girls looked so miserable, texting and on the\x0aphone while they were dancing on stage, not even moving and just\x0atalking to each other. \u00a0When Natalie and I came in, the girl that came\x0aand talked to us was basically begging for someone to talk to (even if\x0ashe couldn\x26#8217;t speak English).\x0a\x0a\x0aFrom Bangkok we went to the city of Chang Rai, where the focus\x0aswitched from the \x26#8220;acute care\x26#8221; in the red light districts, to a more\x0aprevention based \x26#8220;bigger picture\x26#8221; non-profit. \u00a0The Sold Project, the\x0aname of the organization, focuses on scholarship and education in the\x0asmall villages in the north of Thailand (where most of the prostituted\x0awomen come from). \u00a0Their theory is that the reason why many of the\x0agirls go into sex industry or are coerced into trafficking is because\x0aof the lack of education or educational opportunities for the\x0achildren. \u00a0After a certain grade in Thailand, kids have the option to\x0astop schooling, go to high school (and then hopefully university), or\x0ago to vocational programs or something. \u00a0The issue is, many of these\x0aimpoverished families simply don\x26#8217;t have the money to send their kids\x0ato school. \u00a0Although the school system is public, the kids have\x0amandatory uniforms around the country, as well as costs for books,\x0aetc\x26#8230;and farming and rural families simply cannot afford the cost of\x0aeducation. \u00a0I urge all of you to check \u00a0out the website/films at\x0a\x3ca href=\x22http://thesoldproject.org/\x22\x3ehttp://thesoldproject.org/\x3c/a\x3e \x26#8230;it\x26#8217;s really an amazing organization,\x0astarted by a bunch of 20 somethings. Incredible. \u00a0It gave me A LOT of\x0aideas too, and really re-affirmed my belief in prevention. \u00a0So while\x0awe were there, we did a multitude of things, including: laying cement\x0aand gravel driveways for a new resource center for after school\x0aprograms, taught English classes, painted with the kids, made balloon\x0aanimals for the kids, and just played. We also did outreach at a\x0aChiang Rai University, to recruit Thai volunteers, translators,and\x0amentors for the children (they are implementing new parts of the\x0avision, and starting community awareness in Thai villages). \u00a0These\x0ayoung children are so beautiful and innocent, and just have infinite\x0apotential\x26#8230;for some of them though, I can\x26#8217;t imagine what would come\x0aof them without the scholarships - especially since many of their\x0amothers currently work in the brothels in Bangkok and are being taken\x0acare of by their grandparents, or their mom\x26#8217;s formerly worked as\x0aprostitutes. \u00a0Teaching English class at the public schools was a once\x0ain a life time experience, so exhausting and fun. \u00a0We have lots of\x0avideo and pics that I can show everyone later too. \u00a0I want to share\x0aone story with everyone:\x0a\x0aNatalie and I were playing with a bunch of preschoolers at the school\x0a(probably around 4 years old). \u00a0Basically, one boy got knocked in the\x0amouth pretty hard and was obviously hurt. \u00a0What was interesting to us\x0awas that non of the teachers went to console him, and when we went to\x0ahug him, pick him up and make sure he was ok, the boy was noticeably\x0aand consciously holding back tears. This is something very indicative\x0aof the Thai culture in general - that when something bad happens,\x0aparents often say to their kids, \x26#8220;never mind never mind.\x26#8221; \u00a0It\x26#8217;s a\x0acountry in which much of emotional expression and love is so\x0asuppressed, that a lot of the acting out (if you will) is in a sexual\x0aand destructive form. \u00a0Add this cultural aspect in with the broken,\x0awestern men that visit the country looking for sex, it\x26#8217;s a continuous\x0acycle.\x0a\x0aToday, we\x26#8217;re off to a city called Chiang Saen in which we will be\x0aworking with an organization called VCDF (volunteer childrens\x0adevelopment fund). this week\x26#8217;s focus will be working with the beggar\x0achildren population (these children are also basically pimped out if\x0asomeone asks for them), as well as rescued prostituted young boys, and\x0asome girls. \u00a0It\x26#8217;s gong to be a very emotional and intense week, so I\x26#8217;m\x0aglad I had a free weekend with three friends here in Chiang Mai. \u00a0We\x0adid yoga, massages, shopping and took a Thai cooking class. \u00a0The\x0acooking class was so fun! And I have a book full of recipes now and\x0acan cook for every one when I get home. \u00a0I\x26#8217;m glad I\x26#8217;m getting to\x0aexperience some touristy stuff here. \u00a0I don\x26#8217;t want to become jaded\x0aabout thailand because of the work we\x26#8217;re doing. \u00a0I want to appreciate\x0athe culture as well - and I really am. \u00a0I will say, that is a little\x0abit difficult when you still see white men (of ANY age\x26#8230;I even saw\x0aone with a Penn State tshirt) walking around with little thai women.\x0aEven in the temples I saw middle-age men basically renting out\x0agirlfriends for the day/week/month\x26#8230;even in our hotel room across the\x0ahall in Bangkok. \u00a0It changes my perspective completely. \u00a0But I am\x0afinding a lot of hope in it at the same time when I work directly with\x0athe kids. \u00a0Thai culture is also just so rich and beautiful, I have met\x0asuch lovely people here. \u00a0I don\x26#8217;t know if all of the men are broken or\x0ahave issues of their own - but I do think that many of them don\x26#8217;t\x0aconsider the bigger picture\x26#8230;and the consequences of their actions in\x0athis country and with these boys, girls and women.\x0a\x0aOk. I hope that this was mostly coherent and not too depressing. It\x26#8217;s\x0aa little hard to process everything while I\x26#8217;m in the thick of it, but\x0aI can tell you right now that this has been such a valuable experience\x0ato me and what I hope to do in my life. \u00a0 I miss everyone so much and\x0athink of all of you on a daily basis. I\x26#8217;m so thankful to have such\x0aloving people in my life - and I try recognize it all the time.\x0alove,\x0aTalia\x0a \x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l56vktf71R1qcwxsio1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22The entire group with the SOLD Project at a local school in Chiang Rai after teaching the Thai children English! They learned surprisingly quickly and were really fascinated by us \x26amp;#8220;Falong\x26amp;#8221; (foreigners).\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eThe entire group with the SOLD Project at a local school in Chiang Rai after teaching the Thai children English! They learned surprisingly quickly and were really fascinated by us \x26#8220;Falong\x26#8221; (foreigners).\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a\x3c/ol\x3e');