From Chiang Mai, I made my way northwest to a small village where Michael’s Aunt Lynn and Uncle Joe worked (in the early 2000s) at a place called Sweet Home Orphanage. I departed from the bus station in Chiang Mai, and the local people were staring at me and laughing in a friendly way because I was on their bus. The lady next to me was super nice. We drove four hours through very very steep and curvy roads in the mountains, but the view was phenomenal. As we started approaching the end bus stops, three women on the bus got super stressed out for me because nobody knew “exactly” where I was supposed to get off. I wasn’t too worried because I knew the general area. I tried to show them my notes, tried Google Translate, tried calling a friend to translate (didn’t answer), but the majority of the people on the minibus were illiterate (at least Thai and English illiterate). Even the driver struggled. He pulled over three times to ask for help to read my notes. I just kept smiling and waving them forward. Finally I got the attention of a younger girl towards the back of the bus and got her to understand where I wanted to go. Once she translated, everyone was all smiles and happy. The minibus took me directly to the house of the owner of the orphanage, and one of the ladies walked me into the building to make sure I was ok. They were sweet. I learned later that the majority of the village spoke Shan, Burmese, Chinese, and some Thai. Teacher Mary, Henry, and Linda at the orphanage welcomed me into their home. Mary has been running the orphanage for 40+ some years (78 years old), and Henry has been working with her for 30-some years. Mary’s granddaughter Linda lives there as well. Over the years, they’ve had thousands of kids ages five to 18 come through the house. Currently they were at a low number of eight. The children all were super smiley and shy and would run away when I’d try to talk to them. They were breaking down a plant for the seeds, so I sat down and started helping them. I couldn’t get them to talk except to tell me their names. Linda helped me translate some, but then I was quickly called into the house by Mary for a mango snack. For dinner, we had fish, rice, and tofu. The kids did not eat with us. It was simple but delicious. The next morning, Linda was the ultimate tour guide. She took me on her motorbike.  We first vistited her friends at a nursery orphanage (three to four year olds). The two women working there were so friendly, and they served us jack fruit (delicious!). From there, we went to a road side snack shop restaurant where we had a noodle dish for lunch. It was one of my favorite things I’ve had so far. Linda knew everybody because the village is so small. From there, we got caught in the rain on our way to the refugee camp. The refugees are from Shan state, and they are very poor. The next day was “rations day” where they were given oil and rice. The camp does not have electricity. After a muddy journey straight uphill and one fall-over on the bike, we made it to the room to meet a group of eight very friendly monks, currently going through an in-depth English course/program. It was so much fun. They were all so friendly (some shy), and they were wanting to learn English so badly. They practiced their conversation with me for three hours, and then Linda and I headed back to Sweet Home Orphanage where I taught English to probably 75 (5-14 year old) children. Linda said they like to learn new songs, so I first taught them Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (made my own actions), then the Hokey Pokey. They were so good at remembering the lines. The monks requested me back the next morning for another English lesson, so Linda dropped me off with them. I taught them the “hand game”–a game taught to me by my brothers. Each time they lost, they had to stand up and say a few sentences to the class in English. When I lost, they made me speak Shan. It was a huge hit, and they said I should come live in the monastery with them and teach them English. For the afternoon, they walked me around their monastery where I met and spoke to many classes of young monks. They also took me to the Thailand/Shan border. We had a nice noodle lunch, and then Linda took me back for the afternoon of teaching English to the class again at Sweet Home Orphanage. Normally Linda teaches the class everyday. I taught them You are My Sunshine, and I once again made up my own actions. That night Linda took me to dinner at the house of some of her friends (one of them from the nursery orphanage I’d been to). It was wonderful, and it was real. They hung out, laughed, read magazines, bathed the baby, and talked about men. It was perfect. The next day I took a bus back to Chiang Mai (city) and stayed in a cheap hotel near the bus station, so that I could get an early start to Chiang Rai. I believe this trip has been the best part of my journey so far.