September 2005 Archives

BARS baccalaureate service was this evening at the Kachin Baptist Church. It was a nice worship service. Students were all smiling and most of them were with their parents.

Oliver James and Lwin Moe

Graduating seniors and Lwin Moe

They are my students, whom Neil Sowards and I taught "Entrepreneurship."

Standing: from left to right: Mun Shawng Tsin Nan, Nang Awng, Z. Kai Nu, N. Seng Ra, Lwin Moe, Roi Awng, Lum Tse, Htu Raw.

Sitting: From left to right: Awng Ba, H. Tang Mai.

Si Baw Mi and Tun Nay having fun

• ALOHA 23 (September 20, 2005) OpenOffice Format

BARS senior worship service, dinner and senior night programs were today. It was fun.

I read a news article from Khit Myanmar Weekly journal. On page 2 of the issue dated September 16, 2005, the article talked about the fines imposed on the vehicles pretending to be owned by army officers by putting the army caps on the dashboard. If you think one step further, you can see that 'some' of the army officers are above the law :-)

The news implicitly said that the army officers were 'revered' for their power.

Burma or Myanmar?

Someone commented on this forum about the usage of my domain name "friendsofburma".

'....this site doesn't use the today's usage "Myanmar"'

http://forum.flashband.net/viewtopic.html?t=289

I want to make it clear that I don't want to make a fuss over the name. I don't care about the name as long as the communication gets across. For example, some people call me 'Lwin Moe', some 'Tha Tha', and some 'Ko Gyi.' We are all talking about the same person. It's exactly the same here. Most people outside of Burma, especially in the US, still use the name Burma. That's the reason why I picked 'Burma' over 'Myanmar.' We are talking about the same country.

In addition, I don't care who rules our country as long as they do good for the people. I only care about the people of Burma. I am neither pro- nor anti-government. I do community development with my own money and my own beliefs. Burma is a beautiful country and it's a very nice place to live. I want it to be a better place than now.

The sad truth, though, is the current government is managing the country badly. As a consequence, people are suffering, to be brutally honest. All we need at this moment is 'freedom of speech' so we can point out what is going wrong.

The map of Myanmar (Burma) :-)

Giordano?

I went to Junction 8 shopping mall guarded by some soldiers since it was bombed last time. I bought a pair of pants from Giordano. Guess how much it cost? 19,900 kyats (US$20). It's equal to my monthly income from MIT. This will be the first and last pair of pants I will ever buy in Burma. It's too expensive for me. :-)

I went on an excursion with BARS religion students to Moulmein (Mawlamyine), Mudon, Than Byu Zayet, Set Se and Kyaik Kame. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures.

On the Yangon-Mawlamyine train. People were sitting in the aisle. That's how we travel in Burma :-)

One of the students, Elizabeth, sleeping under the seat on the train. :-)

One of the students, Si Baw Mi, sleeping on the seat on the train :-)

Village houses along the road

A house on the rice field

A fisherman on the road side

Fishermen on the road side

Girls selling drinking water

A girl selling water melon

Selling salads

Hin Tha (a duck-like bird) bird at the entrance of Mawlamyine (Moulmein). Hin Tha is the symbol of Mon people

BARS students and I at the Taung Waing pagoda on the mountain in Mawlamyine (Moulmein)

On the way back from Taung Waing pagoda on the mountain in Mawlamyine (Moulmein)

Women in Burma can't go to the restricted (sacred) places at the pagoda

A car from World War II era

Bullock Cart on the beach

Earning a living

Students playing in the sea

I went to Chaung Tha beach and stayed at Hotel Max. It was very expensive --- $ 28 a night. It was probably the first time for me to stay at an expensive hotel like this; probably the last, too, until my honeymoon :-)

I spent 2 nights, September 4th and 5th, at the beach. I got back to Yangon on the 6th. It was a very nice and relaxing trip.

I honestly feel guilty to spend this much money. It's really more than what some people here in Burma make in a month. The hotel staff probably make about that much in a month, too.

While I was in the States, one Angolan student commented that the locals in Angola could not afford to go to a nice resort because it was very expensive. Tourism has both advantages and disadvantages on the culture and values of local people.

Lwin Moe at Hotel Max with the sunset in Chaung Tha beach

Lwin Moe at Hotel Max with the sunset in Chaung Tha beach

Lwin Moe at Chaung Tha beach

Lwin Moe drinking coconut juice in the swimming pool at Hotel Max

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. "Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

A cheerful heart is good medicine" (Prov 17:22a)