Time off in Laiza

While on the China border, I was able to able to carve out a bit of time off to enjoy some most diverting adventures. Here is some photo documentation of the revelry:

SASM, AS, OK, and I found a little photo studio with ridiculous backdrops that we just had to have our pictures taken in front of - this is the most tame of the variations - the others were printed on laminated cards, and I don't have digital files of them.

On Easter Sunday, I went to church with the guys. It was a sunrise service, and none of us were too keen to get up before 5am, but we did it, and I'm glad I went. Actually, I didn't only attend, but sang in the choir as well - I went to choir rehearsal on Saturday evening, so I was well prepared to seing the featured hymn - in Kachin (though, a familiar tune - Go Tell in On the Mountain).

(If you can't read that - the eggs say 'Easter Egg' - just in case anyone was unsure...)

In our Easter finest in front of the church.

After service we packed a picnic lunch, and hiked to the waterfall up the stream from the office.
Our destination was a pool with two waterfalls - one smaller one set back in a corner, and the masterpiece, which if you climbed halfway up, could be slid down like a ride at a waterpark - truly great fun, unless you missed the turn at the bottom, in which case, you would go over the banked rock, and land your butt directly on a pointy one just on the other side...


After a good swim, we cooked lunch over a fire
The hike back-
-which was actually much less treacherous that the journey there, in which we lost the path, and forged our way up the stream for quite a while, leading to serious bruise worthy spills by at least three members of our party (including myself)

That evening there was a party for our trainees and some other visiting midwives. Our training class performed a lovely song that SASM taught them, and then SASM, DA, SA, and I performed a special piece (in Kachin!) It was a Major hit. We were rewarded with flowers and garlands.