Page 30 - PINE CREST 2005

Men in long skirts. A twenty-three hour plane ride, uanmar
twice a day. Pepto-Bismol four times a day. These are some of the
things I experienced during my three week trip to Myanmar
Jade Gieseke
(Burma) this summer. 1 traveled with my mother and
to Yangon, a bustling city whose denizens are all clad in the
traditional longyi, a long wrap-around skirl that falls to the
ankles—and yes, even the men wear them. My mother’s family
from Myanmar, so I enjoyed soaking up the all of the exotic
and traditions there. 1 visited the famous Sliwe Dagon pagoda,
whose stupa is made of solid gold and contains three of
hairs. We perused the local market and its vast collection of
silks, jade, and rubies—not to mention durian, a fruit that
smells like propane gas and tastes like heaven (provided
the eater holds his nose). I visited my mom’s alma mater,
Rangoon Arts and Science University (I thought about
applying as legacy). On side trips, we traveled to
Mandalay, a city reminiscent of a time era long
bicyles and monasteries outnumber cars and high
In Pagan, famous for its ancient pagodas, the dusty
streets were filled with schoolchildren whose
are covered in thanaka, homemade sunscreen
from tree bark. At the end of the day, my mother
and I climbed to the top of an 11th century
pagoda to watch the sunset and wc
that even though we were far away
from what we called “normal”,

i