'The Exiled Diaries': Killing Chickens, Bathing Elephants and Battling Bugs in Thailand

On tonight's Exiled, Super Sweet 16er, Ava (remember the Arabian Nights soiree?), checked out of her cushy life in Bev Hills for a week-long, tough-it-out trip to Thailand. There were good times, there were bad times. And luckily, Ava kept a diary the entire time. Get inside her head while bugs attack, elephants poop, friendships are made, and Ava's life is changed forever.

THE NIGHT OF THE INTERVENTION
Today my parents told me that they're sending me on a trip to Thailand. I am going to be living with a Thai tribe in the Northern part of the country. I'm really excited because I have always wanted to go to Thailand and to that part of the world, but at the same time, I am a little nervous. The girl whose family I will be living with is about my age and speaks English, which is great because we can communicate and learn about each other. I'm really curious to see what will happen, and how I will like it.

I am worried about a lot of things. I don’t know if there is running water, electricity, internet, or air conditioning. I am just used to all these comforts that I know will be difficult to live without. I am also concerned about the bathroom situation. I have to take a shower every day because I hate to be dirty, but I might have to just live with being a little dirty. I also hope there aren’t that many bugs or insects because I am horrified of bugs.

TRAVELING
I just boarded the plane to Thailand. The flight is 17 hours long without any stops. I'm surprised that my mom and Sara started to tear up when we were saying goodbye. I'm going to miss them. It is beginning to sink in that I'm going to be half way across the world in half a day. All of this will soon become a reality.

DAY ONE
Day one was good, but really hard. It was great meeting Ladee and her family and the village. All the tribes were gathered at the welcoming ceremony to greet me. It was really hot and humid and it was hard adjusting to the heat. The village was not modern. There were huts and dirt roads. Ladee showed me her house and I was stunned to see that she lived in a hut with no doors or walls. I didn’t really mind sleeping in the hut, but there were all these bugs and spiders all over the place, which made me freak out. I didn’t even know how I was supposed to change clothes without flashing the entire village. That was awkward. The bathroom situation is really bad, too. The toilet's a hole and it smells. There's running water, but it's cold and you have to use a bowl to wash up. I feel so isolated and lonely because I don’t know anyone and I am on the other side of the world. I truly feel like I'm on another planet. It’s not that I miss being home, I just miss the standard of living I am used to. I'm really trying to stay positive and make the best out of the trip, but it's getting harder and harder to be optimistic. There are bugs EVERYWHERE in Ladee’s hut... Bugs in the bed, on the pillows, on the walls, and it is making me freak out. I hope I can last a week here in the village with Ladee.

DAY TWO
Day two was really hard. I planted corn on a really steep hill in the sun. We had to walk for 30 minutes uphill, in the heat, while carrying these heavy baskets with us. Afterwards, Ladee’s family rested in the hut next to the rice fields and they started to prepare lunch. Then Ladee told me that they were going to kill a chicken for lunch and that I should watch and learn. I got so upset and disturbed by this because I hate to see animals being killed. I really got disgusted and lost my appetite. Ladee and her family thought it was odd that although I eat chicken, I don’t like to see one being killed. Afterwards they forced me to come watch how the chicken is prepared. They tore the chicken apart and cut all its guts out. I began to feel really nauseous and I just started to cry. I explained to Ladee and her family that despite the fact that I eat meat I never have killed an animal since in The States we buy our meat pre-packaged. After this experience I really considered becoming a vegetarian. I have considered this before but now I really am going to try. Then the family invited me over to have lunch with them but I really did not want to eat. I wasn’t hungry anymore. I think I may have insulted the family because Ladee then said to me that she thought I hadn’t eaten their food because I thought they were dirty. I explained to her that she had to understand that this was difficult for me and it was hard to do everything she is accustomed to doing. I definitely need more time to adjust to this kind of life.

Tonight Ladee worked really hard to clean the bed of bugs. It was really sweet of her.

DAY THREE
Day three started out well. I got to meet some of the other tribes in the village and learn more about them. First we went to meet the Aca tribe and they sang a welcome song for me. Then they invited me to stand with them and learn how to sing. They also showed me how to weave traditional Aca clothing. I was doing it well when all of a sudden I broke their weaving machine! I was so embarrassed but they were really good about it. I also learned the traditional Aca bamboo dance. At the end I tried on their traditional headdress. It was so heavy and hot. They gave me a handwoven Aca bag too. Then we meet the tribe and I tried on their traditional outfit. It consisted of many layers of clothing and a pretty headdress. I also learned how to sew some traditional patterns but it was difficult.

I saw Ladee’s kitchen -- it was outside. Ladee and her mom taught me how to cook Karen food. I was doing well when all of a sudden Ladee’s mom grabbed another chicken and killed it right in front of me. Again! I couldn’t stop crying! It made me so upset. And then Ladee’s mom told me that chickens wanted us to kill them. Afterwards, when I was getting over the chicken incident, Ladee poured out a huge bag of bugs in front of me and I ran out of the kitchen. I was so shocked that they ate huge insects and it made me so disgusted.

DAY FOUR
Today I had to wake up really early to pound rice with Ladee’s mother. She wakes up early everyday to pound rice. Afterwards, Ladee taught me how the Karen people extract the cotton seeds and make thread. I enjoyed separating the cotton from its seeds for some weird reason. Then Ladee and I feed the pigs. It was kind of disgusting. While we were feeding Ladee’s pigs I asked Ladee if I could take her pig for a walk and give it a bath. That really did not go well. I scared the pig more than helping it. Scaring the pig defeated the purpose of helping it so I gave up. I really truly thought that the pig would enjoy a nice walk and a bath. Ladee’s family were laughing the whole time I tried to walk it and wash it. I guess the pig preferred a mud bath. At this point I was really tired and the heat was killing me when Ladee took me to help with the elephants. At first I was afraid to ride the elephant and get on top of it. I’m so happy I forced myself to get on the elephant because it was one of the best experiences of my life. I couldn’t believe that Ladee was scared and I wasn’t. Once I got on the elephant I didn’t want to get off. Then Ladee told me we had to cross the river with the elephants. I was so excited to get in the river with the elephant. It was funny that for the first time I wanted to do something and Ladee was afraid to. I had to convince her to get on the elephant and cross the river. This was my favorite part of the trip so far.

DAY FIVE
So far day five has been good. I got to see the elephants and give them a bath -- they really smelled today. Being with the elephants has been the best part of my trip. Last night I also enjoyed myself because I got to spend some time getting to know Ladee and just having fun. We had a “sleepover” and I did her nails. Then I showed her pictures from back home -- I think she liked seeing my pictures. Ladee thought my dogs were cute. I also gave her the Beverly Hills Girl t-shirt I had bought for her and the eye bracelet my grandmother brought me from Iran. She said that she really liked them. I can’t believe it’s day five already. Time has gone by really fast in some ways. I’m excited to go home, but I want to try to come back to Thailand soon with my mom so I can see Bangkok, the sites, and the islands. Maybe we could even see Vietnam and some other countries close by. I’m really happy in the end that I got to see a new country and new part of the world. I had always wanted to see Southeast Asia and Thailand. It truly is beautiful here. As I am writing this on a tree by the river, a caravan of elephants is passing by in the river. I have never experienced something like this.

One day I also would love to help the village and Ladee.

The goodbye ceremony tonight was really fun. The whole village came to the bonfire and performed. It was really sweet how everyone in the village came to bid me farewell. The Karen sword dance, flute dance and bamboo dance were really cool. Ladee and I tried the dances and it was a lot of fun. At the end, Ladee and I lit a lantern and released it into the sky. It was so beautiful to see all the lit lanterns in the dark sky floating up. I think that was another one of my favorite moments of the trip. Ladee said that you're supposed to make a wish when you let one of the lanterns up in the sky, and she made a wish to come visit me.

I leave tomorrow to go back home. I'm excited to go back to the lifestyle I am used to. I miss taking warm showers, feeling clean, sleeping in comfortable beds, etc. I think this experience has made me so much stronger though. For example, tonight a big bug flew into my hair and I was OK! At times it was really hard, but this trip was a great opportunity for me to learn about another country, people, and their culture. I also learned so much about myself and the world in general. Most of all, I learned how to appreciate everything because I now realize how much work goes into little things that come so easily to us.

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