Week 1: Starting work, Shwedagon Pagoda, snake temple
Hello from Yangon! I arrived about a week ago and it has been a whirlwind. I am very lucky to have been connected with someone who needed a roommate for the summer through my internship. I am living in downtown Yangon and my roommate is an expat who has lived here for about three years - so she knows all of the insider details. Everything I need is within walking distance including a grocery store, coffee shops, restaurants, numerous street markets and an enormous general market.
View from my porch:
A fabric stall at the market:
The biggest adjustment so far has been acclimating to the sweltering heat- it’s around 95 degrees and about 75% humidity on average, with a heat index of around 105. I have discovered that the key to happiness is to not walk around for hours at a time in the middle of the day and to stay hydrated!
I started my internship last Wednesday. I am supporting the MyConstitution project at the Yangon field office of International IDEA, an organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide (follow our FB page here!). My coworkers are talented and dedicated and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in their important work. IDEA is a unique organization in that they are enmeshed with local governmental processes, rather than engaging from a distance. For example, Parliament will ask the office for more information about a subject, and we will provide trainings. Due to the sensitive nature of our work, I cannot disclose details about the office this summer, except to say that I am working on a comparative constitutional project at the moment, and it is fascinating. If you are interested in learning about constitutions of different countries, I suggest you check out www.constituteproject.org, which is a great resource.
My first day at IDEA (I'm on the left, the other intern, Kix, is on the right):
Having recently finished my 1L Con Law class, I am very intrigued by the similarities and differences between our constitution and others- for example, another constitution might also have language analogous to the commerce clause, as well as the “necessary and proper” clause. I don’t know, however, if they are combined in the same way as they are in America- i.e., using the commerce clause as a constitutional hook and then using the “sweeping clause” to pass laws necessary and proper to exercise that power. Also, I have found some very progressive language in other constitutions, for example explicitly granting equality to women, and protecting children and nursing mothers, persons with disabilities and the environment.
As I cannot go into detail about my internship on the blog, I hope to show you snapshots of life in Myanmar. For this first post, I will show you Shwedagon Pagoda and my weekend adventure to a temple that is home to around 40 pythons. I also went on a walking food tour of the markets, which was a fantastic glimpse into the local food scene and I will tell you all about it in the next post.
Shwedagon Pagoda:
Shwedagon Pagoda dominates the skyline of the city, and is truly awe-inspiring to behold. I stopped by after work, and wandered up an enormous covered staircase with vendors on either side, paintings of the life of Buddha on the wall, with the tinkling of thousands of tiny bells and songbirds flying back and forth singing. It was truly magical and serene and bustling at the same time.
Staircase:
As is common in Myanmar, Shwedagon has different stations for the day of the week of your birth, and visitors will leave flowers or other offerings at their station.
Another view:
As the rainy (monsoon) season will soon be upon us, I prioritized what parts of the country I have to see in the dry season, and what can be explored during the rainy season. One thing on my pre-monsoons list was to take the ferry across the river to see the villages on the other side and visit the snake temple. The other intern at work joined me for the voyage.
The ferry dock itself is quite an experience, with a packed market outside, throngs of commuters deftly navigating their daily routine, and confused visitors like myself turning around in circles wondering how much to pay, how to pay it and how to board. Once on the ferry, we sat by the railing and watched the small and large fishing boats pass by. After disembarking in Dalah, we hired a tuk tuk driver who was our guide for the next few hours. He took us to a local weaver’s studio, a water-filter production area, the snake temple and a field with over 1000 statues of Buddha.
Snake temple:
Look closely at those trees and buddhas- over 40 pythons live here. Our guide explained that they are fed milk and rice by the monks (so presumably not hungry for an American law student), and that farmers who find them in their fields will bring them to live at the temple.
This was described to me as a "yawn"....
They seemed pretty subdued, not surprising as it was a scorching hot day, and apparently they are also in the middle of shedding, which is quite painful for them. It was also a full moon on Saturday, and full moons are religious holidays for Buddhists so many locals were at the temple.
Buddha sculpture field:
Our guide explained that families will pay to sponsor a Buddha sculpture in this park, and have their family names on the sculpture.
Water filter project studio:
This is a Unicef-sponsored project to create ceramic water filters- they are created here and then sent out to regions in the country that have difficulty accessing clean water.
Weaver's studio:
Weavers here make longyi fabric used for traditional dress and worn by many in Yangon.
That’s it for now- stay tuned for local street food and a weekend trip to Hpa-An in Kayin State.