Sticky Rice

Nothing much as far as an update at this end. I'm finally getting over my flu, so I'm back working in the forest. Still the same routine everyday, walking around from 5:30 am in the morning until we find a langur group and then trying to observe them for the day. I've been working many days and long hours to make up for the time I was out. We're in the rainy season now, so I usually wear my rubber boots to schlep through all of the mud. This makes crossing high rivers easier, but the soles are slippery and I mostly end up sliding down some hill and getting covered in mud anyway. It usually rains from one to four in the afternoon if it doesn't rain the night before. Most of my mornings start out extremely frustrating because I can barely see to walk...my glasses always fog over because of the humidity. My wash basin has algae looking growth in it and my door is fully covered with mold! I am seriously starting to wonder if any of the clothes I brought with me will be salvageable by the end of my stay. I can barely stand sleeping on sheets and a pillow and sleeping bag that smell so horribly of mildew. I'm afraid my room is going to start growing strange little creatures! Our newest hobby around the house is cooking kao nee-o (sticky rice) to take for lunches. News spread around the entire sanctuary in one evening that the farang (foreigners) cooked sticky rice. They couldn't believe it because usually Westerners dislike the consistency. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is different than white rice. The rice is indeed sticky, enough so that you can grab a handful, scrunch it into a ball in your hand and dip it in sauce to eat, but not sticky enough to cling to your hands (if that makes sense). Well, at least it is not supposed to be that sticky....a few of our batches have not come out quite right and everybody seems to offer different opinions on what we are doing wrong. It is a small community and gossip travels quickly. Everyone at every time knows what we are up to. Some of the other assistants get irritated that we live under constant inspection, but I find it rather amusing to be a novelty.