the inevitability of change

We try and control change, try and either have it not happen at all, or have it bend to our whims. But we have no control, and change is in fact inevitable…and really, it’s just better to let it happen and go with the flow. Ya dig?

As it stands, many things have changed from my last pretty lame attempt at letting you all get a glimpse into my world. My parents went home…alas. It was a sad departure, but honestly (dad, kaz…don’t take this the wrong way!!) I think it was time…only because after several weeks of travel and more luxury than I was used to, I was ready to go back to site…to go home. Yes…home. It was a strange transition to feel like site was home, but there you go…there it is. Though, I must confess, it wasn’t only the feeling of being able to wake up in my own bed and not live out of a bag that excited me…just so happened that I was also pretty excited to hang out with two pretty cool peace corps boys in Udon Thani, one of which, admittedly, I have quite a crush on…(god, what an understatement…). Ben, Marshall, and I stayed in Udon for a night, wandered about, eating pizza, drinking beer, and scarfing down (inevitable when in the company of Marshall) tons of fruit. Afterwards, it was Ben and I to go back to my site, where my co teacher was holding a merit making ceremony for her mother…apparently the whole village was invited, plus some…which means over 600 people. She asked me to dress up in full thai garb, which I agreed to with some hesitation, but turns out it was only for the morning, which I had missed…due to laziness and craving for good coffee…which turned out to be kinda shitty anyway. Oh well. Can’t have it all.

Bringing Ben to site was one thing, but bringing him to a celebration with drinking and dancing (and always the one crazy woman with too much makeup and too little clothes) is quite another. Poor boy…harassed to no end. “are you together?” (shrug), “do you speak laos” (no), “Drink Whiskey!!!!” (I’ll stick to beer, thanks)…and that was only the first 15 minutes or so. Then the walk around the village began…under the blazing and unforgiving sun, fire crackers going off everywhere and kids running after them, balloons fueled by heat released into the air by monks, and the ubiquitous shrill of thai music trailing behind the crowd, urging them to dance. And Ben and I…well. Ok I’ll just start from when this woman with too much rouge, brighhhhtttt pink lips, neon blue eye shadow, and a shoooort short dress (whoa isaan is even effecting my English) ran up to the two of us, threw her arms around Ben, and kissed him all over his face, leaving bright pink traces of this violation everywhere. Then it was my turn. Needless to say, we spent the remainder of the time trying to avoid her…not an easy task. On the walk, we stayed mostly with the dancing crowd, protected (hardly) by my coteachers sister…who happened to be drunk…so the body guard thing didn’t really work out. It actually was more like Ben being dragged away by drunk men (one infuriatingly persistent, the other creepy in a ‘making EYES at ben’ sorta way)…and I finally using my bouquet of flowers to run them off. Successful, to a degree. Whatever…anyway…

Ben stayed at my site for the weekend…a wonderful, fabulous weekend of…well, wonderful and fabulous things. After a few days, we took a first class bus (we were too late to get on the VIP…a mistake never to be repeated…don’t think me spoiled…you wouldn’t want to ride on a first class bus for 12 hours either) to Chiang Mai, to both visit Bens site as well as to celebrate Halloween and Loy Krathong (a thai holiday involving fire crackers, heat fueled balloons, and putting some plant flower incense candle arrangement thing in the river and watching is float away – something to do with respect for the river…or romance…or , yeah I don’t know). Halloween was amazing, spending time with a large group of 120ers, and Nancymarie and Ben from 121, all of whom were so badass and dressed up!! More than I can say for others….grr. I was Lara Croft (pictures to come soon) and Ben was Mega Man…notice the video game theme…if we actually faced off like we said we would…I so would’ve kicked MegaMans ass….try and refute that…just try! With all the strange occurrences that happened and places we ended up and people we met, Halloween was, simply put, amazing.

The rest of the few days in that region were spent at both Bens site and Chiang Mai, and all the time spent with Ben was that sort of thing I was talking about that brings about those changes you don’t really expect. We spent all that time together, hardly apart, and every day was more amazing than the next. He even took me to the tallest mountain (it was freezing…so perfect) in Thailand to watch the sunset…’nough said.

It all was a surreal experience, but I’m back at site now with new feelings and motivation...I haven't felt this good in quite some time...could be getting my need for travel out of my system, temporarily, could be having a month away from school and site and actually missing the whole thing, could be the sweetness of Honeycomb,...i think its all of the above. And it's only getting better...

Peace out, One Love, and Chocolate Sauce!

contemplations of Cambodia interrupted by a rainbow

It was strange, meandering around the killing fields and S21 Torture prison in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. I did not want to go yesterday because I felt I needed to mentally prepare, much like when I went to the Holocaust museum years back. But today, we went, and we experienced, or rather witnessed, the location of such atrocities, and I felt a bit disconnected. That is not to say I felt nothing, for I was quite disheartened and again, my cynicism of the general human race, (or rather was utterly shocked of its capability of inhumanity), came back full force. But the fields were not as they were, and I'm afraid you may take this the wrong way when I say I would have rather had the fields be maintained in their original state. But instead, the original buildings were torn down, tourist facilities took their place, and school children squealed and cheered with delight next door. This is quite different, one doesn't have to imagine too hard, from the moans and screams of terror and torture that resonated only a few years back. Even a sign nailed to a towering and twisted tree stating it was the location where children and babies were held by their feet and killed by having their heads smashed against its trunk did not stir too much emotion in me, save for a disbelief that humans were still capable of doing such things to other humans. But, perhaps, that is just what led to such disconnect; simply because, how Could you imagine such things truly happened? How could a sane person imagine this happening?? That is not to say I don't believe, because it is so glaringly obvious it did, a truth even visible in the streets of PP. I have met people young and old who have been effected by the actions of the Khmer Rouge and heard their stories. I have already seen how the country fell under their regime and is still trying to get back on its feet. Perhaps I just wasn't mentally prepared, but then again, how could you be?

a quarter of a century later...

well, it is official. i have have aged 25 years. i have never had a birthday that i didn't enjoy, and celebrating it here in thailand in my little village is no exception.
i walked into my first class, grade 5, and the whole classroom was covered in balloons and bubbles, and the whole class had their families chip in to get me a bday cake. then they sang happy birthday in english and it nearly brought me to tears. next came my 4th grade class which held the same ceremony, but instead of a cake, they somehow knew that i was obsessed with sunglasses and bought me a very cute pair of new red shades! again, near tears (i have vowed to not cry in front of my students or coteachers). next came lunch, in which, in a very impromptu manner, the principal threw a party with all the other teachers and some very interesting thai food they certainly dont serve in thai restaurants in america. they also gave me a cake, in which we promptly ate. the last class i taught were my 6th graders, whom i am absolutely in love with. i walked into a dark classroom, and they were all standing in a circle with a birthday cake with candles lit and they sang happy birthday to me as well. i was so moved by their love and care, a trait of thai people that is unmatched anywhere else. if i wasn't a professional i would've grabbed all my students and given them the biggest hug in the world. but alas, it is not professional and also not something they do in their culture, so i withheld such desires. and also, all the bday wishes were just so overwhelming from friends and family, it was simply out of this world. i have felt myself growing here in thailand for some time, and turning 25, a significant age i believe, just made it all the more real that i am indeed more grown and mature and aware.

hOwL

It feels so good to have taken a pause from the daily routine that is my volunteer work. At site, life, in a way, stands still, and I've come to the point int his experience where, generally speaking, i can predict what the following day will entail. Such monotonousness is something I've tried to avoid and escape for quite some time, which is one reason why i joined the Peace Corps in the first place. I thought by living in a different world from what i had grown accustomed to, I would have daily experiences that were new and exciting. But this simply isn't the case. As it is, life in rural Thailand is stuck in a routine of daily life. Only rarely dos the dearly held spontaneous moment arise.
The recent trip I look to Koh Pangnan was my chance for a break from this mindless norm. I got to meet completely new people with new ideas and stories to tell every day; I had the chance to do things again that i had never done before. But I also was able to see people and experience cultures from my past, specifically Tal and other Israelis that seem to invade Pangnan this time of year, which in a way brought new life to me and to my experience here. Being here, living here, I have a vague feeling as if something of who i was, something inside me that influenced me to initially come here and do this, became lost in lieu of the routine. This is not to say I don't enjoy work experience nor appreciate the work, which i do both...but i simply cannot comprehend the utter simplicity of living such a BORING, insipid and unchanging life!!! And I simply cannot understand lack of money or time as a reason...it is an excuse for those who vainly dream but have not the will to act. I am blessing to have my family and friends that always reminded me that i could do anything i put my mind to. And ever more so to never regret, but rather learn from all those experiences. All i know is that i can't live such a quiet and tedious life as those that i live amongst now. No matter what that means or entails.
I am sorry I left Pangnan, and the people i left there, for both the time i spent and the people i spent my time with there was absolutely priceless. What an absolutely phenomenal time it was there while it lasted!!! But is it is, as much as it has given me new perspectives and a feeling of rejuvenation, I, at the moment of writing this, am unsure as to how i feel about going back to site just yet. Once you live a lifestyle for so long, as mundane as it may be, you start to become comfortably numb to the whole thing and in a way, forget yourself. And now that I have woken up a bit from a long yet temporary slumber, it is difficult to be en route back to the life where i am simply not myself, nor can be, truly. It is frustrating to know that within a month, i will most likely return to my slumber...
But as it stands, that's just the way it has got to be for now. And I have to learn to cope with that, because it is only temporary, as everything in life is, and the eventual benefits of this experience, as tedious and mundane as it may be on a daily basis, will be great.

"the road has always led west"

First and foremost, I must apologize for the long absence in blog writing. I have simply been trying to gather my thoughts and experiences, but in the process, things to ME seem to not be different and worth writing about any longer. of course, leave it to my wise father to remind me that perhaps to ME it is no longer unusual, but for everyone else, it still is. and my stories can be quiet interesting from time to time. so here goes.
so I guess I haven't really fully introduced you what I exactly DO at site. I am, for lack of a better word, a teacher, tho i do not teach. I aid teachers in new methods of teaching that involves the students and accommodates their different learning types. I work with Pratom 4,5,6 (grades 4,5,6) and the students are absolutely wonderful. unfortunately, they haven't had a lot of experience in english, for a lot of their english teachers simply dont know english. strange, i know, but thats thailand. that's by no fault of their own...they just didn't need to up until a few years ago. english, i believe, was NOT entirely mandatory or taken as seriously. that is the simply reason for it. so im also teaching english to the english teachers. I work at two schools, tung yai and ban chang, though at this time, im trying to drop chang and work only with tung yai. and in only a few month, I have already seen a VAST VAST improvement in not only the teachers english, but the students as well. teaching is my primary project here, but it is also up to me to create my own secondary projects. I have thought thru many ideas, from health and sanitation projects, youth development and organization, and working with an orphanage(which im hoping to still do eventually), but im currently trying to take on an art and culture project. it is simply astonishing to me how little people (in the rural villages) know of the outside world. Their distaste for foreign food is phenomenal (i tried to feed kids spaghetti and red vines...not simultaneously...and they almost gagged on the taste!!!...and yet when they try and feed me fried bugs or papaya salad marinating in fermented fish paste and i graciously refuse, they simply do not understand why i cannot digest such culinary delicacies.) astonishing. but aside from the food, they have no or limited knowledge in the different cultures, music, and art. SO i have taken it upon myself (and with my coteacher from tung yai - who is the art teacher from doesn't know art at all) to create a class focusing on such things. We have only had one class so far under the official heading of the class, but the idea was birthed from when i showed my classes clips from BBCs Planet Earth. both students and teacher sat wide eyed with gaping mouths at the world beyond theirs, a world they believed they would never see. One student even asked me, when showing them a clip about penguins, if penguins die...i told them everything living, even such interesting and foreign animals as penguins, dies...they were shocked. again, no blame is placed on anyone for such naivety...they simply did not think it thru or know or understand. BUT, now they do! The first official class i helped conduct was very interesting! I brought in different paintings by various artists, such as Monet, Dali, van gogh, Rembrandt, Seurat, and pollack. during the class period, i told them about still life, portrait and self expression. Then I asked them to find an object and without a ruler, use their eyes and creativity to draw that object as a still life project. They were thrilled. Then at the end of class, I handed each student a picture of a painting and told them to begin creating their own interpretation of the painting. Not only will i be teaching these students about art and culture in this class, but also about empowerment and creativity in life and their endeavors. We went over a little bit about what they wanted to do in life, and then told them that they didn't HAVE to be a rice farmer just because they are from a poor village in rural thailand. They can be a doctor in england, they can be a soccer player for spain, they can be prime minister of thailand, if they worked and studied hard and took themselves seriously (but not too seriously) and had the confidence in themselves that i have in them.

But i've also had a lot of time to contemplate about who i am, what i want to do, why i am here...I have been doing a lot of reading, writing and painting at site, even tho at times i feel as if my muse and inspiration is gone. art is not a large aspect in the lifestyle of a PC volunteer in rural thailand at the time. or perhaps just where i am. that can be frustrating, but I refuse to allow the departure of such a large and influential aspect in my life. to be perfectly honest, I haven't established a strong connection or bond with the people in my village. They know me and are indeed welcome into my home, an invitation that most children but few adults take advantage of. But I am their prized farang (foreigner) and can seem to do no wrong. I am an amiable enough person to have made some relationships, but nothing too significant for me, though perhaps quite the opposite for them. I am a private person, though admittedly sometimes too gregarious for my own liking with my fellow volunteers. It is just very hard to built absolute trusting relationships with anyone, much less people you've only known for a few months. Through this I most regrettably learned of the hardships of trust. I hold dear to those relationships i have that fall under the category of trusting. I am quite content to do the job i've set out to do, and do it well, but keep to myself simultaneously. i simply not prefer not so much a quiet life, but rather a life of hard work, thought, reflection and experience.

"I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence.
I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to
sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a super-
abundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet
life." Tolstoy.

Despite my general separateness, I have learned quiet a bit from the people in my village. Specifically, one verdict concluding from two opposing aspect of one facet in rural thai life. I am surrounded my endless flat rice fields, extending past the horizon 360 degrees; thus my village largely consists of rice farmers. The facet in which i speak of is that of labor. the farmers, whilst working, work and diligently, and do earn their low but hard earned pay. but, in contradiction, they work less than one would imagine. They delight themselves in spending most hours of their day sleeping in hammocks or drinking whiskey and talking. The conclusion I have drawn is this: all work must be hard, in hear that it would otherwise be unethical, all money earned for yourself must be well and ethically earned. Thus, the moment i obtain a job and can live off my well earned money, the sums i receive every month from Hawaii will be decidedly given to charity there after.

And thus are the thoughts and experiences I have at the moment. I must resume my reading and indulging in the anonymity i have here in Bangkok, for it ends tomorrow. i will hopefully be able to post more frequently!

adieu!

what it is to be thainapped

there is something that goes on here, somewhat akin to kidnapping, except less threatening, though sometimes equally as scary...we call it thainapping. this is when one or several Thai people show up at your house, call you outside and tell you you are going "somewhere" with them for an unknown period of time! and Just when you were settling down after a tiresome week, excited to watch that new movie that took 54 hours to download off itunes! But alas, you go because they make you think, despite what you assume, this Could very well be a fun experience!! though, unfortunately, this is not entirely so for most of the time. And the activities range vastly! From being taken to an impromptu community or teachers meeting where you're told to 'sing songs, play games!' to being dragged to a far away city to visit another school and shown off with a bunch of gossiping Thai women, who also happen to work at the same school as you ... which makes it harder to say no to. This is the worst, because they USUALLY take you to a place where there is NO other way of getting home without them! You're stuck, you're trapped, and you cannot, must not, show ANY disappointment. And after four hours of smiling, with four more hours to go, your face becomes tired and numb. All you want to do is simply let your face fall, the corners of your mouth droop down a little bit; No! you're not frowning but resting..YES! you're having a wonderful time! OH! i do simply adore eating a bowl full of assorted fried insects! no really!!! :/
It's no wonder why, when us volunteers are able to get away from site and hang out in a bigger city with each other, we go out dancing and drinking, and then order 5 large pizzas for 7 people at 10am the next morning, to be followed by a burger for lunch and a sushi all u can eatery for dinner. no more riCE!! its also no wonder why each and every one of our communities think farangs (foreigners - in this case, Americans) have poor health or immune systems...because in order to get OUT of these thainappings, we've all perfected the look of tong sia (thai for broken stomach - Diarrhea!!). oh if they understand nothing else about farangs, they understand our inability to deal with the surprisingly (fake...) numerous amount of times we get tong sia...little do they know, mwahaha.
but this is not to say that we use this excuse all the time! we do allow ourselves to be thainapped on occasion...and sometimes its actually worth it! But when you've had a week with no sleep, being forced to go to a far away city to be shown off, then go to a teachers training you're not sure if you're allowed to go to anyway, then being forced to use up your sunday that you thought you were going to use to sleep in and watch movies and eat bad food to teach english to people in your village (NOt that they'll actually pay attention to a word you say anyway)...well...even though you've played the tong sia card JUST LAST WEEK...hmm...OOPS! i think i feel a bout of "Tong Sia" coming on...specifically on friday...specifically when you're supposed to go to that far away town...oh dear me...
he he he he he.....

update coming...it'll be a GOOD ONE

PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE WITH ME!! MY INTERNET CONNECTION IS TERRIBLE BUT I HAVE SOMETHING FABULOUS TO PUT UP ONCE I GET A FASTER CONNECTION! I PROMISE ILL GET IT UP ASAP! XO

Madness to Magnet

Ode to an update - I have been at site for a bit over two weeks now. Not that I’m going to tell you precisely where that IS, per say...not because I don’t want to...but mostly because I can’t...Peace Corps safety 101!!! Though I CAN tell you that I am in the Udon Thani jang wat (province). I wish I could report that I have been conversing in nothing but Thai and have been illimitably ameliorating on my vernacular skills...yet I simply cannot lie. My co-teacher, whom I have been residing with up until yesterday, speaks reasonably respectable English. At least, well enough to not speak Thai all the time. In the two weeks that I have been here, I’ve experienced things that I ne’er believed I would live through. My second to fifth day was occupied by celebrating Songkran...which is the Thai...or Buddhist...new years (orbiting around, I believe, either the birth or death of the Buddha). It must be said that Songkran is pretty much a big effing waterfight, given that it takes place during the hottest time of the year...the waterfight being a superfluous facet of the actual holiday...it’s like getting presents during Channukah. ANYWAY...it would’ve been entirely pleasurable if they hadn’t put ice in the damn water...and then pouring it all over me. Which, of COURSE (you would know if you know me well enough) ensued in me getting SICK sick sick for the second and third day. But, one of those experiences I thought I’d never had is that I got into a HUGE water fight with a caboodle of monks. You think they just sit around and meditate all day? Oh dear me, no...they most definitely take those plastic varicolored water guns of theirs and F@#k you uuup!!! They just wait there, by the gates of the Wat (temple), and jump out at you when you least anticipate it...which is pretty much all the time. Who really expects to get jumped by monks with water guns? Certainly not I. Between that time and the time of which I have moved into my own home, I have visited Udon Thani, the big city in these sticks, which is simply infested with old (and I use the definition ‘old’ comparatively) farang (foreigner...or in literal terms, french – though that is not in which terms I am using the word) men, who come to Thailand with the sole purpose of obtaining a young Thai wife. Annnndddd^#&%$...... hold while I run away from a bee which has infiltrated my ROOM!!! hold on..........

Conversation between me and bee:
“This is the fate you have chosen?”
“Bbbbzzzzzzzzzzz”
“You do realize the consequences of your actions, correct?”
“Bbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzmwaaahaha”
“Right, well, then. Recognize that today is the day you will perish from this mortal life”
“bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........”

If you must know, I am bored in my home all alone.....hence the ACTUAL convo I had with the now deceased bee.

Ok! Sorry...I will post more later I promise! But I now must go to a birthday party of my co teachers nephew! But I now have internet at home...so expect more words soon!!

the point is this...

I am currently sitting in an elementary school in which I will be working in for the coming two years of my life. directly across the street is my newly acquired two story house (the bottom, spacious and concrete, the upstairs, wooden and beautiful). I have already decided where i am going to put my three hammocks. My site is located in the Udon Thani province in Isan, and though it is flat, it is still beautiful. In fact, it is what I envisioned Thailand to be like. To be fair, the topography of Thailand varies from region to region, and I am ebullient to discover all of it, from the flat plateus to the mountains, from the dense forests to the warm white beaches. My village is surrounded by rice fields and trees, and has a very strong Isan culture. I was told I was placed here (among many other reasons) because I would get along with the Isan culture very well, which is to say, I too am outgoing and love to have my fun. I can see that. There have already been attempts to pawn me off to one of three sons of so and so, which is why I have decided to hold steadfast to telling anyone that'll listen i am in a VERY serious, committed relationship (when, of course, all evidence is to the contrary at the moment). Funny, how the village wanted a female volunteer, because they didn't want the village to get the idea that another male farang (foreigner) has come to marry a Thai woman. as seems to be the trend 'round these parts. Lucky for me, though, that one of the farangs that has settled in the area has a pool, which I can use! yay

ps, side note, sitting in a classroom at the school, and a rooster decides it would be a good idea to try and type something on my blog as well. I have officially turned into that person that chases chickens with a broom. awesome

anyway! I am here for one more day, which I thought I would mind, but in fact do not mind in the least. I am staying in the house of one of my co-teachers, who speaks a fair amount of english and is very determined to have me as a daughter. I have only been in the village for 24 hours, and already I have around 7 mothers. At least I will be well fed! I must say, though, that I am excited to be able to live on my own, in a place of my own. PLUS (for anyone who's reading this), if the desire to visit me in thailand is simply too overwheleming that you must indulge in said desire, then I have an extra room for you to stay in in my house! ah! how the wheel has turned again.

So! I must now make myself available for an array of questions from the students at the school (such as how old am I to do i have a boyfriend to do i like bananas)...

much love from isan!

a snake goes...

the other day, a few of us are riding our bikes to play volleyball at wat acruss the street from a friends house. suddenly we swerve out of the way, scared beyond belief, for only inches away from our legs, curled up in the middle of the road, and alive, is a 5 foot poisonous snake. awesome. we stop to take pictures, and also make sure no cars run over it. its simply too facinating. then, a man backs up on his moterbike, picks the damn thing up at its head with no second thought or hesitation, says "aloy maak maak " (delicious), and rides home to have his newly acquired dinner.

love thailand.

update more tomorrow

The first week in Thailand...plus some:

Each moment since I arrived, in fact even a little before (ie the airport in Japan), has been more unexpected and rattling as the last. First and foremost, I can honestly say I’m glad that my peace corps group got to meet and greet each other in San Francisco and have a night out with each other before embarking on this journey of ours. That really helped in the getting to know you, bonding hooplah that was to come. None of us really cared about the lack of sleep considering the 19plus hour journey to Thailand, most of it requiring no more that a keen ability and determination to sleep on planes.
We arrived in Bangkok around midnight, gathered our bags and piled onto a rather festive looking bus. We finally arrived at our hotel in the LopBuri province where we were going to be staying for a few days while our host families prepared their homes for us. After getting a few hours of rest in our new rooms, we began getting to know each other, meeting the staff, talking technicalities and rules, and finally embraced the new Thai cuisine....What?!?! Sunny side up eggs and toast?!...Well, at least they gave us local fruits, of which names I still have trouble pronouncing...apparently we haven’t gotten to that part of language training yet.
We were also given bike lessons, followed by certification (if earned) to Ride a bike in Thailand. Yeah....it can be that dangerous. There are no real street rules here....simply que paso paso, what happens happens. If you just happened to get run over by that motorcycle carrying an entire family (yup, mother, father, kids and all), well, I suppose that’s how Buddah wanted it. So careful training was very neceesary. So...they broke us up into groups after an initial (kind of BS sort of ) test: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Well, I know I was no advanced, but SURELY intermediate. I mean, I DO know how to mount the damn thing, start and stop it! But alas, I caved under pressure and the 50plus pairs of eyes staring at me, started to laugh hysterically and literally ran straight into the entire glob of cones that I was supposed to swerve around, landing me triumphantly in the novice group. Whatever...I’m still here, ain’t I?!
We began our technical and language training immediately. By the end of the few days at the hotel we were able to introduce ourselves (name, where we were from, how old we were, how many people in our family, etc) and ask the same of others and numbers. I’ll just say this now...THAI IS HAAAAARDDD!!! Guaranteed, no amount of practice would have helped with what we’ve encountered. Well, maybe a little, but only until about the second or third day! We also learned the Thai version of the chicken dance, which is actually quite different than the American version. My PC group is actually doing two skits on Monday for the Thai staff, and I thought doing the american version would’ve been funny....but instead we’re doing some intense look into America in the 60's....and guess who was nominated to be the poster child for that skit?...you got it...your very own hippy child, a’thank you very much. Hey man, I got the look, I got the ‘tude...and the smell....well yeah, that’s coming along quite nicely, thanks to the relentless heat!
Those days at the hotel were busy, yet, needless to stay, sublime, compared to living with the host family. We had warm showers with shower heads, flush toilets (and toilet paper for that matter!) of which we sat (not squatted) on, and each other. Of course, this isn’t saying that I don’t enjoy being with my host family! On the contrary, it is very enjoyable, but VERY different to Anything I’ve even been accustomed to. But this is a leeway into living at our sites, so in that way, this is very helpful. As opposed to waking up and seeing everyone in our group first thing and lastly before going to bed, I only get to see SOME of them daily, and all of them about once a week.