Piquant Adventuress

Working Girl

2007-01-31T18:12:00.000-06:00

After my extended period of relaxation, I have finally accepted a full time job. My title is Sped Para aka Special Education Paraprofessional. As there are these little things called confidentiality laws, I can only write so much about what I do. My day is spent in a fourth grade classroom. I am assigned one-on-one with a student, but I am able to interact with the entire class. The students are so well behaved, it is a drastic difference from my last teaching position.
My new school is only a half mile from home, so I have walked to work - even in the freezing cold! CPA is a charter school with students in grades K-12, and a very diverse population. Those of you reading from Thailand will be excited to hear that a majority of my students are Hmong. They were excited to hear about my travels.
In the process of getting my job, I also did some temp work. If you are ever looking for a truly professional temp agency, I highly recommend Dolphin Staffing. The crew there is super. I also toyed with the idea of working full time at Ihduhapi (YMCA camp), but why drive 45 min to work when I can walk?

Is it December already? Time to go home...

2007-01-12T01:14:00.000-06:00

Upon my return to America, I learned my Grandmother can touch her nose too! This was early on in our night of dancing in Bangkok's RCA. I spent my last weekend in Bangkok so the Girl Gang could go out on the town, and so we could say bon voyage to Loren as she headed for India with Kate.

Loren and Rosalind prove that skirts are just fine for the platform seating. I think American bars should provide this type of seating, even if it is only for V.I.P. We had reclining cushions, a plush white rug and a bright blue drink, but we got out stain free.

Oh said that she is "getting boring of saying good-by." Meaning that she is tired of always saying good-bye to her friends. I decided to spend my last night in Ayutthaya at the Moon Cafe. It was a calm night, so we basically had the place to ourselves.

Amazing women. Noi, me, Took, Rosalind and Oh.

The band that "always" played at the Moon Cafe wasn't playing that night. Gai was kind enough to hunt down a folk guitar and give me a final show.

Ok, so I ended up spending one more night in Ayutthaya. It made much more sense to get a cab straight to the airport than it did to try and navigate Bangkok. I spent my last night watching the elephant show. It is a reenactment of the fight between Burma and Thailand. There were real elephants!

After the show, I had a great late night noodle dinner with Ros and Geab, but I didn't get any pictures.

At 4am Took meet me in her pajamas to make sure the cab she arranged showed up. It was a little late, but with no traffic in the wee hours of the morning, I made it to the airport in an hour and a half. Maybe I was groggy, but I couldn't believe I was actually headed home. Only 30 hours of travel to get home...

Hua Hin

2006-12-23T18:41:00.000-06:00

In Hua Hin, I spent a lot of time with Linda and her Thai boyfriend Nueng. He worked hard at the beach bar, while we relaxed in the cushioned chairs. I was set up with them through a man I met in Ton Sai, they were so nice and treated me wonderfully my entire stay.

I went up a lage hill to get this great view of the town. The hill in the far distance is Khao Takiab, "Chopstick Mountain".

This is also Khao Takiab, from a much closer perspective.

The mountain is home to over 100 monkeys. As I entered the monkey area I was eating an ice cream bar. One monkey wanted me to share and ran up to me, touching my leg. It frightened me a bit; enough so that I didn't want to try to feed the monkeys.

It was Motorcycle Week in Hua Hin, so one night we went to a huge biker rally. I had no idea that so many Thai people owned Harleys.
That night we also went dancing. Outside of the club there was an argument between the "Harley motorcycle riders" and the "New Age bikers" who ride smaller faster bikes like Yahama and Honda. Engines were revved, but no one was hurt.

At night we hung out at a bar that allowed us to bring in most of our own food and drinks. We only bought ice and soda water from them. The man in the back is Bew. He runs a shop at Chatuchak, the giant market in Bangkok. Linda met the blonde couple by over hearing them speak Swedish on the beach. She meets a lot of Swedish people in Hua Hin that way. It was often very confusing to me to be surrounded by two foreign languages at the same time.

When I first arrived, Linda and nueng were hanging out with two Swedes, Ericka and Lotta. Lotta's mom is Thai so she understood a lot of the language. They had a friend that I only met briefly. Her name was Anna Berglund!

Ericka

Lotta

Chang Mai Part II

2006-12-11T02:57:00.000-06:00

To get to the hmong Village, we hiked up hill for 45 minutes. We had to cross this bamboo bridge over the river. Once at the top I was confused because the people at the top had trucks and motor bikes. So there has to be an easier way there. It was all staged for tourists, to make us think about how high up they live.

This hut was outside of the main village. I am not sure if anyone lives in it, but it made a great photo.

We rode elephants in a jungle area. We even got to go through the water. This is Jonah and his boyfriend in front of me. As we went it was 20 baht to feed bananas and sugar cane to the elephants. My driver always took some of the sugar cane for himself.

Our secound touristy village was the Karan peopel. They do a lot of weaving. I was able to give it a try. Wow is it slow going. At my speed it would take a month ot make a scarf.

Chang Mai

2006-12-08T05:26:00.000-06:00

This is the panda at the Chaing Mai Zoo. It was the same price as Zoo admission to see the pandas, 100 baht. The donation of the panda has really helped the relations between China and Thailand.

This is me with the artificial pandas that can be seen for free.

I went to a monkey show. It was 10 baht (25 cents) for some great mosquito bite stuff and a monkey on my lap. After the show I was able to play with some small monkeys. One stole the orchid I had pinned to my shirt and ate it!

These are mid-sized umbrellas that are hand made at the factory I toured. The umbrellas are shipped around the world. I was told they make some that can actully keep off the rain as well as look beautiful.

This is one of my most artistic shots so far. The monk was at Doi Suthep Temple on top of a mountain overlooking Chaing Mai.

The Yang Tree was planted in 1796. I like how I am wrapped in a scarf and the tree is wrapped too!

When I first saw these 'girls' I swore they wern't lady boys. It wasn't until I stood next to them for a picture that I believed they were men. There are loads of lady boys all over Thailand.

Trains in Thailand... ( a review)

2006-11-28T10:21:00.000-06:00

This week I took a train to Chaingmai...

My first experience of riding a train in Thailand receives a mixed review. As for comfort, it was quite nice. I was in a first class sleeper car. I had AC and didn't freeze. The noise was minimal, as were the bumps. The toilet was scary. I could see the track below as I squatted on the Thai toliet. Scary.

So now for the complaints. My train was more than an hour late for its arrival in Ayutthaya. So I actually didn't board until Monday at 1 AM! Not a huge deal, I could sleep the night away.

I awoke to a Thai man peering gently uner my curtain to wake me. He let me know that the train had stopped because of an accident north of us. We woul be moving by 11am. I figured he was joking as it was only 8:30. Turns out he was serious. I later learned that two trains collided. 70 people were injured. 500 trains were delayed. It made the Thai news, so I made sure to text to all of my friends in Thailan so they didn't worry. Pom called himself to make sure I was ok. What a sweetie.

So I finally left the stopping point around 2 pm. It was still another 9 hours to Chaing Mai. So my night sleeper turned into a day sleeper. Still very comfortable. So now the question is do I buy a train ticket home, or is the bus a bettter bet???

Loy Krathong

2006-11-20T18:31:00.000-06:00

Loy Krathong means to float a banana leaf cup on water.
We do this to ask Mother of Water to forgive us for polluting the water.
(funny to appologize by sticking things onto the water!)
Loy Krathong Day falls in November when there is a full moon in the sky and there is "full water" in the river.
There are beauty pagents like the Miss Nopamas Competition. I was sponsered by the Moon Cafe to be in the Frarang (foreigner) Beauty Contest, but it was canceled due to the flood.

We bought banana leaves, flowers and pieces of banana tree trunk at the market. To make the krathong, we folded the leaves so they would stand, pinned them down, and pinned flowers on top. We later bought candles and incense to make our Krathong glow.

Mine was quite small and cute. I did add more flowers after this picture was taken.

We lit our krathong and set them into the river. There were little boys who made sure the krathongs got out into the current and floated away. We later realized they were also stealing the coins we added for good fortune. (I guess it is industrious of them, otherwise the money would simply sit at the bottom of the river.)

We didn't think to bring a lighter. As we were discussing what to do, this woman offered us hers. She and her daughter are from Canada, so their English was great. The mother was born in Thailand. The girl is wearing a traditional Thai dress.

Testing. Three. Four. Five

2006-11-19T08:06:00.000-06:00

A short note to test the new version of blogger and to say hi to every one.
More exciting photos of my day to day life coming soon.

This is from October, the first time I went to Ayutthaya by myself. I took a tuk-tuk because it was too late for the bus. 7 km from Noi's house, the tuk-tuk broke down. (I think I avoided this onen because I didn't want anyone to fear for my safety!) The man couldn't get it fixed, but he did call a friend to pick me up in another tuk-tuk. Poor Roy waited around for me a lot that night. Thanks Roy!

Also in October, Kath, Roy, Chat and I went touring around Ayutthaya. We had a great time at the water park. No lifeguard = no rules for the slide!
(I swear I used this picture before, but I didn't see it anywhere)

Ton Sai

2006-11-12T14:47:00.000-06:00

We arrived at Ton Sai expecting to stay for two nights, then moving on to explore other islands in the area. As we pulled up to the shore, I saw a large banner proclaiming a Halloween Party for Tuesday night. I was already hoping to stay for the party (the beginning of our reluctance to leave the beach).

Our boat dropped us near Mambo Bungalows and not wanting to haul my suitcase through the sand any longer, we moved in. Each bungalow was only 200 baht a night, split between two people it was very cheap. ($3 a night!)

I bought a hammock at the market, and we were allowed to hang it on our porch. The mosquitoes were terrible, so it didn’t get as much use as it should have.

A lot of our relaxation time was spent at the No Name Bar. It had a Rasta/ Reggae theme and Thai’s with dredlocks. The other girls were happy because it also had great coffee.

We celebrated Halloween at the No Name Bar (they had the banner I mentioned earlier). Deep in the jungle, we didn’t have much for costumes, so we became jungle Princesses. Noo, the local tattoo artist, painted my back with black light paint and made me a grass skirt. I was beautiful. The bar filled with brightly painted people as the night progressed. People danced into the wee hours of the morning.

The skirt itched, so I didn’t wear it for long.

What better to do after a night of dancing, than snorkel? We rented a boat, a guide and some snorkels and set out for four local islands. The reefs were not brightly colored, but the fish were. The largest fish I saw was the size of my head. Nothing too scary except the black spikey things on the bottom.

We didn’t pay for the top notch tour, but it was only evident when we found our boat beached on the coral after the tide went out. We ate lunch fearing that we would be stuck all day. Thankfully the tide came in and we only missed 15 minutes of adventure.

This sunset was actually our first night on Ton Sai. It rained most days right around sundown, so we didn’t have another good one until the last night. We were out in Kayaks (without cameras) that day and evening, so it was also fabulous.

I have never seen a more sure sign that it was time to be done on a vacation. As we were waiting for a boat to the main land, the Minnesota pulled up to shore. We didn’t take that boat, but it did put a big smile on my face.

Testing. One. Two. Three.

2006-11-08T04:59:00.000-06:00

Ok, so mostly I am testing to see if the blogger lets me post myself; save Andy some work and stuff. Also, this picture is so hilarious! This is Gai (Chicken in Thai). He is the singer of a band I like, and he also comes to our Karaoke parties.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

2006-10-28T14:30:00.000-06:00

suan jatujak
"JJ Market"

I actually went to JJ market the day after my night in Bangkok. But as my new editor/ posting guru has suggested I am spreading my postings out a bit. Blogger has been impossible to post to lately, so Thanks to Andy for turning my e-mails into blog entries.

JJ market is huge, I have heard numbers of 9,000 to 15,000 vendors. This is just one asile.

The things for sale range from cute bunnies and other animals that shouldn't be sold. (squirrells, chipmunks, monkeys, hedgehogs and many others)

To beads and fabrics by the ton. Regular old beads are actually just as cheap in America.

The food is great. This is Chris eating the flesh after drinking the juice of a coconut.

Ben had some of Oh's coconut ice cream. We also bought smoothies. Before Ben could drink his, a guy came by and took it right off the counter. The Thai lady making them said sorry, but wasn't going to make another unless he paid again!

As we sat drinking our smoothies, Oh noticed a famous man under an umbrella. She was quite shy, but Chris is not so he went an got an autograph for her. As we were leaving, I finally convinced her to get a photo taken with him.

I actually didn't buy very much. It was more overwhelming than the Mall of America.

One night in Bangkok

2006-10-22T22:14:00.000-06:00

After making the trip to the Grand Palace with the safety and security of Oh and Roy, I was fairly confident that Loren and I could make the trip on our own. I boarded the city bus and headed to Ayutthaya, completely opposite the direction of Bangkok, but that was ok. With the use of cell phones, Loren was able to hop on the same bus 20 min later. After the bus, we found the air con vans headed to Bangkok. For 60 baht ($1.50) each, we had a comfortable ride into Bangkok. One hour and a cab ride later, we were on Khao San Road, the main farang district of Bangkok.

We were set to meet a true friend of a friend. We went to the Sawasdee Guest House where Loren's friend Kate's friend Chris was staying. Our only info was that he looked like Jesus. As we went to leave a note on Chris' door, I spotted a man in the bathroom and loudly exclaimed "he looks like Jesus!' Loren and I laughed and ran up the stairs. Sure enough as we were posting the note, we learned the man was indeed Chris. We made quite the team, me from America, Loren from New Zealand and Chris from England. We ate lunch and plotted our day.

Our first adventure was the Tuk-tuk ride. We chose a jolly driver and haggled him down to 120 baht ($3) for a reasonably long drive. He wove in and out of traffic and raced another tuk-tuk. The farang in the other tuk-tuk captured the race on video. We lost.

Our first stop was the Jim Thompson house. He is a man that is given credit for personally revamping the silk industry in the late 1950s. Back then, Americans were allowed to buy land in Thailand. He bought six Thai houses and set up a nice estate. We toured his old home and learned that he mysteriously disappeared in the 1960s.

This is when the true adventure began. Instead of taking the $3 meter-taxi ride to China Town, we opted to walk. After asking for directions three times, we made it. We wove through the shops, Loren ate a grub! And got some dinner. The layout was similar to most of Thailand, but the items for sale were noticeably Chinese.

From a distance we saw and interesting building that just had to have a bar on top. We became determined to get up there. We found ourselves at the Grand China Princess. It indeed had a restaurant on the 25th floor.

From the top we had a great view of downtown Bangkok. It was a rotating restaurant, so by the time our drinks were gone, we had seen most of the city.

I had a fruity drink in a Tuk-tuk. It was so cute I had to buy it for $3. Just a bit more than I paid for the original drink.

After the long walk to China town, I insisted on a Motor Taxi ride back to Khao San Road. Chris takes giant steps and my legs were getting tired!

Back in Khao San, we heard a great metal band on the street. They are just debuting, but are quite good. Chris swears we should keep our eyes out for CyberSin in the next few years. Sadly the closed up shop after just a few songs.

We then headed up to Bird Eye View on the top floor of a building. Hence the name. There was a great Sa band playing, but they were done after just two songs. As they were packing up their instruments, we jokingly begged for more. To my surprise the trumpets and trombones emerged again. The bonus songs weren’t as lovely as the Thai songs, but who can hate “Hotel California” and “Sell Out.”

From there we joined a farang and his Thai girl to a bar called The Unicorn. The ceiling was blue with fluffy white clouds painted on, the furniture was plush and girly. The atmosphere made me smile. Sadly the DJ again closed down shop after just a few songs. I was beginning to notice a theme. It was 2am, but we just weren’t ready for bed.

Our last stop of the night had no live music, so it couldn’t follow the trend. Actually it didn’t even have furniture. We sat on woven mats the size of picnic blankets right out on the sidewalk. The bartender had a little stand, but he would bring our beer out to us. When a cockroach crawled up Loren’s back and into her hair, we met the Spanish man on the mat next to us as he flicked it out and smashed it with a shoe.

His name is Luis Miguel. He is from Spain, but he is working on a doctorate in chemistry at a university on England, so his English was great. The four of us sat up talking until 5am.

This is Loren, Chris and I on our mat.

Editors note: Because of some technical difficulties in Thailand, my totally awesome, strikingly hansome boyfriend Andy has been updating this blog for me.

Flood!

2006-10-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

Ankle deep water in the house for week? No problem.
Thailand is flooded. At least where I’m staying.
After witnessing the lack of concern the Thai people held for the military coup, I was not surprised by the nonchalant attitude toward the recent flooding in central and southern Thailand. For three weeks, water slowly crept into the homes of many residents of Ayutthaya, Thailand. I have befriended a local Thai family who lives near the river where I’ve spent a lot of time watching the flood rise higher and come closer.

When the water started to creep up the riverbank, I was anticipating mass chaos as the Thai ran for cover. This is when I learned that water floods and people move slowly in Thailand. At the speed of a few inches a day, it seemed that the water would never climb the distance required to touch most homes.
When the neighbors were hauling armfuls of clothing through knee deep water, my friend Roy still stood strong in his opinion that the water would never come the additional few feet to reach his front door.
Before the river itself reached the house, water started to come up through the drainage system on the streets. It kept coming up filling the streets and into the houses.
The flood has come and the water doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
Each day brings a new report of when the flooding will peak, and of how long it will take for things to return to a normal, dry state of existence.
In the past three weeks, sand bags started appearing on major roadways most likely to flood and eventually water could be seen at the same height on the other side.

A wall was built to keep the water out of the cement house where I was staying. The wall cost 4 baht a brick; the total cost was roughly $25. The walls were built two feet high like small fortresses outside of the front and back doors.
Like the sandbags, the walls only keep out some of the water. They are porous, allowing water to seep in. Water has also come into the house through the drains and between the floor tiles.
In Thai households the kitchen and bathroom floors are set a few inches lower than the main living spaces. Thus the kitchen and bathroom were the first to flood. My reaction was to bake a cake while standing in ankle deep water. There are no traditional ovens, so I baked in a counter top model. All outlets in the house are at waist level or higher, so I was not concerned about electric shock.
But a few days afterwards I heard of a man who died from receiving a shock when plugging something in at his house.
As I was typing at the computer I felt water tickle my toes. I thought it was coming up over the doorway, but it was seeping through the walls. The young adults of the house quickly paused their movie, moved the couch to higher ground and emptied the lower shelves of DVDs and computer equipment. Within five minuets, they were seated on plastic chairs and the movie resumed.
To leave the house and stay dry wee need a boat. Cell phones are quite common, so I simply dial the number for one of the neighborhood boat operators. If I reach a Thai individual who doesn’t speak English they knows right where to go if I say “ban farang,” meaning house of foreigner. She will paddle her long wooden boat through the front gate, right up to the front steps. The ride takes us four blocks to higher, dry land. It cost $.25 or $.50 per person, depending on the driver.

As cool as it was originally once I knew I was safe, it gets old after a while being wet all the time. The Thai don’t seem to mind. Government takeover and two inches of water in the house never stopped them from doing much.
It’s a unique experience to see everyone calm in the face of a flooded house. People aren’t as scared as you might think.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok

2006-10-19T16:37:00.000-06:00

Under the great guidance of Thai tour guides "O" and "Apple" Roy and I were given a tour of The Grand Palcae in Bangkok.

This is the Palace from just inside the main gates.

King Rama the III or maybe the IV really liked the Angkor Wat. He wanted it moved to Thailand, but had to settle for a model instead. Notice my covered shoulders and long skirt. Both are required to be on the palace grounds.

The coronation building was desigend to bring together European and Thai architecture.

Roy and I had a great time!

More pictures!

2006-10-18T02:01:00.000-06:00

This is me eating an ostrich steak at the 29 Steak restaurant. It was my most expensive meal so far- $12!

Pom (pronounced Bomb) also had ostrich that night. We also had soup in a big pot that cooks at your table.

This is Rosalind and her cousin Lauren feeding the elephant. You can't really see Lauren :o)

Roy and I like to play games together. We are Jenga and Connect Four Champs!

My Friend "O" (right) and her friend "Apple" are training to be tour guides at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Roy and I scored a free tour. Thanks Girls! They had their exam this week, wish them luck.

My accommodations

2006-10-14T12:50:00.000-06:00

This is the living room. All of the floors in the house and even the stairs are this same marble tile. The stairs are steep and each step is quite tall. Not at all safe for a baby! This fish in the tank are not as large as my koi at home. They are just normal goldfish. The wood figure on the wall above the computer is thumper the rabbit from Bambi. Disney and other cartoon characters show up in both high fashion and decor. The little wooden table has a partner and together they make our dining room table. Each night at 6pm, Noi has five or so students practicing their English here.

The kitchen is where we often store the food that Noi orders. When school is in session, the rice is the only thing that is usually cooked in here. There is no oven or stove, only one electric burner. The machine in the back corner under the towel is our clothes washer. There is no need for a dryer. Each week the neighbors get to see my clean underwear hanging out to dry. The contraption on the back wall is the water filter. We store the water in the fridge in glass bottles so that it is cold enough to drink. The fridge is always empty by American standards. We only buy for a few days at a time.

This is where I lay my head at night. I also hang here to use the non-internet functions of my computer. The grey box is my awesome fan. It keeps me very cool at night so that I am able to use my pretty blue blanket. The green doors lead to the balcony. I don't often go out there, but the large doors make for a great evening breeze. I am becoming quite addicted to having a dressing table. I may have to fashion something similar when I return home.

Flood!

2006-10-11T09:57:00.000-06:00

So the flood hasn't kept me off of the internet. The blogger service has not been working well lately. I have created the same posting many times, and it never works. I hope this one will. Just in case, it will be a bit short and without pictures. :0(

As I was signing in, I felt a tickle on my toes. It was the water finally making its way into the house. Today is supposed to be the worst of it, so all in all the flood isn't too terrible. I am actually living in the flooded area by choice. I could be snug in Wang Noi, but how boring! School is out until November, so I am spending time with my freinds in Ayutthaya.

This evening I baked a cake standing in ankle deep water in the kitchen. It ddin't cook well, but it was fun to bake. The oven is a step above a toaster oven, so I didn't have high expecataions anyway. Thai houses are mostly concrete, so we have kept the water out fairly well. Others are not so fourtunate as their houses are on lower ground. Some are 6-8 feet deep in the water.

To go into towan, we hire a small row boat to take us up the road to higher ground. It costs about $2. The water is only a few feet deep, so this evening, the "driver" got out and pushed instead of rowing. Few have evacuated. Just like the coup, the Thai aren't too nervous about the flood.

The bed I will sleep in is a few feet higher than the house with the internet. I will be dry and safe for my slumber. If all goes well, I will even have a hot shower before I head to town for the day tomorrow.

I will post more with pictures by Friday morning my time. I left my laptop in Wang Noi where it is dry. The lap top holds all the best shots so far.

Farang = Celebrity

2006-10-02T02:08:00.000-06:00

This weekend I set off on an adventure with Noi. As communication has been difficult for us at times, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We left the house at 11pm on Friday. I questioned Noi's ability to drive so late at night, but she assured me it was fine. To my understanding, we were headed to a city 4-5 hours away, so I was concerned for our safety. As we left the house, we headed north toward Ayutthaya, when our destination was south. Man was I confused. Maybe we were going to take a train from Ayutthaya?

After weaving around some of the old temple ruins, we stopped. "OK, take your bag I will park," Noi said. When I exited the truck I was greated by looks of confusion and a very large coach bus. So we were taking the bus!

We slept the night through in cushioned comfort. We reached our destination at 5:30 am, and were allowed into our hotel rooms to get some more sleep. I never did learn if we paid for one night or two...

We had arrived at Chanthaburi, a province on the Gulf of Thailand. Our resort was right on the sea. Meals were served on a porch just up from the beach. It was lovely. After a traditional breakfast we headed to sight see in the area. I could have stayed at the beach all day and been content, but I do like to see the sights was well. This picture is actually of breakfast on day two, which was more English and less Thai like.

1. First, we visited a huge temple on top of a hill/mountain. It took at least 300-400 stairs to get to the top. I climbed them all, but I opted for the trolley ride down.

This is where word got out that I like bananas. Before I knew it, I had a fresh one in my hand and some green ones for when I returned home. Yum.

2. The next stop was visible long before we arrived. I pointed at a mountain and asked if the white streaking was really a waterfall. It was and it was our next destination. We hiked into the park to the base of the waterfall. The water was very clear with a blue green tint.

Noi and I at the base of the waterfall.

3. Lunch was nothing special. Just beef and noodles.

4. It was down pouring and we were headed to Oasis Sea World!?!? Something about an aquarium and a dolphin show. The rain made me a little nervous for this one. Nothing like walking around in the rain at a large zoo.
It was pretty rundown, and there was no aquarium. Only a cement pool with dark water and five or six dolphins. Here's the shocker... even the dolphins are different in Thailand. The bottlenosed ones were a different color- Pink! The other ones, the Irrawaddy dolphin, had rounded faces- no long nose. It was strange. They did some great tricks and seemed well cared for; so no reason to send in animal rights activists.

5. Turns out we were all gathered for a retirement celebration. Back to the hotel for dinner and Karaoke. There were speeches and a ceremony where we poured 'holy water' over the hands of the retiree.

It was good fun for the Thai people to watch me dance. They say I am good, I have my doubts. Well being the celebrity I was, I did dance all night. I learned some new moves and I was quite a bit better than most. They played mostly Thai oldies, and a few american goodies. I was conned into leading a conga line around the room. Like I said I was a celebrity!

What a full night

2006-09-29T05:28:00.000-06:00

So he did call... after I agreed to dinner with somjet and some other English camp staff :( This is the point where I have realized it sounds like I am interested in dating this guy. Not the case, but man is it nice to talk to someone my own age who understands a decent portion of what I say.

So conflict aside, I had a great night Thursday. Somjet and Nui picked me up for dinner at the museum restaurant. That is not the real name of the place, but it looks like a museum, and I couldn't say the real name anyways. We also picked up Kath (my Manchester savior) and Chris from America! We had a lovely dinner by the river, wich is in a state of flooding. I guess it was many feet higher than normal. It may flood pretty bad in Ayutthaya by Wednesday of next week. Ok so river aside, I had a great dinner, a bit of beer and there were fireworks across the river. It was beautiful.

As we finished up, i decided to try Pom. He was waiting for his friend Rosalind to finish teaching at AUA (One of the A's stands for American, but no Americans work there!) another English school in town. I was dropped off at AUA and instantly took to Rosalind. She has been here for a few years, and didn't wince at my multitude of questions. She even taught me to write my name in Thai. Now I have two friends!

They ate Vietnamese food, while I sampled as I had just had a great dinner. They did get some more Singha (sing) beer into my system with a slight bit of peer pressure. It was good fun, but I think Ros and I talked to fast for Pom to understand everything. He claimed he didn't mind. The Thai's hate conflict :0) I have worked my way into their weekly Tursday night on the town. It was good to get out of the house!

Kath has invited me to stay with her in Ayutthaya for a few days next week. She is already on break from school, so we will go sight seeing. Wish me luck as I try to drive a motorbike. I promise to wear a helmet and stay on the left side of the road.

A Friend?

2006-09-28T17:49:00.000-06:00

So I think that have made a friend of my very own. Noi is fabulous, but I live in her house so it is different. She is forced to spend time with me. Noi got it in her that we would go out on Monday night. A nice dinner in Ayutthaya and maybe some drinks. We decided that should invite Pom, the nice Thai man I met at the auto shop last week. Noi knows his family and assured me that he was safe. It turns out that he is the son of the mechanic shop owner. The father built and sold all of the houses in Noi's neighborhood.

Through a mix of English and Thai we made plans. He was going to meet us after he went of r a swim. Noi kind of pushed for him to pick me up and take me with him to the hotel where he goes swimming. We would meet Noi later for dinner. I was nervous. This would be my first adventure with out Noi. What if he came on a motor bike and didn't have a helmet for me? Would I make a stink, or just hop on? What if I got lost or confused at the pool? Would there be a place to change and shower? Would my one piece swim suit offend anyone?

Pom arrived in a nice car and reassured me about the accommodation at the hotel. It was still more beautiful than I had expected. The pool was outdoors, above a restaurant that had live musicians. There was also a nice exercise room, but I hadn't packed any exercise clothes, only my suit. The changing room had a private shower and a flush toilet. The shower had hot water! I took a short sauna with a naked woman from Belgium. So much for my swim suit being to revealing! Then I hopped into the pool.

When we were through I felt very clean and relaxed. And hungry. We drove a short distance to a restaurant on the river. The river flows fast, is quite deep and a muddy brown color. From our table we could see fish eating rice that was dropped from above. As I expected, Noi was about 15 minutes late. Pom had to order for everyone because the kitchen closed before she arrived. We had a great mix of farang friendly food. Chicken and veggies in what tasted like barbeque sauce, tofu and seaweed soup and fried shrimp with a thick batter. I was the only one drinking, so I finished an entire Thai sized bottle of beer, about 20 ounces.

All in all it was a great evening. Pom and Noi did manage to translate most of the conversation for me. Pom is 31, but as I am learning more about Thai men, that makes him near to my equal in maturity. (when I first saw him I figured he was a teenager) He has offered to take me with him the next time he goes to swim and exercise. I hope he calls.

The Experience of Eating

2006-09-25T22:13:00.000-06:00

This is the snake-head fish that we ate in Nakhon Nayok. It was at least 12 inches long.

Nui, one of the Thai camp staff picked the meat out of the head!

At Future Park shopping mall, Noi and I had lunch in a real restaurant.

It had walls and a ceiling and no stray animals.

The food was about the same as what we get from the street shops.

When possible, I end my meals with ice cream.

It has become so well known that I like ice cream, that when I received a small sum of money for working at the English Camps, I was told it was my ice cream fund.

This is rainbow and chocolate chip. I could have had Thai ice cream with veggies in it. I don't like the idea of putting veggies in my ice cream. Fuit okay, but that is my limit.

English Camp

2006-09-25T22:01:00.000-06:00

These are some kids from my second English Camp at Anuban Ongkharak School near Nakhon Nayok. The students use nicknames during the camp. They had names like Sour, Not, Ball, Boy and Riew (pronounced Lou). They were between the ages of 9-11.

This is some of the Farang (Foreigner) staff that worked with me at the first camp.

We are at the Gulf of Thailand in Prachaub Khiri Khan.

Kevin, Kathleen, Brenda, Roy, Dokmai, and Dirk

Finally some pictures of Wat Lamphraya School

2006-09-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

Each morning, the students line up at the flag pole and recite the national anthem. They are wearing the scout uniforms they wear every Thursday.

This is my favorite picture of the students so far. These boys are very proud of their frothy smiles. Every day after eating lunch, the Thai children brush their teeth.

This is the view of the front of the school. I teach in the English room, which is the two doors on the far right. Next door is a computer lab. It isn't used until next semester. The giant satelite is so that we can have internet access.

At the end of the day the students line their bikes up and wait to be dismissed. A teacher makes sure it is clear and then waves each student on their way.

The older, luckier students travel by motorbike. It is still strange to see a 14 year old boy or girl carting around 2-3 other children on a motorbike. Hardly any of them wear helmets.

Have no fear, the soldiers are here

2006-09-22T18:15:00.000-06:00

The coupe?

In order to avoid the usual evening competition with the two young adults of the house, I decided to use the Internet while eating my morning breakfast. After being in Thailand for only a few days I was shocked to read that I had 15 new messages. “Are you okay?” was the common headline. I was eating yogurt with bananas and felt quite fine. I was puzzled by the sudden dramatic concern for my well being.

“Did you pledge allegiance to the military yet?” was the line that got my head spinning. Unbeknownst to me, the military had taken over Thailand. I left my e-mail and started surfing for news. As I was reading the top stories about the military coupe, the house phone rang.
“School is closed,” my hostess, Noi, stated in accented English. When I inquired as to why, she simply said, “They are fixing something.” I posted the latest information to my blog before continuing with reading the news coverage.

Noi turned on the Thai news channel, the only one we were receiving, as all others had been blocked. Over and over the national anthem played to a video montage of the King’s greatness. It played again and again and again. I continued checking the real news on the Internet.

As I read I learned that school was actually canceled because of the military coupe, I was not shocked. I wondered if Noi knew the real reason. It confused me that she could be so accepting of her lack of information. Maybe ignorance really is bliss. In honor of the takeover, Wednesday was ordered to be a national holiday. No school, no banks, and no government offices.

I hurried to change my blog entry to reflect the truth and asked Noi if we were safe. Her words were so confident, they still echo in my ears. “Is okay, the Thai people trust in the King. He will make sure this is solved.” Feeling at ease with her words, I called home and told my parents I was safe and I would stay far away from Bangkok.

“So what do we do with our day off?” I inquired.
“We go to Future World” Noi replied. I was thinking that an amusement park was the last place I wanted to be in a time of crisis. Seeing my look of puzzlement, she continued, “a big shopping mall. We go to buy things.” True to me American heritage, I do love a good shopping trip. Sorry mom I was going to leave the house.

No more than five miles down the road toward Bangkok I started feeling very uneasy. Traffic was being moved over one lane and men with guns were enforcing the merge. As we approached, I saw the reason for the merge; military tanks were lined up along the street. The tourist in me wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid it would inspire an inspection of the car or an even worse fate.
I peeked timidly from the backseat of the Nissan truck, trying to mask my concern. I choked back my plea to go home as I noticed soldiers with guns watching traffic from the pedestrian bridge. They looked like snipers. Once I regained my composure, I looked around to see how the Thai people were reacting to the situation.
Traffic was moving at a normal clip. The backs of trucks were still overflowing with people and heaps of produce. I watched as a Thai man handed a bag of bottled water to one soldier. The soldier smiled in thanks. We drove on.

Future World looked as if it had been dropped from the future onto an abandoned field. Unlike my stomping ground at the Mall of America, we were literally in the middle of nowhere. From the main road, there was no English indication that a mall was nearby. We took our parking card, navigated the lot and found ourselves inside.
I was stunned. Future World is a four-story mega mall. I saw the familiar sights of KFC, Dunkin Donuts, electronics stores and discount clothing stores. It was like any American mall except that most advertisements were in Thai.
The only thing I needed to purchase was a SIM card for my cell phone so that it would work in Thailand. I had no idea what a SIM card was, but I was told it was the way to go. With some confusion I learned that my American Samsung would not take a SIM card. I needed to start from scratch.

Noi did all of the talking for me. I still didn’t understand how a SIM card worked, or the Thai words needed to purchase one. Thirty eight dollars later I had a new phone, a phone number from the outside of the box and fifty baht of credit. Now I just need some friends to call.

Noi went to purchase a pair of shorts from a kiosk style clothing shop. They had no fitting room, only a large skirt. The skirt was worn so that clothing could be changed underneath it. I flipped through racks of clothing I could never dream of fitting into as Noi paraded around in her shorts. They were knee length, almost the only style of shorts found in Thailand. Happy with her new purchase, Noi wore the shorts as we continued on in search of food.

This would be my first experience eating indoors at a restaurant. So far I had eaten only at the open-air stands. The menu was in English, but I still had no idea what to order. Noi took charge and ordered more food than the two of us could eat in an entire day. We had fried rice, som-tam, and pork and tofu soup. It was spicy and delicious. The leftovers were packaged into plastic containers for us to take home for dinner. Noi was expecting company, so we headed out.

Although I was expecting the soldiers on the way home, their presence still made me very uneasy. I relaxed when I realized how the Thai people were interacting with the soldiers. Despite the rain, the citizens were having their pictures taken with smiling soldiers. Camera phones were everywhere. The rain kept me from getting a clear shot from our speeding truck. Pictures take forever to load anyway, so maybe it is for the best.

Pictures- Round One

2006-09-19T18:37:00.000-06:00

Fabulous Thai Toilets! <--- This is a very modern toilet room in the

first house where I stayed.

<----This is an average public toilet at a gas station. You use the red bowl to pour water into the toilet to "flush". There are sinks outside for hand washing.

Our first English camp was at Ao Manao Beach. There were many mango and pine trees. The water was very warm, nad thre were only a few sea creatures. Mostly small (dime size) crabs.

No school today!

2006-09-19T17:59:00.000-06:00

Ok since all schools were ordered closed, my school is closed too. It seems as if I am plenty safe here at home for the day. Maybe I wil postpone my eagerly awaited shopping trip just to be safe. So far I have spent less than $4.00! I promise to check the news and take good care of myself. It doesn't sound like there is any violence aimed at anyone, especially farang (foreingers).

I am Safe!

2006-09-19T17:45:00.000-06:00

Hearing from a few people through e-mail is the first I have heard of problems in Thailand. Maybe because the news is in Thai. :) I am staying in a suburb of Ayuttayah, so very far from any type of military. I am close to a Honda factory though. Thanks for thinking of me, but sleep well knowing that I am fine.

In Other News
My daily schedule is pretty basic. I get up, shower eat (yogurt, bread & jam and banana) and dress for school. We drive about 20 minutes past some of the very poor parts and park in one of four spots at school. We try to arrive by 8am, and the first period is at 8:30. Each class is one hour long with no technical passing time. The students are supposed to bow and ask permission to enter the room. Some do and it is very cute.
Noi and I teach a lesson and play some games. We see all levels on a rotating schedule. My favorite group so far is the top level elementary maybe 11 years old. Hmm isn't that how old my terrible sixth graders were. Weird!
Luch is only so good. The food is meant to taste good to poor Thai children, I have choked it down though. After school, we run some errands and then Noi teaches for two more hours. I watch TV with her kids, read or play on my computer. I am making a movie of all of my pictures to show to the Thai kids.

My Thai Family
Noi really appreciates me being here. She doesn't recieve money from anyone for my presesnce, only the help I give in her classes. As promised, I recieve three decent meals a day and a roof over my head. I have the master bedroom with a balcony and a nice fan. We have a washing machine and a place to dry the clothes that is covered from the constant rain. So far it rains mostly at night which cools things down a little.

Time for work
It is 7am and I need to get ready to go to work! It is still Tuesday night for you all!

So what in the world am I doing here?

2006-09-18T08:14:00.000-06:00

Thailand is great! It is a strange mix of extremely modern/materialistic and third world, with shacks and very poor people. I have already seen a lot of the country, as we drove to Ao Manao Beach. It was a long drive, but the sights and company made it go fast. I saw an elephant on the street, and monkeys on the top of a truck. I learned that the monkeys are used to climb trees and pick fruit for their owners.
English camp was fun, and easier than I expected. We sang a lot of songs: YMCA, The Macarena and some that I have never done before. The students were 14-16 and spoke only a little english. They were great fun and very friendly. They dance to techno better than most Americans. (Andy will be thrilled that they dance alone) I was surprised at how they hung on eachother, even in the heat. Boys even sat on eachother's laps! That was a culture shock. Camp was by the beach and outdoors. Thankfully we had a bunch of mango trees to provide some shade. I also did some games on the beach. The sea is beautiful, I was sad to leave it.
Today was my first day at the school. The students are more relaxed than I had anticipated, yet very polite and calm compared to US children. Noi and I will see six different english classes each day. We eat luch from the canteen and bring it to the classroom. Today the food was great. I may get sick of rice in a month or two... The things Noi has added to her room make it fairly modern. Some parts of the school, particularly the toliets are not modern at all. Gross! I really had fun with a few older girls who are trying to teach me some Thai words. I am trying hard.
Noi's house is not as modern as the first place I stayed, but it very nice. I am using her internet to do this. The "children" are almost my age, but communication is hard. Each evening Noi teaches from her home, so no computer for me until 8pm. It is too distracting to the little ones. I feel as if I am saying so little about everything, but I can't type all night. Much, much more including pictures to come, so keep looking.

Maybe I am a California Girl

2006-09-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

Before departing for beautiful Thailand, I took a pit stop in Phoenix and California. I had a lot of fun, and I still have the bruise the surfboard gave me to prove how tough I am. I was able to see "Miss Pengra" and aslo to meet Jason's friends and hang with him for a bit.

Thailand

(pictures take forever to upload! you will have to wait in suspense for a day or two)

Blog entries

#1
Lesson number one: buy a phone card! I have been in Thailand for 9 hours, and my family has no idea that I am alive and well. It is mostly due to my lack of phone card. Now it is also due to the fact that there is no landline in the house I am at. Only a cell phone that has a Thai display and isn’t mine. My cell phone works on roam, but it doesn’t call the US. Bummer. So my first blog entry is a HUGE apology to those who waited anxiously. I arrived safely and am typing this from Ayuttayah.

#2
Lesson number two: Meeting Point may be a literal place in the airport, but it does not mean it is the only place people will come to look for you. No one at the meeting point was looking for me and I was getting nervous. Not scared enough to cry, but certifiably nervous. It was around that point that I saw the security guys go by with large guns. Not what I was hoping for. I eventually heard my name over the intercom and found my ride.

The basics

2006-09-02T10:14:00.000-06:00

I have a mailing address!
Just e-mail me if you are interested.

My daily schedule will be teaching at Lamphraya School, a primary school which the kids mostly come from lower to middle class families. There are three language camps while I am in Thailand. Two right away and one in December.

I was told, "We have pencils, paper, and other materials at the school for you. Don't bother to take them with you." So my load will be lighter than I thought.

I will be staying with a teacher who is teaching at Wat Lamphraya School. She has two children a boy and a girl. I didn't get their ages. When I asked about a mosquito net, the answer was , "You do not have to bring the mosquito net with you. Thailand is not that primitive!"

Getting Shot

2006-08-31T11:49:00.001-06:00

Today was my last day of shots, so I expect to be sleepy in an hour or two. The folks at the clinic have taken decent care of me. I just hate waiting around one hour for two minutes with a nurse. (it becomes an hour becasue I have to wait 30 min after the shot to be sure I don't die) I guess it is a small price to pay to keep me safe in Thailand. My arm did swell a bit though. Yuck!