New Chapter

I'm retiring my heading. It seems outdated:

THAILAND ADVENTURES

After a year in the Land Of Smiles, it's time for a new look on the blog. I'm still enjoying and adjusting to the tropical weather, yummy curries, and heart-warming people. Follow along as I try to understand this wacky culture where they sweep the trees (because they're dirty??), but wouldn't dare touch the year old massive cobwebs on the ceilings.

Rocket Festival

After Tara's house we spent a night in Roi Et at Michaels house. So cool to see so many people's towns and new cities in the NE part of Thailand.

After Michaels we all went to Yasothon to Natalie's house for the ROCKET FESTIVAL.
A festival at the end of the hot season trying to get the rain god to send down some rain.

I think there were about 15 of us at Natalies for the festival.

Saturday was a huge parade down the main street of town. The street was lined with stages. Each group that made a rocket had a stage blaring music. As some of the only farang in town we were invited up to lots of stages and got to do lots of stage dancing.

Day two was the blasting of the rockets. Thousands of people got together in a park to watch the rockets go off every couple minutes. If your rocket was a dud your group was thrown into the mud pit. There were a lot of muddy people walking around. We muddied our face with tribal war lines.

There was lots of down time where we sat around at Natalies and played games or watched movies and tried to stay cool. And lots of som tam eating.

It was quite a bitch to get home- 13 hours door to door and some long bus rides. The kind where they put little plastic seats in the aisles to fit more people in. The kind that seem to stop every 20 minutes to pick up more people. Tara was with me on my first leg, and thankfully we were so exhausted we could sleep for most of it. I made my connection no problem and when I got off the bus Munglee came running to me. It was a nice home coming.

PICTURES:
top: an elephant came by one night and we were feeding the guy

middle: a policeman handing out wooden penises, the other symbol of the rocket festival and apparently the entire province. That's Merissa

bottom: our war painted faces at the festival. Me, Tara, Emily, Natalie, Bryn.

Tara's house

After Carolyns I met Tara in the booming city of Korat where we had air con and TV! And went to the mall!



Then I went to Tara's site and got to see how she lives. We had dinner at her 'family's' house after picking up goodies at the market.


Next day we went to the Khmer ruins near her house. Tara lives on the Cambodia border.

We were supposed to go see Karabao, a very popular Thai singing group. But the dates got mixed up. I had gotten a Karabao Kareoke VCD and we practiced so we'd be able to sing along... Next time I guess. At least I have a Thai song under my belt for when I find myself in front of a kareoke machine with a microphone pushed in my face.

Carolyn's house

Went on a little trip to see lots of friends and spend some time at their sites. Carolyn lives in a pretty rural place. She has the cutest little place with her dog Lucky. We popped a karaoke VCD into her computer and belted out some tunes the evening I arrived. The dogs in her neighborhood howled along. Oh, and treat of all treats, Carolyn has a toaster oven and made me a baked potato and sweet potato chips.

In the morning we went on a great bike ride out to a resevoir. There was a few hills which I am so not used to. Riding down one I picked up some speed and I smiled as the wind passed me it made me think of skiing. Pathetic. Get this girl to some snow.

[actually Jeeda, Wendy, and I are going to 'Dream World' near Bangkok this sunday and they have a room with snow apparently!!!]

We passed lots of rice fields, and even though I have about 200 pictures of rice fields I needed to take more. I LOVE them so much. Today on my run I took the turn at the end of the road, passed all the houses, and BEHOLD fresh green rice fields for miles into the distance. It made me gasp. The sight is so pure, beautiful, graceful, innocent, peaceful, and open.

After the ride at Carolyn's we got some som tam (papaya salad) and went for a walk out behind Carolyns house with Lucky and a few other neighborhood dogs who are apparently a bad influence on Lucky because sometimes they run around and kill neighborhood chickens. We sat in a small wooden platform on the edge of the fields and had our salad and mango.

More Pictures from April

Dan, the stud that he is, on our kayaking adventure, with the sun setting on the Gulf of Thailand.
Song Kran. Me getting water from the moat in Chiang Mai to throw on people. Can you tell how many people are there? See the people swimming in the moat? Later in the day I got hip-checked in by someone I don't know and went swimming too. The next day Tara, Carolyn, Kate, and i swam across it bc it was really the quickest way to get across. Thankfully all the crocodiles are removed.
Me, Jon, Dan, and Noah one night on Ko Chang on the beach.
Tara, Jordan, Chiquita and Kate joining in on a parade at Song Kran. We're showing off our traditional Thai Dance skills.

Just outside our hotel on the beach at Ko Chang.

Jing Jing

I GOT A KITTY!!! Did I mention?? One day in March Wendy came home and said "Guess what we got?" and produced the cutest little bugger. She said it was for us to share untill I leave, but after she saw me ooh and ahh she said, "Wanna get another? One for you and one for here. And they'll be friends and keep each other company." Of course I said yes. So we got another little button too!!!
Unfortunatly kitty #2 disapeared when I was last away. I'll keep you posted if she comes, back but for now we'll just talk about this little one you see in the picture.

This was a self portrait of us her first night here.

I got to name her and I knew I could do a better job than I did at 10 naming "Kitty." I decided on "Jing Jing" or จรีง ๆ. I LOVE to say this in Thai. It basically means '!!!!!!!!' It's a great emphasis to anything you say, and it just rolls off the tongue. And if you say 'Jing Jing Lawh' it turns into an emphatic question mark.

It's so fun to call her to eat or ask where she is, or why is crying, etc. Because everything is said with such passion. When we casually ask each other where the kitty is we say 'Jing Jing by ny' which actually means 'Tell me, tell me, really, really, where are you??'

Today I went with Munglee and Jeeda to help her sign up Munglee for a new school and to get Munglee excited about it all. Jing Jing went too, on her first excursion, and it was fun to see everyone's confusion as we refered to the kitty, when they just heard '!!!!!!!'

HOME

This week has been FABULOUS. I'm back in Uthai and it's still summer break so I've been chillin. I've had 3 reports to write, but i've done a good job avoiding them. I went on a great long run Wednesday and other than that all I have to report is good cookin and good times at Jeeda and Wendy's. Pretty much whenever I'm not sleeping or attempting computer work I'm next door with them. Yesterday I went to the market in the morning and bought a bunch of mangoes and veggies then I came home (their house) and we all chilled in the kitchen while I made corn and cucumber salsa then mango and cuke salsa. Also made a HUGE american salad for them. It's their favorite thing I make. This week I also made deviled eggs for the first time. mmmm.

Last night we were up late deep in discussion about thai men and relationships in Thailand. We decided that while it's still socially acceptable for married Thai men to have girlfriends on the side, or even more than one wife it will so be unnacceptable because Thai women dislike it so much.

My theory is that bc Thai woman are so 'geng' (rockin'/capable) on their own some times the society will switch away from expecting them to get married, and valueing their worth based only on if they're married. And men will need to be a little more attentive to them if they want to get married or stay in a couple. Right now men seem to have all the power in relationships bc it looks so poorly for a woman to be single.

Adidas club

This is a picture from our confrence last week. It's Me, Tara, Carolyn, Jordan, Kate, Brooke, and Lindsey. We're at our program training officers house in Bangkok with our entire PC group for a yummy mexican dinner. The night before Brooke decided she wanted all our 'girls' to have matching shirts so as we walked down Khao San Rd in Bkk we looked around and found Adidas (knock-offs) in many sizes and colors.

So these are some of the kids I talk with on a regular basis. And the ones I'm usually with when I take trips.

Jordan is the closest PCV to me. She lives 30 kms from me and is the only other PCV in my province. We pretty much only see each other at confrences or trips bc she spends a lot of time with her boyfriend. They're the first couple (with another probable) from our group to get engaged.

Lindsey lives the farthest from me. Way up in the north-east corner of the north-east of Thailand. When we all got our site assignments there was a big map with pins and her pin was in Laos! Lindseys a fun one. Never a dull moment when she's around. As with all my girls, i love hanging out with Linds. If only she weren't always broke and unable to join.

Brooke loves the color pink! And she supports my green habit. She bought be an adorable hair elastic with a sequined flower . So Thai! I had had a yellow one that Lindsey thought was so gaudy and would always tease me about- so the green one was a nice jesture. Brooke lent me the entire Desperate housewives series!! Currently she's back in the states to see family, friends and to shop. Brooke has a shopping problem.

Carolyn can drop some Baht at the bangkok malls too. Carolyn is a Texas girl and she tells it like it is. When we were in Chiang Mai for Song gran she made up a drinking game to a chick flick on TV. Every time I made an 'ahh' or 'ooh' bc I thought something sappy was cute everyone had to drink. Can I help it if I think romance is sweet? Carolyn lives in really rural thailand with her dog Lucky. Tomorrow I'm going to go see her house and meet her friends!!!

Kate is a Jersey girl. And I just found out that she really likes to sing along to music when she's driving. Kate also has a dog that she likes to say is a dalmation, but it's really a thai mutt. Kate was by my side my birthday/marathon weekend in bkk. She ran her first half marathon that day! Don't let us loose in a supermarket together. We decided it was a good idea to buy brownie mix even though we didn't have a stove because we wanted to eat it raw. Thankfully it's still sitting on my shelf.

Tara, like Jordan, grew up overseas. This girl has been everywhere, and has the charisma and the know-with-all that comes along with picking up and moving every few years. She is passionate about many issues and articulate when discussing them or advicating for them. And she's a great partner on the dance floor. Tara exudes kindness and always knows the right thing to say. When in a situation of doubt I think 'What would Tara do?' (WWTD)

I could go on and on about them all. And there are many more fabulous PCVs I am close with who aren't in the picture. But this is what you get for now.

Swanky hotel

April 22-

After D&J got in the cab for the airport I hopped in a cab to Khao San Rd to see lots of PC friends who were in town for a confrence we all had. So great to hit the clubs in a big group of friends. Singing and dancing together. Then we went to an afterhouse bar which was the coolest thing ever. It looked like a closed business when our friend took us there, but you knock on the metal sliding baracade and they open for you. It only could have been cooler if we need a secret password.

That night Jeeda and Wendy drove down to Bkk with Munglee and met me at the swanky bangkok hotel because we still had it for one more night!!! The next day we hit the pool. After I made a bubble-bath for munglee. His 1st ever and he didn't want to get out which says a lot who screams and crys everynight at bath time at home.

Then we donned the plush white hotel bathrobes and went to the pool. Amazingly they wore bathing suits too. Normally at swimming establishments Thais are fully clothed. It's not unusual to see people swimming in jeans. They don't want to get sun and they Jeeda can swim which is pretty unique for Thais. And by the end I had taught Wendy to swim too! Munglee is excited to learn.

We lounged in the chairs and checked out the view of the River. The whole time we were joking that we were "Hi-So" the Thai transliteration of High Society. Before they came I was a little worried that they wouldn't enjoy the lavishness and would be weirded out by being pampered by other Thais, but they LOVED it. Munglee, being the cute 4 year old he is, announced he wants to move to "Rachel's house."

Saying goodbye

April 20-

David, Jen, and I headed back to Bkk, this time staying at one of the swankiest hotels, the Shangra-la. It was so nice Jen and David didn't even want to leave to sight see in bkk. We spent lots of time just chillin by the pool.

Then I had to say bye to them.... All in all it was a fabulous trip. No one wanted to kill anyone after spending 3 weeks side-by-side. I was so happy to be able to show a little bit of my life to David and Jen, and we all got to enjoy the sights of Thailand together. And we even went to couple new spots that I'd never been to. Of course I loved the lavish conditions we were living in. David and Jen really "took-care" as the Thais say. Having D&J here was a nice point of reference to how much I've changed since I've arrived in Thailand. For one, I can navigate this country, knowing both the language and culture. And while explaining certain cultural sensitive things D&J needed to do it was amazing how much the culture is different. Many things I couldn't even articulate about.

It was also interesting to see how much I think my attitudes has shifted. I feel I have adopted the Thai values in some ways. I certainly value being 'right' and not misunderstood a lot less than I did. And I value having fun, getting along, and enjoying the company of those around me alot more.

I know a lot has changed bc this is the way the Thai and American people in Thailand I interact with act, but I hope I can keep this up even when I'm back in the states. It was hard not to argue back when David would start disagreeing just for Devil's advicates sake.

Uthai tour

April 16-20

Finally back in Uthai Thani, with David and Jen in tow. I want to show them the sabai (chill) life that i lead here. I took them to the market, to the temple, to my school, to lots of yummy little restaurants, for a massage. They met my co-teacher, my principal, my tutor, the mayor, and lots of other friends around town. Of course they spent lots of time with Jeeda, Wendy, and Munglee.

The highlight was one night we went to the market and got lots of food. There are bunches of stalls with premade dishes and you can take a little bag of food home for 5o cents. And i got lots of veggies, then we came home and had a little feast to celebrate Wendy's birthday which had just passed. I made Wendy a big salad. And we even gave her a little cake. Then the 6 of us piled in the pick-up truck and off to Kareoke!!!

Two hours of singing songs at the top of our voices in a room all to ourselves. My new favorite kareoke song is "Wing Beneath My Wings." I love belting out "And Iiiiiiiii will always love yoooouuuuuu."

Another cool thing was David got a shave. The old fasion, head back in a barber chair, single-blade shave. They also managed to shave half his back in the process!

Hill Tribe Visit

April 12-13

After Ko Chang we had a couple days in Bangkok where we went to the big BIG weekend market as well as see a 'Ladyboy' show in the infamous Patpong district.

We then spent a really hot day looking at temple ruins in the old capital of Sukothai.

Then to Chiang Mai where we went directly up north to a rural village. A PC friend of mine was ordaned as a monk on March 18th and spending the month in a cave (at a temple) there Meditating. It was great to see Mike all dressed in robes and I think he REALLY enjoyed the opportunity to talk with people. It was a little weird that I couldn't hug Mike and had to sit at his feet when we were talking, but mike wasn't strick about it all. We even forgot at one point and I almost handed him a camera, but remembered at the last minute and I placed it down for him to pick up.

After visiting Mike we went to visit a hill tribe. I was really excited to go to a remote place so we got taken to one where we had to drive out of town for about 30 mins then hike into the woods for over an hour. It was a small little village on the side of the river where about 30 Karen households live. We had a guide who spoke Thai as a second language with a really think accent, so communication was tough at best. It was a nice hike through the woods, and when we arrived we watched some little boys playing barefoot soccer in dirt field in front of their little school house. David even jumped in and joined for a little bit. They loved it! Then a yummy home made dinner, and to bed in sleeping bags. The next day we had a long hike out with more beautiful scenery. The high temps made the hike especially hard. The highlight of the trip, for me, was watching our guide make lunch. He cut down a few bamboo trees to use as a wok holder and to make our bowls and chopsticks with. It was amazing to see him just whip up a fireplace.



River crossing on our hike out of the hill tribe.

Mike as a monk.

Our guide making lunch in the forest.





the three of us in the hill tribe.

Thai New Years

April 13-14-15

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! Thai New Years marks the best holiday ever!!! It is a country-wide, three day water fight! Anything and everyone is fair game. If you want to stay dry you better plan and be a fast runner. Actually, you're not going to stay dry. The holiday is probably just a ploy by the telephone manufacturers to make money, as 1000s of phone are probably rouined every year over these 3 days. Jen brought some waterproof cameras from the states, so we were able to take pictures!!

After the hilltribe visit Jen, David, and I made it to the city of Chiang Mai where we met up with 10 or so of my PC friends. David and Jen got a view of the crazyness that usually ensues when we're all together.

The Thais now celebrate New Years on Jan 1st and change their calander year then too (it's the year 2549 in Thailand), but Song Kran (thai new years) will never go away. April is the HOTTEST month of the year where temps make it up over 110 most days. Who would pass up a 3 day water fight??

The trip to Chiang Mai wasn't full of sight seeing, we were either in the guesthouse or out "playing with water" usually just within a few blocks of the guesthouse. Chiang Mai is know as the best place to go for Song Gran so that's where we went! My PC friends and I have been planning this trip since last New Years.

So in the morning we'd walk to a shop and get Khow Soy, a fabulous noodle soup dish only found in the Chiang Mai area, then we'd go back to the A/C and watch movied for a while. All the girls piled into one room. By early afternoon someone would go on a beer run and shortly thereafter we'd make it out to the streets with water guns and buckets (one for the beer, one for throwing water) in hand. We'd find a spot by the moat or on the side of the street and throw water on the people walking by or in the back of trucks, passing by.

As always happens with I get with my PC friends I donned my Chiquita Banana outfit. And there was stage dancing to be had.

Ko Chang (elephant island)

April 7, 2006

The end of a FABULOUS week on a Thailand island. I will never get over how cheap and easy it is for me to get to paradise. DAVID and JEN arrived on Sunday night and by monday evening we were all settled into a really nice place on Ko Chang. The week was full of doing NOTHING. David got up early a few days with me and we went for some runs. So nice to have a running partner. Then days were spent moving from the chair in front of our bungalow, to the lounge chair on the beach, to dips in the blue blue ocean. Jen brought lots of great magazines so I was able to catch up on Oprah and People.


Some of my PC friends were on the island too so we all got to hang out lots. One day we went on a great kayaking/scuba adventure to a small island off the coast. And at night when the jet-lag really hit David and Jen I had people to hit the bars with!


Here's David and I on the ferry with Ko Chang in the background.
Here's Noah on our Kayaking adventure.














And Noah trying to throw me in the ocean (he didn't succeed).