I changed host families a couple of weeks ago and at the time I was incredibly nervous. I had heard mixed reviews about this particular family and didn't really know what to expect.
Luckily for me, the rumors proved false.
The Wanapoteemos are very sweet and we seem to be able to live together without problems. It's still a little awkward but hopefully that will dissipate with time.
There are 3 people in our 3rd floor apt...
Kim, or Koon Maa ( Maa = Mom Say this as nasally as possible and you will be pronouncing it right...sort of like a sheep). She is quiet, nice, a little vague at times, has a major under bite and barely scrapes 5' but I like her.
Sante or Koon Paw, is very warm, likes jogging, 4' 11'', and works 7 days a week at the Electronic Store that he owns.
Then there is Grace my sister, she's 18, lived in Arkansas last year, and is absolutely adorable. I really like her; she doesn't talk much but she doesn't make me feel awkward either. And because she's lived in the states she can relate to all the... bizarre situations I find myself in.
I get my own room, it's super tiny, but I really like it because it has real windows, something my last room lacked. And after my studio in R'ville, I prefer tiny rooms. So far they have been really nice to me, I had only been living with them for a week and they already signed me up for THAI MASSAGE CLASSES(!!!) which is very exciting because it means that I will have some sort of real talent (besides a knowledge of basic Thai) from living here. All I can say is once I get back home I will have to practice a lot so I won't forget. I also mentioned to them that I wanted to learn Muay Thai (thai boxing) or tai kwan do, (any defense sport really) and now have been taking it for a week. Its difficult and I reek to high heaven by the end of the day but it's worth it.
So all in all my new family is pretty fantastic.
This entry isn't too long. I'll write again soon.^^ Love you all!!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2552
Happy New Year Everybody!!
Welcome to 2009! Or in Thailand's case, 2552! That's right, we're waaay ahead of ya'll. ^^
Maybe you weren't wondering how they celebrate New Years here, but I'm going to tell you anyway.
As some of you know I am moving families in a week, (this is relevant I promise) and I wanted to do something for the Utchins as a sort of 'thank-you-for-being-an-amazing-host-family' present.
I wanted to do something that they would actually enjoy and somehow incorporate my falang-ness. (falang = foreigner)... so whats the obvious answer?
FOOD!!!
Maybe it's just my having been raised by a professionally trained chef, but this seemed like a good option. The Utchins love to eat. But it's not just them, food is one of the most important parts of Thai culture. Not only is it delicious fuel and a social activity, but it also provides most of the conversation material.
In Thailand you do not ask a person how they are doing. You ask them if they have eaten and then the conversation grows from there. For example:
Me: Sawat dee Kah Ahjahn [hello teacher]
A Teacher: Sawatdee Kah, gin kao leeung? [Hello, have you eaten yet?]
Me: Lao, kah. [Already *enter polite particle here*]
Teacher: Gin alai? [what did you eat?]
Me: Gin kao neo sai guy tord te mah muang hai kanom wahn. [I ate sticky rice with fried chicken and mango for dessert.]
Teacher: Gin kao chow mai? [Did you eat breakfast?]
Me: Gin Ka. [Ate. {yes}]
Teacher: Gin alai? [What did you eat?]
....and so on and so forth.
The trick of course was deciding what on earth to make for everyone. After some investigation I found out that my host siblings miss pasta and cheese (they were on exchanges in the states a few years back). After much hemming and hawing, I decided on guacamole with chips for starters, Linguine with a Creamy Pesto Sauce as the main dish with a garden Salad for a side, and Chocolate/fruit fondue for dessert.
Now, I have a confession to make. Despite my culinary genetics not only have I never cooked a full three course meal by myself for any number of people, but I also have very little talent in the kitchen. However, I have been sue-chef to countless dinner parties hosted by my wonderful mother so naturally I visualized my party to be somewhat like hers. In my head there were candles, a long table with enough room for everyone, a table cloth, real ceramic plates, and Buena Vista Social Club in the background; everyone would be laughing, talking in english/thai, munching on falang food, and praising the ambrosial taste of cheese.
Ha.
Reality set in when I realized I had to make pesto for 10 people by hand which meant chopping 5 cups of basil on a cutting board the size of an iPhone.
Help came in the form of my older brother Nont. (he likes to cook) He helped put the green salad together. We even had a cute clash of cultures moment when I had to teach him how to cut up a bell pepper. Shoshanna, my best friend, also came to my aid mentally and physically. She helped me peel garlic and keep the body count to zero (I stress easily).
Thankfully, a random Rotarian waltzed into the kitchen with a blender. If it wasn't taboo, I would've kissed him.
By some miracle I got dinner on the table and while it was not even close to my fantasy, (we couldn't fine enough chairs for everyone) it was still really fun.
One of the highlights of the evening was realizing that every single dish i had created was a vibrant green. While my food may resemble bog froth at least it tastes good.
The fondue went off without a hitch, except that everything I had to dip in the chocolate was bright yellow... go figure.
After the feast, Sho and I went out to meet some other YE friends at the walking street outside of my house. We hung around for a bit, played with fire, and watched the general hubbub around us. The food/walking street had been set up outside of my house for about 2 weeks. Anything you can fry (and some things you shouldn't) was for sale... from worms to ice cream.
But clothes, shoes, hair clips, birdcages, brooms, puppies, and pirated movies were also available.
The countdown was approaching fast and we ran back to my house to watch the firework display on the roof terrace. A bunch of Pee Pangs friends had come over for the countdown and we really had the best seats in the house.
The show lasted for a good half hour and it was the best fireworks show I have ever seen. Normally, fireworks are cool, yes, but nothing that is really special. Except for that one time in Disney land, most shows are pretty much the same.
I'm not quite sure whether it was the Thai people talent with fire, or perhaps the garlic fumes had gone to my head but it was beautiful.
Sho had to go home to her host parents but Pee Pang & Co. stayed on the roof. I brought out some cards and we had an epic 2 am game of Bullshit (its a card game, if you don't know it I'll teach you one day). Around 4 or so we grabbed all the unoccupied blankets in the house, made a nest, and slept under the swirling ashes.
3 hours later...
We all stumbled down the three flights of stairs to feed a hoard of monks. This is Thai tradition to start the new year off with good luck. It was an unorganized affair at best, we hundreds of Thais holding huge platters of juice boxes and bowls of dried rice. I had to be careful not to touch one though as women are not allowed to do that. (I'll save my feminist rant for later) After about 20 minutes the monks and people dispersed and we were allowed to spend our first day in 2552 as we pleased.
p.s. I shall post videos of the event when I figure out how to do such a thing.
Welcome to 2009! Or in Thailand's case, 2552! That's right, we're waaay ahead of ya'll. ^^
Maybe you weren't wondering how they celebrate New Years here, but I'm going to tell you anyway.
As some of you know I am moving families in a week, (this is relevant I promise) and I wanted to do something for the Utchins as a sort of 'thank-you-for-being-an-amazing-host-family' present.
I wanted to do something that they would actually enjoy and somehow incorporate my falang-ness. (falang = foreigner)... so whats the obvious answer?
FOOD!!!
Maybe it's just my having been raised by a professionally trained chef, but this seemed like a good option. The Utchins love to eat. But it's not just them, food is one of the most important parts of Thai culture. Not only is it delicious fuel and a social activity, but it also provides most of the conversation material.
In Thailand you do not ask a person how they are doing. You ask them if they have eaten and then the conversation grows from there. For example:
Me: Sawat dee Kah Ahjahn [hello teacher]
A Teacher: Sawatdee Kah, gin kao leeung? [Hello, have you eaten yet?]
Me: Lao, kah. [Already *enter polite particle here*]
Teacher: Gin alai? [what did you eat?]
Me: Gin kao neo sai guy tord te mah muang hai kanom wahn. [I ate sticky rice with fried chicken and mango for dessert.]
Teacher: Gin kao chow mai? [Did you eat breakfast?]
Me: Gin Ka. [Ate. {yes}]
Teacher: Gin alai? [What did you eat?]
....and so on and so forth.
The trick of course was deciding what on earth to make for everyone. After some investigation I found out that my host siblings miss pasta and cheese (they were on exchanges in the states a few years back). After much hemming and hawing, I decided on guacamole with chips for starters, Linguine with a Creamy Pesto Sauce as the main dish with a garden Salad for a side, and Chocolate/fruit fondue for dessert.
Now, I have a confession to make. Despite my culinary genetics not only have I never cooked a full three course meal by myself for any number of people, but I also have very little talent in the kitchen. However, I have been sue-chef to countless dinner parties hosted by my wonderful mother so naturally I visualized my party to be somewhat like hers. In my head there were candles, a long table with enough room for everyone, a table cloth, real ceramic plates, and Buena Vista Social Club in the background; everyone would be laughing, talking in english/thai, munching on falang food, and praising the ambrosial taste of cheese.
Ha.
Reality set in when I realized I had to make pesto for 10 people by hand which meant chopping 5 cups of basil on a cutting board the size of an iPhone.
Help came in the form of my older brother Nont. (he likes to cook) He helped put the green salad together. We even had a cute clash of cultures moment when I had to teach him how to cut up a bell pepper. Shoshanna, my best friend, also came to my aid mentally and physically. She helped me peel garlic and keep the body count to zero (I stress easily).
Thankfully, a random Rotarian waltzed into the kitchen with a blender. If it wasn't taboo, I would've kissed him.
By some miracle I got dinner on the table and while it was not even close to my fantasy, (we couldn't fine enough chairs for everyone) it was still really fun.
One of the highlights of the evening was realizing that every single dish i had created was a vibrant green. While my food may resemble bog froth at least it tastes good.
The fondue went off without a hitch, except that everything I had to dip in the chocolate was bright yellow... go figure.
After the feast, Sho and I went out to meet some other YE friends at the walking street outside of my house. We hung around for a bit, played with fire, and watched the general hubbub around us. The food/walking street had been set up outside of my house for about 2 weeks. Anything you can fry (and some things you shouldn't) was for sale... from worms to ice cream.
But clothes, shoes, hair clips, birdcages, brooms, puppies, and pirated movies were also available.
The countdown was approaching fast and we ran back to my house to watch the firework display on the roof terrace. A bunch of Pee Pangs friends had come over for the countdown and we really had the best seats in the house.
The show lasted for a good half hour and it was the best fireworks show I have ever seen. Normally, fireworks are cool, yes, but nothing that is really special. Except for that one time in Disney land, most shows are pretty much the same.
I'm not quite sure whether it was the Thai people talent with fire, or perhaps the garlic fumes had gone to my head but it was beautiful.
Sho had to go home to her host parents but Pee Pang & Co. stayed on the roof. I brought out some cards and we had an epic 2 am game of Bullshit (its a card game, if you don't know it I'll teach you one day). Around 4 or so we grabbed all the unoccupied blankets in the house, made a nest, and slept under the swirling ashes.
3 hours later...
We all stumbled down the three flights of stairs to feed a hoard of monks. This is Thai tradition to start the new year off with good luck. It was an unorganized affair at best, we hundreds of Thais holding huge platters of juice boxes and bowls of dried rice. I had to be careful not to touch one though as women are not allowed to do that. (I'll save my feminist rant for later) After about 20 minutes the monks and people dispersed and we were allowed to spend our first day in 2552 as we pleased.
p.s. I shall post videos of the event when I figure out how to do such a thing.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Holiday Tidings, Thoughts, and Apologies.
Sweet Zombie Jesus I haven't written in a long time!!!!
I have to be honest I had almost given up on this whole blog thing, but thanks to the loud and constant protests of my family and friends I realized that was a bad idea. I said I would do it, and I will.
Well first off...
I can't believe that it almost been 5 months already! January 1st marks the halfway point of my exchange which brings about mixed feelings on this end. My return date is just creeping closer and closer and while I'm happy that I will be returning home sooner, I am also sad to think about leaving this crazy place.
I have to be honest, one of the reasons that I haven't updated this thing in such a long time is because I didn't know what to write about. I know, I know, I know that sounds silly, but when you live in a foreign counery for 5 months it doesn't seem so foreign anymore. And while Thailand and upstate New York have nothing but differences, (cultural differences make for excellent blog writing fodder), after living here fo almost half a year I've gotten used to all the "weird" things they do here. And I also didn't want to bore you guys. Nothing worse than a boring blog.... well except maybe bad seafood.
Alright, let's get started shall we?
First let me address a subject that resulted in my recieveing many a worried, nail-bitten e-mail...
POLITICAL TURMOIL... (dun dun duuuun)
As weird as this may be I actually am really glad that I was here to see all that go down. I mean, for the past 18 years or so, America hasn't really had any earth moving governmental changes. True there were scandals, shifting of power, and all that jazz, but controling the rioting masses with tear gas? Naw.
I'm used to living in a country with a stable government so it was really interesting to see what a bunch of people wearing yellow and flapping those plastic hand clappers around could get accomplished. It made me realize that if you put pressure in the right places a lot gets done.
Government was a concrete thing in my eyes, something that shifted slightly and slowly over time. After seeing the protests,riots, and general chaos here, now I realize that government is just as unstable and likely to change as everything else in the world. Maybe I'm just naive, but I think people in the States forget how much power a mass of people hold. The catch of course is you need guts to create change and those are hard to come by these days.
The other conclusion I drew from this whole experience is that is is impossible to get the true story on politics. Even though I was here to witness everythign (and some of it first hand too) I'm not clear on what happened to this country as nobody seems to have a straight answer. BBC is the best information source simply because it isn'tdirectly involved.
I live in a Pro Peoples Democratic Alliance (PAD) household and for a long while I only got one side of the story. Even now after doing some research and talking to people what they want remains unclear. Some people said that they wanted to take the corruption out of government, and that is why they insisted on the romoval of the last Prime Minister, but others say that the government was fine and that they are the welathy and corrupted ones. In case, y'all haven't heard they did manage to squeeze out the latest P.M. and put in their guy....but now the opposing People's Power Party is having a hissy.
Then there is the royal family of ocurse, who are practically deities. BUt I won't get into that. I will say that I am concerned for the King's helath. I believe he is one of the last things holding this country together.
But... enough with politics, what I really want to write about is 2008.
I just think it is strange that so many major events in my life and with the world in general managed to pile themselves into a 12 month period.
Let's make a list shall we?
-After nearly a decade, my mom and Ken decide to leave the quaint town of Rensselaerville for the greener pastures of Westerlo.
-After 12 years of toil I finally complete my basic education with an official piece of paper to prove it.
- Two Words: Presidential. Election.
- A small hippie school called Doane Stuart gets kicked out by the nuns that own it and is forced to move.
- Barack Obama.*
-and finally, the depressing stock market crash.... of the world basically.
*creepy sidenote: his slogan? Change. O_0
Ok so most things on the list are things that really only affect me and a handful of other people. But I realized a while ago that everything I have ever known back home will be different when I return from Thailand. My "home " will be different, I can't visit my high school as I remember it, and unfortunately even the people will be different. It's nothing personal of course, people move, most have been figuring out college, I've been living in Thailand; if things went back to the way they were before then we would have failed somehow in our different experiences.
This is the way it should be. I don't mind things changing, I'm grateful for it actually...what I find bizarre is the fact that my entire life changed in less than a year. Luckily the things that do matter haven't changed
Ok enough of that, let's zoom out. What else happened this year?
I wiki-ed 2008 just for the hell of it and as you can imagine the entry was hella long.
I edited it down and tried to keep the major events in, but hopefully there will be some things you didn't know about... : )
8 - (this one is for you Mike) An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker.
15 - Federal Court of Australia orders a Japanese whaling company to stop research whaling within their Exclusive Economic Zone.
21 - Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis.
February:
4 - Iran opens its first space center and launches a rocket to space.
12 - Bridgestone, under investigation for an alleged price-fixing cartel, uncovers improper payments of at least 150 million Japanese yen to foreign governments and withdraws from the marine hose business.
20 - United States Navy destroys a spy satellite containing toxic fuel by shooting it down with a missile launched from USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean. (wtf?)
March:
8 - The general election of Malaysia. It is historical as the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional won with a slight majority in the Parliament and with the wake of the active Opposition parties, never in the history of over 50 years in Malaysia that Barisan Nasional suffered such great losses on five states.
19 - An exploding star halfway across the visible universe becomes the farthest known object ever visible to the naked eye.
25 - A 414 square kilometer (160 mi.2) chunk of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf disintegrates, leaving the entire shelf at risk.
April:
8 - Sark dismantles its feudal system to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Privy Council approved the Sark law reforms, and the first elections under the new law will be held in December 2008 and the new chamber will first convene in January 2009.
22 - Surgeons at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital perform the first operations using bionic eyes, implanting them into two blind patients.
3 - Over 133,000 in Burma/Myanmar are killed by Cyclone Nargis, the deadliest natural disaster since the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004.
12 - Over 69,000 are killed in central south-west China by the Chengdu quake, an earthquake measuring 8.0 Mw. The epicenter is 90 kilometers (55 miles) west-northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu, Sichuan province.
23 - The International Court of Justice awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
25 - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first spacecraft to land on the northern polar-region of Mars.
14 – September 14 - Expo 2008 was held in Zaragoza in Spain, with the topic of "Water and sustainable development".
22 - Typhoon Fengshen hits the Philippines and capsizes the ferry MV Princess of the Stars, leaving hundreds dead or missing.
27 - After three decades as the Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates steps down from daily duties to concentrate on philanthropy.
21 - Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year long manhunt.
3 - A stampede at a Hindu temple at Naina Devi in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India kills 162 and injures 400.
4 - Two members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which had threatened to attack the Beijing Olympics, kill 16 and injure another 16 officers at a police station in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.
7 - The 2008 South Ossetia war begins as Georgia and Russia launch a major offensive inside the separatist region of South Ossetia after days of border skirmishes between the two sides.
8–24 - The 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China.
17 - Michael Phelps surpasses Mark Spitz in Olympic Gold Medals won at a single Olympics, with 8 gold medals.
17 - Michael Phelps surpasses Mark Spitz in Olympic Gold Medals won at a single Olympics, with 8 gold medals.
22 - Pirates hijack German, Iranian, and Japanese cargo ships off the coast of Somalia, seven of such attacks since June 20.
August 26 – September 1 - Hurricane Gustav makes landfall on Louisiana as Category 2 and kills 7 in the United States, after making landfall on western Cuba as Category 4, and killing 66 in Haiti, 8 in the Dominican Republic, and 11 in Jamaica.
August 28 – September 7 - Hurricane Hanna causes 7 deaths in the United States, and 529 in Haiti mostly due to floods and mudslides.
September:
September:
1–14 - Hurricane Ike makes landfall on Texas as Category 2 and kills 27 in the United States, after killing 4 in Cuba, 1 in the Dominican Republic, and 75 in Haiti.
2 - Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan resigns less than a year after taking office following Shinzo Abe's resignation.
2 - Political crisis in Thailand: Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of Thailand declares a state of emergency in Bangkok.
6 - At least eight boulders dislodge from a cliff near Cairo, Egypt, killing at least 18 and burying an estimated 500 people.
9 - Political crisis in Thailand: The Constitutional Court of Thailand orders Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to resign after receiving payment for appearing on a television cooking show.
10 - The proton beam is circulated for the first time in the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and the highest-energy particle accelerator, located at CERN, near Geneva, under the Franco-Swiss border.
3 - Global financial crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush signs the revised Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law, creating a 700 billion dollar Treasury fund to purchase failing bank assets.
21 - The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is officially inaugurated. It is a collaboration of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.
21 - The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is officially inaugurated. It is a collaboration of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.
4 - In the United States presidential election, Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States and Joe Biden is elected the 47th Vice President. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American President-elect.
24 - 2008 Santa Catarina floods in Santa Catarina, Brazil cause at least 99 deaths and force the evacuation of over 78,000 people.
25 - Political crisis in Thailand: Protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy party storm into Suvarnabhumi Airport and block flights from taking off. More protesters seize control of Don Mueang Airport the following day.
25 - Political crisis in Thailand: Protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy party storm into Suvarnabhumi Airport and block flights from taking off. More protesters seize control of Don Mueang Airport the following day.
November 27- November 29 - A series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India kills 164, and injures at least 250.
1 - A triangular conjunction formed by a new Moon, Venus and Jupiter is a prominent object in the evening sky.
2 - Political crisis in Thailand: After weeks of opposition-led protests, the Constitutional Court of Thailand dissolved the governing People's Power Party and two coalition member parties and banned leaders of the parties, including Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, from politics for five years. As such, Wongsawat promptly resigned and was replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul as caretaker Prime Minister.
Feel free to add your own additions to the list!! ^^
Happy 2552!!!!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Chiang Mai!
First off, let me apologize to you all for my despicable neglect to this blog o' mine. There is no decent excuse except that blog upkeep is tedious. But like I said, that's not a decent excuse.
The main entrance to the temple.
Pee Pang on the other hand fits quite nicely
This is one of the guard dogs I was talking about. My favorite detail is the monk calmly meditating... in his mouth.
We stopped at a second wat closer to Chaing Mai. This was less ornamented but had it's own unique beauty.
Unfortunately we didn't get to walk around much because we had arrived right at closing time, but I did manage to get a few pictures in.
This was our tour.
....and indeed it did.
Did I mention that Pa is scared of caves? yeah. he doesn't like bats.
There were plenty of dark caverns and elephant shaped stalagmites but there were a few places where we actually had to crawl on our hands and knees to get to the next chamber. Thank god I'm not claustrophobic.
Pee Pang crawling through the rabbit hole.
After the cave we went to the umbrella factory, which was really interesting. It is the largest handmade umbrella manufacturer in Thailand. They were beautiful but I was really interested in how they actually made the umbrellas.
Did I mention the scenery is absolutely gorgeous.
I will try to be more diligent about it in the future, and I have a lot of updating to do because,well, a lot has happened.
Oh and to clarify on the dates of these blogs. Several people have noticed that the dates posted are illogical. Haha no I am not just trying to mess with your heads, the dates on my posts are when I started writing them, not when I posted the finished product. Haha this just shows you how long they have been moldering in my drafts box.
Anyhoo, Chiang Mai..... : D
About a month ago, my parents asked me if I would be interested in going up to Chaing Mai for the weekend. It wasn't really a trip for pleasure, they had to go up and pick up my host-grandma, Yah, but they thought maybe I would be interested.
Would I?
Out of all the places in Thailand, (yes, even Bangkok) Chiang Mai was where I wanted to go the most. For several reasons, the main one being that this is where I first thought I was going to live. Consequently I did some research on the place and found it to be amazing. Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, is int he middle of a beautiful mountain range and has all sorts of interesting cultural variations due to it's proximity to the Myanmar border. This place has everything....elephant sanctuaries, beautiful waterfalls, over 300 temples, cooler temperatures, hidden mountain tribes, one of the best night bazaars around.. the list goes on for a while. The only problem was that it coincided with an open house my school was having. I felt guilty for about 30 seconds and then started packing.
Chiang Mai is a drive from P'lok (as I've lovingly started calling it) about 4 or 5 hours. But the trip isn't so bad because there are some lovely stops along the way...
Such as this beautiful temple.
I would tell the name but I forgot it as it is over 7 syllables long.. sorry guys.
Such as this beautiful temple.
I would tell the name but I forgot it as it is over 7 syllables long.. sorry guys.
But it's beautiful!! and one of my favorite and that's what matters.... right?
On either side of the snarling serpents are these huge guard dog like things that were very impressive.
There was also a ginormous reclining Buddha on the left side. None of these fir into the picture (excluding some of Buddha's toes)
Pee Pang on the other hand fits quite nicely
. : )
This is one of the guard dogs I was talking about. My favorite detail is the monk calmly meditating... in his mouth.And that was just the entrance! Here are some shots from the inside.
We stopped at a second wat closer to Chaing Mai. This was less ornamented but had it's own unique beauty.
Unfortunately we didn't get to walk around much because we had arrived right at closing time, but I did manage to get a few pictures in.
We stayed with my host-aunt and uncle who live right outside the city. They own a cement factory so there was a constant bustle going on right outside the windows. And even when the work day was finished (yes, cement factories run on weekends) the noise was replaced by their pack of wild dogs. Yes, you read correctly.... pack of wild dogs. There are homeless ones all over the place here and I'm used to seeing them, but my aunt and uncle adopted some. 15 of them to be exact. Excellent security system though.
That night we went to the Chaing Mai walking street, which is the most fantastic walking street imaginable. It's a little expensive but haggling is part of the fun. :)
I got some gifts for people and then we headed back to the house.
The next day Pa asked me what I would like to do. One of the first things that he mentioned was a cave. This, of course, instantly tickled my fancy. I love caves and have only been in one or two in my entire life. So off we went to the cave of Chaing Mai!! Well actually its right outside Chiang Mai..but that is just a detail.
OK, like I said I haven't been to that many caves. In fact I think the only "official" cave tour I have ever attended was Howe caverns. From what I collected from that experience is that when you go on a cave tour it is beautiful and scientific. Everything is lit up so you can see exactly how the limestone formations were formed, and hopefully there is a guide who is also scientifically informed.
Let's just say that cave tours in Thailand are more like... adventures.
This was our tour.
This was our guide.
This was our light.
Her commentary about the actual cave consisted of stopping at an oddly shaped rock and saying
"This one looks like a 3 headed elephant." "This one looks like a chicken"
....and indeed it did.
Did I mention that Pa is scared of caves? yeah. he doesn't like bats.
So it was just me and Pee Pang, and the lamp lady of course.
This isn't the most attractive picture in the world but it's the only one of me and Pee Pang together, so oh well.
There were plenty of dark caverns and elephant shaped stalagmites but there were a few places where we actually had to crawl on our hands and knees to get to the next chamber. Thank god I'm not claustrophobic.
Pee Pang crawling through the rabbit hole.
After the cave we went to the umbrella factory, which was really interesting. It is the largest handmade umbrella manufacturer in Thailand. They were beautiful but I was really interested in how they actually made the umbrellas.
Did I mention the scenery is absolutely gorgeous.
I love the mountains here.
But yes the voyage to pick up Grandma was a success, and now she is living with us.
So far my favorite Grandma moment was when I asked her if she wanted some crackers for a snack. I, of course had to yell it (she's rather deaf, poor thing) in botched Thai. She muttered something and after a few moment of mental translation this is what I got.
Me: Grandma, are you hungry? Do you want a snack?
Grandma: What?
Me: ARE YOU HUNGRY? DO YOU WANT A SNACK?
Grandma: Oh yes, but I left my teeth in the bathroom.
A quote for the ages.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
English Camp
For the first time in my life I was a teacher this past weekend at English Camp.
The funny thing is, this sort of happened by accident.
There is a Language School that is literally on my way home and one morning I was (literally) grabbed off the street by this (surprisingly strong) elderly woman and asked if I would be interesting in helping to teach.
The next thing I know, I have an invitation to a weekend at the Wanathra Resort in Wang Tong at an English Camp. Even though I didn't know what to expect, the Rotary tells us to say yes, so I did.
Shoshana, the (only) other exchange student from school, went as well. She is hilarious and we laugh quite a bit when we are together. She's German but is fluent in English with only a slight accent. In fact, between speaking slowly with kon Thai, (Thai people) and Sho(shana), I've developed some bizarre accent myself.
Anyway, we were going to be the assistants to three other teachers that taught at the language school: David, the cynical Australian with a laugh like a 4th grade girl; Chow, the cute, funny, Filipino; and Li, also Filipino with the demeanor and patience of a kindergarten teacher.
So the 5 of us (plus Ajahn Lumpoon, the big cheese) piled into the van headed towards Wang Tong.
As I said before, I wasn't certain how this would play out. I didn't know if the students had been studying for years, if it was going to be very formal, etc.
My worst fear was having a grammatical error pointed out by one of them. As you have probably noticed, my grammar (or spelling!) isn't that fantastic and I'm always concerned about making a stupid mistake in situations like this because I'm a native speaker. And native speakers don't make mistakes.
There were about 40 or so students at the camp. They had come from all over the country and all were enrolled in the Public Health programs in their universities. All were at least 3 years older than me, which I didn't mind, so are some of my friends at home. The weird part was the way they treated me. I was an Ajahn (teacher) now. This meant calling me Ajahn Nikki, bending their heads down every time they passed me, wai-ing me every time they saw me (outside of the classroom.
This is even more remarkable because the first night was a disaster. We had plans for Saturday and Sunday, but Friday night was open to...interpretation.
We ended up asking everyone their names and playing a little game with that. Then they asked us where we were from and random questions (one boy had the guts to ask: "What's your ideal boyfriend?") But this is where all dignity and grace left the building, to be replaced by shameless silliness.
We did the shake your booty game (with college students!!) and taught them a song that started with "All the bananas in the world unite!!".....
We were kind of short of ideas after a while though. I mean you can only shake your booty so many times before it gets old. (Hard to believe isn't it?)
Somehow we managed to entertain them for another 1/2 hour and then it was time for some rice soup and then bed.
It took Sho and I a while to figure out our rooming situation. We were rooming with Li in a room made for two. No biggie, they just rolled in a bed on wheels and voila! problem solved. Well, until we sat on it. After that it had a name (WARNING: Profanity Ahead!!) ... the shitty bed.
We decided to take a look around, after all we were staying at a resort.We ended up taking a very scary walk in the dark (and the rain)on some abandoned path.
This took us to where all the students were staying. We did what we always do; we spoke in broken Thai, they spoke in broken English.
Saturday went smoother. Mainly because we actually had a plan. We made them write news stories, played word games, tongue twisters and other interesting English stuff.
Mixed with just a bit of banana dancing.
It was interesting playing the teacher role, but it was a lot of fun. Especially when they had to write their own news program.
You see, in Thai articles, plurals, verb conjugations, and all the other little grammatical tidbits don't exist. This combined with the fact that a subject is not always necessary made some interesting English sentences.
Saturday night Sho and I went over to visit the kids again, though we didn't talk as much. Instead we translated..or dubbed over... a Thai soap opera... its amazing how much plot you can understand without the script.
That night we also watched Moulin Rouge... in Thai of course. It was bizarre, I found out they censor out a lot more things here than they do in the states, cigarettes, any alcohol, cleavage, and underwear. There is one sex scene in the movie, (well truth be told it's more like a sex frame, it last for about 3 seconds) but it was hilarious because the entire screen was blurred out.
Sunday was a little more serious, but we only had until lunch to get in all the practice we could. We split them into two teams and had them debate each other. The debate topics were silly and scary at the same time: Who is smarter? Men vs. Women, Who would win in a fight? Batman vs. Spiderman, and Which is better? An ugly rich man? or A poor handsome one.
The last topic was especially eye-opening.
OK I have to run.
Next weeks entry: Escape to Chiang Mai!!!
The funny thing is, this sort of happened by accident.
There is a Language School that is literally on my way home and one morning I was (literally) grabbed off the street by this (surprisingly strong) elderly woman and asked if I would be interesting in helping to teach.
The next thing I know, I have an invitation to a weekend at the Wanathra Resort in Wang Tong at an English Camp. Even though I didn't know what to expect, the Rotary tells us to say yes, so I did.
Shoshana, the (only) other exchange student from school, went as well. She is hilarious and we laugh quite a bit when we are together. She's German but is fluent in English with only a slight accent. In fact, between speaking slowly with kon Thai, (Thai people) and Sho(shana), I've developed some bizarre accent myself.
Anyway, we were going to be the assistants to three other teachers that taught at the language school: David, the cynical Australian with a laugh like a 4th grade girl; Chow, the cute, funny, Filipino; and Li, also Filipino with the demeanor and patience of a kindergarten teacher.
So the 5 of us (plus Ajahn Lumpoon, the big cheese) piled into the van headed towards Wang Tong.
As I said before, I wasn't certain how this would play out. I didn't know if the students had been studying for years, if it was going to be very formal, etc.
My worst fear was having a grammatical error pointed out by one of them. As you have probably noticed, my grammar (or spelling!) isn't that fantastic and I'm always concerned about making a stupid mistake in situations like this because I'm a native speaker. And native speakers don't make mistakes.
There were about 40 or so students at the camp. They had come from all over the country and all were enrolled in the Public Health programs in their universities. All were at least 3 years older than me, which I didn't mind, so are some of my friends at home. The weird part was the way they treated me. I was an Ajahn (teacher) now. This meant calling me Ajahn Nikki, bending their heads down every time they passed me, wai-ing me every time they saw me (outside of the classroom.
This is even more remarkable because the first night was a disaster. We had plans for Saturday and Sunday, but Friday night was open to...interpretation.
We ended up asking everyone their names and playing a little game with that. Then they asked us where we were from and random questions (one boy had the guts to ask: "What's your ideal boyfriend?") But this is where all dignity and grace left the building, to be replaced by shameless silliness.
We did the shake your booty game (with college students!!) and taught them a song that started with "All the bananas in the world unite!!".....
We were kind of short of ideas after a while though. I mean you can only shake your booty so many times before it gets old. (Hard to believe isn't it?)
Somehow we managed to entertain them for another 1/2 hour and then it was time for some rice soup and then bed.
It took Sho and I a while to figure out our rooming situation. We were rooming with Li in a room made for two. No biggie, they just rolled in a bed on wheels and voila! problem solved. Well, until we sat on it. After that it had a name (WARNING: Profanity Ahead!!) ... the shitty bed.
We decided to take a look around, after all we were staying at a resort.We ended up taking a very scary walk in the dark (and the rain)on some abandoned path.
This took us to where all the students were staying. We did what we always do; we spoke in broken Thai, they spoke in broken English.
Saturday went smoother. Mainly because we actually had a plan. We made them write news stories, played word games, tongue twisters and other interesting English stuff.
Mixed with just a bit of banana dancing.
It was interesting playing the teacher role, but it was a lot of fun. Especially when they had to write their own news program.
You see, in Thai articles, plurals, verb conjugations, and all the other little grammatical tidbits don't exist. This combined with the fact that a subject is not always necessary made some interesting English sentences.
Saturday night Sho and I went over to visit the kids again, though we didn't talk as much. Instead we translated..or dubbed over... a Thai soap opera... its amazing how much plot you can understand without the script.
That night we also watched Moulin Rouge... in Thai of course. It was bizarre, I found out they censor out a lot more things here than they do in the states, cigarettes, any alcohol, cleavage, and underwear. There is one sex scene in the movie, (well truth be told it's more like a sex frame, it last for about 3 seconds) but it was hilarious because the entire screen was blurred out.
Sunday was a little more serious, but we only had until lunch to get in all the practice we could. We split them into two teams and had them debate each other. The debate topics were silly and scary at the same time: Who is smarter? Men vs. Women, Who would win in a fight? Batman vs. Spiderman, and Which is better? An ugly rich man? or A poor handsome one.
The last topic was especially eye-opening.
OK I have to run.
Next weeks entry: Escape to Chiang Mai!!!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
What's the Point of a Book without Pictures?!!?
Orientation II:
Revenge of the Language Barrier
Revenge of the Language Barrier
Here are some more pictures from this past weekend in Lampang.
...22 wacky kids from around the globe in one hotel for 4 days.
I smell a reality show.
This is Tim.
Tim is from Taiwan.
In Taiwan they speak Chinese.
Out of 21 exchange students, not a single person spoke Chinese.
In Taiwan they speak Chinese.
Out of 21 exchange students, not a single person spoke Chinese.
Poor Tim.
Despite this, Tim manages to keep a HUGE (I'm talkin Fuccillo huge here..) smile on his face. (pictured left)
We loved Tim.
BEFORE FAT WORMS
This is from our market escapade on the first day. The great thing about the markets here is that they let you taste pretty much anything before you buy it...including the fried insects.
We decided that if we were going to partake in the insect eating, we might as well do it together and in a pose for a picture.
AFTER FAT WORMSThis is not a very attractive picture...
But eating a fat worm isn't a very attractive concept either.
This is (almost all of) us posing with Mr. Coal in the Coal Museum.
There were all these videos that featured Mr. Coal where he told us about how coal was made millions of years ago in broken English.
Let it also be known that Mr. Coal has the voice of a asthmatic 2 yr old with a sinus infection.
After the museum, we went grass sledding on large pieces of plastic.
The hill was pretty intense, however it would have been more exhilarating if it had been covered in snow.
Face Painting!
Not just for kids anymore, it works on exchange students too!
Pictured here: Camilo from Columbia (Mexican forehead, American eye, and Columbian cheeks), some random chick (Brazillian left eye, Alaskan cheek, Mexican chin, and German nose), and Sarah from Germany (Columbian forehead and America all over the place).
"Oh I don't know some flowers, a fresh coat of paint, a couple of throw pillows...." *
*Awesome-points and a thai lesson go to the person who recognizes this quote.
Two german girls.
See the one on the left? Yeah the one with her mouth open.
That's my roommate.
Lampang is pretty!!!!
Elephants....
... are awesome.
I promise to write something substantial next time. Hope you liked the pics!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
