Back in Mae Ton

Today we got to see the kids at the Hoi Bong School where I taught with Andrea last year when I was here. We were really excited to see a bunch of girls from Agape and got to hang out with them for a few hours! It was great to catch up! They are such sweet girls!


If you ever want to feel like royalty, just take a trip to Thailand and go to this restaurant, "Khao Mao Khao Fang". There's waterfalls and nature all around you and the servers pretty much stand by your table waiting for your beckon call :) You also get all this for the very low price of about $5-6/person. Andrea and I were willing to spend the big bucks to treat Teep and Terra to dinner :) They hadn't been to that restaurant for over a year, so it was fun for all of us to get the chance to go!

Tiger Time at Chiang Mai

Well today was a really fun day! Andrea and I headed up to Chiang Mai to go to the Tiger Kingdom...they just opened it last year, so I didn't get to go the last time I was in Thailand. On the way to the bus station, Terra and Teep (our friends who live here in Thailand) told us that a girl got bit in the butt by one of the tigers earlier this year...so that wasn't very reassuring, but I was still excited to go...The tiger kingdom is a lot of fun...Basically you choose which tigers you want to go in and see...First, Andrea and I went to see the baby tigers...they were a couple months old and were basically like big cats...it's fun because they let you lay your head on their stomach and take pictures. One even crawled on my lap and put it's head on my leg like it wanted to take a little nap...it was so cute. We had fun with the babies and right as we were about to leave, another girl who was in there with us got pooped on by one of the tigers! It was hilarious! She was freaking out and we were just laughing...thankful that it didn't happen to us!

Later, we went to see the big tigers...The trainers told us that they weigh over 100 kilos (more than 200 pounds)...it made me a little bit nervous being in there with those huge tigers, petting them and taking pictures with them when you know they could bite you or attack you...they were all pretty mellow, but if they get playful, they don't know any better. It was funny because one of the guys that took us in to see them had scratches on his arm. We asked if it was from the tigers and he said yes. Then we asked if they ever bit him and he said "oh yes, many times! But they are just playing so they don't know any better. You can't blame them." That was pretty reassuring. What makes you feel the most comfortable is that all they carry around in there are these small sticks...I was thinking "yeah, right. If the tiger attacked anyone, there's no way that stick is gonna do anything." But even though Andrea and I were both a tiny bit nervous, I figured we'd be fine..I really wanted to play with them and lay down on their stomachs like the ilttle ones but I didn't want to take my chances, so we were a little more careful with them.




After getting back from the Tiger Village, I came back and took a nap while Andrea went out for dinner. I was feeling really tired and a little sick and just needed a nap...whenever we go to Mexico, they always say "Don't drink the water" but I didn't obey that rule earlier when we were out to eat. They served the water in a pitcher with the food and I've drank it like that a few times before and been fine, but this time, it really hit me hard and made me sick. After taking a nap I felt a lot better though and had enough energy to go out to the night bazaar with Andrea. The night bazaar is a pretty crazy place. Al the action starts around 7pm...and all these people set up their little stands on the side of the road selling all kinds of different fun souveniors....There are lots of foreigners and it's a big tourist attraction. It's fun to look at the different Thai stuff and barter a little...and of course, shopping is always fun in general..especially with a friend! So Andrea and I had a really good time and found some fun stuff...and even found some mango sticky rice (which is our favorite). Tomorrow we'll head back to Mae Sot to see Teep and Terra and then friday we'll head to the school where we used to teach to see the kids! It should be a lot of fun!

Reunions

Well, the last two days have been filled with little reunions with old friends here in Thailand. Yesterday, we spent the day with two teachers who taught with us at the Hoi Bong school near Mae Sot last year. It was great to see them again and share memories. They are so sweet. The one I was closest with was Cru Ham, who used to take Andrea and I out to lunch almost every day after school. She was a sweetheart and liked to give us rides on her motorbike all the time. It was great to see her and help her brush up on her English....she has forgotten a lot just like I forgot a lot of Thai...guess it's true what they say: "if you don't use it, you lose it." I feel like more Thai has been coming back to me though, especially what I understand. Anyway, we had a fun day with the teachers. We went to lunch with them and then spent some time in Mae Sot before they had to go. I think we'll see Cru Ham again at the school on Friday.

Then today we had another fun little reunion with some of the kids. We spent the morning hanging out with Teep and Terra on their cute little balcony at their house in Mae Ton. They have an awesome view of the mountains...everything is so green here too! So it was nice to have a relaxing morning and just hang out with them and catch up a little!

In the afternoon, Yupapon arrived in town and came over to see us. She is one of my favorite girls. She was one of the girls from Agape who Andrea now sponsors to go to college. It's so crazy to me how much she has grown up and how much she has matured in just a year. I'm sure college has played a huge part in that. She is 20 years old now, which is so crazy to me. She was always like a mom to the kids at Agape and made sure they were taken care of....so now she is in college to be a teacher! Her English is pretty good too so it was awesome to catch up with her and see her!

By late afternoon, I was feeling a little disappointed because a few of the other kids had planned on coming and since they don't have phones, there was no way to communicate with them and find out why they still weren't there. Terra said it looked like they weren't coming after all! I was really disappointed because a huge part of making this trip was to see some of the kids from last year!

So, we were all surprised when finally around 6, they all showed up (they were supposed to come at noon!)...We found out that Samu had forgotten a key that he needed to get for the motorbike (they had to walk really far then take the motorbike to our town). So he had to run back 20 kilometers to get it....So that made for a total of more than 40 kilometers walking/running...he told us the story of what happened and said that he realized that he had forgotten it and thought "I want to cry." Poor guy! I was so glad they had made it and it was so great to see them! We all stayed up late playing cards and checkers and other games. I had brought a bunch of nailpolish to paint the girls' nails so we did little manicures and pedicures which was a lot of fun! It's so crazy to me how much the kids have grown up! Samu is now 16 and it looks like he shot up at least 6 inches in the last year!

Anyway, we had a really fun time with the kids and it made me so happy to see them and see how much they've grown and matured both physically and spiritually in the last year! We should have some more fun reunions on Friday with the kids at Hoi Bong School! I can't wait!

4th of July on the Beach

Well, there's always something different about celebrating the 4th of July in a foreign country...it's just not quite the same as being in America...So I told Andrea we would have to at least go to the beach since I associate 4th of July with being at the beach (maybe just from growing up in California...I don't know...I just like being by the water for the holidays)...So we headed for Pattaya Beach today. It was interesting getting there at first but ended up being a fun day...

We decided we would take one of the minivans from the airport (they travel to Pattaya every couple hours)...But when we got to the airport, they told us they didn't have any minivans going...just a bus...we went to the counter to get our bus tickets but no one was there to help us..just a sign that said "Pattaya." It was still another hour an a half before the next bus would leave anyway. We went up to the counter just as a group of three others were going up...So, since there were 5 of us standing together, we were all of a sudden bombarded with all these drivers telling us they could take 5 and quoting us prices...we bartered with them for a good price and the other 3 people (who were from Indonesia) decided they would be in on the deal too, so we started walking out with this driver....

Well, he takes us all the way to the parking garage and opens the door to his taxi...We all looked at each other with confused looks on our faces and were like "No, where is the minivan" to which he replied "we take taxi"....Ha ha, ya right....there was no way we were paying more money than the bus to be crammed into a little taxi with 4 people in the backseat...Thankfully he didn't give us a hard time about it and just gave us our money back...So, we went back in for the bus and ended up getting on one that was leaving earlier than expected! So it all worked out in the end.

Once we got to Pattaya, we decided to just walk down to the beach instead of taking a taxi..It was a nice day and it felt good to go for a walk...As we were walking along, Andrea was like "You know, we should get a massage while we're here...maybe we can find a place" and as the words were out of her mouth, we turned the corner and there was "Health World"...this really big spa...It was perfect timing...I was like "Andrea, it must be a sign. Let's go in here" so we went in and ended up getting an hour and a half aromatherapy massage! One awesome thing about Thailand is that everything is super cheap...Andrea and I never go to the spa back in the states so every time we come to Thailand, we decided we have to have one little pampering day to get massages at the day spa..it's our splurge day....which is funny of course because Thai prices are still ten times cheaper than the states! Anyway, it felt really nice after my 27 hours of traveling the day before and way too much time in the same position sitting on an airplane!

After our massages, we went to a little Indian restaraunt and got some lunch...we had Thai food for breakfast so we figured we'd try something else since we have the rest of our trip to eat Thai food...Then we headed down to the beach and layed out and relaxed...It was really nice...We stayed until sunset and then headed over to the shops to do some shopping...which wasn't too successful for me...Andrea found a cute dress though and I enjoyed seeing all the stuff they had at the little shops...

While we were walking along, we came to Hard Rock Cafe where they were having a little 4th of July celebration...So we took a picture with their little statue of liberty and proceeded on singing "And I'm proud to be an American"...yes, we are dorks..and we're not ashamed of it...I know people probably don't think we're very patriotic since we leave our own country for independence day but really we're here helping the rest of the world see how wonderful Americans really can be :)

After awhile, we went back over to this place where it had looked like they were doing karaoke...it turned out to just be a live band with a singer who liked going out into the crowd, but it was fun to go back and enjoy the music...There were a couple people dancing, so I decided to take the opportunity to try to teach Andrea some swing dancing and we danced a little...it was fun....Andrea and I have decided that we can make fools of ourselves singing in the street and dancing around because we're in a foreign country and we're never gonna see these people again (that's what she tells me anyway....there will probably be a YouTube video of us singing on the street by the end of the week ha ha)...I'm having so much fun traveling with her though because we can just be goofy together and we don't think anything of it...not to mention we are both last minute and spontaneous so we just decide what we're doing as we go along and it all works out....

So we didn't see any fireworks today or hear the national anthem (although I'm sure people would've appreciated it if we'd sung that one as we were walking down the street!) but we had a really fun time...and how many time can you say that you celebrated 4th of July in Thailand...it's probably a once in a lifetime thing so we thought we'd make the most of it! Tomorrow we leave Bangkok and will head up to Mae Sot to stay with Terra and Teep and see the kids! It should be a fun week!

Up, Up and Away

Well, I am finally in Thailand after 27 hours of traveling...it was exhausting but not as bad as I thought....I flew from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Taipei to Bangkok and met lots of fun people along the way. The flight from LA to Taipei was the longest...13 1/2 hours...So I felt very blessed and fortunate that despite the fact that the plane was really packed, there ended up being an empty seat between me and the other lady in my row. So, we were very excited to have some extra space which helped me not to feel closterphobic. The lady in my row was named Debbie and ended up being from Arizona too...not only that, she was also a nurse and was going to Taiwan to teach the Taiwanese nurses in a nurse practitioners program. So we had a lot to talk about...nurses just always seem to have a special bond...we understand each other in a way that no one else understands us....so it was fun to share different stories about working in the hospital and working overseas with medical missions....and it was great hearing her stories too about how nursing has changed and what it used to be like (she's been a nurse for 25 years so it was a lot different back then)!

The flight went well and when we landed in Taipei, I met a group of people from San Diego. It was their first time going to Thailand so I thought I'd fill them in on places to go and things to see...I also met a guy from Holland and got to talk to him about my travels to Amsterdam on my trip back from Kenya...it is always nice having something familiar to talk about when you're out of the country...especially traveling alone...not to mention, I love talking to International people...especially when they have fun accents!

Anyway, the rest of my travel time was uneventful until I got to my taxi in Bangkok....I had been a little nervous about taking a taxi to the hotel where Andrea was staying because I wasn't sure how much Thai I was going to remember and since my flight got in so late (we didn't land until about 1am), Andrea was already gonna be at the hotel sleeping and I was just gonna meet her there...So traveling by taxi in Thailand at 1:30 in the morning with my broken Thai (which was even worse because I was so tired) made me a little nervous...So I said a prayer that I would be safe and headed out of the airport...

So the taxi drivers are all lined up and you have to take the one at the front of the line, right...Well, we get in the taxi and the driver is looking at the map to the hotel (it was even printed in Thai!) and he had a confused look on his face...he was like "I don't know." So, lesson #1: If your taxi driver doesn't know where he's going, get out right then and there! I was about to get out and tell him I'd take another taxi, but I felt bad and he was already starting to drive, so I just said a prayer and we started off....

The hotel we were staying at was supposed to be right by the airport...well, about 20 minutes later, we are still driving...and lost...not a good way to start...especially when it's 2 in the morning! I was getting frustrated with how little I was able to communicate with him...A little bit of Thai was coming back to me, but I had to keep looking phrases up in my little Thai book...not to mention I was tired and just wanted to get to the hotel and get to bed...So, finally he stops to ask directions...don't know why that took so long...maybe because he was a guy :) So he asked another taxi driver on the side of the road and then told me he knew where he was going..we started driving and about 5 minutes later he stopped again and asked some cops on the side of the road (at least he was learning to ask for directions)...Finally about 40 minutes (maybe longer, I wasn't paying too much attention) we finally got to the place...thankfully taxis are cheap in Thailand...it was only about $10 for the ride...I was just thankful I had finally made it...

It was great to see Andrea...we were both excited to share travel stories and ended up staying up for another hour talking....It was almost like deja vu...Being back in Bangkok with Andrea all over again...I can already tell this is gonna be a fun trip!

Return to Thailand

So it's obviously been awhile since I've written on my blog...I haven't been on any international trips aside from Mexico in the last year, but an opportunity to return to Thailand came up so I decided to finally pick back up on my blog. I wasn't planning on going anywhere out of the country this summer but about two months ago, I was talking to my friend Andrea who taught English with me last year in Thailand. She mentioned that she wanted to go back to Thailand this summer and told me the dates she was planning her trip. I had hoped it would work out for me to go, but wasn't sure if it would really happen...But I thought I'd ask off work during those dates just in case. So, I saved up some money but kept debating whether or not I should go because of some other things that were going on. About two weeks ago, I got my schedule from work and saw that they'd given me the full two weeks off! So, I checked the prices for tickets to Thailand but they were significantly more than the last time I had flown to Thailand and I hadn't planned on paying so much. So I was really dreading telling Andrea that I couldn't come...I put it off for awhile because I knew she really wanted me to go. Finally, about a week later (exactly one week before the day my planned departure date) I got online and was about to email her that I couldn't come. But, there was something inside me that felt like I should go. So I told God, "Ok, here's the deal...If I can get a ticket under $800, then I'm going." I don't suggest playing the Make a Deal with God game, but God was gracious and heard me and the very first site I went on to check, there was a ticket for $798 (including tax)...I just laughed and was like "Wow, God...Two bucks under...you do have a sense of humor." It was crazy to me that I found one for that price because it had dropped about $400 in a matter of a few days. So, I bought the ticket a week before my flight left and now I'm off to Thailand. I decided to post about my trip on my blog even though it's not exactly a missions trip...The last time I came to Thailand, I cam so I could help with a medical clinic and teach English with my friend Andrea and help at the children's home where she was working....This time we don't have much of an agenda aside from going back to see the kids that we worked with and visit our friend Terra who is now married to a Thai man named Teep (Terra is from California and also worked at the Agape Children's Home). So, we're hoping to spend some time with the kids, see the teachers we taught with, and enjoy the culture of Thailand all over again...but mainly we came to have an adventure! So off I go to Thailand....you're welcome to join me for the ride! :)

Mexican Wedding

Well, this weekend was interesting to say the least...My friend China (her real name is Ariene, but we all call her China) asked me to be in her wedding when I was down here in Rocky Point in July....I thought that was kind of strange since we're not really the best of friends, but of course I agreed to do it...

So, we had the wedding yesterday here in Rocky Point...the whole experience was kind of strange...I guess I didn't consider the way the culture and differences in time would affect the wedding....so, I stayed up til 2am the night before the wedding with China and Toni (the groom) to wash tables and chairs and get them ready for the reception...the reception was gonna be at her parents' house in the backyard and nothing was done...So, that was a start...we did the party favors the night before too...Ahh, gotta love Mexico.

The day of the wedding, China and I were supposedly gonna get up at 530 am to help her mom make tamales, but that didn't happen either (although I was kind of thankful we didn't have to go off 3 1/2 hours of sleep on the wedding day). We got up around 9, leisurely made our way to the kitchen, sat and had breakfast and chatted with her mom for almost an hour...no rush, right?

So, we had quite a few things to get done and I felt kind of responsible to keep China on the ball...she didn't have her bouquet yet...hadn't even requested to have it made actually....hmmm...so, we went to this flower shop and got that taken care of...thankfully the ladies there were understanding and happy to do it...as last minute as it was....we had a few more errands to run and then headed back to the house...

Besides helping the bride with the prep for the wedding itself, I felt like I had the role of the mediator between everyone not getting along. So, Toni, the groom has a 12 year old son who was supposed to be in the wedding. But, when he got the suit that he was borrowing for the wedding, he said it was too big and that he just wasn't gonna go. So, China was really angry at him for this and Toni didn't really know what to do. Now, you have to realize that Toni's son hadn't even tried on the suit...he just looked at it and was like "no, it doesn't fit"....So, I made him try it on (which took awhile of me letting my bossy side come out lol) and what do ya know, it actually fit pretty well...a little long on the sleeves, but it looked just fine...So, he says to me "Oh it fits" with a bit of surprise in his voice and I told him that's why I made him try it on....problem resolved.

When we got to China's house, there was a lot to do with getting all the balloons blown up...at one point, I felt like I would pass out....We had to make a little balloon arch and blow up other balloons for decorating outside...Then we had to get the tables prepped and put the tablecloths on...in the midst of the wind...interesting as that was...Oh yes, China and I also somehow ended up being responsible for ironing Toni and the guys shirts....

So, to say the least, it was a hectic day...after gettting a lot of the legistics out of the way, China and I headed to a salon to get our hair done by a girl she was friends with....that made it feel more like a wedding day...I felt like all the other stuff is usually stuff they usually get done the day before the wedding...at least all the weddings I've been a part of before...So, after that, we went back to the house and finished getting ready...

A little while before I was about to put on my dress, China sends me on an errand....to buy lingerie...I'm thinking...you've gotta be kidding me...the wedding is supposed to start in 2 hours and you're just now sending me out to do this....and making ME be the one to buy it....you can't be serious....of course I didn't say that, I just suggested I go with her...But she told me that she felt bad because she knew the girl who ran the store and felt bad because she hadn't invited her....so, I went...laughing to myself the whole way there...oh the joys of being the maid of honor!


There was a little bit of debate about what time the actual wedding started....the night before, we had met with the pastor and he said...well, it starts at 5, but ya know, we're on Mexican time, so let's start at 6. So, we're all getting ready at the house and Toni says "Yeah, we don't have to be there til 6"....which started a whole other debate since China wanted to start at 5. "The invitations say 5, so we should start at 5," she insisted...."But the pastor said 6, so we have to start at 6," Toni said. So, once again I got to play the mediator and suggested we call the pastor just to clarify in case there was a misunderstanding. Once we talked to him, that helped sort things out and I reassured China that it would be fine if we started at 6....people would understand (at least I was hoping!)

We showed up to the church at about 530 and people were still getting there, so that was fine....we started taking some pictures and then China realized she'd left her bouquet at home...so I drove back to the house with her mom to pick it up. When we got back to the church, there was still a little time before the actual ceremony started, so I was thankful we were on Mexican time :)

The wedding ceremony went well....a little different than our ceremonies in the US....I walked down the aisle with the other bridesmaid instead of with the guys....Then, the wedding party sits in the front row instead of standing up front.....Even the bride and groom actually sit in these nicely decorated seats for the majority of the ceremony. then they stand up and face each other towards the end. Another thing they do in Mexico that we don't do in the US is they put a lasso over the bride and groom, symbolizing the way they are now bound together (I guess we just replace that with the unity candle)...I thought that was kind of cool....Then at the end of the ceremony, the bridesmaids pass out the party favors as they go back down the aisle...so that was kind of fun too!

After the wedding ceremony ended at the church, we took the traditional Mexican "victory lap" (well, I don't think that's what it's really called, but that's what I call it) where the bride and groom ride around town and everyone who attends the wedding follows, honking and celebrating...I got to be the lucky driver of the bride and groom, which was a lot of fun!

The wedding reception was probably my favorite part...It was great to see lots of friends there...and my "family" from Rocky Point....we had a great time with lots of music and lots of fun...sadly enough, there wasn't as much dancing as I had been hoping for, but we still had a good time...It was great to see all of my kiddos too and get to dance with them....they are so precious! All in all, it was a time of fun and joy, as weddings should be....But, after all the craziness of the day, China joked that "Now that you see all we have to do, you're never gonna want to get married!" Ha ha...well, I definitely don't want to be a wedding planner, I can tell you that! I was happy to help out though and enjoyed it, even in the crazy "mexican time" moments!