So I started school again this week. It wasn’t overly eventful but because it was my last full week I will tell you about it.
On Monday I spent the day with Lucas. I met up with my friends and we talked and ate lunch but the majority of the day was with him. We talked and goofed around and worked on our Thailand project. It was fun but nothing really happened. After school Meow and I walked to the hospital. My host dad’s father is ill and about to die so Mike spent last weekend there and we went there after school on Monday and Tuesday. It was interesting to see the different system. My host dad and his sister were there taking care of him. There wasn’t any medicine or machines hooked to him. The bed was old and you had to crank it to get it to sit up. The nursing staff didn’t take care of him but the sister did (I didn’t even see a nurse on the floor). The room didn’t seem like a clean and friendly place but it worked. He looked very fragile and not all there. He never talked only looked from place to place and grunted. It was kind of sad.
Tuesday was the same as Monday. The big things Tuesday was the burning of Central World. Central World was where I spent most of my time in Bangkok. I loved it. They had the international movie theatre and the international market (with Reese’s PB Cups, imagine they burned them!) The burned several other places too. It’s really not looking good even though the government says they are getting things under control.
Wednesday Gayoon yelled at us for not going to class and gave us schedules so we had to go. I don’t know what the big deal is because I’m not going next week but whatever. I spent the afternoon with my classmates.
Thursday I spent with my classmates. It was fun but nothing exciting happened. I goofed around and teased them and they teased me. I miraculously didn’t fall asleep in any class and I went to almost every class. During one of my classes the US ambassador called so I had to run out of the room. He is a really nice guy and very easy to talk to. He asked how I was doing, how I felt, how I liked Thailand, and we just chatted for a few minutes. He told me that everything will be fine for me to fly out and there should be no reason that I will get stuck in Thailand so that was reassuring. At lunch I told Mo that it doesn’t seem like I’m leaving. I just don’t feel that things are really over and that I’m going home. After school we stopped at my host mom’s mother’s house and Meow took we around the village on a motor bike. I don’t know what it was about that ride but it finally hit me that I’m going home. I realized that I’m going to miss Thailand and I even shed a few (not many yet) tears.
Friday I skipped a lot of classes to spend time with Lucas. It was nice. I talked to him about all sorts of things. At one point I was near tears and at another we were teasing each other and being silly and at others we were serious and encouraging. It was really nice. I’m really going to miss him. He keeps telling me that he’ll be on MSN and Skype every night and will always be available if I need to talk to him but I know if won’t be the same. This year I’ve made two amazing friends, best friends, but we are so far apart I don’t know how I’m going to manage! I think I’m going to miss him and Bashayer the most from this year.
After school Meow and Mike went swimming with some friends at the Christian school (a missionary found it and they study Christianity but all the students are Buddhist so it really doesn’t make sense to me). They had fun with their friends but I forgot my suit this morning so I sat on the side. They played for several hours and then we went for a Thai BBQ probably my last. I can’t believe things are really coming to an end! I just got home now and I’m waiting to use the internet so that I can catch up with Bashayer. I haven’t talked to her in 3 weeks and I really miss her and want to talk to her. I also need to get some pics from her so that I can work on the project this weekend. I hope to have it done by the time I get home so that I can show people parts of it at the girls’ graduation.
I almost forgot the most interesting and tiring part of the week. I’ve been waking up at 5 because we now take a van to school which picks us up at 6:15. The van is old and rather small. We squeeze in 32 students from the ages of 5 to 19. Many of the younger ones have to sit on older kids laps or all squash together in the front. Sometimes I would fall asleep on the way but that is a difficult thing to do when we are so crammed in that you can’t even move a centimeter and you are going over all sorts of bumps and making crazy turns so that just goes to show you how tired I am. I never get to bed before 12 no matter how much I try. Part of the problem is that there is someone in the bathroom until 11:20 because there is a routine. By the time I shower, brush my teeth, put on moisturizer, do my devotion and prayer, stretch, and are fully ready for bed it’s usually after 12. Needless to say I instantly fall asleep every night. Anyway back to the van. There are 32 students from about 12 different schools. We are the 9th stop and there are about 8 little kids left on the bus when we get off. It’s cool to see all the different uniforms and sports uniforms. I love riding the van because it lets me see the real Thai student way. It’s fun to watch the kids from the different school interact. Some of them are really good friends even though they go to different schools. I love riding the van and wish that we would have all year!
Sunday I will spend some time with Lucas. We will go to Big C and I will buy some food for home and I will finish buying my gifts. Then during the week I will pack and prepare to leave. One day I will go to school to say goodbye to everyone. I still haven’t heard from AFS when I’m leaving or anything so I have no details!!!! I could leave Thursday or Friday. I will post once more before I leave and after that I won’t post again until I hit the states and then I will let you all know how the flight was and a few last thoughts on Thailand.
Allyson
Friday, May 21, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Countdown Begins
So a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. I won’t go all the way back but I will give certain days of detail.
As you know I was in Mukdahan for 2 weeks after my two week visit with Bashayer in Nakhon Phanom. Mukdahan is about 103 km away from Bashayer so it wasn’t any great distance. On Friday April 30th I went with my host sister, Nut, and her Uncle to visit her. Her uncle had to do some business there and invited us to join him on his trip. They told me this about 30 minutes before we left. When we got to the house we had to pack really fast. I packed in 8 minutes, the fastest I have ever packed! We then made the journey to Nakhon Phanom. He drove fast so it wasn’t a long drive. We checked into the hotel and went to sleep.
In the morning I met up with Bashayer. We got some ice cream and hung out at the hotel. We took a walk along the river which was nice. We never seem to run out of things to talk about no matter how often we are together so that was nice. At night we went to a farewell party for the Germany exchange teacher at Bashayer’s school. When I returned to the hotel I used the internet while Nut and the uncle went out. It was very late when they finally came back. I could hear her the whole way up the stairs and she then pounded on the door, staggers in fall, runs to the bathroom and throws up! She was soooo wasted! For the next hour I listened to them take turns puking until they both passed out, it was a lot of fun!
Next morning we drove back to Mukdahan.
On Friday May 7 I was finally to head back to Petchaburi. Before I did I spent some time with Nut and May, Nut’s best friend. They showed me some things in the town (I don’t know why they waited) and took me up the Mukdahan Tower (I made them walk up and down so they weren’t too pleased). It was fun to spend time with them. On Thursday I had gone to the Indochina market with them and picked up some presents so I had to spend some time packing (also because I had kind of made a mess and I had things everywhere).
The best part of the day was picking up my Thai costume!!!! On Monday we went and had my measurements taken and picked out a design. I picked out some jewelry to go with it and then I picked out the fabric. I debated between blue and red but went with blue because it just seemed to look better for me. So on Friday I got to pick it up!! It was too big at first so she had to take it in but it was so exciting. That store didn’t have the head piece though so we went to another place to buy it and they had a lot more jewelry selection and a lot cheaper so I bought everything (and more) there and returned the other stuff. When we got home the girls did my hair and had me put on all the accessories so that we could take pics! I can’t wait to show everyone!!!!!
Well that night sadly I had to head back to Petchhaburi. Nut complained and wanted me to stay longer but I couldn’t. I made the 15 hour journey back to Petchaburi and then spent 5 hours in the terrible heat running around town buying things for my host mom. When we go back to the house I crashed!
That night I had to do laundry and I want to say that no one can complain about laundry until they have to do EVERYTHING by hand! The washing, the rinsing (twice), then the softener, the more rinsing, ringing and then hanging! UGH! I was so sick of laundry. I’m dreading when I have to wash my uniform by hand every day and then iron it every morning.
Well on Sunday I met up with Lucas at Big C. I’m having some computer problems and I was hoping he could fix them, but he couldn’t so it looks like Geek Squad will get a visit from me when I get home. We also started work on our project. We are doing a presentation together of the year and different things in Thailand to give to people when we get home. Some parts are boring but there is one part that I thought of that we are both really excited about! It was an adventure to get there. I started to wait for the truck around 9 but one didn’t come. At 10:15 I wasn’t feeling good from the heat so I went in to tell my host mom. After another 15 minutes of waiting she called a friend to take me on a motorcycle. After a lot of waiting I finally arrived there. We sat in a café and worked on the computers. Well there was no plug or internet so we decided to go to the internet café across from school. We took a tuktuk and arrived at the air-conditioned place about 15 minutes later. Those 15 minutes were interesting though. We shared a tuktuk with an older woman and her 2 grandsons. Well 2 farangs draws attention especially when we are talking. I was glad that she didn’t show any recognition as to what we were talking about because it was not the best thing to be discussing in public (let’s just say he had me blushing for not the first time that day).
We sat at the internet café for 3 hours. We didn’t get too much accomplished but we got some things done. At around 4 we decided to head back to Big C for some ice cream. We walked down one side of the street for about 5 minutes and saw a tuk tuk going by so we flagged it down. The guy pulls over, gets out, walks around to us just to point and tell us there is another tuktuk about a minute’s walk in the other direction from the café! We got to Big C and got our ice cream. I called my host mom and told her to have her friend pick me up but I had to wait for him to get there so we went and looked through the market outside. When his bus came he left but I still had to wait. A blonde farang gets a lot of stares just standing around!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I stayed in my room in front of the fan all day trying not to die of heat. Every time I would leave the room I would get too hot and begin to feel ill.
On Thursday my host mom had the day off so we went to the beach. We invited Lucas so after some confusion he met up with us (my host mom told me to tell him to meet us somewhere but when we got there he wasn’t there yet so she drove off and when he did get there she didn’t want to go back so she tried to get him to find us but he didn’t understand, not that he could have because we kept moving. Eventually she sent Mike to go and get him but she didn’t tell me and he decided to take a motorcycle to us after I told him what hotel we were next to. After some time Mike came back and we were all together). First we played in the water but then the others wanted to take a banana boat so we decided to join them. It wasn’t fun. After we finished (we fell off for the second time so we called it quits) we went to 7, dripping and covered in sand, to buy some food. We ate and talked and then went to shower. I didn’t want to shower there just change but Lucas did so I waited. When he was about done he says “This water smells like someone peed in it!” I smile and say “Wouldn’t surprise me, we’re in Thailand anything is possible!” He wasn’t happy with my comment because he kept thinking about it while he finishe€d. On the way back he said he could just picture someone putting their kid in the bin to get them clean and the kid releasing them self. The beach wasn’t bad but there wasn’t any sun (the day you want sun is the day there isn’t any) so I didn’t get tan.
Yesterday I went to Hua Hin with Lucas. I needed to go to immigration to hand in my 90 day papers so we decided to make a day of it. The woman helping me wasn’t very good and so took a long time. First she couldn’t figure out my visa (it’s a stamp because of the airport guy), then she couldn’t figure something else out, then she had me sign something wrong, and then she couldn’t find where she placed something! It was a little annoying. After immigration we walked to the highway and flagged a motorcycle to take us to the mall. We met up with a friend of his from Mexico there. First we went bowling. I sucked as usual. The first game I had a 60, second game a 48 (though I could have gotten higher but the boys played two times for me while I was talking to AFS and decided to have fun with it and so ended up getting me zeros), and the third game I got a 64. It was fun. We then went to lunch were €we met up with their America friend. The boys at 3 plates of food each and I ate one. Then we wen€t shopping. I stopped to look at something and they were causing a scene so I sent them on their wa€y and told them I’d call and find them when I was done. When I found them they were devouring a box of donuts. We walked around for a while then went and got DQ before heading home. When I arrived at Big C I had to sit and wait for an hour before they came to get me and they didn’t have their p€hones so I didn’t know if they were coming or not.
€
Today nothing happened. I talked to Marieke for over an hour and then I ate lunch, read, and just tried to avoid the heat. I had to do some more laundry but not too much because I did most of it on Wednesday night. Mike was gone today at the hospital visiting his grandfather so it was just Meow and I. Dinner was early and then Meow and I went for a bike ride around town. It was nice. Tomorrow I need to work on the project, pack, and do some paperwork for AFS. Monday school starts but I don’t plan on doing too much school because Lucas and I have to finish the project before the end of the week.
Well that’s all the fun you’ve missed in the last few weeks. Hope you’ve been enjoying yourselves!
Lots of Love,
Allyson
P.S. 19 Days till I land in Wisconsin!!!!!
As you know I was in Mukdahan for 2 weeks after my two week visit with Bashayer in Nakhon Phanom. Mukdahan is about 103 km away from Bashayer so it wasn’t any great distance. On Friday April 30th I went with my host sister, Nut, and her Uncle to visit her. Her uncle had to do some business there and invited us to join him on his trip. They told me this about 30 minutes before we left. When we got to the house we had to pack really fast. I packed in 8 minutes, the fastest I have ever packed! We then made the journey to Nakhon Phanom. He drove fast so it wasn’t a long drive. We checked into the hotel and went to sleep.
In the morning I met up with Bashayer. We got some ice cream and hung out at the hotel. We took a walk along the river which was nice. We never seem to run out of things to talk about no matter how often we are together so that was nice. At night we went to a farewell party for the Germany exchange teacher at Bashayer’s school. When I returned to the hotel I used the internet while Nut and the uncle went out. It was very late when they finally came back. I could hear her the whole way up the stairs and she then pounded on the door, staggers in fall, runs to the bathroom and throws up! She was soooo wasted! For the next hour I listened to them take turns puking until they both passed out, it was a lot of fun!
Next morning we drove back to Mukdahan.
On Friday May 7 I was finally to head back to Petchaburi. Before I did I spent some time with Nut and May, Nut’s best friend. They showed me some things in the town (I don’t know why they waited) and took me up the Mukdahan Tower (I made them walk up and down so they weren’t too pleased). It was fun to spend time with them. On Thursday I had gone to the Indochina market with them and picked up some presents so I had to spend some time packing (also because I had kind of made a mess and I had things everywhere).
The best part of the day was picking up my Thai costume!!!! On Monday we went and had my measurements taken and picked out a design. I picked out some jewelry to go with it and then I picked out the fabric. I debated between blue and red but went with blue because it just seemed to look better for me. So on Friday I got to pick it up!! It was too big at first so she had to take it in but it was so exciting. That store didn’t have the head piece though so we went to another place to buy it and they had a lot more jewelry selection and a lot cheaper so I bought everything (and more) there and returned the other stuff. When we got home the girls did my hair and had me put on all the accessories so that we could take pics! I can’t wait to show everyone!!!!!
Well that night sadly I had to head back to Petchhaburi. Nut complained and wanted me to stay longer but I couldn’t. I made the 15 hour journey back to Petchaburi and then spent 5 hours in the terrible heat running around town buying things for my host mom. When we go back to the house I crashed!
That night I had to do laundry and I want to say that no one can complain about laundry until they have to do EVERYTHING by hand! The washing, the rinsing (twice), then the softener, the more rinsing, ringing and then hanging! UGH! I was so sick of laundry. I’m dreading when I have to wash my uniform by hand every day and then iron it every morning.
Well on Sunday I met up with Lucas at Big C. I’m having some computer problems and I was hoping he could fix them, but he couldn’t so it looks like Geek Squad will get a visit from me when I get home. We also started work on our project. We are doing a presentation together of the year and different things in Thailand to give to people when we get home. Some parts are boring but there is one part that I thought of that we are both really excited about! It was an adventure to get there. I started to wait for the truck around 9 but one didn’t come. At 10:15 I wasn’t feeling good from the heat so I went in to tell my host mom. After another 15 minutes of waiting she called a friend to take me on a motorcycle. After a lot of waiting I finally arrived there. We sat in a café and worked on the computers. Well there was no plug or internet so we decided to go to the internet café across from school. We took a tuktuk and arrived at the air-conditioned place about 15 minutes later. Those 15 minutes were interesting though. We shared a tuktuk with an older woman and her 2 grandsons. Well 2 farangs draws attention especially when we are talking. I was glad that she didn’t show any recognition as to what we were talking about because it was not the best thing to be discussing in public (let’s just say he had me blushing for not the first time that day).
We sat at the internet café for 3 hours. We didn’t get too much accomplished but we got some things done. At around 4 we decided to head back to Big C for some ice cream. We walked down one side of the street for about 5 minutes and saw a tuk tuk going by so we flagged it down. The guy pulls over, gets out, walks around to us just to point and tell us there is another tuktuk about a minute’s walk in the other direction from the café! We got to Big C and got our ice cream. I called my host mom and told her to have her friend pick me up but I had to wait for him to get there so we went and looked through the market outside. When his bus came he left but I still had to wait. A blonde farang gets a lot of stares just standing around!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I stayed in my room in front of the fan all day trying not to die of heat. Every time I would leave the room I would get too hot and begin to feel ill.
On Thursday my host mom had the day off so we went to the beach. We invited Lucas so after some confusion he met up with us (my host mom told me to tell him to meet us somewhere but when we got there he wasn’t there yet so she drove off and when he did get there she didn’t want to go back so she tried to get him to find us but he didn’t understand, not that he could have because we kept moving. Eventually she sent Mike to go and get him but she didn’t tell me and he decided to take a motorcycle to us after I told him what hotel we were next to. After some time Mike came back and we were all together). First we played in the water but then the others wanted to take a banana boat so we decided to join them. It wasn’t fun. After we finished (we fell off for the second time so we called it quits) we went to 7, dripping and covered in sand, to buy some food. We ate and talked and then went to shower. I didn’t want to shower there just change but Lucas did so I waited. When he was about done he says “This water smells like someone peed in it!” I smile and say “Wouldn’t surprise me, we’re in Thailand anything is possible!” He wasn’t happy with my comment because he kept thinking about it while he finishe€d. On the way back he said he could just picture someone putting their kid in the bin to get them clean and the kid releasing them self. The beach wasn’t bad but there wasn’t any sun (the day you want sun is the day there isn’t any) so I didn’t get tan.
Yesterday I went to Hua Hin with Lucas. I needed to go to immigration to hand in my 90 day papers so we decided to make a day of it. The woman helping me wasn’t very good and so took a long time. First she couldn’t figure out my visa (it’s a stamp because of the airport guy), then she couldn’t figure something else out, then she had me sign something wrong, and then she couldn’t find where she placed something! It was a little annoying. After immigration we walked to the highway and flagged a motorcycle to take us to the mall. We met up with a friend of his from Mexico there. First we went bowling. I sucked as usual. The first game I had a 60, second game a 48 (though I could have gotten higher but the boys played two times for me while I was talking to AFS and decided to have fun with it and so ended up getting me zeros), and the third game I got a 64. It was fun. We then went to lunch were €we met up with their America friend. The boys at 3 plates of food each and I ate one. Then we wen€t shopping. I stopped to look at something and they were causing a scene so I sent them on their wa€y and told them I’d call and find them when I was done. When I found them they were devouring a box of donuts. We walked around for a while then went and got DQ before heading home. When I arrived at Big C I had to sit and wait for an hour before they came to get me and they didn’t have their p€hones so I didn’t know if they were coming or not.
€
Today nothing happened. I talked to Marieke for over an hour and then I ate lunch, read, and just tried to avoid the heat. I had to do some more laundry but not too much because I did most of it on Wednesday night. Mike was gone today at the hospital visiting his grandfather so it was just Meow and I. Dinner was early and then Meow and I went for a bike ride around town. It was nice. Tomorrow I need to work on the project, pack, and do some paperwork for AFS. Monday school starts but I don’t plan on doing too much school because Lucas and I have to finish the project before the end of the week.
Well that’s all the fun you’ve missed in the last few weeks. Hope you’ve been enjoying yourselves!
Lots of Love,
Allyson
P.S. 19 Days till I land in Wisconsin!!!!!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Mukdahan part 1
So the last few days have been interesting. Some of you may not know but I had to change locations yet again. I had bought a ticket and was all prepared to go back to Petchaburi when AFS said that I had to stay in the Northeast for a little longer. Bashayer's family said they could not keep me so AFS arranged to move me about 3 hours south of her. They never called me and told me but told Bashayer's host sister P'Oui so when she said that we were going to return my ticket and started to tell us of the plan for the next day I had no clue what she was talking about. They never told my host mom in Petchaburi that plans were changed either so when I talked to her on Saturday night she still thought I was going to be back in Petchaburi on Monday. Everything has been a very confusing mess!
Anyway, Sunday was quite the adventure. I woke up at 7:30 so that I could be ready by 9 when Bashayer's family wanted to leave. After I was showered I finished packing and then cleaned Bashayer's room. I was ready to go but had a few last minute things to throw in my bags and I had to wait for Bashayer to be ready. At 8:45 her family was ready and was trying to rush us out the door. They are never on time and the one time we aren't ready early is the time they were! We quickly grabbed everything and loaded the car. We were on the road by 5 to 9.
We arrived in Mukdahan at 11:30 (we would have arrived sooner but her host dad wouldn't drive any faster than 50 km/hour the WHOLE trip! when the speed limit was around 80, well it normal is when they post it). P'Oui had called the coordinator and told her that we were there. AFS had not told her when I was coming or anything about me, they had called her on Saturday and told her that a student was going to be arriving and she was to take care of them. She was gone in a different province so she said she would try to be back by 1. So we went shopping at the Indochina market along the Mekong River. There was a lot of plastic Chinese junk and nothing overly impressive. At 2:30 we went to lunch because we were hungry and getting tired of waiting. No more than we get our food the coordinator, Ajarn Sophit, calls and tells us she is back. We quickly eat and head out. We had no clue where to go so we just drove around. We pulled into a house and I think "She's a teacher there is no way this huge house is hers!" While Bashayer just keeps saying, "Wow you're lucky!" We unload my stuff and P'Oui calls Ajarn Sophit because we did not see her. While she's on the phone she begins to laugh and signal for us to put the stuff back in the car. It turns out that was not the right place after all. Well that was embarrassing!
It took us a lot of confusion, several U-turns and many phone calls to find the house, but eventually we got there. After Bashayer's family left she showed me around and then we went to the school she teaches at. She dropped me off with some students of hers while she went and taught a girl. The girl I was with showed me around the school and then she asked me if I wanted to see a secret activity. I had no problem with this so we went. Her sister and two boys were playing cards, that's all. They said I couldn't tell Ajarn Sophit about it. They were very impressed by my shhuffling and they tried to teach me their game but I only got part.
After they dropped me off with Ajarn Sophit she showed me some scrapbooks the students made. She said she requires them to make her a book before they leave. They were cool to look at. It looked like the students get very involved here.
For dinner we went out for dinner with her husband (who is from California) and their friend Ted who is from Scotlamd. It was fun but they didn't really talk to me too much. It was interesting though to be able to understand the whole conversation!
I'll write about the last couple of days the next time I get on the computer. For now this little update will have to do.
Lots of Love,
Allyson
Anyway, Sunday was quite the adventure. I woke up at 7:30 so that I could be ready by 9 when Bashayer's family wanted to leave. After I was showered I finished packing and then cleaned Bashayer's room. I was ready to go but had a few last minute things to throw in my bags and I had to wait for Bashayer to be ready. At 8:45 her family was ready and was trying to rush us out the door. They are never on time and the one time we aren't ready early is the time they were! We quickly grabbed everything and loaded the car. We were on the road by 5 to 9.
We arrived in Mukdahan at 11:30 (we would have arrived sooner but her host dad wouldn't drive any faster than 50 km/hour the WHOLE trip! when the speed limit was around 80, well it normal is when they post it). P'Oui had called the coordinator and told her that we were there. AFS had not told her when I was coming or anything about me, they had called her on Saturday and told her that a student was going to be arriving and she was to take care of them. She was gone in a different province so she said she would try to be back by 1. So we went shopping at the Indochina market along the Mekong River. There was a lot of plastic Chinese junk and nothing overly impressive. At 2:30 we went to lunch because we were hungry and getting tired of waiting. No more than we get our food the coordinator, Ajarn Sophit, calls and tells us she is back. We quickly eat and head out. We had no clue where to go so we just drove around. We pulled into a house and I think "She's a teacher there is no way this huge house is hers!" While Bashayer just keeps saying, "Wow you're lucky!" We unload my stuff and P'Oui calls Ajarn Sophit because we did not see her. While she's on the phone she begins to laugh and signal for us to put the stuff back in the car. It turns out that was not the right place after all. Well that was embarrassing!
It took us a lot of confusion, several U-turns and many phone calls to find the house, but eventually we got there. After Bashayer's family left she showed me around and then we went to the school she teaches at. She dropped me off with some students of hers while she went and taught a girl. The girl I was with showed me around the school and then she asked me if I wanted to see a secret activity. I had no problem with this so we went. Her sister and two boys were playing cards, that's all. They said I couldn't tell Ajarn Sophit about it. They were very impressed by my shhuffling and they tried to teach me their game but I only got part.
After they dropped me off with Ajarn Sophit she showed me some scrapbooks the students made. She said she requires them to make her a book before they leave. They were cool to look at. It looked like the students get very involved here.
For dinner we went out for dinner with her husband (who is from California) and their friend Ted who is from Scotlamd. It was fun but they didn't really talk to me too much. It was interesting though to be able to understand the whole conversation!
I'll write about the last couple of days the next time I get on the computer. For now this little update will have to do.
Lots of Love,
Allyson
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Songkran
I am currently at Bashayer's house in the northeast. She lives on the border of Laos so when we drive along the Mekong River I get to see Laos. I like her area because it is small and quiet and she lives within bike riding distance of everything so we get to do things.
On my first day we just slept and laid around because I was tired from the long bus ride (I slept some but it wasn't a very great sleep). We talked for most of the morning which was fun. We also watched a few movies.
On my second day we rode the bikes to Tesco Lotus, their version of a Walmart, not the same but kind of close. It was a longer ride than I thought and I was very worn out by the end. I am really out of shape!
On Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays Bashayer has Tae Kwon Do. We skipped Saturday because we were too tired to go and because the other exchange student from Germany wasn't going to be there. We went on Sunday night. On the way we stopped at her school director's house but he wasn't there so his wife had to do the traditional Songkran blessing. We poured water from a special dish into her hand and then she put it over our head and back and wished us a Happy New Year. We were late for class but this is Thailand so it wasn't a huge deal. It was fun to watch her do the moves. She made me do the stretches with her and that was really depressing because I couldn't do anything! I have so much work to do when I get home.
On Monday we didn't really do much. Bashayer and I hung out and had some fun doing our own thing.
On Tuesday Bashayer's sister: P'Oui, took us to buy Songkran shirts and pants. Songkran started on Tuesday but we didn't celebrate that day because her host family didn't want to.
Maybe now would be a good time to describe what Songkran is. Songkran is the Thai New Year. It last three days, from April 12th to April 15th. You buy waterguns and you wear special shirts (you don't have to but it's fun) and you sit in the back of a pick-up and you spray everyone you go by. Some people fill big barrels with water and throw it at people. The boys also take baby powder and rub it on the girls faces. I'm telling you now that baby powder BURNS! Anyway, you can't really step outside without getting wet. They do it during the hottest part of the year and you actual stay very cool. It is fun for one day but I couldn't imagine doing it all 3 days.
On Tuesday we went with the German girl, Anna. It was fun except that we stood out and so were attacked way more than the norm. The baby powder burned and you could never get it off without someone coming and putting more on you. The water would get in your eyes and mouth and sometimes it would be colored so it would make your hair and face colored. After about an hour in the car we got out and stood on the side of the road with some people Anna knew. They had 3 barrels so we always had water. There were some children so Bashayer and I had a water war with them. We were located right next to a beer stand so there were lots of drunk guys which made me nervous because they kept coming up to me and wouldn't leave me alone. The women who were there were really nice and protected us pretty well. After we finished playing water we walked to Anna's house. we took some pictures there because we couldn't take any on the street. After we got home we crashed. We were cold and wet (it was one of the only times I've been cold since coming here and it was 43 Celsius out) but something about the day just wore us out!
On Thursday I woke up sick so we didn't do a lot. That morning we had to wake up early and go to a Laos market about an hour or so away. It was gross. They had dead rodents they were selling and some other weird things. At first I thought it was cool until I realized what everything was. We didn't take any pictures of the weird stuff, we actually tried not to look at it at all. We laid around and slept for the majority of the day. At one point we asked her sister to take us out to get pictures. We drove around for an hour or so and took pictures of everything. I didn't feel well all night so we just stayed home after that and watched movies.
Friday her sister took us to a temple. It was very pretty. After the temple we went to a mountain. In order to go up the mountain we had to stop to pick her one of P'Oui's friends to drive because she was scared to drive up herself. The mountain had a beautiful view and some cool statues of the different Buddha's for each day of the week. We had dinner with her friend and then drove home. It was a long day but it was nice to get out.
Yesterday Bashayer had Tae Kwon Do and she had her yellow belt test. She passed so I was so happy for her. She will get the yellow belt in about two weeks, right before Anna leaves because she passed too.
Today we were supposed to go to the grandma's house about 5 hours away for some celebration but when we woke up this morning to get ready they told us that we weren't going. It was about 7 at that time so we went back to sleep. When we woke up no one was home so we don't know where they went. Bashayer has Tae Kwon Do tonight but other than that no plans. I don't know what we are doing this week or when I'm leaving or anything so I'll let you know when I know.
I'll put on some pics next time I'm on.
Allyson
On my first day we just slept and laid around because I was tired from the long bus ride (I slept some but it wasn't a very great sleep). We talked for most of the morning which was fun. We also watched a few movies.
On my second day we rode the bikes to Tesco Lotus, their version of a Walmart, not the same but kind of close. It was a longer ride than I thought and I was very worn out by the end. I am really out of shape!
On Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays Bashayer has Tae Kwon Do. We skipped Saturday because we were too tired to go and because the other exchange student from Germany wasn't going to be there. We went on Sunday night. On the way we stopped at her school director's house but he wasn't there so his wife had to do the traditional Songkran blessing. We poured water from a special dish into her hand and then she put it over our head and back and wished us a Happy New Year. We were late for class but this is Thailand so it wasn't a huge deal. It was fun to watch her do the moves. She made me do the stretches with her and that was really depressing because I couldn't do anything! I have so much work to do when I get home.
On Monday we didn't really do much. Bashayer and I hung out and had some fun doing our own thing.
On Tuesday Bashayer's sister: P'Oui, took us to buy Songkran shirts and pants. Songkran started on Tuesday but we didn't celebrate that day because her host family didn't want to.
Maybe now would be a good time to describe what Songkran is. Songkran is the Thai New Year. It last three days, from April 12th to April 15th. You buy waterguns and you wear special shirts (you don't have to but it's fun) and you sit in the back of a pick-up and you spray everyone you go by. Some people fill big barrels with water and throw it at people. The boys also take baby powder and rub it on the girls faces. I'm telling you now that baby powder BURNS! Anyway, you can't really step outside without getting wet. They do it during the hottest part of the year and you actual stay very cool. It is fun for one day but I couldn't imagine doing it all 3 days.
On Tuesday we went with the German girl, Anna. It was fun except that we stood out and so were attacked way more than the norm. The baby powder burned and you could never get it off without someone coming and putting more on you. The water would get in your eyes and mouth and sometimes it would be colored so it would make your hair and face colored. After about an hour in the car we got out and stood on the side of the road with some people Anna knew. They had 3 barrels so we always had water. There were some children so Bashayer and I had a water war with them. We were located right next to a beer stand so there were lots of drunk guys which made me nervous because they kept coming up to me and wouldn't leave me alone. The women who were there were really nice and protected us pretty well. After we finished playing water we walked to Anna's house. we took some pictures there because we couldn't take any on the street. After we got home we crashed. We were cold and wet (it was one of the only times I've been cold since coming here and it was 43 Celsius out) but something about the day just wore us out!
On Thursday I woke up sick so we didn't do a lot. That morning we had to wake up early and go to a Laos market about an hour or so away. It was gross. They had dead rodents they were selling and some other weird things. At first I thought it was cool until I realized what everything was. We didn't take any pictures of the weird stuff, we actually tried not to look at it at all. We laid around and slept for the majority of the day. At one point we asked her sister to take us out to get pictures. We drove around for an hour or so and took pictures of everything. I didn't feel well all night so we just stayed home after that and watched movies.
Friday her sister took us to a temple. It was very pretty. After the temple we went to a mountain. In order to go up the mountain we had to stop to pick her one of P'Oui's friends to drive because she was scared to drive up herself. The mountain had a beautiful view and some cool statues of the different Buddha's for each day of the week. We had dinner with her friend and then drove home. It was a long day but it was nice to get out.
Yesterday Bashayer had Tae Kwon Do and she had her yellow belt test. She passed so I was so happy for her. She will get the yellow belt in about two weeks, right before Anna leaves because she passed too.
Today we were supposed to go to the grandma's house about 5 hours away for some celebration but when we woke up this morning to get ready they told us that we weren't going. It was about 7 at that time so we went back to sleep. When we woke up no one was home so we don't know where they went. Bashayer has Tae Kwon Do tonight but other than that no plans. I don't know what we are doing this week or when I'm leaving or anything so I'll let you know when I know.
I'll put on some pics next time I'm on.
Allyson
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Been Busy
Sorry about not posting in a long time, I've been busy! I don't even remember the last thing I wrote about so I guess I'll just do a brief overview of the last month or so. I finished school in February and headed to the Northeast. I stayed there for 5 weeks. My family was great! I had a 10 year old host sister and a 9 year old host brother. They could be a lot of fun though sometimes they gave me a headache. :-) I spent some time with Bashayer because she was only 3 hours away. We had fun jst hanging out. We stayed up till 2 or 3 in the morning and slept until noon. It was great until I had to get into a regular schedule again!
On March 27th my parents arrived! Everyone but Thomas came so it ws nice. I spent some time getting to know the two exchange girls living at my house. I showed them arond Petchaburi and introduced them to my friends and host family. A week ago we came to Bangkok and spent some time seeing things here. Everything touristy was closed because of the Red Shirts! Things are bad here in the aspect! It wouldn't suprise me if there was a reolvolution.
Well they left this morning and I miss them a lot! I am heading off to Bashayer's house for 2 weeks tonight though so that should keep my mind off of home. I have to check out now so I'll have to write more later!
Lots of Love,
Allyson
On March 27th my parents arrived! Everyone but Thomas came so it ws nice. I spent some time getting to know the two exchange girls living at my house. I showed them arond Petchaburi and introduced them to my friends and host family. A week ago we came to Bangkok and spent some time seeing things here. Everything touristy was closed because of the Red Shirts! Things are bad here in the aspect! It wouldn't suprise me if there was a reolvolution.
Well they left this morning and I miss them a lot! I am heading off to Bashayer's house for 2 weeks tonight though so that should keep my mind off of home. I have to check out now so I'll have to write more later!
Lots of Love,
Allyson
Friday, March 5, 2010
Another Day
So yesterday wasn’t anything overly eventful. I woke up and got ready and ended up running a few minutes behind because someone was in the bathroom when I first got up so I couldn’t get in right away. It was okay though because Alpha was running behind too. Everyone knows that when mom is gone kids get away with a lot of crap, well Papa let Alpha stay up past 1 AM watching a movie and then she couldn’t get out of bed in the morning and was late for school. Also she forgot to take care of the rabbit and hamster/gerbil things and the rabbit got hungry or something and started to chew on one of the hamster/gerbil things and killed it so now she is sad and I’m grossed out!
Anyway back to my day. I got to school and they gave me to this university student who is teaching some classes so that she can get practice. I spent the morning giving presentations on America to her English classes. It was fun. I smiled so much that my mouth was dry so for everyone who says I don’t smile enough they need to shut their mouths!
She took me out for lunch. It was kind of fun. It was my first time eating sticky rice in the northeast which I’ve found strange because in the northeast supposedly they don’t eat steamed rice but only sticky rice. I ate some chicken and so other things.
After lunch I was supposed to learn to make a Thai center piece but the teacher wasn’t there so they told me to take a nap. At around 3 (so after 2 ½ hours) she got back and she put me in a room with a student and then left. I watched the girl make one and tried to understand what she was doing but she didn’t explain so I was left to my own way of doing things and let me say it didn’t turn out that great. Oh well, hers looked cool.
At around 5:30 I went to a party for some teachers at my advisor and coordinators school. It was a farewell to the teachers who are changing schools and a hello to their replacements. It wasn’t fun but I met a girl from Spain who was really nice. I spent the day with her and her host sister today.
Today I woke up late, but so did they so it didn’t matter. I talked to Sarah on MSN for a little while then they picked me up and we went to the hospital for Thai massages. They were filled for the morning so we scheduled for the afternoon and went for brunch. After brunch they came to my house and we watched a movie. I had some computer problems but eventually I got it to turn on and I burned some songs for Catuxa, the girl from Spain. We then went for our massages. She got a foot massage and I got a full body. Though the full body was nice I like the foot massages better I decided.
After our massages I went to the house she was staying at and helped her pack, she was on week exchange here so she had to go back to Bangkok where she is staying. It was really nice to meet her and I hope to see her again before I leave.
Anyway back to my day. I got to school and they gave me to this university student who is teaching some classes so that she can get practice. I spent the morning giving presentations on America to her English classes. It was fun. I smiled so much that my mouth was dry so for everyone who says I don’t smile enough they need to shut their mouths!
She took me out for lunch. It was kind of fun. It was my first time eating sticky rice in the northeast which I’ve found strange because in the northeast supposedly they don’t eat steamed rice but only sticky rice. I ate some chicken and so other things.
After lunch I was supposed to learn to make a Thai center piece but the teacher wasn’t there so they told me to take a nap. At around 3 (so after 2 ½ hours) she got back and she put me in a room with a student and then left. I watched the girl make one and tried to understand what she was doing but she didn’t explain so I was left to my own way of doing things and let me say it didn’t turn out that great. Oh well, hers looked cool.
At around 5:30 I went to a party for some teachers at my advisor and coordinators school. It was a farewell to the teachers who are changing schools and a hello to their replacements. It wasn’t fun but I met a girl from Spain who was really nice. I spent the day with her and her host sister today.
Today I woke up late, but so did they so it didn’t matter. I talked to Sarah on MSN for a little while then they picked me up and we went to the hospital for Thai massages. They were filled for the morning so we scheduled for the afternoon and went for brunch. After brunch they came to my house and we watched a movie. I had some computer problems but eventually I got it to turn on and I burned some songs for Catuxa, the girl from Spain. We then went for our massages. She got a foot massage and I got a full body. Though the full body was nice I like the foot massages better I decided.
After our massages I went to the house she was staying at and helped her pack, she was on week exchange here so she had to go back to Bangkok where she is staying. It was really nice to meet her and I hope to see her again before I leave.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
End of February and Beginning of March
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been busy. As you all know I moved a week ago so that has been a big change in things. I finished school on February 19th, which was kind of sad but I know that I will go to school for at least two days before I go back to America. Before I left I had them all sign my friendship book. I took a picture of each person and put it on a page and they left me messages. I also had them all sign one of my uniform shirts. It was a nice day with my friends. You can see the pictures at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=149457&id=535566988&l=1da0c61bb6
On that Saturday I packed my things! It was crazy to see how much stuff I’ve collected this year. As I was packing I was sorting. I went through and took out the things that I don’t need any more this year and the things that I can just throw out. I don’t know what I’d do if mom and dad wouldn’t be bringing an extra suitcase to take things home!
On Sunday I went and met my advisor and P’Dai at a hotel in Cha-Am. My advisor’s name is P’Am and she is really nice. We went to Bangkok and stayed at her best friend’s house. We went for dinner at the Sizzler and then we went back and read and watched TV. In the morning we went in the city and did some site seeing. We took a boat into the city to avoid traffic. On our way to the National Museum we accidentally ran into one of her other students and his mother. We ended up spending the day with them. The museum was closed to we went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It was nice to go a second time since I don’t remember much from the first time being that it was the day after we arrived and I was so jetlagged! We then went to another palace but we couldn’t take photos inside, but it was really nice. After that we went back to her friend’s house, buying some pizza on the way, and packed up and went to the bus.
The bus left Bangkok at 9, stopped for 20 minutes around 12, and we arrived shortly after 7! It was very long and I didn’t sleep so well. P’Am took me to my host family. I met my host mother and my host sister along with some of the shop assistants (they have a pharmacy on the first floor too). I slept and unpacked most of the day but I did spend some time with Alpha, my 11 year old host sister, playing piano, watching a movie, and learning some Thai. It was fun.
On Wednesday I went to P’Am’s school and met my coordinator and the German teaching assistant. I didn’t do much but sit around and help to grade a few papers but it was nice. On Thursday I had a Thai lesson. The problem that I have with the move is that because I don’t speak fluent they assume I don’t speak at all. They are always explaining what everything means even if I understand and they are acting like I just arrived.
On Friday I went to the welfare school to help out. The welfare school is a school for the children who can’t afford the normal school, have problems, or learning disabilities. They house over 500 of the 800 students on the grounds as well as many of the teachers. It seems to me to be a nice school. In the morning I helped out in an English class, but in the afternoon they taught me how to make a traditional Thai flower piece.
Over the weekend I spent some time with the family. Saturday was Alpha’s 11th birthday so we went to Ubon for a Japanese dinner (they took the kids to Japan last year and they fell in love with Japanese food). I bought an external hard drive and stayed up late to mess with it. Sunday I tried to sleep in but people kept coming in my room so I probably got about 5 hours of sleep. Sunday was nothing special. Monday was a holiday so they were going to take me to do some sightseeing but Papa made plans to bike ride with some friends that got moved to the afternoon so we didn’t do anything.
Tuesday I learned to do a Thai foot massage. First I got one to see how it was done! Then I had to give one, the teacher who I did it for had the boniest legs ever! In the afternoon they taught me how to carve a pumpkin and watermelon Thai style. I wasn’t very good but I tried. I laughed when I made a mistake, which was very often, and just kept saying Mi pen ri and Sabi Sabi (no big deal, take it easy)! It was a fun experience.
Today I didn’t do anything in the morning but in the afternoon I made a Thai dessert. The teacher wants me to teach her to make a few American desserts now so I have to get recipes and ingredients. I also watched some Eason dancing (Eason is Laos in Thai, because we are on the boarder there is a lot of Eason culture and everyone speaks as much Eason as they do Thai, which confuses me but I’m managing). The teacher then taught me a Northeastern Thai dance. I wasn’t very good but it was fun to try. I draw quite the crowd wherever I go in the school, when I made dessert the kitchen got really full and when I was dancing the windows where full of peepers! Even though I’m not very good at the cultural stuff, I smile and laugh my way through it and I am loving the new experiences!
Well that’s all for now. Any questions just let me know and I’ll try to answer. I’ll try to write again sooner!
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152595&id=535566988&l=017881d9ee
Email:
buttonnose626@hotmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=149457&id=535566988&l=1da0c61bb6
On that Saturday I packed my things! It was crazy to see how much stuff I’ve collected this year. As I was packing I was sorting. I went through and took out the things that I don’t need any more this year and the things that I can just throw out. I don’t know what I’d do if mom and dad wouldn’t be bringing an extra suitcase to take things home!
On Sunday I went and met my advisor and P’Dai at a hotel in Cha-Am. My advisor’s name is P’Am and she is really nice. We went to Bangkok and stayed at her best friend’s house. We went for dinner at the Sizzler and then we went back and read and watched TV. In the morning we went in the city and did some site seeing. We took a boat into the city to avoid traffic. On our way to the National Museum we accidentally ran into one of her other students and his mother. We ended up spending the day with them. The museum was closed to we went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It was nice to go a second time since I don’t remember much from the first time being that it was the day after we arrived and I was so jetlagged! We then went to another palace but we couldn’t take photos inside, but it was really nice. After that we went back to her friend’s house, buying some pizza on the way, and packed up and went to the bus.
The bus left Bangkok at 9, stopped for 20 minutes around 12, and we arrived shortly after 7! It was very long and I didn’t sleep so well. P’Am took me to my host family. I met my host mother and my host sister along with some of the shop assistants (they have a pharmacy on the first floor too). I slept and unpacked most of the day but I did spend some time with Alpha, my 11 year old host sister, playing piano, watching a movie, and learning some Thai. It was fun.
On Wednesday I went to P’Am’s school and met my coordinator and the German teaching assistant. I didn’t do much but sit around and help to grade a few papers but it was nice. On Thursday I had a Thai lesson. The problem that I have with the move is that because I don’t speak fluent they assume I don’t speak at all. They are always explaining what everything means even if I understand and they are acting like I just arrived.
On Friday I went to the welfare school to help out. The welfare school is a school for the children who can’t afford the normal school, have problems, or learning disabilities. They house over 500 of the 800 students on the grounds as well as many of the teachers. It seems to me to be a nice school. In the morning I helped out in an English class, but in the afternoon they taught me how to make a traditional Thai flower piece.
Over the weekend I spent some time with the family. Saturday was Alpha’s 11th birthday so we went to Ubon for a Japanese dinner (they took the kids to Japan last year and they fell in love with Japanese food). I bought an external hard drive and stayed up late to mess with it. Sunday I tried to sleep in but people kept coming in my room so I probably got about 5 hours of sleep. Sunday was nothing special. Monday was a holiday so they were going to take me to do some sightseeing but Papa made plans to bike ride with some friends that got moved to the afternoon so we didn’t do anything.
Tuesday I learned to do a Thai foot massage. First I got one to see how it was done! Then I had to give one, the teacher who I did it for had the boniest legs ever! In the afternoon they taught me how to carve a pumpkin and watermelon Thai style. I wasn’t very good but I tried. I laughed when I made a mistake, which was very often, and just kept saying Mi pen ri and Sabi Sabi (no big deal, take it easy)! It was a fun experience.
Today I didn’t do anything in the morning but in the afternoon I made a Thai dessert. The teacher wants me to teach her to make a few American desserts now so I have to get recipes and ingredients. I also watched some Eason dancing (Eason is Laos in Thai, because we are on the boarder there is a lot of Eason culture and everyone speaks as much Eason as they do Thai, which confuses me but I’m managing). The teacher then taught me a Northeastern Thai dance. I wasn’t very good but it was fun to try. I draw quite the crowd wherever I go in the school, when I made dessert the kitchen got really full and when I was dancing the windows where full of peepers! Even though I’m not very good at the cultural stuff, I smile and laugh my way through it and I am loving the new experiences!
Well that’s all for now. Any questions just let me know and I’ll try to answer. I’ll try to write again sooner!
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152595&id=535566988&l=017881d9ee
Email:
buttonnose626@hotmail.com
Friday, February 19, 2010
Moving
Tomorrow, Sunday February 21st, I will be leaving Petchaburi and moving to the north/east of Thailand for a month. The new province is called Amnat Charoen. I will don't know anything yet so I'll have to write more as soon as I can.
Love you all,
Allyson
Love you all,
Allyson
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wedding, Temple, and the Goodbyes Begin
Well I know it’s not in the title but it did happen and I think that I will just take a paragraph or two to tell about last week’s community service.
On Tuesday Lucas, Jason, and I went to the little school that we had gone to the previous week. We had prepared some lessons and divided up who was going to teach what and for how long. As we were driving there Lucas decided that he didn’t want to do anything so I ended up with double. I taught Tongue Twisters and Telling Time. We taught Modeums 1,2 and 6 (grades 7,8, and 12). I also helped Jason with his activity. Jason had created a list of various things falling under 6 categories and he would say a word and they would have to rush up to the board to choose the right category. The group that got the most points got a prize. It was fun.
On Wednesday we went to a couple of elementary schools. We taught colors and shapes, we did some fruits and vegetables, worked on the alphabet and counting, taught them “Duck, Duck, Goose” and “The Hokey Pokey”. They were all so cute and so interested in learning. They would repeat everything we said and were very good at listening.
Alright so now I will get to the title stuff.
Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, I went to a wedding. In Thailand it is customary to invite everybody, even people you don’t know, to everything. Bashayer was telling me that she went to a funeral for the cousin of her host sister’s friend’s friend. They didn’t know the person but they went anyway. The same was for the wedding. I don’t know how they knew or if they knew the people getting married but we went.
First the monks come and bless them and do some sort of ceremony, we only caught the end because we were late. Then the bride and groom sit on stools with these tables in front of them and flowers in front of the tables, while people come and bless them and pour water on their hands. They are connected by two circles of flowers on their heads. All the adults had to go and bless them and pour the water on their hands, I don’t know why.
After everybody had finished they took some pictures with people (in Thailand they take the wedding photos several weeks before the wedding). By this time it was about 12 PM and time for lunch. We went down the block (about ½ a block) and there were tents set up for us to sit and eat. They served us the same food that is served at every event (and I mean every, they never vary it up even a little). I by now know the things I do like and don’t.
After we finished eating we had to leave because Meow had an Ortho appointment and then she had to meet with Eddie (one of the English teachers) for private lessons because she did not pass her English test to go to the US next year. I ended up sitting in the English Corner reading for 3 hours because my host mom told me to go with her and then one girl was an hour late so they had to go an hour longer.
Last night after the store was closed we went to a celebration at a new temple (not that they need another, there are like 6 on my way to school as it is). For the celebration they set up the whole place like a party/celebration thing just like they did for every other party I’ve been to here (food and carnival games included). The only difference was the temple and the monks. The temple had 9 balls all around it and you had to go and put the gold foil on each one. After the ceremony they put the balls into the ground as some sort of religious thing. Then you go around and do various other religious things like give money, give some things to the monks, pray, and some other things I couldn’t figure out.
After they had done all the religious stuff we walked around and the kids played various games. They won a pink pillow playing darts (no idea what they plan on doing with it). They bought food (no surprise since Thai people are always eating snacks but never meals). We did various things for about 2 hours then decided it was time to head home.
Now the last topic spreads a little and is not totally about things that have been happening but things that have been running through my head.
So Friday was Martin (the boy from Alaska), Jason, and Lucas’s last day. It was really sad to have to say goodbye to them. I won’t ever see Jason or Martin again and I don’t know if or when I will see Lucas again. It made me really sad to realize that this year is really starting to come to a close. I have formed some great relationship, ones that I hope to continue in the future, but I don’t know if I will ever see these people again.
It’s really sad to look at everything that I’ve done this year and realize that I haven’t done much for being here 6 months. I have just over 3 months left and then this amazing year is going to be over! I have one week left of school which means one last week with my friends. Today I went to my last Monday market. Tomorrow will be my last Tuesday Pad Thai. Last week Thursday was the last time I will ever wear the gym uniform. So much has happened in the last few days and so much more is going to happen in the next few. I can’t believe it’s all coming to a close! It feels like I just got here and like I’m finally finding my place and it all is ending.
Though I am happy and excited about summer and everything it’s going to bring, I’m sad for what I am losing. As much as I hate and complain about the uniform it’s going to be weird to not have to put it on every day. It’s going to be lonely at home with no friends to laugh with or to eat lunch with. I’m going to miss them teasing me or laughing at how I pronounce words. I’m going to miss Sai running up to me after the weekend and giving me a hug and kiss on the check. I’m going to miss Mo and Boom. I love spending time with them, talking with them, and just having fun and goofing around. I’m going to miss them speaking to me and Thai and me trying to reply and the thrill I get when they say Chok Dee (good job)! I’m going to miss the lunch lady’s smile because she knows exactly what I want without having to ask (I go there every day and get the same thing). I’m going to miss the English Corner filled with all the farang; I’m going to miss talking with all the teachers and laughing over stupid things I did or that happened to me. I’m going to miss Benchama and my life here!
On Tuesday Lucas, Jason, and I went to the little school that we had gone to the previous week. We had prepared some lessons and divided up who was going to teach what and for how long. As we were driving there Lucas decided that he didn’t want to do anything so I ended up with double. I taught Tongue Twisters and Telling Time. We taught Modeums 1,2 and 6 (grades 7,8, and 12). I also helped Jason with his activity. Jason had created a list of various things falling under 6 categories and he would say a word and they would have to rush up to the board to choose the right category. The group that got the most points got a prize. It was fun.
On Wednesday we went to a couple of elementary schools. We taught colors and shapes, we did some fruits and vegetables, worked on the alphabet and counting, taught them “Duck, Duck, Goose” and “The Hokey Pokey”. They were all so cute and so interested in learning. They would repeat everything we said and were very good at listening.
Alright so now I will get to the title stuff.
Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, I went to a wedding. In Thailand it is customary to invite everybody, even people you don’t know, to everything. Bashayer was telling me that she went to a funeral for the cousin of her host sister’s friend’s friend. They didn’t know the person but they went anyway. The same was for the wedding. I don’t know how they knew or if they knew the people getting married but we went.
First the monks come and bless them and do some sort of ceremony, we only caught the end because we were late. Then the bride and groom sit on stools with these tables in front of them and flowers in front of the tables, while people come and bless them and pour water on their hands. They are connected by two circles of flowers on their heads. All the adults had to go and bless them and pour the water on their hands, I don’t know why.
After everybody had finished they took some pictures with people (in Thailand they take the wedding photos several weeks before the wedding). By this time it was about 12 PM and time for lunch. We went down the block (about ½ a block) and there were tents set up for us to sit and eat. They served us the same food that is served at every event (and I mean every, they never vary it up even a little). I by now know the things I do like and don’t.
After we finished eating we had to leave because Meow had an Ortho appointment and then she had to meet with Eddie (one of the English teachers) for private lessons because she did not pass her English test to go to the US next year. I ended up sitting in the English Corner reading for 3 hours because my host mom told me to go with her and then one girl was an hour late so they had to go an hour longer.
Last night after the store was closed we went to a celebration at a new temple (not that they need another, there are like 6 on my way to school as it is). For the celebration they set up the whole place like a party/celebration thing just like they did for every other party I’ve been to here (food and carnival games included). The only difference was the temple and the monks. The temple had 9 balls all around it and you had to go and put the gold foil on each one. After the ceremony they put the balls into the ground as some sort of religious thing. Then you go around and do various other religious things like give money, give some things to the monks, pray, and some other things I couldn’t figure out.
After they had done all the religious stuff we walked around and the kids played various games. They won a pink pillow playing darts (no idea what they plan on doing with it). They bought food (no surprise since Thai people are always eating snacks but never meals). We did various things for about 2 hours then decided it was time to head home.
Now the last topic spreads a little and is not totally about things that have been happening but things that have been running through my head.
So Friday was Martin (the boy from Alaska), Jason, and Lucas’s last day. It was really sad to have to say goodbye to them. I won’t ever see Jason or Martin again and I don’t know if or when I will see Lucas again. It made me really sad to realize that this year is really starting to come to a close. I have formed some great relationship, ones that I hope to continue in the future, but I don’t know if I will ever see these people again.
It’s really sad to look at everything that I’ve done this year and realize that I haven’t done much for being here 6 months. I have just over 3 months left and then this amazing year is going to be over! I have one week left of school which means one last week with my friends. Today I went to my last Monday market. Tomorrow will be my last Tuesday Pad Thai. Last week Thursday was the last time I will ever wear the gym uniform. So much has happened in the last few days and so much more is going to happen in the next few. I can’t believe it’s all coming to a close! It feels like I just got here and like I’m finally finding my place and it all is ending.
Though I am happy and excited about summer and everything it’s going to bring, I’m sad for what I am losing. As much as I hate and complain about the uniform it’s going to be weird to not have to put it on every day. It’s going to be lonely at home with no friends to laugh with or to eat lunch with. I’m going to miss them teasing me or laughing at how I pronounce words. I’m going to miss Sai running up to me after the weekend and giving me a hug and kiss on the check. I’m going to miss Mo and Boom. I love spending time with them, talking with them, and just having fun and goofing around. I’m going to miss them speaking to me and Thai and me trying to reply and the thrill I get when they say Chok Dee (good job)! I’m going to miss the lunch lady’s smile because she knows exactly what I want without having to ask (I go there every day and get the same thing). I’m going to miss the English Corner filled with all the farang; I’m going to miss talking with all the teachers and laughing over stupid things I did or that happened to me. I’m going to miss Benchama and my life here!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Bye Bye Modeum 6 and Beginning Community Service
So yesterday was the farewell ceremony for Modeum 6 (that’s grade 12). They had a 2 hour assembly in the morning with a big ceremony for them. The rest of the day was spent giving them gifts, saying goodbye (even though they have exams for the next week), and using them as an excuse to ditch class. There was a group of Chinese people at the school so my class was in charge of showing them around so we didn’t have class. Lucas is in modeum 6 so he spent the day with his friends. He got decked out, I’ll have to post a pic at some point. I didn’t have much to do with it.
Well yesterday I was supposed to start my community service but Jason was sick and they didn’t think that I needed to go so they cancelled it. I did need to go but I guess what can I do. Jason was sick with a fever from many mosquito bites that made his whole foot swell to the point it wouldn’t even fit in a shoe after medicine for three days.
Today I actually did do community service. Peach’s mom is a nurse (a sex ed nurse as I found out from all the things in her office) and they were having an event at her hospital so we went to help out. We started by talking with some children about 9. Then they put us on serving duty so we went around with little desserts and drinks. We also helped to set up the food pyramid display. We did whatever they asked us to do and when they had nothing for us to do we sat and tried to figure out the Rubix cube that Lucas’s host brother bet him he couldn’t.
After the community service we went for lunch. We made it back in time for me to go to PE. Today was the first day of PE final. I didn’t know what I was doing so I just winged it. I don’t know why but I got a C. Boom said it’s no big deal because she did well and got a B. It was the beginning and she said it would get better so I shouldn’t think about it.
After school I mailed all the packages and post cards. All I have to say is that everyone I sent something to better love me because I spent my whole months money on shipping!
Well that’s all for now.
Well yesterday I was supposed to start my community service but Jason was sick and they didn’t think that I needed to go so they cancelled it. I did need to go but I guess what can I do. Jason was sick with a fever from many mosquito bites that made his whole foot swell to the point it wouldn’t even fit in a shoe after medicine for three days.
Today I actually did do community service. Peach’s mom is a nurse (a sex ed nurse as I found out from all the things in her office) and they were having an event at her hospital so we went to help out. We started by talking with some children about 9. Then they put us on serving duty so we went around with little desserts and drinks. We also helped to set up the food pyramid display. We did whatever they asked us to do and when they had nothing for us to do we sat and tried to figure out the Rubix cube that Lucas’s host brother bet him he couldn’t.
After the community service we went for lunch. We made it back in time for me to go to PE. Today was the first day of PE final. I didn’t know what I was doing so I just winged it. I don’t know why but I got a C. Boom said it’s no big deal because she did well and got a B. It was the beginning and she said it would get better so I shouldn’t think about it.
After school I mailed all the packages and post cards. All I have to say is that everyone I sent something to better love me because I spent my whole months money on shipping!
Well that’s all for now.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Beginning of Community Service -- FINALLY!!!
So today I started, well sort of, my community service. I'll start from the beginning of today though.
I woke up at 5 to get ready because I needed to be at school at 7:30 (or so I told my host family knowing that if I told them that early then I'd be there on time). I showered and did some stuff on my computer. I got ready and then ate breakfast (the leftovers from last nights dinner) and of course I ate alone because no one here eats breakfast. We left at like 7:20 ish (told you we are never on time, I'm in Thailand I've learned how things work). We made a few stops on the way and got to school at 8. I had time to tell Lucas we were NOT going to 7/11 talk to Martin, the kid from Alaska that is here with his family to avoid the Alaskan winter, and to get all my stuff taken care of. The lady came and picked us up then and we drove to pick up another student.
The 4 of us crammed in the back seat of the truck for the hour drive to the little school. The school is 5 years old and has less than 100 students (and the lady, I think she was the director, said most students don't show up). We walked around the school and talked to various classes. Most classes didn't have teachers so the students were just doing whatever they wanted.
After the tour of the one floor classroom we went to see the scenery. The school is built on a mangrove farm. There were monkeys and those weird things that look like giant tadpoles that like climb in the mud.
The lady then said that there wasn't anything left to do at the school so she was going to take us sightseeing. We first went to a different province to get drinks and to feed some fish. Then we drove to Cha Am to look at the beach. The they took us to Hua Hin to get Pizza Hut. It was great pizza, just like at home! We loved it and ate all of it (the large was the size of a small in America). Then they came and picked us up again (they went for traditional Thai somewhere).
We then went back to Petchaburi and went to this like shop area at the bottom of the mountain and I found Petchaburi postcards something I'd been looking for, and a Thailand keychain.
Then it was back to school. On arriving at school I looked through the large amount of shoes in front of the English Corner, and what do you know, my shoes were there. I ran inside with them, with my sandals still on, and hid them before anyone would know. I STOLE MY SHOES BACK I STOLE MY SHOES BACK!
After school I worked on the project for tomorrow. Jason and I are going to an elementary school to teach so we were preparing things (I love that he only has 2 weeks to do his community service because that means I'm actually getting mine done too). My host mom came and had to talk to some of the teachers because Mike is having a lot of problems in school.
We then went to dinner where I ate Pad Thai mi khai (Thai noodles no egg) and then we went and printed photos for me. I got 130 photos for around $14 (that's just over a penny each). And because I got some many they gave me a big one for free (8x10). Then we went and picked up some stuff for the store. There were two really cute little kids in the store and it was fun to watch them.
We then went and picked up Meow and Mike and headed home. I prepared the stuff to send to various places in the world and then cleaned my room a little. I had random stuff laying all over my room that I'm not going to use here so I put it all in boxes (yes boxES)! Just the few things laying around filled 2 1/2 boxes! I'm doomed! I've hardly gone anywhere or bought anything yet. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to send more than half of my things with mom and dad because I will probably buy more after they leave because I will be traveling!
Well now I'm exhausted from a lack of sleep (I'm a teenager who likes to do everything at night and hates mornings) so I'm headed to bed. Night to all! Chan rak mak koon (lot of love to all)!
Allyson
I woke up at 5 to get ready because I needed to be at school at 7:30 (or so I told my host family knowing that if I told them that early then I'd be there on time). I showered and did some stuff on my computer. I got ready and then ate breakfast (the leftovers from last nights dinner) and of course I ate alone because no one here eats breakfast. We left at like 7:20 ish (told you we are never on time, I'm in Thailand I've learned how things work). We made a few stops on the way and got to school at 8. I had time to tell Lucas we were NOT going to 7/11 talk to Martin, the kid from Alaska that is here with his family to avoid the Alaskan winter, and to get all my stuff taken care of. The lady came and picked us up then and we drove to pick up another student.
The 4 of us crammed in the back seat of the truck for the hour drive to the little school. The school is 5 years old and has less than 100 students (and the lady, I think she was the director, said most students don't show up). We walked around the school and talked to various classes. Most classes didn't have teachers so the students were just doing whatever they wanted.
After the tour of the one floor classroom we went to see the scenery. The school is built on a mangrove farm. There were monkeys and those weird things that look like giant tadpoles that like climb in the mud.
The lady then said that there wasn't anything left to do at the school so she was going to take us sightseeing. We first went to a different province to get drinks and to feed some fish. Then we drove to Cha Am to look at the beach. The they took us to Hua Hin to get Pizza Hut. It was great pizza, just like at home! We loved it and ate all of it (the large was the size of a small in America). Then they came and picked us up again (they went for traditional Thai somewhere).
We then went back to Petchaburi and went to this like shop area at the bottom of the mountain and I found Petchaburi postcards something I'd been looking for, and a Thailand keychain.
Then it was back to school. On arriving at school I looked through the large amount of shoes in front of the English Corner, and what do you know, my shoes were there. I ran inside with them, with my sandals still on, and hid them before anyone would know. I STOLE MY SHOES BACK I STOLE MY SHOES BACK!
After school I worked on the project for tomorrow. Jason and I are going to an elementary school to teach so we were preparing things (I love that he only has 2 weeks to do his community service because that means I'm actually getting mine done too). My host mom came and had to talk to some of the teachers because Mike is having a lot of problems in school.
We then went to dinner where I ate Pad Thai mi khai (Thai noodles no egg) and then we went and printed photos for me. I got 130 photos for around $14 (that's just over a penny each). And because I got some many they gave me a big one for free (8x10). Then we went and picked up some stuff for the store. There were two really cute little kids in the store and it was fun to watch them.
We then went and picked up Meow and Mike and headed home. I prepared the stuff to send to various places in the world and then cleaned my room a little. I had random stuff laying all over my room that I'm not going to use here so I put it all in boxes (yes boxES)! Just the few things laying around filled 2 1/2 boxes! I'm doomed! I've hardly gone anywhere or bought anything yet. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to send more than half of my things with mom and dad because I will probably buy more after they leave because I will be traveling!
Well now I'm exhausted from a lack of sleep (I'm a teenager who likes to do everything at night and hates mornings) so I'm headed to bed. Night to all! Chan rak mak koon (lot of love to all)!
Allyson
Sunday, January 31, 2010
ChaingMai - AFS Midstay Camp
So I left on Monday January 25th in the early morning for the Midstay camp. I was not looking forward to it because I thought that it was just going to be the 5 of us again. I left for the van at 4:30 AM because my host dad had to pick someone up or something like that. I arrived in Bangkok at 6:30 and sat at Victory monument and pigeon and people watched until 8 when the AFS guy came and got me. We then went around and picked up other students (there were other students!!!). It was a 30 minutes van ride to the AFS office and then I sat and waited for everyone to get there.
We had a short meeting then we were on our way. It was a long bus ride and for the first half I didn’t talk to anyone. Bashayer called and I talked with her for a while but neither one of us had too many minutes. I listened to my iPod and fell asleep. When I was awake I listened in on some of the conversations. I got an education in the problems on Italian and German school. I got to hear all sorts of complaints about host families, coordinators, and life in general. More than half of them have changed families! When you want to change families with AFS all you have to do is ask and they will let you change!
About halfway we stopped and picked up 3 girls. They sat next to me since there was an open seat. I talked with them the rest of the way. I got really close with the girl who sat next to me. Her name is Adriani from Germany. When we stopped at BigC for dinner I bought StepUp 2 for 100baht ($3.34) and we bought some snacks. When we arrived at the hotel both Ariadni and I had to wait up because our roommates weren’t arriving till 1 and in Thailand you only get one key. So we watched a few movies and ate.
On Tuesday the five of us separated from the other 60 students for our community service project. I didn’t know what to expect because the only thing they told us is that we were going to help out at a night safari. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! The first thing we got to do when we got there was feed the baby animals. There were baby black panthers, a baby tiger, a baby lion, and a baby Asiatic black bear. After we fed them we split into three groups and were assigned a leader. Bashayer and I were a group (duh!) and our leader started off really nice.
The first thing we did was go and pick up food for the ostriches. We loaded the ATV and then off we went. He took us right into the cage with all of the ostriches. We couldn’t do much because he said it wasn’t safe for us to get off the ATV but it was still fun. He collected all the eggs which we thought was a little weird. He didn’t speak much English so everything was a Thai English mix, it was fun. We asked him why he was collecting them and he said that when they get wet they don’t hatch (we had rain the night before) so he was collecting them to drain the yoke to feed the baby lion and tiger. They then use the white as pigment for clothes and things. We didn’t know what to think of it but we decided that if that is how it was there was nothing we could do about it. He also said that when it is dry they collect the eggs to put them in incubators for hatching.
After the ostriches he let us go and play with the babies. They were soooo cute!!! The baby tiger loved me. The baby lion was crabby and anytime you touched her she would growl and you. Bashayer was scared of them and so she was very hesitant about touching them and playing with them, but I went and picked up the tiger and was holding her. She asked to hold her for a picture but as soon as the picture was over she handed her back to me . I asked the guy if I could keep the baby tiger but he said no . I hope that I can play with more babies one day.
When play time was over it was time to work. We cleaned the adult lionesses and tigresses cage. We had to use a broom to clean up the poop (they don’t have pooper scoopers to do it) and then we had to spray it down and get all the dirt out and then sweep the excess water out. We helped him finish with some of his other small tasks and then it was lunch.
After lunch they invited us to watch a hyena surgery! Some of the hyenas were fighting and one got severely injured. His big toe was hanging on by only a sliver of skin and his leg was all torn up. We got to watch them remove the toe. IT WAS SO COOL! Everyone else was grossed out and couldn’t believe that I was fascinated by it. I videoed almost the whole thing (though Bashayer doesn’t think anyone will want to watch it). There are moments were I think I would make a good doctor and that was one of them, then I think of A & P and remember why I’m no longer interested (that and I love traveling and seeing the world :-D)
We then headed up to the tallest point in Thailand (or so I’m told). There is a Wat at the top so we took the long journey up. It was pretty but I’ve seen more beautiful ones closer to the ground. The view was gorgeous though. You could see all of ChaingMai.
We then rejoined the group for a traditional North Thailand dinner. We sat on the floor and ate fried chicken, sticky rice, fried sweet noodles, fried bananas, and some other things. They came around in traditional costumes and take your pictures for 100 baht, I got one. Then there was traditional dancing and some other performances. It was kind of fun.
Wednesday was fun. In the morning the five of us went Elephant riding, Oxen cart, and Bamboo rafting. The others did that the day before while we were doing community service (They also went to an adventure park where one guy broke his arm). The Elephant riding was not as fun as the first time. It felt like I was on a rollercoaster. Our elephant was crazy. (Sorry Sarah but the only place you can elephant ride is in the North I looked at it’s about 1000baht per person [just over $33]). Oxen cart riding is lame. It is two oxen pulling a cart up a hill less than ½ a mile. Our driver was cool though and let us drive while he walked and took pictures for us. The bamboo rafting was very peaceful and beautiful.
After we finished there we went and met up with the other group to go to a bamboo umbrella factory. We got to watch the process of hand making a bamboo umbrella and fan. It takes a lot of time for each part of the process. It was really cool to see how much work goes into making just one. I of course bought an umbrella and a bought a fan (I know I shouldn’t have bought both but they are souvenirs and they will be with me for the rest of my life). I didn’t take pictures of them so you will all have to wait to see them until I get home. I also had them paint a design on my camera bag for 70baht ($2) (the lady let me choose the price starting at 50 baht and it looked really cool so I gave her 70.
That night we went to the Night Market (the coolest thing ever!!!). I went with Bashayer, Jackie (another girl from Germany), and Adriani (it was her 18th birthday!!!). We had a lot of fun. I bought a 7/11 T-shirt (they have more than we have Starbucks if you can imagine that), a “Same Same. . . but Different” shirt (what they always say to us), a Thai consonant shirt (no vowels but oh well), and a Thailand shirt. I also got a purse (I’ve wanted one for a while and I’m glad I got it after what happened that night), and a few other things. We went to a European and Thai restaurant to celebrate Adriani’s birthday and Bashayer and I shared some Pad Thai and some other type of pasta thing.
They told us that we all had to be back at the McDonald’s before 11 because the bus couldn’t stop and they weren’t joking. As soon as the buses stopped (there was a red light thankfully) we all got on and the bus started to leave, some people had to get on as the bus was taking off. On the way back to the hotel I told P’Dai that it was Adriani’s birthday so the whole bus sang “Happy Birthday” Thai style and then the Germans did it in German for her. She was so red by the end :-D!
The girls then came to our hotel room and we watched movies. (the other students were out on the back patio area right below our window drinking because the AFS director said that as long as they didn’t see them doing it it wasn’t a problem!). Curfew was 1 so of course, being teenagers, we used every minute. After the girls left Bashayer and I packed because we are better night people then morning (especially her). It was 3 something when we got to bed. I got up at 6 (I’m always the first because otherwise I would never get in because she would never get up). I got up (it was dark) and stepped in a puddle of water. I didn’t know where it came from and ignored it at first but after stepping in it in several places I began to wake up enough to worry. I picked up my purse from the ground and it was dripping. I then picked up my laptop bag and it was soaking too! Our fridge broke and we had water all over! I was NOT happy. My stuff is fine but I had to let it sit out and dry and I had to put my laptop and accessories in plastic bags before putting it in the case.
After breakfast we all loaded the buses and headed for a different province, Adriani’s province. It was a 7 hour drive but I talked with my friends the whole time so it didn’t seem that long and we watched Juno and Transformers 2. When we got there we went to some historical park and then went to the hotel. We went out for dinner at this restaurant on the river (it took us 45 minutes to get there because the bus drivers got lost and only 10 minutes to get back).
That night I talked with P’Dai and the director (I don’t remember her name). Then I went and loading pictures and videos onto my computer and talked with Bashayer. We went to bed around 1 (why is it that even responsible teenagers are so irresponsible when they get together?).
Friday we all went home. Bashayer went on the Northeast bus and Adriani stayed in her province so it was just Jackie and I. It was a long day. We talked almost the whole trip and then we watch some Thai movie. There were no English subtitles or anything so I only understood parts and the acting so I feel asleep after 30 minutes; I woke to see the last hour though. We arrived back at the AFS office around 3:30 and I was supposed to have a taxi after 15 minutes but it was closer to an hour before it came and it was hot and very very humid! I met a boy from Australia, Jason, who is going to be staying in Petchaburi for two weeks with Gayoon to TA. We rode back together and talked the whole way so it seemed like a pretty short ride.
AFS told me Gayoon was supposed to pick me up so I didn’t call my host mom and for some reason she didn’t call me. When we arrived the van dropped us off at some hospital that I’ve never been too before so I didn’t know anything. Gayoon wasn’t there so we tried the pay phone but it wasn’t working and my phone had no reception. We waited for 30 minutes then called P’Dai (the pay phone worked to call her) and when we finally got ahold of her Gayoon showed up.
She said that I should have called my host mom but since she couldn’t leave me there alone she took me with her. We went to her house to drop off Jason’s bag and to pick up her son. Then we went to dinner. At 8:30 my host mom picked me up and we went home. I then went on the computer and loading some photos and talked with Adriani and Mom and Dad. Then I showered and had to unpack because the laundry was coming in the morning. It was 1 when I finally got to bed.
I woke up at 4:30 because my host mom said that I had to leave at 5:30. My host dad didn’t even wake up till 5:30 so I was up and waiting for nothing. I took the van at 7 to Bangkok and I met up with Jackie at 9:30 in front of Dunkin’ Donuts because I couldn’t find the 7/11 (the BTS has 6 different exits it’s crazy trying to figure out which one to get off to get where you want to go). I then ate breakfast and then we went shopping.
I bought a few books that Dad said I should and then we went and watched Pope Joan, a pretty good movie. I then bought some peanut butter and granola bars and Macy’s birthday present. The rest of the time we just spent goofing around and having fun. I arrived home at 8:45, ate and crashed.
Today I have like a million things to do but it already 5 and I’ve done very few. Tomorrow I have school again and I can just imagine the greeting I’m going to get after almost two weeks away. Only 3 weeks of school left. I’m done the 19th, then it’s summer!!!!! So much is going to happen this summer, I’m so excited. I only have one week of school in May so I don’t even know why I have to go. I was supposed to go and buy new school shoes today because I don’t have any because the last day of school someone took mine and left me with nothing not even a pair to say that it was an accident, but no one went anywhere so I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow.
Well life’s just as crazy for me as ever. Hope you are all well.
Lots of love,
Allyson
Pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144782&id=535566988&l=6bdbb16114
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144297&id=535566988&l=d3932580ba
We had a short meeting then we were on our way. It was a long bus ride and for the first half I didn’t talk to anyone. Bashayer called and I talked with her for a while but neither one of us had too many minutes. I listened to my iPod and fell asleep. When I was awake I listened in on some of the conversations. I got an education in the problems on Italian and German school. I got to hear all sorts of complaints about host families, coordinators, and life in general. More than half of them have changed families! When you want to change families with AFS all you have to do is ask and they will let you change!
About halfway we stopped and picked up 3 girls. They sat next to me since there was an open seat. I talked with them the rest of the way. I got really close with the girl who sat next to me. Her name is Adriani from Germany. When we stopped at BigC for dinner I bought StepUp 2 for 100baht ($3.34) and we bought some snacks. When we arrived at the hotel both Ariadni and I had to wait up because our roommates weren’t arriving till 1 and in Thailand you only get one key. So we watched a few movies and ate.
On Tuesday the five of us separated from the other 60 students for our community service project. I didn’t know what to expect because the only thing they told us is that we were going to help out at a night safari. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! The first thing we got to do when we got there was feed the baby animals. There were baby black panthers, a baby tiger, a baby lion, and a baby Asiatic black bear. After we fed them we split into three groups and were assigned a leader. Bashayer and I were a group (duh!) and our leader started off really nice.
The first thing we did was go and pick up food for the ostriches. We loaded the ATV and then off we went. He took us right into the cage with all of the ostriches. We couldn’t do much because he said it wasn’t safe for us to get off the ATV but it was still fun. He collected all the eggs which we thought was a little weird. He didn’t speak much English so everything was a Thai English mix, it was fun. We asked him why he was collecting them and he said that when they get wet they don’t hatch (we had rain the night before) so he was collecting them to drain the yoke to feed the baby lion and tiger. They then use the white as pigment for clothes and things. We didn’t know what to think of it but we decided that if that is how it was there was nothing we could do about it. He also said that when it is dry they collect the eggs to put them in incubators for hatching.
After the ostriches he let us go and play with the babies. They were soooo cute!!! The baby tiger loved me. The baby lion was crabby and anytime you touched her she would growl and you. Bashayer was scared of them and so she was very hesitant about touching them and playing with them, but I went and picked up the tiger and was holding her. She asked to hold her for a picture but as soon as the picture was over she handed her back to me . I asked the guy if I could keep the baby tiger but he said no . I hope that I can play with more babies one day.
When play time was over it was time to work. We cleaned the adult lionesses and tigresses cage. We had to use a broom to clean up the poop (they don’t have pooper scoopers to do it) and then we had to spray it down and get all the dirt out and then sweep the excess water out. We helped him finish with some of his other small tasks and then it was lunch.
After lunch they invited us to watch a hyena surgery! Some of the hyenas were fighting and one got severely injured. His big toe was hanging on by only a sliver of skin and his leg was all torn up. We got to watch them remove the toe. IT WAS SO COOL! Everyone else was grossed out and couldn’t believe that I was fascinated by it. I videoed almost the whole thing (though Bashayer doesn’t think anyone will want to watch it). There are moments were I think I would make a good doctor and that was one of them, then I think of A & P and remember why I’m no longer interested (that and I love traveling and seeing the world :-D)
We then headed up to the tallest point in Thailand (or so I’m told). There is a Wat at the top so we took the long journey up. It was pretty but I’ve seen more beautiful ones closer to the ground. The view was gorgeous though. You could see all of ChaingMai.
We then rejoined the group for a traditional North Thailand dinner. We sat on the floor and ate fried chicken, sticky rice, fried sweet noodles, fried bananas, and some other things. They came around in traditional costumes and take your pictures for 100 baht, I got one. Then there was traditional dancing and some other performances. It was kind of fun.
Wednesday was fun. In the morning the five of us went Elephant riding, Oxen cart, and Bamboo rafting. The others did that the day before while we were doing community service (They also went to an adventure park where one guy broke his arm). The Elephant riding was not as fun as the first time. It felt like I was on a rollercoaster. Our elephant was crazy. (Sorry Sarah but the only place you can elephant ride is in the North I looked at it’s about 1000baht per person [just over $33]). Oxen cart riding is lame. It is two oxen pulling a cart up a hill less than ½ a mile. Our driver was cool though and let us drive while he walked and took pictures for us. The bamboo rafting was very peaceful and beautiful.
After we finished there we went and met up with the other group to go to a bamboo umbrella factory. We got to watch the process of hand making a bamboo umbrella and fan. It takes a lot of time for each part of the process. It was really cool to see how much work goes into making just one. I of course bought an umbrella and a bought a fan (I know I shouldn’t have bought both but they are souvenirs and they will be with me for the rest of my life). I didn’t take pictures of them so you will all have to wait to see them until I get home. I also had them paint a design on my camera bag for 70baht ($2) (the lady let me choose the price starting at 50 baht and it looked really cool so I gave her 70.
That night we went to the Night Market (the coolest thing ever!!!). I went with Bashayer, Jackie (another girl from Germany), and Adriani (it was her 18th birthday!!!). We had a lot of fun. I bought a 7/11 T-shirt (they have more than we have Starbucks if you can imagine that), a “Same Same. . . but Different” shirt (what they always say to us), a Thai consonant shirt (no vowels but oh well), and a Thailand shirt. I also got a purse (I’ve wanted one for a while and I’m glad I got it after what happened that night), and a few other things. We went to a European and Thai restaurant to celebrate Adriani’s birthday and Bashayer and I shared some Pad Thai and some other type of pasta thing.
They told us that we all had to be back at the McDonald’s before 11 because the bus couldn’t stop and they weren’t joking. As soon as the buses stopped (there was a red light thankfully) we all got on and the bus started to leave, some people had to get on as the bus was taking off. On the way back to the hotel I told P’Dai that it was Adriani’s birthday so the whole bus sang “Happy Birthday” Thai style and then the Germans did it in German for her. She was so red by the end :-D!
The girls then came to our hotel room and we watched movies. (the other students were out on the back patio area right below our window drinking because the AFS director said that as long as they didn’t see them doing it it wasn’t a problem!). Curfew was 1 so of course, being teenagers, we used every minute. After the girls left Bashayer and I packed because we are better night people then morning (especially her). It was 3 something when we got to bed. I got up at 6 (I’m always the first because otherwise I would never get in because she would never get up). I got up (it was dark) and stepped in a puddle of water. I didn’t know where it came from and ignored it at first but after stepping in it in several places I began to wake up enough to worry. I picked up my purse from the ground and it was dripping. I then picked up my laptop bag and it was soaking too! Our fridge broke and we had water all over! I was NOT happy. My stuff is fine but I had to let it sit out and dry and I had to put my laptop and accessories in plastic bags before putting it in the case.
After breakfast we all loaded the buses and headed for a different province, Adriani’s province. It was a 7 hour drive but I talked with my friends the whole time so it didn’t seem that long and we watched Juno and Transformers 2. When we got there we went to some historical park and then went to the hotel. We went out for dinner at this restaurant on the river (it took us 45 minutes to get there because the bus drivers got lost and only 10 minutes to get back).
That night I talked with P’Dai and the director (I don’t remember her name). Then I went and loading pictures and videos onto my computer and talked with Bashayer. We went to bed around 1 (why is it that even responsible teenagers are so irresponsible when they get together?).
Friday we all went home. Bashayer went on the Northeast bus and Adriani stayed in her province so it was just Jackie and I. It was a long day. We talked almost the whole trip and then we watch some Thai movie. There were no English subtitles or anything so I only understood parts and the acting so I feel asleep after 30 minutes; I woke to see the last hour though. We arrived back at the AFS office around 3:30 and I was supposed to have a taxi after 15 minutes but it was closer to an hour before it came and it was hot and very very humid! I met a boy from Australia, Jason, who is going to be staying in Petchaburi for two weeks with Gayoon to TA. We rode back together and talked the whole way so it seemed like a pretty short ride.
AFS told me Gayoon was supposed to pick me up so I didn’t call my host mom and for some reason she didn’t call me. When we arrived the van dropped us off at some hospital that I’ve never been too before so I didn’t know anything. Gayoon wasn’t there so we tried the pay phone but it wasn’t working and my phone had no reception. We waited for 30 minutes then called P’Dai (the pay phone worked to call her) and when we finally got ahold of her Gayoon showed up.
She said that I should have called my host mom but since she couldn’t leave me there alone she took me with her. We went to her house to drop off Jason’s bag and to pick up her son. Then we went to dinner. At 8:30 my host mom picked me up and we went home. I then went on the computer and loading some photos and talked with Adriani and Mom and Dad. Then I showered and had to unpack because the laundry was coming in the morning. It was 1 when I finally got to bed.
I woke up at 4:30 because my host mom said that I had to leave at 5:30. My host dad didn’t even wake up till 5:30 so I was up and waiting for nothing. I took the van at 7 to Bangkok and I met up with Jackie at 9:30 in front of Dunkin’ Donuts because I couldn’t find the 7/11 (the BTS has 6 different exits it’s crazy trying to figure out which one to get off to get where you want to go). I then ate breakfast and then we went shopping.
I bought a few books that Dad said I should and then we went and watched Pope Joan, a pretty good movie. I then bought some peanut butter and granola bars and Macy’s birthday present. The rest of the time we just spent goofing around and having fun. I arrived home at 8:45, ate and crashed.
Today I have like a million things to do but it already 5 and I’ve done very few. Tomorrow I have school again and I can just imagine the greeting I’m going to get after almost two weeks away. Only 3 weeks of school left. I’m done the 19th, then it’s summer!!!!! So much is going to happen this summer, I’m so excited. I only have one week of school in May so I don’t even know why I have to go. I was supposed to go and buy new school shoes today because I don’t have any because the last day of school someone took mine and left me with nothing not even a pair to say that it was an accident, but no one went anywhere so I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow.
Well life’s just as crazy for me as ever. Hope you are all well.
Lots of love,
Allyson
Pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144782&id=535566988&l=6bdbb16114
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144297&id=535566988&l=d3932580ba
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Mo Ko Surin Island
So I left Wednesday night for the South with Kun Ma, Meow, and Mike. We took a bus from Petchaburi to the bus stop closest to the island. We left Petchaburi at close to 10 PM and arrived at the bus station at 4:45 AM. I slept most of the ride so it wasn’t that long.
After we arrived at the bus station we waited until 7. We walked to a market to get some breakfast around 6. At 7 a truck picked us up and took us to the travel agency. We got our lifejackets and snorkels and then went to the dock and waited for the boat. We left around 9 and arrived at the island around 10:30. After we arrived we settled in and then went to the beach for a little while. We ate lunch and then went snorkeling.
Snorkeling was the most amazing thing I’ve done here. The water was so beautiful and all the animals. I had so much fun. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing was real. It looked like all those pictures you see, but it was right in front of me. I saw a shark and a jelly fish and some many colorful fish that I don’t even know the names of. I LOVED it!!!
After snorkeling we went back to the island and I laid on the beach and the others relaxed in hammocks. We had to stay in tents because the island we were on didn’t have any houses so we had no electricity. After dinner you shower and then either go to bed or go sit in the dining area because you can’t do much else.
Sleeping was rough because the ground was really hard. We didn’t have anything to go under us except that thin layer of plastic so we were right on the ground. I woke up very sore and tired from all the tossing and turning. I remember my host mom waking me up around 6 to watch birds (or something like that) and I remember saying something but don’t remember what I said, but I ended up going back to sleep. I got up at 8 to eat breakfast and at 9 we went snorkeling again.
We went to different spots the second day. It wasn’t as awesome as the first time, but it was still really cool. You could actually touch the coral by just letting your foot relax down! We weren’t supposed to touch it though because it would disturb the life. I came within inches of some many fish, I wanted to touch them but didn’t.
After we got back I sat on the beach. That is really all I did because I forgot pants (that’s what happens when you pack for two trips at the same time) so I could only wear my swimsuit. Even with several days in the sun I am STILL white!!! Some people came and spent like 10 minutes in the sun and were tanner than me, so not fair!
The last day we walked around the island and took pictures. At 1 we loaded the boats and headed for home. We stopped at First Beach (we stayed at Second Beach) and spent 30 minutes there. It was way nicer than ours. They had houses and normal bathrooms with nice showers. The beach had almost no trees so you could easily lay out and tan. It was very nice.
When we reloaded the boats Meow and Kun Ma were in the bathroom so they missed our boat and had to get a different one, but we all met back up at the speed boat. The speed boat held more than 60 people and we added 3 along the way, plus luggage. It was really cramped. It was an hour ride back to the mainland.
We then took the bus around 7 PM and arrived back in Petchaburi at 4 (we hung out at the bus station for a long while). The bus dropped us off a ways from the car so Kun Ma had to get a ride to the car and we had to wait. It wasn’t a long wait, 15 minutes, but the mosquitoes were bad. After we loaded everything we went into town. There were a lot of people up and around and many were already set up for the day. We stopped and got some food because we were hungry. We got home around 5:30 AM and I went to bed. Today I’ve loaded pics and videos and later I am going to pack and prepare for leaving again tomorrow.
Lessons learned:
- Living on the water has its advantages
o I met a couple who live on one of those really big fancy boats and they were really nice. They are originally from Canada. The set sail in 2004 and they haven’t seen winter since. They get to travel the world and see all sorts of amazing things.
- Foreigners are weird
o Mike was sleeping in a hammock and a guy came and started to move it slowly back and forth and make cooing type noises until he woke up and left.
o None of the children under 2 wore any clothes except may once in the 3 days
- British and French people love Thailand in January (that’s all there was really, one Spanish family, and Australian couple, me the only American, and maybe a hand full of Thais)
- The Ocean is anything but peaceful sounding at 2 AM
- No matter what you do and how careful you are, you and everything you bring is going to get full of sand
- Salt water mixed with sunscreen makes my face feel like it’s on fire
- No matter where I go the ants find me
- Check to make sure you packed everything before you leave (or make a list as Mom would tell me)
Tomorrow I head off again for Chaing Mai with AFS! I send my love and hope that you are all well.
Allyson
Links :
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/22FlamingoGirl
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143097&id=535566988&l=89b681c695
After we arrived at the bus station we waited until 7. We walked to a market to get some breakfast around 6. At 7 a truck picked us up and took us to the travel agency. We got our lifejackets and snorkels and then went to the dock and waited for the boat. We left around 9 and arrived at the island around 10:30. After we arrived we settled in and then went to the beach for a little while. We ate lunch and then went snorkeling.
Snorkeling was the most amazing thing I’ve done here. The water was so beautiful and all the animals. I had so much fun. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing was real. It looked like all those pictures you see, but it was right in front of me. I saw a shark and a jelly fish and some many colorful fish that I don’t even know the names of. I LOVED it!!!
After snorkeling we went back to the island and I laid on the beach and the others relaxed in hammocks. We had to stay in tents because the island we were on didn’t have any houses so we had no electricity. After dinner you shower and then either go to bed or go sit in the dining area because you can’t do much else.
Sleeping was rough because the ground was really hard. We didn’t have anything to go under us except that thin layer of plastic so we were right on the ground. I woke up very sore and tired from all the tossing and turning. I remember my host mom waking me up around 6 to watch birds (or something like that) and I remember saying something but don’t remember what I said, but I ended up going back to sleep. I got up at 8 to eat breakfast and at 9 we went snorkeling again.
We went to different spots the second day. It wasn’t as awesome as the first time, but it was still really cool. You could actually touch the coral by just letting your foot relax down! We weren’t supposed to touch it though because it would disturb the life. I came within inches of some many fish, I wanted to touch them but didn’t.
After we got back I sat on the beach. That is really all I did because I forgot pants (that’s what happens when you pack for two trips at the same time) so I could only wear my swimsuit. Even with several days in the sun I am STILL white!!! Some people came and spent like 10 minutes in the sun and were tanner than me, so not fair!
The last day we walked around the island and took pictures. At 1 we loaded the boats and headed for home. We stopped at First Beach (we stayed at Second Beach) and spent 30 minutes there. It was way nicer than ours. They had houses and normal bathrooms with nice showers. The beach had almost no trees so you could easily lay out and tan. It was very nice.
When we reloaded the boats Meow and Kun Ma were in the bathroom so they missed our boat and had to get a different one, but we all met back up at the speed boat. The speed boat held more than 60 people and we added 3 along the way, plus luggage. It was really cramped. It was an hour ride back to the mainland.
We then took the bus around 7 PM and arrived back in Petchaburi at 4 (we hung out at the bus station for a long while). The bus dropped us off a ways from the car so Kun Ma had to get a ride to the car and we had to wait. It wasn’t a long wait, 15 minutes, but the mosquitoes were bad. After we loaded everything we went into town. There were a lot of people up and around and many were already set up for the day. We stopped and got some food because we were hungry. We got home around 5:30 AM and I went to bed. Today I’ve loaded pics and videos and later I am going to pack and prepare for leaving again tomorrow.
Lessons learned:
- Living on the water has its advantages
o I met a couple who live on one of those really big fancy boats and they were really nice. They are originally from Canada. The set sail in 2004 and they haven’t seen winter since. They get to travel the world and see all sorts of amazing things.
- Foreigners are weird
o Mike was sleeping in a hammock and a guy came and started to move it slowly back and forth and make cooing type noises until he woke up and left.
o None of the children under 2 wore any clothes except may once in the 3 days
- British and French people love Thailand in January (that’s all there was really, one Spanish family, and Australian couple, me the only American, and maybe a hand full of Thais)
- The Ocean is anything but peaceful sounding at 2 AM
- No matter what you do and how careful you are, you and everything you bring is going to get full of sand
- Salt water mixed with sunscreen makes my face feel like it’s on fire
- No matter where I go the ants find me
- Check to make sure you packed everything before you leave (or make a list as Mom would tell me)
Tomorrow I head off again for Chaing Mai with AFS! I send my love and hope that you are all well.
Allyson
Links :
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/22FlamingoGirl
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143097&id=535566988&l=89b681c695
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
New Year, Caning, and a Religious Celebration
Well these three topics have nothing in common except that they happened in the last week. I normally would start with the oldest event but it also is the middle so I’ll start with New Year.
In Thailand New Year is a big deal, almost like Christmas but not really. They have no classes but they go to school the 30th to celebrate with their class. My class had a party and we ate and played games and traded gifts. There was also a dance competition and some other activities but I didn’t see everything because I started to feel sick from being outside in the heat all day without drinking more than one bottle of water, I know stupid but whatever! The group of girls I gave stockings to for Christmas got together and bought me a Tweety pillow for New Year, which was really nice.
On the 31st I slept in!!! Well kind of, I woke up with the birds but went back to sleep and woke up and went back to sleep and repeat the pattern about a dozen times In the afternoon Cherry and Peach came over and they went to the beach. I spent most the day reading which was better than the awkward feeling I had when I tried to do something with the girls. For dinner they had this boiled thing but they put egg in and it was all over everything so I just ate dessert and an apple with peanut butter! After dinner they went out the patio and played games while I sat there and eventually I read after getting bored with just sitting there. When they went in to watch TV I went to my room and read until it was close to midnight. At midnight I went and sat with them and counted down. After we wished each other a Happy New Year I went and called home and talked to Sarah for a while. The next day I woke up and loaded pics to facebook (the link is under the blog “Links”) then called home at their New Year to wish them a Happy New Year. All in all it was rather boring, but whatever I brought in the new decade in Thailand so that counts for exciting!!!
Now the caning. In the last two weeks I learned that they take a bamboo stick and hit the kids on the hands with it. Apparently, Meow and Mike got it done several times for being late and so we had to try and be on time, but Mike is rarely on time! So for every day they are late it gets harder. They also had a hair check yesterday and the kids that didn’t have the right hair style got hit and had one day to fix it or they would get it harder. Needless to say that after school yesterday we went and got Mike a haircut, the boy had a surprising amount of hair.
Last topic is the religious ceremony that took place at school today. There were no classes so that the students could sit and listen to the monk’s all day. I listened for most the day but my legs got cramped and kept falling asleep so I missed the last hour and a half. Even though I didn’t understand what they were saying it was really awesome to listen to. It was kind of like a singing, chanting type of thing that was really amazing. I wish I could explain more, but it really is something you would have to hear. All the students had to sit there but Lucas and I could be in the English Corner, though I didn’t go till late afternoon but he sat there most of the day.
Well that’s all that has happened in the last week really. The only other thing that is new is that Lucas is going home in the next week or two due to his stupidity! I am going to miss him though and wish he didn’t have to go home.
Well till later then I guess!
Lots of love,
Allyson
In Thailand New Year is a big deal, almost like Christmas but not really. They have no classes but they go to school the 30th to celebrate with their class. My class had a party and we ate and played games and traded gifts. There was also a dance competition and some other activities but I didn’t see everything because I started to feel sick from being outside in the heat all day without drinking more than one bottle of water, I know stupid but whatever! The group of girls I gave stockings to for Christmas got together and bought me a Tweety pillow for New Year, which was really nice.
On the 31st I slept in!!! Well kind of, I woke up with the birds but went back to sleep and woke up and went back to sleep and repeat the pattern about a dozen times In the afternoon Cherry and Peach came over and they went to the beach. I spent most the day reading which was better than the awkward feeling I had when I tried to do something with the girls. For dinner they had this boiled thing but they put egg in and it was all over everything so I just ate dessert and an apple with peanut butter! After dinner they went out the patio and played games while I sat there and eventually I read after getting bored with just sitting there. When they went in to watch TV I went to my room and read until it was close to midnight. At midnight I went and sat with them and counted down. After we wished each other a Happy New Year I went and called home and talked to Sarah for a while. The next day I woke up and loaded pics to facebook (the link is under the blog “Links”) then called home at their New Year to wish them a Happy New Year. All in all it was rather boring, but whatever I brought in the new decade in Thailand so that counts for exciting!!!
Now the caning. In the last two weeks I learned that they take a bamboo stick and hit the kids on the hands with it. Apparently, Meow and Mike got it done several times for being late and so we had to try and be on time, but Mike is rarely on time! So for every day they are late it gets harder. They also had a hair check yesterday and the kids that didn’t have the right hair style got hit and had one day to fix it or they would get it harder. Needless to say that after school yesterday we went and got Mike a haircut, the boy had a surprising amount of hair.
Last topic is the religious ceremony that took place at school today. There were no classes so that the students could sit and listen to the monk’s all day. I listened for most the day but my legs got cramped and kept falling asleep so I missed the last hour and a half. Even though I didn’t understand what they were saying it was really awesome to listen to. It was kind of like a singing, chanting type of thing that was really amazing. I wish I could explain more, but it really is something you would have to hear. All the students had to sit there but Lucas and I could be in the English Corner, though I didn’t go till late afternoon but he sat there most of the day.
Well that’s all that has happened in the last week really. The only other thing that is new is that Lucas is going home in the next week or two due to his stupidity! I am going to miss him though and wish he didn’t have to go home.
Well till later then I guess!
Lots of love,
Allyson
Friday, January 1, 2010
Links
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/22FlamingoGirl
or
22FlamingoGirl
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136219&id=535566988&l=f4402e2b35
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130838&id=535566988&l=322cd8faf8
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136677&id=535566988&l=6821dfb782
http://www.youtube.com/user/22FlamingoGirl
or
22FlamingoGirl
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136219&id=535566988&l=f4402e2b35
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130838&id=535566988&l=322cd8faf8
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136677&id=535566988&l=6821dfb782
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
