hey everyone... the few people still reading this thing, which, by the lack of comments is very few. tell your friends about me!
this past week has been interesting. Wednesday was my first real thai festival, loy gratong. in the morning we made gratongs, which are peices of wood covered in folded banana leaves and orchids. then you put a candle and inscents in the middle. at night, we went with our teachers to a hotel for an amazing dinner. next came the loy gratong ceremony, which consists of lighting the candle and incents and releasing your gratong into a body of water. traditionally it would be in a river, but tonight it was a hotel swimming pool. while you put it in the water you say a prayer, ant the act of (traditionally) letting the gratong float away down the river is to signify your sins and problems being washed away as well. its sort of a cleansing ceremony that happens once a year.
the following weekend i went camping with my family and one of my friends tashi. we ended up sitting on a bridge talking with a bunch of thai kids and one or two falang the whole night. the next day we went to a waterfall. it was freaking COLD! water isnt supposed to get that cold in thailand!! next we had the option of going to choke chai farm or seeing another waterfall, so obviously we chose choke chai (how many waterfalls do you really need to see in one day?) that turned out to be a bust becuase you HAVE to go on a tour, and to do that we would have had to wait for 2 hours. the farm was a traditional american farm anyways, which both tashi and i can do in our countries. we had spotted a huge outlet strip mall a couple minutes back down the highway and asked to go there instead.
on the way we spotted a place to rent ATV's. Being exchange students, and looking for any chance to break more D's (just kidding, Rotary, if your reading, I don't actually break D's) we asked if we could do that instead. we stopped a bit long of the turnoff, and hence had to backup down a thai highway for about 5 minutes. 5 minutes of absolute terror!
tashi had never driven anything in her life before so she and i opted to go for the two person off roader, much like a car. there is a track you follow in these things, so i was to do the first one and tashi the second. so after my run tashi and i switch, her in the drivers seat and i in the passengers. so tashi starts driving and we come to this bridge and tashi starts screaming "no i cont do it! i cant do it!" so i tell her "No, its okay just accelerate and get over the bridge, your fine!" so tashi guns it up this bridge. we're heading towards solid ground again and i nitoice that were supposed to turn, only tashi doesnt and keeps drving straight, still gunning in, right into the middle of this field. and all of a sudden were in grass taller than our heads all around us.
finally one of the managers finds us, puts the beast into reverse and nvigates us out of there. tashi drives the thing back to the starting point, and right to a group of about 10 people, employees and my family pissing themselves laughing, because they can see and hear the whole thing. deffinitely the highlight of the weekend.
i switched host families on monday. a bit of a gong show at first but everything has settled down since. tomorrow the other exchangers and i are going to a school to either teach kids english, or speak to them in english or something, no ones entirely sure.
Other than that nothing interesting is happening. my new host family has wireless, but ive become incredibly bored with the internet so i dont think i'll be on anymore than usual. will try to catch up on my emailing though.
love.
Ashley
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Chantaburi
So i just got back from a rotary trip to chantaburi, and im here to tell you of my adventures with 50 other exchangers.
We'll start with the day before the trip because that has interesting stories too. I took the songtao(thai bus) to the mall but instead of sitting ion the back i sat up front with the bus driver (air conditioning, YAY) and we started the normal thai-falang routine conversation ie where are you from, how long are you here etc. we actually had a really good conversation and just before i got out he took a small amulet off of his mirror and gave it to me as a gift. On one side is buddha and on the other a meditating woman and thai words. if you wear it it is supposed to give you good luck and keep you safe. It was a really nice gesture and actually kind of moving.
Later that night my mom and sister and i went out to eat, and we pull into the parking lot ight ahead of another vehicle. we all get out, and there were two falang in the other car so my mom says "look, ashley, your friends!" at which point i realise that the two falang that got out actually are exchange friends from another rotary club. so we sit down and my mom says something about my friends again and i tell her that one is named gaeo ta and the other meow. she looks confused for a moment and then says "wait, you actually know them?" shes like "i was just joking because your both falang." pretty random and funny.
the next day we left for rotary on a bus with most of the other exchangers, but i guess everyone stayed up the night before because it was just the brazilians and the korat girls (aka us) awake and being loud and im sure disrupting everyone elses sleep. we finally get there and get settled in and have dinner. later that night we all go exploring and we find a rasta cafe about 5 minutes down the beach and hang around there talking and doing whatever for a few hours. one of the guys we had been talking with had what can only be described as fire sticks and balls, and so he and one of the other exchangers started fire dancing. i wish i had a video if this but i dont, sorry. poor girl hit the back of her head with the fire balls a couple of times and im sure singed a few hairs. really cool to see though. 
from the resort we were staying at we could see the sunset into the ocean which was gorgeous, will post pictures later.
the next day we were scheduled to clean the beach as part of the "kings project". so the 50 of us cram into a songtoa that could comfortable hold maybe 35 people and drive down the beach. it was hot as hell out and i did NOT want to 
clean, but what else is new. about halfway through i quit cleaning the beach because at that point i had looked down next to my foot and found a used syringe. the rest of the time was spent collecting shells. the afternoon was spent planting magrove trees which wasnt that bad and only took about a half hour. after we finished that one of the directors cut down some coconuts, and cut off the top. inside is the most delicious coconut milk and fresh gooey coconut.
clean, but what else is new. about halfway through i quit cleaning the beach because at that point i had looked down next to my foot and found a used syringe. the rest of the time was spent collecting shells. the afternoon was spent planting magrove trees which wasnt that bad and only took about a half hour. after we finished that one of the directors cut down some coconuts, and cut off the top. inside is the most delicious coconut milk and fresh gooey coconut. 
day three was the 'fun' day. in the morning we watched a dolphin show which was quite honestly mediocre and i felt really bad for the dolphins because they had to be sprayed with dye first which cant be fun. in the afternoon we went to a waterfall which was really beautiful and we all got to swim in it. normally people wear shorts and a t-shirt to go swimming in public which is what we all did. however there was another smaller group of tourists there and both of the girls were walking around in thong bthing suits! some of the thai people actually got up and left it. it was a little obnoxious however they were defs not from canada (thank goodness.) on the way home in the 
cramped songtao we had a nice little sing along to songs from every country, france, germany, canada, russia etc. it was pretty cool to hear every ones songs. during the entire week every chance we got jean-phillipe, constance, kaitlyn, anna, katy, kate, nicole, colin and a bunch of other people sang the canadian anthem, and not all of us are even canadian. every one else would sing along by replacing the words and singing only "eh" in the tune of oh canada. 
that night was supposed to be our halloween party but i think only about 10 people dressed up. everyone sang a bunch of karaoke and had a few pop-rocks competitions, and ended up heading to the rasta cafe at around 10.we got up at 5:30 to try and see the sunrise, but the sun didnt rise over the ocean. instead it rose behind a bunch of trees so that was pretty much a bust.
the last official day we went to an aquariam and on a nature walk. we got to go kayaking which was cool. kaitlyn and i were in a two person, tashi and anna were in another two-person and a really cool guy from south carolina named mason was alone in another. we ended up not following the guide and just siting there because we are all ridiculously lazy. it came time to row back so we linked our kayaks together and rowed together as a kayak clog.mason and anna got to talking and figured out that anna vacationed in masons little speck of a town the summer before. Anna got to talking about how she went to myrtle beach and ended up getting sand in places where sand should never be. mason, in his southern accent, deadpan glory says "There's nothing but hookers and trash in myrtle beach. thats probably why you got sand in your snootch."
the last end of the afternoon was spent painting a fence at a childrens school which wasnt too bad, however i think the words "russia" and "canada" are still emblazoned yellow against the white we were supposed to be covering. once back at the resort everyone ran to the ocean to cool down slash clean paint off of themselves. it started to rain about halfway though the swim. its en interesting feeling to be rained on whilst swimming and the ocean and sunset are magnificent through the haze of droplets. later that night was our farewell dinner. mostly a string a very embarassing hula dancing, a round of musical chairs in which more than one object was broken, and a very prolonged (read: boring/humiliating) "miss Youth Exchange" Pageant. which really should have been intersting seeing as half of the contestants were boys, yegt somehow still managed to be dull.
other than that life is uneventful. my blazer looks better and better as is keeps filling up with pins from different contries and different events. school starts again finally on monday. im excited to see which classes i have.
COMMENT!! i'm making the official threat that if people do not comment i will not post. what use is it to have a blog if your not sure anyone is even reading it?
love to all,
Ashley
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Oh... My God!
Short blog today. Nothing really is going on, we've been spending alot of time at the pool lately. we still have three weeks of no school so there isnt much else to do. Out of the seven of us, four of us are leaving this weekend, which doesnt include me so that should be a laugh riot.
The trip to chantaburi that ive been so excited about might be cancelled becuase the district has gone crazy and decided that since two kids died in an electrical storm (not from rotary) chantaburi isnt safe. There are some obvious flaws in this argument, most of which im sure everyone can figure out, especially once you learn that the electrical storm wasnt in chantaburi. Instead we might be going to pattaya for an outbound orientation/selection meeting.
There are usually three district-approved trips that we pay for and go on, but this year the five day mountain trip was cancelled and instead the chaing mai trip has been extended 5 days. Papa Koh who is one of the cooler host dads in rotary is going to take just the kids from our club though and so im really exited about that even though its not till december.
The coolest kids ever, aka Anna Tatchi and I decided that since i bought all of the harry potter movies that we would have a harry potter movie night and eat the food we had been sent from home. pretty freaking epic if you ask me.
Khun Mem, rotary club president and Future host Aunt (She will be my second host family) is making us go to school EVEN THOUGH every other person in our school is on break. so im 'learning' how to write thai even though im way behind the rest of the seven person 'class' because honestly i just couldnt be bothered before. i think its silly that we dont know what words mean, but were learning how to read them? if we dont know what the word means what use is it to be able to sound it out? but ive gotten over that and am now actually trying to learn because i may as well if its being taught.
we also have thai dance lessons which i'm actually not too bad at surprisingly. i am kind of excited to go back to school though only because i really want to learn more thai. its hard to learn when everyone around you speaks english.
Today is also my official two months in thailand so its time for another month party! were having it today before anyone leaves and getting an "Eat Me" Bakery (yes thats the real name) cheese cake. delicious.
Anyways its probably time to get up and get moving so i will write more when something fun happens! Love always,
Ashley
The trip to chantaburi that ive been so excited about might be cancelled becuase the district has gone crazy and decided that since two kids died in an electrical storm (not from rotary) chantaburi isnt safe. There are some obvious flaws in this argument, most of which im sure everyone can figure out, especially once you learn that the electrical storm wasnt in chantaburi. Instead we might be going to pattaya for an outbound orientation/selection meeting.
There are usually three district-approved trips that we pay for and go on, but this year the five day mountain trip was cancelled and instead the chaing mai trip has been extended 5 days. Papa Koh who is one of the cooler host dads in rotary is going to take just the kids from our club though and so im really exited about that even though its not till december.
The coolest kids ever, aka Anna Tatchi and I decided that since i bought all of the harry potter movies that we would have a harry potter movie night and eat the food we had been sent from home. pretty freaking epic if you ask me.
Khun Mem, rotary club president and Future host Aunt (She will be my second host family) is making us go to school EVEN THOUGH every other person in our school is on break. so im 'learning' how to write thai even though im way behind the rest of the seven person 'class' because honestly i just couldnt be bothered before. i think its silly that we dont know what words mean, but were learning how to read them? if we dont know what the word means what use is it to be able to sound it out? but ive gotten over that and am now actually trying to learn because i may as well if its being taught.
we also have thai dance lessons which i'm actually not too bad at surprisingly. i am kind of excited to go back to school though only because i really want to learn more thai. its hard to learn when everyone around you speaks english.
Today is also my official two months in thailand so its time for another month party! were having it today before anyone leaves and getting an "Eat Me" Bakery (yes thats the real name) cheese cake. delicious.
Anyways its probably time to get up and get moving so i will write more when something fun happens! Love always,
Ashley
Friday, September 26, 2008
sorry its taken so long
hey everyone.
i thought i would take this time to explain a bit better the situation here in thailand, and tell you all everythingi know. First of all, Pantameet is the main protest the has been going on for over 100 days (when i first got here it had been going on for 71 days). It is peaceful and televised around the clock. Pantameet was also the site of the Queen's birthday celebration which i attended. People are constantly driving to bangkok to join the protest.
The "riot" in bangkok was an isolated incident and didnt happen at pantameet. one person died and 43 were injured however no one is concerned. The State Of Emergency that was declared was set in place to try and disperse the crowd of protestors squatting on the property of the prime minister, as the SOE bans groups of more than 5 people from gathering for any politcal reasons. The protestors arent complying however, so the PM is considering lifting the SOE.It may have already been lifted, im not entirely sure.
There are smaller rallys every once in a while held at the universtiy in Korat. I dont know if other cities are having them as well but i would assume so. These are entirely peaceful as well. we had to drive through it on the way home from rotary one night, and basically is exactly like pantameet, where one person is talking and everyone is listeningand cheering.
Speaking of rotary, all the exchangers had a meeting with Peter, who is the old inbound coordinator for my district. This was basically a meeting to pay for the trips, but we also got t shirts and found out that rotary is going to payfor all of the exchangers to take a trip to chantaburi (about 6 hours from korat) from october 13-17. chantaburi is on the ocean so we'll be going to the beach and staying at a hotel together.
A while ago my friend anna and i went to Sa Kaeo. we thought we were going for a "trip" but it turns out that when my parents say trip what they actually mean is that they have to work in a different city so my sister stays home and i go with them to meetings all day. we spent about an hour at the market that is on the border of cambodia and the rest of the time at meetings.
School is going really well. Our thai food teacher is crazy, and he always takes us to the market to buy the ingredients for whatever dish were cooking that day. which i think ispretty awesome because in canada there is no way we would ever be allowed to go off school property at the drop of a hat like that. I also just found out that hes 17. which i guess means that you dont actually need a degree to be a teacher? because hes not even a teachers helper, or if he is then he runs the whole show becuase there is never another teacher in the room so i dont know haha.
our thai classes have zero structure which really annoys me. plus the teacher who is supposed to be teaching us how to speak doesnt understand enough english so we spend half our time trying to explain to him what were asking, writing the words in english for him and trying to get him to translate it into thai. the teacher who is teaching us how to write got us halfway through the alphabet and then switched to teaching us how to say words in thai. which is great, except that our teachers obviously dont communicate either because we ended up learning words that the speaking teacherhad already taught us.
The past three weeks our classes have been having random exams, so sometimes we will go to school and they will justtell us to go home because we dont have class. it actually gets really frusterating after a while.
We've been on break for about two weeks now, which hasnt been so bad considering that we've spent nearly every day at the pool. were also continuing our thai classes and weve started thai dance lessons as well.
if anyone wants to send care packages i am in desperate need of CHEESE! or any normal dairy product. everything dairy tastes different. people here really like things to be sweet, so they add sugar to everything, even milk. Also, movies. if someone wants to send a few local newspapers along too that would be pretty sweet. the only time i get news is when im at a computer, but i dont have internet at my house and the internet at school has been downfor the last week or so now. other than that im doing pretty good.
i can eat mildly spicey things now. theres this sauce that you use for cow mung gai thats sweet and spicey and it is SO DELICIOUS. i could eat it with everything.
anyways this is another ridiculously long post. im posting pictures as well!! and ill try and find a way to let everyone see my photobucket so you can see the ones that i dont upload to here.
anyways i have to go now but ill try and update again soon!!
xoxox jube jube!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
sorry!
i know i hvent posted in a long time, but the internet over here is ridiculously stupid. i promise to do my best to try and post this weekend.
today is my last day of school until october 20th. this monday i am leaving to go to sara buri for a scout camp with my school for three days.
i am hopefully starting dance class soon and guitar lessons as well.
i know everyone is really curious about the protests and the government issues, but you should know that everyone here is safe and no one is overly concerned about the 'riot' or the state of emergency that was declared (and possibly lifted already, im not sure)
anyways i hope everyone is well, please email me with any of your news!!
xoxox
Ashley
today is my last day of school until october 20th. this monday i am leaving to go to sara buri for a scout camp with my school for three days.
i am hopefully starting dance class soon and guitar lessons as well.
i know everyone is really curious about the protests and the government issues, but you should know that everyone here is safe and no one is overly concerned about the 'riot' or the state of emergency that was declared (and possibly lifted already, im not sure)
anyways i hope everyone is well, please email me with any of your news!!
xoxox
Ashley
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
I miss you like CLAZY!!
I started school this week. i really only had two days of classes, which means that i should have had 3 classes, because you only get one or two classes a day, plus thai three times a week. but instead there was only 2 classes. thai massage and cooking on monday, and then thai on tuesday. we should have had dancing as well but they cancelled that class so we didnt have that class. the wednesday we didnt have to go because they were setting up for the fair, thursday was the fair which we only stayed at until noon because we cant speak enough thai to figure out whats going on at all the little booths so it was really pointless. and tomorrow is the fair again so we dont have to go.
The first part of the fair was a talent show. So these boys come out on stage and the girls behind us go ABSOLUTELY NUTS. these boys aren't even CUTE and these girls are screaming at them, up on their chairs, going wild for them! it was crazy. anyways they start singing that song by the moffats "i miss you like crazy", but instead of singing it "I miss you like crazy" it comes out "i miss you like clazy" so for like half of the song you couldnt tell what exactly they were "missing you like". really funny. and so the girls calm down, but then ANOTHER set of boys come out, but this time they come out individually, so every minute and a half or so theres an entire auditorium of girls losing their heads for the very average-looking boys up on stage. enough for a few laughs and a splitting head ache lol.
i saw my first elephant on sunday. and then last night my friends and i were talking home from the market and there were a couple of guys walking an elephant. you could buy food for it for 20 baht ( less than a dollar) and so of course i did, its a complete tourist scam but it was still really cool to have it grab food out of your hands.
i still adore the market. everything is ridiculously cheap. we ate dinner for about a dollar, but you can do that anywhere (in thailand).
people are still amazed at the falangs. honestly. the most random people want to take pictures with you. and its deffinitely NOT like they havent seen white people before, their school has been THE school for foreign exchangers for at least the last 7 years.
people are amazed if you can eat even slightly spicey foods. they HATE if you dont smile. my friend anna's counsellor at school is constantly asking her if shes "feeling okay" or having "any problems" and then continues to tell anna the SAME story about thai people and smiling every 20 minutes. its really annoying.
the other really annoying thing is that i KNOW numbers, but when you ask someone at the market how much something costs, they will always respond to you in english. its so much easier to try and listen to their thai than to try and decipher their english. if i ask you something in thai, i will be able to understand the response! promise!
the boys here are really gross. they yell foul things (or so im told.. i dont quite catch what theyre saying) at you wheny ou walk down the street. people dont really notice that your wearing a school uniform and will ask you what your doing in thailand. the bus system is interesting, there are two number sixs that take almost identical routes,until you get to right before our houses, but there is literally no way to distinguish between the two buses. so about half the time we end up getting on the wrong one and having to walk. no big deal though.
anyways this post is getting long like the other ones. again, sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes but i dont have time to spell check this baby. PICTURES TO COME SOON!!! promise! ive found highspeed wireless!!!
love you and miss you all!
xoxo
The first part of the fair was a talent show. So these boys come out on stage and the girls behind us go ABSOLUTELY NUTS. these boys aren't even CUTE and these girls are screaming at them, up on their chairs, going wild for them! it was crazy. anyways they start singing that song by the moffats "i miss you like crazy", but instead of singing it "I miss you like crazy" it comes out "i miss you like clazy" so for like half of the song you couldnt tell what exactly they were "missing you like". really funny. and so the girls calm down, but then ANOTHER set of boys come out, but this time they come out individually, so every minute and a half or so theres an entire auditorium of girls losing their heads for the very average-looking boys up on stage. enough for a few laughs and a splitting head ache lol.
i saw my first elephant on sunday. and then last night my friends and i were talking home from the market and there were a couple of guys walking an elephant. you could buy food for it for 20 baht ( less than a dollar) and so of course i did, its a complete tourist scam but it was still really cool to have it grab food out of your hands.
i still adore the market. everything is ridiculously cheap. we ate dinner for about a dollar, but you can do that anywhere (in thailand).
people are still amazed at the falangs. honestly. the most random people want to take pictures with you. and its deffinitely NOT like they havent seen white people before, their school has been THE school for foreign exchangers for at least the last 7 years.
people are amazed if you can eat even slightly spicey foods. they HATE if you dont smile. my friend anna's counsellor at school is constantly asking her if shes "feeling okay" or having "any problems" and then continues to tell anna the SAME story about thai people and smiling every 20 minutes. its really annoying.
the other really annoying thing is that i KNOW numbers, but when you ask someone at the market how much something costs, they will always respond to you in english. its so much easier to try and listen to their thai than to try and decipher their english. if i ask you something in thai, i will be able to understand the response! promise!
the boys here are really gross. they yell foul things (or so im told.. i dont quite catch what theyre saying) at you wheny ou walk down the street. people dont really notice that your wearing a school uniform and will ask you what your doing in thailand. the bus system is interesting, there are two number sixs that take almost identical routes,until you get to right before our houses, but there is literally no way to distinguish between the two buses. so about half the time we end up getting on the wrong one and having to walk. no big deal though.
anyways this post is getting long like the other ones. again, sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes but i dont have time to spell check this baby. PICTURES TO COME SOON!!! promise! ive found highspeed wireless!!!
love you and miss you all!
xoxo
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Bunker down people
I havent written in what seems like a long time, so this is going to be a long one!
Complete sensory overload is the only way to describe thailand. everything is loud, everything is hot, everyone speaks at once. It always smells like SOMETHING and the sheer masses of things everywhere is overwhelming.
driving is the biggest thing i have to tell you about... At first i thought that it wasnt so bad, it wasnt that people were bad drivers, just not as organized as North American drivers. Wrong. i have seen so many accidents the last couple days. everyone gets into them. because nobody obeys the rules of the road! yesterday we started drving down the wrong side of the road, with cars coming towards us, and for like 10 fulls seconds (which feels like a long time in this situation) nobody even made an attempt to get back on the right side! parking doesnt even require a space, people just park in the middle of a lane. so then you find yourself on the wrong side again, trying to get around whoever decided it didnt matter how much of the road they were blocking.
lanes fully do not exist. theyre "there", by which i mean there are lanes painted on the street, but if you dont want to use them thats okay. you can just drive down the middle. if people want to get around you they'll find a way.
there are around 5 to 10 motorcycles around you at all times. your surrounded by them. nobody wear a helmut unless they see police, and its not uncommon to have a baby sitting in front of you while you drive, your toddler behind you and your teenager behind the toddler. absolutely absurd. apparently one of the leading causes of death in thailand is motorcycle accidents. people in cars dont treat you with as much "respect" as other cars either... your pretty much waiting to get hit if you ride one of those things.
Nothing happens fast in thailand. i had to go with a couple other exchangers and khun mem (rotary club president) to get my uniform. something that you would think you would be able to get all the peices of in one place, quickly. because how many people have time to run around to different shops getting uniforms for their kids, when its entirely possible every kid wears a different uniform? Well, we went to one place for the shirt/skirt. one place for the shoes. one place for the belt. another for the gym shorts, and another for the gym shirt and shoes. it took nearly four hours! i was exhausted! ive never shopped so long for one outfit in my life haha. ands shopping doesnt exhaust me easily =)
on the subject of school, everyone should know that i start wedneday (tuesday night for all of you). tomorrow im going to khun mems place and hanging out with the other exchangers, and tueday the school is closed because of mothers day. im not entirely sure what classes i want to take yet, but i think i deffinitely want to try thai cooking. i guess semester change is in october, so i might not be able to do it for long, but id still like to get the basics down.
this weekend we went to Roy-et which is a city/province in thailand. as far as i can tell citys and provinces mean the same thing. We went to visit khun pa's father and a bunch of his other relatives too. his dad is like 95 or something, and is still mobile haha. very nice man. Everyone is super nice. But they all try to talk to me in thai, which is awesome except for the part where then they expect me to REPLY in thai, and i have no idea what they said or what i should say! so they all just stare at me expectantly, and of course i have nothing to say so i smile and smile, and wait for someone to translate or something. Most of the time i feel like an idiot, especially when they start talking about me when im right there and i dont know what theyre saying. Randomly i will hear "anjalee" or "falang" and i know theyre talking about me. they'll point and talk and sometimes someone will laugh. i know its not a MEAN laugh, but still, youd like to know what people are saying about you.
The Aunts all try and fix me up with their sons. All the time they ask "sow eye falang, mai?" (lit: beautiful white girl, no?"). over and over again, then theyll say something i dont understand, and after that it just gets awkward because theres nothing for me to do except smile. Then everyone laughs and i get embarassed. And its obvious the sons are embarassed too. good times, good times. haha.
We went to a park in roy-et with these two enormous ponds that are absolutely packed with cat fish. You can buy bags of food, and if you stand on the edge and throw hanfuls into the water they all pile on top of one another, wriggling and trying to get the food. it actually looks disgusting haha. i took a video but i'll have to post it later.
In the park they also have what i guess is like an outdoor temple.. you have to get a bouquet of flowers, three inscents (sp?) and one candle thats about as big as a birthday candle and a peice of gold foil first. you can buy these from any of the local vendors waiting around the temple. then you take your shoes off, light the candle, light the inscents and hold all of them. then you sit down in front of.. well to be quite honest i have no idea what it is, its completely covered in streamers. Anyways, you kneel in front of it, say your prayer, put the candle in the holder, the inscents in the tub of sand and the flowers in the pot, try and make the peice of gold foil stick to whatever it is you kneel in front of, bow down and then leave. very odd, and since ive never really known what exactly it is you say in a prayer, i felt very out of place. next if you want there is a place that has all of these life fortunes.. you go say another prayer (im assuming thats what we were supposed to be doing) then take this tube with numbered sticks and shake it until just one of them falls out. You grab whichever numbered fortune is yours and then go.
it was actually a really nice experience and the thai's take it very seriously. even though it was a bit strange for me, im guessing there will be many more experiences like that. my life's fortune was really nice too. it told me that i will only become happier in my life, as well as wealthier and happier. also, apparently i'll find happiness in a widow. kind of odd but also surprisingly reassuring haha. pleng (my host sister) did not have a good one haha. if you dont like your fortune she said you were either supposed to stick is somewhere but she couldnt remember where, or else throw it away, into the wind or something to make it 'leave you'.
i really enjoyed the whole thing.
i think thats all thats new. oh, except my official thai name is "anjalee phumipan" and my nickname is anne. this is because i told khun ma that i wanted to learn everything about thai culture, and anjalee means to "wai" (what you do when say hello, meet someone, say goodbye, say thank you) its like the most thai thing you could ever do. when you put your hands into prayer position and then slightly bow. i really like it, and she obviously put some though into it which really means something.
anywho i really have to go, this post is getting way to long.
love you and miss you all.
Complete sensory overload is the only way to describe thailand. everything is loud, everything is hot, everyone speaks at once. It always smells like SOMETHING and the sheer masses of things everywhere is overwhelming.
driving is the biggest thing i have to tell you about... At first i thought that it wasnt so bad, it wasnt that people were bad drivers, just not as organized as North American drivers. Wrong. i have seen so many accidents the last couple days. everyone gets into them. because nobody obeys the rules of the road! yesterday we started drving down the wrong side of the road, with cars coming towards us, and for like 10 fulls seconds (which feels like a long time in this situation) nobody even made an attempt to get back on the right side! parking doesnt even require a space, people just park in the middle of a lane. so then you find yourself on the wrong side again, trying to get around whoever decided it didnt matter how much of the road they were blocking.
lanes fully do not exist. theyre "there", by which i mean there are lanes painted on the street, but if you dont want to use them thats okay. you can just drive down the middle. if people want to get around you they'll find a way.
there are around 5 to 10 motorcycles around you at all times. your surrounded by them. nobody wear a helmut unless they see police, and its not uncommon to have a baby sitting in front of you while you drive, your toddler behind you and your teenager behind the toddler. absolutely absurd. apparently one of the leading causes of death in thailand is motorcycle accidents. people in cars dont treat you with as much "respect" as other cars either... your pretty much waiting to get hit if you ride one of those things.
Nothing happens fast in thailand. i had to go with a couple other exchangers and khun mem (rotary club president) to get my uniform. something that you would think you would be able to get all the peices of in one place, quickly. because how many people have time to run around to different shops getting uniforms for their kids, when its entirely possible every kid wears a different uniform? Well, we went to one place for the shirt/skirt. one place for the shoes. one place for the belt. another for the gym shorts, and another for the gym shirt and shoes. it took nearly four hours! i was exhausted! ive never shopped so long for one outfit in my life haha. ands shopping doesnt exhaust me easily =)
on the subject of school, everyone should know that i start wedneday (tuesday night for all of you). tomorrow im going to khun mems place and hanging out with the other exchangers, and tueday the school is closed because of mothers day. im not entirely sure what classes i want to take yet, but i think i deffinitely want to try thai cooking. i guess semester change is in october, so i might not be able to do it for long, but id still like to get the basics down.
this weekend we went to Roy-et which is a city/province in thailand. as far as i can tell citys and provinces mean the same thing. We went to visit khun pa's father and a bunch of his other relatives too. his dad is like 95 or something, and is still mobile haha. very nice man. Everyone is super nice. But they all try to talk to me in thai, which is awesome except for the part where then they expect me to REPLY in thai, and i have no idea what they said or what i should say! so they all just stare at me expectantly, and of course i have nothing to say so i smile and smile, and wait for someone to translate or something. Most of the time i feel like an idiot, especially when they start talking about me when im right there and i dont know what theyre saying. Randomly i will hear "anjalee" or "falang" and i know theyre talking about me. they'll point and talk and sometimes someone will laugh. i know its not a MEAN laugh, but still, youd like to know what people are saying about you.
The Aunts all try and fix me up with their sons. All the time they ask "sow eye falang, mai?" (lit: beautiful white girl, no?"). over and over again, then theyll say something i dont understand, and after that it just gets awkward because theres nothing for me to do except smile. Then everyone laughs and i get embarassed. And its obvious the sons are embarassed too. good times, good times. haha.
We went to a park in roy-et with these two enormous ponds that are absolutely packed with cat fish. You can buy bags of food, and if you stand on the edge and throw hanfuls into the water they all pile on top of one another, wriggling and trying to get the food. it actually looks disgusting haha. i took a video but i'll have to post it later.
In the park they also have what i guess is like an outdoor temple.. you have to get a bouquet of flowers, three inscents (sp?) and one candle thats about as big as a birthday candle and a peice of gold foil first. you can buy these from any of the local vendors waiting around the temple. then you take your shoes off, light the candle, light the inscents and hold all of them. then you sit down in front of.. well to be quite honest i have no idea what it is, its completely covered in streamers. Anyways, you kneel in front of it, say your prayer, put the candle in the holder, the inscents in the tub of sand and the flowers in the pot, try and make the peice of gold foil stick to whatever it is you kneel in front of, bow down and then leave. very odd, and since ive never really known what exactly it is you say in a prayer, i felt very out of place. next if you want there is a place that has all of these life fortunes.. you go say another prayer (im assuming thats what we were supposed to be doing) then take this tube with numbered sticks and shake it until just one of them falls out. You grab whichever numbered fortune is yours and then go.
it was actually a really nice experience and the thai's take it very seriously. even though it was a bit strange for me, im guessing there will be many more experiences like that. my life's fortune was really nice too. it told me that i will only become happier in my life, as well as wealthier and happier. also, apparently i'll find happiness in a widow. kind of odd but also surprisingly reassuring haha. pleng (my host sister) did not have a good one haha. if you dont like your fortune she said you were either supposed to stick is somewhere but she couldnt remember where, or else throw it away, into the wind or something to make it 'leave you'.
i really enjoyed the whole thing.
i think thats all thats new. oh, except my official thai name is "anjalee phumipan" and my nickname is anne. this is because i told khun ma that i wanted to learn everything about thai culture, and anjalee means to "wai" (what you do when say hello, meet someone, say goodbye, say thank you) its like the most thai thing you could ever do. when you put your hands into prayer position and then slightly bow. i really like it, and she obviously put some though into it which really means something.
anywho i really have to go, this post is getting way to long.
love you and miss you all.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Hey all! so i am now in thailand! its very exciting ahah! I got into bangkok at about 10:30 and finally left passport control/customs at around 11:00. i was incredibly nervuos to see my host family, but when i met them they were so nice. After a tearful call to my dad, they all gave me hugs, and gave me a stuffed elephant with a wreath of the most beatiful smelling flowers hanging around its trunk.
We exchanged my money, got in the car and headed home. It was so muggy in bangkok i was so grateful for the AC haha. there must have been 10 7-11's on the highway from bangkok to korat. they have advertisements for a "fresh salad" which is salad greens, some sort of dressing and a hotdog cut into slices on top. i thought that was pretty funny. i slept the whole way home, all day the next day and all night. My host dad (koon pa) woke me up to have a bit of dinner at around nine, but i was only awake for about a half hour.
The next day i woke up, and my host mom (koon ma) drove me to see my school, and then i went with her and koon pa to a conference. they are both university instructors and they also work or the government. I think that they evaluate the curriculum or something, im not entirely sure. then we went for lunch at a noodle house. after that i met up with kittisak who is my rotary counsellor and constance the girl who is here from PEI and we went to open a bank account.
after that we went to see my school again, but this time we got to take a quick look around. it looks like a university except smaller. there are different buildings for all different studies, home ec, sports, flower arranging (yes. flower arranging).
Afterwards i came home and tried to take a nap but it wasnt happening haha, it was way too hot. we went out for dinner at a place in dowtown, i have no idea what it was called. we ordered a few dishes and some of them were spicey, some of them were not (thankfully) but they were all amazing. there was a guy playing english songs on the guitar. like the really good ones haha, desperado, unwell, home. they made me a bit homesick.
i was still exhausted from jet lag so when we got home i went straight to bed.
So far thailand is very interesting. the smells are funny, lots of times it doesnt smell like anything. but then every once in a while you'll get a whiff of manure, or dogs or some sort of delcious food.
i do miss home though.. im having a great time but i am homesick. im sure this will pass though.
love you all to bits,
Ashley.
We exchanged my money, got in the car and headed home. It was so muggy in bangkok i was so grateful for the AC haha. there must have been 10 7-11's on the highway from bangkok to korat. they have advertisements for a "fresh salad" which is salad greens, some sort of dressing and a hotdog cut into slices on top. i thought that was pretty funny. i slept the whole way home, all day the next day and all night. My host dad (koon pa) woke me up to have a bit of dinner at around nine, but i was only awake for about a half hour.
The next day i woke up, and my host mom (koon ma) drove me to see my school, and then i went with her and koon pa to a conference. they are both university instructors and they also work or the government. I think that they evaluate the curriculum or something, im not entirely sure. then we went for lunch at a noodle house. after that i met up with kittisak who is my rotary counsellor and constance the girl who is here from PEI and we went to open a bank account.
after that we went to see my school again, but this time we got to take a quick look around. it looks like a university except smaller. there are different buildings for all different studies, home ec, sports, flower arranging (yes. flower arranging).
Afterwards i came home and tried to take a nap but it wasnt happening haha, it was way too hot. we went out for dinner at a place in dowtown, i have no idea what it was called. we ordered a few dishes and some of them were spicey, some of them were not (thankfully) but they were all amazing. there was a guy playing english songs on the guitar. like the really good ones haha, desperado, unwell, home. they made me a bit homesick.
i was still exhausted from jet lag so when we got home i went straight to bed.
So far thailand is very interesting. the smells are funny, lots of times it doesnt smell like anything. but then every once in a while you'll get a whiff of manure, or dogs or some sort of delcious food.
i do miss home though.. im having a great time but i am homesick. im sure this will pass though.
love you all to bits,
Ashley.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
dont have much time to write (or spell check) but just wanted to let everyone know that i am in hong kong safe and sound, waiting for my flight to bangkok.
the flight was long and my bum is a little numb, but other than that i am doing well =)
i love you and miss you all, and i will write more when i get to bangkok.
xox
the flight was long and my bum is a little numb, but other than that i am doing well =)
i love you and miss you all, and i will write more when i get to bangkok.
xox
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Before i leave
So i have 28 days now, until i leave for Thailand. I'm really excited to go and I'm very happy that i get to travel the whole 24 hours with another girl, Constance who is going to the same city as i am as well. (Thank you Nona!!) It's going to be nice to have someone not look a me like im crazy when i start BAWLING at 40, 000 feet. Plus if for some reason we miss our connections, or something of the sort happens that way im thankful that i wont have to be alone. Right now im just trying to pack up my stuff, get everything i need before i leave (gifts, flags, etc). And also get rid of everything i dont want/need/want to store. Stampede starts tomorrow. That should be a good time. Anywho time to get off the computer and start getting stuff figured out.
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