Greetings and Sawatdee

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Thai Massage and Rain Rain Rain

The bus attendant on my first bus this morning was really cranky and kept pulling me and positioning me, it made me all flustered and I dropped my change which seemed to make her pretty angry. At least that bus ride was short and then I got onto one of those pick-up truck things (I still can't remember what the Thais call them).
The K3 class was fun the kids like me and I'm becoming friends with the teacher. In K3 we're studying animals and so we were doing coloring and writing activities about animals.
I ate lunch with the teachers again, it was... interesting. We had a really good soup that reminded me of one we used to have at a restaurant in Edmonton (but better) and we had vienna sausages in sweet and sour sauce with rice which was kind of odd.
My afternoon class was good, things are improving with my understanding of my roll in the classroom and the students are starting to relate to me a bit more.
After I got home from work Jenny and I went out for an adventure because there was no Ruhi tonight. We went to book appointments for Thai massage with a woman on our soi and ended up getting them right then. We each had an hour massage and (while the other was being massaged) an hour nap. It wasn't expensive, I will definitely be going back for another one at some point.
We went out for an interesting dinner afterwards, it was kind of funny because we never know what we're going to get since we don't know Thai and it's hard to tell if they understand our botched Thai mixed with english. I got a spicy chicken salad thing with sticky rice.
After dinner it stated to rain and all of the power went out (it was also really windy) so we got a cab home and now it's really pouring outside! Awesome!!

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Mystery Food... and oye Transportation!

So my cockiness over my exceptional transportation savy-ness has caught up to me! Today I some how missed my stop on the way to school. Luckily I always leave early and I still managed to get to class in time but the pick-up truck driver had to take me out of his truck and put me into the passenger seat of another truck (you usually ride in back) and tell the driver when to drop me (I told him the name of the school I was working at so he knew). Boo.

Working at the school was good today, I followed Rae's excellent advice and am feeling more clear on what is expected from me at school. I worked with the Kindergarden 3 kids today and they were a lot of fun, I befriended the misfit boys and they kept on trying to get me to come over to their desks. I ate lunch with the teachers but I'm not sure what it was I ate, rice and some spicy meat with onions (what meat? I dunno). In the afternoon I worked with the grade ones as usual, I think things are getting better but in my first class there is a large group of boys that don't listen at all and its hard to communicate with them because since they aren't listening they aren't learning any english and so don't understand me (and don't care to). The second class is easier which is nice because it's a good point to finish on each day.

Today after class I visited with a few of the teachers and we're starting to become friends. They asked me many things about Canada, my family, my religion, more about Canada and winter, and ice, and how restrictive winter clothing must be, it was very amusing.

After work I took the bus home, I made a new friend on the bus, his nick name was pronounced 'Off' he was nice, however, as we were saying good bye after the bus ride I walked into a street post and was mortified so I didn't say a proper good bye, I don't know if I'll see him again but man did I feel silly. And my head hurt.

In the evening we had Ruhi and studied the next lesson about the life of Baha'u'llah. Then we went out for dinner and I learned that I don't know how to order food very well yet. I tried to get cashew chicken on rice but ended up with chicken and mini eggplant green curry on rice. I ate it, it was good, but really spicy and the edges of my mouth felt like fire.

Oh there was a huge wind storm last night, it was awesome but noisy and it woke me because it was rattling my patio door in it's frame and my bathroom window. I got up in the middle of the night to see what was up and the trees were thrashing back and forth and there was lightning in the distance, but still no rain.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Yay Tamarind

I talked to Mom and Dad and Etana this morning, it was really nice but the hour went by so quickly and the phone reception quality wasn't as good as it was the first time we talked.Today was day two with the grade ones. It was good but I feel like the expectations that the teachers have for me in teaching the students change each day and I'm feeling a little confused. I have received some advice though on how to deal with these confusions without having anyone lose face, so I'm going to try that out. Tomorrow in the morning I'm going to help with the kindergarden 3 class (they seem to have three levels of kindergarden here). After school today I went swimming again which was really nice but in this pool I can't stay under water no matter how hard I try. After dinner we had a devotional gathering and I found out that there is a new Baha'i in Bangkok!

Side notes:

Today I learned that most Thais have really long names and they all go by nicknames. I've also discovered recently that I love eating tamarind and have been buying and eating a lot of it! Now that I've discovered I like it I see the tamarind trees everywhere, they're in season right now and when you know what they look like you can't help but see them.

Oh and I saw real wild Bird of Paradise flowers growing wild, they weren't in bloom but they're on the way to the pool so maybe I'll see them when they are.

And lastly, I took a different mode of transportation to work today (there are two I can use) and I still didn't get lost! Yay for me!

Monday, March 27, 2006

My First Day

I had my first day of school today and it was good. I took a bus and one of those pick-up trucks to school and I got off at all the right stops and everything! I'm very proud of myself because the transportation can be confusing here when you don't understand what people are trying to say and they don't know what you're asking when you're looking for direction.The school was good but I was teaching grade one instead of kindergarden (which is fine) and the kids were sweet and we had a lot of fun. We sang songs and I told the story of the lion and the mouse. The only problem I'm finding is that it's hard to gauge how much the kids understand and so when I was telling my story I wasn't sure if they were grasping the concepts.I met quite a few of the school's teachers and there are a few who seemed like they had a lot of personality and would be a lot of fun to hang out with.Other wise it was a really low key day, I bought more stationary and ate a tasty tofu and veggie dish for dinner with more rice and cashew chicken.

Tomorrow will be another low-key, I took the morning off because Mom and Dad will be phoning (the rest of the week I'll be helping with the morning classes at the summer school), then I have teaching in the afternoon, and then it's the devotional gathering at Khanum's house.I hope my success with transportation today wasn't beginner's luck!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

The Biggest Market Yet

This morning Jenny and I met up with Lynne and went to Chatuchak Weekend Market which is the biggest market around. Compared to the other markets I went to this one was the biggest and the most like a shopping mall, it's mostly indoors with path ways outside between the 'districts' and its so big it requires a map. It was unlike the other markets I've been to it didn't seem to sell any meat or pig heads or chicken feet (things I've begun to repeatedly see at the other markets) but instead sold mostly clothing, shoes, accessories, purses, lights, furniture, books, music... mostly comfort items rather than necessities (mind you it may have sold meat and I just didn't see because I don't think we saw the whole thing). I bought a few things there but I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff and I was shopping with two other people who had their own shopping agendas while I was mostly there to see what there was to see so I just went where they went. I think next time I go I'll buy some stuff because there were a lot of really neat things there.In the afternoon we went to a pool at the building where Rae (one of the Baha'is in our community) lives, it was so nice! I swam 10 lengths of the pool and relaxed, I think I'm going to try to swim a few times a week. In the evening we went out to explore another super market and I mailed out some letters. Tonight I'm going to go to bed early because I start work tomorrow with the little kids and last night we didn't sleep with the air conditioner on and I had a really crappy sleep.
Oh! Today I saw a baby elephant walking down the side walk... I mean he wasn't alone he was with some guy but he was a baby elephant and walking down the side walk of Chaengwattana road!! I thought that that was pretty neat.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Success with Pictures

This morning we went for breakfast at one of the markets close by and I had the greatest breakfast ever! We had coconut sticky rice with fresh mango and tea, it was glorious! After breakfast we went to Magic Years which is a school owned and run by a Baha'i in Nonthaburi. This school is for pre-school aged children and the curriculum is based on teaching the children virtues and morals. On Saturdays Magic Years gives free classes to the children of the area and works with children who are older than pre-school aged. The weekend lessons are in Thai so when I went today I didn't understand very much but I did play with the children do puzzles with them. Everyone ,child and adult, who was at Magic Years was facinated with my sun burns, people would come over and look at it and call over others to look. Since I was wearing a v-neck when I got burned my burn on my chest is in a V, one of the little girls told me that it looked like I had a heart on my chest so it meant I had two hearts. Everyone was so fascinated and concerned for my burns that I was given three or four creams, some aloe gel and a pieces of aloe plant.
In the afternoon I took one of the truck transports (you sit on benches in the back of a pick-up) to the school that I'll be working at on Monday. The idea of going was to make things less confusing when I had to go on Monday, unfortunately, I feel more confused than before. I just hope I'm not late on Monday because I got off at the wrong stop or got on the wrong bus or pick-up truck. Now that I've taken the pick-up truck I only have the tuk-tuk and the motorcycle taxi and I've taken every available transportation device. I was supposed to go with Lynne to swim this afternoon but she was in Cambodia renewing her visa and the bus was really late coming back so instead I just lounged and wrote letters. I'm feeling very tired today from the sun-baking I got yesterday. Jenny and I went out to dinner at one of the restaurants on our soi we were adventurous and ordered a tofu dish which ended up being a tofu soup. After dinner I used the computer in the Baha'i Centre to download some pictures off of my camera! The computer in my room is great for email and looking things up online but it isn't very sophisticated and couldn't handle my camera but it would seem the one in the Centre can. Yay. So now I can post some pictures for everyone to see. I also discovered that the other computer has a webcam and so I had a little chat with Mom who got to see my tomato face.
Tomorrow morning Jenny and I are going to the big weekend market with Lynne and then who knows what for the rest of the day.

*To see pictures in a larger size click on it and then look at the size options above the picture

Friday, March 24, 2006

Adventures in Transportation

So today, Jenny and I decided to go to the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Sounds like a simple statement however when you know very little Thai and have no clue about the transportation it may turn into a crazy adventure (especially when you read the map wrong).
So we started at Chaengwattana (which is the major street our soi stems off of) and grabbed the 166 with the yellow sticker in the window (the ones with yellow stickers go on the express way to Bangkok) so far so good except that it was a very crowded bus and some of the turns we took jostled the bus quite a bit. Then we arrived at Victory Monument which is also a main bus loop with four bus stations and a million buses going in and out. We asked at information how to get to Wat Phra Kaeo and were told to take bus 503, we found it easily enough and we were on our way. Now this is where things stopped going as planned, I guess we jumped the gun and got off the bus a little too early and accidentally got off at Wat Benchamabopitr (Marble Temple). We did wander around the Marble temple area (which was beautiful and when I find a capable computer I'll post some pictures). There is a monastery beside the temple and there were many orange robed monks walking around. After wandering around the grounds of the Marble Temple we looked at a map and decided it wasn't too far to just walk to the Royal Palace (we had waited for a bus for a little but it didn't come so we didn't stick around). So we walked, and walked, and walked and walked and walked some more. After about an hour to and hour and a half of walking in the full sun we asked directions, it would seem we were walking the complete opposite direction! So then as advised we waited for bus 60 as we waited about seven buses with the number 23 came by (no exaggeration) and a few 50's, 90's and 505's and finally when we were about to hail a cab one arrived and we got on. On the buses here they have a person who takes your money and gives you change and a ticket and they charge you different amounts depending on where you're going. We told the man Wat Phra Kaeo and he was very nice and told us exactly where to get off. Oh as a side note Jenny learned how to say "I am not Thai" so that when people tried to talk to her in Thai she could tell them she didn't understand, it didn't stop about three people from asking her for directions but she did manage to get rid of some confusion by learning that statement. Anyway we finally arrived at the Palace but not before being accosted by these people wanting us to feed the pigeons. Ok, if any of you ever go to the Royal Palace know that it is the largest tourist area in Bangkok and that people will try to sell you stuff and you have to be aggressive if you don't want it. I said no to feeding the birds (large swarms of pigeons creep me out and I didn't want to be covered in filthy birds) but they were very pushy and even when I folded my arms to keep them from forcing the bird feed into my hands they'd shove it into the crook of my elbow. At one point they threw some feed at my feet and there were birds every where it was really creepy and I felt like if I moved I would step on the birds and what if I pissed one off and it pecked at me. Finally we just put the bird feed on the ground and ran away because we couldn't see any other solution for it.
When we got to the Palace we went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo), it was beautiful. There are bells hanging from the roof over hang of the buildings and so their is always a sweet soft tinkling sound in the background. All of the colors are very rich and most things are shiny or reflective (a lot of gold and small mirrors). I saw the Emerald Buddha (but you can't take pictures of him) and learned that his outfit changes depending on the season, in the summer (which is now) his head is ornamented and he has an ornamental outfit (I'm guessing because of Songkran). I think in one season he wears nothing and the other two he wears a robe but each time it's worn a different way.
We walked through the grounds a bit but we were exhausted from the heat and our long pointless walk so we decided to get the bus home. We asked directions to get back to the monument so that we could catch the 166 because we knew that would take us home. However the woman we asked asked us where we were trying to get to after the monument and we said Nonthaburi, I think that that was a mistake because then she told us it was much easier to get to Nonthaburi via water taxi which was a five minute walk from the Palace. The reason this was a mistake is because we didn't know how big Nonthaburi really is and she didn't know where in Nonthaburi we needed to go. We did follow her direction and took the water taxi, it was a fun ride and I would take one again if I knew where I'd end up. Once we got to Nonthaburi we had no clue where we were and couldn't find Chaengwattana, I asked someone and she didn't understand me so she got this guy in a white t-shirt to come over and help and he took us to a van taxi/bus thing and he got on with us. I've seen these vans before and as far as I understand they have a route (like a bus does) but they'll drop you any where you want along that route (like a taxi) and it would seem they charge a flat rate. So we got one with this guy in a white t-shirt and wrote down the address we were trying to get to and he made some phone calls and we rode in this van for a really long time and then he got us to get out (it was at a place we'd seen before so we knew we were closer to home) and he got us across the insane intersection and then put us in another van taxi/bus and told them where to drop us off. And then he left us, he was really nice and helpful but I never even learned his name. Finally we got home and man am I sun burnt, yipes! The sun here feels so mild you don't even realize that you're burning. I'm like the reddest little tomato and the reddest fire truck.
On Friday nights the Baha'i community runs children's classes for the children of the soi and I went to help even though I was feeling a bit sun sick. I helped with the kids who were around 7-11 years old and after they had asked me with many giggles where I was from, how old I was, if I had siblings, and whether I had a boy friend one girl asked me why my face was so red... boo for my burn. I guess the kids haven't seen a paler person like me burn like this before, they tried to reassure me that soon I'd be dark like them and I wouldn't turn red any more. One girl did tell me she though I was beautiful I guess that should count for something, but wow do I ever look silly in this shade of red (I think red must only be cute when your blushing, and when it doesn't cover your entire face).

That was my day, I learned a lot about transportation and I've nearly taken every type of transportation (since I've already taken a couple of taxis) all I need to do is take a Tuk-Tuk and a motorcycle taxi... oh and the one with the bench in the back of a pick-up truck (it has a specific name but I can't remember it). I think I'll be taking the pick-up truck one to get to work, I was told to take that or the bus 166 that doesn't have the yellow sticker in the window.
Also I read a web page that said that they drove on the same side of the road as North American's, they don't... and every once in a while I accidentally try to get into the driver's seat instead of the passenger's. Ooops.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

The Market Experience

This morning I was up at 5:30am as usual. My sleeping schedule isn't great yet but I'm sure it'll get on track. Jenny was up early as well and so we decided to go exploring a bit of Nonthaburi together. We took the bus down Chaengwattana to the very end where the river is and walked around the markets. The markets are quite large, they span street blocks and are both indoor and outdoor. They are everyday markets, unlike the one I went to last Sunday which only runs on Sundays and Wednesdays, you can tell that they are very well established and are the way the community buys its foods and goods. These markets aren't in an area that are usually visited by tourists and so it was really interesting to walk around and get an idea of community life. My roommate is half Navaho and the Thais often mistake her for Thai and talk to her in Thai, as for myself it is obvious that I am farang (white) and they stare at me with open curiosity. It doesn't really bother me but sometimes I forget that I'm the minority and realizing that everyone is staring at me kind of surprises me.
So, the market: They sell absolutely everything. I noticed they often display the fruit and the flowers (and have restaurants) on the outer edges where the people are likely to walk by on the sidewalk and in the alleys. Behind those you'll find the clothing tables starting with the shirts and pants and moving into bras and underwear, after that there sometimes were knick-knacks tables but then after that you get into the meat and the smelly part of the market. The meat is kept under the roof and right at the center of the market probably to keep it out of the direct sun, however with so much heat outside the area under the roof becomes extremely humid (more so then outside) and the smell of the meat is everywhere. This is cooked and uncooked meat and it isn't always a pleasant smell, I walked by a table of giant (and I mean Huge) pig heads, it was like they were all staring at me and it kind of brought to mind Lord of the Flies (most unpleasant). I couldn't tolerate the smell in the meat section for very long especially around the fish and pig heads (though the latter may have also been due to the unsettling image) even though they hung many chains of jasmine flowers to minimise the stench. I have always been told that around bad smells you should breath through your mouth but in this case, due to the humidity, I found that if I breathed that way it was like I was tasting the smells and I felt more sick and so I had to breath through my nose as the lesser of two evils. I do have to say though that the market is fascinating and the food is cheap, we bought a bag of rose apples while we were there and they were very reasonable priced.
We also went out for lunch while at the market but it was quite difficult due to the language barrier. Luckily the server found someone who spoke some english and he ordered us a chicken and rice dish. It was a very simple dish with very little spice or flavor and a side of chicken liver (or at least that's what we think it was - I tried it, ate about half even, but couldn't finish it... ecky ecky). I need to learn some Thai soon so that I can order something, I do know what rice and chicken are now and someone told me what cashews were (ma-moo-ang I think?) so I do know some. I saw snake head on a translated menu the other day and so I want to know enough that I'm not eating one of Caesar's relatives any time soon, especially not it's head.
After lunch we walked around a little and went back to our apartment, it was pretty hot and and we needed to seek the refuge of an air conditioned room.
I did some research for my youth programs and wrote an email and then Lynne (I don't know if I've introduced her before but she is very nice woman who is also pioneering here) picked me up to take me to the supermarket.
The supermarket was another interesting place, it was massive and sold everything under the sun (kind of like a Superstore or Walmart type place but twice as large). Lynne told me what was and wasn't a good deal and what was better to get at the markets, she was very helpful. We met up with Jenny afterwards (she would have come to the supermarket but she had an appointment) and we went for dinner. After dinner we had a Baha'i study circle where we studied lesson plans for children's classes and discussed the life of Baha'u'llah.
Now we're just discussing what our plans for tomorrow will be, I think we're going to visit the Royal Palace in the morning and early afternoon and then meet Lynne when she is done work and go to the pool.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Learning about Currency

I went to visit the school that I will be working at today. It was nice but not all air conditioned and I was so hot! In May I will be teaching a junior youth (11-15year old) program there but they want me to start this Monday working with the summer camp for kids entering kindergarten this school year (in May). Since this school is an English school they run a camp for kids entering into kindergarten to give them some English foundation before they have to sit all day in a class with a teacher who is talking to them in a language that they are unfamiliar with. I think I'll just be playing games and singing songs with the kids to help them learn some English in a fun way. I'll be doing this program for four weeks in total but there is a break in the middle for a week because of Songkran. I'm looking forward to Songkran because even though it won't be raining at least there will be water flying about. I was told yesterday that it hasn't rained here since October and won't until July! I'm amazed that things stay so green with so little moisture.So I added a currency converter to my links today (check it out), I am just beginning to understand what the conversion is and how much things are in worth Thailand. I am really amazed how affordable everything is. I always wondered why Thais would move to the cold climate in Canada but I can understand how they would want to come to Canada to work because they'd be able to send a significant amount of money home to their families. To put things into perspective about money, I ate a full meal today with meat, veggies and rice for 45baht and bought a chocolate milk (not as good as at home) at the 711 for 9baht.
Right now I have a roommate, Jenny, who is travelling here from the US. She's been backpacking in New Zealand and she was also in Australia and now I believe she will be here for a month. We're getting along very well and I think we're going to explore for a little bit tomorrow.I'm learning a few Thai words but I need more repetition because people keep telling me things and I keep forgetting.
I'm very tired right now so I think I will turn in and write more in tomorrow's post.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Palm Trees and Water Slides

I think I slept a little too much yesterday because I woke up in the night a lot last night, and finally after not being able to sleep I got up at 5:30am. I talked to Dad for a bit and he helped me with my profile picture (thanks Dad and Mom for sending me the picture in the first place) and then I tried to rest before my 9:30am pick up. I couldn't fall back asleep though so I read a book that Dad bought me for my travels and said some prayers and got ready to go out. Since it was New Year's day today a lot of the Baha'is took the day off of work and we took the children to Siam Park City which is a huge amusement park/water park. I had a really wonderful day. In the past I have often felt self conscious in a bathing suit but today I was able to just run around and play and laugh with the children with out once feeling awkward or anxious about my body and it was really freeing and relaxing . The children who were invited to the water park were the children of our soi (lane - pronounced soy) other children from the neighborhood, I think most of them attend the children's classes run by the Baha'is on Fridays and weekends. The kids were so much fun, some of them knew a little english but the rest of them either didn't or were too shy to speak english to me. It didn't' really matter though, they took my hand and led me all around the water park we went on the tall slides, the swirly slides, a wave pool... every where really. Some of the kids who weren't strong swimmers would go down the slide with me so that I could lift them into the air at the bottom so that their faces didn't get splashed or pushed under the water. Everyone was very kind to me and some people gave me some really good chicken, pork and sticky rice for lunch. I have learned that in Thailand you often buy things in bags, I noticed this at the market on Sunday and again today. When you buy meat, fruit, rice or even soy milk and other drinks they're given to you in these ballooned bags (pulled tight by closing them with the air in the top) and then when you eat the food you either pour it out of the bag on to a plate, or with sticky rice (which is like a solid mass) you just pull off chunks of food leaving the rest in the bag. For drinks in a bag you just open the top and stick a straw in and drink out of the bag, its kind of neat. Anyway back to lunch. I bought these apples called rose apples (chom-phu) and they are really tasty, they're a little grainy like a pear but they taste sweet and crunchy like an apple. Often the fruit here is given to you with a little bag of orange crystals to dip your fruit in, the crystals are a bit of sugar mixed with salt and chili's, it does taste good on the fruit but it is hot and of course quite salty so I don't think I could eat it all the time. After lunch I went down a few more slides and just before packing it in I went into a spa pool. The spa pool was lovely it had jets, there was some tropical music in the background and I was hanging out beneath the palm trees, I felt like I had entered the stereotypical paradise they portray on tv.
After the spa pool I changed into my out door clothing again and we took the kids on some of the amusement park rides (well I watched them, I was never really big on rides). And then we started to get ready to go home.
This evening I went out with Vaughan for dinner (I still need someone to come with me because I don't know how to order on my own). We had a hot green curry (which made my mouth burn a little) and a chicken cashew dish and rice. The food was great and it was at a restaurant on our soi so I'll be able to go back often. On our way home to our building many Thai people stopped me to tell me that I had a lovely face, it was really sweet, one woman even stopped me to tell me she wanted my nose! It was really funny but the compliments were making me blush, at least it wasn't too noticeable because it was dark out and my cheeks were rosy from all the sun today.
It was about 40 degrees out today and I actually didn't feel over heated once.
Oh and I wore my white skirt today and didn't get it dirty at all (for those of you who know me well you know this is a great accomplishment).
Tomorrow Jaya is showing me the school I'll be working at.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Sleepy Day

Today I had planned on going out and looking around the neighborhood and getting to the bank etc... It didn't happen, I woke up really early (probably because I went to bed early yesterday) and talked online a bit, ate some really awesome fruit and then went to rest again. I got up after a very short rest and read some books on Thai culture and talked online again and then decided I'd go out.... but first maybe I'll have a little nap because I was feeling tired again. The little nap turned into a long nap and I woke up with 20 minutes until I had to be at the Feast. Thankfully the Feast was being hosted by Lynne who lives one floor down from me and other than knocking on the wrong apartment door I had no troubles getting there on time, and nicely dressed. There were 11 people at the Feast and I got a chance to meet some new people. We said prayers until the sunset and then broke fast together for New Years. I wasn't fasting because I'd been travelling but nearly everyone else there was. Jaya took a picutre of the group of us there (minus himself since of course he was taking the picture) and he said he'd email it to me so when I'll get it I'll be able to post it for everyone to see my new Baha'i community. Everyone was there except for the children but I will meet them tomorrow when we take them out to the water park for New Years. I'm not much of a public swimmer but with this heat I can make the exception. I heard Edmonton just got a bunch more snow this past weekend, today it was 48 degrees outside! I think it was probably for the best that I slept through most of that, though I'll have to be brave and get out there tomorrow, with lots of sunscreen! The food at the feast was fantastic, I look forward to being able to try more food here. My community seems really sweet and friendly, I'll ge the chance to get to know some of them better tomorrow at the water park. I hope I don't burn.

*For those of you who are not Baha'i the Feast is a monthly Baha'i gathering, this one was particularly special because it was the New Years Feast and then end of the Fast

F.O.G. in Thailand

So after many plane rides and short stays in Toronto and Frankfurt I have arrived! Sawatdee.

A lot has happened since I left Edmonton. First I went to Toronto for a few days and got to meet the very sweet girl Clover! I loved meeting her and she seemed pretty happy to meet me too. I spent a few days of hanging out during the day with Tonya and Clover and then in the evenings, when he was off work, Evan would join in the fun.

After Toronto I flew to Germany. The flight itself was ok though there was a medical emergency on board and they had to make an announcement to ask if there was a doctor on the flight. The doctor was sitting behind me and was up and down a lot, and she seemed pretty distressed.

Once I got to Frankfurt I followed the directions we found online to the Baha'i Temple. I only got a little lost but it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle. Being at the temple was wonderful when I found it, it was simple but very calming. After I said my prayers and walked around a bit I walked down to the information center to ask about the bus times so that I could get back to the train station. When I got to the information centre I met two Baha'is from Toronto, which was really fun. They offered to let me ride in their taxi to the train station and then once we were hanging out together we really hit it off and ended up spending the whole day together touring around Frankfurt. I took some pictures and we visited many churches and old buildings. We bought and sent off some postcards though I had a little fight with the automated post box and ended up really over paying for one of my stamps, it was an adventure. After dinner with Jan and Dave I went back to the train station and caught a train back to the airport. By that time I was so tired I was falling asleep in the waiting area infront of my boarding gate and when I got onto the plane passed out before take off.

When I got to Bangkok the instructions I had been given to find the youth who were to pick me up were very clear and easy to follow and after the long line at the immigration counter I had no problem finding Tai and Yu.

We took a cab back to the Baha'i centre/my apartment (they're in the same condo). The cab was interesting, driving in Thailand is as crazy as I read it to be, and the cabs have these chains of flowers (jasmine) that make the cabs smell really pretty.
When I got to my suite I met more people and then cleaned up, phoned Mom and Dad, sent out some emails and had a nap. Then I was taken to the evening market that is a few streets away. This market is open on Sundays and Wednesdays. It was pretty neat, I drank some coconut sap juice stuff which was tasty but much too sweet. We got me some fruit at the market (which by the way is the tastiest fruit I have ever had) and then went out for dinner. I wasn't very hungry because of all of the jet lag but I met some new people at had a good time. Even though it was still early when dinner was over I was really exhausted so I came home, chatted to Mom online and went to bed.

Today I haven't done much but it is the last day of the fast today so Feast is tonight.

I wanted to make quick mention and thanks to Evan and Tonya for setting up my beautiful blog for me, isn't it lovely!?!