Day 8: September 4:
I was sitting in my usual spot on the couch, drawing, when in came the little girl, who I have previously mentioned, and Nat. They had been out in the front room playing a game when she insisted they moved in there. It was about two minutes after they had come in when she convinced him to move to couch and include me in their game of hangman. That quickly faded into a different game, and then yet another different game. After sometime of playing different word games, she said something quickly in Thai, then left the room. She closed the glass door to the room we were in and stood there and watched us for a little bit with a mischievous look twinkling in her eyes. For a moment we just laughed at her, but then that moment was over. It soon turned into a slight awkward moment of trying to start conversation. We talked about Bangkok for a bit, and made small talk, but soon we ran out of topics. He got up and left. For a moment I was not sure if he was coming back, then he returned with a book that looked almost like an old photo album. He handed it to me and I soon learned it was full of Thai stamps. He collects stamps. It was one the coolest and most unique hobbies I had heard of. He asked what my hobbies were and I told him Frisbee was one of them. He did not understand this because they do not have Frisbee here. I quickly ran up to my room and grabbed my Frisbee to show him. When I showed him a look of curiosity spread across his confused face. At first he thought it would return to him, like a boomerang, but then I explained to him that it was used in a sport and you threw it to another player. I never thought I would ever have to explain to someone what Frisbee was. They also don't have silly bands here, so I gave him one of mine, the one that was apparently a crocodile. There is a story behind this silly band. One night, while we, Alison Weber, Jacob Miller, Andrew Green, and I, were sitting outside of Price Chopper around 12PM just before camping out, Jacob had bought scented silly bands. He took them out so we could smell them, but they all seemed to smell the same. There was one in particular that I remembered because we could not, for the life of us, tell what it was. Someone, may have been Cat who we had bumped into while there, suggested that it might be a crocodile. Sure enough it did seem to have crocodile like qualities. The night before I left for the airport, Jacob gave me two silly bands, one was a blue elephant, and the other I couldn't tell what it was, I loved them both none-the-less. About two days after I arrived in Thailand, four days since I had been wearing these silly bands, I realized they glowed in the dark. I also realized at that moment, these were two of the silly bands we had been examining at Price Chopper that night. Anyway, back to Thailand. When I showed Nat the silly bands he said "crocodile, very clever" and I told him he could keep the one he was holding. He looked at it and right after he put it on his wrist, he said "glow in dark?" "Chai!" This silly Thai boy could tell right away that it was a crocodile and glowed in the dark. It took four Americans and one Canadian to figure it out after half an hour that it was a crocodile and it took me four days to know it glowed in the dark, and that was only because it was glowing! He is a very observant boy.
Tonight we went to dinner at the most beautiful restaurant I have ever seen. It was on the water and lit up by twinkle lights. When I say on the water, I mean literally on the water. The entire restaurant was on a deck that stretched out across a body of water full of fish, which you could feed. There were fountains off to the sides and live music. Thai folk music, my host dad told me. It was beautiful. I went with my host mom, my host dad, and that woman and her daughter again. I absolutely adore this girl. She gets so excited when she sees me and always wants to do something with me. Tonight I felt just like a child. The menu was in Thai, so my host family ordered for me. As usual, we had a few big dishes that everyone shared. The woman sat next to me, automatically assuming the duty of putting food on my plate, and the little girl across from me. They love to feed me here. No matter how many times I say 'Im!! Im maa!!" They continue to pile food on my plate. Our cutlery was wrapped up tightly in napkins and taped. I struggled, in vain, for quite some time to free mine of it's trap, to no avail. No one noticed, of course, to my delight, except for the little girl sitting across from me. She giggled and held out her hand. I handed her my encased silver-ware and watched as she tore the napkin apart. Now why hadn't I thought of that? There was no trick to it as I had thought there was, you just had to go at it. The food arrived and was piled on my plate. They had asked me, and have asked me many times, if I like spicy, I always say yes, but they tend to stray far from it any way, except for tonight. Tonight they ordered a spicy dish and tonight was my night to prove myself. A generous helping was placed on my plate and I was directed to the proper sauce to put on it. Of course, I, being the ignorant girl that I am, poured a spoonful of this red sauce onto my plate. Then I went in for the bite, and then another and another. "A loi!" I proclaimed. I was fine...until that fourth bite. Not even eating five spicy chicken patties could compare to the fiery inferno that lit up in my mouth. As it turned out, the sauce I had poured onto my plate had been spicy as well and that last bite was saturated in it. My face turned beat red. I was sure if I opened my mouth I would breath fire. Everyone began to laugh. Despite the fact that I felt as though Hell itself was rising up inside of me, I laughed too. I quickly drowned out the heat with vegetables and soup. The flames were doused with many gulps of water. Now it was mainly coals, simmering in the back of my throat. I was fine once again. "Ha, a loi!" I proclaimed again, and again the laughter arose. After we had finished our meal, the little girl and I got to feed the fish. I like being with her because she is always so happy and full of energy. Plus she makes the kid in me come alive. When we arrived back to the table, ice cream was there waiting for us. I am a child and I love ice cream. While fully immersed in my ice cream, I noticed a shy looking boy coming towards us. He started talking to me in English. It turns out he went to America, Arkansas, not too long ago and his father owned the restaurant. He was very kind, but also shy so our conversation was a bit on the awkward side. I still enjoyed talking to him though. We left the restaurant and went home. I wasn't tired and I always feel bad leaving them to go hide in my room, so I went and sat on the couch. Not too long after I sat down, my host mom and the little girl game in with a game. I decided to join them. It was very similar to Monopoly, but I did not understand the rules completely when we started, so I learned as we went, although I'm pretty sure the little girl didn't know them either, and she was the one running the game. It was fun. We played for hours and I was losing miserable, to the point where the little girl would just hand me one of her many 5000 baht pieces. Soon Nat and Klai arrived home and watched us play for a little while. It wasn't until well after 11PM that we ended the game and I went upstairs for bed.
Day 9: September 5:
Today I was sitting on the couch reading when that little girl, who I love so much, asked if I wanted to go swimming. "Chai!" I always want to do things with her because they are so childish and simple, but they are always fun. I didn't know how long we were going to be there, but we ended up staying for a little over two hours, just playing games in the pool. At one point, when she had gotten out to get her floaty, I heard someone say hello in a foreign accent, but clearly not Asian. I looked over and there was an old Caucasian man looking at me. At first I was a little annoyed that he had assumed I spoke English, but then I remembered the little girl liked to count in English and was very fond of the word champ. Our conversation was quite brief because she soon returned and required my full attention as she explained our next game. It was almost dark when we finally left. I was very tired and hungry; she drains the life right out of me. We went to the market near the temple and bought food for dinner. When we arrived home, my other host brother was there. My meetings with him have always been brief. He goes to school in Bangkok so I see very little of him. I hope that changes because I would really like to get to know him. We talked briefly today about football (or soccer for you Americans out there) and I learned he likes Liverpool. Go Liverpool. I've also learned, over time, that my host dad doesn't like crust on his bread, he had never dipped toast into egg yolk before, he has an incurable sweet tooth, he likes to take walks after he has eaten, my host mom loves to take pictures of everything, and that's all I have so far. Today, while I was in the shower, I noticed something moving on the window out of the corner of my eye. My first thought was Spiderman, then I realized that was a stupid thought; Spiderman doesn't live in Thailand. Then I looked over and saw it was a lizard! It looked just like the Geico gecko. I also came to a realization in the shower, that's where I do all my best thinking, my razor is scented. I had never noticed until today when, for some reason, my razor was unusually close to my nose. I could smell some unfamiliar scent and realized it was coming from my razor! Now why on Earth would someone need a scented razor? People don't smell their razors while they're shaving, unless they shave their face, but this is a girl's razor. Meant for females. The world confuses me sometimes.
Day 10: September 6:
First day of school. I talked to Big yesterday, and he told me we would leave by 8 and arrive at my school at 9. I thought this was strange because the school I thought I was going to was very close. This morning, I woke up at 6:30, ok more like 6:40. I was convinced I had slept in too late and rushed out of bed. I quickly got dressed, brushed my teeth, and ran down for breakfast. There was no one in sight. By now it was a little after seven. I ate some yogurt and read for a little bit. Still no sign of life. I went back upstairs and brushed my teeth again, this time taking my time, then went back downstairs and turned on the TV. It was very near to 8 when my host dad came in. As soon as I saw him I got up and grabbed mt bag. "Eat now. School nine" he said to me. Phew, what a relief. That's one more hour before I have to go, but it's also one more hour for me to sit around nervous and jittery. They made me breakfast, but I was too nervous to eat most of it. Then I went upstairs, brushed my teeth for a third time, braided my hair, and slowly made my way back downstairs. Time to go! I expected my host parents to take me to school, but instead my host dad's twin brother took me. They look very similar, but I can tell the difference, easily. On our way, we stopped at the bank and went inside. I was very confused at first. "Not school, bank" he told me. I laughed and followed him in. Inside was his wife, and many other friendly women. His wife followed us out to the car. She was joining in on the fun. We arrived at my school and went into the office. Behind the desk was a woman who seemed to always be smiling. She was the manager. Sitting next to me was this skinny, animated man. Slowly my nerves were calmed. After sometime of talking, they decided they wanted to take a picture. "Chompoo chompoo! Photo!" Chompoo. At that moment it clicked. That was my Thai name. My new name. After our little photo opp, I was herded into the directors office. When I saw him sitting behind his desk, wearing his uniform and looking so important, my stomach turned to knots. Then he smiled. "Sa-wat-dee-krup. Welcome to our school." We had a very nice chat, he and I, and then his assistant came in as well. Yet another important and scary looking man, until he started talking to me. He told me all about his experience in America as an AFS student. I was then escorted to the office in the English department. Yet again many happy women greeted me. I learned that there were two "filan" (foreign) teachers. Once was from Canada and the other Minnesota. My adviser brought me into one of her English classes to talk to her students. They all wanted to know my name, how old I was, and if I had a boyfriend. I get that a lot. "you have boyfriend?" Then she asked me if I could teach them a childrens' song, one with movements to it. Naturally I taught them the hippopotamus song. Yes, I did the hippopotamus song AND dance in front of the entire class. Class ended and we went back to the office to meet with Tina, the teacher from Canada. When Tina walked in and saw me, her face absolutely lit up. "Oh! Another white face!" She started chatting me up. She was talking so fast, even I couldn't understand her. Soon a few girls arrived to take me to lunch. The moment we stepped out of the office, everyone turned and stared at me. "Hello! What name? What name?! Nice meet you!" We slowly made our way to lunch, stopping to talk to people every few moments. I went with the girls who took me to lunch to their class to study. That point was slightly boring, I'm not going to lie. They took me back to the office where I talked with some other teachers. Then I had tour of the school. It is much bigger than Cooperstown. I went back to Tina, then we went to look for some vocabulary for the Quizbee they are attending on Thursday.
After school I went to dinner with my host dad's brother and his wife. Once home, I took a quick rest and got ready for the Rotary meeting. My host dad and I arrived and I was sat down at a table with three vibrant women. I came to learn that this was the women's table. They came and went, but it was full for the most part. There was one woman who spoke very quietly and seemed to always been frown, except for when she forced a smile. She sat right next to me. At first I was intimidated by her, but then she held out and handful of sunflower seeds to me. "A loi". I accepted the sunflower seeds and ate them slowly. I was very distracted by all these laughing, gossiping women asking me all kinds of questions. I soon noticed she had switched seats to the other side of me. At this point I had finished my little handful of sunflower seeds and kept my hands in my lap. I noticed her look down at my hands, then she grabbed one, held it on the table with one hand and used the other to fill my now open hand with sunflower seeds. "A loi" she said to me, in the same tone as before and no expression on her face, just the same from. She then took it upon herself to make sure I had food the entire rest of the night. At this point in my day, I am usually very tired, of course being in a room full of important people and at a table of people all trying to talk to me at once, in broken English and Thai, I was very tired and quite bored. Soon Big arrived and came over to distract me from the women. This was when I found out I had to give a speech and introduce myself to the Rotary Club. Oi. If you know me, you know that I am not one for public speaking. The real meeting was about to begin and I had to sit at the Rotarian table with all of the other important people. Thankfully I was seated between Big and Manit. This was the real boring part. Fortunately for me, I've had many PIG meetings to prepare me for this sort of thing. I am an expert at being bored while feigning interest. I also had Big's occasional comments to keep me same. Alas, the moment of truth came. It was time for me to give my speech. Big told me to speak in English, but to incorporate Thai words into it, and he would translate for me to the rest of the Rotarians. If I had to stand at that podium alone, I probably would have gone mute of fright. I have learned through my experience here so far not to be afraid to be embarrassed, because it will happen, a lot, and you have to learn to just laugh at yourself and get over it. I was presented with a pin and finally allowed back to my seat where I could sit there half asleep and zoning out at the wall just behind the speakers head. I was brought back to reality by the ring of the bell symbolizing the end of the meeting and much clapping. Big informed me it was over and we rose from our chairs. No sooner was a out of my seat, the Rotary President was beckoning to me. "Photos!" He said to me as he directed me to the spot. We started out as five, the president, the former mayor, Big, my host dad and I. Then Manit joined in, a few other men, and some women. Then a few more, and a few more. Eventually we had almost everyone in the room standing around me in the photo. Then the group diminished back to our original five for some more pictures. They love taking pictures here. When everything was said and done, it was time for me to go home. There was a party at the end for the Rotarians and my host dad had wanted to stay, so Big brought me home. Today was a very long day.
Day 11: September 7:
Today was my second day of school. I went to school with my host dad's brother again, but this time just him, and he simply dropped my off. Ai corumba! As he tried to send me off, one of the girls I had shadowed yesterday came to my rescue. She linked her arm in mine and whisked me away to the English department office. There I awaited what I thought would be my doom; I had to give another speech. This time, it was in front of over 3,000 people. They wanted me to speak only in English, which made it easier, but I had to speak slowly and I had to say it twice, and then answer questions. After my speech, I was presented with flowers by the director. They were the most beautiful flowers I have ever received, and they smelled amazing. After that lovely moment in spot light, I went back to the office. Today Nick, the teacher from Minnesota, was there. He was so happy to see me. I talked with Nick and Tina for a while about America and they told me about the things they miss and so on, until I was given a task. I, being the young filan who spoke English and had nothing better to do at the moment, was sent to surf the web and find Environmental quizzes and vocabulary. Going through all of the websites and Environmental articles brought me back to my days in AP Environmental Science. I remembered most of this stuff too, Dr. Hess would be proud. At this point they announced to me I would be going with them on Thursday, not to compete, but more as an intimidation factor. Nick was so excited by this. "Imagine when they see two filans! And she'll be in a school uniform!"
I had my first real class today, it was flower arrangements. I assumed it would be flower arrangements in vases and such, as botanists do, of course I assumed incorrectly. This was far from it. As expected, I was in a class with much younger students. First, let me start off with saying, I had no idea how to get there when they sent me there. Thankfully everyone always wants to talk to me and one girl asked if I knew where I was going. I laughed and told her no. She and her other little friends brought me to a different office and spoke with this tiny little woman. She then came out of her office, all smiles, and announced that she would be escorting me to my class. She was so excited to meet me and talk with me; everyone always wants to practice their English with me. Now, back to class. There really is no way to describe what they do. I could say, the fold petals and put them on long needles, but that really doesn't cut it. They work magic with their flowers. Because we were beginners, we were started out with paper petals rather than real ones. I managed to impress myself and my teacher by learning quickly, despite the fact that she was teaching in Thai and they had been learning this for a few months. I was able to move up to real flower petals that day! "Geng!" They always say, "good!" As are all Thai people I have met so far, my teacher was very nice, and I liked her very much. I could spend hours in that room stringing petals onto that needle. I went to go to a cooking class after, but it had been canceled, so instead I went to Ajan's office. Af picked me up for lunch and we headed into the chaotic cafeteria. Lunch is always an adventure here. So many people gather around our table and insist I try everything. The love to feed me! Some of them literally feed me. They are all very close and friendly here. Everyone shares everything. I have to make sure though, before I eat something, to ask "Peck mai?" (is it spicy?) But now they all know that I can't eat anything too spicy. Now, if someone I haven't met yet tries to offer me something that's spicy, they all say "Mai peck! Mai peck!" (No spicy!) They always have a study class after lunch and today they brought me with them. First we went to an English class, which wasn't too interesting. Next they brought me with them to their Japanese class. They want me to learn Japanese with them! The teacher had his back turned to us when we came in and sat down, in the front row, always the front row. The look on his face when he noticed me, after I loudly said something to him in Japanese which I can't recall just now, it was priceless. The entire class burst out in laughter. He's a funny teacher, very animated. Despite the fact that I couldn't understand him what-so-ever, I could always tell what was going on by his expression. Af had a real class after that so I went back to the Language office and stayed there for the remainder of the day. It sounds boring, I know, but it's actually quite interesting. I talk to the Chinese girls there who are student teachers at the moment and they try to teach me Chinese as well as Thai. They are very interesting girls, and unfortunately will be returning to China soon. At the end of school, I waited for my host uncle in Ajan Leck's office. She is quite the character and so full of life. While I'm there she feeds me and tells me all kinds of stories. I love waiting there with her and her daughter.
Day 12: September 8:
Today I had a Thai class. When I saw it on my schedule, I thought it was going to be me learning Thai in the office, but I was wrong. I went to an actual Thai class today, much like our English classes. The teacher was very nice, again. I know I say it about all of the teachers, but they are genuinely nice. Of course, as always, I was completely lost. This time more so than usual because they were reading Thai. He was reading to them off of a smart board and teaching them to read the characters. Occasionally he would write things down on the board to better explain them. When he did this, I would copy them down on a piece of paper in order to practice writing. He noticed what I had been doing and stepped out of the class for a moment. When he returned, he had two pieces of paper in his hand which he handed to me "Thai alphabet" he explained to me. Ah! I was so excited! Now I could really practice! Later on in the class, after I had written the alphabet almost twice, I realized he had been talking about me. I noticed this by the way the entire class went silent and I looked up to see him looking at me, while the class began to laugh. Then he came up to me, with his microphone in hand. He said into the mic "Follow me." Then he said a word in Thai, which I repeated. We did this for about five more words. "Geng!" He said into the mic and clapped. Some students shouted something he laughed and put the mic to my mouth. He whispered "Follow me" then one by one, said the words again, which I repeated into the mic for all the class to hear. I received a standing ovation for this. They love when I speak Thai, even if they can't understand what I'm saying. "Geng, geng! Very good!" He said to me again. Perhaps I will become fluent after all! Or maybe close. We went to the long awaited lunch. I was very hungry today, "Hiu!" We went through the same ritual of finding our friends, putting our stuff at the table, then waiting in line for food. Today seemed to be more of an exciting lunch than other days, maybe because I'm becoming more acclimated here.
If I told you I took a carving class, you automatically think of wood right? When I saw it on my schedule, I thought to myself, "I hope I can learn to widdle a recorder!" I arrived to my class and they were carving pumpkins! Not carving pumpkins out of wood, oh no, that would be too easy. They were carving intricate flowers out of the pumpkins. If you've ever seen those edible arrangements, then you know what I am talking about. I am in love with this class. My teacher acts like she is one of the students, talks to them like a student, laughs with them like a student, and even teases them like a student. She sat with me for the majority of the time and would sing to me as we carved. She sang "making a circle making a circle" over and over. I'm really not that good at it, but everyone looks at my carvings and says "Suai! Geng ma!" (very beautiful! Very good!) At first, I actually thought I was good at it, because towards the end of class, some girls who weren't from our class had gathered around and were watching me. Then I realized the other girls were much better than I was and were doing harder designs. It turned out they were only watching me because I was a foreigner. A filan. After my carving class, I had Thai dancing. If you know me, then you know that I am not graceful what-so-ever. I once described myself to Sara Breiten during a Frisbee game that I was about as graceful as a drunken bum. I tried my best though, which is all anyone could ever ask for. At least I provided a little entertainment for the other girls. I think what got the most giggles was when we had to lift one leg, then bend the one we were standing on, every time we had to do that, it was all I could do to keep my balance. They also enjoyed watching our teacher, in vain, try to bend my hand into the proper position. I should learn how to say "my hand doesn't bend that way" in Thai. I left that class, thoroughly embarrassed, but such is life. I had fun and I tried my best; that's all that matters to me. I went to the language office and talked with Ajan Tina. She showed me all of the pictures from trips she had taken here. They were all so amazing! My favorites were of the trip she took with her daughter. They went up north near Chiang Mai and rode elephants through the jungle. At some point, they left the elephants and got on a raft and rafted down a river. The pictures were all so beautiful! I want to ride an elephant through the jungle! I can't wait to see the rest of Thailand!!
Day 13: September 9:
Today I went with my adviser, Tina, and three other girls to a quiz bee. The five of us, plus another teacher and two girls heading to a cooking competition, piled into a van and made our way to Christian University. All of the other students seemed shocked when they saw an English speaking filan walk into the competition. The girl sitting next to me, Dream, leaned over and said "He wants to talk to you." I looked up and saw one of the college students smiling at me. We went through the usual conversation, he asked me the usual questions; I am very used to this now. We talked until it was time for the competition to start. They were relieved to see that I did not join my classmates for I was not participating, merely cheering them on. I watched and talked with Ajan Tina and Ajan Lee, they are such great ladies to talk to. I noticed that Ajan Lee was wearing a Canadian flag pin that Ajan Tina had given her. When I asked her about it, I learned that she loved collecting pins, so I gave them each one of mine. The look on Ajan Lee's face, she was so happy to have one of my pins. After the competition, which we came in 8th place in, out of 9, they had arranged an activity. They needed six people to go up, but there were only about four. It was the guy I had talked to earlier and his friend who were running the activity. He looked right at me and said, "How about the New York girl!". Of course everyone turned and looked. "Yes the New York girl! Come right up!" I did what any good Rotary student would do and made my way to the front of the room. By then the other three girls from my school had returned from the toilet and joined me up there. It was actually a lot of fun. They mixed us all up so we wouldn't be with the same people from our school and put us into four groups of three. I was in the group with the most energetic kid in the room, he was the first to go up front and he chose to be on my team. I later learned that he had done AFS to America the year before. I should have known. No one won the game because no one scored any points, but we had fun doing it anyway and we all received pens. We decided not to stick around for the certificates to be given away because Ajan Tina had a class soon. We went outside and waited for our van back to school. Our van turned out to be a truck with bench seats in the bed and a roof over it. The three other girls, Dream, Prua, and An, and I climbed into the back. It was quite the ride home speeding down the highway and over bumps in that truck. When we got back to school, the cafeteria was closed so we went outside of school to get food and ate at tables in the cafeteria. Dream had me try something, it was small and fruit-like so I just popped the whole thing in my mouth, expecting it to be good. It was, at first, until I bit into it. It was bitter and awful. "A-roy mai?" (Is it delicious?) Dream asked me, trying to suppress a smile, "Mai! Mai a-roy! Mai chop!"(No! Not delicious! I don't like!" This must have been the response they were waiting for because the three of them burst into fits of laughter. She later apologized for having me eat that. No problem. I'm slowly learning through experience just what not to eat.
After lunch I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. All week I had been avoiding the bathrooms here because I did not know how to use them. Today, I ignored my embarrassment and asked Prua if she would show me how to use to toilets. She did not laugh, as I was afraid she would, or become embarrassed herself, instead she was very understanding. These toilets are very different and very confusing. There is no flusher, instead you pour water into the bowl and it somehow causes the toilet to flush on it's own. I do not understand the mechanics of the thing so I couldn't possibly describe it to you, just believe me when I tell you it's not something one could figure out on their own. After my lesson on toilets, she brought me to her English class, which only had about ten minutes left. We sat in the back of the room and talked. It was the first time I had talked to someone about something other than myself in a while. I really enjoyed her company. I didn't have any other classes for the rest of the day, so she asked me to tag along to her Physics class. Oh Physics. Looking back, I actually enjoyed that class with good ol' Mr. Good. The Physics teacher here is a short round woman with big glasses that slip down to the tip of her nose. She is basically a female version of Mr. Good, coffee breath and all. She hobbled over to our table to talk to me, leaning on the table, she leaned in real close to me and spoke softly. One of my classmates said something that made her laugh and she leaned back and laughed with her entire body. I have found Mr. Good's long-lost fraternal twin. After Physics, I went to the language office instead of going to their dancing class. I'm glad I made that choice because the girls from China decided to teach me Thai today. They saw me practicing the writing and they told me what every character was and the accents on them. They told me each one twice and I wrote them down, now I can practice! I also helped them with their English. It's a win win! Everybody wins!
Day 14: September 10:
I am slowly finding my place here. I am making new friends and trying new things everyday. Today was a very good day. I'm not sure why, but today just feels better than the rest. I spent two hours in flower arrangement class, which I love. It was different from my last class because it was in a different room with a different teacher. I was also in a class with older girls than last time. I was directed into the room and plopped at the table with my teacher. I am always right beside the teachers so they can show me how to do things and make sure I don't hurt myself; they are always afraid I am going to hurt myself. Somehow they already seem to know just how clumsy and accident prone I am. The flower arrangement class room was right next to the office of the arts department. That's a room full of happy, artsy women. While I was sitting there, folding leaves and placing them carefully on the needle, Ajan Fon, my carving teacher, wandered in and sat beside me. She began to make something of her own. It was a beautiful garland made of rose petals. All the while, she was singing. She loves to sing. She sings silly songs in English to me, which usually consist of the same phrase over and over again. This time it was "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I love you". During class they were feeding me cake and other snacks. One of their favorite things to do is feed me. They want me to try everything. Just before I went to leave, Ajan Fon gave me the beautiful grland she had been working on, she is so kind! After my flower arrangement class, I had a cooking class. I arrived and there was Ajan Fon again. She was my cooking teacher! Today we made shrimp wrapped in bacon with pineapple and honey. Cooking class for me was basically follow some girls around and just do whatever they do. That's my favorite part of the arts classes, everyone knows very little English so I get to practice my Thai more. When we finished cooking and made it look all pretty, everything here is about pretty, we brought what we had made to the other arts teachers. I told them I had a camera with me so everything was pictures, pictures, pictures! They had the Japanese teacher take the picture so all of the other teachers could be in it with me. On one of the teachers' desks was a bowl that had been made out of banana leaves. It was so beautiful that I could hardly believe it was hand made. She offered to teach me how some day, but she said it is very hard, then she gave me the bowl! Gifts, gifts, gifts, and more gifts!! We went back to cooking class and instead of going to lunch, we just hung out and ate there. During our break, instead of going off to study, we watched some dancers perform. They were amazing! I expected it to be the traditional Thai dancing, but instead it was hip hop! I wish I could dance like that! They brought me back to Anjan who asked me to help with her English class. Instead helping to teach English or with pronunciation, it became a Q and A session where they asked me all sorts of questions about my life. It was incredibly personal, but I was completely honest with them, I had nothing to lose. Soon that class came to an end and Af had a test so I went with Aor instead. We went to her Chinese class together. Yes, they are trying to teach me Chinese in Thailand. Oi! It gets so confusing! It was just a study session so it was mostly me interacting with the other girls and us getting to know each other. Ah! I now have friends in school! And I know there names! I had nothing better to do, so I went with Aor to her free period, which is basically a study hall. We all sat on the floor in an air conditioned room. I wish our study halls were like that. It was a lot of fun, I enjoy her company a lot. Alas, school was over and Aor and I headed over to Ajan Leck's office. I love waiting for my host uncle to pick me up there. We have to most interesting conversations. Today she told me about how quite a few of the girls here feel as though they are boys at heart. They cut their hair very short and are always disheveled looking. I had noticed this before, because at first glance I had thought many of them were boys. My school strongly frowns upon this and makes an example of them every morning. After the school song and the morning assembly are done, they have to stand up in a row until classes start. I disagree with this, but they are going against the uniform. I have a Rotary conference thing this weekend at Trang,Pakmeng Resort. I'm not exactly sure where that is, I just know it is on the southern coast far away from my home. I will have to take a plane to get there. Ugh, more plane rides. It should only take an hour though. I must now frantically pack and make sure I have everything I need.
I was sitting in my usual spot on the couch, drawing, when in came the little girl, who I have previously mentioned, and Nat. They had been out in the front room playing a game when she insisted they moved in there. It was about two minutes after they had come in when she convinced him to move to couch and include me in their game of hangman. That quickly faded into a different game, and then yet another different game. After sometime of playing different word games, she said something quickly in Thai, then left the room. She closed the glass door to the room we were in and stood there and watched us for a little bit with a mischievous look twinkling in her eyes. For a moment we just laughed at her, but then that moment was over. It soon turned into a slight awkward moment of trying to start conversation. We talked about Bangkok for a bit, and made small talk, but soon we ran out of topics. He got up and left. For a moment I was not sure if he was coming back, then he returned with a book that looked almost like an old photo album. He handed it to me and I soon learned it was full of Thai stamps. He collects stamps. It was one the coolest and most unique hobbies I had heard of. He asked what my hobbies were and I told him Frisbee was one of them. He did not understand this because they do not have Frisbee here. I quickly ran up to my room and grabbed my Frisbee to show him. When I showed him a look of curiosity spread across his confused face. At first he thought it would return to him, like a boomerang, but then I explained to him that it was used in a sport and you threw it to another player. I never thought I would ever have to explain to someone what Frisbee was. They also don't have silly bands here, so I gave him one of mine, the one that was apparently a crocodile. There is a story behind this silly band. One night, while we, Alison Weber, Jacob Miller, Andrew Green, and I, were sitting outside of Price Chopper around 12PM just before camping out, Jacob had bought scented silly bands. He took them out so we could smell them, but they all seemed to smell the same. There was one in particular that I remembered because we could not, for the life of us, tell what it was. Someone, may have been Cat who we had bumped into while there, suggested that it might be a crocodile. Sure enough it did seem to have crocodile like qualities. The night before I left for the airport, Jacob gave me two silly bands, one was a blue elephant, and the other I couldn't tell what it was, I loved them both none-the-less. About two days after I arrived in Thailand, four days since I had been wearing these silly bands, I realized they glowed in the dark. I also realized at that moment, these were two of the silly bands we had been examining at Price Chopper that night. Anyway, back to Thailand. When I showed Nat the silly bands he said "crocodile, very clever" and I told him he could keep the one he was holding. He looked at it and right after he put it on his wrist, he said "glow in dark?" "Chai!" This silly Thai boy could tell right away that it was a crocodile and glowed in the dark. It took four Americans and one Canadian to figure it out after half an hour that it was a crocodile and it took me four days to know it glowed in the dark, and that was only because it was glowing! He is a very observant boy.
Tonight we went to dinner at the most beautiful restaurant I have ever seen. It was on the water and lit up by twinkle lights. When I say on the water, I mean literally on the water. The entire restaurant was on a deck that stretched out across a body of water full of fish, which you could feed. There were fountains off to the sides and live music. Thai folk music, my host dad told me. It was beautiful. I went with my host mom, my host dad, and that woman and her daughter again. I absolutely adore this girl. She gets so excited when she sees me and always wants to do something with me. Tonight I felt just like a child. The menu was in Thai, so my host family ordered for me. As usual, we had a few big dishes that everyone shared. The woman sat next to me, automatically assuming the duty of putting food on my plate, and the little girl across from me. They love to feed me here. No matter how many times I say 'Im!! Im maa!!" They continue to pile food on my plate. Our cutlery was wrapped up tightly in napkins and taped. I struggled, in vain, for quite some time to free mine of it's trap, to no avail. No one noticed, of course, to my delight, except for the little girl sitting across from me. She giggled and held out her hand. I handed her my encased silver-ware and watched as she tore the napkin apart. Now why hadn't I thought of that? There was no trick to it as I had thought there was, you just had to go at it. The food arrived and was piled on my plate. They had asked me, and have asked me many times, if I like spicy, I always say yes, but they tend to stray far from it any way, except for tonight. Tonight they ordered a spicy dish and tonight was my night to prove myself. A generous helping was placed on my plate and I was directed to the proper sauce to put on it. Of course, I, being the ignorant girl that I am, poured a spoonful of this red sauce onto my plate. Then I went in for the bite, and then another and another. "A loi!" I proclaimed. I was fine...until that fourth bite. Not even eating five spicy chicken patties could compare to the fiery inferno that lit up in my mouth. As it turned out, the sauce I had poured onto my plate had been spicy as well and that last bite was saturated in it. My face turned beat red. I was sure if I opened my mouth I would breath fire. Everyone began to laugh. Despite the fact that I felt as though Hell itself was rising up inside of me, I laughed too. I quickly drowned out the heat with vegetables and soup. The flames were doused with many gulps of water. Now it was mainly coals, simmering in the back of my throat. I was fine once again. "Ha, a loi!" I proclaimed again, and again the laughter arose. After we had finished our meal, the little girl and I got to feed the fish. I like being with her because she is always so happy and full of energy. Plus she makes the kid in me come alive. When we arrived back to the table, ice cream was there waiting for us. I am a child and I love ice cream. While fully immersed in my ice cream, I noticed a shy looking boy coming towards us. He started talking to me in English. It turns out he went to America, Arkansas, not too long ago and his father owned the restaurant. He was very kind, but also shy so our conversation was a bit on the awkward side. I still enjoyed talking to him though. We left the restaurant and went home. I wasn't tired and I always feel bad leaving them to go hide in my room, so I went and sat on the couch. Not too long after I sat down, my host mom and the little girl game in with a game. I decided to join them. It was very similar to Monopoly, but I did not understand the rules completely when we started, so I learned as we went, although I'm pretty sure the little girl didn't know them either, and she was the one running the game. It was fun. We played for hours and I was losing miserable, to the point where the little girl would just hand me one of her many 5000 baht pieces. Soon Nat and Klai arrived home and watched us play for a little while. It wasn't until well after 11PM that we ended the game and I went upstairs for bed.
Day 9: September 5:
Today I was sitting on the couch reading when that little girl, who I love so much, asked if I wanted to go swimming. "Chai!" I always want to do things with her because they are so childish and simple, but they are always fun. I didn't know how long we were going to be there, but we ended up staying for a little over two hours, just playing games in the pool. At one point, when she had gotten out to get her floaty, I heard someone say hello in a foreign accent, but clearly not Asian. I looked over and there was an old Caucasian man looking at me. At first I was a little annoyed that he had assumed I spoke English, but then I remembered the little girl liked to count in English and was very fond of the word champ. Our conversation was quite brief because she soon returned and required my full attention as she explained our next game. It was almost dark when we finally left. I was very tired and hungry; she drains the life right out of me. We went to the market near the temple and bought food for dinner. When we arrived home, my other host brother was there. My meetings with him have always been brief. He goes to school in Bangkok so I see very little of him. I hope that changes because I would really like to get to know him. We talked briefly today about football (or soccer for you Americans out there) and I learned he likes Liverpool. Go Liverpool. I've also learned, over time, that my host dad doesn't like crust on his bread, he had never dipped toast into egg yolk before, he has an incurable sweet tooth, he likes to take walks after he has eaten, my host mom loves to take pictures of everything, and that's all I have so far. Today, while I was in the shower, I noticed something moving on the window out of the corner of my eye. My first thought was Spiderman, then I realized that was a stupid thought; Spiderman doesn't live in Thailand. Then I looked over and saw it was a lizard! It looked just like the Geico gecko. I also came to a realization in the shower, that's where I do all my best thinking, my razor is scented. I had never noticed until today when, for some reason, my razor was unusually close to my nose. I could smell some unfamiliar scent and realized it was coming from my razor! Now why on Earth would someone need a scented razor? People don't smell their razors while they're shaving, unless they shave their face, but this is a girl's razor. Meant for females. The world confuses me sometimes.
Day 10: September 6:
First day of school. I talked to Big yesterday, and he told me we would leave by 8 and arrive at my school at 9. I thought this was strange because the school I thought I was going to was very close. This morning, I woke up at 6:30, ok more like 6:40. I was convinced I had slept in too late and rushed out of bed. I quickly got dressed, brushed my teeth, and ran down for breakfast. There was no one in sight. By now it was a little after seven. I ate some yogurt and read for a little bit. Still no sign of life. I went back upstairs and brushed my teeth again, this time taking my time, then went back downstairs and turned on the TV. It was very near to 8 when my host dad came in. As soon as I saw him I got up and grabbed mt bag. "Eat now. School nine" he said to me. Phew, what a relief. That's one more hour before I have to go, but it's also one more hour for me to sit around nervous and jittery. They made me breakfast, but I was too nervous to eat most of it. Then I went upstairs, brushed my teeth for a third time, braided my hair, and slowly made my way back downstairs. Time to go! I expected my host parents to take me to school, but instead my host dad's twin brother took me. They look very similar, but I can tell the difference, easily. On our way, we stopped at the bank and went inside. I was very confused at first. "Not school, bank" he told me. I laughed and followed him in. Inside was his wife, and many other friendly women. His wife followed us out to the car. She was joining in on the fun. We arrived at my school and went into the office. Behind the desk was a woman who seemed to always be smiling. She was the manager. Sitting next to me was this skinny, animated man. Slowly my nerves were calmed. After sometime of talking, they decided they wanted to take a picture. "Chompoo chompoo! Photo!" Chompoo. At that moment it clicked. That was my Thai name. My new name. After our little photo opp, I was herded into the directors office. When I saw him sitting behind his desk, wearing his uniform and looking so important, my stomach turned to knots. Then he smiled. "Sa-wat-dee-krup. Welcome to our school." We had a very nice chat, he and I, and then his assistant came in as well. Yet another important and scary looking man, until he started talking to me. He told me all about his experience in America as an AFS student. I was then escorted to the office in the English department. Yet again many happy women greeted me. I learned that there were two "filan" (foreign) teachers. Once was from Canada and the other Minnesota. My adviser brought me into one of her English classes to talk to her students. They all wanted to know my name, how old I was, and if I had a boyfriend. I get that a lot. "you have boyfriend?" Then she asked me if I could teach them a childrens' song, one with movements to it. Naturally I taught them the hippopotamus song. Yes, I did the hippopotamus song AND dance in front of the entire class. Class ended and we went back to the office to meet with Tina, the teacher from Canada. When Tina walked in and saw me, her face absolutely lit up. "Oh! Another white face!" She started chatting me up. She was talking so fast, even I couldn't understand her. Soon a few girls arrived to take me to lunch. The moment we stepped out of the office, everyone turned and stared at me. "Hello! What name? What name?! Nice meet you!" We slowly made our way to lunch, stopping to talk to people every few moments. I went with the girls who took me to lunch to their class to study. That point was slightly boring, I'm not going to lie. They took me back to the office where I talked with some other teachers. Then I had tour of the school. It is much bigger than Cooperstown. I went back to Tina, then we went to look for some vocabulary for the Quizbee they are attending on Thursday.
After school I went to dinner with my host dad's brother and his wife. Once home, I took a quick rest and got ready for the Rotary meeting. My host dad and I arrived and I was sat down at a table with three vibrant women. I came to learn that this was the women's table. They came and went, but it was full for the most part. There was one woman who spoke very quietly and seemed to always been frown, except for when she forced a smile. She sat right next to me. At first I was intimidated by her, but then she held out and handful of sunflower seeds to me. "A loi". I accepted the sunflower seeds and ate them slowly. I was very distracted by all these laughing, gossiping women asking me all kinds of questions. I soon noticed she had switched seats to the other side of me. At this point I had finished my little handful of sunflower seeds and kept my hands in my lap. I noticed her look down at my hands, then she grabbed one, held it on the table with one hand and used the other to fill my now open hand with sunflower seeds. "A loi" she said to me, in the same tone as before and no expression on her face, just the same from. She then took it upon herself to make sure I had food the entire rest of the night. At this point in my day, I am usually very tired, of course being in a room full of important people and at a table of people all trying to talk to me at once, in broken English and Thai, I was very tired and quite bored. Soon Big arrived and came over to distract me from the women. This was when I found out I had to give a speech and introduce myself to the Rotary Club. Oi. If you know me, you know that I am not one for public speaking. The real meeting was about to begin and I had to sit at the Rotarian table with all of the other important people. Thankfully I was seated between Big and Manit. This was the real boring part. Fortunately for me, I've had many PIG meetings to prepare me for this sort of thing. I am an expert at being bored while feigning interest. I also had Big's occasional comments to keep me same. Alas, the moment of truth came. It was time for me to give my speech. Big told me to speak in English, but to incorporate Thai words into it, and he would translate for me to the rest of the Rotarians. If I had to stand at that podium alone, I probably would have gone mute of fright. I have learned through my experience here so far not to be afraid to be embarrassed, because it will happen, a lot, and you have to learn to just laugh at yourself and get over it. I was presented with a pin and finally allowed back to my seat where I could sit there half asleep and zoning out at the wall just behind the speakers head. I was brought back to reality by the ring of the bell symbolizing the end of the meeting and much clapping. Big informed me it was over and we rose from our chairs. No sooner was a out of my seat, the Rotary President was beckoning to me. "Photos!" He said to me as he directed me to the spot. We started out as five, the president, the former mayor, Big, my host dad and I. Then Manit joined in, a few other men, and some women. Then a few more, and a few more. Eventually we had almost everyone in the room standing around me in the photo. Then the group diminished back to our original five for some more pictures. They love taking pictures here. When everything was said and done, it was time for me to go home. There was a party at the end for the Rotarians and my host dad had wanted to stay, so Big brought me home. Today was a very long day.
Day 11: September 7:
Today was my second day of school. I went to school with my host dad's brother again, but this time just him, and he simply dropped my off. Ai corumba! As he tried to send me off, one of the girls I had shadowed yesterday came to my rescue. She linked her arm in mine and whisked me away to the English department office. There I awaited what I thought would be my doom; I had to give another speech. This time, it was in front of over 3,000 people. They wanted me to speak only in English, which made it easier, but I had to speak slowly and I had to say it twice, and then answer questions. After my speech, I was presented with flowers by the director. They were the most beautiful flowers I have ever received, and they smelled amazing. After that lovely moment in spot light, I went back to the office. Today Nick, the teacher from Minnesota, was there. He was so happy to see me. I talked with Nick and Tina for a while about America and they told me about the things they miss and so on, until I was given a task. I, being the young filan who spoke English and had nothing better to do at the moment, was sent to surf the web and find Environmental quizzes and vocabulary. Going through all of the websites and Environmental articles brought me back to my days in AP Environmental Science. I remembered most of this stuff too, Dr. Hess would be proud. At this point they announced to me I would be going with them on Thursday, not to compete, but more as an intimidation factor. Nick was so excited by this. "Imagine when they see two filans! And she'll be in a school uniform!"
I had my first real class today, it was flower arrangements. I assumed it would be flower arrangements in vases and such, as botanists do, of course I assumed incorrectly. This was far from it. As expected, I was in a class with much younger students. First, let me start off with saying, I had no idea how to get there when they sent me there. Thankfully everyone always wants to talk to me and one girl asked if I knew where I was going. I laughed and told her no. She and her other little friends brought me to a different office and spoke with this tiny little woman. She then came out of her office, all smiles, and announced that she would be escorting me to my class. She was so excited to meet me and talk with me; everyone always wants to practice their English with me. Now, back to class. There really is no way to describe what they do. I could say, the fold petals and put them on long needles, but that really doesn't cut it. They work magic with their flowers. Because we were beginners, we were started out with paper petals rather than real ones. I managed to impress myself and my teacher by learning quickly, despite the fact that she was teaching in Thai and they had been learning this for a few months. I was able to move up to real flower petals that day! "Geng!" They always say, "good!" As are all Thai people I have met so far, my teacher was very nice, and I liked her very much. I could spend hours in that room stringing petals onto that needle. I went to go to a cooking class after, but it had been canceled, so instead I went to Ajan's office. Af picked me up for lunch and we headed into the chaotic cafeteria. Lunch is always an adventure here. So many people gather around our table and insist I try everything. The love to feed me! Some of them literally feed me. They are all very close and friendly here. Everyone shares everything. I have to make sure though, before I eat something, to ask "Peck mai?" (is it spicy?) But now they all know that I can't eat anything too spicy. Now, if someone I haven't met yet tries to offer me something that's spicy, they all say "Mai peck! Mai peck!" (No spicy!) They always have a study class after lunch and today they brought me with them. First we went to an English class, which wasn't too interesting. Next they brought me with them to their Japanese class. They want me to learn Japanese with them! The teacher had his back turned to us when we came in and sat down, in the front row, always the front row. The look on his face when he noticed me, after I loudly said something to him in Japanese which I can't recall just now, it was priceless. The entire class burst out in laughter. He's a funny teacher, very animated. Despite the fact that I couldn't understand him what-so-ever, I could always tell what was going on by his expression. Af had a real class after that so I went back to the Language office and stayed there for the remainder of the day. It sounds boring, I know, but it's actually quite interesting. I talk to the Chinese girls there who are student teachers at the moment and they try to teach me Chinese as well as Thai. They are very interesting girls, and unfortunately will be returning to China soon. At the end of school, I waited for my host uncle in Ajan Leck's office. She is quite the character and so full of life. While I'm there she feeds me and tells me all kinds of stories. I love waiting there with her and her daughter.
Day 12: September 8:
Today I had a Thai class. When I saw it on my schedule, I thought it was going to be me learning Thai in the office, but I was wrong. I went to an actual Thai class today, much like our English classes. The teacher was very nice, again. I know I say it about all of the teachers, but they are genuinely nice. Of course, as always, I was completely lost. This time more so than usual because they were reading Thai. He was reading to them off of a smart board and teaching them to read the characters. Occasionally he would write things down on the board to better explain them. When he did this, I would copy them down on a piece of paper in order to practice writing. He noticed what I had been doing and stepped out of the class for a moment. When he returned, he had two pieces of paper in his hand which he handed to me "Thai alphabet" he explained to me. Ah! I was so excited! Now I could really practice! Later on in the class, after I had written the alphabet almost twice, I realized he had been talking about me. I noticed this by the way the entire class went silent and I looked up to see him looking at me, while the class began to laugh. Then he came up to me, with his microphone in hand. He said into the mic "Follow me." Then he said a word in Thai, which I repeated. We did this for about five more words. "Geng!" He said into the mic and clapped. Some students shouted something he laughed and put the mic to my mouth. He whispered "Follow me" then one by one, said the words again, which I repeated into the mic for all the class to hear. I received a standing ovation for this. They love when I speak Thai, even if they can't understand what I'm saying. "Geng, geng! Very good!" He said to me again. Perhaps I will become fluent after all! Or maybe close. We went to the long awaited lunch. I was very hungry today, "Hiu!" We went through the same ritual of finding our friends, putting our stuff at the table, then waiting in line for food. Today seemed to be more of an exciting lunch than other days, maybe because I'm becoming more acclimated here.
If I told you I took a carving class, you automatically think of wood right? When I saw it on my schedule, I thought to myself, "I hope I can learn to widdle a recorder!" I arrived to my class and they were carving pumpkins! Not carving pumpkins out of wood, oh no, that would be too easy. They were carving intricate flowers out of the pumpkins. If you've ever seen those edible arrangements, then you know what I am talking about. I am in love with this class. My teacher acts like she is one of the students, talks to them like a student, laughs with them like a student, and even teases them like a student. She sat with me for the majority of the time and would sing to me as we carved. She sang "making a circle making a circle" over and over. I'm really not that good at it, but everyone looks at my carvings and says "Suai! Geng ma!" (very beautiful! Very good!) At first, I actually thought I was good at it, because towards the end of class, some girls who weren't from our class had gathered around and were watching me. Then I realized the other girls were much better than I was and were doing harder designs. It turned out they were only watching me because I was a foreigner. A filan. After my carving class, I had Thai dancing. If you know me, then you know that I am not graceful what-so-ever. I once described myself to Sara Breiten during a Frisbee game that I was about as graceful as a drunken bum. I tried my best though, which is all anyone could ever ask for. At least I provided a little entertainment for the other girls. I think what got the most giggles was when we had to lift one leg, then bend the one we were standing on, every time we had to do that, it was all I could do to keep my balance. They also enjoyed watching our teacher, in vain, try to bend my hand into the proper position. I should learn how to say "my hand doesn't bend that way" in Thai. I left that class, thoroughly embarrassed, but such is life. I had fun and I tried my best; that's all that matters to me. I went to the language office and talked with Ajan Tina. She showed me all of the pictures from trips she had taken here. They were all so amazing! My favorites were of the trip she took with her daughter. They went up north near Chiang Mai and rode elephants through the jungle. At some point, they left the elephants and got on a raft and rafted down a river. The pictures were all so beautiful! I want to ride an elephant through the jungle! I can't wait to see the rest of Thailand!!
Day 13: September 9:
Today I went with my adviser, Tina, and three other girls to a quiz bee. The five of us, plus another teacher and two girls heading to a cooking competition, piled into a van and made our way to Christian University. All of the other students seemed shocked when they saw an English speaking filan walk into the competition. The girl sitting next to me, Dream, leaned over and said "He wants to talk to you." I looked up and saw one of the college students smiling at me. We went through the usual conversation, he asked me the usual questions; I am very used to this now. We talked until it was time for the competition to start. They were relieved to see that I did not join my classmates for I was not participating, merely cheering them on. I watched and talked with Ajan Tina and Ajan Lee, they are such great ladies to talk to. I noticed that Ajan Lee was wearing a Canadian flag pin that Ajan Tina had given her. When I asked her about it, I learned that she loved collecting pins, so I gave them each one of mine. The look on Ajan Lee's face, she was so happy to have one of my pins. After the competition, which we came in 8th place in, out of 9, they had arranged an activity. They needed six people to go up, but there were only about four. It was the guy I had talked to earlier and his friend who were running the activity. He looked right at me and said, "How about the New York girl!". Of course everyone turned and looked. "Yes the New York girl! Come right up!" I did what any good Rotary student would do and made my way to the front of the room. By then the other three girls from my school had returned from the toilet and joined me up there. It was actually a lot of fun. They mixed us all up so we wouldn't be with the same people from our school and put us into four groups of three. I was in the group with the most energetic kid in the room, he was the first to go up front and he chose to be on my team. I later learned that he had done AFS to America the year before. I should have known. No one won the game because no one scored any points, but we had fun doing it anyway and we all received pens. We decided not to stick around for the certificates to be given away because Ajan Tina had a class soon. We went outside and waited for our van back to school. Our van turned out to be a truck with bench seats in the bed and a roof over it. The three other girls, Dream, Prua, and An, and I climbed into the back. It was quite the ride home speeding down the highway and over bumps in that truck. When we got back to school, the cafeteria was closed so we went outside of school to get food and ate at tables in the cafeteria. Dream had me try something, it was small and fruit-like so I just popped the whole thing in my mouth, expecting it to be good. It was, at first, until I bit into it. It was bitter and awful. "A-roy mai?" (Is it delicious?) Dream asked me, trying to suppress a smile, "Mai! Mai a-roy! Mai chop!"(No! Not delicious! I don't like!" This must have been the response they were waiting for because the three of them burst into fits of laughter. She later apologized for having me eat that. No problem. I'm slowly learning through experience just what not to eat.
After lunch I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. All week I had been avoiding the bathrooms here because I did not know how to use them. Today, I ignored my embarrassment and asked Prua if she would show me how to use to toilets. She did not laugh, as I was afraid she would, or become embarrassed herself, instead she was very understanding. These toilets are very different and very confusing. There is no flusher, instead you pour water into the bowl and it somehow causes the toilet to flush on it's own. I do not understand the mechanics of the thing so I couldn't possibly describe it to you, just believe me when I tell you it's not something one could figure out on their own. After my lesson on toilets, she brought me to her English class, which only had about ten minutes left. We sat in the back of the room and talked. It was the first time I had talked to someone about something other than myself in a while. I really enjoyed her company. I didn't have any other classes for the rest of the day, so she asked me to tag along to her Physics class. Oh Physics. Looking back, I actually enjoyed that class with good ol' Mr. Good. The Physics teacher here is a short round woman with big glasses that slip down to the tip of her nose. She is basically a female version of Mr. Good, coffee breath and all. She hobbled over to our table to talk to me, leaning on the table, she leaned in real close to me and spoke softly. One of my classmates said something that made her laugh and she leaned back and laughed with her entire body. I have found Mr. Good's long-lost fraternal twin. After Physics, I went to the language office instead of going to their dancing class. I'm glad I made that choice because the girls from China decided to teach me Thai today. They saw me practicing the writing and they told me what every character was and the accents on them. They told me each one twice and I wrote them down, now I can practice! I also helped them with their English. It's a win win! Everybody wins!
Day 14: September 10:
I am slowly finding my place here. I am making new friends and trying new things everyday. Today was a very good day. I'm not sure why, but today just feels better than the rest. I spent two hours in flower arrangement class, which I love. It was different from my last class because it was in a different room with a different teacher. I was also in a class with older girls than last time. I was directed into the room and plopped at the table with my teacher. I am always right beside the teachers so they can show me how to do things and make sure I don't hurt myself; they are always afraid I am going to hurt myself. Somehow they already seem to know just how clumsy and accident prone I am. The flower arrangement class room was right next to the office of the arts department. That's a room full of happy, artsy women. While I was sitting there, folding leaves and placing them carefully on the needle, Ajan Fon, my carving teacher, wandered in and sat beside me. She began to make something of her own. It was a beautiful garland made of rose petals. All the while, she was singing. She loves to sing. She sings silly songs in English to me, which usually consist of the same phrase over and over again. This time it was "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I love you". During class they were feeding me cake and other snacks. One of their favorite things to do is feed me. They want me to try everything. Just before I went to leave, Ajan Fon gave me the beautiful grland she had been working on, she is so kind! After my flower arrangement class, I had a cooking class. I arrived and there was Ajan Fon again. She was my cooking teacher! Today we made shrimp wrapped in bacon with pineapple and honey. Cooking class for me was basically follow some girls around and just do whatever they do. That's my favorite part of the arts classes, everyone knows very little English so I get to practice my Thai more. When we finished cooking and made it look all pretty, everything here is about pretty, we brought what we had made to the other arts teachers. I told them I had a camera with me so everything was pictures, pictures, pictures! They had the Japanese teacher take the picture so all of the other teachers could be in it with me. On one of the teachers' desks was a bowl that had been made out of banana leaves. It was so beautiful that I could hardly believe it was hand made. She offered to teach me how some day, but she said it is very hard, then she gave me the bowl! Gifts, gifts, gifts, and more gifts!! We went back to cooking class and instead of going to lunch, we just hung out and ate there. During our break, instead of going off to study, we watched some dancers perform. They were amazing! I expected it to be the traditional Thai dancing, but instead it was hip hop! I wish I could dance like that! They brought me back to Anjan who asked me to help with her English class. Instead helping to teach English or with pronunciation, it became a Q and A session where they asked me all sorts of questions about my life. It was incredibly personal, but I was completely honest with them, I had nothing to lose. Soon that class came to an end and Af had a test so I went with Aor instead. We went to her Chinese class together. Yes, they are trying to teach me Chinese in Thailand. Oi! It gets so confusing! It was just a study session so it was mostly me interacting with the other girls and us getting to know each other. Ah! I now have friends in school! And I know there names! I had nothing better to do, so I went with Aor to her free period, which is basically a study hall. We all sat on the floor in an air conditioned room. I wish our study halls were like that. It was a lot of fun, I enjoy her company a lot. Alas, school was over and Aor and I headed over to Ajan Leck's office. I love waiting for my host uncle to pick me up there. We have to most interesting conversations. Today she told me about how quite a few of the girls here feel as though they are boys at heart. They cut their hair very short and are always disheveled looking. I had noticed this before, because at first glance I had thought many of them were boys. My school strongly frowns upon this and makes an example of them every morning. After the school song and the morning assembly are done, they have to stand up in a row until classes start. I disagree with this, but they are going against the uniform. I have a Rotary conference thing this weekend at Trang,Pakmeng Resort. I'm not exactly sure where that is, I just know it is on the southern coast far away from my home. I will have to take a plane to get there. Ugh, more plane rides. It should only take an hour though. I must now frantically pack and make sure I have everything I need.
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