Boats rides and Dance Parties

Its been a pretty busy and fun week here in Nakhon Phanom. Thai classes are going well and I learn a little more each day, though I am still far from fluent!

This past Tuesday, Oct. 20th our principles came to lunch and we were able to find out our work schedules and ask any questions we may have. My principle brought along the two Thai English teachers I will be working with and after lunch they all took me to pick out some things for my room on campus. It was my first time out and about with our my group and it was really funny and frustrating all at once! (God bless my talking Thai/English dictionary...best purchase ever.) It took three seconds to pick out which color bed frame I wanted and then almost three hours until we finally left the store! I still don't really know what we were doing but my new Thai teaching buddies and I utilized the time wisely by having a funny photo shoot with silly furniture while waiting. Picking out a blanket for my bed was also a big issue...they kept saying all the ones they had were "too small" for me! Come on..I'm not that big! Eventually I left with a brand new bed and a big blanket, pretty sweet.

Me and my new friend/co-worker A

Wednesday Oct. 21 we finished our morning classes and headed to the Mekong "Underwater World" Aquarium. Which was very small but very entertaining. After the aquarium visit we headed to a fish pond to feed some fish which was pretty disgusting but also one of my new favorite activities, they are huge! The fish also form giant swarms in the water that look like something from a cheesy sci-fi movie, how can you not like that?

fish frenzy!

After the fish feeding we were dropped off at the river for our dinner cruise. (Bring your on Food) It was beautiful and really fun to have some semblance of a night out. We ate our picnic and watched the city of Nakhon Phanom and go by in one side and the hills of Laos on the other.

Our dinner boat

The hills of Laos

The highlight of the week however was this Thursday, Oct. 22. We went to Renu Nahkon, a villiage known for its pretty girls, to see a dance performance that a school had put together for us. The dancers were all ages from 8-70 and were amazing. They started with a welcome dance and followed with a Buddhist ceremony to offer us good luck and tie white strings for protection around our wrists. (I still have the strings on my wrist from my High School too so I am super protected now, which is never a bad idea.) Then they preformed a funny dance that was about "meeting a pretty girl" that involved a circle and men trying to entice women into the center of it with them to dance. Other men would jump in and it became the Thai version of a dance off. After the dance was finished they invited us up to dance! However, before we were allowed to perform we had to change into traditional dance costumes...no easy feat for a large hipped American girl let me tell you, but with the help of safety pins I made it into my dress. (They had to pin two belts together to get them around my hips, they sure thought that was funny!) We then lined up with our Thai dance partners and out on stage we went. No practice time allowed might I add, we just winged it. It was really, really fun and we all had a blast, even if we did look like fools and sweat an embarrassing amount. After the dance we were given a drink "to see the elephants". At first I was worried we were being given a hallucinogenic drink but quickly realized it was just rice whiskey. Sadly, no elephants appeared but it was still one of the most memorable days yet.

Me getting dressed in my costume

Me dancing

Just call me insect...

Oct.16th we had our TV appearance…and of course I embarrassed myself! Our interviewer asked me what my Thai nickname was and instead of pronouncing “Tootakaa” (which means doll) I said “Tutaka” and called myself an insect. Everyone laughed, the Thais especially. Luckily I was able to say some face by saying the name of my school right! Regardless, I have decided that TV is not for me and think I will refrain from anymore appearances…I am also hoping that no one recognizes me and shouts “Insect” at me in the streets!

Here I am calling myself an insect..awesome PR move

After our big TV interview we headed to That Phanom (another nearby province) to visit the Wat Phra That Phanom, a gorgeous and beautiful wat that is covered in gold and gems and much larger than any we have seen so far. We were greeted by a monk and then prayed and left offerings to ensure a good year.

Some pics of the Wat:

After touring the rest of the Wat we wondered around the market surrounding it. The market was really fun and colorful. There were stand selling cages of birds and bags of fish and eels to release for good karma. We stopped to use a rest room in the market that had an English sign that said “take shoes off please” with a sign in Thai written above it. However, once we were inside all the Thai women had their shoes on! (This was a bathroom that you really, really, did not want to be barefoot in!) We still can’t figure out if we were the victims of long standing joke of foreigners but I am leaning towards yes...

A stand in the market selling animals to free for good karma

Oct. 17th we went into town to get dinner at the night market. They had everything, it was increadibly hard to decide what to get. One day when I am feeling brave I will have to try the deep fried crickets, but last night I stuck to chicken and sticky rice.

The Night Market

Today, Oct. 18th, I had a Thai massage. It was an hour and a half long and only $10!!!! It was awesome, I think I am going to have to make it a regular occurrence…I was stretched and pulled and had my knots worked out and feel ready for our next day of fun. Tomorrow we are off to Muk Da Han, another province/city, to check out a Lao market and see the bridge to Laos.

Even though I am hot, sweaty, sleeping on the floor and have no flush toilets I cannot help but feel overwhelming gratitude everyday that I am here in Thailand. My fellow volunteers and I are already like a family, I have to say I will be very sad to be apart from all my new friends at the end of the month when we move to our schools. Our days are growing busier, we are now involved in our TEFL training and Thai lessons. I am hopeful that by the time I move to my school I will be able to communicate on a basic level. (I also bought a speaking Thai/English dictionary which has been a life saver!)

Oct. 14th we went to the town of Nawa to see some silk weavers and traditional Isan instruments being made. We travelled in a special van the district provided that included a Karaoke machine and most importantly AC! Sadly the Karaoke was all in Thai characters but we were able to watch the hilariously dramatic music videos that accompanied each one.
When we reached the village we were shown around a silk weaving factory, were the women were infatuated with our “farang” (foreigner) looks and wanted to take MANY, MANY, pictures with us. One woman kept hugging my friend Haley and touching her “phom” (hair), which is incredibly curly and thick.

After the silk weaving we moved on to the local Wat (temple) of Nawa which was absolutely

beautiful. The Wat also has a school so we were able see some novice monks though they hid from us and our cameras. The Wat was beautiful; I love the use of color everywhere.

After the Wat we went further into the village to watch Isan instruments being played and got to try them out ourselves!

When we returned back to our orientation headquarters I was went into the main house to do some work with a fellow volunteer, Alix on a TEFL presentation we had to give. While we were working Meaw (our hostess and wife of the man we are staying with for a month) began to scream, shout and point under the table we were working at. You know it’s a big bug if a local starts freaking out about it, there are bugs everywhere here and not many of them seem to bothers the Thais. Sure enough there was a HUGE stinging centipede running under our chairs and heading straight for our feet. We jumped up screaming and ran to the other end of the house while Meaw and the two other Thai girls who live in the house beat the centipede to death with brooms. Later that night while walking to the bathroom to wash our faces and brush our teeth my friend Patty and I came across another centipede and ran screaming through the yard back to our room. Needless to say our faces didn’t get washed and our host questioned us about all the screaming that went on that night…

Oct. 15th I took my first Tuk-tuk ride! While in town we needed to get to the hospital for a friend, Kaitlyn, to check and see if she could get more anti-malaria medication and were under a time constraint. As usual a Tuk-tuk pulled up beside us (at least 15 try to pick us up each time we go into the city) and this time we got in, six of us! (They’re are made to hold about four people) The Tuk-tuk was a little weighed down and held up traffic due to its inability to go faster than 15mph with all of us in it, people couldn’t help but stare at us all crammed into the little vehicle and I am sure we were the topic of many stories this evening as there were lots of fingers pointed at us and giggles directed at our clown car exit from the Tuk-tuk. I can't wait for the next adventure!

"Kind of a Big Deal"

This morning we got up early and headed into Nakhon Phanom to have breakfast with the Director of District One (the school district we are teaching in) and then to meet the Vice Governor. Yesterday on our trip into town we all purchased "Nakhon Phanom shirts", which are like Aloha shirts, that every resident wears on Tuesday. We were told it would make a good impression if we showed up wearing the local shirt so we did, piling out of our van in a rainbow of florescent orange, yellow, purple, blue and pink. We ate breakfast, listened to speeches (all in Thai ) and had quick conversations with our principles. Then we headed over to the Governor's office where we met with the Vice Governor (the Governor was in Bangkok participating in a seminar, though we are scheduled to meet him too) and listened to more speeches. Oh, we also learned we will be on TV on Friday...yeah that's right, we're kind of a "big deal"...

My New Reality

I have arrived in Thailand! It took three days to get here but I am finally here after months of preparation its nice to finally have it be my reality. We arrived on the morning of the 7th in Nahkon Phanom and I already feel quite at home. We spent the rest of the 7th resting and today (the 8th of Oct.) we began to tour our schools. My school held a luncheon and welcome ceremony for the entire group. I was given a beautiful wrist lei, a bouquet of flowers and a Thai good luck charm to help me through out the year. Students preformed traditional Isan music and dance and it was beautiful! I was able to meet the teachers who I will be working with and they were all very friendly and immediately welcomed me into their group, I already feel at home. After lunch and a lesson in making papaya salad the faculty of the school tied white string around our wrists to offer us protection, good luck and happiness during our time in Thailand.

After we complete our month of training I will move onto school ground on November 1st and begin my teaching. I will be living in a two bedroom house with another teacher at my school who happens to be from Laos. She was very friendly and funny and is looking forward to helping me learn Thai in exchange for me helping her with English. After my visit to my placement site I feel very relieved and so excited I can hardly stand it! It seemed the perfect place for me and I cannot wait to become an active member of their community. Above I posted the view from my school and below I have posted my home as of November 1st, some of the student dancers, and my delicous lunch!

So far living here is very easy, though I am sure that there will be many challenges during my year. The hardest things to get used to is carrying my own toilet paper with me at all times as it is not something that is provided for you. There also seems to be a shortage of sinks, which is something you don't miss until it is gone! Other than that my adjustment thus far has been fairly easy, though sleeping on a mat may take awhile to get used to, I have to say I am loving it here so far.

Here we go!

I have begun my journey. Today I leave for Thailand and as I write this post I am sitting in the Chicago airport waiting on my flight to LA. I am one giant mess of emotions, fear, excitement, nervousness, giddiness topped off with intermittent fits of tears and giggles...but mostly I feel relieved to finally be starting on my SE Asian adventure. This is sure to be an amazing year and I am very much looking forward to meeting the rest of my group in LA. Keep your fingers crossed for me that the journey goes smoothly and that I am able to sleep on the plane tonight!