Saturday, September 27, 2014

Pattaya and My week off!

A couple weeks ago I went on a field trip with my school to Pattaya! It was so much fun! First of all the bus was great and was different than school buses in America! There was music blasting out of 16 speakers and a bunch of colored lights flashing! Students where dancing and singing, myself included! It was pretty much a party bus! The first stop was the Pattaya Floating Market! We had lunch and spent some time looking at cloths in the shops. It was such a huge market, I wish I had more time to look aroung but we had other places to go. The next stop was at a theatre.

While waiting to go to the show, I go to ride on an elephant with my friend Poi! Elephants are surprisingly uncomfortable to sit on! Then we went into the theatre where we watching a show about thai history and culture told through dance. It was beautiful and included fire, running water, and elephants! After the show we got back on the buses to head home. On the way home we stopped at a huge snack store! After that stop, we were ready for the 4 hour ride back.




This past week was finals week at my school so I didn't have to go. I though I would be stuck at home with nothing to do. Wow, I was so wrong!
I got to go shopping in Bangkok on Monday with a couple of girls. We had fun shopping together and they invited me to go with them to Kowyai with them the next day. I didn't know what Kowyai was but said yes. Turns out Kowyai is this awesome hotel that looks like a castle from the outside! Everything was so beautiful and I got my own hotel room! After settling in at the hotel we went shopping at this little market that looked like it was from medieval Europe. After shopping we stopped by the zoo! There were some really cool bird that I had never seen before and a lovely white tiger that splashed me with water! Next we went to get thai massages. I don't know if I liked it or not. The massage itself was kind of painful but I felt amazing afterward! To end out great day, we all went to dinner at The Chocolate Factory. The food tasted fantastic! And the chocolate cake was to die for! After all this I was ready to go back to my hotel room and sleep.
On wednesday we packed up and left Kowyai. On the way home we stopped at a cute market for breakfast and at an ice cream shop with fresh, homemade ice cream! After this fun and busy trip it was nice to have a relaxing day at home just reading and watching tv. On friday I went to a friend's house for a sleep over. We ate pizza and watched movies just like any sleepover in America!
I also made an American meal for my family. They loved the french toast and cheesy scrambled eggs, though the oatmeal with apples was not a hit. I think next time I'll make a dessert for them. Maybe apple pie?
 My thai has been improving and I am starting to get used to the heat but the humidity is killer! I've been having so much fun with my friends and family here! I love them all!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Festival, Elephants, and a Party!!

So far my time here has been very fun and exciting with new experiences and lots of friends. But this weekend takes the cake! I have just had the best weekend of my time here with tons of fun friday through monday!

Friday! Since it was friday it was automatically a good day but what made it better was getting to spend time with my friends after school. I played in a badminton tournament with three of my friends who live near by. I didn't do great but it was so much fun (and exhausting) to play for 2 hours. Then my friends Beer and Lek invited me to go to the moon festival with them. Beer drove us there on her motorcycle which while fun is still terrifying! I got to eat thai fair food and play games!

Saturday! After staying up late the night before it felt great to sleep in. When I got up I found that my sisters were gone so I spent the day mostly relaxing and doing some art homework which didn't really feel like work! In the afternoon some family came to visit and my host uncle showed me how to cook some thai food! I made two of the dishes that we ate for dinner that night and everyone liked them! My sisters came home late in the evening having gone on a school trip. They brought me a purse which I happen to have the matching wallet for! Then to end the night I got to Skype with my older sister Samantha and her room mate Kaycie! It was so great to talk with them and a big congratulations to Kaycie on the engagement!

Sunday! As usual I had no idea about the plans for the day but it was such a great surprise! We all got in the car in the morning (I've learned to just go with it) drove for about 2 hours. We went to see elephants! I got to see an elephant performance with dancing, walking on two legs, and other cool tricks, plus I got to feed them! The best part thug, was when I got to ride on an elephant with my sister Ice! It was amazing to be sitting on top of the giant animal while seeing the beautiful city I was in! After the elephants we went to lunch and ice cream and finally shopping! I got a super cute t-shirt with an elephant on it!

Monday! Even though it meant the start of the school week, I rather enjoy monday because all my classes are music or dance! It was also my friend Beer's birthday! She invited me to her house for her birthday party, so after school I went with her and Poi. The party was great! Most of my friends from school were there and we spent the evening eating amazing thai food, dancing, and singing terribly! It turns out that they think I'm a good dancer and it was the most fun I've had yet!

I can't wait to see what come up next! I love being in Thailand!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

OMG! One whole month!

Hard to believe it's already been a month! Sorry this is so long but there been a lot happening! I've settled into a good routine with school and friends and stuff. I'm still playing lots of badminton, 5 days a week. Though there has been some heavy rain this week so we can't play for as long. When it rains here it goes from sunny and fine to downpour in seconds with thunder and lightning!
There is a street fair a couple blocks from me that started on Friday. I got to play games, look at some cool thai art, and I finally ate a bug! It was a grilled caterpillar that tasted fine but still grossed me out! Every one was doing double takes when they saw me. Some people even stopped and stared because I look so different! I also ran into the Mexican exchange student who had just arrived a couple days ago. We talked for a few minutes but he doesn't speak much english and I don't speak spanish so it was very basic.
School has been great! I have figured out my schedule and decided which classes I want to go to and which I don't. Sometimes if I don't like my next subject I'll just stay with my class or go to the library. I really like my four dance classes and my art classes. On Wednesday, 5 out of 7 of my classes are art! I'm currently working on a painting of American culture and my drawing skills are improving a ton! And I have been doing great in English class! :) I am usually speaking to the class or helping different groups with pronunciation and grammar. It's kind of fun to teach them! My thai lessons are really helping me. I can now communicate what I doing or want or how I'm feeling and I sometimes can understand and answer people's questions! Even after 3 weeks at school people are still treating me like a star. Everyone I pass says hi and students (and sometimes even teachers) ask to take pictures with me! The girls in my culture class on thus days love doing my hair because it's so different than everyone else's and I love what they do with it!
From August to September there is a sports celebration. My school is split into four teams and I am on the green team. Every thursday there are competitions! Last week was tug-o-war and I competed with the other girls on my team. We lost but it was still fun! This week there was water balloon racing, piñata smashing, and this race where a stick it hung from your waist and it's used to move an orange across the field. I got to do the piñata competition which was great!
Let me just take a moment to tell you that the food here is absolutely amazing! When I get home I am going to hate American food! I am loving all the flavors and variety! I am even starting to like the spice when it's not burning my mouth to death!
Now that I can communicate better my relationship with me host parents is improving. We can have some basic conversations and make small talk! I am no longer confused all the time just most of the time! I love my sisters! They are so helpful and fun! I love playing games, watching movies, and talking with them. And they share their cloths with me which make them the best!