Myanmar!

Hard to believe I've only been here three months! I feel like too much has happened for it to be such a short time! I've already gone to two other countries besides Thailand!! I just can't believe how amazing it is here and I am so thankful that I get to be an exchange student and go on all these adventures!
So last weekend I went with a large group of strangers (and my host uncle) on a trip to Myanmar! It was not what I was expecting at all! We spent three days at a temple and when we weren't at that temple we were visiting a different temple. It was a very interesting adventure. While I learned a lot about Buddhism, how it works and what they do, its not something I'd volunteer for again. We spent three days doing prayers while sitting in uncomfortable positions and giving offerings such as money and food to the monks. They told me that we were doing a ritual for the monks who have apparently been in the temple for three months praying during the monsoon season.
Since it was my birthday, they decided I should be the one to give the monks the big gift of 1 million baht! Its a huge honor and is supposed to bring me good luck in my next life. It was also cool when a temple full of people sang me happy birthday and I turned red as a tomato! They thought I very amusing.
As far as my 17th birthday, it was very sweet. Since I was in Myanmar on my actual birthday, my host family took me out to diner the night before I left and surprised me with an ice cream cake when we got home! It was so nice! Then on Monday, my friends gave me a chocolate cake and sang me happy birthday! Of course being the foreigner who everybody knows, everyone who saw me told me happy birthday! People here are just so sweet and it made me feel so loved! Finally to top it all off, I received a birthday package from home filled with my favorite candies! I was super happy and my friends loved the sour patch kids I brought to school! They all thought the candy was covered in sugar and had a fun surprise when it turned out to be sour! Haha!
In general, I am having a great time! I am spending time with my thai besties and with the other exchange students. It's always great when we're together because we can really understand each other! My thai is getting better everyday! I even surprised my friends the other day when I said a full sentence in thai correctly! I can't wait to see what I get to do next!

My trip to "Malaysia"

Exactly one week ago I got home from my trip south. It was a rotary trip with my club and my friend Danielle's club. We went island hoping stopping at numerous beaches for sight seeing, swimming, and even snorkeling! It was so fun and everything was absolutely beautiful! They originally told me we would be going on a trip to Malaysia, so I assumed the whole trip would be there. Turns out we were only spending one day in Malaysia. It was of course beautiful but we mostly went to museums and did tours which were in thai. My favorite part of the trip was after the day of island hopping in southern Thailand when we arrived at an island called Koh Lipé! The resort we stayed at was right on the beach, which is where Danielle and I spent most our time. And the beds felt amazing after sleeping on a bus the night before to get to the south!
Of course, after spending so much time in the sunny south on a boat and in the water, I came home with a fantastic sunburn. I think it was the perfect shade of lobster red! Though now it has turned into a pretty nice tan! When I told my friends here that I got a tan they looked at me like I was crazy because to them, I'm still incredibly pale.
After the trip, I was so tired that I could have slept for days! Unfortunately, they had other plans! In the week since I've been home, I've gone shopping in Bangkok twice, to language camp with the other exchange students, hung out at my friend Lek's house, and today went to the opening of my third host family's 7 eleven! And if all this hasn't been enough, I'm leaving for Mayanmar in 3 days! I can't wait to see what it's like in yet another country!

This weeks high light was going to language camp on Sunday. I missed the first two classes because I was going on trip and I'll be missing the last one for the same reason, so I was really happy to get to go! We didn't really learn and thai that we didn't already know but we spent hours talking about everything! It was so great to have everyone together finally! I can't wait until we're all together angain because we all understand each other so well! We also got to make Loi Gratongs, which are small floats decorated with flowers, for the festival next week!
There are just so many fun things going on here! Hard to believe it hasn't even been three months!

10 Days of Fun and Friends

I have been so busy this last week! Going on trips and having visitors non stop for 10 days! I guess I should start from the beginning so you all can understand just how crazy it's been!
It started two fridays ago on the 3rd. It was five minutes before I left for school that morning when the house phone rang and it was for ME! I mean, who in thailand would be calling my house here? It was my host cousin, Bird, the same person who took me to Kowyai. She asked me if I wanted to go on another trip so, of course, I said yes. She told me to go pack my bag for the weekend and that she would be picking me up in an hour to take me to another city and see another exchange student! That was all the information I got! So I packed and told my host mom that I wasn't going to school but was instead going away for the weekend! Bird came and got me and we were off!

Now what happens when you put six people into a car made for five, add four dogs, and drive at 80mph on a very bumpy road for many hours? You get one very car sick girl named Jen who is sneezing due to her allergy to dogs. The car ride was a nightmare and I was more than happy to get out when they said we had arrived in Lopburi. Next I went with a rotary member who drove me to a birthday party that his rotary club was throwing for their president. This was where I met the other exchange student named Danielle. Turns out that she had no idea I was coming to stay at her house for the weekend.
We bonded immediately due to the fact that we understood each other completely and could actually have a real conversation. The weekend passed rather fast. The birthday party was a bit crazy with loud music and some rather "exotic" dancers. We decided to leave the party a bit early. We stayed up talking way too late! The next day we went bowling with her rotary club in Bangkok and met up with another student named Israel. It was so fun even though I was a terrible bowler! We also got to spend one night at her family's second home just us and we had a total slumber party with movies, a ton of pillows, and junk food!
On Sunday night her host dad told us that Danielle would becoming to my house for a week and we were going back the next day! Since I still had school for another week, we went to school on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was rather boring because they were doing set up for tuesday. Tuesday we got to dress up in traditional thai dresses and walk in the parade. It was so cool to see myself in the thai costume. After the parade we watched a couple soccer games and cheered! We didn't go to school the rest of the week though. We were way too tired and used Wednesday to catch up on sleep.

We figured we could relax the rest of the week and just have fun hanging out! But on thursday we find out that we are leaving on another trip the fallowing day! So we spent all of Thursday making sure we are ready for our trip to the south!
Friday comes and we are off to Hua Hin! It is a great tourist town 3 hours south of Bangkok! We did lots of swimming though mostly in the giant pool because the ocean had jellyfish! Though we did find a cocoanut at the beach!
We stayed at the Sheraton resort! It was gorgeous and had a karaoke bar that we went to on our first night! On Saturday we went with a group of people into town. In this group where a bunch of rotary members from Australia! It was fun to talk to other english speakers!! We went shopping at the mall and got massages! The oil massage was waayyy less painful than the thai massage I got last time! On Sunday we went back home, well, back to my house anyway! Danielle and I spent the night watching the new movies we bought at the mall!



Since we brought the cocoanut we found back with us, we figured we should open it. After a few failed attempts, the housekeeper brought out a big knife and opened it for us! I think it was out of pity for our terrible failure at trying to open it by beating it on the ground! Then it was time for Danielle to go back to her house in Lopburi. It was a great 10 days especially since I had someone who knew exactly what I was going through and we could compare our experiences!




Next up I have two days of rest before I'm off again! I'm going to Koh Lipe (an island in southern Thailand) and Malaysia for five days! Can't wait to tell you all about it!

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!

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!

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!

Orientation and other stuff

I have been having such a great time and staying busy! On friday my school was hosting an event called Get Ready for ASEAN also known as english camp. Of course they insisted I participate! There were five schools including mine with about 30 students from each school and I found out about 20 minutes before the event began that I would be giving the opening speech since I knew the best english. So I quickly prepared a short speech with the help of my english teacher and got up in front of about 150 students to speak. After that we were split into teams with students from each school to compete in challenges. Since they were all english challenges my team did very well! I wasn't able to go to day 2 because of Rotary orientation so I don't know who won but at the end of day one my team was in the lead!
On Sunday we drove to Bangkok so I could go to inbound orientation and my sister Ice could go to rebound orientation (she just got back from Brazil). It was great to meet all the other students in my district though I didn't get to meet the boy who will be in the same city as me because the 2 Mexican students don't arrive until wednesday. All the students speak english so the meetings were all in english which made it very easy to understand. We learned about Thai culture, Rotary rules, and some Thai words. My host district only does exchanges with 6 countries so there are a lot of American students (12) and France has the second most number of students (4)! We all became fast friends and I am already planing a shopping trip with an American and French student!
I have been making lots of friends at school as well. My friend Lek stays at her grandparents house on the weekends which is across from mine so we play badminton almost every day she's here. And my friend Boss goes to his Aunt's house on Monday-Wednesday after school which is next to mine and we also play badminton. So I will be very good at badminton when I get home!Plus everyone at school wants to be friends with the American!
I am now taking private thai lessons every day after school. I just had my first one today and my teacher showed me all 44 of the consonants (which I knew most of) and the 16 main vowels. Tomorrow I will be tested on them so I have been studying like crazy! I hope these lessons will help me become fluent!