Not our night

Me at the concert!

Last night just wasn't our night for good luck. I guess we had too much fun this last week and the universe decided it had to balance it out.
I spent three days in Lopburi with Danielle (from Colorado) and Sabrina (from Brazil) watching movies, eating, and sleeping. It was great to just sit and talk and spend time together doing normal stuff. Then On Friday we went to an awesome concert on Bangkok! We stayed up all night having fun with most of the other YEs! And on Saturday we went to see Pitch Perfect 2! It's fantastic and you should definitely watch it!


Then everything started going wrong.




Danielle and I were going back home but we missed the last vans for the night. So we went to the bus station all the way in the northern part of Bangkok. But we're too late and can't get a bus back to either of our houses. So, we start calling our friends who live in Bangkok but only one answers and she lives on the complete opposite end of the city and it would take hours to get there. We ended up staying in the bus station all night. And for some reason they don't want people to charge their phones there so there aren't any outlets! We found what is probably the only outlet left in the building and shortly after plugging in our phones a security guard told us we could use it! We attempted to sleep on the benches in the station but it was too uncomfortable and there was a small child constantly making noise! That was our second night in a row with no sleep! We were exhausted!

Finally this morning we got on the first van home at 5am. I got home at 6:30 and went to sleep instantly.
I never want to sleep in a bus station again!

DC and SAT

I finally have a couple minutes to myself to sit and write about what's up! I thought I'd have a week after the North trip and final dance class to relax a bit and get ready for the district conference but as always, I was wrong!
You see, I arrived home after the last dance class on Sunday the 19th and the very next day I got a temporary room mate! My sister Ice had another YE she met in Brazil from district 3340 visiting! It was so fun! We spent a day a dream world, an amusement park in Bangkok, riding awesome rides and eating greasy food! There was also a snow dome there and we went sledding!!
Since Ice had classes, I got to spent a lot of time with Julia (the visiting YE)! Took her to Bangkok for a couple days of shopping! We spent way too much money and she got to meet some of the other students in my district at the mall! It's amazing how even though we just met and hardly know each other, it feels like we've been friends for years! Being exchange students connects us in an incredible way!
After spending five days with Julia it was time for me to got o the District Conference (DC). I got on the bus at the joyful time of 6am and we were off! For most of our time there we didn't really do much. We sat at the back in our blazers until lunch and after lunch we left to get ready for our show! This was the start of the not so fun time. At least, for the girls! The guys seemed to enjoy laughing at what the girls were going through! We had to squeeze into these tiny dance costumes that we could hardly breath in only to have the dance instructor tighten it and sew it closed! Then we had to have our hair yanked into the tightest ponytails known to man and put into hair pieces that were secured by bobby pins jammed into our heads! The final torture was the pound of make-up plastered onto our faces! All this was finished at about 3pm and we didn't perform until 8pm! But what a relief it was to take it all off!
My advice to future exchange students to 3350: Beware the District Conference!
The next day we got to visit the Pattaya Floating Market on the way back to Bangkok! And once we got back most of us went to Hector's house because none of us wanted to got home yet! I spent two days there hanging out with the other YEs. Then I decided I should get home, plus I needed clean clothes!
And finally I went to take the SAT yesterday! I went to Bangkok on Friday, stayed in a very nice youth hostel, and on Saturday went to take the terrible test. But I feel like I did pretty well! I guess I'll find out in 18 days!
I'd say that now I get to spend some time relaxing but something is bound to come up!

Song Kran Festival :D

That's right! I just got back from another awesome trip! This time we spent nine days touring the north of Thailand! There were 55 people traveling on 1 bus from Bangkok all the way to Chiang Mai (which is like 445 miles)! There were stops along the way at a ceramic factory where I got to paint a mug and the opium museum which tells about the history of opium in Asia and does not give out samples, much to some of the guys disappointment! We also stopped at the three way river that connects Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand and saw the foreign gardens. This garden has flowers from other countries (mostly America and Western Europe) which amazed the thai students but were fairly normal for all the inbound students.
We also visited temples a lot! We went to one almost every day! My favorite was the White Temple which is supposedly the path to heaven. Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't go in but the outside was absolutely gorgeous!

Ready for Song Kran!

Finally day 5 we reached Chiang Mai and had a blast in Song Kran Festival! This festival is to celebrate thai new years! And I must say, they know how to celebrate new years in Thailand! For three days we got to soak people and get soaked! We even got to hang out with exchange students from the north and east Rotary districts!
My favorite thing this trip was going to see a thai dance show with traditional dances from different parts of Thailand! The show was great but what made this part the best was the food!! Best food we ate on the whole trip! And believe me that is saying something! There was so much amazing food in the north! I gained 1.5 kilograms in just 10 days! I really need to exercise more!

Me and my buddies!

What made this trip even better was having the outbound students with us! We really got to know the student who will be coming to our countries in just a few months! During the trip everyone was paired with a buddy! The Thai people had a foreign buddy and us foreigners had a thai buddy! We gave each other gifts and got to know each other through out the trip!
There was also a girl who will be in my rotary district! I hope she is near Olympia!
Up next is the district conference where all the YEs have to perform our thai dance. Wish me luck!

No breaks

This month I get no breaks! It's only the 7th and I'm exhausted! After getting home from the rotary trip on the first, my host mom told me I would be switching host families at 6pm. So I am now back to my first host. As far as I know I will be here the rest of the year but in Thailand you never know for sure.
After packing and moving all my stuff I did get one day to just relax and for the most part sleep. On Friday I got have a new experience. I went to the crocodile farm at 7am to help clean and store the crocodile eggs. It was cool try but I really don't want to know what the goo covering my hands was!
Saturday was back to go go go! I went to Bangkok early in the morning for thai dance class. We (all the YE for this year and next year) practiced our dance routine for six hours! Most of us were ready to be done at three hours! After class most of us went to check out a huge book fair and I found 3 new books! YAY!
Since we all had to stay in Bangkok that night for class the next morning, most of us decided to stay at Hector's house (the YE from Mexico). There were 16 exchange student in one house! So much fun! We ate a ton of pizza and chip, the guys taught me how to use a video game remote and kicked my butt at the game we were playing, and just hung out together!
Sunday was another six hours of dancing! I was ready to drop by the end! After that I went shoe shopping with a couple other girls and found some really cute sandals on sale! That night we all crashed as soon as we got back to Hector's!
Finally on Monday I made the journey back home! Amazing to think that I can take a taxi to the bus station then a two hour bus ride for less than $6. I love how cheap stuff is in Thailand!
Now I get to spend two days at home before I go on the next adventure up north for Songkran Festival in Chang Mai!

To the South!

I have spent this last week on a super fun trip to the South (again)! But this one was way better because we had all 21 exchange students together! We had so much fun just because we were all together and the activities helped too!
Over the course of the week we visited 8 islands, stayed at 4 hotels, went snorkeling 3 times, ate some great food, did a lot of shopping, and got very little sleep! And this is just scratching the surface!
The first day we visited 5 islands! We also went snorkeling twice! It was so much fun! And everyone had a sunburn because no one thought to put on sunscreen! Yes, we are all geniuses (sarcasm). Most of our trip was spent swimming in different locations. Our second day we went to swim at the emerald pool and a natural hot spring! Chloe (YE from France) and I went on a short but beautiful hike to get back from the emerald pool.
We spent day three at a Muslim village on an island about an hour from the mainland. We visited the school and played games with the kids! People who live on this island almost never leave! I can't imagine living on an island my whole life!

The last two days we spent in Phuket! We had so much fun there! There was the beach, shopping, and we went to Phe Phe Island for a day! We also went to see a very interesting dance show! It was interesting because part way through the story, in the middle of the dramatic scene set in the ancient forest of Thailand, they did a magic show. Not that the magic show wasn't cool and amazing, but the timing left us all asking what the hack was that?
During the week we didn't get a lot of sleep. Every night we would stay up talking, playing games, and hanging out! It was fun but left us all rather dead each morning when we got our 6am wake up calls!
Most the time, when we weren't eating at the hotel, we ate a buffets. Cause where else are you going to feed 21 hungry teens! :D The food on this trip was great though! I think I gained my exchange weight from this trip alone!
And we only had two people drop their phones in water! Lucky I wasn't one of them!
So much fun and much more to come! With everything that's going on right now I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon! Love you all!

Unexpected Trip

Last week I was just sitting helping some of the teachers with packing up the school for summer when my host mom called me. She said "Jenny. Tomorrow you go to South with Danielle. Pack bag for 3 days." It was quite the surprise but I wasn't going to argue. But before I could pack we all left to go to dinner with my host's extended family. Then when we returned she told me I actually need to pack for 5 days!
Of the five day trip, 3.5 of those days were spent traveling to and from the South. Turns out it takes a long time to drive to Hat Yai from Lopburi. A very long time! On the second day we were driving there we stopped in the morning to go kayaking! I guess they thought I had never done this before because they put me at the front of the guide's kayak. It was funny because the rotary people we were with didn't seem to know what they were doing as they tried to avoid the trees!
Once actually got to Hat Yai we spent a day going to a mountain top temple and shopping in a really old city I can't remember the name of! It was so beautiful there! I love how gorgeous the South is! Before leaving on the fourth day we went a bit farther south for swimming and snorkeling! We went from island to island swimming in the bright and clear blue ocean! We even swam through a cave at one point and there was a lagoon on the other side! So cool!
After this we started to looooong drive back home. I do not recommend sleeping in a van. It is not the best way to get a good night sleep and it guarantees a sore neck!
I got to spend two day at home after this and now I'm off to the South once more for the Rotary bus trip with all the other exchange students! So excited.
This next month is going to be crazy! Two Rotary trip, three dance classes, and a Rotary District conference! So much happening!
(Incase your wondering about the dance classes, the exchange student s have to learn classic thai dancing to perform at the district conference.)
Well I'm off to the South now! I'll tell you about it when I get return!

Taxi Troubles

After having my third ride in a bad taxi, I thought I would write about things you should know about thai taxis. This will probably only interest you if you are going to be an exchange student in Thailand,  are going on vacation in Thailand, or if you like reading blogs about taxis.
Here's what I've learned from my experiences:

1. Avoid taking a taxi as much as possible
Take the skytrain, subway, or bus. Walk if you can. But only take a taxi if you must!

2. If you are alone or with just one other person, take a motorcycle taxi
Motorcycle taxis are cheaper, faster, and, as hard to believe as it may be, safer.

3. Always settle the price before getting in the taxi
This is super important! If you don't do this, you may end up yelling in english at a thai driver for trying to make you pay 6000 baht ($200) for driving 3 blocks. This rule applies to regular taxis, motorcycle taxis, and tuktuks.

4. Don't take a tuktuk
Yes, they are fun to try once and they are good if you want to have a personal tour guide around the city. But tuktuks are expensive, slow, and usually take you to an expensive shop that gives the driver free stuff if you shop there.

5. Listen to that little voice in the back of your head
If something about the taxi or driver makes your spidey-sense tingle, then trust that feeling. There are fake taxis that look very real and motorcycle drivers with similar vests to taxi drivers. (Real motor taxi drivers wear orange vests.) Keep a look out and get out of the taxi if something doesn't feel right.

6. Always get the number
Each taxi and motorcycle taxi driver has a number. In a taxi its on the drivers card and each motor taxi driver has a number on their orange vest. Remember this number so if something goes wrong or they try to scam you, you can report them. Tuktuks don't have a number but they do have a license plate so you can get that instead. (If there is no number don't get in/on the taxi.)

7. Know the right direction
Taxi drivers will tell you they know a place even if they don't. They just want to get you in the taxi so they can get paid. Plus many places have similar names (ex. Lumpini Park and Lumpini Center). So make sure you know which direction you should be going in to avoid being taken to the wrong destination.

That's about it! Not all taxis are bad but as a foreigner, you will be seen as easy to trick or confuse. So just to be safe, try to remember these rules if you are traveling in Thailand.
Till next time!