Officially today I have been in Thailand for two months. And what a crazy, insane, fun, and eye opening experience those two months have been. I am glad that I have been able to share my wonderful experiences with everyone through my blog. Thailand is a wonderful place and I recommend anyone coming down here to experience the rich and captivating culture.
When I first planned to come down here I was originally planning on going back home in May which is only two months away. Unfortunately I have grown attached to this country and the family and have decided to extend my stay. For some of you I know this is very upsetting since you have been counting down the days till I come home :P For those of you who are now weeping I do have good news. I will be coming home in time for summer break. :)
So for my next grand adventure I'm heading to Taiwan Friday to visit a friend doing an exchange there. I am very lucky not only to get this opportunity but to be arriving the day before "The Sacrifice." The Taiwanese people sacrifice a Canadian to the gods to bring them wealth and good luck. This is mainly the reason that I have been invited at this particular time. I have a fifteen percent chance of getting picked so wish me luck! Haha just joking, they actually sacrifice Americans. I will tell you all about the sacrifice on Saturday :)
Wishing my parents a safe trip to Las Vegas and hoping I make it to Taiwan and back in one piece.
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Fisher (to the right)
They say bad things happen in three's. While thats sure as hell hope so cause I don't know how much more this family can take. In the last week Dao's mom, Lucky, and now Fisher (one of the puppies) have all passed away. This morning when I woke up Mon told me that Fisher had been run over. "The inside of my heart hurts," Mon told me. Mon's brother is still in the hospital and had his second surgery yesterday.
So for those of you folks who are living in Williams Lake I hope things will get better for you as well. For those of you who don't live in Williams Lake I will fill you in. A few weeks ago Columneetza high school had a bomb threat just as their dance was starting. A week or so after that they had another bomb threat on 7/11. Then just a few days ago one of the hotels caught on fire and two days after that the pool had a toxic chlorine leak during their swim meet. Seventy people were sent to the hospital.
Where is Buddha's good luck when you need it?
After four months without a hair cut I was in desperate need of one! After Mon and I had dropped Bow off at Taekwondo, we went to the hair dressing salon right next door. I had been there before to get my bangs cut and absolutely loved the hair dresser. She speaks a little bit of english. Enough so I don't come out looking like a fool :P
I ended up getting more than a hair cut though. On this particular day her mom and younger sister Mew were there. When they found out I was teaching Bow and Taiten english they asked if I would teach Mew as well. I gladly accepted! After I got my hair cut I went back to there place where I taught Mew english for two hours. After which her family invited me to go out to dinner with them. They are a really nice family and all speak very good english. I even used a bit of my thai to help communicate better. When I get back from Taiwan I have plans to teach her on tuesdays.
Heres an interesting fact for you. Did you know the term "Curiosity killed the cat" was first used in the play "Every Man in his Humour" performed by William Shakespeare? The term back than though was "Care killed the cat," with care meant worry or sorrow.
Curiosity killed the cat, literally. Lucky had the tendency to sneak out of the house to go exploring. Many times she had been left outside without any of us knowing, but whenever she wanted in she would meow to let us know. Unfortunately yesterday when she escaped the house she never did make it back inside. Mon found her laying beside the pool. Our initial thought was Suka attacked her but we found no bite marks indicating that was the case. The puppies absolutely loved lucky and were always fond of playing with her. We believe that she drowned due to the fact she was soaking wet. To explain her being off to the side of the pool when we found her was that one of the dogs tried to save her.
Lucky was a little shit at times. We went through more toilet paper rolls then usual and you couldn't sweep without the little ball of fur chasing after you. She had a habit of climbing onto the table and stealing your food and woke you up in the morning by running around on your bed. But by-golly those terror moments she had will be missed, along with the moments that she was well behaved.
RIP Lucky <3
Just as I was going to bed the day of Sa's wedding I heard the door bell ring. This was at about ten o'clock. The last few days we have come home to find the gate has been opened. My first initial thought was that it had something to do with that since the police check the house regularly. That wasn't until Mama and members of the village came into the house. Dao, who is a friend from the village, her mom is married to Mon's brother. The two of them were heading back home when they got into a motorcycle accident. Mon's brother is in the hospital in pretty rough shape, with three broken ribs, a broken shoulder, and a broken leg. The doctors have given him a 50/50 chance of survival. Dao's mom was killed instantly. I can't image what Dao is going through and she is only seventeen years old. Despite the circumstances she has been very strong and mature about the situation. Please send prayers and goodluck for Dao, Mon and the family.
February 25th. After five months of dating and one and a half months of organizing it was finally Sa and Tha's wedding day. Morning came way to early in my opinion, at the digusting hour of four. Sa went and got her hair and makeup done with Mon and Bow, while Mike, Taiten, and I stayed with Sa's soon-to-be-husband and his family. After two and a half hours Sa returned to the house looking absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately at this point in time she decided to paint her toe nails while she was wearing her wedding dress. Thank goodness for nail polish remover! She was good as new in no time.
So let me tell you how a thai wedding works. They start the morning usually at seven with a ceremony where the couple gets blessed by nine monks. Nine is a lucky number here in Thailand. This ceremony is usually only attended by close friends and family. The monk blessing consists of a lot of chanting while a candle is lit in a bowl of water. Later this water is used to splash the couple as a blessing. The couple then receives the "twin crown" called "mongkhon faet." Each has a loose piece of string which they connect to indicate unity. The couple then receives three dots on their forehead before they present the monks with food and gifts. The guests have to wait until the monks are done eating before they can eat themselves. By now almost all the other guests have arrived just in time for the next ceremony which is the parade. The groom and his family and friends must parade through all the brides guests presenting gifts for her side, which is usually food. The groom has to go through three gates to get to his bride. To get through these gates the father of the groom must negotiate a price with each of the female relatives to make for a safe passage. This is to represent how much the groom will do to get his bride. Once the immediate family members are inside the dowry is given to the brides parents. The amount of money that the groom gives to the bride is announced to everyone as a way of showing off. Then the mom of the bride parades around with the money. This could be done around the house or in Peelawon's case to the next room. Again a way to show off to family and friends. At the end of the line in the parade there is someone who is holding a sugar cane plant and a banana tree. After the ceremony is finished the couple is supposed to plant the banana tree so that by the time they have children it will be able to nourish and provide for the family.
Unlike in western culture the bride and groom don't give each other rings but rather the groom presents the bride with gold chains. All the guests now come forward to bless the couple. They start off by pouring water on their hands after which they tie a piece of string called a "sai sin." Than money is given to the couple in the same envelope which the invitation was sent in. After this ritual the couple must go around to every table and have their picture taken with all the guests and give them a trinket to remember the wedding. To conclude the morning Sa's husband made a little speech and the two of them sang a song. We know Sa didn't marry him for his singing. :P The whole affair wrapped up at about twelve o'clock in the afternoon.
The last two days I have picked up Bow and taken her to Taekwondo all by myself. And both times have come back alive. Before you start to applauded me, let me continue on with my blog. Right next to Bow's Taekwondo class there is a little cafe called "about coffee." Mike and I stopped there after we had visited the Ancient Ruins. The owner of the cafe knew english very well! So today when I went to take Bow to Taekwondo I decided to stop in and visit. We talked for a good half an hour. I learned that she had gone to school in Bangkok and had worked at a car dealership before coming to Kamphang phet and opening up her cafe. She told me that she had made friends with one of the exchange students last year who was from Canadian. I asked her where in Canadian she was from, to which she replied Vancouver. Her name is Noppakao but her nickname is Dao. (Something i can actually pronounce) Everyone down here has a nickaname. I think its so when foreigners come down to visit they can call them by something. An example is Bow. Her real name is Nusara but family and friends use her nickname. Before Dao left she gave me her business card and told me to come back and visit any time.
Tomorrow is Sa's wedding which I'm very excited about. Not many foreigners get the opportunity to see a traditional thai wedding when they come to visit. To my inconvenience I learned that we have to be up at four oclock tomorrow morning which is apparently usual down here. Bow says she will help waking me up though by jumping on my bed. Wish me luck!!
P.S. Now you can applauded me :)
There isn't many sweets here in Thailand in the sense of cookies and cakes. Thai's have a very different kind of sweet tooth if you can even call it that.
Crepes are a big hit down here, but in no way compare to the crepes in Germany! Crepes here aren't filled with an assortment of fruit but rather have a paste. This is the fanciest crepe that I have seen here in Thailand. The white paste inside is sweet egg whites while the orange stuff is concoction made with egg yolk. It is very sweet. Ironically as I'm writing about these crepes I'm munching on them.
Unlike back home there is no such thing as jello cups here, though you can buy packages of jello sugar to make. This jello is called Pandan and has very little flavour. Mon usually puts a cube of this, along with rice and hard boiled eggs, out for Buddha when there is a full or half moon.
Roti Saimai is a thai style cotton candy. You can not eat just one, or, two, or five of these. You have to continue to eat these until your tummy hurts or you run out. You wrap strands of spun string into a rice paper crepe. (Like I said crepes are very popular down here :P) This was one of the first things I ate when I got down here and I have fallen in love with them. Unfortunately they don't last more than a day so I'm not going to be able to smuggle a lot back home.
The village is where we spent most of the day yesterday. Mon went and did some illegal gambling with her friends and I even took part though I had no idea how to play. I gave up after a while since I still didn't understand how to play and had lost a whole whopping 30 Baht! Just so everyone knows, 30 Baht converted to Canadian is a dollar :P
Once Bow finished Taekwondo we went to the market to find something nice for her to wear to Sa's wedding. While we were there a guy asked Bow where I was from and how old I was. Then she turned to me, put her hands behind her back and bashfully said "He asked if you had a boyfriend." I couldn't help laugh at Bow since she reminded me of Thumper off of Bambi.
Driving back home Taiten grabbed my hand and for some odd reason started chewing on it. Out of no where he yelled "Ario!" which means delicious. Haha we got a pretty good laugh out of it.
So the other day I got Lucky in swimming with Bow, Taiten, and I. (Remember Lucky is the kitten that we have) To tell you the truth I don't know if she liked it that much.
I also found out I like eating seaweed. Who knew :P
Our original party of nine turned out to only be a party of seven. Sa's mom Peelawon didn't want Sa to go camping with us since she was worried that something would happen to her. Meaning she was worried that Sa might die before she got married. A few things you have to know to somewhat understand Peelawon's reasoning. Thai's are very superstitious and since one of Peelawon's friend's daughters happened to get killed days before her wedding while traveling, Peelawon thinks the same thing would have happened to Sa. And if Sa dies before she gets married her parents won't get any money. It's a Thai tradition that the boyfriend has to give the brides parents money to show that he can provide and support her. I think this is ironic since the amount that Sa's boyfriend is forking over to her parents will most likely leave him broke.
Mon, Mike, Bow, Taiten, Mama, a friend from the village, and I went camping which was a lot of fun. We got a section of the campsite all to ourselves. We took a badminton net and rackets out there with us and played that quite a bit. The rest of the time we ate, swam in the river, and just lazed around. It was nice and relaxing and in a beautiful location!
Almost all the toilets in Thailand are squat toilets. Thank goodness I was born and raised in Williams Lake or I might have been screwed here. Since Thai people are so accustomed to squat toilets, when there is a sit toilet they need to be shown how to properly use them. I thought that was quite funny, but reasonable from their point of view.
To me there is nothing better than traveling. Experiencing a new culture and exploring new and exciting sights. I am lucky enough to have gotten this opportunity to come to Thailand. I am super lucky to have a friend who is doing an exchange in Taiwan. When she found out that I was coming down here she mentioned about me going over and visiting her. After a bit of planning we worked it out so that I will be there from the beginning of March till the 13th.
I would also like to travel around Thailand while I am here. Unfortunately I'm not very comfortable travelling by myself and if possible would like to find a traveling buddy. If anyone is interested or knows someone who might be interested you can email me with a resume and cover letter. Participants will be chosen by best qualification.
Tomorrow Mike, Mon, Sa, Sa's boyfriend, Sak, Bow, Taiten, Mama, and I are going to be going camping Thai style. Haha this could be very interesting. I will be sure to upload lots of pictures :)
So my second food blog... I have to admit my favourite thing about Thailand is their soup. No matter where you are a vender who sells soup is always close by. It literally takes minutes to cook and for a bowl full, it only costs a dollar. It's like fast food but only healthy :P
Mon usually goes to the market in the morning to get food for the day. One day I woke up and found this on the kitchen table.
If you are looking at this picture and thinking "thats a bee hive," you are correct. Mon ate this as a late night snack by dipping it in Captain Morgans. You don't actually eat it but just suck out all the juice and discard the rest. Either way I thought it was weird.
One of Bow's favourite things to eat is barbecued octopus on a stick. Almost every time we go to the market she gets four or five of them. I personally don't like sea food but the kids love it. All the chips that come from companies such as Lays are sea food flavoured and the kids can go through about thirteen bags of seaweed a week.
So I forgot to mention in my last blog that Mike showed Taiten how much he loved being back home by accidentally hitting him with the car door. He just got back and he was already beating the kids up. :P
Today Mike and I picked up Bow from school and took her to Taekwondo, since Mon went to the village. Once we had dropped her off at Taekwondo we had an hour and a half to spare, so we went to the Ancient Ruins. We got in for free since the guy didn't understand what Mike was saying, which was a bonus. We spent the afternoon there until we had to go pick up Bow. It was so nice and relaxing. The only other people at the park were joggers and the occasional biker. The park is absolutely huge. You could spend a whole day there looking at all the temples and wat's that used to be intact.
The park is really close to Bow's Taekwondo class so if I need something to do I can always go there no problem. At about six twenty we went to a little cafe place right beside her class to get a drink. The place was so cute and quaint and the girl spoke very good english.
So I don't know what is with me and bugs lately but they sure don't like me. Tons of them committed suicide on my face during the scooter ride today. Thankfully I had my mouth closed the whole time or I might have swallowed a few of them. Yesterday I felt something crawling up my shirt and thought it was a spider. Found out it was a perverted fly! No respect these days I tell ya.
Mon, Taiten, and I went down to Phitsanulok to pick up Mike today. We headed out early so that we could stop at Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat. First they chanted outside holding a flower and sticks which they light until they start to smoke. The smoke is to represent good luck for when they die and are reincarnated. All of this is asking for good luck. After that we went inside, which was absolutely beautiful, were they kneel in front of a big buddha and chant some more. Again wishing for good luck for their family and them. After this they go over to see a monk who chants to them and then sprays them with water. Again all for good luck. A lot of chanting and good luck going on in Wat's :P
So we picked Mike up at the airport and drove back home. I drove both ways since Mon doesn't like driving long distances, and Mike was too tired. On the way to the airport I encountered a suicidal dog. It watched and waited for me to get closer before running in front of the vehicle. Since I saw it watching me before hand I had already predicted what it might do. Being one step ahead, I managed to just miss it. Thank godness all the signs in Thailand are also in english. On the way back home everyone fell asleep.
After Mike caught up on a few hours of sleep we went to pick Bow up from school. Then being the romantic person that Mike is he took us out for pizza for Valentines day, after which we did some shopping. Mike bought Taiten pool toys, Bow a Lilo & Stitch cake (for the whole family to eat), and planned to go with Mon and get a massage. Unfortunately by the time they got a chance to leave the place had closed. If it wasn't for the two puppies getting into a fight they might have been able to make it.
Even the animals welcomed home Mike. Right when we got back we found out from Sa that Suka had bit Lucky's tail and later on in the evening the two puppies got into a huge fight. It took both Sa and I to get the dogs apart. They were really pissed at each other. We thing since Wrinkles got bitten by that snake a while ago that he wasn't feeling well and got pissed off at his brother while they were play fighting. It took a while till we could let the two of them be around each other without wanting to duke it out but eventually they were good again.
I have to catch up on what has happened the last few days. Mon had to head out to the village again on Sunday but Bow stayed home so we could work on english together. In between working hard on english we had some fun. Bow did my hair for me. We took the scooters and made a trip to seven eleven. On the way back home we picked up some noodles which we ate while being couch potatoes. I even taught her a new card game. It was so nice to have someone at home to socialize with.
Mon, Bow, Taiten, and I headed out to the village since the family was helping out with the destruction and rebuilding of a house. While on the way out Mon stopped when she spotted some Monks. They walk around in the morning with pots accepting food offerings and money. Before approaching them you must remove your shoes as a sign of respect. After the food offering they chant for you to bring you good luck. (<---What this photo is showing)
Just moments after arriving I got to see the slaughtering and preparation of rats. Yes they are to eat. After peeling off the fur, the head and legs get chopped off. It is then ready to cook after all the insides have been cleared away. Disgusting right? But wait! It gets better. Lunch was served with pig intestines and a heart. Yummy! No wonder Fear Factor is an American show. Thai people would dominate when it came to the food challenges. Eating crickets, frogs, and cockroaches is like dessert to them. No joke!
So now that I have appealed to everyones appetite the rest of the day was spent working. You should have seen these guys take this house down by hand. They had no bulldozer or fancy tools. Piece by piece they disassembled the place. Members of the family had come from another village to help out with the work in exchange for a hearty meal afterwards. (That was my attempt at a joke since they literally ate a heart) By two o'clock an empty lot was all that was left, and a small shack was built for the family to stay in until the rebuilding was complete.
One of the girls, Kim, who is 5 years old absolutely loves me. Even though I don't understand a word she says she absolutely loves to talk and follow me around everywhere. She is so adorable. :) Most of the time the younger kids keep me company such as today. Taiten and Kim found some newborn frogs and put me in charge of keeping them safe.
I also love the elders at the village. They are so adorable and very welcoming. They are so eager to have my company and practically force me to sit with them. :)
I love going to the village and wish I got to do it more often. I have been stuck at the house again while they go visit since someone is needed to stay home while the guys work on the pool roof. Its unfortunate cause it does get very lonely. I have somewhat been making use of the time I am alone by doing homework, watching youtube videos, and have even been training the dogs. I'm hoping that Mon and Bow will become more confident speaking english as time passes so that way they will be more willing to talk to me. I'm here to teach english and am frustrated that I'm not able to do that when I don't get to see them all day.
So the last few days I have been picking up Bow with Sa on the scooters. I'm not going to rate my performance but lets just say we have had a few good laughs, and I bet every other citizen has as well. The first time I went out with Sa I almost ran into a car mirror, some kind of pole, and another rider. I'm not very good at stopping and starting again, hence why I almost hit a car mirror and haven't yet figured out how to move around corners gracefully.
The little kid at 11 seconds. Thats what I look like on a scooter, without the crashing part.
I also had some jerk cut me off which caused me to swerve almost hitting another person. Cutting people off is like a national sport down here! If it was they would score it on a point system depending on how many people you cut off and those that cut you off.
This would be my score sheet;
Score Card for Sharyse Wilson
Cut people off: 3 (maybe a few more)
Been cut off: To many times to count!!
As you can see from my score card Thailand 1: Sharyse 0.
P.S. Just so everyone knows the people I have cut off are due to people cutting me off.
So technically not my fault! But since I'm white if any kind of accident did happen I would automatically be at fault. This would still be true even if there was proof showing my innocence. Their reasoning is that it wouldn't have happened if you weren't in their country.
I also misread one of Sa's signals. I thought that Sa forgot to turn her signal off from earlier, so when the light turned green I went to go straight while she turned right. I caught myself at the last minute thankfully. When I pulled up beside Sa at the next stop light she just looked at me, shook her head, and laughed. When she got home the first thing she did was found Mon and told her about my hilarious driving.
This is what traffic looks like!
Sa seems to take me on the most difficult routes every. Most of the roads we take are jam packed with traffic, shared by cars, trucks, and scooters. Any available space will be occupied or will be used to push forward to the front of the line. After we dropped Bow off at Taekwondo she took me down to the river, I believe for her own amusement, where I had to try make my way through sand. She has been putting me through the paces, which is a good way for me to learn, and good humour as well. I think the only reason she agrees to let me come along is for a good chuckle. :)
Being the amazing, wonderful person I am I went outside to work on the pool today. I slaved away at this task for about 45 minutes, after which I played soccer with the cat (no joke) and went to pick up Bow with Sa.
<<--- This picture is of me before I worked on the pool.
This is about three hours later --->>
This even happened while wearing +30 sunblock and applying it twice. I guess the sun didn't appreciate me trying to do something nice and showed this by turning me into a lobster. You just can't win against the sun when you are a ginger.
Even with all the benefits of being a ginger like having such an amazing hair color and hundreds of freckles, increased sensitivity to the sun is a bummer. Though the sun is not always my friend I am thankful that it brings back my freckles and changes my eye color.
Yesterday mostly consisted of me sleeping. I believe I had a touch of the flu or a mild case of food poisoning. I was light headed and dizzy, and was burning up. Mon invited me to go with her to the temple the next day but I had to decline due to my condition. Since going to the temple would require me getting up really early I thought it would be best for my body and I to get as much rest as possible. And I was right! The next morning (today) I was golden. :)
So to proceed with my question, "Why is Buddha fat?"
Meet Hotei, the laughing Buddha.
His big belly is a symbol of happiness, good luck, and generosity. And generosity he receives. Buddhists, which consists of 95% of the population, feed Buddha every full and half moon. On these days they go to the temple as well, to feed the Monks and ask for good luck for them and their families. Today was a full moon and just like every other Buddhist Mon places out a bowl of fruit as a food offering. In exchange for food she asks Buddha for good luck.
Everything and anything is based on good luck down here. Small things, such as going to the market and being able to find a parking space is even considered good luck.
Hotei is not the original Buddha but was based on a eccentric chinese Zen monk who lived 1,000 years ago. In total there are 28 Buddha's which are displayed in different positions and have different meanings. I will be sure to post a blog, after I have done some research, about the Buddha statues in depth.
P.S. I don't believe the real reason behind Hotei being perceived as fat is due to the food offers but more due to his symbol of happiness and prosperity. In the olden days it showed people you came from high statue and wealth to be on the heavier side.
Today was another eventful day! We started off the morning by digging a huge hole. "What for?" you may be asking. They figured that if anything happened to me during my stay that that would be the best way to conceal my body. The ironic thing is I helped and wasn't told about its intended purpose until after the fact. Haha all jokes aside we really did dig a hole today. The true nature of its existence is for water drainage from the house.
In reference to my blog yesterday I have proof that Thai's are actually crazy enough to completely cover their bodies while working outside in +30 degrees. While digging the hole today Peelawon (Sa's mom) was sporting this outfit.
If you don't know anything about Peelawon (which most of you don't) all you need to know is that she is a tremendously hard worker. At least half that hole, which is about two heads taller than I am, was all her doing! Mon and Sak (Sa's dad) shared the other half. It was incredible to see them go at this thing with only that tiny little shovel-like object and a dust pan like bucket. After the hole was finished we lowered the cement foundations in. It was hard work! I even managed to break a sweat, which is very unusual for me since I send most my days reading by the pool.
When we were coming inside I noticed that the left side of Wrinkle's face was swollen. I first thought that his cheek bone was broken but it turns out he had been bitten by a snake that was hanging around the house. Once we were washed up Mon, Sa, Bow, and I went to the night market. I'm in love! The smell from all the little shops was amazing!! The place was huge. It had to have been at least four blocks deep, and close to two blocks wide. It has such a relaxing environment about it as well. It was a great way to end the day :)
