New Family!! Saturday, August 20, 2011

Saturday morning we arrived at ISDSI and met our host families! Today wasn’t like anything I have ever experienced. My host dad ‘Paw Peap’ and host sister ‘Nong Not’ picked me up. ‘Paw’ means father and ‘Nong’ is used for a younger sibling. We lugged my bags to his very rundown car. I can’t explain how nervous I was driving all the way to the house. Along the way the car almost broke down and we had to pull over. Then I found out we had run out of gas so we coasted into a gas station. We then continued our journey and picked up some ‘king ‘ and queen’ fruits which were very sweet. The ‘queen’ was a cold fruit and ‘king’ was hot. Hot meaning it makes your stomach feel hot so you have to also eat the queen fruit to cool your stomach down…? I think… Again, language barrier was very apparent and exhausting today.

We finally arrived to Paw Pings home and I find out he is a painter! The house/surroundings was indescribable. Hfe has his paintings ALL over the house. I will take a picture of it and post it at some point. We walk outside to a lake and he has build another smaller structure (almost like a tree house but not in a tree) with paintings everywhere, including the floor and a step up to another platform with a bed, radio, dresser, etc. All in the middle of this lake. He has a mosquito net above the bed. I would give anything for that to be my bed! I WISH I had brought my camera up there but hopefully I can go back and take a picture. Anyways, that is where he sleeps sometimes! I later find out his wife lives down the street. We eat there and she sleeps at Paw Peap’s house.

So, the three of us take Paw Peap’s motorbike down the street to his wife’s house where I see the grandfather laying on the floor. I was kind of concerned but this is apparently normal because no one reacted. His wife lives in the house she grew up in with her sister, brother, and father who is 84.

These houses are unlike any houses in the US. They are pretty much all wood and open to the outside. To explain everything would take forever so hopefully throughout the blogs you will get a better idea. Anyways they feed me constantly. At one point, I see the wife’s sister pick up a bunch of crickets. I’m definitely concerned. We move into another room and the wife BRINGS me the crickets…fried. I casually pick of the wings and eat it. It was VERY crunchy and they say it is like our cracker…I don’t think so. Apparently later in the week we might be eating SNAKE! AHH!!!

We then leave and Paw Peap says it is time to exercise! So, we go on a bike ride for about an hour. Eventually we end up at the wife’s house for dinner. I am exhausted at this point. I help cook a bit but the only one who speaks even a little English is Paw Peap and his 12 year old daughter speaks a couple words. So communicating is very difficult. I better pick Thai up fast. Anyways they feed me a ton of food again and then we bike back to my host father’s house. I finally got up the courage to use the bathroom with is unlike “western bathrooms” and ask to take a shower. I spent about 15 minutes asking if I could have a towel for the shower. I guess it isn’t normal? Anyways now it is only 7:24pm and I am exhausted. I am going to try to stay up a bit longer but we’ll see!!

This is definitely going to be an experience that I have never had and will never have again. I can tell it is going to be a HUGE challenge and at this point, I can’t wait to get back with my American classmates!!