Surprise!! Sunday, August 21, 2011

Today was full of surprises. I woke up around 3:30 am and couldn’t sleep after. So, I stayed up until Paw Peap poked his head in my doorway at 6am and told me to wake up. Last night, he said we were sleeping in today because it is Sunday…so I’m a little concerned. I get up and Mem Miam was washing shirts for me to wear as my uniform. Very sweet but the shirt didn’t actually button (which is against dress code)...but I said thank you VERY much in Thai! I then asked if I could go on a walk for 30 minutes. I was told that host families don’t let us do anything by ourselves but I decided it was worth it to try. Paw let me go. About 15 minutes after I left, the little man comes riding alongside me on his motorbike and takes me back to the house, which was kind of unfortunate because it was a beautiful walk and after a rough night, I really needed the fresh air and alone time.

Mem Miam and I then made breakfast. Paw taught me many Thai words, most of which, I immediately forgot. Paw Peap won’t let me write them down. He says you must learn Thai from the heart…not from paper. I DON’T THINK SO!  Hopefully ISDSI will be a little more forgiving.

Paw Peap then took me to get a phone. We took his motorbike, which we ride around the village all the time but I didn’t realize he was taking me on the highway! That was a surprise. I was definitely holding my breath… We got to the phone store and the only word I can think of to describe that experience is chaos. I am not even going to spend time explaining because there was so much frustration and confusion. So we head back and go out to Chiang Mai to get my uniform. The trip to the Chiang Mai was also to show me how I would be getting home from school tomorrow. The language barrier made this a bit confusing but I think after a few hours I figured it out…I hope! Paw Peap told me to get on the red bus/taxi and go to Gat Luang, which we then drove to. I think Paw is starting to understand my learning style…showing EXAMPLES! We get out at the huge market and walk to the yellow bus/taxi, which is my next step to getting home. He puts my sister, Nong Not, and me on the taxi, without a word, and sends us off. Guess that’s the best way to learn…

We finally find Paw Peap and he takes us to a noodle place. It is very hot here…so, warm food is never appetizing to me! I see two white spherical objects in my soup and I ask if they are tofu. He says with a little smile, ”no. pork balls.” I still don’t know what pork balls are but I can take a guess. Luckily Paw Peap doesn’t force me to eat everything so I left those aside.

We get back to the house and take the motorbike over to Mem (mother) Miam’s house. We pretty much sat and watched Thai sitcoms for a good 3 hours. Culturally, very interesting…but anyone who knows me will understand that I was starting to go a bit crazy when 4pm rolled around. But, not to worry, Paw Peap had plans to go on a bike ride to exercise at 5pm with his friend. I ASSUMED our bike ride would be similar to yesterday’s…not so much. Should have realized something was up when, unlike yesterday, I was handed a helmet. Paw Peap and I go back to the house to change and head out on our bikes. After about 15 minutes we get to the highway. The same highway that we took the motorbike on earlier in the day. This time, we get to bike ourselves! My heart was definitely racing as we bike RIGHT along side cars/trucks/motorbikes/etc. If you have driven with me, you would know that I’m afraid to drive next to large trucks…well turns out, I’m also afraid of biking next to them. Eventually we pull over to a spot where we meet Paw Peap’s friend. We then all take off, back on the highway. After about 10 minutes we turn off and Paw Peap says we are going to a dam! All of a sudden the biking gets a bit harder and ALL uphill. Paw’s friend is riding next to me saying which gears to switch to. They tell me to say Chai Dai if I am “ok” and Diam if I am “very good.” Of course I say Diam the whole way…wouldn’t want my host father to think I was a wimp. I would have to say I did a pretty solid job and we make it up to the top where we come across a beautiful lake! I took some pictures, which Paw Peap eagerly posed for (kind of hilarious). We then headed back home and picked up some fried fish along the way. FISH DINNER coming up…

We get back to Mem Maim’s house, sweaty/dirty as can be. My aunt and Nong Not are pointing, laughing, and talking about my toenails in Thai. My toenails still have neon orange polish on them from about a month ago, which I forgot to take off before I came to Thailand. I can’t tell if they like them, or not. It became apparent when Nong Not runs downstairs and then comes back up with nail polish remover and new nail polish. I laugh and start taking off my orange polish (which I love). Nong Not then paints my nails a metallic/pearly purple, which looks great on them but not as good on my, much paler, skin. She is also only 12…and it is very visible when looking at my toes. But of course, I went along with it.

Dinner time…FISH FISH FISH. Too bad I don’t love fish. Paw Peap FILLED my plate of rice with all kinds of fish. I won’t go into too much detail. But, we all were sitting  on the floor, around the main dishes, with our bowls of rice. I ate something very spicy and Mem Maim (who speaks NO English) starts saying NAM NAM (water)! And brings me my bottle of water. She is so wonderful and I can’t wait to learn Thai so I can speak with her! At this point, we just play charades! Haha.

Oh one more thing. I have a new name! I can never remember what it is but it means rice tree! Don Chao, maybe? I’ll ask in the morning and write it later. Names are taking me forever to remember! Like I said, I am not allowed to write them down. But they named me rice tree after rice grass because rice grass is taller than other grass and they think I am tall!  HA! I thought many of you might find that amusing.

Ok ok ok…I know I write a lot so I’ll stop! But, I think during the week I will have less to say because I am in class from 8am until 5pm and I don’t get home until 6 or 6:30pm.

I miss you all!! At times, more than you can imagine.