1st round of visitors 2010...

Last week through the beginning of this week I was lucky to have Matt, Jeremy, and Nate come to Thailand for a visit. I was excited about this visit and was looking forward to their arrival. They had one week here and we managed to do a lot in a short amount of time. On the night of their arrival I took them to Khao San Road, the infamous backpackers row...where they ate street pad thai and drank a tower of Chang beer. The next day we headed to see wats/temples...Grand Palace and Wat Pho. The two places are must sees in Thailand. After exploring the temples we went out for an evening above the skyline. We went to Skybar- an outdoor al fresco bar at the 64th floor of the Lebu State Tower...right along the river....it was absolutely beautiful. The next day it was see yah later Bangkok and off to Phuket we went. After settling in, it was time to head to the beach...and we took in a few of the warm Thailand sun rays. The next day we parked it on the beach the entire day...what a great and relaxing day. On Saturday we went on a snorkeling day trip which was awesome...we went to a little island (Raya island) about 30 minutes from Phuket where we saw some cool looking fish and some pretty clear waters. Now, I have been snorkeling a handful of times but there was one spot here where the waters were so clear you could see about 15 feet down, it was breathtaking. Sunday it was back to Bangkok and we went to Suan Luam Night Bazaar and they did some Thailand souvenir shopping. Monday was a busy day...we headed to Wat Arun, had two hour Thai massages, ate sashimi, the boys got fitted for custom made suits and then went to see Muay Thai fights at night....where we got to see a knock-out occur. It was crazy. And Tuesday, we went Asian style and took the transportation the locals take...the klong. It was a long boat ride sitting on wooden benches on a hot Bangkok day....probably not the smartest move on my part...but at least they got to see where I teach and a Thai neighborhood. Finally, it was time for them to leave. I took them to the airport, we said our farewells and goodbyes and off they went. It was a lot of fun. I had a great time and from what I could tell they did too.

Merit Making

This morning, Boom took Shannon and I to temple. Going to temple in Thailand is like going to church in America. When one goes to temple you go to make merit. Making merit is a way of life for most Thai people. There are a few ways of making merit that I have found. One way is to give alms (which is where you give offerings to monks when they walk down your street). Another way is to buy a basket or bucket filled with water, candles, incense, toilet paper, and other things the monks need. These baskets are given to the monks at temple (this is what I did today). Donating to the temple is another way to make merit. Being generous to those less fortunate is also a staple in the merit making process. One more way of making merit is through prayer, usually done at the local temple. Opening ones mind to the spiritual side will gain individual merit. Making merit is a way to gain happiness in this life and a better position in the next life. Monks usually give a blessing to people that have been to temple to make merit. Thais believe that this merit-making will bring them good fortune. Today after we bought our bucket, Boom asked us to write names of deceased family members we wanted to remember on a sheet of paper (I wrote Deda). This was then later given to the monk to read aloud, along with a chant and then burned. After a few minutes of chanting. The paper was burned and held over a small brass bowl which collected the ashes. Boom took the bowl along with a little kraft of water and brought back to where we were kneeling. Here while the monk said a prayer chant in Thai, we (Shannon and I) placed a hand on Boom as she poured the water into the bowl. Afterwards Boom took the bowl of water and ashes to a tree outside, and poured the water over roots of a tree and was to make a wish to the spirits. And now the ceremony was over. When Boom came back inside, the three of us went closer to the monk and he placed a white sheet over us and said a Thai prayer wishing us good luck. He then handed Boom several white string bracelets to be tied on our wrists. I now have two white strings on my left wrist. The strings are blessed by the monks before they are handed out. This thread/string is called sai sin and putting them on the wrist helps in the form of safety, good health/wealth and protection from evil spirits. Now, I have heard two different rules about how long to keep the string on... 1. Some Thais say you can remove the strings after three days (if you remove it you must untie the knots and not cut it off) 2. Or you wear them until they fall off which in some cases can be years...I have not decided which to do yet. I think I am going to ask around...perhaps I'll ask my students on Monday what they do.

A whole new world...Samet.

Samet...as you know is one of my favorite places in Thailand. But this time, Shannon and I decided to explore some unfamiliar ground. Instead of turning left, as we have every single time, we turned right when we got off the boat. We walked a bit and stopped at this cute little German guesthouse (Baan-Pra-Kai-Kaew) and got a room right on the water. After sunning ourselves at the beach we decided to go for a walk and explore this new area. We walked past kiddos laughing and playing in the road, past homemade surfboard boats, walked along piers, watched a game of volleyball, and climbed some rocks.
Along our walk, Shannon mentioned she wanted wine. I decided to accept that challenge and so we set off to find wine. Low and behold we purchased two bottles of Thailands finest (uh-huh) wine from 7/11...yes you heard me 7/11. HA. These were little mini bottles but they did the job....not to mention the few other glasses I had after dinner. But who's counting? I was in a fit of giggles the rest of the night. We were playing cards and at times I had tears in my eyes laughing so hard at who knows what. Its moments like these that I live for. So happy. And on my last day there (Shannon had left the day before), as I headed to the pier to head back to Bangkok, a woman stopped me and asked if I wanted a ride...in her little side-car...ummm sure why not...I have always wanted to. I felt like a 7 year old kid laughing as we went up and down the hills and hit bumps and took sharp turns. When she dropped me off I thanked her and she said "Mai Pen Rai, ka" (No worries). How unbelievably nice of that woman. She wanted nothing in return. I was so lucky to receive this random act of kindness. I am happy that people like this exist in our world....makes me want to do some random acts of kindness too.

Thank you.

Last night I was thinking about my life - who I am, how I got here, where I have been, where I want to go, what I have done, what I am going to do, who I know, and who I have yet to meet...and I am so very thankful. I feel so lucky. Sometimes I pinch myself to see if its all real, is this really my life? I know I didn't get to this place alone and I have an absolutely amazing support system behind me. I am so very grateful and appreciative. One person, in particular, has always helped me get to where I want to be and continually encourages me to do my best...thank you for believing in me, thank you for helping me grow, thank you for listening to me, thank you for pushing me, thank you for being you...mom!