April!!

Sorry I'm getting to this so late! A lot happened in April, so I hope I remember everything in order (if not, sorry). Ahh yes, in April we went on our northern trip to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It's hard to believe how long ago that was, and how quickly the time went by. I remember when we had four months until that trip, and now it's been almost two months since it happened.

On Saturday our train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was on time (if you've ever traveled in Thailand, you'll know how rare that is). It was so nice to be able to talk to everyone and catch up. Most of us hadn't seen each other since the northeastern trip back in December. I took my laptop with me, and that night I watched Scooby Doo with Zann (South Africa) and Crystle (USA).

Sunday after our train arrived and we dropped off our bags at Pornping Hotel, we took a bus to a mountain and climbed over 300 steps to see a temple. If I remember correctly, we spent about 30 minutes at the temple, and omg it was so hot! Well, it could have been worse - at least there was shade.

When everyone was finished at the temple, we went to lunch before going to the umbrella factory. That was so cool! We were running late, so they didn't have a whole bunch of time, but they showed us how to make the paper that they use for the umbrellas, and then we were able to paint our own umbrellas. While we were there, there were people painting designs on different things. Some people had designs painted on iPads, cell phones, and the like. One of the ladies painted flowers on my iPod.

On Sunday night we went to dinner and a show. The food was pretty good, and the show was awesome. I can't remember the story they were telling, but the dancing was fantastic. Of course, I had to use the restroom, and right when we left they did the last act and everyone got to go on stage and dance. Don't I just have wonderful timing? haha

Monday morning we took the bus again, but this time to the White Temple. Wow that place is so amazing. Kinda creepy, but amazing nonetheless. Since I visited the temple in December, the artist has added alot to the mural inside the temple. I had more time to enjoy the art work this time around, and was able to find more characters hidden in the work. I really wish that we were allowed to take photos of the inside of the temple, but at least some of the designs are committed to memory - Neo from the Matrix, Kung Fu Panda, Avatar, Terminator. There really is quite an interesting mix.

After about an hour at the White Temple (we had lunch too) we drove to the Golden Triangle. For those of you who don't know, the Golden Triangle is where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar all border each other. We took a short boat trip up the river before doubling back and stopping in Laos to do some shopping. They had lots of bags, purses, and wallets because they're all of the rejects that can't be sold in places like the USA and Europe. Basically, all of the products are slightly flawed and don't make the cut to be sold elsewhere.

That night the outbounds had a sort of orientation after dinner. Because of this, the inbounds had some free time. During said free time we cut Hector's hair (ok, Bela cut Hector's hair) while Crystle and I dyed Zann's hair blue. We didn't dye ALL of his hair, he just had a lovely "Z", a star, and "HI" written on the back of his head. He wasn't particularly thrilled about that, but we did warn him, and he got a haircut a couple of weeks later so it didn't even really matter.

A bit later we had a campfire, and some of the outbounds joined us for a while, but eventually they went to go play cards together and do other outbound-y, bond-y things. Hunter (USA), Hector (Mexico), and Zann (South Africa) played guitar and Crystle, Eri, and I joined in singing when we knew the lyrics. Memories like these are some of my favorites.

Ok, I can't keep writing so much about each day... I'm sorry about that. Tuesday morning we went shopping in Myanmar, after shopping we went to a "resort" in the middle of nowhere. That night we lit lanterns like they do at Loy Krathong (I was really happy because I didn't actually get to do that on Loy Krathong). When we finally went to sleep my roommate wasn't back yet, and my creepy neighbors were there, so I ended up rooming with Sally that night.

Wednesday was absolutely amazing. We went to the elephant show, took photos with the elephants, fed them sugarcane and bananas, took an ox-cart ride, shopped a little, took elephants back to the reserve/sanctuary, had lunch, then BATHED THE ELEPHANTS IN THE RIVER. It kind of turned into more of a water fight, and it was wonderful. Apparently watching a group of high schoolers having a water fight with elephants is really entertaining to tourists, haha. After playing with the elephants we took bamboo rafts down the river. It was quite relaxing, and we all had a great time there too. That night and the night after we stayed at a small resort where a small long-neck tribe(?) was.

On Thursday we woke up kind of early and drove to a small mountain town (pop. just over 2,000). We spent the morning cleaning the church and the school. When we were done working we played Songkran with some of the kids before breaking for lunch. There's so much more to the story, you'll have to ask me for details when I get home. We went back to the resort and had some time before hiking up the hill and building a dam for the locals. The guys actually let me drive the bamboo stakes, and I know at least the Thais were impressed. After dinner we had our language test. As it turns out, I still hate taking tests (go figure). Post-test torture we played a big game of BS.

Friday... we went hiking on a mountain.

On Saturday we went back to Chiang Mai, changed clothes at the hotel, and went to celebrate Songkran. Imagine giant water fight, and that's pretty much it, but with music and parades too. The only thing you really have to watch out for is flying ice (it happens, it hurts). After a really good buffet dinner, we went to the night market. Eri (Japan) and I got henna tattoos. We had time to shop a bit later as well (nearer to the hotel) and Crystle and I met up with some of the other YE who were in Chiang Mai for Songkran: Saeko (Japan), to guys from France, Nate (USA), Daniel (USA), and a few others including Willis (USA). We (Crystle and I) didn't have very much time, so our conversations were cut short as we had to run back to the hotel. Of course, we weren't even the last people back.

Sunday, our last full day together. Instead of playing Songkran, Vaula and I got Thai massages and then went to Pizza Hut for lunch. They had parmesan cheese!! After lunch we went to Starbucks. My first Starbucks since being in Thailand. We met everyone about an hour later and headed to the train station. Saying goodbye when we arrived in Bangkok the next day was so difficult. We didn't know if that was going to be the last time we would see each other or not, and that made it even more stressful.

A few days after the trip, I changed hosts! My new host family is absolutely amazing. The first day my host sister Ray and I went to the new Robinson in Kanchanaburi and shopped a little bit before seeing พี่มาก..พระโขนง. It's the first Thai movie that I've seen and genuinely enjoyed. It had English subtitles so it was easier for me to follow.

That's about it for April! I feel like I need to upload photos, but I really don't have time. If you're friends with me on Facebook, they're all there, and if you have any questions, just send me a message.

Finally!! January - March

I can't really make any excuses as to why it's taken me this long to post another entry. My incredible procrastination skills are probably a big part of it.

The weekend after the Northeastern Trip, my dear friend Alica spent four days with me. During that time we wrote our monthly reports, watched movies, and ate lots of chips. The day after she left I changed host families. My first few days were spent figuring out things like what to do with dishes after I eat and where the toilet paper is kept. I was initially told that I was going to be living with this host for a week, but then a week turned into two, which turned into a month, and is now going on three. They're wonderful people, and with their help, I've been learning more Thai, and have been on some adventures.

One of those "adventures" was on January 19th. We (Eri, Japan; Vaula, Finland; Crystle, USA; Zak, USA; Alica, Mexico; Waldir, Mexico) met at Crystle's house and made food from our countries. We had pancakes, mac 'n' cheese, tacos, banana bread, and Eri made a Japanese dish but I can't remember what it was called.

From left to right, Crystle's host grandma, cousin, Eri, host brother, Vaula, Crystle, Waldir, me, Zak, Alica

That evening, Vaula, Zak and I met up with my host cousin Zinny and went bowling. It's safe to say that I'm REALLY not good at bowling. It was a fun night though. I also bought a set of purple contacts (and blue ones). I spent that night at Zinny's, and the following day we went to Phuket.

Bowling!! (Vaula, Zak, me)

Phuket was great. We stayed at the Zign hotel, and had Japanese food for dinner. The restaurant was SO COLD though, that it almost wasn't enjoyable. The hotel was super nice, and the pool was awesome. 

Zinny and I (with blue contacts)

The lobby at the Zign

Breakfast on Monday morning was the best. They had waffles! With actual maple syrup! After breakfast, my host picked us up and we went to the dolphin show. 

Kisses!

After the show we drove back to Bangkok, dropping off my host sister at her university on the way. My hosts talked to Zinny's parents for a bit when we dropped her off, and then we went home. It was so late by the time we got home that I didn't go to school the next day. It was worth it though, I had a great weekend.

In February I went to Alica's new house for the first time. She lives in a mansion! It was so cool! And of course it was great to see her for the third weekend in a row. 

The mansion

The following weekend Alica and I went with my host family to Sai Yok Yai waterfall. My cousin back in the USA had a school project called Flat Stanley where the kids make a paper doll and send it to friends and relatives in different places. At the waterfall, Alica and I made sure to take photos with Flat McKenna, my cousin's Flat Stanley doll.

That brings me to March. March went by SLOWLY save for a couple of adventure-filled weekends. To start I went to a Thai wedding. That was... interesting; a good learning experience, and also kind of awkward (for me at least) because I wore jeans. Jeans! At a wedding! The fact that I wasn't the only one in jeans either... I dunno.

The next weekend I spent with good friend and rebound exchange student Patt. Patt took me and two of her friends to Bueng Chawak zoo and then to the aquarium there. If I remember correctly, almost half of the zoo was large cats. They had so many lions and tigers! They were all absolutely beautiful.  

It was also really cool that we got to feed bananas to the giraffes, ponies, and camels.

 

After we went to the aquarium we had lunch, and that evening Patt took me to the tower in Suphanburi and we spent some time in the park. It was finally starting to cool down outside, so we were actually able to enjoy it. For dinner that night, Patt and I ate ice cream at the Swensen's in Robinson.

The following day was also really eventful. Patt and her mom took me to see the museum that's in the shape of a dragon. The tour talked mostly about China's relations with Thailand - they're very good by the way, and have been that way for generations. During the tour I realized that I actually did learn alot in my AP World History class last year (thanks Mr. Powers!!).

When we were finished at the museum we went to an incredible restaurant for lunch, and after lunch went to the Hundred Year's Market where we got to look around a really old house, watch people make ice cream, and buy a stuffed monkey for my blazer. :)

I think that's it for March. I'll talk about April in my next blog because the Northern Trip was a big part of that. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this post up!!

On The Big Screen

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! I know it's kind of late to say Merry Christmas as well as Happy New Year, however I was on an adventure and unable to post to everyone. To start off I want to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting me and who has helped me get to this point in my life, it means so much to me and I love you all.

I have recently returned home from the Northeastern Trip with District 3330 starting on the 24th of December. The trip started in Bangkok, with all of the inbounds meeting at the train station and then taking tuk-tuks to the Grand Palace. For those of you who don't know, a tuk-tuk is a motorcycle that has been converted to seat 2-4 additional people. They're probably not the safest mode of transportation, but they sure are fun!

No, this isn't my photo, I found it on the internet

The Grand Palace is absolutely stunning. I haven't uploaded the photos of it to my Facebook yet because I have just recently found the memory card with the photos on it. We spent over an hour at the palace, and were able to see the artifacts that are housed there. Of course, I was not allowed to take photos of the artefacts, however I do have some great photos of the Palace itself.

On the outside wall of the Palace Temple

On our way out...

After the Palace we went to Siam Paragon. Not the first time I've been to Paragon, but it continues to be an enjoyable destination. Whilst at Paragon, we ate lunch and then I bought a pair of shoes along with music. Crystle and I were planning on showing Robert (Mexico) and Zann (South Africa) around because neither of them had been to Paragon before, but while they were in line at KFC Crystle and I went and got our own lunches. By the time we got back to where we had told them to wait, they were gone. I'm actually currently uploading a video of the situation to YouTube right now.

I feel like I'll be writing "after" alot, but I think "and then" sounds even more lame, but that's what happened. After Paragon we all went back to the train station to catch our train to the border with Laos. If I remember correctly, it was about an 11 hour trip, which we slept through most of. Like every single trip I've been on, the train was running about two hours late, making the rest of the trip from then on our roughly two hours behind. You'd think that the next day we could have been on time, but not really. It just wasn't as bad as the previous day. We remained behind schedule for the duration of our trip. HOWEVER, that does not mean that the trip wasn't absolutely incredible.

Train food is... less that appetising....

And that brings me to Laos. Our first day in Laos was spent mostly in the car... ok, a bus, but still, you get the point. After getting all of the visa things sorted out, we went to lunch in Laos. The waiter was wearing a Santa hat!! In America that wouldn't have been really notable, but in Laos it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it totally made my day. We got to our hotel at dinner time, so after we dropped off our bags at our rooms we went out. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, and did a little bit of shopping on the way. I didn't know that they had rotii in Laos (it's a Thai dessert, I don't know how to spell it, don't judge) but it was pretty great -- better in Thailand, but whatever. That night we did as Secret Santa gift exchange as it was Christmas day, it was great, and everyone got a gift (aka nobody forgot!). Our "second day" in Laos was amazing. We started the morning by taking these three-person boats down the river to a cave/temple.

The river from where we stopped.

At the mouth of the cave, the 4Ds and Hunter

The story behind the cave was actually an interesting one. It was used as a refuge for around 300 local people when US had forces in Laos during WWII. During the day the local people would stay in the cave and at night they would go out to farm by moonlight. Since the cave was ventilated quite well, they were able to use lanterns and have a kitchen inside. There was also a  living space as well as a quiet place with a view of the outside for prayer.

We spent the late morning and afternoon on our way back to the border with Thailand, stopping for lunch on a lake. It was amazing, the food was delicious, the company was phenomenal, and it was kind of cold. I actually wished I'd had a jacket with me... actually, I wished I'd had a jacket for most of the trip. Northern and northeastern Thailand is COLD (compared to where I'm staying) this time of year! When we got to the border, they gave us time to shop -- there were small shops, and then there was a big store thing. I don't really know what the name is... ok, I would have known six months ago, but at this point I've completely forgotten. Anyway, this store sold some awesome stuff. I believe there were bags and purses, but we found the candy, so that's where we stayed. There was a wine selection and high-end perfumes as well, but like I said, we found the candy. And I don't mean just regular every-day candy. No, we found Reese's peanut butter cups, Ritter Sports, Finnish chocolate that I'd never heard of but Vaula loves, Haribou gummies, Pez, a wall of Kit-Kats, Smarties... basically all of the candy that you can't find in Thailand. I was able to spend some of my birthday money because they took US dollars, baht, and whatever the Laos currency is (I can't remember).

And Mentos, they had Mentos....

That night we stayed at a hotel in Udon Thani. The hotel was absolutely amazing, but the pool was kind of cold. For dinner that night I ordered a cheese burger. I know, boring fact, but it's so incredibly difficult to find good burgers here, especially in my host town, so... yeah. I had a cheese burger, and it was amazing.

We drove most of the next day. We stopped for lunch and shopping for a couple of hours before heading to the "resort" where we stayed the night before hiking the mountain. That night we had dinner at a restaurant that I believe is owned by a Rotarian (either that or we were staying at his resort). Anyway, the food was phenomenal, and after dinner we got to sing karaoke. Let's just say we spent the evening singing and dancing at is was incredible. I wish I'd stolen some pictures from Facebook before I moved to the realm of sketchy Thai wifi, haha. But it's alright, we had a great time, and Junwon (from Korea) even sang Gangnam Style! Since nobody else knew the words, we mumbled along, sang "HEEEEY SEXY LADY" and attempted the dance.

The next morning was an early one. I believe we were on the mountain by 8am -- luckily the drive wasn't far! There were definitely times during the hike up that I questioned P'Boy's sanity (Boy is the event planner person) and sometimes I wondered if I would make it up the 5km incline with the additional 3km hike to the campsite. But I made it, and oh my gosh it was totally worth it. I actually wish I could go back and do it all again, and I wish that I could go out more now... I miss hiking.

The view where we stopped for lunch.

I'm grateful to the people who carry bags up and down the mountain.

We made it!!

On the mountain there were two rooms for our whole group - a room for the boys, and a room for the girls. It wasn't... comfortable, but it worked. There were thin mattresses lined up on the floor, just with pillows and blankets to show where each "bed" was.

I guess you could say it was our second day on the mountain, but it was kind of our first... ok, not really. Our second day on the mountain was spent riding bicycles. We covered around 21km and were able to see many cliffs with beautiful views of Thailand. It was a great day, and I'm glad I didn't get as sunburned as some...

Our second stop was this pond/lake-thing...

Hunter (USA) and I at the cliff we stopped at for lunch.

We saw the sunset at our last stop for the day....

And that concludes the first day on the mountain - bike riding. The third day was less strenuous, but just as spectacular. We woke up early to walk to see the sunrise from the opposite side of the mountain. It was stunning.

The sunrise on December 30th, 2012 

After breakfast... I don't even know... it was cold...
Dorian (Canada) and Zann (South Africa)

 After the sunrise and breakfast we went hiking. There wasn't any uphill. Well, at least there was no uphill like on our way up the mountain... We stopped at this place that was a bunch of flat rock, or at least that's what it looked like at first. People had built this rock sculpture things, and when asked why, P'Boy said it was for good luck. Thai people believe that when a person dies, their spirit remains back on earth, and it is believed that there are many spirits protecting Phukradeung mountain. So, to keep with the tradition, and for good luck, all of us built a rock statue thing, and signed it when we were finished.

District 3330 Thailand!! :)

It is the tallest one there!

 Throughout the day we stopped at different waterfalls just to enjoy the view and see more of the mountain. For lunch we stopped at this one waterfall that had great boulders and whatnot for us to climb on. It was a lot of fun, and lunch was AWESOME. P'Boy had bought Nutella and bread, so we had Nutella sandwich things for lunch. It was kind of sparse (there wasn't enough bread) but it was so great to have Nutella and being together makes everything great. P'Emma (aka Mom) brought some cheese too, so we all shared that as well.

Where we stopped for lunch!

Not much else happened on the 30th. We finished our hike around 3pm and packed our bags and whatnot for our trip down the mountain on the 31st. Oh, we were tasked with collecting 20kg of trash between the 30th and the 31st, and on the 30th we collected a fair amount.

On the last day of 2012 we hiked back down the mountain. Because we were multitasking by picking up trash on the way down, it took my group four hours to make the 8km hike. However, we weren't going too quickly, so we were able to enjoy each other's company as well as the beautiful landscape that we could see on the way down. At the base of the mountain we had lunch, then Alica, Crystle and I took showers while we waited for P'Boy and Mom to make it down the mountain. After lunch we re-grouped and loaded up our bags into two vans. From there we headed to Kon Kaen. We were in the vans for most of the afternoon, stopping a couple of times for snacks, and arriving at the hotel around 6 or 7pm.

Dinner at MK on the 31st!

We went to MK for dinner, and then to the New Year's celebration at Kon Kaen. The celebration was so much fun! There were over 200,000 people there!! At the beginning of the night I was with Vaula (Finland), Crystle (USA), Alica (Mexico) and Bela (Brazil). After dinner we made our way through the crowds to one of the stages where we struck up a conversation with a security guard. The conversation (which was in Thai) resulted in the five of us being able to go onstage and dance with a random Thai person! It was so amazing, and I was surprised that I had zero stage fright. We just danced and faked knowing the lyrics, it was so much fun! Of course, me being me, I tripped and almost fell on the singer, but he didn't die, and I didn't die of embarrassment, so it was all good.

PROOF!!!

For just about the rest of the night, we were right by the stage. We did break away just after we were onstage and took photos with Iron Man, Captain America, and G.I. Joe -- that was pretty epic too. We also found the AIS booth that was giving away free cotton candy to kids, so what did we do? We crouched down and pretended to be little kids and got free cotton candy. :) We also got the e-mails of three of the guys and the girl who was backstage when we went on. Some friends of ours (Zak, USA and Hector, Mexico) were looking for people when they saw us on the big screen. I dunno, I thought that was kind of cool, especially how Zak described it. They were walking out of the mall talking about how they should find some other people, and BAM they saw us on the big screen. Hehehe. So we all migrated back to the stage (Crystle, Vaula, Alica, Zak, Hector and I -- Bela went with a different group after we danced onstage) for the countdown, and actually, it was kind of a let down until they started the fireworks -- those were pretty cool. 

Fireworks!!

We really wanted to go onstage again, but oh well.

The day after New Year's we woke up at 6am and went to Chokchai farm. Here's another incident where we were running late. The group got a lecture after some issues the night before, so we were about an hour late getting on the road. It wasn't too big of a deal, because once we got to Chokchai we were still able to make ice cream before going back to the tents. Yes, we slept in tents at the farm, however we definitely were not camping. At all. These tents had beds, air conditioners, a mini-fridge thing, and a wardrobe. They even gave us soap and shampoo and BATH ROBES! There were bath robes for every guest. The restrooms and showers were super nice too, and artistic even. They were open to the outside (kind of) and I wish I had a picture because they were so cool! They didn't have a back wall, there were plants. We found out later that it was an enclosed building just made to look like you were in the outdoors.

Sally and Chelsie (USA) before making ice cream.

Ice cream maker-thing!!!

Before dinner we had the opportunity to ride ATVs. It was great, Crystle and I rode together, and "half-way" through we switched and I got to drive. Of course, we weren't half way, and Crystle voiced her thoughts that she should have had more time driving. It was great fun though, and I wish we had been able to go again. Anyway, dinner was phenomenal. There was steak, pork, lamb, kabobs, salad, bread, fruit punch, the works! It was like being on a picnic in the states, and we were all so happy! I now know that Sam (USA) had 7 steaks... I don't know how he was able to eat so much! I guess that's what happens when you're a teenage boy...?

The following morning at the farm we took a short walk before breakfast. I wasn't feeling well, so the walk was a challenge, as was eating, however I managed to take a few photos so that I could enjoy the view later, once I was feeling better.

We took a short walk to this view of the farm.

Cutest breakfast ever!

 It's sad because that's the end of the trip... after a brief tour of Chokchai, we had to load up the vans and head into Bangkok for the southern people to catch their trains.

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this! I've been insanely busy the past couple of weeks, so it's taken me a while to get this post together. Another update should be coming in the next week or so about everything that's happened since the trip. I want to thank all of my friends and family for the support they have given me. It really means alot, and this year has been absolutely amazing.

Learning to Listen

I left you all after I got out of the hospital. Oddly enough, more has happened to me since then! Nothing health wise thankfully, but I have still had an eventful couple of weeks. I'll start with the District Conference the 7th-9th of December.

I thought I was supposed to be staying at he hotel with the other exchange students for the weekend, but my host dad wanted me to stay at home. Since I didn't stay at the hotel, I stayed at my house, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The Friday of the conference was a festival and a show. Because we were told the show was all in Thai and we wouldn't understand it, Crystle (America), Alica (Mexico), Hunter (America) and I went to the festival. We wandered around and talked for a solid two hours. The award for best 40 baht I've ever spent goes to bumper cars -- I don't think I can call it the most fun I've had on exchange, but it's in the top 5 for sure. I also came insanely close to buying a baby rabbit, buuuut I didn't (don't worry mom). Of course, when I go back to America, I'm probably going to get a rabbit. Also at the festival...

I'm kind of proud of myself, even if it was just one of those carnival games

Friday night Alica and Crystle stayed at my host's house with me. Since I didn't want to spend the weekend alone, the Rotarians had pity on us and allowed them to stay. On Saturday night, Eri (Japan) joined us. Saturday morning though, I met the new exchange student from Korea! Junwon is freaking awesome!!!

Junwon (Korea), Eri (Japan), Crystle (America)

Also on Saturday we went to the WWII memorial, to the Thailand - Burma Railway Museum, and to the River Kwai Bridge.

Sing outside museum

The memorial

Bridge

After the District Conference, I had two days off school. I don't know the reason for the four day weekend, but I wasn't complaining, especially because I was so tired after the conference.

Wednesday, the day I was set to go back to school, I actually ended up being two hours late. Rotary was giving meds to some school-age kids in near Thamuang, and they wanted me to be there. At first, I was really resistant to go -- I wanted to go to school to see my friends, and they only told me that I was going there to be in photos. Things like that have happened before, where I go somewhere for Rotary, and it's just to pose in some photos, and then I have to wait around for a couple of hours. This was different. After the kids got their meds, I handed out lollipops. I could tell from the looks on their faces that whatever the drops were that they got, the drops tasted horrible, hence the lollipops. Also, who doesn't like lollipops? The first school we were at didn't have uniforms, which actually didn't surprise me. In the room where they got their meds, there were some metal tables with matching benches, and it was just really clear that this was a part of Thailand that most people never see. When I say most people, I just mean that tourists never really see that, and it was eye-opening, particularly the second school that we stopped at.

Most of the students at the second school were from Myanmar, as I guessed and my host confirmed for me when she said "Myanmar people." Don't get me wrong, she did not say "Myanmar people" in a derogatory way, just as someone would who is stating a fact. This school was almost the exact opposite of the one that I have been attending for the past four months. There was one large room, equipped with two chalkboards, and short desks. Desks, but no chairs. All of the students sat on the floor cross-legged, divided in to two groups (by age or by where they were academically). These kids also got the nasty tasting medicine - they came out of the school in lines so that things went quicker.

The last boy to get his meds... my first thought was why is he kneeling? It took me a moment to register, and I didn't really start processing until a couple of days ago when I Skyped my parents and told them about what I had experienced. The boy wasn't kneeling. He didn't have legs from about the knee down.  He wasn't born handicapped either, I would say he was in some sort of accident, but I don't know for sure because I couldn't ask, and I don't think I could handle the story anyway. There was exposed bone where his legs had been broken. It was clear that whatever happened didn't happen recently, and it still breaks my heart. The boy was about ten years old, and I can still see the look on his face - not a look that boys who are ten should have. I have to say though, I admire the boy who walks with his hands. He has a strength and a determination about him, as well as being wise beyond his years. I really wish that I had been able to speak with him, or at least listen.

That's one thing I've found that I've learned since living here. I don't know if I learned this in the past couple of weeks, or if it's been a gradual thing over the past four months. Listen.

An Adventure

My apologies, I had every intention of writing this last week, but as I'll discuss later, there were some... complications. Let me back up and just start at the beginning...

Thursday, November 29th, I got home from school and was killing time on my laptop until dinner like I do every day. I knew that Friday I was going to Chiang Mai with a family friend (I think that's how they know my family... I have no idea though). Anyway, I knew that we were leaving for Chiang Mai at 3am, so I thought I had quite a bit of time. Well, not so much. My host mom came home from work and told me that I was leaving in ten minutes and asked me where my bag was. I freaked out, ran upstairs, and I can tell you that I've never packed so quickly in my life. It is also clear that my host mom had never seen anyone pack so fast, which was comical.

At 4am I found myself on a tour bus heading for northern Thailand. About fifteen minutes into the journey, I was asleep again, and I am grateful for my ability to sleep just about anywhere. Luckily the buses were quite comfortable with adjustable headrests and leg room and everything - nothing like the bus that we took to Phuket in October.

The tour buses actually were really nice, had a TV and everything 

6:30 in the morning, we stopped at a 7 Eleven for snacks and to walk around a little.
I'm not a morning person.

For ages the landscape was super flat, and then it WASN'T!

The back of tour bus 1

We stopped several times along the way for breaks at whatnot which I was thankful for because otherwise I would have gone insane. They didn't start the videos until after we had slept for AGES and people finally started waking up. They played this concert DVD, and the guy looked exactly like Danisnotonfire.

Ok, not exactly, but who cares.

Anyway, for lunch we went to this restaurant...

Ok, the seating was to the right of this, but this was the pretty part and there weren't a ton of people

The food was awesome. And the restrooms had toilet paper, so I was especially happy. Ooooh, and I had iced Ovaltine, and that always makes me happy (there was a little coffee shop too!!).

So after what felt like ages in the bus (and it totally was ages in the bus) we stopped at a temple. It was evening, we'd been traveling all day, all I wanted was to get to the hotel, and we stopped at a temple. It wasn't all bad though, it was a beautiful temple, and the pagoda behind it was beautiful as well. The view was gorgeous too, as the temple was on a hill. 

The inside of the temple. The mural blew me away.

Monk with an iPhone. I love how monks are supposed to be removed from technology
and I see so many of them with iPhones and computer cases...

With my photography shkills you can't see that there's construction next to the pagoda, muahahaha

So this was over the door that looked to the view in the next photo

This door was cool, and it's awesome that you can't see the stairs

There was a dinosaur on either side of the stairs up to the temple -- WHAT?!

The mountain looks about twice as far away as it actually is

And that concludes day one - travel. It was a good day, I slept a lot, and was grateful to get to the hotel in Chiang Rai. Did we sleep right away? NOPE! My host's friend (I cannot for the life of me remember her name) her sister, and a woman I had never met before, and I all were in the same room. That night, we went shopping. All four of us. We walked to a night market, and spent about an hour walking around and checking out what different people were selling. I was happy to get back to the room and sleep (that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy myself).

Saturday was another early morning, but not nearly as early as Friday had been. We woke up around 6am, and breakfast was at 8am. And then the adventure began! Ok, Saturday's adventure began. The whole trip was an adventure, as was the week after the trip. Anyway, instead of taking the bus, we took a mini-bus (basically a van that seats 14 people) and we went to Doi Tung Garden. It was "early" so it wasn't hot out yet, and we were in the north, so it was cooler anyway. Oh my gosh the garden was absolutely stunning. My photos don't really do it justice. It took us about an hour or so to get there, and we had to go slow because so much of it was uphill - the garden was at the top of a mountain. The garden was beautiful, the view was stunning, it was a great way to start the day.

This sign was really pretty. There were flowers too, but I didn't get a shot of those.

So Snapdragons are my favorite flowers, and this garden had TONS of them. When I was little my mom and I planted a Snapdragon in the front yard of our house. They're supposed to be annuals, meaning you plant a new plant every year, but these Snapdragons just kept coming back. These pink Snapdragons we passed are my favorite color too.

I just love these

walking to the garden

The first time you see the garden...

So I have way too many photos of the garden to put on my blog, so the rest are on my Facebook in the album titled Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Loy Krathong if you want to check them out.

After the garden we went for lunch and then went a walking street. I didn't know at first, but we were as far north as you can go without crossing into Burma. The walking street was great, but there were lots of people and the air was really still so it was HOT.

The not-spicy part of the meal. Pork. 

No smoking sign. I dunno, I thought it was creative.

The walking street. Of course, cars and trucks drove through too...

 I saw some very interesting food items on the walking street. There were lots of people selling dried fruits and nuts and whatnot, but there was this shop that was more permanent and had an interesting collection. For starters, they had double stuff Oreos and Ritz crackers (YES) but they also had quite a few almond choices. Almonds, not weird. Almonds and anchovies... uhhh, that's weird right?

"Almonds & Anchovy" WHAT?!

 And these knock-off cookies make me happy. I saw these... the label is the same, I bet they even taste the same, but these ARE NOT Oreos. These are Okes. Don't confuse them. Haha, but now, I didn't buy any, the name just made me laugh. Even the cookie design is almost exactly the same as Oreos. At first when I saw these I almost did the happy dance because I thought they were Oreos, but then I saw that they were fake...

NOT OREOS!!!!

 That's right, 200 meters from the border.

But this is kind of cool, proof of how close to the border I was.

And that was Saturday. As we were on our way back to the hotel, I saw this and I had to take a photo. Ok, I actually took about ten photos of these sunbeams, but this one looks the nicest, so this is the one that's in my blog. Saturday evening beautifulness.

And then the beautiful sunset...

So like Friday night, we went to a night market after dinner. Of course, we didn't go back to the same market we had gone to the night before. We played how many people can you fit in the tuk-tuk and we went to a market that was further away. It was great, there were some neat shops, people selling cool art, dancing, and then there was these guys... not only do these dogs move, but they bark and their eyes glow and they have motion sensors and they're scary.

WHAT IS THIS TOY?!

This is cool though, this is everyone dancing :)

I feel like I really should be putting fewer photos on here, but I had such a great trip I wanna be able to show more of it... from now on though I'm gonna just put one or two photos from each place. Besides, it's getting kind of late and I need to go quickly so that I get a decent about of sleep tonight.

Sunday was another great day. We headed from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai, and on our way we stopped at the White Temple. It was absolutely beautiful, and also kind of freaky. The paintings on the inside were exquisite, and also made me laugh. In the design were characters from Avatar, Kung Fu Panda, Star Wars, Shrek, and so many others. Actually, while I was there, an artist was working on one of the walls. Photos of the inside of the temple aren't allowed (sadly) but I got plenty of photos outside and of the surrounding area. Just past the temple there were these things that looked like "trees" but were actually stands that peoples prayers were hanging from. People write their prayers on a piece of aluminum and then hang them from these tree things. It was actually really beautiful.

The restrooms at the temple made me laugh, and I actually have multiple photos of the building. It was gold. COMPLETELY gold, and the artwork was so pretty! I didn't want to laugh, because I was trying not to be rude, but it was SO difficult!

The White Temple

They're prayers for family and friends.

The toilets. Beautiful, right?

We drove through the country all day, and it was absolutely gorgeous. My host country is amazing. I spent hours listening to One Direction, and I took at least two naps on the way. For lunch we stopped at a hot springs. We didn't actually have enough time to enjoy the hot springs, but it was cool to see it. The sunset was spectacular. I don't usually get to see the sunsets here because my window faces the opposite direction, but in the bus, I lucked out and got to see the sunsets all four nights. This one was particularly colorful.

I can't not show this. It looks like a painting.

We stayed Sunday night and Monday night at Pornping tower in Chiang Mai. The first thing I noticed driving through downtown was the Starbucks, and I wish that I had been able to stop the bus and get a coffee, but no such luck. One of my really good friends lives in Chiang Mai, and I was sad that I didn't get to see him while I was in the north, but maybe another time I can visit him.

This was in the lobby of my hotel.

Monday we had to wake up SUPER early. We took a mini-bus to the highest point in Thailand and watched the sunrise. It was stunning. And freezing cold. Ok, for everyone back home, probably not that cold at all, but I'm getting used to the hot and humid weather, so I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. But it was so worth it to see the sun come up, and to be able to experience that. The group I was with was great -- a group of women that goes on a tour every year. I don't know if they always go to the north, or if they mix it up a bit, but this trip was absolutely amazing. I met some more fantastic people, ate great food, and got to see a part of Thailand that I didn't really know existed.

Sunrise

WHOOT!!

I wanted a parka.

 After the sunrise, we went to the Holy Relics Pagodas. Also on the mountain, these were further down, and also made the trip worth it. They were awesome, and the gardens around them were beautiful as well. I believe I saw a 2,000 year old rhododendron while I was there (that's what I was told) but I'm not posting a photo of it here. The color was great though, it was a bright red-pink color.

One of the pagodas

The other pagoda

After the pagodas we went to this really small mountain town. And I say really small town, I mean there wasn't even a 7 Eleven. You know a town is small when there's not a 7 Eleven there. But the people were really nice, and the view was incredible. We weren't there for too long, but we did buy strawberries. Oh my gosh the strawberries were SO delicious! I wish I was able to send some back home, but I can't. Really though, if you ever go to northern Thailand, buy the strawberries.

I love this photo

Building!

Post strawberries and lunch we did another temple run. I have been to so many temples now!

It's funny, I had forgotten that I took this photo of the Starbucks. Major glare from the window, but whatever.

One last thing from the north....

PANCAKES WITH MAPLE SYRUP

But that's not all folks! No, the day after I got back, I spent the day in Burma (Myanmar). That was quite the experience. Just getting there was an adventure. I never thought I would be smuggled in and out of Thailand with two Thais and a Mexican, but last Wednesday, just that happened. It was really great, we drove on this dirt road for what felt like hours and then arrived at this little temple. Hector and I just chilled for a couple of hours and then we drove back and were smuggled out of Burma. Well, me not really, my visa has been renewed, his not so much. But anyway, there were no problems, and it was a fun day.

The temple

The kitten that was freaking ADORABLE

I don't know the language they speak in Myanmar, but this is what the writing looks like

What's great is that they "weren't posing"

Someone's a genius. They did get him out though.

Random buffalo

I'm almost done, I promise. Wednesday night was Loy Krathong, and that was pretty cool. I have to say I was kind of disappointed because my host family didn't really do anything. I was looking forward to sending off one of the lights and stuff, but we just sat at a table, they ate some, and then we left. It was kind of confusing really. But now I know that I have to come back to Thailand, and when I do I have to go to Loy Krathong.

lantern

Other people sending off a lantern

I don't have photos of the last thing I get to talk about. Thursday I didn't go to school because I was really tired and I needed to recover from a busy weekend and busy start of the week. Well, Thursday night I became ill and I spent my Friday in bed. I didn't really realize how sick I was until my host mom took me to the hospital on Saturday morning and I didn't just get a bunch of pills and sent on my way. I was so dehydrated that when they took my blood pressure, the blood pressure cuff left purple lines on my arms where it creased. Well, I got hooked up to an IV and that's where I stayed all weekend. Not enjoyable, especially when the alternative would have been shopping in Bangkok with my friends if I hadn't been ill. I watched lots of Law & Order, Murdoch, Whitney, and House. Yes, I know that House is not a good idea to watch while you're in a hospital, but that was the only thing that was in English. Sunday I did manage to find winter sports (in English) and music videos (in English and some K-Pop). I came home Monday evening and Sasha (from South Africa) spent the night. And now it's night on Tuesday and I'm TIRED. So I'm going to bed, sweet dreams everyone, and I'll blog again once something interesting happens.

That's it for my adventure. I hope on going on another one soon, minus the getting seriously ill part.