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.