Hoofta- where to begin.
Friday: we taught eighth grade again for the first time
since Tuesday. We were observed by Denny the last hour of the day, and then
discussed our lesson afterwards. The kids were very excited about him being
there and attacked us with cameras and hugs and stuff afterwards- it was a bit
much. Ari and I didn’t want to do at first, but we’ll have to do something
about setting boundaries for that particular class.
After class, we went out on the town on our own. We walked
from store to store and talked about life. The constant American English
chatter was wonderful, mostly because the listening/paying attention level was
lowered for the time being. We began to sweat a ton, and so walking the streets
became not so much fun. We then took the public car (which is 10 baht… suuuper
cheap) to some shops a few miles away. We found a suuper cute high end
glasses/sunglasses store and spent a good hour or so looking/trying on glasses.
We then vowed to return when we had the chance/ I had my glasses with. We then
walked to the mall and wandered around comparing/complaining about the prices
of items in the store compared to what they sell in the markets- there is an
unbelievable difference between the two. Around 5:30, we got several calls from
Arunrat and Sirilak asking where we were because the publc cars only go until
six, and therefore, we didn’t have a ride home… Arunrat ended up picking us up
with Auntie and her friend from Hong Kong. We went out to eat at some restraint
where they ordered a bunch of things we didn’t know existed and forced us to
try them all.
Once we were done, we hopped back into the car and headed
back to my house- Ari spent the weekend with us. Ari and I literally collapsed
as soon as our heads hit the pillows and were out by about nine thirty.. we
went nuts on our Friday here in Thailand.
Saturday morning we woke up quite early and headed out to
the Red Lotus Sea, which is a large lake covered in lily pads with red/pink
lotus flowers everywhere. They only bloom in the morning for about two hours,
so you have to be there during that time. Your group takes a boat and a tour
guide/driver joins you for the ride. It was unbelievable. Not only was it a hot
sunny day, but the flowers were gorgeous. Afterwards, Ari and I wandered around
the little market place next to the lake. I bought a traditional Thai skirt to
wear to school, and both Ari and I decided once I have my own classroom, I’ll
just be the teacher with the cool, kinda “out there” Thai skirt. It’ll be
great. For lunch, we had Vietnamese. Ari and I ate some sort of pork with
Arunrat, Auntie, and their friend from Hong Kong. We also had spring rolls that
were quite tasty! We then headed back to
the house for “naptime” before going out for the night. We must still be
suffering from some Thai sleeping disease or jetlag, because Ari and I slept
for about two hours Saturday afternoon… After getting about ten hours of sleep
the night before- we decided that wasn’t okay! Once nap time was done, we went
to UD Town and some parts of walking street to window shop- some of the things
you can find are ridiculously cheap- shoes for three or four dollars each, my
friends! Also, I almost got Ari to buy a pair of Crocs, so I must be rubbing
off on her!
At about nine thirty Saturday night, Arunrat took us out to
a bar. So yes, we went out for the first time in Thailand with three 50
something year old women, one of which didn’t even speak English. And did we
drink, you ask? No, we had sprite… So Ari and I sat for about two hours
drinking sprite, watching the band without understanding what they were saying,
and semi-attempted to have a conversation between the two of us. It was,
however, very noisy, so very little actual conversation went on. Dancing,
however, was hilarious to watch. In Thai bars, apparently, people do not simply
go to the dance floor or by the stage to dance.. Oh no no. If you like the
music/want to dance, you stand up, push in your chair, and dance right next to
your table. The awkward level is quite high, as people around you are still
sitting and just stare at you, especially if you look differently than them.
Auntie took us home at around midnight, but Arunrat stayed out with friends
until two… whatta party animal.
Sunday morning, we were up bright and early again, as we had
a wedding to go to. What an experience that was. Thai weddings could not be
further from an American wedding. Not only was there really not a ceremony, but
there really wasn’t structure at all. For example, a lady narrated the whole
thing and people came and went as they pleased. Ari and I went out into the
sunshine for a while because it was freezing inside the building. Also, the
outfits that EVERYONE wears are super elaborate. Every single person that
attends the wedding dresses up in fine silk (they all look like the mother of
the bride/groom). Fun fact as well: only the relatives get to eat the huge cake
that could feed a town.. Ari and I actually were forced to participate in the
ceremony and brought a flower thing down the aisle. That was interesting as
well, considering we didn’t even know who the bride and groom were. Apparently,
everyone is invited when it comes to a wedding; it doesn’t matter if you know
them or not. The food was very elaborate as well, but not my cup of tea.
After the wedding (we left at noon…), Arunrat’s sister took
us back to the mall that we went to on Friday- that was nice, and we finally
got to take the public car home, which I thought was fun in its own tourist
way. It’s not that exciting, obviously, for Thai people, as Arunrat laughs at
me when I get excited about it.
Ari and I made Mac N Cheese for dinner and made Arunrat try
it- she actually liked it!
Also, one of the dogs must not like us, because he peed on
my pillow and towel… but Ari touched them last- I think he doesn’t like her!
Ari started crying from laughing so hard- we are causing quite a corruption
here in Udon Thani.
On Mondays, we don’t teach until the afternoon, so we are
visiting Auntie’s school in the morning- I’ll let you know how that goes!
Xoxo Kenzkeg
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