Tuesday
I woke up not feeling good at all. My stomach hurt and so I
just had a tiny bit of rice for breakfast. Che kept telling me to eat more
because we were going to the movies and we weren’t going to eat again until
2:30. But honestly I thought I was going to barf. We piled in some very hot
trucks and drove into the city (which definitely did not make me feel any
better). Walking into the mall where the movie theater is at was like walking
into heaven. It was air conditioned and I couldn’t have been happier (well
maybe if I wasn’t about to keel over…but let’s not be picky). We got some
popcorn and Coke (quick side note: here they sell caramel corn instead of
regular popcorn and it’s great!). I didn’t eat/drink a lot but the little snack
was ok. I was excited when the movie started because all of the trailers were
in English with Thai subtitles. But then as soon as The Avengers started
playing it was 100% Thai with zero subtitles. So that was a bummer, but the
kids really enjoyed it and it’s a super hero movie, we all know the plot. I
would like to see it again in English though.
After the movie we went to get some lunch. But it was so hot
and I felt awful. Everyone was so nice and was trying to order something for
me, but I really just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Someone even
ordered me a shrimp dish (and if you know me well, you can guess that made me
want to really…umm…you know, puke my guts out).
But the kids enjoyed it. They also ordered me some juice to make me feel
better. It tasted like grass. Not my best day. Mai pen rai.
We went to the plant market and I really wish I would have
brought my camera. There were some gorgeous plants (as well as some really cool
lizards running everywhere) and the kids were so excited to pick out their own
flowers and plants. But it was so hot and I was so sick, I could only enjoy it
so much. I remember thinking to myself, “what are these people going to do when
this farang just keels over and dies?”.
But then small relief. As we were waiting for our taxi to come
pick us up, a huge storm rolled in. It went from scorching heat to monsoon in a
matter of seconds. The only way I can describe it is it was like someone
sprayed me with a fire hose. I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and the force
pushed us all against a truck. It was an amazing display of nature’s power. And
the cold rain was such a relief to my overheated body. I quite enjoyed it :) But as we were driving back to the farm,
we saw lots of broken signs and toppled power lines. There was even a tree on
top of a car with a man inside! I can see why many Thai do not like the rain.
When it rains, it really rains.
Back at the farm I just skipped dinner. I could not even
think about eating. So I just set up my mosquito net and burrowed in for the
night. Well until I was about to turn off the light… I thought there was a
mouse in my room, scurrying around. So when I went to get a closer look I
realized it was a monster spider! Freak. Not what I want to see when I already
feel like death. So I just told myself it was do or die, and I took care of it
(pictures on facebook).
Wednesday
Whatever was bothering my body on Tuesday finally wore off,
and after going 24 hours with little to eat, I woke up starving. My appetite
came back with a vengeance. As I got up for breakfast I told myself, “come what
may, I am going to eat whatever is served today”. It’s a good thing I had that
little pep-talk. Just picture my face when I looked into my bowl and saw a soup
mixture with a big ol’ fish fin sticking out of it. But with my stubborn ways,
I sat down convinced I was going to eat every bite. As soon as I took that
first bite (which I have come to realize is the hardest to take) I realized
that it was actually really good. Maybe I was starving? But I really would eat
that again. It was kind of spicy, but the fish was so delicious. Who knew? I’m
glad I didn’t wimp out and stick with just white rice again.
It was the kids’ first day of school and so everyone was
very excited and sporting their new uniforms. It was fun riding in the back of
the truck with them as we took them to school. I taught the kids a handshake a
while ago and it was pretty cool to see them teaching it to the other
students. Back at the farm I taught
English to the teachers and had fun swinging on the giant rope swing. I also
went to the market nearby, and what a market! It was just a food market, but I
saw so many things! I will have to go back and take pictures. As I was passing
by the fish section, a fish totally jumped out of its bucket and started
wiggling around. It made some good distance (where it was going no one knows)
but it caused a huge commotion and it was pretty funny to watch.
We had a big bbq as a goodbye party for Lisa, Malin, and Oh.
There is nothing I love more back home than a straight up American bbq, but
seriously the traditional Thai barbeque blew my mind. It was so amazing. The
chicken and pork were so good, and cooked right over the fire with all these
herbs and spices. My taste buds didn’t even know what to do with themselves.
One minor incident occurred when I took a bite of some undercooked chicken. I
only swallowed a little…I don’t know how long it takes for symptoms of food
poisoning/salmonella to kick in, but so far I am in the clear (knock on wood).
It was really hard watching the children saying goodbye to
Lisa and Malin. I am going to miss them both so much. They have taught me a lot
in the short time I have known them and I am sad to see them go. I hope I am
able to at least accomplish a fraction of all the tremendous work they have
done at the Children’s Shelter Foundation in the last 8 months.
Thursday
Today was pretty relaxed. I have been just been eating fruit
all day. So many mangoes, so many delicious mangoes. Right off the tree…oh man.
Heaven. And then there’s all these new fruits that I have never heard of. I
just love it. Fruit is good anytime, anywhere!
I was teaching a class today and Che called us all over to
the guest house to see some sort of creature. Its head looked like a snake but its
body looked like a worm. It was black with yellow stripes (sorry for all the
details, I didn’t have my camera). They didn’t know what it was, but in the
jungle you assume everything unknown to be dangerous. We called the farmers who
were working and they came and disposed of it (a good whack job with a stick
does the trick). They told us it was some sort of leech thing that slithers
around like a snake. Awesome. Haha! Oh the jungle :)
I made my own way to the city today, which consisted of me
catching a yellow truck, which was very full of people. I have never seen that
many people in one vehicle. It was so fun to experience that. And really, that
is for real, no sarcasm. Everyone on the truck was super nice, they were all
holding on to me just in case we hit a bump :) Some (and so were people driving
by) were taking pictures of this random farang sitting on the back of the
truck, so I was waving and smiling for them. Haha, if only that happened in the
States :)
Tomorrow I am going to check out that school I am supposed
to be teaching at, so we’ll see how that goes. And this weekend should be fun;
I hear there are water buffalo in store :) So stay tuned for future adventures!
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