A few months ago, in preparation and anticipation of my future backpacking excursions, I became a member of couchsurfing.org. Had my location verified, and had my first "surfer" mid-April. Her name was Tasha, American(from Florida), and had been living in Australia for two years, and was on her way back home, Thailand being the last stop on her journey before going stateside. I showed her which buses to take to get to and from my place, and then she headed to Kanchanaburi for a night before returning to my place. Efrain arrived the night before Easter Sunday(two days after Tasha "moved in"), so I picked him up at the airport super late, and after dealing with the frustrating taxis, we finally got back to my place. Tasha was waiting for us, and intros were made before passing out exhausted. Sunday morning Efrain and Katie and I went to Chatuchak Market, where aside from browsing all the cool stuff, we had some DELICIOUS kebabs. Omg. Delicious. Sunday evening service was great, and Monday night we headed to The Saxophone, a jazz club in Bangkok near Victory Monument. Every Monday night, Koh Sax Man comes and plays from 12-1:30am, so we stayed and listened to him perform and WOW. Take a look(wait for it..there are a few solos):
Tasha left Tuesday morning to finish exploring Bangkok before flying home early Wednesday morning. I was sad to see her go, but wished her well and a safe trip home.
Last week welcomed Songkran - Thai New Year and the annual water festival. And this is not your average festival; they close down major streets in Bangkok and MILLIONS of people flood the streets with water guns, hoses, water bottles, buckets, barrels, and paste. (Paste? Yes. White-ish paste mixed with water to make a sort of mud that they smear all over any face they can get their hands on.) For the first two days I stayed in, too afraid to brave the city, but on Friday, I, Tolu and Angela decided we should just get it over with and headed to Silom(I was the only one of us "prepared", in a swimsuit, tank and shorts). We exited our taxi around the corner from the main road and didn't make it 5 steps before getting my face smeared with white mud.
We quickly armed ourselves with water guns, and made our way around the corner. Little did we know what was in store for us. It was like nothing I've ever seen before; sidewalk to sidewalk PACKED with people, mostly Thais, soaking wet, covered in paste, and having a great time.
Did I have a great time? Remember how I mentioned that it was mostly Thais out there? I think it goes without saying that I was an easy, and obvious, target. Every 30 feet I'd hear someone shout, "FARANG!!", and suddenly the crowd would part and I'd get hit from all sides. I tried to fight back at first, but eventually found that it was over sooner if I just stood there and took it, blinded and freezing from ice water and paste, until they'd emptied their weapons and allowed me to continue on down the street. And of course, in true Thai spirit and friendliness, they'd do it all with a big smile on their face, and some of them even shouted "sorry!" afterwards. Sorry, indeed.
Did I also mention that the fire department joins in on the fun? Apparently there are no fires during Songkran. We finally escaped the madness by cutting through a side street, and hopped a tuk-tuk over to Lumphini for dinner on the street and a swim in the pool at Angela's place(to rinse some of the crud off).
A good time was had by all, but I think I may leave Thailand for Songkran next year.
As you may or may not know, depending on your facebook usage, my apt was invaded by termites last week. That paired with my lack of a reachable landlord, my approaching trip home next month, and two friends arriving in the next three weeks(not to mention my current lease also coming to an end), I met with David's wife Muay on Friday, we got ice cream and talked it over, and she suggested I look at a new apt. I agreed, so we fetched the key to the vacant condo across the hall from them and I checked it out: While I wasn't a big fan of the fact that this apt was smaller than my current one, or that there was less storage space for all my junk, I did like that nothing was built-in(and no termites), there was a working tv, the bed's mattress was softer, and there was a sink on the balcony for me to wash my dishes. I contemplated for about 5 minutes, decided I'd probably need to move one way or another, and within 2 hours had met with my new landlord, signed the lease, paid my deposit and first month's rent, and received the keys to my new home. First order of business - rearrange the furniture so there would be room for my couch: After a delicious dinner with Muay and David(who was *thrilled* to find out we were going to be neighbors), I went home and packed up my apt. Saturday was filled with countless trips back and forth between the two buildings for about 6 hours, and carefully putting everything in its place. David and my new coworker Jonathan helped me move the larger furniture and heavy appliances with David's truck, and I was beyond grateful. My internet should be moved over today, hopefully, and then my new place will be complete!
I am now on the 4th floor of Building B; check my facebook info page for my new apt #, as that page is private and this one isn't. :)
Summer school began last week, with the theme being "Around The World in 80 Days"...except that we only have 20 days of summer school. Last week we focused on maps, countries and capitals, directions, languages, and flags. This week is all about weather, climate, housing, and clothing. We discussed the different seasons, and how the USA and Australia both have 4 seasons, but they're flip-flopped because they're in different hemispheres, and how Thailand only has 3 seasons(summer, winter, and monsoon). We also talked about different building materials, and why some places need more durable houses than others, and the kids had to design a house that could withstand a hurricane. Today we introduced clothing in relation to season and location, and each child had a different take on it:
