Christmas was pretty uneventful, apart from getting sick for a few days (had to have my parents bring good old fashioned dayquil and nyquil out for me! Nothing beats American meds...) That week at school we were getting ready for the absolute final Dream School Presentation which was to take place on Tuesday the 29th. So we only had morning classes and students weren't quite in an academic mindset. For this reason, and also just holiday cheer, I did a Christmas lesson with all of my classes that week. I think they enjoyed it and I had a blast planning it. We had some holiday flashcards, some songs to listen to and fill in the words, and I downloaded Frosty the Snowman and other movies on my computer for the students to watch - sometimes they were a hit and then other times they weren't but that's how it goes! Christmas night I took the overnight bus to Bangkok to wait for my family (!!!) to arrive in Bangkok on Sunday. That meant I had two days to myself to travel and it was awesome. I stayed at this little hostel on one of the main roads, right next to a train stop, and met some great people. Lots of others' like me who were teachings and traveling for the holidays or people just traveling alone around Thailand. I hung out with these poeple for a couple days - went to Chinatown with them (most crowded place I've ever been including actual China....There were semi trucks and hundreds of people in the same alley that was maybe 9 ft wide. Oh. and it was raining!). The girls I met up with went out dancing one night to this small little club close to where we were staying. I got my haircut!! It was a little nervewracking to say the least as I've had long hair for a long time and I decided to chop it off seeing as the hot season is coming up soon. However, a liiiiitle more than I was expected got chopped off but I'm getting used to it.
Family picture at NYE dinner and short hair! What do you think?
Happy New Year, 2010 haha. One of my favorite pictures for sure
Sunday night, my family finally arrived and it was wonderful. :). They ran into every possible problem getting here, including expired passports, and were delayed getting into Bangkok so they didn't make it in until 3 am or so. But I was ready and waiting at the hotel. I was watching TV - something that I don't get to do here. We spent 5 days in Bangkok and then flew up to Nakhon Phanom and they got to see where I live and work for 4 days, even managing to come to school with me on Monday the 4th!
The week in Bangkok was great, exactly what I needed after spending the last three months or so in smalltown NKP. We went shopping in the biggest malls I've ever seen. They're absolutely huge. There is one called Central World which apparently revamped itself over the past few years and is a megamonster of a mall. And there are others all around it. We went to Khao San road, which is a backpackers paradise - it's been named the gateway to southeast Asia (I'm definitely going back!). We took some river boat rides and I got to amaze my family at my Thai abilities :). Okay, not really but it was fun to use the little Thai that I know in the city. We also checked out the nightlife in Bangkok which is incredible. They've got crazy clubs and disco bars and decorations all over the place. As it was the holidays, there were more than usual. I walked through "Soi Cowboy" where all the go-go bars are, as well as Nana - one of the smaller red light districts. Tried to stay away from there as it's sad (from a Western standpoint, I suppose) and is crawling with creepy foreigners though it's accepted here as a way of life. I've been told a lot of the prostitutes in Bangkok come from Isaan as this region is so poor and it's one of the best ways to make money and send it back home. There are a lot of different takes on the prostitution industry here and it's very open and talked about - other volunteers have met former prostitutes and they aren't shy about their former profession. It's interesting, a little sad, and completely different than how we view it in the US.
Just one small part of CentralWorld Mall - Each bell had a flag on it...pretty cool display, hard to capture in a picture.
Kelly making us take strange pictures in public...this one turned out well tho!
Yep, more strange pictures in public...also in CentralWorld. Sitting in Santa's Sleigh!
New Years Eve was an event - almost all of the other volunteers were in the city as well and so we (and my sister!) all met up at my hotel and then went to RCA - Royal City Avenue. It's basically a street of bars and clubs that draw more of a Thai crowd than a Western crowd. Though more and more, it's becoming a tourist destination. We got there and it was this massive street party - 500 baht to get in (15 dollars) and you got drink tickets. We made sure there was hip hop and went on in! It was packed and loud and absolutely crazy. There were mostly Thai's but there were some foreigners and as we're in a group of 9 or 10 people, we tend to draw attention or at least questions from other foriegners as to what we are doing here. It was a great night, ending in the weeee hours of the morning.
Big laying down Buddha at Wat Po - its something like 40 feet tall I think, pretty impressive
All the traffic in Bangkok! For that reason, best way to get around is moto taxi - but hang on cause it's a crazy ride.
Us Volunteers out in Khao San road
Friday brought us to NKP in which we took a small flight from Bangkok (up until about a month ago, the planes had been shut down and they were just reopened). It was only about an hour and a half but it was quite small and there was no a/c and many crying babies. But we made it and we checked into the hotel and I showed my family my town :). We went to the night market and got all sorts of food for them to try - veitnamese spring roll things, meat on a stick, pork things, salads, grilled corn, coconut desserts, loots of fruit. It was a feast by my standards, though I think my dad was missing his big american style meals...
Our night market meal! mmm sooo good.
We did a lot of walking around, wandering to the different markets and also going to the river. We got to have dinner with a teacher and her husband one of the nights and I showed them where I lived during the month of orientation. They got to see the cows and absolutely obnoxious chickens that live around here. Monday, they were able to experience a day of school with me and it was chaos. We weren't sure if we had classes that day and so teachers and students alike were confused. Some students showed up when teachers didn't and teachers showed up when students didn't. But it was expected and I'm glad my family got a taste of the craziness that can be a school day here! After it was determined that classes were over, two teachers took us out to lunch and then to a 'secret wat' along the Mekong. It was a great last day but also very sad. They left at 6:30 Monday afternoon and it was far too soon. I put them on the overnight bus to Bangkok (flight only operates on Thurs, Fri, and Sun) and went back to life as a volunteer. It was an amazing couple weeks and I can't wait to travel again. The school year ends the last week in February, so I'm planning some trips for the 'summer break' for sure. I've got about two months if anyone wants to come out to Southeast Asia! ha.
At Wat Po - giving money to the Monks - they get up at 3 or 4 am to walk around town and collect food for the day. They don't take money, I don't think. And these donations (half a baht each) helps to keep up the temple.
Playing Foozeball in one of the bars!
The super crowded club on New Years. It was a huge place too, and just one of many dance floors!
Aand of course, one last family picture. Miss you guys!!!!
The week we got back to school was color sports week - basically intramurals. I've got lots of pictures and info on that I'll post later.
So take care and enjoy the pictures! More in a few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment