Mr. Postman

One of, if not THE most upsetting feeling ever is waiting for letters and not getting any. I've never been the person to check the mailbox every time I come home, or the kind of person who checks the stack of mail on the table to see if there is anything for me. I don't even check the mailbox or the table while I'm in Thailand [though I have a better chance of recieving something that isn't a bank statement]. People have told me they sent me letters and that there are packages on their way, but I don't sit in anticipation waiting for them to arrive on my doorstep. However, when I pull up on my friend's motorbike the same time the postman does I can't help but get excited as he pulls out envelopes and pops them into the mailbox. I shriek. Like a little girl who has just seen a mouse. Of course when I go over they aren't for me. Not one. Even more upsetting than that is coming home to see a big parcel on the table along with letters. I kick my shoes off, throw open the door and literally run over to see that they are addressed to my host parents, from my host sister. None for Emma. I swear the postman hates me and relishes in teasing me with notes, letters and parcels, none of which are for me. Today however, I was minding my own business [walking around the room with my electric fly swatter, looking for the misquitos that had just finished sucking my blood dry] when I heard a motorbike pull up outside. Sing was picking me up to go to yoga so I grabbed my backpack and my key and walked to the door when I saw a young man walking through my garage. It was the postman. And in his hand was the most glorious thing I have seen since Jeanne's postcard... a small parcel that could only be the pictures Mom had promised. I couldn't stop grinning as I signed for the package, answered the same questions I hear every day [Where are you from? Have you eaten yet? What is your name? How old are you? Can I have your email? (No you cannot) How about your phone number? (You can't have that either)] and thanked the postman with the biggest smile and wave I have given in a long time. Pictures. Magical pictures of my cats and my dog, my family and my friends.

I had finally recieved something; life in Canada DOES exist.

"If the world were to blow up I wouldn't be scared, I would be going with all my favourite people"

The Ties that Bind

After being away from my family and friends for nearly five weeks I have come to the safe conclusion that the vast sum of any emotion can bring a person to tears. More importantly, any strong emotion will bring Yours Truly to tears. I have felt angry, sad, homesick, happy, welcome, spiritual and calm; at each peak I have opened the water works and let them pour. On the other hand, a colossal feeling of some emotions can only shock you to your inner core and though you know you should be crying, and that your mind and body want you to, it’s virtually impossible to shed a single tear. Today was such a case. Never in my existence have I been to a party more spectacular than the Welcoming party Piyamaharachalia School threw for me today. It was magnificent in every aspect.

None of the holidays, birthday parties, goodbye parties, anniversaries or baby showers can compare to this event. Not to say that all those parties weren’t wonderful, but my welcoming party today was a mixture of the things I love and believe in the most. Peace and Love and Happiness. I wish I could have invited all my friends and family just to watch the celebration; it was like no other and yet it felt so normal for me. There were tables piled with all my favourite Thai foods: Khao Niao, Moong Satay, Dragonfruit, Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Noodles with two types of Curry, Som Tam and more. This food didn’t remotely come in small portions, we had 14 bowls of dip and 14 bags of pork for the Moong Satay, there were giant urns full of curry, large bowls full of Vietnamese spring rolls and 10 plates of my favourite fruits. I set up a table with Canadian souvenirs, my Rotary jacket and four albums of pictures. My Thai friends and teachers loved it. All of the English teachers were there along with the Director, my English/Drama class and my good friends in my Math/Biology/Chemistry class.

When we were ready to start the ceremony all the students sat in a semi circle facing table that the teachers and I sat around. On the table was a big cup of banana leaves that were cut and shaped really nicely, with candles and incense sticking out of them. There were also small wooden bowls around the cup that had eggs, bananas, desserts wrapped up and sticky rice in them. First one of the English teachers said some stuff in Thai that I didn’t understand. And then the Director got up and lit the candle and the incense while we all prayed. [At least that’s what I assume we do whenever we Wai at ceremonies]. Afterwards he tied a piece of string around another English Teacher’s wrist and she said a bunch of stuff in Thai as well. She said that she would translate it into English for me and give it to me tomorrow maybe.

Have you ever made “Warm Fuzzies” before? The pieces of paper you hand out to your friends where you write down something nice about everyone? You get to see all the nice things people said about you, and they make you feel happy to know that everyone has something good to say. I always loved those, they make everyone feel so special and no one is let down. In Thailand, instead of paper they tie string around your wrists and wish you good luck, happiness, or a healthy life; some people wish for you to stay beautiful forever. After the candles and incense had been lit, after we prayed and people made speeches, everyone took turns tying pieces of string around my wrists. They wished me good luck, hoped that I will enjoy Thailand and they washed away the bad luck from my life. Some of them wrapped money in the string; some people took the eggs/bananas/desserts out of the wooden bowls and lay them in my hands as they tied. Some people trailed the string across my wrists in one direction to rush away the bad luck and in the other direction to bring good luck. The Director started, followed by my Host Mom who placed an envelope in my hand, and after all the teachers had their turns, my friends came. Some of them couldn’t tell me anything in English so the muttered in Thai. Some of them could wish me some things in English, and others only said “Happy Happy Happy!” It was splendid. After they had all tied string around my wrists, we took turns tying the string for all our friends and teachers.

I left the ceremony with 7 eggs, 3 bananas, 2 desserts and over 1000 baht. But I left with more than just gifts. After the ceremony, we tucked into the hoards of food, I made a speech [in Thai] and played my piccolo, Kate made a speech [in English] and we took too many pictures to count. I’m pretty sure Keng has at least 30 pictures of him and I on his camera. After we finished eating we took pictures anywhere and everywhere. We ran out onto the garden and took pictures on the lawn, we took pictures with my Rotary jacket, we took pictures in front of a painting. It was the first time I’ve ever really shown them my truly wired self. I hope I didn’t frighten them with my energy. We joked around about everything, took pictures holding eggs and oranges, and we ate until we literally could not move. A bunch of us had to sit down for a bit before we could exert any energy. This experience was more than just a Welcoming Party, it was the most memorable three hours of my trip so far. I never want to take the many pieces of string off my wrists. I know I will have to eventually, but when I do I will keep them safe and treasure them forever. These small pieces of string are truly “The Ties That Bind”.

Koon Mae tying my string

Keng tying my string

ALL THE STRING!!

<3 6/6 <3

6/6 Lurking on the lawn

"We are the living, the breathing, the fighting - We are the magnificent"

One Month

I have been away from home for 31 days. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? In a way it feels just like yesterday that I waved goodbye to my family, hopped on a plane weighed down with a Tommy Hilfiger rucksack [courtesy of Chelsea deLeeuw], a carry on suitcase and my not-that-attractive-but-definetely-noticeable Rotary blazer. Now, a month later: I am living with caring parents in a house that is three stories high and full of pictures of the King I have a pink bicycle with a basket and a little bell that I feel mortified to ride, but am grateful for since it provides me with transportation everwhere I have a key, a cellphone, an intercom number and a bulletin board about me at my school I have my own room that I have organised and attempted to decorate complete with all my cards along the back of my headboard The couch in our den has my backside imprint in it I am attending a school that cares whether or not I show up I have friends who invite me out to dinner with them, or to teach me sports I know my way around well enough that I can bike to the market, the coffee shop, to get crepes and to drop off friends without having to ask for directions I make myself dinner sometimes, I pack my own lunch and I buy groceries I no longer find the bathrooms, showers, lack of ovens or stray dogs weird I considered asking my host parents if I could buy a puppy [though I didn't because I remembered there would be no way of bringing it to Canada] I find my own transportation whether by motorcycle, sam law, bicycle or walking to get around the city I have been to a Buddhist mass and have visited too many Wats to count on my fingers I have changed the way I do my hair, the way I dress and the way I get ready in the morning I am much more polite with my elders, and much more outgoing with my friends I have learned to cook some Thai dishes Though it seems like the time has flown by it feels as if all of this could not have happened in only one month. I have started to wonder how close of friendships I will have by the end of the year, and I know I will be heartbroken to leave all of this behind. I feel like I belong here. I feel like a part of a family, a normal student, a normal citizen [despite the stares]. One month out of twelve and I can already say this is the most liberating and heartwarming experience of my life. "We are who we protect; What we stand for"

Peace and Love always, Kulap

Toilet Perfecting At Its Best

No, this child has nothing to do with toilets. I just thought she was super cute and I would like to put her picture on my blog. I figure her parents allowed me to take a picture of her [they even placed her somewhere to pose] so they wouldn't mind if I shared it with my friends. Na rak ka :) [Cute]

I think back to the first time I had to use a public toilet; on the 14 hour long drive to Nakhon Phanom. In the first washroom we stopped at, I was bewildered to see when I turned the corner into the Women's washroom that there were ceramic holes in the floor. I was almost positive that I had walked into the Men's washroom and these ceramic holes were some form of urinal so I walked out to check the sign. I wasn't wrong. This was the Women's washroom in all its glory. And what a glorious thing it was. I stared at the sign, utterly perplexed, then walked back in and stared. The act of walking out to look at the sign and walking back in to look at the bathroom repeated several times until a woman seemed to notice that I was uttlery confused and pointed down a different hallway where I could see regular toilets in cubicles. I almost laughed in relief, I had no idea how I would get through using the ceramic hole.

Have you ever been in the washroom and after the time came that you could no longer switch to a different stall, you noticed that there was no toilet paper? Well that is exactly what happened. Except that in this cubicle it appeared that there wasn't even a place to HOLD toilet paper if there was some. Instead there was what looked like a silver hose attached to the wall. I wasn't sure what to do so I listened intently to what was going on in the bathroom and heard the hose like thing being sprayed. I assumed that you had to clean yourself with that, and then drip dry.. boy was I right.
Throughout the rest of the long drive to Nakhon Phanom I had to use the washroom multiple times, but unfortunately at each rest point the washrooms became worse and worse. The second one had no regular toilets, only the ceramic holes. The third had ceramic holes and instead of a hose like thing there was a big bucket of water with a smaller bucket that you used to pour on yourself. The fourth was the same as the third, and infested with misquitoes. I had bug bites in uncomfortable areas for a few days. I don't think I need to express just how miserable that drive was. At my home we don't have a ceramic hole which I later found out was called a "squatter potty" [whether they are named by the foreigners or the Thai citizens I do not know], but squatter potties are the only bathroom in public areas. Marvelous. However at my home we do have the hose things [I have yet to find out a name for them] which you are supposed to clean yourself with and then use toilet paper to dry yourself. You cannot throw the toilet paper in the toilet bowl because the sewer system is very different here and it would clog the pipes.

I am proud to say that I have mastered using the toilets here, it seems perfectly normal to drip dry after using a public restroom [though I try to avoid using them at all costs] and just as normal to spray myself down with a hose every time I use the washroom. It's different, but it's no longer weird.

That, fellow countrymen, would be my adventure of perfecting the use of a Thai toilet. Until next time.

"I send my words into the world and wait for whatever new words will come"
- Georgia Heard, Writing Toward Home

Cheese feels normal again

Nothing could have brought down my mood today. Nothing made me upset, I didn't even feel sick this morning for the first time in two weeks. It wasn't too hot today and everything was perfectly spectacular. I have started to feel so comfortable here, it's really starting to feel like home. I have fallen into a routine unlike any vacation I have ever been on. This experience has stopped feeling like a vacation and more like home where there are just as many chances to do some soul searching as there are to get chili peppers with your food. I wake up every morning in the coolness of my bedroom, I turn off and reset the alarm a few times, take a shower and get ready for school. I have stopped forgetting things and it takes me less time everyday to get ready. Having a uniform really cuts down the amount of time I spend getting ready for school. School, though I have different classes everyday is always the same. We have role call at 8 when we line up in rows on the blacktop, sing the national anthem [sometimes multiple times], chant, pray, more chanting and then we sit while the director speaks to us. Until lunch I sit in classes where I have no idea what is going on so I read, write or practice Thai. When I don't have classes I sit outside under the banana trees or tag along to other classes and read, write or practice Thai. At lunchtime I joke around with my friends, sometimes we run around in the rain splashing each other and covering ourselves in mud and then taking turns shaking each others shirts to dry off. At other times we sit in circles playing games, or they take me to the cantina to try new and different food. After lunch I repeat the act of going to classes or having free periods where I read, write or practice Thai.
After school I go out with friends and we get coffee, bubble tea, food or wander around the city. Sometimes I come home after school and watch a movie before reading. I find I am still quite exhausted after school.

Today Bee took me to meet her English tutour. He is from England and lived in Canada for a while so we had a lot to talk about. I had cheese for the first time in three and a half weeks and it was the most glorious moment I have felt in a while. I know that sounds rediculously stupid seeing as it was nothing but cheese and crackers, but if you have ever had to give up something you love for even a week, the moment it comes back into your life you feel like a thousand fireworks went off in your chest and you can't help but smiling. The thing I love is cheese. I explained to him about my coffee situation and how my mom was going to send me filters and a funnel so I could brew my coffee here [they don't brew coffee, it's all instant] and he ran inside bringing out a funnel type device so I can brew it until my mom's package arrives!! I was so happy, I couldn't stop smiling. I also got to play with his dog which made me even happier as I haven't seen Caleb in so long and I had started to forget what a dog's tongue feels like on your hand. He has invited me over in a few weeks when he is going to have a barbecue with his wife and cook lamb! Oh I am so excited. He also told me where I can buy asparagus and potatoes so I can cook food here! He also is making lasagna in a few weeks for Bee's sister who is pregnant and he said maybe I could join them. He has offered to help me out with anything and I can go over whenever I would like. Tonight it was not hot at all and I enjoyed a buffet dinner with friends from school while we watched a group of energetic lizards chasing each other on the wall. I was able to print off some of my favourite pictures so that I can send them and I am so excited to send packages and letters to Canada. Almost as excited as I am to get them. I recieved my first postcard yesterday from my sister and I cried with happiness. I think I startled my host mother quite a bit.
When I get home from being out with my friends I check my email, sometimes I watch a movie and then I go to bed to read and update my journal. I have slacked quite a bit on my journal lately but I have made up for it in blog entries so I don't feel quite so bad. Nothing too exciting has happened in the past few days anyways.
This weekend Kate and Klao have invited me to their house so they can teach me how to make a few traditional Thai desserts as well as let me upload my pictures onto the computer. FINALLY!
So to all of you out there awaiting pictures, THEY ARE COMING.. AND FAST!

I have started getting used to the bug bites, they still itch but I have stopped itching them. I have also gotten quite used to the ants that are everywhere but I have a trusty can of RAID in my bedroom that I attack them with if they go anywhere near my bedroom. It is quite ant free at the moment. And when I can't find the raid, I attack them with bugspray until they are stuck to the floor and stop moving. I feel a little bad for being so evil to the poor insects, but since a bunch of ants ended up inside my iPod and it is now broken, I do not feel much remorse. Suzanne is off to Khon Khen tomorrow with her school to put on a performance about making the world a better place by getting rid of racism. I have watched them practice it a million times and I think it will turn out good but I can't help but feel slightly envious at the fact that they get to spend two days off school, a night in a fancy hotel and a day shopping in Khon Khen while I am stuck here pretending to pay attention in a Thai Calculus class and spending hours upon hours doing nothing. Oh well, it isn't that bad. I have been reading Harry Potter again and have practically finished it and I started it only yesterday. I've also read the entire Chronicles of Narnia, a book from Wendy Ernst and part of the Bible. I have been doing a lot of reading and I'm glad I brought so many books. I'm pretty sure I will run out of books in the next few weeks and then I will be forced to learn Thai as quick as lightening so I can resume reading books ... in Thai. My goal is to read Harry Potter in Thai by the end of my exchange. That could prove quite difficult but I'm up to my own challenge. At the end of the day I still miss my family, friends, dog, cats and Canadian food. But I have started to think less about what I miss and think more about what I won't have when I get back. I can't begin to think about leaving behind Pomello, Ngaw, Motorcycle rides, Sticky Rice, Markets, Roadside shops and banana trees. I know that the longer I am away from something the more rewarding it will be when it returns to me. Kind of like the cheese. "We travel, some of us forever to seek other states, other lives, other souls." - Anais Nin, The Diary of Anais Nin

Aerobics make the heart grow fonder

Fifty women lifting their legs and arms in perfectly coordinated movements. Music playing through the stereo speakers Males lifting weights and running on elypticals to keep in shape. Not a gym, a park. A park at the side of the road where one might find a park bench, some trees to look at and a tennis court to play in. But in this park there is also a blacktop for the aerobics which takes place every night. All the women come in their colourful athletic gear. In Thailand they do not have gyms, they have parks. Parks where children play on swingsets, boys play basketball and there is enough workout equipment to give to 4 different schools in the city. These parks are everywhere. Each time I pass them [whether by my host sister's frilly pink bike with a basket, a bell and all the fixins or by motorcycle with my yellow helmet that makes me feel like a real rocker or by car] I feel inclined to join the women doing aerobics in the upbeat pumping of fists and flexing of legs. I think I will do just that. Because I know I will gain a fair bit of weight while on my exchange I am going to catch it early and start working out and exercising from the get go. The four flights of stairs to my bedroom helps a bit and so does the heat which I swear is melting off pounds. On the contrary I don't think it will do much in the long run so I have decided to start swimming at the other school in my city, doing aerobics with Suzanne and jogging or bicycling in the mornings before school. [Let's see how long this will last]. There isn't much to post since my last blog except that Suzanne and I have become regular customers at "CO double F" a coffee shop and at "The Bubble Tea Place" [I'm not actually sure what it is called, but that's what I call it] the shop next door. They have rewarded us with free tea, free fruit and free conversation. The other day we were at "The Bubble Tea Place" when the store owners from "CO double F" came over and had a big conversation with us. They always smile when we come in, and I don't think it will be long before we can say "the usual" [in Thai of course] and they will know exactly what to get us. I don't think "CO double F" gets much business because when Suzanne and I had finished our lattes and I asked for two more they looked like they were going to fall over with delight. The second latte came with sprinkles and chocolate sauce, it has come like that ever since and we don't even need to ask for extra foam anymore. They have started teaching us how to order things in Thai and they ask us all about our exchange program [in the little English they know as well as some sign language and random Thai words]. I think today was the first day this week that I didn't go there, it's a little odd to be perfectly honest. The only other thing I can think to write about at the moment would be the monsoon weather today. I danced in it [AGAIN] except this time I was not scantily clad with see through pants and superhero underwear. I was wearing my school's sports uniform with the pants rolled up, my shoes and socks off and my feet buried in the mud. A group of girls in my PE and guitar classes came out and jumped around with me. No one cares here about getting wet, everyone runs around without umbrellas in the pouring rain [except maybe occasional groups of girls who randomly have tarps that they carry over their head as if they were carrying shields to block shooting arrows from the castle they are about to attack]. By the way, I just noticed 12 new misquitoe bites on my legs which were not there before I started typing this blog. It's decided... tomorrow I am searching for an electric fly swatter and the strongest bug spray money can buy. "Up in the air you breathed easily, drawing in the vital assurance and lightness of hear. In the highlands you woke up in the morning and thought: Here I am, where I ought to be" - Isak Dinesen, Out of Africa xo. Kulap

Batman comes to Nakhon Phanom

If you could imagine the hottest and most humid day of your life, where sweat is pooling on your lower back and you are getting sweat stains in areas where you shouldn't then you can imagine every day in Nakhon Phanom. Then imagine coming home from that hot day and taking a long cold shower with the water pouring down on your head, you can feel the humidity and heat flush away and for a while after your shower you feel refreshed and cool. Do you know that feeling when you are on a motorcycle and you're driving so fast that the wind whips through your hair, your face feels pushed back and you can hardly hear yourself talk as your voice becomes swept away with the wind? Now imagine all three of those at the same time. Utter and complete bliss. As the rain poured down and all of our Thai friends sat in the back of the truck under the over hang waiting for it to stop, Suzanne and I jumped out and ran into the monsoon laughing and cheering. We didn't care if we got a cold, we didn't care that an hour later we would be shivering and itchy from being wet. We just wanted to dance in the rain, cool off from the heat and have the time of our lives. Our Thai friends thought we were rediculous and Aom's mother took pictures of us splashing each other and frollicking as if we were characters in a bad disney movie, bounding over a flowery meadow smiling with the sun behind us. We knew, but didn't notice just how soaked we were getting and it was much too late before I noticed that my white pants were COMPLETELY see through and you could see my Batman Boxer Briefs underneath. Classy. The bat symbol was as clear as day, I half expected him to show up and ask where his help was needed. I started singing the Batman song and everyone laughed. We had to drive 20 km back to our house after Aom's birthday party and all nine of us piled into the back of a pick up truck and felt the pelt of water spray us and the immense wind as we drove down the highway. After a certain amount of suffering a lightbulb went off and we realised that we could just lay down and the water wouldn't hit us at all. I wish I could have taken a million pictures of that moment. We were all cuddled up in the pick up truck while the Thai girls sang songs and clapped, the wind rushed past at 80 km an hour and rain pelted beside us. Though we were freezing cold it felt nothing like the cold I would feel if I were in Canada. Feeling chilly was such a nice break from the humidity and the heat that I forgot about how cold I was, and remembered that soon it would wear off and I should savour every minute of it. At Aom's party we made ourselves lunch at her house while sitting on mats on the floor. There were buckets on top of cement with coals in them and a little dish on top. We cooked a soup type thing and grilled chicken all at the same time in the same container. It was delicious and there was even some Vietnamese eggroll type things that were extremely tasty. When I couldn't eat anymore more food came. Fish with corn and cucumbers and carrots. Everything was mouthwatering, especially the pomello which has offically gained the title of "Favourite Thai Fruit". Then there were the temples we visited. There are so many different things you can do at temples. It is nothing like a church where you just go and pray. There are gongs that you bang three times to bring good fortune upon your life, you bring in flowers and bow with your head fully on the ground three times and then leave the flowers at the shrine. Then there are candles attatched to incense that you light and hold between your wai as you make a wish, then you stick the incense in a big pile of sand. You also get a piece of gold that you stick to the statues [this is the reason why buddha statues are gold], and you can pour oil over a bucket with the day of the week your birthday lies on the bring you good luck. The wats are so peaceful and refreshing, it feels so wonderful to be in them and to share the religious experience with my Thai friends. I have been invited over my school break in October to go to Bangkok with a friend and her sister to live in a Temple for a week. I would be living like a nun, praying and meditating all day and not being able to eat food after lunch along with 7 other rules. The entire experience sounds intimidating but I know that I would not have had a true religious experience in Thailand if I did not take the opportunity. I just hope that my host parents will allow me to go to Bangkok. After the party Suzanne and I have discovered the best coffee place here! [That isn't saying much, but I have started to miss caffeine so much that I would just eat cofee beans straight if I had any. Which I don't because the only coffee you can buy here is instant coffee that comes with cream and sugar in it already]. We bought lattes and doughnuts and it was so wonderful. When we asked for two more the women who owned the shop looked completely bewildered that they had so much business from us. The second latte was even nicer, they put chocolate and sprinkles on top. As we left they shouted "See you soon!" I think they knew that we would be back many times in the future [The woman who sells bubble tea next door sees us almost everyday and has started to teach me some things in Thai]. Our first adventure on our own, I was quite proud of how much we have grown here, we didn't need the help of a Thai translator to buy salt and containers [so we can keep them in our purses when the food is bland.. which is anytime it isn't spicy] or money for my cellphone! We even paid for a Tuk Tuk to drive us to Suzanne's house without getting jipped by the price and arriving somewhere completely different. It felt so liberating doing things for myself for once, I feel since I have been here I have been treated like such a child and everything has been done for me. Today I felt confident, free and daring. It was perfect. Suzanne's host brother is one of the most shy boys I have met, he barely said a word to us and when we asked him questions he would answer quickly, smile a lot, blush and then not say anything else. We don't think he knows what to do with sister who is as white and blonde as Suzanne, let alone having two very pale and very blonde teenage girls sitting on the couch with him. The awkwardness wasn't that painful though, we bonded a little over a stray cat that wandered into the yard. We pet him and swatted at the millions of a misquitos, then her brother disappeared off into the night on his motorcycle like some sort of mysterious superhero. The cat abandoned us after we brought out the electric fly swatter to kill as many misquitos as we could. I really enjoy that toy, I will probably invest in one.The misquitos here love me and they are real ankle biters [literally]. They swarm around you and the square centimetre on your body that you don't get with bug spray is attacked. They kill ants too! [Not that I would go around killing ants, but I tried it out on the ones in the bathroom]. Though the weather here is unimaginable and the bugs are pesky I always look forward to cloud cover and the zap of misquitos being fried. "I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, what a glorious feeling I'm happy again" Kulap