It's May in Yasothorn, but it is almost June and you know what that means? That means that June is going to be a lot like May. It is most likely going to be hot with a chance of rain at night time which means there is a chance of 2,000 flying ants to enter my room at night. It also means that I have experienced one more month in this beautiful country going on several vacations, some of them unintended, and I have also spent more time getting to know how to live and work successfully in a place where all things different. So this is where my post starts, right here sitting in my office where the teachers are all wondering why I haven't said an English word for three hours but I am supposed to be an English co-teacher...If anyone knows how to say "I just want to observe for the first two weeks" that is more effective than this thai transliteration: "Pom yak ja do chuei chuei atit nung gap atit song, gaw pom chuay soon pasa Engrit", please let me know. Ahhh, now that you are all impressed by my Thai skills let me show you how terrible my English has become by writing several paragraphs of grammatically incorrect blog content.
So my last blog I of course updated you on how awesome I am:), but I also left you after saying that I was headed to Ayuthaya, which is my original home here in Thailand. The vacation was fantastic and much needed. I will give you a brief rundown on the things I received/the things I was taken to do because it is ridiculous how much love I feel when I go back to stay with my host mom:
1. They mowed my name in their yard
2. They served me all the food and drink I could ever want
3. Bought me pizza
4. Bought me FRIED CHICKEN (4 straight days of delicious fried chicken)
5. Took me to the Grand Palace in Bangkok (and bought me lunch and dinner again)
6. Took me a party at the temple (and almost made me be the "angel" in a buddhist play)
7. Took me to buy peanut butter
8. My host mom rented a pesonal van to send me 8 hours back to Yasothorn and she rode 8 hours back to Ayuthaya the same night after buying me 16 cartons of milk, some ramen noodles and 30 eggs to gain some weight.
9. 1 week later I received a package with 5 new short sleeve shirts, 3 sets of bed sheets and 4 pairs of boxer shorts
10. A call later to see if I wanted to go to China on vacation in a few months
All in all, my host mother is a ridiculously nice person. If you told me I was going to have a person stay in my house from another country for 3 months, you didn't tell me anything about them and you told me that they would not speak my language, I would have told you that you were crazy to think we'd be as close as we are. To say the very least the visit was great and overwhelming!
I got back to my house where things were just the way I left them, I love my little house here in Issan, my hammock especially.....And as I sat there in my hammock I got a call Friday night from my supervisor at the local education ministry. She explained that she had a party for me to attend close to her house. I obliged, not knowing what this "party" was going to consist of. In the end I attended a dance party on a stage, a traditional Thai dance show, a Thai concert, and finally, Boon Bang Fie (which translates to Rocket Festival) where there were large rockets being shot off every twenty minutes or so, people being thrown in a pond and others with mud being slung all over their bodies (me included, everyone wants to get the farang). Little did I know that after this Rocket Festival there was going to be another Rocket Festival in my village followed by another one in the village next to mine...all in all 3 Rocket Festivals and they are not yet finished.
After the trip to Sai Mun I realized that after 2 straight months of being with only Thai speakers that it might be good to see if I could still speak English. I know when I talk to friends and family on skype it is hard for me to communicate, not to communicate but just to be myself. I wasn't sure if this was because my English language speaking skills had gone out the window or if I was always around Thai people so I was scared to talk into a computer screen, worried about what they might think or do. It seems like there are one of two reactions to skype. They either run away from my screen or they won't stop staring into it.
Back on track; So I thought spending some quality time with Peace Corps volunteers would not only give me a break from the daily grind but also give me a chance to practice my English with some other native speakers. I had the chance to do this in a place called Mukdahan, which is on the border of Thailand and Laos. It is the most happening place close to all of us in Issan so we made it a group gathering. At first it was my mission to get a big juicy burger, maybe some fried chicken and a giant order of french fries and ice cream, but after all of that stuff and a fairly painful stomachache I realized all I wanted was some Dtom Yum (Thai Soup), some Som Tam (Papaya Salad with Fermented Fish Sauce) and some delicious Kao Neow (sticky rice);.... maybe I am not fully integrated, but I am getting there! The Mook was a blast and I got the chance to watch the Barcelona vs. Man U game at 2 o-clock in the morning with the band that was playing at a local pub...little did I know I was going to go to Mukdahan to hang out with more Thai people!
All is well on the home front, I am so fortunate to be in such a beautiful place. School is starting which I though would stress me out considering I haven't really had to work at all. I don't know if it is something they put in the water or if I am just a changed man, but I am virtually stress free...what a wonderful feeling. Life is good.
I will attempt to put up some pictures on the blog but in case that does not work please see facebook for some pretty sick vids and some other good pics of all of my happenings on.
Also congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Mattiza....Got some pretty frat video updates at the reception...I would like to give a shout out to my boy Grant for absolutely dominating the dance floor and to TJ for sporting that sick cowboy hat all night! Proud of you guys and I can't wait to see you functioning as a married couple when I get back home....In the meantime I will be busy beating Mattiza in fantasy baseball! Halla!
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