Kii Moat DIZZANG...that hurts

Success, I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer.  I passed the language proficiency exam with flying colors and gave the once impending speech.  I stayed in a hotel for a counterpart conference and said many sad goodbyes to my new family in Ayuthaya (my host mother calls me 3 times a day to talk. I can answer three questions and the rest is history) as well as new friends in the form of fellow volunteers. 

I am currently living at my site with my brand new host family in Yasothorn.  Amazingly, they are just as nice and giving as the host family in Ayuthaya. Communicating is not easy, they speak a different dialect and my central Thai is not good enough for them or me to understand much at all.  I will have to settle for using my hands and playing charades all over again. 

Like I mentioned last post, the food is a little different from the food in Central Thailand and the way of life is quite different as well.  Essan people are very easy going; they remind me of the southern part of the United States.  I say this because of the following:  “I will take you fishing and then I will teach you how to shoot birds from a motorcycle”, which happens to be a direct quote from one of my co-workers at the school.  If that isn’t Arkansas I don’t know what is!  Of course I had to let him know that I could not ride or drive a motorcycle in which case he replied, “Can you ride your bike with one hand?” 

Volunteer life, even though I have experienced very little of it, is quite different from Pre-Service Training.  During PST I felt like I was in school again, my whole day was planned, I felt like I was learning a lot and things came fairly easy.  Site presents a different dynamic.  Thai schools are currently on “bidtum”, which I am fairly sure is the Thai word for “midterm”, same as “ice cream” and “icateam”….(another quick side bar, if one were to pronounce the Thai word “icateam” incorrectly Thai people are quick to point it out to you, what is up with that?  I am not 100% positive but I believe that ice cream is an English language original). 

Back on track, Thai schools are on midterm.  My current primary role as a volunteer is to work with a Thai counterpart in the school in order to enhance his/her English language skills and participatory teaching ability.  Because school is closed and I just arrived, I have absolutely nothing to do.  There are positives about having nothing to do but there are also negatives.  The positives:  Sleep, Freedom and Time, The negatives:  Sleep, Freedom and Time. 

Sleep:  You could potentially sleep all day, but sleeping all day does not fly in Thai culture.  Thai people are always working and they always find something to do.  Sooooo, I wake up and act like I am doing things all day.  One may ask what that entails and no I am not going to tell, mostly because it is…nothing.

Freedom:  What is freedom? and then this blog post turned into a political campaign.  I need your help Kees.

Time:  I have all the time in the world to do everything.  I don’t have anything to do with all the time I have.

The food is delicious; the people are STILL nice (and curious).  The other day I went to the family farm with my new mother here in Yasothorn and she taught me how to get red ant eggs out of the mango tree.  It was impressive and I was excited until she stuck her hand in the collection basket and acted like nothing happened.  Being the "man" I am, I decided it would be a good idea to share in the culture a bit and give it a go.  I stuck my hand in to remove as many red ants as I could and got a little more than I bargained for.  Those little buggers were all over me in a matter of seconds and I most likely sounded like a 4 year old girl (no offense Lynlee) and my mom continued to point and hysterically laugh at me....Classic...the end of the story is we ate the ant eggs and sold the rest in the market for 50 baht...I received about 1000 ant bites for the equivalent of 1.35 U.S. Dollars.

 Yasothorn is great and I am looking forward to my first experience with the Thai New Year celebration “SongKran” which occurs in April.  I have a feeling that my next blog post will come shortly after the celebration as any Thai celebration ranging from weddings to funerals to 2 year funeral memorials, is usually worth writing about.

I also had the opportunity to speak with my brother Pat and sister-in-law Sarah which was great! I know that she probably already is but if she is not, please include her in your prayers as she embarks on yet another journey.

Juug gone krap,

Luke

Site Visit, Ect.

After viewing this page I have realized I need some pictures to document some of the wild and crazy stuff I have been getting up to (I only kid), but seriously I need some pictures.  I am not a huge fan of pictures so supplying pictures relevant to these posts may be a challenge.  Pictures are great sources of information because they allow the audience the ability to reflect the image in their minds with the actual picture.  Pictures come in many varieties…………Alright finished……

Last post I stated that I would be heading to Yasothorn province for a visit.  The group of 123 volunteers was able to head to Bangkok for train/bus rides to our respective villages.  I took a bus.  This is the first time I have taken a Thai tour bus and fortunately it will not be the last.  I slept the entire way to my Peace Corps Volunteer site visit near the Cambodian border, slept again from there to Yasothorn and slept from Yasothorn back to Bangkok (a grand total of approx. 16 hours).  My head must have hit the window at least a thousand times and I am sure that the Thai natives next to me were tired of receiving good old fashion American drool on their shoulders. 

I guess my point is I went to Yasothorn.  I did not know when to get off the bus because the stops were said once in Thai, Thai people got off the bus while I sat and pondered on how far past my stop I actually was.  Somehow, some way, I landed only 10 kilometers past my “site”.  I called my Thai counterpart on the phone and somehow between static and language barriers communicated I needed to be picked up.  I could not describe my location because there were not many landmarks.  My attempt was, “I am close to the rice field” (I am so helpful). 

My Thai counterpart somehow found me and my visit was underway.  I was taken into the village by truck, I sat in the front and the kids, ages 4 and 8, sat in the bed (I know what you are thinking, and yes that is the safest option I could think of as well).  Through dried up rice fields and many dirt roads I arrived at my counterpart’s house.  A beautiful wooden thai style house with an organic garden and ponds for raising cat-fish.  That night, I chatted with my counterpart and her husband.  They informed me of local cuisine, not all of which I necessarily wanted to hear and I want to list a few of the rather different ones:  crickets, grasshoppers, fermented fish, grounded lizard with peppers, hardened chicken blood (not a new one), chicken foot soup (ate that for dinner), bamboo worms and the list might go on.  In Issan the people used to eat these things out of necessity.  The people have found ways to include these things to supply the family with a healthy and balanced diet and they add enough spice and organic Thai herbs to make anything delicious (don’t knock it til you try it).

In the morning I was treated to breakfast.  I was then taken into the village to explore and meet the wonderful new people, the village leaders, the students, the two schools, the “government office”, my new host family and my potential new home.  I was required to introduce myself in front of the students, teachers and paw aw (principal) and of course I had to do it in Thai.  So there I was in front of 100 plus people and I absolutely butchered every Thai word I know, classic Luke.  They all got a good laugh anyway right? 

So all in all I know I will be busy at my site in the province of Yasothorn.  I have two wonderful schools I will be working with, a provincial education office, a health center and wonderful counterparts as well. 

All of this being said, I have two weeks of pre-service training left.  I am both excited and sad to be leaving our training site.  I will most definitely miss being around all of the people I have met throughout the whole experience and I will miss my host family a lot!  I still have some work cut out for me.  I will be taking the Language Proficiency Exam on Saturday of this week and must receive a Novice High grade.  I also must give a speech in Thai in front of the group’s Thai counterparts and community leaders as well as the Ambassador of Thailand from the United States, our Thai adjaans (teachers) and the Country Director for the Peace Corps (no pressure).  Anyone who has seen me play NCAA Football 2011 knows I do not crack under pressure….last second, game winning field goals are my specialty (okay, aim the marker with the left joystick, watch the wind and remember it is raining a little, press X, X)…….Bollinger, Joe, Smith and especially Sherman know what I am talking about…cool man…

Everything is still going well.  I took some time the other night to think about what all I have gotten used to in just 2 months.  I came up with a list of things that are normal now that were not when I had just arrived in Thailand and here it is:

Lizards living in my house

Showering with a bucket

5 people on one moped (the razorback football team cannot do that; frat guys, maybe) Eating dinner for breakfast

Riding on the left side of the road

More than 20 animals living in my house

10 Roosters under my bed

Pretending I understand Thai

Doing laundry with buckets  

Rain falling in the middle of my house

Sweating from every pore in my body….even my knees sweat, don’t ask me why

Not sitting on porcelain when using the bathroom but standing on it instead

Not having toilet paper

Eating fruits right off of trees

Not wearing shoes

No chairs

Being given some kind of gift every day

The list goes on and I am sure I will add to it but it is amazing the kinds of things I have adjusted to seeing.  I hope I will have the chance to update again when I get to my site.  Some schools have internet connections so if I get lucky I will be able to update regularly.

  

Aside from all that whoopla,

Lastly and most importantly,

I am elated to post that my sister-in-law is done with surgery and doing well!  I know they appreciated all of the thoughts and prayers!  I have been updated that several people had a hand in everything from yard work to a living room makeover.  The people back home are amazing as well. Thank you family for keeping me updated.  It is not easy to be far away from you in times like these but it is easier now that recovery is in process.

Choke Dii Krap,

Luke

The Knowing

It has been a few weeks…

Quite frankly I have nothing really new to update the ol’ blog with.  Since my journal writing skills are sub-par I figured I better write something on the blog so I will at least have some memory of the events that have occurred over the past couple of weeks written down somewhere. 

We had the chance to do some teaching in the schools over the past couple weeks.  I taught with my Peace Corps friend and colleague named Carl.  Carl is an amazingly positive and fantastic human being.  He just turned 70 while here in Thailand; just awesome!  We taught 10 days at a local school teaching 5^th grade.  The children and our Thai co-teacher were absolutely incredible.  We were treated to desserts and assorted beverages before teaching and after teaching we were given, on separate dates, the following:  Pad Thai, Pizza (Thai Style), Fried Rice, Ma Muang, Pad See Ew, Fried Chicken and other assorted dishes, it was ridiculous.  After all of this, the nine days of teaching, the students made us cards for our departure. Carl and I each received 34 cards and probably just as many hugs from the students (I would share some tidbits but I have no clue what the cards say, for all I know they could say some terrible things but the covers seemed nice so I doubt it J).  We later received specialized portraits, drawn by the students to take with us on our travels.  Once again, Thais are ridiculously generous people.  

The potential of stomach issues has finally turned into a reality.  After weeks of bragging and “knocking on wood” after telling everyone how healthy I am, my luck has run out.  I have had my first bout with the “tong-sia” and it has been quite a large one.  I have found that it is very hard to be sick in Thailand not only because it is 100 degrees and humid but also because everyone wants to help.  You may think this is a good thing. The fact of the matter is when the last thing you want is another fried meal with rice and your neighbors bring in fried fish and rice paste it makes you want to vomit even more.  It does not show a very positive light on your manners when they offer and immediately thereafter you give a nice dry heave to show your appreciation! 

Anyway, my host mother was very helpful aside from waking me up every hour on the hour to show her friends and family how terrible I looked and felt.  Everyone is curious to see the foreigner in “it’s” bed; I only kid, the people are lovely but they do love seeing what you are up to all the time!  I probably had at least 5 people come check on me in a day, all five of them asking me something in Thai that I could not comprehend and most likely had to do with eating something (No clue who any of them were, they definitely do not live in my house).

I will find out where I will be living for the next two years next week and I will be headed there for a week long visit.  I am really excited and equally nervous.  It seems like training has become routine and family has become comfortable and now it is time to pack up and do everything all over again.  I suppose it is all a part of the adventure of which I signed up for, I must oblige. 

Side Note:  I am headed to Issan!  I will be spending my two years in Kud Chum, Yasothorn Thailand!

Sooo…A month and a couple of weeks into this gig, the pressure and the thoughts of home have built up a little more.  I have missed my mother’s, my brother’s, my other brother’s, my grandfathers, my cousin’s and my nephew’s respective birthdays for the first time in my life which is not fun.  For this I would like to say an ostentatious “Happy Birthday!” to all who celebrated in my absence this month.

I also gathered news soon after my last post on this thing that my family received some somewhat negative news (depending on one’s outlook see friesfamilyfour@blogspot.com) regarding the status of my sister-in-law’s migraines.  I am not sure the extent to which they would like me to post about the situation but I believe that my sister-in-law and my brother are remarkable people.  My brother has been an inspiration to me since we were little and my sister-in-law has made a great positive impact on my life as well (one smile and/or belly laugh and you are infected!). With the support of our respective families and of course the power of prayer, I have the utmost faith and confidence that she will get through everything safely and without complication.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they will consistently and constantly be in mine.  

Thank you and until next time,

Luke

Funerals, Farangs, Fun. Not Necessarily in that Order.

I thought of this ingenious idea, I think you’ll be impressed.  Basically what happens is I type semi-thoughtful and semi-grammatically correct sentences throughout a longer period of time by typing blog entries into word and then pasting them on the page.

Now that I have you….

I went to a Thai funeral which continues on for seven days.  A very interesting experience to say the least; it was easy to feel like the five “farangs” on the front row, the ones weary of the octopus soup (it was delightful as is seemingly all Thai food), were the center of attention rather than the life of which was being celebrated.  “Farang” refers to the “foreigners” that are taking over the province with their crazy bike riding tactics and loud highlighter green bike helmets; as if the issuers didn’t know we stick out enough already!   Day five of Thai funeral…ate broth with pork skin…questionable!  My conversation back home at the dinner table will no longer consist of questions regarding the preparedness of foodstuffs.  Dad, Joe, Boars Head meat will never go bad…

On a more serious note, the last day of the funeral was rather moving and a real gut check.  It has been easy to get lost in the newness of the culture and country but the final day of the funeral helped me to realize how all human beings are related so closely even though we are raised in ostensibly two different worlds.  The daughter of the woman that passed gave a “final speech” before the burning of the body and even though it was given in a different language I could feel what she was saying.  I cried along with the other attendees as she choked through the final words.  The family was so selfless and gracious throughout their grieving.  They fed the funeral guests and showered them with gifts and smiles through such anguish and the pain only showed in the last ten minutes of the funeral.  I don’t know how Thai people do it, but their generosity goes beyond anything I have seen or felt.  Anyway sorry to ramble, I just wanted to share that.

 

Thailand is still fantastic, as it has been since I arrived.  I am slowly but surely learning some language action which is helpful.  I did not realize how frustrating life can be sometimes when you have no idea what people are saying and when people think you are incapable of speaking (if only they knew how awesome I am J).

Thai classrooms are different than in the states.  I observed a fifth grade English class, there was no teacher.  From what I understand class is somewhat optional.  If the teacher is there, class will ensue.  If the students are there but the teacher is not, class consists of playing Takaw (Takaw is the same as volleyball but is played with the feet and with a smaller wicker ball; chicks dig it) or football.  So in short, the observation went really well, instead of observing I took the liberty to teach the American chicken dance which is very different from the Thai version of the chicken dance.  I like to believe that coming from the chicken capital of the world, my version is most likely to be correct (silly Thais).  The students are very eager to learn English.  In Thailand, English is like the P.E. of America (so I will have the best job in the world).  Besides the great job, the Thai kids and people honestly believe I am Harry Potter; my celebrity status is through the roof!

Elephants are big and the ruins in Ayutthaya are pretty awesome.  I got to tour around the province and visit the Tesco/Lotus which is a fairly large “mall” with a “walmart” type store connected to it.  They had an A and W so I went large; cheese sticks, chicken sangwhich (for you jersey shore watchers), French fries and a large root beer in a frosty mug.  The only thing my plate that did not have a “Thai twist” was the root beer, totally worth it.  The Thai version of “Twilight” was filming in Ayutthaya, I was able to watch, I thought the main “actress” was gorgeous, my host mom told me it was not a girl; story over (lesson learned). 

We had an activity called “Thai Day” which was a lot of fun and a much needed break from the day to day activities of PST.  My group performed a cross country performance; I was in the South group so naturally I felt it my duty to teach everyone how to call them hogs.  You may now take pride in the fact that people halfway around the world love and can perform the hog call. HOGS BEAT VANDY! NICE!

Shoot me an email if you have any ideas on how to let family and friends view my videos and pictures…They really are not anything too special but it may help grasp a little taste of Thai culture and what I am trying to explain on this here bloggem..

Cross-Cultural Note of the Day:  The Thai word for “Guava” is also “Farang”.  If you say the sentence “Farang gin farang” (gin=eat) they laugh for days… 

Insert Cool Blog Post Title Here That Has to Do With Thailand and Other Cool Things That Are Cool To Me and Others

Hello Blog,

I already forgot what I included in my last blog post so I hope I do not repeat anything that would bore potential readers to tears.  The last 10 days I have been with my Homestay Family.  My Mae is fantastic as is my family and the people that wander into the house that might be family or might not be family as well as the 8 cats that are stray, or maybe they are not stray and the 9 dogs and the 1 puppy and the 15 fighting roosters that live under my bed and wake me up at 4:30 every morning and the lizards that eat the mosquitoes in the bathroom where showers are not taken but bucket baths are!  My grammar teachers would not count off......

I have spoken with my mother and she of course is worried about my well being if those of you close to me can not tell by the posts on my facebook wall as well as the concern shown about the roosters in the right hand column of this blog.  I would like to reinforce that I am doing well and I am having a great time in Thailand!  The people are the most generous, I think, in the world.  The culture is taking some getting used to, I don't know how many times I have been scolded for not taking my shoes off before entering the house!  Whoopsadaisy!

I know I am rambling and not telling any stories in full but I want to get as much information out in the short time I have for lunch here at the school.  In order to do so I will get a quick run down of lots of different things......

Ready....

My house/room is great and spacious
I eat close to 7 times a day (Gin Kao Boy!) =  Eat RICE!
Restrooms are going great....western style toilet in my house, still have to use a sprayer....Anyone that would like to know more my inquire, I will oblige!
My family makes fun of me daily...you name it, I can't do it..........Washing clothes, eating correctly, drinking correctly, riding my bike correctly, saying hello correctly (sawatdee krap)...ect ect ect.  I feel like a 3 year old kid.  I have to learn how to speak, write, use the restroom all over again.  I suppose in America, since I feel like I haven't grown up, I am officially qualified as a "Toys-R-Us Kid".


Anyways, Thailand is  fantastic, I am very busy and the people here are wonderful just as I said before!  I will update again, please let me know if you are curious about anything Thailand...The little I know of the country is awesome so far and I can only imagine things are only going to get better and better!

Con Tep

A lot has proceeded since my last post on this thing.  I have been so busy I really don't know where to start, just writing this seems like an "epic" hill, for all you fratters.

First things first, I have successfully arrived in Thailand!  The activities have been non-stop since I have arrived which is most definitely positive; no time to think, just do.  I am in a hotel in the Ayuttaya province in Thailand.  Ayuttaya used to be the capital of the country prior to Bankok so it is fairly developed but still has it's fair share of poverty.  We received bikes two days ago and have been "bike training" ever since.

During a bike training session yesterday we had the opportunity to explore the village on a 18 km bike ride.  In the middle of the ride we stumbled upon a crane holding a human being over a creek who was attempting to throw electrical wire across the creek, the electrical wire was attached to a large ceramic spool.  I found this simple method very refreshing, they found it to be ineffective.  Here the electrical company is, on a dirt road, trying to throw a spool over a creek to supply power. I think they would have tried for hours, I mean they already had brought out the crane!  To make a long story short I offered my services in the form of my right arm (lets just say that Thai people seem to be more interested in sports that involve feet moreover any others so their form was a little off).  I grabbed the spool and successfully threw it across the canal, in turn supplying the village with power.  This will be my job for the next two years; only kidding.

I digress.  I am still very excited to be here, language lessons are intense but great fun and I will be meeting and heading to my first host family's home tomorrow (both anxious and nervous).  I hear they will make me eat a lot and I won't have anything to say to them which means conversation and laughter will be at my expense.  Squat toilets are working out great, will have one installed as soon as I get home!

I know this is not very detailed and probably not a very interesting blog post but I would love to talk to all of you individually when you, or i, get a chance.  Keep the emails coming!  I have a cell phone but I don't know how to put minutes on it and I have no idea what the number is.  I will keep you updated on that situation.  I am not sure the next time I will have internet access is but I will be in touch.  Much love and take care!

P.S. Ben Rector is the man!
P.P.S.  Pom Con Tep = My butt hurts (Fries family that is from biking, not other)

Almost There...That's Bidetcious!

Hello Blog....

When I started this blog a couple of weeks ago I did not know how to talk to it (first person, third person).  I currently do not know how to talk to it and it may be a while before blog and I become interwoven and connected in a full on human-blog relationship. Until the relationship blossoms into a beautiful flower please hang with me in my confusedness.

So here I am!  I am in Hotel Nikko in Narita, Japan where grilled squid is served for breakfast, oranges taste like grapefruits and "green drink" tastes all kinds of delicious.  Since this is my first adventure in Asia it is both wonderful and ridiculous that things are so efficient and technology seems more advanced than in the states e.g. the toilet has more buttons than the computer I am currently typing on.  I wanted to put a note in here for my immediate family more so than anyone else and I know I will be showing some humility in order to explain many things on this blog throughout my service.  So here it goes, Pat and Sarah, the bidet is the best thing since sliced bread after the second time. The first time one must figure the difference between "spray" and "bidet" buttons and then the key is to make sure the pressure is not on the highest setting or else it feels a prostate check (at least what I imagine a prostate check would potentially feel like).  What is a blog in my family without talking bodily functions?  It is not one...

Moving on,
I will be headed to Thailand in a couple of hours.  I am extremely excited and thankful that I have so many people, including family and friends, that are excited for the adventure I will be embarking on very soon.  I have never seen such an ecletic, energetic, fun-loving, caring group of people in my life which has also sparked much motivation.  Hopefully everyone reading this has my email address and can contact me, I will appreciate even the slightest encouragements!  I will update again when I have a chance, in the mean time take care and much love.

P.S.
My skype name is LukeFries3...Please email me yours or just add me on Skype or whatever you do with Skype and hopefully we can Skype and Tweeter and stuff.  It will be awesome!

Cheers,

Luke