Art Classes and Field Trips

Ok, I know I said I'd post about my internship, which I will, but this post will be about our art class! We started art last Friday, Jan 21 I believe (don't quote me on that). Usually we have one or two art lectures a week and then Friday afternoons are mostly all art. Last Friday was an all art day, so we had a long lecture, a field trip, lunch, another long lecture, and another field trip, and this past Friday was also an afternoon of field trips. No lecture though, thank goodness... my attention span can only handle so much lecturing about art... I wanna see it, and eventually try it! I'm sure my creations will be nothing in comparison to the real thing, but I am excited for some hands-on learning.

So, for our 3 field trips we've taken so far, we saw quite a few things, ranging from traditional Thai houses to museums to Buddhist wats. Here are some pics for you to enjoy:

We pay such good attention ;)

The fabric around the Jedi is to show support and at some wats, people write their wishes, hopes, dreams, etc on the fabric or paper before it goes up.

The base of this Jedi at another temple has huge elephants around it... elephants are believed to have 'magical' powers, and the little Buddha was left there on the side by a worshiper. Most of Thai Buddhism includes their elements of culture, including magic, animism, and even some Hinduism.

Inside one of the halls at another temple (either chanting or ordination hall, I can't quite tell the difference).

Bamboo.....

Lacquer-ware! A large amount of people work to turn bamboo like the above picture into items such as this... they cut/ peel the bamboo into thin strips, form the strips into the desired shape, putty the item, and then layer it with lacquer (black sap from a certain kind of tree) or just paint and then decorate it. Quite a process, but it has been used to make bowls, trays, etc, etc, for many, many, many, many, many, many years!

 We also saw a few other places with other lacquer-ware, and visited a textile museum that was too fancy to allow pictures-but it had some beautiful fabrics and a display about money and its history throughout different parts of Asia.

In other news, all of my weekends have  been spent at my family's new house. Last weekend, we had a family gathering at a grandparent's house (not too exciting for me since no one spoke English and they tried to feed me strange food!). I've quickly learned the Thai phrase, "im leew," 'I'm full!' This weekend, there was a gathering at our house and some family members (they never actually introduce anyone to me) came and brought their 1-month old baby, and I held her for like an hour!!! That completely makes up for the lack of introductions ;) She was gorgeous, and I don't remember the last time I got to hold an infant =) Other than that, though, the weekend was not too exciting. I read 2 books: one, a novel I brought with me, and the other a short book we have to read for Thai Culture called "Basic Buddhism." It was definitely interesting, and I promise one of these posts will be about my Buddhist University internship and I will do my best to tell you more about Buddhism as a religion as well.

That's all for now, be blessed! O, and if you're one of those unfortunate ones in a wintry wonderland, I'll leave you with this: my little sister, Ning, told me the other day, "I want to see snow, and eat it, and run through it with no clothes on!" I know the snow seems dreary, cold, and never-ending, but Spring is on its way!! And, there are people here who've never been 'blessed' by it! Enjoy!