A long week of lasts, good-byes, and peace-outs!

Monday: We said good-bye to the Baan Phonsawan kiddos... even though I only went there for internship for about 2 weeks, those adorable, energetic little munchkins stole my heart and I'll never forget them! We had a party for our last day and we did our best to leave in such a way that the good-byes were minimally emotional, which was helpful! This was also the last day of art class! We got some of our stuff back so here's a few pics:

So, I didn't actually make the pottery, I just painted it.....

...and carved it =)

So, this was really fun (not). We used stucco to create these pretty flowers, most of which had much more detail than mine, and I didn't even do the work! I kept bringing it up and the professor kept fixing it, and I'm pretty sure he did most of it, haha.

Thank goodness I have the ability to trace! These projects were from two different days, but they were pretty fun, especially since I didn't have to do anything free handed!

For our silversmithing project (it's not actual silver though, haha) we used hammer and tools and it was loud.... but then they put our projects on pretty black boxes (excellent for gift-giving!)

Tuesday: This was actually not a good-bye or last day! After classes, a group of us went to the International Women's Day Conference. One of the Social work seniors doing her full-time internship here presented the Thai Woman of the Year Award to its recipient since she was the one who had nominated her! The recipient was a woman at her internship, Grandma Cares, who has done a lot of research and work in the field of HIV/AIDS.

Wednesday: Last day of normal classes! We said good-bye to our Thai writing professor, Aj. Anek, and for our final we have to mail him a postcard in Thai sometime while we are on spring break! He gave us all the useful sentences to write on the postcard, so how's that for an easy A!

Thursday: LAST EXAM! (Well, minus the easy postcard). We took our final in Thai culture class. Now, as far as classes, go, I will write one short paper in the village, but other than that I'm done with classes until August! CRAZY! For dinner on Thursday, I went out with my entire family for dinner (usually I only eat meals with my sister and mother, so this was a rare treat!). They gave me a beautiful skirt as a gift and we ate lots of fun seafood (including some raw shrimp!). All in all, a good day =)

Friday: We had a free day, so a friend and I headed to massage place and got 120 baht, 1-hour massages ($4!). We did a little shopping and hanging out too, and then Friday night was the lovely farewell dinner! We performed our skits for our families and a few girls did some musical numbers and we ate delicious food! Also, a good day =)

Saturday: Today has been a relaxing do nothing but packing day. It is also the last night with our families! My family was pretty busy today, but it was nice to have a quiet day to pack my stuff and prepare my gift for my family, which I will give them in the morning! It includes most of the art work I have pictured above and a few things from America (ie, Virginia Peanuts and a Virginia totebag!). Also, my little sister got her ears pierced this past week, so I got her some earrings from the mall =)

SUNDAY: Tomorrow we are leaving for our 12-day adventure through Thailand! We will be travelling as a group on a tour bus to Sukhotahai, Pitsanulok, Ayuttyah, Lopburi, and Bangkok. This trip ends Friday, and then we are let loose for Spring Break! A group of us are heading to Kho Samet, an island off the southern coast of Thailand for this part of the trip, which will end on March 24th. Then, we will be back in Chiang Mai for a night before we head off to the Lahu village for a few days and the Karen village for a few weeks! I will not have my computer except for that day in between the trip and the village, so consider this your break from reading my ramblings ;) I'll try to keep up with a written journal every few days to have something to look back on next time I post!

There's also been a little change in plans for my stay here in Thailand! I'm staying an extra month! I will be taking a course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) that will provide me with a certification enabling me to teach English in other countries. I don't yet have specific plans for how I'll use the certificate, but I do think it will help to open up doors in the future since I hope to, at some point, live and work abroad! So, I will be home on May 22nd instead of April 22nd! There are 5 other students staying, so we're working on finding some cheap lodging altogether and all looking forward to our extra time in Thailand!

Well, that's all for now. I ask that you keep Japan, Hawaii, and the west coast in your prayers as they recover from the recent earthquake and tsunami.... I don't know that there has been much effect here in Thailand, thankfully, but I do know many people are mourning their losses and suffering, so I pray for their quick recovery back to a sense of 'normal'.

I also pray you are all doing well! Have a blessed and meaningful day, my friends.

More weekend fun!

So, last weekend (March 4-6), I stayed with the two social work majors doing their full-time senior internships who have a little dorm room/ apartment on the other side of CMU. We saw a movie (The Adjustment Bureau) at the big fancy mall with some other friends on Friday night... it was nice to be see an English movie, but odd to watch tv where people did not "wai" (sort of like a bow/nod) each other and say "Sa-wat-dii-kha!" I've gotten too used to Thai tv with my family!

Saturday morning, we went to Wat Jet Yod in the morning. I've come to realize and appreciate how peaceful wats are.... there's definitely something serene about them, plus their full of beautiful art and there's always a bo tree, and those are huge and gorgeous because I love trees =) Here's a few pics (though this tree is neither a bo tree nor at Wat Jet Yod, but it's still huge and COOL.... I'll post a bo tree pic sometime soon though)

Saturday afternoon, we went to the show that some from our group were a part of, as singers and dancers. The show was called "Searching for Sanook" and was about living one's dreams even when others tell you you can't. The show was put on by an InterACT Theatre project in which actors with disabilities are brought together to help put on the show. Everyone who was a part of it had wonderful things to say about working with the actors and it seemed to really change and touch some lives! The show itself was beautiful and well-done! The ending song, "Higher and Higher" in a medly with another thai song, was mesmerizing. There was such unity among the actors and everyone sang beautifully. Here's a few pictures that don't even begin to capture the moment, but, well, it's the best I could do =)

Saturday night we bought some movies and had a relaxing, veg-out movie-watching session =) Another little touch of home... sleepovers are the best! Sunday was also a pretty awesome day. We went to church in the morning and then went to Aj. Ann's and Aj. Mike's for lunch. This was a birthday celebration for Aj. Ann and one of our Thai profs, Aj. Rian! It was also a lunch for our special guests who joined us from America... Messiah's President, Kim Phipps, Messiah's VP of Enrollment, John Chopka, and Messiah's Assistant Director of Admissions for International Student Recruitment, Cindy Blount... they were doing some recruitment in SE Asia and stopped in for a day to see us! It was really neat to have them there, and we enjoyed telling them all about Enchanting Thailand =)

ALSO!! Two weekends ago on Sunday (Feb 27), we took a Thai cooking class! It was really fun to learn how to cook good food, and then we got to eat it! We made fried bananas, pad thai, mixed veggies, and yummy soup (which I forget the name of). We also got some little recipe books so I can't wait to try my hand at cooking it again in America! The woman that was teaching managed to keep herself really near to our little station and hardly let us do the work, lol, so I'm definitely excited to really try it out some time!

That Monday (Feb 28) was our final for Thai language! There were 2 parts, an individual part where we had to talk for 4 minutes (I probably talked for 2, lol... but they don't really keep track!) and then a group portion where we performed a skit in Thai. Our skit featured 2 farang students (aka, us) played by my friend Diana and I, who mumbled around and messed up thai and made silly mistakes getting used to living in Thailand. It included a scene where we we had our first thai class, then a market scene where we managed to bargain a price for a purse up instead of down (yay language barrier!) and a thai massage scene where we ended up in massive pain! It was really fun, and funny! I have no idea about what my grade is in the class, but I'm glad the exam is over!

Post about this past week to come... very soon. Maybe right now. Maybe not.

Peace =)

Chan yii-sip-et bii!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the last time I posted I was 20, and now I'm 21! My birthday was on February 24th, and it was an awesome day =)

I had a normal day, complete with my new normal of going to Baan Phonsawan to work with the kiddos for internship. They are always so much fun, and even the students in the grades I haven't helped with know me and wanna play and have fun!

After internship that day, I came home, got ready and headed out to dinner with Ajaan Mike and Ajaan Ann and their two assistants (and our older sisters) Phii Abigail and Phii Stacy. We had a delicious italian meal complete with apple strudel and ice cream for dessert--arroy maak (very delicious)!

Then, to top it off I went to a really neat show at a place called the playhouse in Chiang Mai. The show was a play/ musical with innumerable musical numbers, including songs by Michael Jackson and a few other American hits! It was a lot of fun and we were able to socialize with the actors/dancers for a little while afterward. All in all, a fabulous birthday!! Sorry it took me so long to post about it though! A few pictures from the show, which was entitled "Sequins and Dance":

 

Also, last week, I got to celebrate again with my family when they took me out for dinner and ice cream =) It was really nice of them!

I don't want to overwhelm with posts but I will probably give you another update of the goings on of this past weekend (March 4-6).... another awesome weekend in the lovely country of Thailand!