Language Barrier

The language difference has definitely been an issue for me thus far in Thailand. Yes, some Thais speak English, but let me emphasize the word some. I think the right thing to do though is try to learn their language while I’m a visitor in their country—good luck.

So far, a little over three weeks into my journey I have learned some basic Thai. Hello, goodbye, yes, no, good night, excuse me, thank you, beautiful, delicious, a few of the colors, some numbers, and a bunch of other odds-and-ends things. It is getting past these common and, dare I say, easy phrases that will be my biggest accomplishment.

Thai is a tonal language. That means that there is a lot more to the language than just letters and phonetics. It isn’t only important what you say, but also how you say it. I have a story of how confusing that can be:

One morning over an 8 AM breakfast of fried rice and a chicken leg (not your typical American breakfast) Brit and I got a little Thai language lesson from our cousin’s nanny Khun Iad. Khun Iad knows slightly more English than we know Thai, so breakfast is always an interesting and hilarious event. It's usually one big game of charades. This particular morning Khun Iad was teaching us “older” “younger” “sister” and “brother” so we could explain the birth order of the three girls and one boy in my family. We started with “older.” Khun Iad starts, “pee.” We repeat. Giggles from her, “No; pee.” We repeat again, twice. “Not pee pee!” (giggles) One more time, “pee.” Our mimicking the third time would make a parrot proud. “Yes!” I still don’t know the difference. “younger”=”nuang” “sister”=”sow”. Now we have explained the birth order from Brittany, pee sow, to Lauren, nuang sow. Now it’s time to explain Adam.

“Brother; chai.” Hold on. With the little Thai I know I already know that “chai” means “yes.” We explain this. Giggles. She says, “chai” while lifting her chin. “Brother.” She says “chai” while lowering her chin. “Yes.” Really? We’re supposed to know that difference?! After a lot of repeating and mimicking Khun Iad made us feel like we got it. She was just being nice. I figure that I need to accept the fact that I won’t get the tonal part of the language down, but people will probably understand me due to the context of the sentence. Here’s to hoping!

Another confusing, but common, aspect of the language is the word “mai.” I have yet to fully understand the power of “mai” but I do know that when you slap it in a sentence it can be used to negate something AND you use it when asking a question. I don’t know quite where you put it in the sentence, but usually when you shove it in there somewhere it works.

It is funny how many people are willing to be teachers of the Thai language. A clerk at a store, a villa operator, a 3-year-old cousin, and every once in awhile, a taxi driver. Britt and I have learned a lot of Thai from a few taxi drivers. One driver in particular, Khun Prichasit, gave us a lesson that was somewhere around 45 minutes. However, it is rare to find any that speak much English so the typical taxi ride is like this:

Taxi Driver: Pi ni ka? (where are you going?)

Britt: Pi Central Plaza

Taxi Driver:alkdefjhrcqemjdheflkcjuhdhasdkafuhh

Britt: I don't speak Thai

Taxi Driver: aihkgheosraeorhflskfawrioaer

Britt: Alright sir that was really fun to hear but we have no idea what you're saying

Taxi Driver: ligsalkjadhaefke;keahg

Britt: So Lex, do you think this guy has any idea where we want to go?

(And then we precede to talk to each other and him in English, which he doesn't understand while he talks to us in Thai, which we don't understand)

My two best Thai teachers: my 2.5 year-old cousin, Gabriella and her mai-ban Khun Iad

Another big barrier of the Thai language is the letters. To me, their letters look like a bunch of ‘u’s ‘m’s and ‘n’s with various ornaments hanging off of them. Signs look like squiggly pictures with, every once in awhile, an English word or two splashed in. Signs look quite lovely, but to me are quintessentially useless.

Going to the grocery store is quite an experience when you’re illiterate. I don’t know if I’m buying fish paste or jelly (the former being more common than the latter). Luckily some things have pictures on them or are familiar to American eyes—like the grinning face of Tony the Tiger. The sights and sounds of the grocery store are a different blog altogether.

This is a picture of Brittany trying to figure out what "Essence of Chicken" is at the grocery store. This store in particular is more Western than the one by our house because in this one the aisles are labeled in English as well.

There is a little bit of Thai-English overlap when it comes to things like Coca-Cola and other Western products. Also, you say “taxi” for both English and Thai. Interestingly enough a common phrase used over here is spoken in English: “same same.” It mean just what it says. That something is basically the same as the other. Pepsi & Coke? Same same. Park & playground? Same same. When I first heard it I highly doubted I’d ever use it. But people here are “same same”ing all over the place.

These are the squiggle letters at their finest. I can make no connection out of them whatsoever. However, with these two examples I know what some of them say because of the familiarity of symbols. I clearly know that the picture on the right is a stop sign. On the left I know that at whatever restaurant or something that is being advertised Pepsi and Fanta are sold there!

Walking around in a country where you can neither speak nor read their language makes you feel quite vulnerable. I have a constant worry that something bad will happen and no one will understand me and I won’t understand anyone else. It can also be very frustrating trying to get a point across. Along with all of these negative feelings it is also very liberating. It’s like being a child. There is a lack of communication and therefore a lack of expectations. I don’t have to read signs, listen to announcements, talk to people, etc. I can sit in my own world, my own head, all day long. And I get a pat on the back just for saying “hello” and “thank you.”

**also I must admit to those who know me too well and read the blog in amazement...I had help figuring out how to use "former" and "latter"...some things just never change**

Thai Massage: More Painful Than Childbirth?

Seeing as how I am not planning on having a child any time soon I cannot back up the title of my blog, but I will try to explain to you as best as I can the experience I had a few days ago with my first Thai massage.

Thailand is known for their type of massage. It is not your ordinary massage because the masseuse doesn’t just “rub your back” but literally picks up parts of your body and moves them around. It’s supposed to be an all-over body massage and feel amazing. Presently, I beg to differ.

Brit and I were walking to the spa where we would get our $15 two-hour massages and I was already nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, how to act or what I was getting myself into. Right before we got there I made sure to ask what to do about everything, especially regarding clothing. She said not to worry about anything and that they give you a cute outfit to change into. She liked them so much that she even purchased a set of her own. I was feeling good.

We walked into the very clean spa where they offered us ice-cold water (a delicacy at times here) and a fresh pair of sandals. Love it. We walked upstairs and waited for our masseuses. The first Thai woman, Gnam, who clearly spoke no English, came and I followed her into a room, Brit followed a second woman. Gnam handed me my outfit and then left the room. First, the pair of pants. I honestly could fit one and a half of me into one pant leg. There was also some sort of tie somewhere on the waistband, but I couldn’t tell what was the front or the back. Already freaking out. I put the pants on, tried to fasten them with the tie/belt in some way or another, put on my smock shirt and Gnam came back in. With the look I got from her I knew that was not how I was supposed to be wearing the pants. I said to a woman who doesn’t speak English, “I have no idea what to do with these,” and then she left. Awesome. I meekly called to Brit in the next room, “how the hell do you wear these pants?” She came over with her masseuse and they both laughed real hard. Apparently I was given a really big pair of pants and Gnam was getting me another pair. Once appropriately dressed, I laid on my back, put my lavender-scented eye pillow on and began to relax.

That is, until Gnam touched me. The first thing that Gnam decided to do was kill any sensory nerve that I had in my calf muscle. This was no gentle massage, this was an all out war against my body and wow, Gnam was off to a great start. She put every bit of weight and muscle into kneading my left leg. Muscles I didn’t even know I had, she found, and made them wish she never found them. I could honestly not believe that (A) this could feel like that (B) some people enjoyed it and (C) this little Thai woman could inflict so much pain. She moved inch by inch up my whole leg. After about 10 minutes I was in a complete cold sweat trying not to scream and cry at the same time. And let me tell you, Gnam knows what she’s doing. There were some parts in my leg that were fine with her type of massage but the parts that hurt more than anything I’ve ever felt, she would go back to 3 or 4 times. She was relentless. When she finally stopped her kneading she picked up my leg and moved it into positions that I’m pretty sure a leg should not be put in. I will leave it at that. Her finishing touch was to go up to my thigh/pelvis area and just put all of her might into pushing down on one area. After about 5 seconds I realized she was stopping the blood flow to my leg. That’s right folks, for 30 or so seconds she just stopped my leg from living. When she released I could feel all of the blood flow back and my leg feel hot and tingly…it was weird. Finally after what felt like an hour (but was actually about 25 minutes) she put the blanket back on my leg and then I realized—that was only my LEFT leg!

She repeated the same ordeal on my right leg and both my arms. Pure pain. I wish I could describe adequately to you how horrible it felt. I flipped over and it was time for my back. Gnam decided to revisit the backs of my legs first, as if they hadn’t been through enough. Then she pretty much destroyed my spine. All I could think about was life in a wheel chair with no feeling in my entire body because I had a Thai-massage-gone-wrong. Every once in awhile I would make a small noise of discomfort otherwise I just bit my tongue. She got every knot and sensory nerve right out of my back and neck.

After a whole lot of kneading and putting me in different positions came what I like to call, “forced torture yoga.” This was when Gnam decided to put my in yoga positions that I should never attempt. She had her whole body moving mine into severely uncomfortable contortions. I think the worst part was that I could hear Brittany in the next room saying, “thank you” and “that feels great.” I could just picture her over there positioned like a pretzel and loving every minute of it. Every once in awhile I would have to let out a little laugh because I was the weirdest positions, practically wrestling with this small Thai woman. At one point I swear to God I was giving her an airplane ride. One of my favorites was when I was on my stomach, she sat on my legs, grabbed my arms and pulled my back/head so my body was in a perpendicular position. It is not legal, I swear.

At one point she said something to me in Thai and left the room. Great. Brit popped her head over and told me that she was going, like Brittany’s masseuse, to wash her hands and then give me a head massage. That was the one pleasant part of the massage. After the head massage I thought she was done. I guess I didn’t know Gnam as well as I thought I did. She wrapped her body around mine, jerked my body to the side, and cracked my back like it has never been cracked before. Then we were done. Two hours. Definitely not for the weak of heart.

She left the room, I changed back into clothes that fit me, and we went downstairs and had ginger tea. Brit kept praising her masseuse Pat so I kept telling Gnam how great it was too. As soon as we walked out of the spa I could finally breathe.

Today, two days after the massage, my muscles hurt and I have a few bruises. I’ve been told that I may have had a particularly “rough” masseuse and that they’re all not like that. It was a very interesting experience and I’m sure I’ll try it again, with someone else, before I leave. However, as for right now I am just thankful that body parts I was mentally saying goodbyes to during my massage still work.

Krabi by Sea (Pt. 1)

The whole gang was complete when Gang A (Belisle parents, Teresa/Steve/Gabriella, Peterson parents and Britt) met Gang B (Lexie) at the Bangkok airport. After some great airport food it was off in the air to the Southern “mermaid fin” of Thailand—more boringly known as Krabi, Thailand. We all stayed in one villa right on the Andaman Sea. This prime location created a great discussion topic for Brian and Larry: the tides timetable. During our week stay in Krabi there were some great adventures had via the Andaman Sea.

Our very first sea adventure was on a longboat. These are commonly used as fisherpeople boats and ours looked like it was on its last leg. However, the S.S. Falling Apart proved us all wrong and brought us to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We lounged on white sand, ate Seaweed flavored potato chips, and swam in warm salt water. On this trip we were also able to go in a secret cove full of monkey families and hunt for crabs scuttering around in the low tide. A more solemn part of our longboat trip was walking through wreckage from the 2004 Tsunami. We saw longboats, similar to our own, ripped apart; a pile of wood where there used to be a lunch spot; and signs telling us where to go if another tsunami were to strike. It was an amazing trip.

Our next sea adventure was a bit different. We were on a speed boat with 20 other tourists. That was one of the most interesting parts, watching the others. We had an older white man with a young Thai woman, a group of Malaysian bf/gfs, another older white man with a young Thai woman, a solo woman who we almost left on an island, and a British family...all led by Khun Bill. We slashed, nauseatingly, through the sea and made several stops to snorkel and lay on beaches. We made a lunch stop at a big tourist island Ko Phi Phi (“yeah you know me”).

The contrast of the two tours was interesting. Our longboat tour was much more intimate: the boat, the beaches, the thoughts. Our speed boat tour was filled with people and noises. Despite their differences I am so glad we did both of them.

Krabi by Land (Pt. 2)

Krabi, although a fishing town, is also very interesting when toured by land.

When you’re coming from the Land of Snow (good ole Minnesota) it’s nice to have a few days of laying around in the sun. Brian, Brittany and Larry had fun roaming the streets by our villa and found a nice place to eat lunch about a mile away. One day we all took a nice little walk there, ate lunch, and came back to the Thai people in our villa freaking out. Apparently they had heard that a few tourists were killed somewhere in Krabi and our “neighborhood” isn’t the safest. Oops. After what felt like a big game of charades we found out that Khun Bill (a different one than the speed boat navigator), and the three Thai women who work at the villa were driving around on motorbikes looking for us and asking if anyone had seen 6 tourists. When they heard no good feedback they sat at our villa and waited. Double oops, sorry.

Our next trek by land went a lot more smoothly. The closest “city” to our villa is a place called Ao Nang. One day we hopped a taxi van and spent the day walking around, laying on the beach and shopping. When shopping it is always an interesting experience. Vendors yell out “cheap cheap” and “special deal for you.” Britt cuts the price down to half of the asking price, Lexie quietly gets it down a few Baht and Robin just asks Britt to do it for her. Quite the opposite of their shopping personalities in the States! This town boasts more familiar places too like McDonalds, Haagan-Dazs and Starbucks. It was an exhausting urban adventure.

Our final ‘land tour” was one done through the jungle. On this tour we stopped at a natural hot springs, a naturally emerald body of water and a naturally deep blue pool of water. We couldn’t swim in the last one because the floor of the pool was made of quick sand. It was a great change of scenery walking through the jungle and a very different experience. On the same tour we got to see pineapple plants and how they’re harvested as well as rubber trees and how they’re tapped. In Krabi the making of rubber is the most common job held. We ended the day by going to a Buddhist temple built into caves. Not your typical place of worship.

It was a very busy week in southern Thailand, but we were able to soak in sunrays, take in the scenery and learn a fair amount of knowledge both by sea and by land.

Paradise, With a Scoop of Bonofee

My first week of my four-month “vacation” I got to go on vacation. My parents and our family friends, The Petersons, came to Thailand a week before me and whisked me off to southern Thailand upon my arrival. Our vacation location: Krabi, Thailand—better known as Paradise.

Our villa overlooked a spectacular view: a turquoise sea framed by arching palms and studded with enormous islands of rocks, or Kos. After a few boat ride tours we soon found that many of these islands had beaches that normally we only read about. Soft, white sand leading up to clear, warm seawater. These are the same beaches that were used for the appropriately titled movie “The Beach” and one of the James Bond movies. Every aspect of these islands screamed paradise.

The wildlife in paradise was equally unreal. I watched geckos scale the walls of our villa while eating breakfast. On an intimate boat ride we watched monkeys picking nits off one another in a cove. At a Buddhist temple, or wat, my mom watched a handful of monkeys climb on tables and steal visitors’ food and purses. It is not uncommon here to see cows or goats grazing on the side of the road every couple hundred feet. While on a larger boat tour I literally dove into one of my fears (not so quietly if you ask the others on the boat) and snorkeled in the Andaman Sea. I saw schools of colorful fish swimming amongst giant coral. The animals were unlike anything I had ever seen.

The weather was paradise-esque as well. The sun shone brightly every single day. The breeze from the sea cooled me down slightly while I lounged in the sun trying to manipulate my bright white skin that just came from a cold Minnesota winter. It stayed nice and hot all-day and cooled down at just the right time when we needed to go to bed. It’s warmth like that that makes me wonder how on earth I can withstand Minnesota winters. Paradise never has snow days.

There are also many little things that I, and possibly only I, attribute to paradise. For example, we all know my deep love for wearing dresses every day that I possibly can. Here, I can get all the $7 dresses that I could ever dream of. The airplane seats on Thai Airways are pink, yellow and purple. You can get phone service in the middle of a jungle. The 3-dollar meals taste more delicious than any 10 dollar one you can get in Chicago or the Twin Cities. There are smiles and giggles everywhere, especially accompanying every misunderstanding. A visit to some hot springs and a mineral lake gave us an opportunity to talk about chemical compositions and reactions, something I’ve missed for the past 7 months. The pineapple in paradise is the most delicious pineapple you could ever taste. Finally, something that paradise has that I have never found anywhere else is Bonofee.

Bonofee is an ice cream flavor that we discovered in a Haagen-Dazs in the village of Ao Nang. Thus far in Thailand I have found very bizarre flavored junk food. For example, our Lays potato chip flavors are Seaweed, Spicy Seafood and Soft Shelled Crab. When we entered Haagen-Dazs, a slice of back home, I was not greeted with Triple Chocolate Cookie Supreme, but with Green Tea and Bonofee flavors. After a question of what Bonofee is and a sampling of it, I fell in love. It is a very light banana ice cream with swirls of toffee so creamy that they taste like the most delicious caramel swirls you have ever tasted. I, a girl who doesn’t like ice cream a whole lot, came back for seconds. It was paradise at its frozen finest.

Throughout the seven days we spent in Krabi it was hard to overlook the great paradox that is paradise. Across the street from every beautiful view were run-down shacks made of corrugated aluminum. Behind every $7 sundress is a family that depends on that $7—250 baht—to eat. After taking a picture with a monkey you notice the sedatives it is given by its keeper. While on boat tours we saw islands riddled with remains of fishing boats from the devastating tsunami that occurred in 2004, the day after Christmas, on the paradisaical beaches that we tanned on. There were so many contradictory sights in Krabi that it made me think about what I would give up in my very comfortable life in order to live in paradise.

After many thoughts whirling in my head during that week I found out one of the best things about paradise. There are moments when you can stop over-thinking, take a breath, soak in the sun, and eat a scoop of Bonofee ice cream.

Wat Chiang Man on Doi Suthep (Brittany)

The temple is a 360 step hike and we chose to hike it on New Years Day, when every Thai person is on holiday and most of them head to a temple. It was a staircase packed with people under five feet tall. This mountainside temple is Chiang Mai's most popular wat and dates back to 1383. The builders allegedly chose this site by placing a relic of Buddha on an elephant's back and letting it roam until it trumpeted and circled before lying down and eventually died. (I read that after the fact. We wandered around this temple like a bunch of gapers as the Buddhists held their religious ceremonies) Robin and I actually went into a temple because we saw two monks blessing two lines of people. As some old lady was dragging mom into the other line, I noticed that she and I were in the line that only had men in it... awkward. The market below the temple was fun, we purchased some good gifts and some yummy ice cream (nothing to be compared to the god-of-an-ice-cream-flavor banoffee which will be mentioned in a future blog by lexie)

Sawadee bpi mai ka! (Brittany)

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve we took a songthaew for 9 km (although in the back of a covered pick-up truck facing one another on benches it seemed much longer!) to a very nice Thai restaurant for dinner. We drank wine and laughed a lot, especially when Robin ordered "American Fried Rice" in hopes that it would be a simple option for dinner. The rice came out red (ketchup we discovered) and surrounded by two pieces of ham, an egg, a couple of mini weenies, and an unidentifiable fried meat product. The food was delicious and by 10:00 we hopped back into our songthaew and headed back to the homestead. A New Year drink of sparkling topped off our night and we all settled into bed by 11:30, happy to not have any other expectations than to be asleep by the stroke of midnight.

The next day started early. We went through heritage village, which was actually like tourist alley. Initially it sounded authentic, but the first stop at an overpriced jewels shop had me skeptical (so being ornery, I didn't take any pictures.) We did stop at a silk store that showed the steps to creating silk starting from the worm. That was pretty cool! After confronting the driver with the problem of not being impressed by his choice of morning events we skipped the rest of the "village" and headed toward the hot springs.

The hot springs were beautiful, but to our surprise, way too hot to swim in. It was a very popular spot for the Thais to bring in the New Year, and we were able to witness the boiling of the basket of egg tradition... so that was interesting...

The 5 Times I Almost Cried...

What I have learned the past four days in Thailand, and through reading about the country, is that the Thais have a very “laissez-faire” attitude. What happens happens. It is what it is. Those who know me well know that I do not typically have that same attitude. I am systematic, I can be a perfectionist and I tend to overthink. I have found that my sort of lifestyle will not work here in Thailand—which brings me to the 5 times I almost cried when by myself in Bangkok.

1. Setting: Sitting in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport before my flight to Chicago. A woman comes over the intercom and lets us know that they overbooked our flight and would appreciate if anyone’s flight plans are flexible. Mine were not flexible. I had a plane to catch in Chicago to Tokyo and then from Tokyo to Bangkok. Then I panicked: I was flying on frequent flier miles. I was going to be the first person bumped to another flight. I couldn’t afford to be bumped because I had another plane to catch. Maybe if I plead with other passengers over the intercom they would change their flights. There was no way to contact the rest of my family in Bangkok. My eyes were welling up…”Now boarding all passengers.” Phew, now I could breathe—for now.

2. Setting: Bangkok Airport. I made my transitions from Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok tear-less. There were bouts of exhaustion, hunger, confusion and amazement, but no tears. I got off the airplane in Bangkok and knew that my next step was meeting my taxi driver at “Meeting Point 3” or something of that nature. He would have a sign with my name on it and his name is Khun Kob. I followed the crowd of people coming out of my airplane towards, what I assumed, was “the finish line.” Then we passed “Gate 3.” Uh oh. Was it “Gate 3” or “Meeting Point 3”? What’s the difference? I didn’t see my name on any of the 6 signs held at Gate 3. I was on a moving walkway in the middle of a moving crowd. Goodbye Gate 3. Here is where I almost cry. But this feeling carries with me through the entire airport. Through money exchange, through customs (where another situation occurs), through baggage claim and all the way to the door outside. Now that I had left my driver behind at Gate 3 there was no way of getting back in. I am a short, blonde, American, idiot in the middle of Bangkok at 1 AM with no taxi driver. I just wanted to start sobbing. Then I saw it. “MEETING POINT 3à” Yes! I followed the arrows all the way to a Thai man with a sign that read “Alexis.

3. Setting: Customs. Let’s reverse back to mid-freakout in the Bangkok airport. As I move to the line in customs where my visa is to be stamped I have some pre-concerns. I know that Brittany had some issues here when she went through the airport. I also know that somehow I need the people to understand a concept that I barely understand: I don’t want them to stamp my tourist visa because I want my first 30 days “free” so I can do a “visa run” and use my 2 re-entries later. So, how do I explain this to someone who maybe speaks English? I got into line and then realized that the Thai woman was just almost yelling at the woman in front of me. She kept saying “wrong line” “visa” and “no.” Then I got nervous. She was not going to understand me. She would stamp my visa and I would not be able to stay in Thailand as long as I intended to. Tears were welling. I don’t want to be next. I stepped up, explained my situation in English, she made me sign something and, to the best of my knowledge, it worked!

4. Setting: Taxi from the airport. Luckily my Aunt Teresa had everything set for me upon my arrival to Bangkok. I had a driver who was looking for me and knew where to bring me. So it is now about 1:30 AM Bangkok time and I met the man holding the “Alexis” sign. We attempted to exchange a few words and then got into his taxi. Almost done with my 30+ hours of traveling! It’s an interesting taxi ride and the views are great…until we hit minute 35. I have no idea how far away my Aunt and Uncle live but I know they live just outside of Bangkok. As we near minute 40 I start to think that I should have made sure I was the right “Alexis.” I never made sure he was Khun Kob and that he was supposed to pick up Alexis Belisle. Oh no. He’s probably driving me to Cambodia. Actually, he is more than likely about to drive me away and sell me into slavery. I just traveled 30 hours to be stolen in a foreign country. Why didn’t I ask if I was the right Alexis?!? Mid-thought and when I was beginning to cry my “abductor’s” phone rang. He said “5 minutes” and handed me the phone. It was Brittany calling to check in! We got to the house in the next five minutes and I was safe, sound and ready to go to bed.

5. Setting: House in Bangkok, going to the airport again. After a day and a half by myself in Bangkok Khun Kob was going to pick me up again and bring me to the airport so I could meet up with my family and fly down south to Krabi Khun Kob was picking me up at 3, which would give me plenty of time to figure out how to check bags, get a ticket and go through security by myself. My bags and I were sitting at the door at 3:00 and there was no Khun Kob. At 3:10 there was no Khun Kob. At 3:25 there was no Khun Kob. I start sweating. I feel the tears. Time to call Khun Kob at 3:30. He picks up right away and when hearing my American voice says “I pick you up at 4” I respond shakily, “not 3?” He repeats, “I pick you up at 4.” Okay, guess I’m seeing him at 4. Then comes 30 minutes of my mind racing and hoping that I have enough time to make it to my plane. What am I going to do if I miss my flight? He comes at 3:59 and here we go. 45 minutes of worrying to the airport. 5 minutes of worrying while I find my airline carrier. 5 minutes of worrying in line. Bags checked. 2 minutes of worrying before security. 2 minutes of worrying down the escalator. And then I see them, my American family! Backpacks, maps and all! We have an hour and a half until our plane leaves, I made it and I’m not all by myself in Thailand anymore!

A common phrase that I’ve already learned in Thai is “mai pen rai.” It means “no big deal”…an oral shoulder shrug. I have already taken note that I will have a lot easier of a time in Thailand—and in life—if instead of worrying and being on the verge of tears I just think to myself “mai pen rai.”

The Market (Brittany)

Elephants, Tribal villages, and Belisle's oh my! (Brittany)

The elephant camp went far beyond our expectations. We arrived on time for their 9:40 show, with time to buy a bunch of bananas and sugarcane to feed a few of the many trunks swimming in the air looking for treats. The show was fun for kids of all ages (Truth being that Brittany and Brian probably had more fun than Gabriella!) We watched the elephants hula hoop with their trunks, paint pictures, lift logs, and kick soccer balls around. These beasts are beautiful and could totally ham up the show! Before and after the show, they would wander around the premises playing in the river, eating brush, and giving rides to the tourists. I have to come back here with Lexie in order to have someone who will ride an elephant with me...

A few blocks down the road lays the Hillside Conservation Center (or something). This one-stop-hillside village-shop holds many families (mostly woman) who wear traditional garb and bust out traditional handicraft work in front of your very tourist eyes. It was VERY cool, but it made me think how I need to come back and do the one week trek from village to village for the real deal! Here we saw young women working on looms, primitive machinery that "smushes" rice, straw huts, suckling pigs, wandering roosters, and entertained tourists. The single road through the "village" brought you through many booths vending similar merchandise, and the grand finale was the hill tribe women who still entertain the tradition to lengthen their necks with gold coils. It was fascinating and easy all at the same time.

We followed Mr. Chan's plan to eat lunch at the Tiger Farm. We have since learned to not listen to all of his suggestions. The food was not good and we wouldn't even think about entering the overpriced trap of tourism they were offering.

We wanted to be "less tourist-y" so we told Mr. Chan to bring us to the day market! Well... people were feeling stressed out within five minutes of exiting the van. Narrow walkways tight with people selling crappy knickknacks, weird western style clothing, and disturbing snacks. We all got over that place real quick and jumped in the car requesting to head home :)

After several gin and tonics, we piled into a vehicle that combined the feel of a tuk-tuk with the look of a... mini fire engine? Two benches facing each other with an open ended back. The 15k trip took a bit longer than expected, but the food and ambiance were well worth the trip : ) Our New Years Eve dinner was fantastic- we ate, drank, and were merry! After dinner we went home for a big glass of cheap sparkling and the new year crept in as we were all asleep in our beds.