Post-Protest

So from what I hear the protestors have dispersed now here in Bangkok. It was pretty bizarre to feel safe over here in my part of town, and then see very aggressive, unpredictable images of the city live on CNN.

There were a few calm protestors two blocks away from where I live, and since it has been the Thai new year (Songkran) there has also been a 3-day countrywide waterfight going on in addition to the protests.

People everywhere have squirt guns, and buckets of water and you can't walk anywhere without ending up wet.



People also ride around in pick-up trucks and motorbikes to soak people. Rachel and I both got soaked while on motorbikes. There's very little pity.

Love to you all,
Paige

A Taste of the Bizarre

I've had 48 fours filled with head-scratching, where-did-that-come-from moments. Here are three:

1. I braided pig-tails for 20 minutes while substituting in a kindergarten class.
2. I witnessed a grown woman retching in a classroom who then pretended like it was totally normal and happens all the time.
3. While stuck in traffic my taxi driver took out a flute and played three songs before traffic started up again.

Nice.

Hope you're all lovely!

Love,
Paige

Bangkok, Thailand: Kind of Like an All-Girls School

So I realized that I hadn’t mentioned something on here that is pertinent to my daily life here in BKK: pretty much all of my friends and the important people in my life here are women (save Dad).

This was driven home last night when I went to see a production of the Vagina Monologues that my friend produced/ directed, and two of my friends performed in wonderfully. Here’s a photo of the cast…


A group of 15 of us bought tickets, and save for a fiance here, and a back-packing guy there – it was the normal gaggle of girls that I really love spending time with. And they’re totally great.

I’m surrounded by really strong, smart, funny women, and soso grateful for that.

Love,
Paige

well... this got awkward.

So in one of my classes the girls have developed this strange habit of walking up to me, rubbing my stomach and saying "BABY!"

This makes me extremely uncomfortable on a number of levels - and usually I say something like "umm.. no baby. Please don't do that" - but unfortunately my protests have not stopped this somewhat disturbing pattern.



On some level I thought the girls understood that - in truth - I was not actually with child... until yesterday when one of the girls walked up during class to give me this:



That's right. It's a baby rattle. These girls are even telling their parents that I'm pregnant and I am now getting gifts for my
(thankfully!) non-existent child.

Love to you all,
Mama Paige

Chiang Mai!

so.. clearly I haven't been so good about posting. Took me awhile to get back into my patterns after vacation !!BUT!! I'm on the verge of being better about e-mailing and all of those good things!

On to more exciting things with pictures involved.

Went to Chiang Mai this weekend. The temperature was much cooler, and it's so mellow compared to Bangkok that being there for 2 days felt more like 4 or 5.

Here's Rachel and I on the way up in the train:



The train left on Friday night at 10pm and got in about 11am Saturday. We had second class sleeper bunks with no AC -- which actually ended up being ideal because then we could have the windows open and the car didn't get stuffy or smelly or anything. It was also great the next morning because we got to see the mountains and plenty of green jungle goodness. Loved it.

Here's a Chiang Mai street shot:



... not particularly interesting or a particularly good example of the streets... but... please notice that it is not packed with cars and there are no skyscrapers. That's probably why I felt the need to document it. Rachel and I rented bikes on Saturday and just pedaled along visiting temples, and being really excited that we weren't fearing for our lives during said activity.

Here's me enjoying pineapple at the bottom of the steps at Doi Suthep:



Doi Suthep is the name of a mountain, and at the top of the mountain there is a temple - Wat Phratat. The legend is that a white elephant was released into the jungle carrying part of Buddha's shoulder bone with him (there's more background to this story than I'm giving you) and he climbed up Doi Suthep and died there at the top.

The temple was hopping on Sunday with lots of visitors making offerings. The temple is also supposed to offer a good view of Chiang Mai, but it was pretty cloudy:



There was a long row of prayer bells which I thought were really neat:



And then one special bell:



And lots of general temples goings-ons -- including some maitenance work on the chedi:







So yeah. Really great weekend. Came back feeling very rested, and it was a good reminder that I should definitely leave the city once a month.

Love to you all, and I really will be better about posting!

xo-Paige

Trip Planned (and booked!) to Chiang Mai!

Take that New Year's Resolution #1!

I'm going to Chiang Mai the first weekend in February with Rachel - yesss!!! The train tickets have even been purchased. Boo-yah.

Here's how I picture us on the train:



It's nice, no?

Also pending plans for a trip to Bali at the end of March where I have my accomodations already paid for (I know... ridiculous) -- and have been invited for a weekend trip to Hong Kong... which I know I probably won't actually be able to go on, but entertaining the idea has been fun.

Love to you all, and now that I'm back on schedule I will also be back posting.

mwah,
Paige

Photo from port2port.

Fortune on a Stick

Had a really great trip to Ayutthaya with the Mastache clan. Took a boat up the Chao Phraya all the way to the town (maybe 2 hours?) and then started off by visiting Bang Pa-in Palace which is a royal summer palace that was built in the 17th century.

Also visited the ruins of a number of wats (temples) that were mostly built around 300ish-500 years ago. Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese in the late 18th century, and so all of the Buddhist images had been de-headed and the relics stolen either by Burmese soldiers or Thai locals who realized they could sell the goods on the black market.

hmm - hopefully that's a close enough history to pass. Besides our really sweet/ informed tour guide who was with us for the whole trip -- the highlight of my day was definitely being introduced to Buddhist Fortune Sticks.

I got to shake fortune sticks at two wats, and here's how it goes: you take a can that has about 20 sticks with numbers on them, and then shake the can until one of the sticks fall out.

Once a stick falls out, you go over to a little cabinet and pick out a sheet of paper from the shelf that has your stick's number on it.

The sheet of paper at the first temple was only in Thai, and I can't really remember the details of my fortune as it was translated to me - but here's what my second fortune looked like:



And here's what the message says:

Your will be achieved any matter you do, good luck is coming and you should have luck with money. There is a good news for loves.

umm... awesome.

I didn't take many pictures since Megan was there and she's good at photography -- so I'll post some of hers soon.

Love to you all,
Paige

A Very Merry Christmas (and a visa run)

Hello there loved ones --

Had a really great extended Christmas with the Mastache family here in Bangkok.

Lots of really yummy food (mashed potatoes, ham, and some Thai) as well as a trip to the hospital to visit Mr. Mastache (who is healthy and home again - but we got to go caroling down his hospital corridor with champagne and dessert to make sure he had ample holiday cheer).

Also went to Cambodia for about 2 hours on the 24th to get my visa stamped.

Here's what the border looks like:



Beyond that the only parts of Cambodia that I saw were the morning-regulars at a seedy casino and an outdoor cafe.. not the best preview, but hopefully I'll do justice to the country sometime in the near future.

It was so nice to be able to hear some of your voices on Christmas day, and I'm thinking about all of you lots!

Going to go to Ayuttaha tomorrow which is a former capital of Bangkok, and so I'm really excited about that.

Oh! Also made Mom's egg nog, and the fanbase of that recipe just keeps on growing, ha.

Love to you all!
-Paige

Koh Samet: Part Deux

Hellooo --

Had a really nice and sunny weekend on Koh Samet. Here are a couple of pics from the little bungalow we stayed in (and not to rub it in - but I have to mention that it was about $7.50 each for a night, ha) :::





And here is my friend Rachel who I went with and I on the boat back to Ban Phe where the ferries leave from:



I'm now officially on vacation, and off to a very strong start relaxing. In fact, I was so dedicated to resting up that I slept through the alarm at 3:45 this morning that was supposed to wake me up so that I could get on a 5am bus to Cambodia for a visa run. Oops. Guess I'll go tomorrow instead.

I'm also going to be celebrating Christmas with the Mastaches on the 26th instead of the 25th, because their younger daughter lives in Portland and the airport was shut down because of the snow! I'm not especially attached to the 25th, so not to worry about -- kind of nice to have an extra day to relax before all that exhaustive present opening and eating, ha.

Hope you're all well!

Love,
Paige

Best Question Ever

Had a great moment at school today when a girl walked up to me and gave my skirt a tug in the middle of class.

I looked down and she had a pretty pensive face on and motioned that she needed to whisper something to me. I figured she was either trying to tell me that a) one of the other girls had taken her pencil case. These girls take their pencil cases impressively seriously... or that b) she was trying to come up with the English words for "I definitely just peed in my pants."

Well. To my surprise - it was neither. Instead her question was a very quiet, "Teacher Paige... can do you a cartwheel?"

ummm... could not be more glad she stopped class to ask that one.

Love to you all,
Paige

Megan's Birthday: A Retrospective

Hey loved ones --

So the internet at my apartment has been working about 5% of the time recently -- and that 5% is usually before I go to work, soooo... that's why I haven't been posting little updates of late.

Meanwhile things are going well, and I'm getting really excited for a two week break from school. I'm having Christmas with my friend Megan and her family, and so to get excited about that here are some photos from Megan's birthday celebration a few weeks ago.

We went to a wine-tasting which we all had pretty low expectations for -- and then the food turned out to be really good, and the entertainment turned out to be these dancers (who are also, according to the MC, economists and journalists by day):





There was a lot of Gwyn Stefani being channeled. The photos are by Megan -- very fun to have someone taking photos who can do more than just point and click.

And here's a shot of the group I was there with:



Hope you're all starting to feel festive!

Love,
Paige

Getting in the Spirit

I've been hearing a lot of people throw around the ole "It just doesn't feel like Christmas when it's 70 degrees out" of late, and honestly.. I couldn't agree less. Nothing says Christmas to me quite like hanging lights in shorts and a t-shirt - and that's exactly what someone at my apartment complex did this past weekend.

So now my apartment's front walkway is decked out in white lights (which is great), and it made me realize that I hadn't shown you guys a picture of the spirit house at my apartment which always has sparkly little lights on it:



Spirit houses are veryvery common here - and most homes and businesses have one -- usually in a corner of the property where shade is least likely to hit it. The houses are shrines to animist spirits, and people leave offerings at the houses to keep spirits that could cause them trouble happy.

I see a lot of drinks left at spirit houses - water, Fanta soda, milk - and flowers and incense are also common offerings.

The spirit house at my apartment complex is actually one of my favorites - and maybe I'm biased, but hopefully the spirits are happy with it too.

Love to you all,
Paige

Lumphini Park

Spent most of my Sunday afternoon at Lumphini Park with some friends. It covers about 140 acres (thanks Wikipedia.), and it was really nice to be sitting on some grass under some big shady trees.



There were also swan boats...





.... and next time I think I'll have to rent one.

Love to you all,
Paige

Happy Birthday King Bhumibol!

Today is the King's birthday -- it's also Thai Father's Day. Or Father's Day was yesterday. I couldn't really get a straight answer on that one.

In honor of HM's B-day I'm posting my favorite picture of him to date (... and even in just two months I think I've seen hundreds...)



That's right... it's Elvis pointing something out to the Queen and Priscilla being ignored on the far right. The King seeems to be pretty at ease wearing his sunglasses at night. Kudos to Megan for introducing me to this gem... and speaking of Megan and birthdays --- yesterday was also her birthday too (happyhappy!!), and so I might have to steal some of her pics from our goings-ons to post.

Love to you all and happy weekend!
-Paige

"I am beautiful!!!"

One of my favorite things that happens a few times each day is when I ask one of my students, "How are you today?" and they reply (usually pretty enthusiastically), "I am beautiful!"

I don't have the heart to tell them this isn't exactly a standard response for native-speakers -- nor do I think I could explain the sublteties of why to one of my 6 year olds... so instead I would just have to say: "No, you cannot say I am beautiful" ... and let it stand at that. I just can't do it.

And really.. since it usually makes me giggle a little when they say it - it actually encourages them to say it more. I don't know what this says about my teaching.

Happy Monday!
-Paige

Two Month Anniversary

Bangkok and I have now been seeing each other for two months. To celebrate this landmark in our relationship I'm going to go and see House Bunny with a friend, and stay away from the demonstrations...

You might be hearing about the protests in Bangkok.. If not... there were four explosions at Bangkok's two big airports this morning, and thousands of protesters there yesterday. Anti-government protesters don't want to let the Prime Minister back into the country.

Thousands of protesters have also been gathering near the Parliament building.. so we'll see what happens. There was a bloodless coup in 2006 -- the military stepped in and forced the former Prime Minister out of power. Currently they are saying they will not do that again.

I feel safe though, and have enough people keeping me up to date about when not to worry - so I'm not sure they'll tell me when I should worry.

Love to you all,
Paige

Ko Samed; Koh Samet

One fun thing about English in Thailand is that there are often no "correct" spellings for the names of places. Koh Samet (Ko Samed) - the island where I went this past weekend - falls into this category.

However you want to spell it, the island was great, close to Bangkok, and the weekend didn't cost too much more than staying in the city.

The bus out there was about 3 hours, and then there was an hour-long ferry ride. The ferry had beach chairs for seats.

I went with four other folks - and they were all really nice. Everyone was just very ready to sit on the beach, read, and breathe in some cleaner air.

The island wasn't too busy, but wasn't desolate either. Had some really good spicy papaya salad and really had to try hard not to pet the very cute, homeless beach-dogs.

Here are some pics of the fishing village near where the ferry dropped us off on the mainland, the group I went with, and the beach:







I think I'll try to make a beach-trip about once a month while I'm here..

Alright. Bedtime.

Love to you all!
-Paige

Bangkok: low bike theft rate?

This beauty was hanging out lock-free yesterday morning on my street:


:::

In other news - getting packed for the weekend on Koh Samet, and happy to see the ocean and some trees.

Love to you all!
-Paige

Where I'm Working

So here's a pic of the courtyard where the students meet every morning to sing, pray, and I guess talk about other things.. but it all happens in Thai, so.. you know..



I'm supposed to get to school at 7:45 - but I'm realizing that I really have to try to get there closer 7:30. Turns out that every time the girls do the following things in the courtyard you have to stop and wait:

a) pray. This is an easy one to detect and stop to wait for because they hold their hands in a praying position.
b) sing the school anthem. I can now recognize this song, and remember to stop.
c) sing the Royal Anthem. This is an important one to stop for, but for some reason I've forgotten more than once. Not good.

Some mornings they also have aerobics. About 10 girls go on stage in full-on neon spandex. This is one thing I don't have to stop for - but it's too funny/bright not to. If I wasn't concerned they'd think I were some sort of pedofile I'd document it for you.. but, yeah.. it's pretty priceless.

Aerobics aside, I'm going to try to get there at 7:30 so that I don't have to play red-light, green-light with their morning activities/ possibly offend a few hundred Thai schoolchildren.

Much love,
Paige

Other Places; Bangkok

Soon I will be settled enough for some letter-writing.

Once that happens I'll get to drop things in the box on the left.. unless any of you are considering moving to Bangkok?



Love to you all!
-Paige