Hello again!
So, this has been a pretty dull weekend thus far. I was not feeling so good yesterday. I had a fever and felt nauseous all day. I slept a lot. My host cousin Nicole felt even worse and didn’t leave her room all day. Nicole’s little host sister/my host cousin threw up after dinner the night before so maybe it was something we all ate.
We are going to “bai tiao” soon. They mentioned a hot springs, and then taking pictures, but I am going to keep hoping that we are going to go take a dip in the host springs. My host mom said she is going this time, but she said that last weekend and then didn’t come. I hope she or Pi Mew; my host sister is coming. I spend a lot more time with Nicole’s family then mine because my family doesn’t leave often. Well Pi Mew does but she doesn’t seem too interested in taking me with her. The whole language barrier thing is taking a toll there.
My Thai is still awful. No dramatic improvements in the last couple days in case anyone was wondering. I keep wishing I could just use my Chinese though. Everything I learn in Thai I have been thinking about the Chinese equivalent so I do not lose my Chinese, or at least do not lose much of it. I need to learn some key words tomorrow at school, like the word “maybe” for example. My host mom and I went to the market this morning and she asked me if I was going to buy anything and I didn’t know how to say maybe in Thai (she didn’t understand me when I said it in English” and so I said “ I don’t know” instead. Then she thought I didn’t understand what she asked but I did. Not being able to effectively communicate is frustrating to say the least.
In other news, I am loving the music video channel on tv. I got to see this music video yesterday that someone at ISDSI had shown me called “Trouble Maker”. It’s a Korean song but I really like it. All the music on the tv really makes me want to dance though. My host mom told me to go to bed at 7 yesterday because I thought I was going to yak after dinner so I ended up missing whatever show they watched. Lately it’s been like a Thai version of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It is pretty interesting although I have to be a little creative on what I think they are saying.
We went hiking in Doi Suthep on Friday with ISDSI. It was beautiful, but I was also reminded of how much I hate walking up hills and stairs. I keep imagining what it’s going to be like with a backpack. I need to find a hill or something to run up to get better conditioned for the field courses. Crossfit helps, but nothing prepares you for going up hills like going up hills.
While in Doi Suthep we got the opportunity to visit two different temples. The Buddhist art work at temples is always interesting. The one at the first temple had a lot of Indian influence (at least I think so. I am no expert.)
I will let you know how todays adventure (my bai tiao trip) goes. Wish me luck.
