Today was our group activity day, so we met up early and went to ride water buffalo and plow rice.. Yeah I wasn’t sure what to make of it, even when we got there. Ha. Just for a little insight on it... You have to run and jump on the water buffalo (which are as tall as a horse) from behind, so that proved interesting to attempt - yes, there is video proof. It was a lot of fun on that little farm, though. We learned how rice is made, and we had to try to sift it ourselves at one point, and one Thai man said that if we cannot sift it well, we will not get a boyfriend. Pressures on! And it was harder than it looks. After we got all dirty and muddy plowing rice we ventured over to a waterfall in a beautiful green national park. It is the epitome of Thailand jungle when you think of one... And it was really nice to cool off in the waterfall, until the water level started rising, um, a lot, so it only lasted so long with calm waters. But it was gorgeous.
The rest of the day we were on our own, so we headed over to this new mall, Airport Plaza, which is way nice, of course Britt and I jumped for joy when we saw Auntie Ann’s pretzel stand.. Thanks for the lunch/dinner, and then some of us went to the theater there and saw The Avengers (in English with Thai subtitles)... Ummm maybe it’s just cause I’m a huge fan/lover of Robert Downy Jr but I LOVED that movie!! It was hil-arious. I don’t think we stopped laughing for very long. The humor in it definitely wins in my book.
Anyway the rest of the day was just an adventure, romping around the city, looking out over the beautiful Ping river, yummy shakes from a street vendor, fitting 4 of us in a tiny 2 seater tuk tuk (which are usually very overpriced for farangs but we haggled a good deal), missing the night rot dang, taking another tuk tuk home, and magically finding our way home thanks to a phone call to my cute mom, Yai.
So I know pictures are much more telling and exciting than writing so I did my best to take more today, my camera died near the end but I think I got some good ones... A lot has been going on this past week so I can only retell today best as it is fresh in my memory.. But it’s been great!! The past few days have been really nice and slightly cooler because it’s cloudy/rainy but the heat is due to return this next week.
I had a wonderful epiphany, you could say, today, while walking around/partying/dancing around the mall. We’ve long given up the hope of blending in and trying to be locals in this place, because let’s face it I’m white AND blonde... And basically everyday we walk around feeling like hobos because we get so hot, sweaty, and dirty just going around in the city or jungle, so I don’t even know what to make of it but it almost feels like a 3 month camping trip. But just the fact that I know there’s zero hope of even trying to fit in is more liberating than I thought it could be! Maybe that means I’m just a slightly crazier farang, but I am just having too much fun to worry about it! Anyway I don’t even know why I cared enough of what people thought of me back home, so let’s hope this attitude stays when I get back.
Also, my host family is so awesome and funny. They are so sweet to help make American food, so they let me make them pasta the other night... ummm YUM! I still am having a hard time letting go of comfort food.. half my meals come from 711 snacks.. oops.. also, we had a conversation about Lady Gaga last night so that was funny.
Everyday is just so random and basically the exact opposite of your expectations, so mai pen rai! Just go with it, no worries and you usually end up loving everything more! I am excited for sleep, so goodnight and sweet dreams
Plowing the muddy rice fields
Everyone at the waterfall
I'm in a permanent state of feeling like a dirty hobo, but it's great!
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