Blogging... Clearly Not My Forte

Hello!
I know, it's been forever since my last entry... sorry! This past week has been crazy. On Friday, I went to the Grand Palace, the current capitol and former residence of the king. I also went to Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha (an important part of any Buddhist capitol). Both were absolutely incredible and completely unique. At the temple, we spoke to a monk and we were even interviewed by some Thai students. The monk told us about his first trip to the US. He spent a magical day at Disneyland where a stranger asked where he had gotten his "beautiful orange gown and cute purse." Apparently, she wasn't aware that monks wear bright orange robes and tote bright yellow bags.

On Saturday, the International College took us to Ayutthaya, the former capitol of Thailand. We visited temples, saw the ruins of the city (it was burnt to the ground in a war with Cambodia), shopped at local markets, and even rode elephants. It was really fun and extremely interesting. I learned a lot of Thai history and where they get many of their customs from. I also shook for my fortune, a Buddhist tradition, at one wat (temple). Much to my dismay, I drew a bad fortune and had to leave my fortune (and wish) in the temple. It was very sad and my fortune was kind of scary!

*You can check out pictures of everything on my PhotoBucket account! Just click on http://photobucket.com/elyse_photos. Some of the pictures are a bit out of order, but you should be able to get a good idea of everything.

As I write this, I'm in the midst of packing up my bags for a week in the north eastern region of Thailand. I'll be there until Feb. 1st and will be living with a Thai family and teaching English at a local school. The NE region of Thailand borders with Laos and Cambodia and is the poorest region of Thailand. Most of the people there are ethincally Isan and have their own culture, language, and foods. It should be a very interesting week. I'm not sure what to expect or what to pack! I'm really looking forward to meeting my host family, but am nervous that I may unintentionally offend them. There are many nuiances to Thai culture that are very different from Western culture. I'll have to mindful of my feet, the way I greet people, how I walk in front of elders, how I address the children, touching others (especially on the head), etc. With so many rules, I'm bound to screw up! But I'm sure that I'll learn a lot and really get to experience a different aspect of Thai life. I'll let you know how it goes and will be sure to take lots of pictures and keep you updated (I hope they have internet!).

As always, please email or drop me a line on Skype- I'd love to hear from you.


PS- Yes, I watched the inauguration. And yes, I was nearly in tears. All of the Americans here got together for a late night (it was at midnight!) inauguration party on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun but made me miss being home. I hope you all did something special for the big day.. I'd love to hear about it!