Self-Sufficient, yet Incompetent....

I did it! I am currently in Ubon Ratchathani and I did it all by myself. No one helped me at all! I went and bought the ticket, made it to the bus station, found my dock, got on the bus and found a tuk tuk from the bus station to the Mission here in Ubon ALL BY MYSELF. I am so proud of myself. If you know me, you know that I get lost rather easily. If you ask my opinion, I think I have an actual disease. A disease that affects my sense of direction(slightly kidding). So I am stunned and elated to think that I am capable of traveling 8 hours away from Bangkok and arriving here in one piece. I'm so happy!

I'm also excited because I get to spend the rest of this week(well, until Friday at least) with Erin & Leah. I've missed these two so much! We've all become such good friends and I can't imagine my Thailand experience without them. God has truly blessed me with some amazing friends and I'm so glad that I came to Thailand, not only for my teaching experiences and life lessons, but because of the awesome friends that I have made here. Who would have thought that I would meet so many American friends in Thailand, of all places? Huh, we had to go around the world to meet...God works in such creative ways.

If you don't want to read a long but funny story, then stop reading - HERE -

OK - So, I made it on the correct bus. The dude showed me to my seat and I noticed that there was no one next to me. I figured that someone would come later, but quickly realized 20 minutes into the ride that no one else was coming. I was sitting in the aisle seat, leaving the window seat open. I put my purse and things in the open seat and tried to get some sleep. Somehow in my slumber my legs(which seem to be as long as anacondas here) managed to fall into the aisleway and block everyone's way to the bathroom. After the attendant nudged me, I thought it best for me to move into the window seat so my long, farang legs didn't obstruct the aisleway anymore. Oh, I should mention that I believe my legs went into the aisle in order to get away from the seat in front of me. The lady in front of me cranked her seat ALL the way back, and was literally almost laying in my lap). It wouldn't have been so bad if only I was shorter.... Both of my seats were laid back as well(the people behind me were short) into the laying down position but when I moved to the window seat, I noticed that there was a large protrusion at the area where my lower back came into contact with the seat. "Huh," I thought, "must be why no one's sitting here. The chair must be broken." I twisted sideways and tried to make do and actually found a somewhat comfortable position, even with the lump. After a couple of minutes, the lump moved. "Whhoooaa, there" I thought, again. Then, it occured to me. I figured that the lump must be from the lady's feet behind me. The lump went away and came back again. It was starting to get old. I was getting frustrated after waiting a few minutes to see the if the lady would stop moving, because I was trying to get some sleep for crying out loud! She kept moving. She would move her feet back, then after 30 seconds to a minute, they would poke me in the back again. Something felt odd about the lump. I looked behind me to see if I could see the lady's feet. She was sound asleep. I was shocked that her feet would reach that far! Then after a few more nudges, I noticed a pattern. The nudge was always for the same amount of time and it was a consistent, almost mechanical nudge. I wondered to myself, then looked down at the side of my seat. There, plain as day was a glowing green button pressed down for a massage. I laughed to myself. It had been the chair massaging me all along. Odd massage, but a massage nonetheless. I thought this was a rather humorous "Ashley" moment, so I had to share it with those interested. Hope you had a good chuckle.

Dogs speak Thai?

OK - people in Thailand speak Thai. That concept is easy enough to understand. I still have not learned an overwhelming amount of Thai, but for the record, I have tried. Teaching English really isn't helpful when trying to learn Thai. It's aight though. I can get a message across - I am well versed in the art of the Motions Language. Meaning, I can get a thought across thoroughly by motioning with my hands, arms, legs, etc. That, and the little bit of Thai I know helps out....I can order food, get places, direct a taxi, buy things, barter, and a few random other things. 

The housekeeper in my building recently got a puppy. It's real cute - adorable in fact. The only problem with this bundle of joy is that he LOVES chewing on anything and everything around him. I thought my Cujo was a bad chewer. To give you an accurate picture of how much he must make contact with things with his mouth - he pulled my basketball shorts down 3 times while I was trying to walk away from him. Luckily I had on my bathing suit underneath, although those around may not have known that tidbit of information...hmm...I'm sure it was hilarious to watch. Anywho, when I first started playing with him, I would say "No, Bo!" when he started biting too hard or scratching too hard. When I realized that it wasn't working, a thought occurred to me. Could it be that he doesn't understand English? I tried saying "Mai, Bo!" and guess what? It worked! P.S. "Mai" means "No". I was shocked. Of course Thai people speak Thai, but dogs as well? I cannot explain why this intrigued me so, but it did. 

On Monday I started my observation hours at the Animal Hospital. Today is my 3rd day. 14 hours down - 26 more to go. Hopefully I'll get to see a surgery today! Yesterday 2 big dogs came in. This is not common. Most people in Thailand have lap dogs - Pugs, Shitzus, Norwich Terriers, Dachshunds, Doberman Pinchers, and many other lap-sized dogs. You rarely see a dog over 15 pounds. Yesterday a pair came in. A German Shepherd and a Schnauzer - they were awesome! I love big dogs, so I went in and played with them for a few minutes. I was having a blast! The assistant in there with me was playing with them too. He said something in Thai and motioned like we do after we say, "Give me your paw." I was shocked again. The dog gave him his paw. I tried to say it, and it worked! I was thoroughly amused. It's just a weird concept for me for animals to know and understand a language even I don't. God's amazing creatures are so smart. I miss my amazing Cujo - who will understand when I say, "I Love You, Baby Boy!" 24 days until I go home. 

P.S. - Erin and Stephanie will both be going to Camp Wawona with me!!! I am so excited about our adventures in store for us. This makes me feel so much better. I know that we will all face our own individual challenges dealing with adjustments to America. Now, we'll be in the safe haven of camp and have each other to talk with about our amazing home. Can't wait for the excitement to begin :D 

Mission College

Well, I have finally met Ryan & Laura Ashlock! My mom is friends with Pastor Ryan's sister, also named Laura. Because we all knew each other in some confusing  way, we really wanted to meet! I have been lazy here in Bangkok and just haven't taken the time to figure out how to get down to Mission College. Well, a fellow teacher here at my school has relatives there and she worked it out so we could ride in the van/shuttle service with her down there.

Me, Steph, Mike, Maria and Tatiana packed up our things on Friday and headed out Friday evening for Mission College. We were told it was a 2 1/2 hour ride in the van. Well, traffic had other plans. All in all, it took a little over 3 hours to get there, which really isn't that bad. The only bad part is that Stephanie, Tatiana, Jenn, and I were in the very back seat on the way there. If you know me, you know that I get carsick like no other - especially if I'm in the back. Stephanie gets carsick as well, and because of the primitive conditions of the shocks in the 

back row, Tatiana and Jennifer were queasy as well. Wow, were we a sight! It was awful! That was the worst 3 hours, ever! But trust me when I say that it was SO worth it! When we arrived, we stumbled our nauseated selves out of the van and were greeted by the warm welcome of the Ashlocks! 

As soon as we walked in, put our stuff down, and said hello to everyone, we were ushered to sit down and eat some of the best food my lips have ever tasted. The table was decorated with 

enchiladas, a delicious salad, a yummy egg casserole, and Pastor Ryan even made us Pina Coladas! After the meal, we had oatmeal raisin cookies. I repeatedly told Laura how amazingly 

delectable her food was, and I hope she realized how great it really was! Not only was it delicious because we have tasted nothing other than Thai food for the past....forever....but that 

food was delicious just because! We sat around talking for a while, and after cleaning up, us SM's sat around talking for quite a while and took some goofy pictures that are sure to be 

framed upon arrival to the States so as not to forget such incredible memories! I love you guys!

On Sabbath Stephanie and I woke up to several knocks on our door. When Steph went to the door, 3 little blonde beauties greeted her by saying, "It's morning and you need to wake up!" It was so cute! These cutie pies are Laura & Ryan's beautiful little girls, Katie, Leah and

 Madeline. We didn't realize that it was already 8! Once we made ourselves presentable, we went out to the table where Laura had outdone herself again. Do you know how long it has been since I have had a proper biscuit? OH MY WORD. I love homemade biscuits and she had a warm pile of them on her table! I dug in! Mmmmmmm :D

After breakfast, the Ashlocks left for Sabbath School, and we sat around waiting turns for the bathroom. It only took a little bit to get ready, but Mike told us that Laura & Pastor Ryan told him that they had free Skype calls! Stephanie and I had to take advantage of that. None of us

 brought our laptops, so it was so nice to be able to call my mom! We didn't want to wait until after church because they would have been asleep! I always appreciate being able to hear my mom's voice. Stephanie called her family as well! It was awesome! After we were done, we

headed out bound for Church. While we walked in the blistering sun, we sweated and cursed Mike for taking us the long way. It was OK though! 

We forgave him. After arriving, we immediately saw Laura and the girls

 and were asked the question, "Why did it take you so long to get to church?" After explaining myself, we went inside to the welcomed air-con and enjoyed a wonderful sermon given by Pastor Ryan. It was a lovely service and Katie and I enjoyed each other's company by coloring in Crayola's Color Wonder Coloring Book. 

After church we another delicious meal of pasta with homemade bread and peas! Oh peas! I haven't had them in so long! Ahhh! She had this really good pasta sauce made from tomatoes, carrots, celery, and butter. Man was that good! Dessert was a brownie/cake that was gross....just kidding. Just thought I'd throw in something other than delicious, delectable, great, amazing, or good to see if you were paying attention! But yeah, the chocolate cake was all of the above! 

After lunch we headed out to take a tour of the campus. Luckily Pastor Ryan was able to borrow a van to accommodate us all and we were able to swiftly tour the campus without breaking too much of a sweat. I had an awesome van seat buddy! Leah kept me company and we had fun in the front seat! After that, we went to a local park. This park has a great waterfall area where a lot of locals swim and cool off. It was beautiful, and although I didn't swim(didn't bring my swimsuit & only had one set of clothes and had no desire to sit for 3 hours in wet clothes), I still had a great time watching the girls, Pastor, and Andrew(missionary) jump and frolic in the cool water. Once we realized we only had a little bit of time left before we had to head back to Bangkok, we gathered our things and headed back toward the van. Once back, Laura made us delicious vegetarian hot dogs, we ate some great potato salad, and we gathered our things together to leave. After saying goodbyes we made our way outside and had prayer before hopping in the van. Luckily, Stephanie and I nabbed the front seat and neither of us got sick. The time flew by - literally! It only took us a little over 2 hours to get to BKK. That was nice. The whole trip was nice :o)

Thai Tea with House, Please

Funny Story! 

So all of us SM's discovered "The Smoothie Lady" soon after we got here. Since then, it has been a love affair that requires daily visits - at least on my end...I have also become addicted to Chai Yen(Thai Iced Tea with Milk) while here. I realize that my time here is coming to an end, so I drink as much Chai Yen as I can - knowing I won't be able to get it once in the States! I've been told that you can find it in California, but that it's pricey :o( As opposed to the Yee-Sip baht here(20 B-less than a dollar), it's $4 or higher in the States! Man, the price differences are going to hit me hard when I get back......

ANYWAY, you can get Chai Yen in 2 different ways. Ban(blended/frappe) or Mai Ban(over ice). At first, I couldn't drink it straight over ice, because if you know me, you know that I loathe tea. Well, call it crazy(i do), but I love Chai Yen in all fashions now - over ice or blended. Back to the smoothie lady. For months now, whenever I ordered Chai Yen she knew to automatically make it ban(blended). Recently, I tried it over ice at another place by my school and love it just as much. When I went to "The Smoothie Lady" after my recent discovery, I wanted it iced again. She heard Chai Yen and quickly turned around to retrieve ice for the frappe. I called out after her, and told her(surprising myself with my Thai speak) "Mai Ban, Ka"(Not blended, please). She understood and I got my Chai Yen over ice - so yummy! Well, now I can choose however I want my Chai Yen with however I'm feeling that day - however the wind blows. Oh, the choices of life. The other night I went to get a Chai Yen from our regular smoothie lady. She knows us by now and smiles and says "Sawatdee, Kha" every time she sees us. She had several people standing there so when she looked to me in an obvious hurry, I tried to reply just as quickly. In my haste, my mouth spat out the words, "Mai Sai Ban, Ka". Hahaha! She looked at me funny, and I realized what I said. I said "With no blended, please", which is obviously not grammatically correct. I told this story to my teacher friends yesterday, 1 of then being Thai, Miss Un. Well, little did I know, the story gets even funnier. When I told them what I said, I had to explain the context and what the words meant(3 of them are Filipino). Miss Un looked a little puzzled. I wondered why....then she realized what I was saying that was puzzling her. "Ban" in Thai means "House". "Pan" in Thai means "Blended". So all this time, I have been saying "Chai Yen House, Please", in all my pride. So the other night, I said, "Chai Yen with house, please." Yeah, I'm humbled....