Month Overview!

Sometimes it is hard to think of what to write about and tell people about, not because nothing has happened, but simply the opposite: far too much has happened. I feel like life here recently has had so many things going on that I simply get overwhelmed when I sit down to blog. This last month I have travelled several times and have spent the rest of the month sick.

I started the month going to Chiang Mai with a friend, and it was absolutely fantastic!! I got my fix of mountains (Thailand style) and it was  jammed packed trip full of really awesome things. We got to go on a trek and we climbed the second highest mountain in Thailand (didn't know this till we got back) and slept in a mountain village that was absolutely beautiful! Treks are so awesome because you get to do a lot of great things, all the while meeting sweet people from all over the world. Our trek included people from Spain, Holland, England, US, Canada, and Thailand, and there were a wide array of languages being spoken at any one time. After the trek we got to venture up a mountain to a temple that is famous in Chiang Mai called Doi Suthep. We went to night markets, saw a sweet zoo and aquarium and even stood and watched a truck being pulled out of the river!!! All in all, Chiang Mai is one of the most beautiful places and it was a breath of fresh air to be a little more out of the city than here in Nonthaburi!

The following weekend I went on my first adventure by myself. I went to Phuket and stayed at a gorgeous beach! I went rock climbing to an island called Koh Panyee, which was just breathtaking. We got to take a boat there (obviously, it's an island!), and it bypassed some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable. There are all these islands that are crazy limestone rock formations, and we were just weaving through them. It was all a little surreal. I was sitting in a boat on a trip by myself in the South of Thailand seeing the most beautiful things. How did this happen and how did I end up here? The day was great and I met two Australian friends who were awesome. We just happened to have the same flight time home the next day, so we were able to share a taxi to the airport! That was so awesome and totally a God moment, because the taxi was one of the only expensive things in Thailand (1000B) and my flight left at 9pm, so it seemed so rare that they would be leaving that late too!

Following rock climbing I got to hang out at the beach and chill. I pictured myself lying on the beach relaxing, but realized I think I am incapable of doing that! I could do anything in the world I wanted to, and I could only lie there for a max of 20 minutes. I wanted to walk and adventure and swim. I think I am slightly ADD in that sense. I decided to go on an adventure to see the sunset at a viewpoint down the coast. It apparently was something I needed to photograph, so I headed out on this adventure. I will not go into any further details because my mother may faint reading about this experience, but it was possibly one of the sketchiest moments I have encountered in Thailand. Moral of the story: I have a God who loves me and protects me! I have come to realize that you can encounter unsafe moments at any place and time in Thailand, and unfortunately they are unavoidable in some cases. This could be terrifying, but instead I know that God has his hand of protection over me, and everything is in His plan.

I came home from this trip and was sick on the airplane home. That is the first time I have ever been sick on an airplane and it wasn't the best experience of my life. I think I was on the only airline without puke bags. Lesson: in Thailand always bring your own a) toilet paper and b) puke bags! I got to the taxi finally after hours of delays with my flight and was so happy to be headed home. Unfortunately I got a very sketchy taxi driver who had rigged his meter in his taxi. I didn't notice at first because I was texting my boss to tell her that I would not be coming to school in the morning because I was sick. I looked up to see the meter read 380 baht and it had only been about 10 minutes. The whole trip is supposed to cost 300-350, and I still had 30 minutes to go. I asked what was wrong with the meter, and he pretended to not know English anymore. Before this, he was the only taxi driver I had met who could speak English, and speak it very well. All of the sudden I was in a really bad situation. I had already paid the highway fares and we were on the highway, but I actually did not have the amount of money that was on the meter with me. I told him this and told him that I couldn't pay him. Immediately he got REALLY angry and started yelling at me. My heart was in my throat and I'm certain he could hear my heart beat. I had about 392 baht all together and had paid 80 already for the highway fares, but his meter was going up rapidly. I wasn't sure what to do, because I felt like i might die, so I called my boss. It was probably close to 1 in the morning at this point, so it's not exactly the time you want to be calling people. Eventually I made it out of the taxi and I was not killed, but I may have lost a few years off my life through rapid heart beating stress. I never want to take a taxi alone again ever, but realized this is not a realistic thing. I just have to trust that just as God protected me in this situation, He will continue to protect me. Living in a place that is substantially less safe than Canada, I am really feeling God's hand of protection in a lot of situations!

I got home from this trip and since then have been teaching, living life, and continuing to be sick. I have  caught something that is just not going away, and going to the doctor here is not on the top of my list of things to do. Everything here is either traced back to the fact that you are fat, or they will just over diagnose you and give you a million things to take and basically tell you that you have cancer every time you see the doctor. I also get the feeling that you are being ripped off as a farang, because it is not cheap to see the doctor and there are always so many additional charges that I feel I didn't even need. The communication thing is still an issue and is frustrating when dealing with medical things. I have been feeling like passing out all week and it is not blood sugar related. I have absolutely no energy and have been lightheaded and dizzy for almost a week now. Please pray that this will stop and I will be feeling back to normal.

This is a look into the things that have been happening here recently. Oh, and I started parent/teacher conferences yesterday, but that is a full story in itself! Cross-cultural parent/teacher conferences have so many funny aspects! I will write about that soon, and keep you updated!