i've noticed the scares from my two motorbike burns, also know as 'bangkok tattoos', are barely noticeable as a tan slowly creeps across my skin, yet the scar from rock climbing last summer still blinks white right below my knee. it's summer in full bloom here, not that it hasn't felt like summer since i got here, but now even the school year is done and the children are running amuck in the streets of chiang mai.
I realize it's been quite a long time since i last made a post and with so many things going on around me, it can be hard to pick and choose what to write about. plus my camera is in a repair shop so there won't be any photos for a little while.
so where to begin, hmm...
well in the early stages of march my parents decided to be quite generous and give me money so i could buy another motorbike. SO AWESOME.
so me and my little purple yamaha mio can now be seen zipping through the streets of chiang mai on a daily basis. i really can't express my thankfulness, living in chiang mai for any long period of time almost requires a motorbike to get around. amy was allowing me to borrow her bike and as i learned to accept her generosity, i never felt fully comfortable knowing it wasn't mine. even though sarah and amy do go just about everywhere together, i knew she was giving up some of her own independence so that i could have some. and for that i am incredibly grateful.
now sarah, amy, me and our friend shanna all have the same bike, each a different color. we're like a pastel biker gang. along with our big helmets we've been told we also closely resemble the power puff girls. however there were only 3 of them so we're adding the obscure cousin who just came back into town to make it legit.
as i have been here for six months, i am now allowed to work with the middle age group of kids once a week. there are about 35 in this age group ranging from about 6 years old to 14. until now i haven't had much connection with these kids as i am always preoccupied with the little kids. i would pass by them on the stairs, see them playing in the front patio as if they were strangers. but now i know almost all of them by name and getting to spend time with them has really made my time at Agape feel fuller, i am no longer a stranger to anyone.
the hot season is officially here and oh my god, i think i sweat more than i breath. my roommates and i finally bit the bullet and turned on our air conditioning for the first time this last week and boy howdy it's a beautiful thing. the cool tile floor under my feet make it worth it alone.
Easter came quickly upon me, and left just a fast. it felt strange to not be at home with my family. my sisters and i trying to persuade my mom to make us easter baskets one last time, or going to church all together with brand new easter dresses and my dad smelling like old spice aftershave. being here where the festivities were few and felt foreign, i missed my family.
not to say i didn't have a fun if not interesting holiday.
at Agape the children dyed over 1,000 eggs bright and wonderful colors. we had our massive egg hunt during the warm hours of the early morning on good friday. the other volunteers and i worked hard hiding the eggs the best we could being told the big kids were really good at finding them. then we watched in amazement as the children booked it across the Agape grounds, discovering the colorful gems with sweaty grins of triumph gracing their faces.
I went to a sunrise service with my church that did a joint service with a thai church in the cool air of a chiang mai morning along the mae ping river. the service was interesting with each sentence being interpreted into thai or english and an operatic thai singing over the loud speaker for every hymn. the service was followed by a legitimate parade, complete with a thai high school marching band playing those all time classic songs like 'labamba' and 'play that funky music white boy'. amy, shanna and i tried to skirt out early but amy was spotted by her supervisor who ushered us into the mass and there was no turning back. we walked for almost an hour in shoes not meant for such an excursion while awoken thais' peeped out their windows and watched us walk by.
that afternoon we went to a dinner at a friends house that amy and i couldn't help but feel like awkward intruders because we hadn't actually been invited. but to amend our predicament, we brought the better of the two mashed potatoes and chocolate chip cookie dough truffles. plus i managed to utilize my cooking skills by being the only one there who knew how to make a good gravy. my mom and victoria would be so proud. despite the initial awkwardness, the dinner was full of good food and conversation and we actually got to eat lamb along side glasses of wine.
i have now succeed in my second trip to laos for my visa run. i felt a lot more comfortable this time, knowing what to expect and going with the ebb and flow of travel. this trip however did have unexpected obstacles which gave my heart a run for it money, but i knew God was there and that in the end i would be ok. which i was. even after i accepted a free ride from a random indian man when i got back across the border...[funny story there, you can ask me about it later].
this last week was the thai new year called songkran. it is literally a country wide no mercy water fight that lasts for three days and i just happen to live in the epicenter of this amazing festival. thousands of thais and tourists flock to chiang mai because the moat that surrounds the city creates the best setting for a never ending supply of water with which to chuck into the faces of people. i went into the city the first two days sitting in the back of a truck with some of the older Agape girls equipped with two huge drums of water, squirt guns and buckets and lots of excitement. both days we spent 4 hours driving inch by inch along the packed moat soaking anyone with in throwing distance. as a farang [westerner], i was definitely whaled on the most by the thais playing 'spot the farang' [which, i'll admit, i played too]. everyone wore bright flower patterned or tye-dye shirts and some people even dye their hair bright colors.
it was so much fun yet so incredibly exhausting, my hands ached from constantly pumping my water gun. in fact my hold body ached.
there is no way there could ever be anything like songkran in america, it would get way too out of hand.
for a little while i was constantly thinking of the future, what i'd be doing after i left thailand and making plans in my head. i am excited for what the next year will bring but at the same time i felt that if thailand was my boyfriend then i was cheating on him considerably by thinking of home so much. i do love being here in thailand and i want to enjoy it to the fullest with out using my concentration on thoughts of the future. however at the same time there are things i need to prepare for such as applying to school for winter term.
thanks to thailand i am learning that it's ok to make plans for the future however i always have to keep in mind that things change and i have to be open to them. i look forward to home as much as i look forward to my shift with the big kids today, with excitement.
well this is long update and hopefully i won't be so long in my next one, maybe by then i'll have pictures to share.
