Life as I Know it Now

This will be a short entry of mostly pictures and captions to give you a brief glance into what is different about life here in Thailand and how I spend my time. By no means are these differences necessarily bad or difficult. I am very comfortable where I live now. These are just merely pictures into my daily life that show the differences between home in America and home in Thailand.

Stairs. Lots of stairs. I live on the 3rd floor so having a dog, I climb these stairs numerous times a day.
Also, I climb many stairs to and from the sky train each day. Let me just say, my legs are stronger than they've ever been!

Take your shoes off before you enter the house. This is my entryway room. This is nice since everything is tile and you're not tracking in dirt all the time.

Fans are life. I have one in the main room and one in my bedroom. Strange how quickly I adapted to living by fan as opposed to air conditioner.

I have AC in my bedroom that I only use when I sleep at nights. This helps me have a good night's rest!

I do not have clean water in my apartment so I have to go and fill jugs every few days. Not complicated, but just requires a little extra thought, especially when you want to cook.

I also do not have hot water.
This means during winter and rainy season my showers can be extremely cold.
But the cool showers certainly feel nice on these extra hot days of summer!

A tiny fridge. No stocking up for the month with cold stuff like I would in America!
But that's ok because there's plenty of fresh foods, produce, and meals available every day on the streets for cheap.

No dishwasher. But really I only used one back home when I cooked big meals.
Here, I don't really cook big meals because I don't have a full kitchen.
I usually hit up the street carts or 7-11 for meals!

My kitchen consists of a very old microwave that shocks you if you touch the metal parts and a toaster oven that doesn't bake evenly. You all know how much I like to bake so this is sad for me, but this is more than a lot of Thai people have so yay! A lot of Thai people don't cook in their home at all because street food can be purchased for so cheap.

I have a hot plate to cook on, but it is super annoying because you have to use specific pots/skillets or otherwise it doesn't register that there is anything on it and won't turn on. Yay for smart technology always making things more complicated!

There are tiny ants that get into everything. Not even ziploc bags are good enough. Must use tupperware.
Gotta keep my American candy safe that my parents brought me! Thankfully they are not here all year.

I share a washer with the other people who live at the church. There is no dryer so I hang things outside on this tiny balcony.
If it's raining hard, I have to bring it in to finish drying at a much slower speed. I miss the dryer for removing lint and dog hair from clothes and bedding. But with all the sunshine and warmth in Thailand, drying outside makes a lot of sense instead of having a dryer to heat up your whole house more than it already is.

My taste buds have changed and I eat many new and different things. Most people back home are shocked by what I eat these days just because I was such a picky eater back home. This noodle dish was delicious, but back home, I probably would not have even tried it!

Things like pickles and cheese are a luxury purchase here. They often cost close to $10 each.
Personally, I prefer the vlasic spears, but I take what I can get when I'm craving a little taste from home.
This is actually the only jar of pickles I've bought here.

Must apply for visa extensions once every 4 months or so which means I have to miss school and sit at immigration for 4-5 hours. Boo. I hate missing class and have to miss one of my favorite classes tomorrow morning to do this.

School is fun and I love going on field trips with my classes.
It's one of the few times I get to get out and see new things here in Bangkok.
I could explore on my own, but it's more fun when you have a Thai person explaining things to you!

We laugh a lot in class. The teachers like to laugh and create a fun learning environment!

This is all of the teachers except one. These are the people I talk to most in Thailand.
They seem to really care about me as a person and how I learn.
They are always encouraging me to keep trying and let me know that it's ok to not understand and make mistakes.
I've actually had class with all but two of them.

I try to run every day Monday-Friday after school. I typically run between 5-6 km.

Here is just a quick view into my life during the week. Monday through Friday I go to school. I arrive between 8:30-8:45 for my 9 am class. The class is 3 hours with two breaks, one 15 minutes and one 10 minutes. This month I am wrapping up studying about social problems here in Thailand. It has been a fun and interesting class! I have a one hour lunch break from 12-1 and sometimes grab something quick and eat at school or sometimes walk somewhere and eat there before coming back. My afternoon class is from 1-4 pm with two breaks also. This month I have studied speaking level 5 and it has been pretty easy because I remember a lot of it from a previous reading and writing class. After school, I typically change clothes, leave my bag at school, walk to a nearby park, and run for 40 minutes. Altogether, that takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes before I return to school. I cool down and drink some water before catching the sky train back home. Don't want to be packed in the sky train rubbing my sweaty body all over everyone else who is stuck up against me! Once a week, I have private lessons at 4 which pushes my run to 5 instead. I return home, cook dinner, eat dinner, and shower. I was teaching a student math each night, but school is letting out for the summer so no more teaching. I then start my Thai homework and studying. Usually I'm up until 11 or 12, sometimes even 1 if I've really procrastinated, doing my homework. Then I crash for a few hours to wake and do it all again the next day!
Saturdays, I don't do very much. I do laundry and clean house which is a must here in Thailand. I have to sweep, mop, and wipe down surfaces at least once a week because of the black dust that settles on everything here in Bangkok. I also try to make myself get out of the house for a little bit, whether that be going to the market, going to get groceries, or going to see a movie. I don't think it's good to stay home alone all the time.
Sundays I go to church in the mornings. Everything is in Thai. My Sunday school class tries to help me with learning Thai and makes me speak Thai for the first few minutes of class each week. It used to make me nervous, but now I'm used to it. Plus, I already understand most of the simple sentences they try to teach me. During the worship service, I practice trying to read fast so I can sing along with everyone else. But if it's a fast song, I can't keep up at all. My reading has improved, but I still read pretty slow. After church, everyone eats together. I usually eat with the only two other Americans there and we speak English. I know I should try speaking in Thai with others at the church, but it's also my only time to speak to anyone else in English. I don't know enough Thai to speak freely about anything and everything so it's nice to get to speak to others in my own language for one hour a week. After that, I maybe go to the market or a mall, but usually just stay home. In the evening, I do my Thai homework and studying.
And that's about it! Life as I know it here in Thailand. Not bad by any means, just different. I am completely comfortable where I am and enjoying life! In between all of those things, you can add in play with Lucy and take Lucy outside time.

Snapshots and Challenges

Well, again I've done a terrible job of keeping up with my blog. It's almost been another 4 months since the last time I blogged. Oops! Sorry! With that being said, I'll start with some snapshots from the past few months and then share some joys and challenges. Actually, the joys will be scattered through all of the snapshots, I'm sure.

Let's start with January since that was the last month I blogged. That was my birthday month. It was a little strange being somewhere where no one knew it was my birthday. Actually, change that, one teacher knew from Facebook and wished me a happy birthday at school. But I can't complain. My Thai class went out for lunch that day. Not because it was my birthday (they didn't know), but because it was the last day of the January session. But I like to think of it as a birthday outing. It was also the night of the full moon and lunar eclipse which was pretty cool. As I sat up on the rooftop watching it with Lucy, I was surprised with the pastor and his family walking out and singing happy birthday to me. What a great surprise and blessing! I thought it was just gonna be me and my dog celebrating under the eclipse of the moon, but I was blessed with a family of four singing and inviting me into their home for a little bit. They also took me out to dinner a few days later to a Lebanese restaurant called Beirut which was delicious!! This is me and Cj, their daughter and the one I tutor in math most evenings.

February went by in a blur. I don't really remember much about it. I took Reading and Writing level 2  and repeated Speaking level 3. It was a good month of learning for me. But I lost my last living grandmother to cancer. That was sad. It was sad that I couldn't be there for my dad. It was sad that I didn't get the chance to see her before leaving for Thailand. But through lots of prayers and support, I was able to move beyond the sadness and embrace the Thai language a little more. I was able to speak a little more in class and even find things I had in common with one of my teachers! Wow, prayer is powerful!
Then came the whirlwind of March and April. Woo. It was great, but I am so glad to be back to a normal routine. In March I took Reading and Writing level 3. Oh my, that was terrible. I got better at reading, but struggled so much with understanding and dictation. Then, put on top of that the added stress /craziness of sharing my home with a family of five and helping with teaching English and Math at a camp for 40 teenagers staying here at the church too and life got a little overwhelming at times. I was super blessed to have my friend Maggy in class with me that month. She was kind of like my life vest while I was drowning in lack of understanding and being surrounded by tons of people 24/7. I'm not saying anything bad about the camp. I absolutely loved all the volunteers and youth and helping out as much as possible when I wasn't in school or buried in homework. But it was just a lot for this introverted person to take in for 3 whole weeks straight. Especially on top of trying my hardest to keep up with Thai class and understanding. After 3 weeks the youth headed back to Roi Et and Ranong, but the whirlwind did not end. My parents arrived just a few days before they all left so I became full time student (taking on 2 classes for April) and tour guide. I took Reading and Writing level 4 as well as Speaking level 4. It was yet another challenging month of learning for me filled with constant struggling to understand and grasp the concept of the sentence patterns we were learning. But April is Songkran so we had a 5 day break! Actually, I had a 6 day break because I was taking my parents to Koh Chang for four days and we had to leave early to catch a ferry out to the island before it closed. We loved our time there. The beach was beautiful and peaceful. There weren't a ton of people around. The water was perfect for swimming and we even rode elephants one day! I even swam with elephants! It was a fun few days!

After that, I went back to school for 1 1/2 days before leaving town again for our Thai team retreat. My parents joined us for the first two days and then they headed back to America. It was so much fun having them here and letting them see where I live and do life!

Also, there was Easter in the mix. It was fun. The church decorated the door like you were entering the tomb. They hid Easter eggs for the kids to find after church and we had a big Easter feast for lunch. We also had a special Good Friday service.

The Academic camp was filled with tons of fun, activities, Thai food, and teaching. I learned I really enjoy Isan food. And I enjoyed eating a lot of spicy dishes. Camp is also the first time I started to enjoy papaya salad every day. Even with the fermented fish sauce! I also got to teach the kids. Teaching math was the most challenging for me because I couldn't teach it in Thai. But helping with and teaching English was a lot of fun. The youth were awesome and super sweet!

Papaya Salad every evening with dinner, only scraps left this night

Thai School has been a constant in my life. Even though it is super challenging and stresses me out often, I know that the teachers there will smile through my stupidity and continue to help me with understanding. It is the one place where I get to enjoy conversation, even though limited on my end, on a daily basis. I don't like to miss and enjoy going to two classes a day for learning and for friends. I love field trip days too. I get to see and experience new things here in Bangkok because of the field trips. Living alone and not really knowing much about the city I live in, I don't tend to venture out and explore new places on my own. Here are snapshots from some of these trips.

And we also have fun in the classroom. The teachers all like to laugh and it really helps cut through my stress when I'm struggling in class! RTL really has some of the best and most patient teachers!

April also included some fun outings with some folks from church and even a dinner out with folks from the TMS office back in the US.

 And also a visit from my friend Heather who lives in Vietnam! Took her out to a few fun places and enjoyed her company. I also practiced my Thai a lot as we went around doing various things. It was a fun weekend.

Ok. Now for a few challenges since being here in Thailand. Overall, everything has been great. I've been adjusting well as has Lucy.

But the past few months have been the hardest for me. I've been trying really hard to learn Thai, but feel like I'm failing over and over again. I really wanted to be able to learn it well enough to leave after 6 months since that was what was asked of me. But I couldn't. I just finished my 6th month of language school, and I still struggle so much with trying to speak. I just don't know what to say and can't formulate thoughts quick enough to actually carry on a conversation with anyone. I mean, who would want to try and talk to someone who takes so long to speak in response? So, that being said, I asked for more time. Being a person who tends to listen more even in English has made speaking a different language even harder. I've never been good with small talk. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to do small talk in a whole new language! WHAT?!! My mind feels like it is going to explode half of the time and the rest of the time, my mind formulates responses way too late to say and almost always after the conversation is done. I'm left thinking, "Oh, I should have said this instead of just nodding my head like an idiot." Language learning is my biggest challenge. It's frustrating because I'm usually a super fast learner and have an excellent memory. So to fail over and over and over again and just not get it has definitely not been the best confidence booster. Also, I want to build friendships with people. But I can't do that I if I can't fully communicate with anyone to express my heart or to hear theirs. That's my second biggest challenge. I've recently really begun missing my friends back home more often. I've been lonely here without having friends to do things with and so it makes me miss home in the US. Part of that may spur from the fact that I was completely surrounded by people for like two months straight and now I'm back to being and doing everything alone. But also, I enjoy having deep friendships, someone to talk to about every day life, someone to be happy or sad with, someone to just keep you company. I don't have that here in Thailand. When I'm not at school I spend the majority of my time alone. I just haven't figured out how to bridge the gap between me and Thai people to form a friendship that goes both ways. When I do, even with just one person, I think I will be unstoppable. My Thai would improve dramatically. My mood would improve dramatically. And I would feel more confident in communicating within my new world. Until then, I live out my normal daily routine (school, run, dinner, tutor math, study and do Thai homework, and try to sleep) with as much joy as I can muster up. I CAN DO THIS.

 On my runs lately, these monitor lizards have been out and about a lot more often!

This month, I will try harder. I will work harder. I will study harder. I will attempt to ask questions. I will attempt to speak up more. I will try as hard as I can to understand. I will be successful at learning more than I knew before this month started. I am taking Speaking level 5 and Social Problems Reading and Writing. I stand a chance of learning a whole lot from Social Problems if I can keep up and understand! In Speaking level 5 I have a teacher I haven't had before. I've just been in there one day so far, but there are three male students in there that like to talk so it will be hard for me to come out of my quiet shell. If you know me, you know I speak more when there is space, when I am comfortable with you, when one-on-one, and when I don't feel less than adequate. But here's to trying harder!! Time to hit the books! Study break over!

What do I miss? Why would I want to return to America? These are just a few of my favorites:

Crazy fun themed parties with these people

Family and crawfish!

Workout buddies

Annnnnnn

Randi

Home Team

Adventures with these lovely ladies

 I also miss Blue Bell ice cream, Chick Fil A, Tex Mex food, inexpensive good cheese, Whataburger, Shipleys, warm showers, Bluebonnets, having a clothes dryer, and having a full kitchen. But all of this I could live without more easily if I could connect deeper with others here in Thailand. Eventually, it will happen. I have to keep reminding myself that all of the above pictured people did not become my friends overnight. It took time. Even with no language barrier, it took time.  Here's to a new month and a better, stronger me!