Yesterday was such a busy day, I didn't have time to write...or did I write? My days are starting to blur together.
The day started off as all of my days in Thailand have started....wide awake at 3am. I force myself to stay in bed until at least 5am. I imagine when I'm finally sleeping through the night, it will be time to go home. I had my tea and fruit and headed out to see some of our volunteer placements.
The first stop - after a 45 min drive through Bangkok - was Siam University. We send our longer term volunteers there as it would be difficult for 2-3 week volunteers to get much done. Our main focus is to teach English to nursing students. The students are 18-22 and very eager to learn. The classes have about 100 students and because the classroom is so large, volunteers have to use a microphone to teach. The department head for nursing students introduced me and the two volunteers to the students in the classroom. We all were given a round of applause in thanks followed with 100 beautiful smiles.
After the university, I headed to an elderly home with our Program Coordinator, Jack. Homes for the elderly are always my favorite volunteer placements. I have so much respect for the elderly - especially elderly living in some of the situations I've seen over the past few years in various countries. This elderly home is beautiful and they are very well cared for. They have a Koi fish pond in the middle of the facility, an arts and crafts room (where I bought some Eucalyptus oil and a not so cute towel doll to support the elderly crafters a little) Jack introduced me to many of the elderly, and I was totally flattered as about 5 different woman told me I was beautiful. On the same property, there are several adorable little Thai assisted living homes. One woman invited us in to her home. It was filled with pictures of the King and miniature Buddhas....imagine a little shrine and that was her home. It seems a lot of Thai people live that way. Very sweet woman. I've attached a picture of her that Jack took before we went into her home.
Going to these different volunteer placements is incredibly exhausting. I was introduced to principles, deans, teachers, students and any of you that have traveled, know that introductions in other countries does not only consist of "hello, my name is --" It tends to be more of a 20 min question/answer session. It can be quite beautiful and I love it when I don't have to do it six times in one day.
When we (volunteers and staff) all got back to the home-base we had a feedback meeting and talked about how things are going at each volunteer site. All the volunteers had great stories to share. We had dinner after the feedback meeting and then myself and 3 volunteers headed down to the nighttime Bazaar market. It was interesting. It just so happens I got a pair of Gucci sunglasses for 3 dollars!!!!! ; } There were lots of strip clubs, although they weren't really strip clubs as all the girls were wearing their bras/underwear. I found it interesting that all of the doors to these clubs were wide open and you could see straight inside without going inside. Cultural difference for sure! I imagine they all have little massage parlours in back. After shopping the market for about 30 min, a torrential downpour hit. It was awesome to be caught in the rain with so many people. The volunteers and I sat at a bar and had a beer while people watching. There were people dancing in the rain, and scattering for plastic to try and protect their goods at the market. We headed home when there was a short break in rain, but still ended up completely soaked.
I fell asleep quickly, but of course woke up at 330am.
Today was another crazy day! I visited two more placements. One primary school/daycare and a secondary school. Nobody told me I was beautiful today, so when a volunteer told me a coffee shop we were at sold Beauty drinks, I decided to order one. Apparently they put collagen in the drink, but they also fill it with sugar, cream, syrup, and hundreds of other calories; I think next time Ill skip the tiny bit of collagen to avoid the extra calories. Plus I'm convinced it's impossible to look beautiful when it's 90 degrees with 100% humidity.
After my short coffee break, I walked around some back streets of Bangkok with Jack and headed towards the Grand Palace. The Thai culture is so beautiful! I love all of the little alley ways and street food. People are people everywhere you go, and big cities are big cities, but something about the Asian culture is extra beautiful.
The Grand Palace is extraordinary! It feels like you are in a fairy tale as you walk around.
After the palace, we headed to the highest point in Bangkok and then to an exhibition to learn all about the history of the city of angels, The Grand Palace, the Emerald Buddha, the costumes of Thailand and the masks. Yes, this was all in ONE day! I'm sure you can all understand why my email is getting less detailed...this girl is exhausted!
To wrap up the day, ten of us went out to dinner. It was family style (there should be NO other way to eat in group settings) and delicious! Just when we thought we were done eating, another dish would hit the table. We had green curry, red curry, pad thai, some spicy pork dish, a fish dish, Tom Yum, Tom Kha, Fried Rice and I'm sure I'm missing a few other dishes. Needless to say we all headed home stuffed. I'm wondering how many of you are going to end up having Thai for lunch or dinner now. (I recommend the Red Curry)
The next two days are once again packed full of things to do and see around Bangkok and then I'm off to my little island of white sand, massage and hammock time.
Have a great Wednesday everyone! I'm about to fall fast asleep to an incredible thunder storm and rain coming down on the roof like you wouldn't believe!
xxoo
I'm still waking up every morning at 3am and not able to fall back asleep. this morning I forced myself to stay in bed hoping I'd get some extra sleep. I tried counting to 100 forward and then counting backwards and nothing worked
