A picture's worth a million words.

I know, I know. I've used that excuse before. But sometimes pictures are just better. Especially here. Sometimes I honestly just feel speechless. (Might have a little something to do with my exhaustion and inability to write at the moment...but nonetheless I am still speechless) 
So, I decided something. Just this once. I'm going to let these do all the talking...
Just another trip to the market...

Few of my favorite things....

Trip to the waterfall....

Buddha's Birthday Weekend... 

Meditation with the monk!

Walking Street

Jungle Flight..aka: COOLEST zipline ever

Oh yeah...and then there's Tiger World

Celebrating Buddha's birthday at the temple...

And then today...I saw things like this...

Emerald Buddha

Just the drive to the hill villages...beautiful.

yes that is real.

At the hill tribe village!

So, until next time....let's hope the saying holds strong.

Over and out (to my rock solid bed),

R.

Oh English Camp, Oh English Camp.

Oh English Camp (clap, clap, clap)

Oh English Camp (clap, clap, clap)

Oh English Camp makes me happy

We all enjoy to be together,

Oh English Camp makes me happy!

Wow. What a week. You know those weeks that are so full of so many things you don’t even know where or how to even begin explaining them?

Yeah. That was this one.

I can hardly believe another week has flown by in this beautiful country, yet here I am, on a Saturday morning with a little bit more experience under my belt.

I never thought I would actually be able to count to ten with all the right tones and pronunciations of this strange language. I never thought I would be able to remember how to say hello, how are you, and/or where’s the bathroom? I never knew I could love mangos and sticky rice (with sweet and condensed milk) as much as I do. And I definitely never thought I could teach English.

But I can, I do, and I did.

So, since I kind of feel like that is a load of unbelievables…can I tell you a little bit about it? 

Thanks. (Since you have no way of answering..I’ll assume the best)

On Monday…realization of how lucky we are in America grew. Why? We went to the hospital. No, not the kind of hospital you are thinking of.

It didn’t consist of Linoleum floors, TV’s in every room, and the unmistakable stench of sterilized….everything. No, this hospital was very different.

This hospital was overflowing with people. There were abandoned cribs of little children sitting, staring…at nothing. No pictures, no toys. There were people in the hallways outside lying on rollaway beds (which by beds I mean hard green mats on a metal frame) with hardly any clothes on. There were babies crying. There were flies. And there was a waiting room filled with hundreds and hundreds of people.

It was heart breaking.

And that’s not even all. On Tuesday, we visited DEPDC. Wait..what? Yeah I know. I didn’t know what it was either. It took me about 3 days to remember the acronym.

Daughters Education Program for Developing Countries. Aka: Prevention and Protection against sex trafficking.

Thailand and it’s neighboring countries are in the center of the golden triangle. Which means….countries send their victims to Bangkok, Thailand and they send them out across the world. Some of these innocent young girls are crammed in crates and shipped out by boat for days, even weeks. Looking at these sweet, genuine little faces made me sick knowing that so many of them were at risk of this awful life.

Can you even imagine that future?

That’s where the DEPDC comes into play. They bring in these at-risk, poverty stricken little children and educate them. They bring the light into their eyes and give them hope. And that is what I have the chance to be a part of. Help them have fun. Help them realize their worth.

And I can’t wait.

As for Wednesday and Thursday….just the thought of them makes beads of sweat creep down my spine. Seriously though, that heat was disgusting. Frustrating. And relentless. As usual. Yet worse. But somehow, I still loved both days.

We held an English Camp.

I was terrified, I’ll admit. I didn’t know how to teach English, yet I had 500 children relying on me to teach them. I can’t even speak their language, how in the world am I supposed to teach them mine? 

But that’s the cool thing. Love has no language. And I fell in love with those little kids. I felt God’s love pouring through me as I looked in their brown eyes. 

So I began, 45 children at a time, to teach what I knew. We sang songs. We danced. We laughed. And with the help of the One who made it all possible, they learned English.

I will never forget those kids. I will never forget the way they laughed as I did the hokey pokey. I’ll never forget the way they said spa-ge-thee (sphagetti). Or the smiles on their faces and their eagerness to learn.

They motivated me to be better. To try harder.

And to be brave, even when you are scared to do something.

 

 

Our "oreo" slushies. Yep...don't have shakes here.

Courtney- part of our group, so cute!

And then there's the adorable kids...

 

Certificates for holding the camp!

And the rest is history…still having the time of my life. Still having disgusting things like this put in front of me for dinner….

But it’s all part of the experience.

It’s Buddha’s birthday on Tuesday so we have a 5-day weekend. Everyone takes off work and closes down. It’s amazing. So we are taking advantage of this beautiful place. Eating pizza (which was more than heavenly, I felt full for the first time in weeks), hiking to waterfalls, and heading out for a weekend trip to Chiang Mai.

Life is good. And only getting better.

From my half of the world to yours, with all the love in my growing heart,

R. 

Our Song-Tao, aka: means of transportation here.

Yep those are bananas. TINY! But so good.

Just a frog in the shower...no big deal.

Chiang Rai is SERIOUSLY beautiful. The Night Bizarre is the best!

Sawaddii Kha.

Once upon a time I went to Thailand.

What?

That doesn’t just happen. People don’t just go to Thailand.

They don’t actually ride elephants and hold baby tigers.

That only happens in movies…or at all. (Let’s be honest, anything remotely cool like that is only seen as the cover page of National Geographic…which nobody ever actually reads)

Oh wait. Except sometimes. 

To people like me. 

Very, very blessed people like me. Not because I am celebrity status or because I have a million bucks (which is definitely not the case…considering my grocery list consisted of milk and bread my last month of school…). 

Believe me…it took lots and lots of fundraising, work whenever possible, tax returns [thank you parents for not claiming me as an independent] and Santa Claus, to get me here. But I’m here. All because somehow, some way it all worked out. Someone upstairs knew it would change my life. He knew I would learn and grow in ways I would never experience otherwise.

And it’s true…beyond true. I am in Thailand. And it is a miracle. The tastes, the smells, the people, the culture, the way of life. Everything. It’s all incredible. And never ceases to amaze me.

Now. Since there is absolutely no possible way I would ever be able to explain everything I am experiencing and doing in one simple blog post...or even two...or three, I am going to share some highlights. Some feelings. Some thoughts. You know, the usual (I mean that’s what a blog is for right? I think that means I have all blogging rights to shpeal my feelings). 

So, let me tell you a couple things about Thailand.

First things first… the people. The way they not only smile and wave everywhere we go (although that might have something to do with the white skin and drenched, sweaty clothes…) but the way they bow and show respect every time they greet us. Seriously? Have Americans ever done that?

Next, the food. I am not going to lie, the food terrified me at first. Why? Because the first time I ever ate Thai food I had tears running down my cheeks and water pouring into every crevice of my mouth trying to wash out the burn from the millions of spices. And because the smell has a somewhat nauseating affect. And because….okay, okay you get the point.  

S C A R E D. 

However, to my surprise, so far…so good. For the most part that is. I still have a few encounters like this…..

Yes...that is fried FULL bodied fish next to half of a raw fish body

....enough said.

…..but what do ya do? Plug your nose and pray for strength? Seems to be working a little...so far.

However, maybe that's also because I've had encounters like this....

 .... so I guess that evens it out right?

Now, besides the people and the food....probably the most incredible of all is- the adventures. The possibilities are endless. I came here to “change lives.” To “bring people out of poverty” and feel part of that “change” myself. Well yes, I will be doing all of that. But it’s more than that. It’s everything about this green, gorgeous land and sweet people. It’s soaking in every minute of the ups and the downs. That is what is making this experience.

It’s not easy. Actually, it’s flippin hard. I have never sweat so much in my entire life. I have never felt this kind of heat…this exhausting, consuming, relentless heat. I have never been so thirsty. I have never slept on a “bed” so hard...on the ground. I’ve never woken up bruised from the hardness of the “mattress.” I’ve never wished to be bug-free so, so incredibly bad. 

But I’ve also never had so much amazing fruit. I’ve never seen any place so green. I’ve never seen banana bunches and jack fruits the size of watermellons hanging from the trees. I’ve never held a baby tiger while I nursed it with milk. I’ve never ridden an elephant. I’ve never watched a Thai sister try with all her might to teach a relief society lesson in English just so that I could understand. I’ve never laughed so hard at so many different things. I’ve never come to love my family so much (surprising since I’m pretty sure everyone and anyone who has ever read my blog knows just how much I love my family..) and appreciate those 3 minute phone calls. 

There are so many I’ve never’s. There are good ones. There are not so great ones. And there are hard ones. But I love them all. And I can’t tell you enough how much I am looking forward to waking up every single day here in this beautiful country. Yes, I am far from home. No, I don’t have a phone, or hardly any contact with the outside world. Yes, the food is weird, and the weather is unbearable. But I am here. Soaking it in. Every slice of mango and sip of water.

So here we go. Let’s do this. Let’s live like we’ve never lived. Let’s breathe deeper and walk slower. Let’s take pictures and write things down. Why? Because we are in Thailand. Yep that’s right. I know, I know. You are sitting there thinking “actually I’m sitting here staring at a computer screen..” but already that means you have stepped into this little journey with me. “Please fasten your seatbelts, and turn off all electric devices until otherwise notifie….” Oh woops, sorry still have cheesy flight attendant voices and airplane videos running through my brain (can you blame me? I only flew for over 22 straight hours…)

I promise to walk you through. Maybe not inch by inch, but yard by yard. The big stuff. The small things. And together, we will experience the world.

Now, sit back and relax as you glide through the foreign land of Thai.

Welcome to Safari WORLD

Yes, I REALLY held that tiny little guy. SO cute.

A temple at the Royal Palace

View from Baiyoke Tower

 Now on to elephants....

And that's all for now. Stay tuned for more....I’m off to sleep on my rock hard box spring. Wish me well.

Sawaddii Kha,

R.

Read at your own RISK...

Warning: I am about to vent. And complain. A bit. So, you may want to stop here. It could get pretty tiring....I know how it feels to listen to negative all the time. Annoying. So, I promise I'll end it with a cherry on top. If you can make it through.

Here goes.

This week month...stinks.
Yep, no sugar-coating or fake smiles about it.
It just plain sucks (pardon me)
But really....School is so dang hard.
Why does it have to be so hard? (I know, I know so I can "learn from it and gain a greater knowledge of life experiences." But I get enough of that- without even touching foot in the academic section)

Oh, and guess what? I leave for a Thailand in 3 1/2 weeks.
Oh yeah- I'm going to Thailand. Did I mention that? For 7 weeks.
Oh yeah, and I leave during finals week. Did I mention that?
Oh yeah, and I have a 13 page paper, 10 page paper, Research paper, and 73 slide powerpoint due in the next 2 weeks. Did I mention that?
Yeah I know. Makes me wanna throw up too.

P.s. I just read 125 pages. Yuck.

Oh and also,

My brain is imploding.

Did I mention that?

But seriously....it feels like it.

It's that helpless-hopeless feeling. Like when you are so hungry you scarf down your entire meal in seconds and then eat 2 desserts and anything else within reach because you were that hungry...(breathe) and then it hits you. Like a brick to the face. And there's nothing you can do. You just plain ate too much. And it freakin hurts.

Yep, that's what's happening. But in my head.

I go to sleep at night and my brain doesn't turn off. I dream of to-do lists and due dates.
That's disgusting.
Really.
Not to mention I'm so sick of string cheese and Sweet N' Salty bars. (Not quite sick of cereal yet- that'll probably be next week- serious, have you tried these? They are SO good)
But when you spend day after day in the library...what other snack food is there?

So that's that. I've officially complained. I'm not depressed. Actually, the tone of this post is quite matter-of-fact.

I. Am. Stressed. And overwhelmed. 

But I'm doing it. Somehow. The clock is still ticking and my life is still going. I'm just unbelievably busy. And not exactly loving it. And that's what's on my mind this Tuesday afternoon.

Oh and another thing,

Why is it that every spring everyone falls in love?
Just curious.

 Oh and something else. I am missing this guy today....

 

 

         

            

            

           

          

          

        

... Just cause. 

Oh and, as promised, for the cherry on top: 

Just in case you are having a day, week, or month like mine...

Check these out. They might actually get you through your day.. because they are getting me through mine.

 

Okay. That's all. I promise.

Happy Tuesday :)