Well, it is just me again!! Third day of school is complete and I am
absolutely loving everything about Thailand, absolutely everything!!! I did not
end up receiving my schedule today, so after arriving at school, Emily (another
exchange student), Yui (one of my host sisters), and I went to a class, one
that I never knew existed! In this class, we learn to fold banana leaves into
art! How amazingly crazy is that!? It was so much fun and such a different type
of class, one for sure that doesn't exist in the States! It was so so great,
and apparently the art we make out of the leaves is used in weddings, so they
are very important! That was exactly the type of culture class I was looking
for. After that we ate lunch, and then worked on some Thai. I then went to
Physics class and to History class, both were so great. In Physics class, I
worked on my Thai alphabet, over and over again! In History, I had no idea what
was going on as always, but it was a lot of fun, and then I learned a few new
Thai games! I am making great friends, and everyone is always, laughing and
smiling. It is so cute when they try and use English with me, because they
always giggle! Even a simple wave their way makes them giggle. It is quite fun
and a very interesting part of the culture. I am absolutely LOVING the food,
crazy right?! I get sad thinking about the fact that we don't have Thai food
back in the states, but Emily and I are determined to open up our own little
Thai shop with Thai food, Thai candles (we are supposed to be taking a candle
making class in our schedule!), and Banana leaf art! Just kidding, but both of
us are just loving it here. The culture itself is very, very interesting, very respectful
culture. We wai, the Thai greeting where hands are placed together, at every teacher
we see. When walking by them, in the classrooms, anytime anywhere, we put down
what is in our hands and wai. We also remove our shoes when entering
classrooms, so they are constantly on and off, on and off! I love it though,
and when entering certain parts of the school, the shoes come off as well. The
school campus is so big and yet so small. I am starting to find my way, not to
classrooms, but to the place where you buy water, the cafeteria, and the
courtyard where we sit and talk between classes! (The three most important
things right!?!? Totally kidding) But, there are many buildings, so finding my
way once Yui is gone will be so much fun, kind of like a scavenger hunt! The
language you may ask, is coming along slowly. Again with the smiling and nodding
my head and replying with "Chai ka" (yes) most of the time! They talk
so so so fast, so I am trying to find a way to tackle the language, one bit at
a time. I am learning numbers, and soon to be learning the days of the week,
the months, etc. So, I will for sure keep you updated on that! Hmm, what
else...I plan to figure out what my new friends do after school, so I can keep
busy! My sister Yui and I have gotten very close in the time I have gotten to
know her, and I will say goodbye to her next Tuesday. So I want to spend my
time with her before she leaves. She leaves next Friday, and I will return from
my first conference (starts on Wednesday) next Sunday! My room is a mess right
now, still trying to figure out how to unpack as I will be here for a few
months! The time here seems to go by way faster than ever before! I wake up and
before I know it, I am at home after my day at school. I need to fill my time
from after school until dinner, not quite sure with what yet, but I am hoping
to find out after I come back from my conference! I want to keep busy, meet
many new people, and try many new things! But for the time being, I am just
exhausted but in the best way possible! I just would like to thank everyone who
made this opportunity possible for me! I think that is it for now, hopefully I
will get my schedule tomorrow! Oh yeah, so I attended my first host Rotary
meeting last night! I arrived and we ordered our food. My Rotary club in
Thailand has around 30 people much like my Rotary Club back in the States.
There were about 13 Rotarians at the meeting last night, all very nice. I gave
a quick introduction to myself and that was that. One interesting thing I find,
is the Thai folks always ask, "What does your father do? What does your
mother do?" Your career in Thailand is so so important, as well as the
connections you have with other "business people." Very, very
interesting. Growing up in the U.P., I am so used to seeing deer all around me.
Here, there are dogs and cats EVERYWHERE! Just walking the streets. Also, the
transportation is much, much different. First of all, they drive on the other
side of the road and, the steering wheel is on the opposite side that it is in
the States. But many, many of the people have little moped types of transportation,
I would say that there are more of those than cars! Well, I need to get going,
but I hope all is well. Thanks again for reading. Miss you all!! <3 Sarah
Me at my first Rotary meeting in Thailand!
Yui and I at the meeting!
Yui and I after the meeting with the Clock Tower in Lampang!
Yui and I, again, with a statue across from the Clock Tower and in front of the "City Hall."
The courtyard I was talking about, normall filled with so many students!
Emily, Yui, and I in our banana leaf art class!
With our finished product, we will meet again next week!!
Our shoes outside of the classroom!
It was one of the girl's birthday today, so they had cake! But this picture was taken in History class, right before we started playing the games!!
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