Cut to the chase

Ok so its been exactly 77 days here in Thailand and I am still hanging on. It’s actually becoming more of a reality now that I live in Thailand.

Teaching:
A couple weeks ago I went to teach English at a sports college in Udon and it was so fun. They didn’t know much so we taught them really basic stuff. Because it was a sports college we went to the school gym and were put into groups. My group learnt words like Push, Pull, Come, Go, Sit, Stand. I got them to act the action out as they said it and we had a good time!

A funeral and a Wedding
The night after that one we went to the mayors father’s funeral. It was interesting to even see the differences in the reception! Everyone was to wear black and white and at this particular event there were a lot of people so it was outside. It was about 40 degrees outside and anything I had tried to put on my face to stop it from sweating was now on the collar of my shirt. After the longest reception I have ever sat thru everyone lined up and had some delicious Thai food. The next night our family went to a Thai wedding! It was neat to go see. My host mom let me borrow a dress of hers and we were off to the conference center where there would be a dinner. The man getting married was from Paris. The bride was half Thai half Vietnamese so we ended up eating more Vietnamese food than Thai food. They served us delicious food. I got to try shark!! It’s so delicious. The whole Pewngaam family went so it was nice to have a big group there.

The people you meet:
I have been going to the gym now for about 2 months and I have met some cool people. My first encounter was about 1 month ago when I was running on the treadmill and a female ferong (foreigner) and I began to talk. Her name is Debra and she came over from the States about 8 years ago and is involved with a local organization that teaches the Thai people who are interested about Christianity. She is fluent in Thai and is fun to be around. She gave me a few pointers on learning the Thai language and we have spoken ever since. The other day she had asked me for dinner so we planned to go. My host dad wanted to check things out before I went with her so he called her and we actually ended up going to her house so my host dad could meet her. She lives really nearby which was a coincidence and she has a nice little place. We went out to the local Sizzler and enjoyed a nice American meal, shopping around the mall with a friend of hers after eating. It was a really great time. We went around sampling cappuccino in the Robinson store and were pleasantly surprised to find some very cheap cookie mix which Debra thought we could make next time! I have been craving some good cookies lately. A nice home cooked mom cookie would be nice but I think these will do!
I also met another ferong at the gym. His name is Tim and he owns an touring company in the Stated called rustic pathways. I have been thinking about touring when I return to Canada but was not sure if that’s where I wanted to go. His company takes kids around my age and younger and brings them to countries all over the world for periods of time and allows them to learn about a different culture. Similar to what I am doing only you do not go to school and there are more planned activities for the students. I’ve done some research on it and it sounds really great. He said that at the end of the exchange if I’m still interested to give him a call and he would be happy to set me up with a position!

Temple in Udon:
About 2 weeks ago my temple teacher and I went to the large temple in Udon and gave offerings to the monks. I really do enjoy going to the temple because it is so peaceful and calming. When we arrived to the temple at around 7:30 it was packed. I couldn’t believe how many people had come with food to give. The people line up and give food to the monks and then everyone gathers inside the temple where they divide the food up between monks giving the best food to the oldest monk. He eats before all the other monks. Once he is finished the rest of the food which will not be eaten is passed out to all the other people in the temple on trays so we get to enjoy a nice breakfast that has been blessed by all the monks. After the eating section people gather around the oldest monk and give him more offerings. It was incredible to see the amount of respect people have for this man and all monks for that matter! There was one monk from Canada whom I met. He grew up in Toronto and now lives here at the temple. I also met a really neat woman that is friends with my temple teacher. She decided that she would give a tour of the temple explaining all the sacred areas. There was one area where the oldest monk lived and he had a long strip of concrete behind his home. It was for meditation. One of the techniques they use is to walk back and forth just focusing on the sounds your feet make on the concrete. She said this particular monk can do this for hours at a time. She showed me where she shares a house with 20 other women. It looks similar to a bunk house and there is limited space. It is such a beautiful area though so you’d have the space outdoors! Before we left the women gave me an English DVD all about Buddhism. It was made by a monk from England. He talks about the human condition and how the world is in a big mess. Money is such a huge issue in our lives now that it is dragging down the world. We are constantly being told to be greedier. We are progressing externally but regressing internally. More trouble is to come to our world because everyone is being told the same thing. Even the once most rural villages in different parts of the world were not concerned with money. Now they are being told that they need more and eventually we are raising our world on greed. Its such an interesting DVD and I am learning a lot from it.

The Hospital:
Well I have learnt that the wealthy people in Thailand believe that when you have a cough you should go to the hospital. When you feel sick you should go to the hospital and if you have a sore throat you should go to the hospital. Its just a way to allow others to know that they do have money. My little host cousin had a cough and was rushed into emergency and was well taken care of at the hospital. It was so great to see his whole family including myself rush over every day after work and make sure he was feeling ok and to keep him company for a few hours. We would eat there together and then stay and talk. Family in Thailand is such an incredibly important part of their lives. I loved seeing the amount of love within the family towards everyone!

The trip down south:
These past 2 weeks I have been off school because of semester break and the Rotary decided to send us down to the south. I was very excited to be able to go because we would finally get to see the beach. We drove there in a large van and it took about 6 hours to get there. We made a few stops on the way. One of the stops was for some ruins of an old temple which was beautiful. It had been reconstructed about 50 year ago and was very neat to explore. We arrived in Hua Hin around 8:00pm and found out we would stay in a nice condo with a swimming pool and a small kitchen. We met with the Rotarians of the Hua Hin district and I was pleased to find out that there was a 16 years old girl who would show us around during our time. Luc and I had asked a Rotarian if he could come get us in the morning so we could go running on the beach. He agreed and came to get us every morning for 6 days at 5:30. It was so beautiful to run on the beach. The sand made it extra challenging but it was worth it all the same.
Day 1: Travelling to Hua Hin
Day 2: Drove to Floating market 100km away and stopped at 2 famous temples on our way. One of which has about 300 golden Buddha’s lining the outside of the temple and the other is a temple which a tree has actually begun to grow around it without destroying the structure of the building. The floating market was very cool. There were people selling all sorts of things from the water and to buy something you ordered it and then the person in the boat would pass a fishing net in which you would put your money into and take the item which you ordered. Very neat system! After walking around the area the man we were with rented a boat and we got paddled down the river to a beautiful temple where we gave our respects to Buddha.

Day 3: We were off to the beach but before we stopped to see a giant Buddha. It was created in memory of a famous monk in that area and it was very beautiful. The beach near Hua Hin that we went to was so nice. The water was WARM! I couldn’t believe my senses when I first stepped in. I was so used to either Kiosk lake, Castle river, or the ocean on Vancouver island! It was awesome. The salt tasted great and I felt at peace while swimming around. After swimming for a while the 16 year old Meow suggested renting a banana boat. They are long plastic banana shaped things that are pulled behind a Jet Ski. You can get as many as about 8 people on them and get pulled around for a while. It was hilarious to go on one. Brandy and I then decided to rent one tube and get pulled behind the Jet Ski. It was so great to be tubing on the ocean!! The sun began to go down and then we washed off in the public shower which consisted of a huge bucket of cold water. That was definitely a cool experience while being there. We dried off and then headed to enjoy a delicious seafood dinner right by the water. There was so much seafood and I loved it all! I ate Snail, Crab, Fish, and Shrimp. Everything was fresh and we actually got to choose which seafood item we wanting before they cooked it. It was something I had never done before. I was stuffed so 2 of the exchange students and 2 other Thai people went for a walk down to the beach and saw a beautiful sunset. I think that was one of my favorite things that we saw while in Hua Hin.
Day 4: We went to a local mountain/hill here in Hua Hin which has a beautiful view of the beach. There were walking trails and I was so excited to be finally doing some form of hiking again. All the walking trails really reminded me of my cabin in Ontario. Kiosk. I felt as if I was walking to Aunt Jean’s house again. The smell was identical and I couldn’t help but smile. I think as I get older I really do value that spot and how lucky I was to have had the opportunity to go there as a kid. We also stopped in at another beach and got to enjoy the sun’s radiation for another few hours.
Day 5: This day we went to the CHA-AM ATV PARK. We got to play paintball which was fun and was happy to not have only been hit once. Paintball was followed by some ATVing in a little track that they had designed. It seemed a little absurd but fun nevertheless. It had rained previously that day so the tracks were covered in mud. Its definitely fun to get muddy sometimes. The park was fun but I would have loved to jump the fence to visit the people harvesting their crops. At 6:00 we were told that there was going to be a party here for so we washed up and headed to the barn area. It was cowboy themed so I felt right at home. The western music was playing and all the Thai staff were wearing cowboy hats. Somehow that just doesn’t seem to fit. They cooked an American meal which was nice of them and it consisted of Ribs, Sausages, Spaghetti, Fries, Calamari and lots of ketchup! It was an interesting arrangement but was good. I think I still like Thai food more though. After dinner the owner of the park taught some of us how to use a bow and arrow. Archery is so fun. I felt as if I was in the movie Pocahontas and was trying to protect my men.
Day 6: This day was more of a free day. We got picked up by the van at 10 and headed to the local mall where most of the foreigners in Hua Hin go. So I got my fair share of hello’s and how are you’s. The stores were rather expensive so I only bought an expensive coffee and a scarf. I really wanted to go see some elephants while I was there. I love elephant because I think there such majestic creatures. Meow finally found out where were elephants and we went there. I was excited.. I was going to see elephants! I couldn’t believe my eyes when we arrived and I walked up to an elephant. I felt sad because he was being used as a tourist attraction. His commander had a stick with a medal end that would hit the elephant with if he acted out. It reminded me of when my sister and I joined peta the organization that helps animals in dangerous situations. We learnt a lot about how elephants are treated in some circuses and fairs. They use these sticks as threats to keep the elephants from doing anything that may scare their audience or their visitors. I did my best to see where the workers were coming from. In not having very much but it just didn’t seem fair. We bought bananas and I fed 4 of the 5 elephants. One was behind a large pile of dirt and they wouldn’t allow me to feed it. The elephants were kept chained to posts so they couldn’t leave and I was very tempted to go back and free them. I could just run away with them and we could live forever free in the jungle. Then reality set in and I said my goodbyes and went back into the van. It was a good experience and I was happy to meet my favorite animal in person. They truly are a sight to see.
Day 7: Today was the day we left Hua Hin so we said our goodbye’s and had a 5 hour car ride to Korat where we spend 2 nights at a lovely resort. It was in country and we stayed in a home. It was beautiful. We went into the night market the first night and bought dinner and enjoyed some delicious sticky rice and pork for dinner and breakfast the next day. It was nice to see some countryside in the Korat area.
Funny experience:
The other night my host mom, dad and I went to a Vietnamese house warming party. There was about 200 Vietnamese people, maybe 6 Thai people and 1 ferang! The party was set up on the street and everyone enjoyed a delicious meal and some great entertainment. There was a karaoke machine up on stage and people were free to use it. This one man kept hassling me to sing. I told me him no its ok. Mai pen rai (Never mind) but he was persistent. I finally realized that maybe it was time to come out of my comfort zone a bit and get on up to that stage and sing a song. So I chose a Yesterday by The Beatles. I started to sing my first line and I heard ooooo. The DJ man had underestimated the beauty of my voice. Ha-ha so he asked me to start again only this time the music was much louder than my voice it was only a soft whisper! It was great. I truly had an awesome time and will be considering doing karaoke again.

Anyway hope all is well in everyone’s lives and your ups and downs are keeping you alive because I know they are for me!

Confusion, excitement, and curiosity! My 3rd update from the land of smiles!

รายการบล็อกของฉันที่สามจากประเทศไทย!
My third blog entry from Thailand!

Hello World! This is Christine from Thailand again just keeping you posted on my adventure!
Udon Pitt, my school schedule

Music anyone?
I am now taking a class at Udon Pit where I learn a thai instrument. The instrument is similar to an xylophone only larger in size and is called "Kong Wong Ya". I have been taking the class with another Rotary exchange student from Pensylvania. Learning a new instrument has been very fun and exicting but it also has taken quite a bit of patience. Practice is definantly key and I now understand why my piano or guitar friends were always taking the time to improve their skill. I can now play 3/4 of a song and am very pleased with myself.

Thai Dance
Well this dance has been in Thailand since the early 1800's. It is a beautiful and flowing dance.. that is when a Thai person dances it. I am definantly not built like the Thai people so immendiatly the dance looses some of its natural flow. My hands are not at all double jointed and my legs are probably 3 times the size of a thai's legs. I feel sometimes like I could trample my teacher. I also take this class with the Rotary Exchange student; Jazz whom is a ballet dancer. She is also trying to adjust to a completely different style of dancing.
The other day actually Jazz and I had a very unusual experience during class. We arrived at class like usuall and began to practice our dance. Our teacher then instructed us to change our clothes so we could "look the part". We did as we were told and after many size adjustments finally found a fit. The teacher then sat me down and pulled my hair back and placed a black wig on my head. It was.. hmm... hideous. Mostly because you could see my blonde hair above the black wig. Then came the makeup. It was white and and red and wasn;t very flaterring. After this I looked in the mirror and was honestly a little scared of myself. Jazz put it as well.. are we supposed to look like witches? I actually was a little confused to whether my teacher was actually trying to make us look bad because after he had dressed us up he would add a new addition to our outfits. Gold bracelets, head dresses, necklaces, eyeshadow.. every addition he seemed to laugh harder and longer then the last. By the end I felt tired and ready for a nap but of course he wanted to take a photo. So he lead us to the garden which by this time was surrounded by Thai students giggling and pointing. I dont think I have laughed so hard in a long time. Jazz was first to stand in the garden and did her photos very gracefully. Next was Christine... I stepped into the garden and thought it might be fun to stand on the trunk of the tree nearby. After about 2 photos I began to feel a burning sensation on my right foot. Looking down I was shocked to see that my foot was covered in little black spiders biting my foot. I screamed and fell into the bushes behind me. I was stuck in the bushes for a while before I finally could pull myself up. It was humiliating, awkard and hillarious all at the same time. My teacher thought it would be best if we finished the photo shoot inside the classroom. I agreed 100%.

Thai Cooking
I have been going to my Thai cooking class now for 3 weeks now and I have to admit it is not what I expected. I assumed it would be similar to my cooking class in Cnada but of coursee. it wasn't. The first day of cooking I went in and was pleased to see the ingredients to make Pad Thai sitting on the counter. I waited for my other classmates and the teacher to arrive so we could receive a recipe to follow and be divided into groups. Well.. the students arrived and immediatly started chopping, boiling and stirring without any previous instruction. Our teacher didnt actually show up until the students had assembled everything. It was almost as if they were little chefs. My first job was given to me by one of the smallest thai students, she was holding a knife with garlic. She instructed me to peel the garlic and when I was finished it would be blended in with the rest of the ingredients. There are about 10 others in the class and their was alot of garlic so another thai student helped me. I finished up with the garlic beaming with pride that I had completed my first task with no blood or tears. I looked around and was extremelly surprised to see the meal was almost complete. I didnt even see the rest of the ingredients. They added the garlic and before I knew it I had a beautiful plate of Pad Thai in front of me. So... I guess I will have to wait on the other ingredients until then I know that Pad Thai takes about 15 cloves of garlic.

Canadian dinner:
Last week I decided I would make a Canadian dinner for my host family. I was thinking about what I could make that would be Canadian and relatively simple to make. I decided on a good juicy burger. My host mom and I went to the local grocery store and bought ground beef, onions, tomatoes, lettuce. I ended up forgetting to get the actual hamburger buns and got my host mom to buy them after work. The bakery she went too only had the baby version so we had big patties with little buns. It was cute. I invited my Thai friend over to enjoy some homemade burgers and she helped me set the table and get ready for supper. I fried the onions with a little but of real canadian syrup which added a nice touch. The burgers were a little on the black side but a little burnt never hurt anyone. I brought some candies from Canada thank to the courtesy of my wonderful mother in Canada and they were a big hit at dessert. All together it was a big success!

Chanelling frustration:
I have been learning a ton about the importance of chanelling negative emotions on this exchange so far. The way you handle set backs in your life can really affect your spirit. At school I have found it hard to get into the groove of things because there isn't alot of places to go when you need a break. The longer I spend the more creative I become. I have been taking a neat buddhism class at school that starts off with about 30 minutes of meditation which I love. This has been one way that I have been trying to cope with stressful situations. Another way I have been finding very useful is reading. Before I left to Thailand my dad sent me off with a wonderful book called "love your life". Its all about enjoying the life you are in now. We are all equal and each one of us is full of amazing potential. If we are supportive to ourself then we can give back to others more full heartedly and feel better throughout the day. Music has been another tool that I have been using. I would love to hear how others handle a hard time in their own life!

Story of the week:
At school the other day I was feeling quite hungry at around 10:45 and at our school you are not permitted to buy anything at the canteen during class time. Only before school, lunch, and after school. I asked my thai friend where I could go. She said she knew of a good little place behind the school. Instead of walking out the front entrance we walked to the back of the school and went up to the cement fence that surrounds our high school. We peeked thru the small holes lining the top of the fence and saw a small little reaturant on the other side. My thai friend "Porche" called to the women across the street thru traffic and asked her to come here. The women crossed the traffic to meet us on the other side of the fence. I ordered sticky rice (Cow Neow) and chicken (guy). She went back and got it all organized and delivered me my meal thru the fence. I was so impressed by their service and I would definantly do that again. Although it is forbidden at our school it is easier getting away with things as a foreigner!

That evening my host mom picked me up from school and we went to the market called O-TOP. It is a huge market filled with authentic thai crafts, foods, clothing.. ect. It only comes to Udon once a year and it was great to see different styles of poduct of different areas of Thailand. I saw alot of shops selling things from the mountain people in the North of Thailand. I am incredibly fascinated by them and was considering buying myself a bag but decided otherwise. I was incredibly surprised when my host famity surprised me a few days later with a nicely made bag from that same shop. So considerate of her to do that!

My 18th birthday:
I am getting old. I am finally out of my adolescance and going into my adulthood. I am extremelly excited to be turning 18 in a foreign country and was happy to have a great day eating ice cream, cake and really good food. I woke up early so I could give offerings to the monks in the morning. I was very excited to do this because I haven't gotten an opputunity to do that yet. In the evening I arrived at a restaurant for dinner with the Rotary and saw a sign at the entrance that said Happy Birthday Christine. It was so neat! Everyone sang happy birthday and I received many gifts from the Rotary and the other exchange students. I am now officially in Adult! Its weird to think...
"Growing up, its something you can measure
Growing up, it happens everyday
Being young is something you should treasure."

The next monday my friends at school called me to come into the canteen and sang me happy birthday with cake. It was so thoughtful of ev eryone to buy a cake for my birthday! At lunch another group of friends did the same thing. I was very full of dessert after that monday.

Tennis lessons:
I have begun to take tennis lessons in thailand. My host mom signed my brother and I up and I was very excited to be be developing a skill. The coach who teaches us is great because he has been working with me one on one making sure that I know the motion of the swing. There are about 16 in each lesson and everyone is very inviting and very fun to be around!

Going to a school in Nong Khai:
My thai friend told me that her class was going to be going to a small village in Nong Khai and delivering supplies to the students. She asked me if I wanted to come and I was so excited to say yes because I really want to experience the village life in Thailand. In Nong Khai we end up going a school out of town but the school is in very good condition. The night before Porche and I had bought supplies for them. I bought toothbrush and toothpaste thinking they would need that in a village. I probably could have juyst brought candy but I fugured toothbrush was better for their health. It was so cool because we were in charge of these kids all day. We played games together and drew pictures together. It was so exhausting but incredibly fun.

Nong Khai #2
Today the exchange students headed to Nong Khai to do some sightseeing. It was beautiful but very hot. I was able to eat lunch on the mekong river in a little boat. It was very neat to go and I was pleased to be able to see some wonderful buddhist sculptures. It was a very scenic trip!

I am feeling rather tired and looking forward to a nice sleep. I will update again soon and until there
Je Gun Ka!
(See you soon)

My second update in Thailand

Well Hello again my fellow bloggers,
My update this month is full of excitement in which I am excited to share. My pictures have been being posted on facebook but I will be trying to post them onto my blog when I get the chance to update.

Events this month:
Orientation: Our Rotary district had our orientation in which we got to do a 4 hour scenic car drive NE of our city. It was a beautiful drive and I was glad to be driving with another exchange student from the USA, Lauren. The orientation itself was very short and not very eventful. Their were 3 speakers who came and answered some of our concerns which was nice. We were able to meet some of the other exchange students from different countries and I got to meet some pretty cool people. Their were students from Mexico, Canada, the States, Taiwan, South Africa, and Germany. We sat for most of the orientation but got to get up at the end to take a photo with everyone and say goodbye. The Rotary club of Magkang took the students from Udon to the mall where we had a delicious sushi dinner with ice cream for dessert. We then we had to stop to take a photo with the "waiing" Ronald Mcdonald. That was one of the first real bonding times I experienced with the other exchange students. It was great to get to know people from another part of the world with a completely different view on the world. On the way back we stopped at the local 7/11 so I could satisfy my craving of a delicious bag of M&M'S and juice! A long but exciting day.

Home sickness:
The week following orientation was a tough one. Monday I woke up having dreamt one of my wild and crazy dreams and started becoming more aware of my current environment. I knew that I needed a break from school and spent close to an hour trying to explain to my host mom and dad that I wasn't feeling up for school today. We concluded on the fact that I had a headache and was able to partially relax for some of my morning. My mom and I spoke on skype at noon and after our conversation I decided I was feeling good enough to head off to school again. I went for the last 3 classes. I felt their had been some miscommuncation with my host mom so I took the bus after school to her shop where she helped me with the thai alphabet and I helped her with some english words. It was hillarious to hear both mine and her pronunciations of some words. We went to the supermarket called Lotus which is basically like a smaller wal mart and shopped for some groceries. When I arrived home their was a lizard in my room so I called down to my host mom and we worked together trying to swat it out of the room. We had quite the laugh trying to do this. I realized that day that "life's bleak moments don't last forever." You just have to relax during times of stress. Look at your situation from above yourself and watch. The rest of the week I did my best to wake up a little bit earlier to squeeze in some yoga and a quick medidation before school began. Its amazing how much of a difference a positive morning can make on your whole day.

Fun visit:
On the wednesday of that week I had a very unique experience that I thought I should share. I decided to have some cereal for breakfast and poured some into a bowl. What did I find but about 100 little bugs crawling in my bowl. I was startled to see this but decided to place them nicely back in their bag because I was sure the little bugs were hungry too. They are still sitting on my fridge in the kitchen so I am assuming they are still doing well.
That night I was informed that we would be going to a temple for a funeral style ceremony. I was confused on whos ineral but decided that questions usually complicate things so I just went with the flow. The "funeral" was for the death of a 94 year old monk. He had devoted his life to the monk hood for 54 years. The temple was beautiful, it was very large and had an amazing lake nearby that was so serene and beautiful I felt I didnt want to leave. The Rotary had set up a small food station for all the people who went into the temple. They were serrving noodle soup and frozen beverages. Their were about 30 other booths set up by other local bussinesses and organizations in which they were giving out free food. I was very happy to help out by placing the dried noodles into the huge pot of water and then slopping them into their rightful bowl. This process was a blast but too hot so I had to leave my post for a while. I then walked around the area of the temple and was so amazed at the simplicity of a monks life. Their were huge trees all around and their huts were hidden in the bushes. I was feeling rather adventurous and was hugging alot of trees and smiling more than usual. I surprised the boy from USA a bit with my lively spirit. It was a magical night for me. I was also able to try my first thai banana that night too, I am still amazed and will have to adjust again when I eat a canadian banana. Definantly not the same.

Meeting the Mayor:
The Rotary Club took all the exchange students in Udon to meet the mayor. It wasn't as exciting as my recent trip to the temple but I still enjoyed myself because we got some delicious morning snacks to munch on.

Trip to Phu Phrabat Historical Park:
On this past Saturday I was able to go to the Historivcal Park about 2 hours out of our city and do a bit of hiking around with 3 other friends. It was very cool to take the bus up there with the only the three of us. Transport in Thailand is so much more fun than in Canada because your basically riding on the back of a truck with a small roof on it. You feel the wind in your hair and the rain on your face. It was about an hour bus ride and we stopped at my friend Pong's house and got a ride to the HIstorical place with his father. It was a beautiful drive and I was excited to begin our hike around 11:00. Although the people I was with her breathing heavily I was astonished at how much shorter hikes are here than in Canada. When we arrived at the top of the "montain" about 20 minutes in I was very confused as to why we were stopping. It was definantly worth it though because the view was nothing I had experienced yet it Thailand. As soon as I saw it I said to myself "this is why I came to Thailand" There were rice fields down below and I got very excited. My friends and I relaxed at the top for a little while and shared a bag of Shrimp Lays chips which were very scrumptious. The walk down was over quickly and I was able to see some of the oldest Buddha reminents in the whole world. They date back to 14th-16th buddhist century. On our way back to Udon we stopped at my friend Pong grandparents house where his 91 year old grandfather lives and his 85 year grandmother lives. His condition was amazing. He was walking around with a huge grin. The most amazing thing I noticed by this amazing man was his ability to sit cross legged. He sat down and with ease place his legs together. I hope to be like that at 91 except still skiing, running and rock climbing too of course!

The Rotary Party:
The Rotary put on a party to welcome other rotary clubs that were coming to Udon to join us in our temple tour the next day. They had us (the exchange students) perform a dance together in front of other rotarians. I dont think I have ever laughed so hard as we rehearsed for the show. The other people I am with are so hillarious and we always have a good time together.

The temple Tour:
This 16 hour tour was long but fun. We started this tour at 6:00am and saw 3 temples in Udon. Those were realtiovely uneventful because their was mostly just chanting going on but then we began driving further out of town. It seemed the farther we were away from Udon the more beautiful and remote the temple was. At each temple we could present the monks with robes, food, and water and would say a prayer that lasted around 20-30 minutes each. We sat in the van for most of the time, driuving but all the exchange students rode together which made it more enjoyable. The only trouble I experience dwas forgetting my Gravol at home and we had to stop so I could get out and get some fresh air. We were back on the road in no time and I didnt go into the next temple with fear that I might make a scene. I ended up waiting in a fancy van with plenty of sticky rice and pork so I was very content. The other temples were standard and lovely. The second last though put myself and another exchange student from the USA in a strnage mood. Their were sculptures of hell and heaven and wht the buddhists perception of these places are. I will not elaborate too much but was a little shoked and surprised at what we saw.
Overall though it was an amazing day touring around Udon Thani Province. Afterwards we went to dinner and I tried pig stomach. It wasn't delicious but it was an experience.

Well I guess thats all I got today so until next time... Stay cool, calm and collected!!