Do as the locals do-

Back to busy Bangkok- The last few days have been amazing! The first three days were spent in Wang Noi getting to know the other volunteers signed up for the program, learning about the language, and visiting the ruins in Ayuthaya. On the last night all of us hopped in the back of a truck that was our taxi and went to see the town at night.

We were six strangers picked to live together, volunteer together, and have our lives photographed. This is what happens when you start being nice and talk about how you feel. This is the Real World: Thailand.

Here are some pictures from visiting the ruins-

3 of us went to a village homestay in Bang Sai- about an hour away. To anyone who is thinking about signing up for Global Crossroad I highly recommend the language and culture class! We drove deep into the countryside and were miles away from any large city, you wouldn't be able to find this place on the map! When were arrived at the house we were introduced to Urei and it didn't take long to feel at home, its true about Thai hospitality being so warm. She gave us a tour and we rode bikes from one village to another- there was no other tourists here- we were the only faraang around.

I quickly fell in love with the way of life while staying here. The whole time I was there I kept being reminded of Brian and Asha's farm in Washington that I went and visited last summer- It was a slower pace of life and everything they ate was organic. All the neighbors knew one another and helped each other out- everything about the whole place was self-sufficient. Urei's place is the house that she grew up in as well as her mother. It was an old wooden house on stilts because she lived right on the river and it floods every year during the monsoon season.

During the stay Urei took us to the temples that were close to her house and showed us the etiquette of visiting a Buddhist temple and the meanings behind everything. For example the placement and significance of the Lotus flowers, lighting a candle before entering and taking your shoes off. At one of the temples we went to there were bats everywhere in the daytime! It was so crazy to see! I wandered into one of the temples that was being worked on to find a monk painting a mural. Speaking the few Thai phrases I knew he took that as me being fluent and then decided to give me a tour of the whole place. He took me over to the pond and started to feed the fish and then showed me another temple that a different monk was working on woodwork. I couldn't understand anything that Pho, the monk, was saying but it was still quite the expeirence. He gave me a glass of ice water and though I didn't want to drink it because it wasn't filtered and had a spider floating in it, I also didn't want to be rude. So I drank it- no problems...yet.

During the stay at the village we went and visited a school get some practice teaching English. The kids were so excited to have a visitor in the class and the loved having their picture taken!! We taught one class of 10 year olds and one kindergarten class- then later in the evening we would play games with the kids in the neighborhood. They were happy to show us their version of duck-duck-goose and other games. I really enjoyed doing that.

The best part of the homestay was that Urei was so eager to teach us about Thai food. The only other home cooked meal to top this food was made by my mother. We never ate the same thing twice and everything was made from scratch. I mean even down to peeling and chopping up a coconut to use the shavings for milk. She made us go to the local market and ask for all the ingredients we needed and even how to bargain. The food has been so spicy- it took some time to get used to it- it's hard to eat food that is so spicy when it is so hot outside, but when it's so delicious you don't hesitate.

Urei took Sam and I to the local hospital and bought us a traditional Thai Massage- she didn't have to but just wanted us to have the expeirence! It was kind of strange, they kind of beat you up but it's relaxing- haha. They stand on you, pull your feet then stretch your leg above their shoulder as they pound on your thighs.

I really enjoyed my time in the village. It has been awhile since I've let my mind be free. I loved everything about the place and Urei if you ever read this thank you so much for teaching me everything and for your warm hospitality!

As mentioned above after the village we headed back to Bangkok to visit Khoa San Road. It is a huge tourist trap but also a lot of fun. Sam and I stayed there overnight and went out to go and meet some people. It was quite the crazy night, I feel like all my senses were over stimulated giving me the attention span of about 10 seconds. I've got some funny stories ...haha I'll wait to share them though.

Now its time to buckle down a bit and start the TEFL certification- no more spending my entire day taking pictures for awhile! If you can't tell I like to pretend that I'm an actual reporter whenever I go out-I get a kick out of it.