Wij komen naar Amsterdam en België

Someone once told me that you can always tell a Texan because the first thing they mention is always the weather. Well, according to their (his…I think it was my 6th grade English teacher) fool-proof method I guess this following statement proves I am Texan: The entirety of our stay in Northern Europe was filled with absolutely beautiful weather.  It was 68-65ish and sunny during the day and 55ish at night.  It wasn’t hot and it wasn’t cold and it didn’t rain.  I’m moving there, I’ll see you suckers later.

Let me begin by saying that I fell in love with Amsterdam.  I fell in love with everything about it. I loved the people, the city, ah! Everything!

We began our voyage in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is an incredibly walkable city which was wonderful.  There was more than adequate public transportation but we never really needed it.  We spent 4 days doing all of the touristy things; the Van Gough Museum, the Anne Frank House, Museumplein, the Sexmuseum, the red light district, etc. (on a side note: I will say that the RLD is not as raunchy as many of the books make it out to be…..it’s similar to Bourbon street…I was slightly disappointed there were no naked ladies, slightly. I mean if I want to see a busted girl in her underwear I’m pretty sure I can catch Leslie on 6th one Saturday). We also spent a lot of time drinking coffee and beer in cafes, sitting next to the canals doing nothing but talking and people watching. I almost cried the morning we left, but onward we went.

We then headed to Belgium. We stopped in Bruges, rented a car, and drove to Veurne and Westvleteren.  Both tiny tiny towns were nestled in the countryside. We drove through green pastures, past old country homes, and lots of old country churches; it was, to say the least, picturesque. One of the major highlights of the trip was the Westvleteren beer tasting.  Westvleteren is one of the 7 Trappist beers in the world and is only sold at the Sint Sixius Abbey, their pub In Der Vrede, and a few pubs in neighboring towns.  It sells outside the abbey for at least 10€ a bottle. It is the holy grail, the unicorn, of beers.  Westvleteren 12 was voted #1 beer in the world and it, along with the 8 and blond, were delicious and most definitely an experience.

On our way back to the car rental we took a detour and stopped by the North Sea, took some pictures, and then headed into the quaint medieval town of Bruges. I’m not sure what Colin Farrell was so upset about when he was stuck there.  I believe he said something along the lines of “I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn’t, so it doesn’t.” I think Mr. Farrell might have been upset about other matters and that clouded his judgment.  Bruges was amazing. We took a boat tour through the canals and the moat, looked at old buildings and such, but mostly we drank beer, lots of beer.  I think Colin Farrell would have liked that.  One thing I will say about Belgian beer is that it is strong, most are 9,10,11 percent alcohol by vol. so four different kinds with lunch makes you tired.

The last leg of our journey landed us in Brussels, the capital of Europe and now the presidency of the EU (they were very proud of that).  We met up with my cousin Genevieve, who was there for a wedding, and spent 2 days seeing the sights, eating delicious Belgian and Moroccan food, plenty of waffles, and of course drinking more beer.

Our travel home was less than pleasant or calm, but with such a wonderful trip I don’t want to dwell on the negative.  I will say that we had to go through customs 3 times (once with Canada and twice with the US) in Montreal and the only people who asked if we had anything to declare were the Canadians. I mean really USA, I have to undress to walk through security but you aren’t curious as to what I brought back from Amsterdam?

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment…

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Revisiting the dream

Last July I made a list of my top 25 travel goals.  Since it has been an exciting year, I thought I’d check off some my accomplishments….and maybe add a few to dos.

Top 25 Travel Goals (as of July 2009)

1. Teach English as a second/foreign language in Asia or Africa  √
2. Visit Egypt
3. Cruise the Nile
4. Learn to scuba dive  √
5. Oktoberfest!
6. Stay in a bungalow over the water
7. Petra, Jordan
8. Pacific Island Hop
9. Visit Angkor Wat
10. Ride a camel in the desert
11. Culinary tour of Italy
12. Cheese tour of France (yum)
13. Wine tour of Argentina
14. Visit Turkey
15. Visit French speaking West Africa
16. Tour the Fjords
17. Experience Ireland
18. Relax in the Maldives
19. See/Climb Machu Picchu
20. Visit every continent
21. Zip-line through the jungle  √
22. Visit the floating markets in Thailand  √
23. Walk across the Great Wall of China (cliche, I know)
24. Ride the train across India
25. Take a year-long round the world trip

I will say that checking off 4 items in less than a year is pretty good! Hopefully this next year will be equally exciting.

And, since I chose Thailand as my last adventure Seth gets to choose the next one….I’m hoping for Ireland, Oktoberfest, Italy, or Turkey! (not necessarily in that order). I’ll keep you informed

 

Memories on Fire

I guess I’m pretty lucky. I left Thailand when the protests were peaceful, when they resembled the aftermath of a Mardi Gras parade. I’m sad to see it up in flames. I’m sad to see so many of places I loved, so many wonderful memories, a blaze. I worry about my friends who are still there and my students who must not only live through this, but deal with the aftermath in a time in their lives when they’re concerns should be more innocent.

This video is of a mall complex, Siam Paragon/Central World, on fire. I know what your thinking, “isn’t it just a mall?” Well yes; but, it was also a symbol of Thailand’s economic evolution. And although it wasn’t a historical site or a grand golden wat, it was, and still is, an important place. For me it was a place I could go to people watch, window shop, see a movie, visit an aquarium, and generally have a relaxing good time with friends. To me it was a sign of Thailand’s growth; their ability to combine their own culture and ideals with that of a growing global environment. It was a small symbol of the merging of east and west.

more about “Memories on Fire“, posted with vodpod

 

Sawasdee-ka Texas

It has been a little over a month since I so gracefully returned to the good ole U S of A.  Mostly I have been recovering both mentally and physically. It took a good three weeks for my body to readjust to the time change and about a two to get used to the richness of the food. And I can’t lie, I do miss a lot of luxuries I had in Thailand….the prices, the massages, the prices, the food, the prices, the fresh pineapple, the prices, the weekend traveling, the prices, and the beaches.  I miss my Thai friends, my Filipino ladies, and my students. But, I am so very happy to be home.  I am happy to be with my husband, my family, my friends, and kitty.  And I would like to think that they are all happy to be with me again (not sure about the cat–he’s kinda prissy).

So now what?? What do I do now that my adventure is over? Well, I begin my last semester of grad school in the fall and I’m starting a business with my friend Alison (more on that to come); but, mostly I’ve been enjoying my home city.  I’ve been lunching with friends, bike riding around the neighborhood, and taking trips to Barton Springs, South Congress, lake Austin…all the classics. Leaving always makes you appreciate what you have at home…so basically, right now, I am appreciating.

Katie, Me, and the Auntie appreciating Austin night life

 

The three bears…part deux

Airports seem to be recent theme in my life.  Currently I am in Tokyo, Japan at the coolest airport, with 9 more hours to kill. It is weird to think that I will soon be sleeping in my own bed snuggled between my husband and my kitty.  I will reflect on my Thailand adventure at a later point (after some sleep and non-airport food), but for now here goes round 2 of the family vacation.

Highlights:

• Sun
• Sand
• Crystal clear water
• Boat trip
• Snorkeling
• Muay Thai fight
• Old topless Swedes
• Old Swedes in thong speedos
• Good food
• Massages…lots of massages
• Suntans, sunburns, sunscreen
• Shopping, shopping, and more shopping

The 4 of us fit into one tuk tuk…on our way to the jewelry store!

Dean and my dad at the Muay Thai fight

Baby bear is so happy to up early and on a boat

That’s better

Raya Beach on Raya Island

Raya Island

Snorkeling

The Farangs are MELTING!

Dean needs a nap

Cute

Dad’s feet attracted a lot of fish

The fish went all the way up my legs!

Tickles

Mom’s turn

Last sunset in Thailand

Bye bye Thailand…..it’s been an adventure!

 

The three bears come to visit Goldilocks; Part I

Currently I am sitting in the airport waiting to catch a plane to Phuket while watching the sun set on my final day in Bangkok.  Since momma, papa, and baby Mire arrived in Thailand we have been running, going, moving non-stop. We’re having a great time and hopefully Phuket will give us all some well deserved beach time. Some highlights from the first leg of the vacation include:

• Jatujak market
• Massages where the masseuses hit on my dad and Dean– apparently Papa Mire looks like a great sugar daddy
• Visiting my school in Samroiyod
• Lunch with the teachers
• Khao Takiab– a wat in Hua Hin
• Playing with monkeys
• Elephant riding
• Sightseeing
• Dinner and a traditional Thai dancing show at the swankiest hotel in Bangkok
• Jungle/treetop ziplining–at one point in the rain
• Driving and walking through the Red Shirt protests
• Alice In Wonderland at the Imax– we bought the posh couch seats
• Khao San Road on St. Patrick’s Day
• Jewelry shopping
• Tons of Thai food
• Taxi price negotiating
• River taxi ride
• Tuk tuks– found out that we can all squeeze into one tuk tuk, quite impressive

After 28 hours of travel our heroic travellers wanted to hit Jatujak Market….the largest, most overwhelming market on Earth.

Elephant riding

The steps to the top of Khao Takiab

View of the Gulf od Siam from the top

One of the wat’s residents

Look at all the monkeys!!

How cute is that baby monkey…it looks like a little person

Cute overlaod

One of the monekys really liked my dad’s shoelace

The Grand Palace

Dean

Doesn’t Dean look like he’s about to kick some monk ass?

Asian pose

Tuk tuk ride

Wat Pho

After the dancing show with one of the dancers

We’re gonna have to draw Ryan’s head in there somewhere

Dad filming while ziplining

Dean modeling the 3D glasses for Alice in Wonderland

Sawasdee Ka senor Ronald

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

Thai bouncers in Guiness hats…

 

Sanook mak mak

My last three posts have been rather verbose…don’t you think?  Well to add some color to this blog here are some pictures from my recent tips to Ayutthaya and Bang Suphan Noi.

Ayutthaya- Some background history: Ayutthaya was the former capital of Thailand and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The ruins of the old capital are often compared, as a much much much smaller version, to those of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. During this trip I managed to learn how to drive a motorbike, eat durian, lock myself in another bathroom, and forget my camera charger.  Overall an excellent trip with Brie, Lauren, and Nok (Lauren’s ladyboy coworker).  By the way,  durian doesn’t taste as bad as it smells. Don’t get me wrong it’s utterly revolting, but I would eat it over asparagus.

Here are the pictures I took before my camera died… Update: I’m not sure why, but some of my Ayutthaya pics are not showing up…sorry

Saved my battery for one sunset shot!

Bang Suphan Noi- This is the southern most district in Prachuap Khiri Khan; approximately 2 and half hours south of Pranburi (my town).  I went snorkeling with Oi, Wenzie, and about 8 other teachers from school.  We took a boat trip out to the island of Koh Talu, snorkeled, and splashed around in the beautiful clear water.  A couple of little known facts about Thais and swimming: 1. unlike westerners, Thais do not wear bathing suits. They wear clothes; usually long sleeve shirts and pants. This is because of both conservative beliefs and the fact that they don’t want any part of their bodies in the sunlight.  So being in my bathing suit, although it is a one piece, I was scantily dressed. 2: most Thais, especially women can’t swim.  Snorkeling was more watching 10 Thais in bright orange life vests bob up and down in the water than watching fish swim.  Still fun.

Wenzie’s first snorkeling trip!

Our fearless leader Oi

The teachAAHHS!

More teachAAHHS!

They love taking pictures :)

Koh Talu means something like “island with a hole through the middle” here is the hole.

More hole

The men of the group. The one the right is a teacher whose name escapes me and the one on the left is dubbed “my sugar daddy” by P’Oi

Wenzie, who doesn’t know how to swim, is officially making it through her first snorkeling trip!

TeachAAHHS hanging onto the bouy for dear life!

Laughing and/or drowning….I can’t tell :)

Headed home; wet, tired, hungry, and happy

 

Reflections

As I write this, it’s Thursday night in Thailand.  A very typical Thursday it would be except today marks the final countdown:  for I have one week left in my contract. Friends  and family have been asking me how I’m feeling, what I’m going to do now, and I’ll answer honestly: I feel odd. I feel weird. I feel… answer-less.  I haven’t posted too many personal items recently because I had, and still have, too many feelings, observations, and reflections to tackle in my own head that I fear trying to express them in writing will fail to do justice.

However, in the late hours of this average Thursday night, I will try, to write candidly:

On leaving my students: In the beginning I was utterly overwhelmed by the massive number of students who, with all the respect in the world, looked exactly the same; I was drowning in a sea of uniforms, black hair, bob hair cuts, tan skin, eager eyes,  and huge smiles. But, personalities quickly emerged. I found my class clowns, my teacher’s pets, my favorites, my less-than favorites, my criers, my shy ones, and my helpers.  I loved my students and my heart aches right now just thinking about them.  I wonder what they will be like in a few years, will they still be the sweet innocent children I knew, will they remember their English, will they remember me? When I told them I would not be returning for the next year some expressed that they didn’t want me to leave. One boy in particular had me in tears.

I had this conversation with my M2/1 student Pop:

Pop: Teachaa, don’t forget me! Prease, prease, you won’t forget me! (tears starting to form).
Me: Pop, I don’t think I could ever forget you.  I promise I will not forget you.
Pop: Teachaa you come back fowa next yeah, prease. You stay wit me, my motha don’t care.
Me: Pop, I won’t forget you, but I cannot stay.  I’m sorry. *both hearts officially crushed*

On saying goodbye to friends: Sad.  It is impossible to not create a special relationship with those you have relied on for support, guidance, friendship, and fun.  I have enjoyed adventures, misadventures, laughs, and culture shocks with both my colleagues (Jay, Dayn, Lynda, and Wenzie) as well as my American partners in crime (Brie and Lauren). This experience is indescribable and you can’t even begin to understand it unless you have lived it.  For hours of “wat” jokes, venting, and story swapping I am forever grateful.

On leaving this physical environment: ECSTATIC!!! I am not made for humidity.  Something new I learned, neither is my hair.  I will be glad to return to place where I can walk outside and not immediately start sweating. I will also be glad to return to comfortable beds, western toilets, and hot showers.

On life’s lessons learned: I feel empowered and calm. I know, an odd combination. Nothing teaches you more about yourself than spending time abroad, especially if you are alone.  You look at life from a different angle, with different eyes.  Two of the biggest lesson I learned have nothing to do with teaching, currency exchange, or culture. Lesson number 1: this is a lesson that my parents told me from the moment I was born but yet, I don’t know if I ever really believed them; I have the ability to do anything I set my mind to.  I have lived alone, in a foreign country, in a rural setting, with no Americans and no westerners to lean on for (immediate) support. I lived in a town where no one spoke English and I spoke no Thai and yet I managed to feed, clothe, and shelter myself.  I managed to work, deal with immigration, make friends, and find the small pleasures in life.  Alone. Yes I cried and yes I laughed and yes I thought about giving up and going home, but I didn’t. And for that, I am proud.  Lesson number 2: patience. Life never turns out the way you expect it to, and you will, surprisingly, be just fine.  This was something I knew before I left home but never has it been so blatant or rang so true as it does here. Buses will run late, taxis will rip you off, people will expect you to know things you don’t, you will wander, you will get lost, and you might not even be able to communicate.  But, with a deep breathe, patience, and a willingness to make a few U-turns you will eventually get to your destination.

 

So…I’m really into lists right now

The Thai culture is a beautiful culture full of deeply rooted traditions and beliefs.  I have enjoyed learning and experiencing some of it.  However sometimes the Thais can be a bit odd.  Here are some of the more hilarious and strange aspects. I apologize for some of the expletives, but sometimes there is no other word that adequately describes the situation……..

• Thais have little comprehension of  time – they are never on time but no one seems to care, nor do they care if you are late. Difficult for a punctual gal like myself.
• Thais have an uncanny ability to waste your time- for instance asking you to come to a 4 hour faculty meeting that is conducted completely in Thai.  Then giving you a reminder sheet that outlines points covered, in Thai.  Then when you ask someone to translate they say “mai pen rai.” If I don’t need to worry about it why did I just spend 4 hours of my life fighting my eyelids.
• Thais believe that if you can speak 5 words of Thai you are fluent- the cafeteria lady at school always talks to me at warp speed when I order my breakfast.  I smile, nod, and say “ka, chai ka” when I think she’s asked me a question. She does this because the first time I ordered I said “guay teow nam, moo” (spicy pork soup with noodles) and then “tao rai?” (how much).  This amount of Thai constitutes the need for nourishment not fluency.
• Thais have a unique personal style- at the same event you will see people wearing either pajama pants and a dirty shirt or a Chanel business suit with 5 inch stiletto heels.  Nothing in between.
• Thai drivers are f***ing nuts!! – not only do they constantly drive about 100mph, they lack the ability to stay in their own lane or drive the correct direction down the highway. Motorbikers are f***ing batshit crazy. In no other country would you see a family of 4 plus grocery bags, a mattress, and an infant, with no helmets,  on a motorbike blowing through a red-light in a busy city at rush hour.
• Thais believe that a straw is necessary with any drink – including a water bottle that is two straw lengths longer than the straw given….and beer, who drinks beer with a straw?
• Thais have a deeply rooted belief that anything and everything you purchase should go into a plastic bag- even if it is already in a bag. I buy dinner to take away sometimes and inevitably my dinner goes into a styrofoam container, which goes into a plastic bag, then the sauces go into separate little bags tied off with a rubber band then the whole mess is put into a plastic bag, which is then put into another bag. My drink, which is in a to-go cup with a lid and straw, is put into a separate plastic bag.  So the total amount of trash I leave the food stall with is… 4 large bags, 2 small, and 3 rubber bands. Do not bring your own bag…they don’t know what to do with it. And, no one here has ever heard of Tupperware.
• Thais don’t believe in trash cans- even with all of the trash produced by the straw/plastic bag combo…the side of the road is as good of a place as any for these used items.
• All Thais are ten year old boys at heart-  they are no where near responsible enough to be allowed to play with fireworks… no further explanation needed.

 

Linguistic nerdiness

I am moderately ashamed I failed to make a linguistic-based post before now…

The Thais are almost as persnickety as the French when it comes to the intricacies of their language.  I have tried, am trying, to learn Thai, sometimes willingly and sometimes because I need to eat, wash my clothes, and function in the world.  In my quest to educate the masses here are some of those aforementioned intricacies:

1. To begin with Thai is a tonal language.  It has five tones: high, middle, low, rising, and falling. English has no tones, unless you are my parents talking to my younger brother, then there are 3: “do you think that is a good idea,” “wow you’re the most intelligent of all our children,” and “Son! What were you thinking!” (You guess which brother I’m talking about).

2. Thais are polite, not western polite but Thai polite. They are polite  in everything they do which includes their language. There is no word for “no.” There really is no word for “yes” either. “‘Chai” is roughly translated into “it is” and is used as “yes.”  “Ka” for women, “Khrob” for men, can also be used as a polite “ok;” but “no” is “mai chai” meaning “not yes” or “it isn’t.” If someone asks you if you are full, you don’t say “Chai” instead you either answer “Im loa ka” meaning “very full” or “mai im” meaning “not full.” In reverse there isn’t a word for “please.” Instead if they are being sweet or asking permission they add “-na” to the end of their sentence; “Ajarn na…” meaning “Teachaaa, pleaaaassee.” Rarely do people give simple yes or no answers.

3. There is no Thai word for “logic;” if that tells you anything about the culture.

4. The full name of Bangkok in Thai (which is the longest capital name in the world…little factoid for ya) takes about 2 minutes for a Thai to say and roughly translates into “Krunthep, the greatest, most beautiful place, that is not Chiang Mai, not Phuket, not Ayutthaya…”

5. Thai’s fail to aspirate their voiced word final stops.  Meaning if a word ends in a /b/ then it often sounds like a /p/ or nothing at all.  If it ends in a /d/ it sounds like a /t/. They also don’t aspirate on word initial stops (have I geeked out on you yet??). Basically say ‘pub’ but don’t let air out of your mouth after /p/ and don’t  let your lips release after the /b/. This makes it hard to tell what they are saying and harder to reproduce. They, however, can tell the difference between all of this nonsense.  One of my colleague’s former students came to visit school one day and I am pretty sure that instead of complimenting her dress, I called her a “buffalo’s ass.”

6. Thais have added tones to borrowed English words.  This makes even speaking English problematic.  I often talk to my students about what they like to do on the computer.  They always look at me and say “ComputAH” with a rising tone at the end. Another example is my local coffee shop vendor. Since the internet at my apartment suddenly disappeared I have been frequenting a local coffee shop. I like their blended Mocha’s. Almost, everyday I walk in and say, Mocha-na.  To which the lady replies/yells “MochAH.” Listen I don’t mean to be rude, but I am from the land of Starbucks, I know how to pronounce Mocha…thank you.

7. They have, like most Asian languages, /l/ and /r/ confusion.  They do not hear the difference, so they have no problem switching out the sounds.  For example one of the countries mottoes is “mai pen rai” which is roughly translated into “No Problem” or “Don’t Worry” or “Shut the hell up, I don’t want to talk about this anymore…but I’m being polite.”  However they often say it “mai pen lai.” Again confusing if you are trying to learn the language.

8. Thais consistently drop pronouns, but often replace them with the names of people, places, etc. So I always know who is being talked about..but I rarely know about what.

9. Lastly, Thais giggle. They giggle at everything.  They will, without hesitation, laugh in your face when you try to speak Thai.  You get used to it.