Waterfall Massage

One of the joys of my life in Thailand has been the availability of cheap and excellent massages. Thai massage is different from the massage I have experienced in America. It involves a lot more pulling and pressing. Sometimes I wonder if my body parts will still all be connected afterward. Overall, though, it's a great experience.

In this photo I'm getting a full body massage at Chae Sorn National Park. Imagine lying on a soft mattress with a fan blowing over you, the sound of a waterfall nearby, and your muscles being kneaded gently. Or, perhaps they're being kneaded roughly, but they're getting some good treatment in any case. It's rather marvelous!

I have also opted for the foot massage, which is perhaps even more wonderful than the full body massage. This involves lots of foot lotion and strange wooden sticks, and not so much pulling.

Peace Corps Thailand -- where massage is a regular part of life.

Ornate Wats

Thailand has lots of great places to visit. To "bai tiow" means to go touring, and Thai people love to do it!

One thing that Thailand has no shortage of is "ornate wats." This photo shows Wat Pra Gaew in Bangkok -- the home of the Emerald Buddha, which traveled all around Thailand before landing here.

I've visited this place twice now -- once with my Dad, stepmom, and brothers in December, and once this past weekend with Robert's parents and sisters. Both times I have been completely taken with the beauty of the decoration and the intense care that was put into the design. Sitting in the main hall, below the Emerald Buddha, gazing at paintings and watching people of many nationalities meditate and observe, is an experience I could easily enjoy for hours.

If I could go straight from my front yard in northern Thailand to the grounds of Wat Pra Gaew without the necessary 8+ hour bus trip, I would do it regularly. Alas, I'll have to be content with taking all of our subsequent guests to visit and hoping that they are as easily enchanted as I am.

On the Road Again

Tomorrow we leave for Bangkok at 7:30am to meet Robert's family! We'll be taking the good old 1st class bus, with which we've had lots of experience lately.

This is a particularly nice bus company because it stops mid-day at a food court that actually has vegetarian noodle soup (or something close enough). So here I am, three days ago, eating my noodles. I have eaten the same noodles at the same lunch stop four times in the last two weeks, despite its location six hours from our house. I'll be eating them again tomorrow.

Little things to notice about the photo: 1) though I'm eating with chopsticks because I'm eating noodles, Robert's empty plate next to mine has just a fork and spoon -- the typical Central Thai rice dish utensils; 2) lots of fancy Thai writing all over the signs in the background; 3) just barely visible -- tables of local goodies like crackers and rice cakes sold widely all over Thailand as part of a government initiative to have every village specialize in its own product.

In January all the schools in Thailand celebrated "Teachers Day." On this day, teachers earned merit in the morning by giving food to the monks. That was followed by a ceremony in which former teachers were remembered and honored, and lots of current teachers got awards. Then there was a big lunch party. This photo shows teachers giving food to the monks.

Here are some of the 6th graders working on our world map. We started by drawing a big grid on the wall, after painting it "ocean blue." Then they drew all the country outlines in pencil. Two weeks ago we painted the green and yellow countries. Yesterday we did pink and red. There are a few mistakes we'll have to fix later...but it's pretty fun overall!

Starting Up

After months of deliberation, I've decided to make the plunge and start a blog of my own. I realized how much fun I was having reading the blogs of my fellow volunteers here in Thailand, and wanted to throw in my own words. I hope it's enjoyable. My plan is to have a sort of "daily life" update, for those who may be interested. Not formal.

Currently it's about 8:30am on a Thursday. Robert has gone off to school and just called to inform me that his classroom is "the cleanest I've ever seen it," so he suspects the school district is paying a visit. They're doing the same at all of our other schools this month, so it makes sense. School district visits seem to result in a flurry of activity -- cleaning, decorating, etc. I'll be leaving for school myself shortly.

I'm very happy to say that the world map at one of my schools is about half done. I'll try to post some photos on this blog if I can figure out how to do so.

Our dinner last night included three delicious items. Sticky rice, of course. Pad prik -- a stir fry we eat with vegetarian "meatballs" and lots of peppers. And Pad pak ruam -- stir fried mixed vegetables. We bought it at the restaurant up the road and brought it home, which is our pattern about three nights a week. I've decided that while it's fun to learn how to cook Thai food, I just don't make it as well as the Thai people. Better to eat theirs. Plus it's cheap.

Must get ready for school now.