Site Placement

This is the moment I've been waiting for since last week... Found out today I'll be in Mae Hong Son province for the next 2 years! My site is 4-6 km from the border between Thailand and Burma. Google for more details.

Wat Yai Chai Mongkol (Say that three times fast)

A week ago, my host sister took me to Wat Yai Chai Mongkol, a temple in Ayutthaya built in 1357. There were signs saying the admission fee is 20 baht, but we definitely took a side "entrance" that other Thais were going through and got in without paying anything. ;)





This monk with a huge camera caught me as I was trying to take a photo of him taking a photo of the temple. I gave him a small bow and took a photo of him anyway. There are certain rules on how women are supposed to act with monks, but I think photo-taking is allowed...

FOOD

This post is devoted to food - mostly because I love it, but particularly because these past couple weeks have been full of fun, food-filled activities:

Thai desserts called "ka nom" made from sweet rice and coconut, wrapped in banana leaves

Thai food for lunch, eaten while sitting on mats on the ground

Delicious cake for a friend's birthday which was also on the same day as Chinese New Year's (which is why there's a Chinese-looking dragon on the cake - although it's the year of the Rabbit)

My friend's host mom made the best pad Thai we've ever eaten and then taught us how to make it this past weekend!

I LOVE curry, but it's not as common here as I thought it would be. I'd been craving it for weeks but outside forces were against my getting curry. I finally got panang curry on Monday. I was so excited I almost forgot to take a photo before I devoured it.

No words can describe how I felt

Noodles in Bangkok.

They looked prettier, but that time, I actually did forget to take a photo before I started eating.

(Never come between me and my food. ;))

Eating a Thai-style ice cream sandwich: coconut milk ice cream with sweet rice on a hot dog bun-looking bun. It's delicious.

Funeral Crashing

After training on Thursday, my host sister told me we were going somewhere (my limited vocabulary did not include where exactly where we were going). She lent me of her black skirst that she usually wears as part of her school uniform (she's a teacher) and had me put on a white shirt. Then 7 of us squeezed into my host family's truck which is "supposed" to seat 5, but it's Thailand; we probably could have fit more if we wanted. I had no idea where we were going during the ride but just smiled and went along with it. (I'm getting used to doing that. :))

We arrived at a temple, and my host sister explained to me that this was a funeral! There were a bunch of lawn chairs lined up in rows outside what would be our equivalent of a big funeral parlor. There was a photo of the deceased lady (that I couldn't see from where we were sitting), some monks chanting, and huge wreaths of flowers. We wai-ed a lot (put our hands together at chest level in a prayer-like manner) while a monk chanted into a microphone. Otherwise, it felt like we were crashing a party. They gave us food too. It was like having a second dinner complete with dessert although it's probably not considered dinner in Thailand because it wasn't served with rice. After about an hour, it was over, and we got up and left without socializing with any of the other guests. We wai-ed someone I think might have been closely related to the deceased person as we left. Maybe. And we took an extra slice of cake they provided home with us too. Breakfast tomorrow!

Photos as promised

My new wheels

Our bike "gang" on our commute to the training site

My Thai host family
(Host sister and Host dad)

Our house
(My host sister and I have the second floor to ourselves)

Our room
(You can see Meow, the cat, on the far left next to my bed)

The infamous bathroom and squat toilet

View from my window

Coconut tree

Ayutthaya Floating Market
(A famous market in Ayutthaya province where we live;
my host family took me this weekend :))

An elephant!
You can buy a ticket to ride one but we didn't this time
Ironically, they were also selling ivory ware at a stand next door... :/

Coconut ice cream served in coconuts on a boat

Woman serving the ice cream
I don't understand how she wasn't drowning in sweat in that outfit
Either way, my host family told me it's traditional Thai clothing

Friend's host mom grilling catfish for us
[Vegetarians and animal lovers stop reading here]
She was probably holding down the catfish because she was grilling it while it was still alive...
Every once in a while it would flop off the grill. She would pick it up, throw it back in the bucket of water to rinse it off, and then put it back on the grill. Poor catfish. It was delicious though.

Thai pad thai