Settling In

Firstly, Thai massage is AMAZING. Easily the best massage I've ever had- and only 200 Baht for an hour! (That's about $6!!) I'm am absolutely getting another next week. They get really deep in with their elbows and knees and stuff and it feels divine. Anyway, today was my second day at my placement. The people here are wonderful. Everyone is very happy to see us. They think white skin is very beautiful and even though they are shy to be around us, they are really happy to have us there. Yesterday was "diabetes" day at the clinic. It's basically a free clinic, but people donate money if they can. We took blood pressure and pulses, etc. Today was "dentist" day and everyone was getting their teeth checked. One woman came and told us that her son had just died by being stabbed 30 times and that we were all invited to the funeral. In Thailand funerals are big celebrations with lots of food and music- very happy. So we went and had some yummy lunch. Then the women from the clinic took us to the Temple and we were able to meet the head Monk. He spoke with us a little and then gave us small statues of a Buddhist god (Balom Puton is how it's pronounced- not sure on the spelling). It was a really amazing experience. He let us take a picture with him- I almost sat on his chair!! Monks are not allowed to touch women, so we had to be very careful not to touch even his robe. Also, because the head is sacred, we always have to sit at a lower level than the monk. So when he was standing or sitting in a chair we had to sit on the ground. Tomorrow is "prenatal" day, so we get to care for pregnant women. I'm really excited for it. The children who come in are soooo cute! They are always very shy around us, but very adorable. Anyway, tomorrow we are also leaving for an island for the weekend. The whole house (20 of us!) is going and we are staying at a bungalow on the beach. It will be very relaxing. But mostly I'm looking forward to interacting more with the Thai people. They are amazing and so eager to learn English and teach us about Thailand.

Activities Galore

Last night I went out with a couple of people to the night market. I definitely felt like a foreigner, especially when we stopped at stands and asked prices. But I was trying to speak Thai and practice my numbers, and that made the people a lot friendlier. I found a yellow bracelet that I wanted because yellow is the King's color and everyone is always in yellow. They asked for see-sip hah (45) Baht and I said I would give them saam-sip (30). They told me they would give me 3 for 100, but I said "I don't need 3- I need 1!" So, they finally agreed to 30 baht. I was very proud that I haggled in Thai!! This morning we were supposed to go to the Botanical Gardens and then go to the beach, but a storm rolled in and it will stay for 3 days so we couldn't go. Instead we went to a Buddhist temple up on a hill. It was so beautiful and peaceful. There were hundreds of Buddha statues and so many butterflies flitting around. It was really amazing. This afternoon I signed up to get a 1 hour Thai massage and then we're having a cooking lesson! I think we're learning how to cook Pad Thai, which is my favorite Thai dish. Tomorrow we're going to go to our work sites for the first time. I love all of this relaxing vacation stuff, but I'm excited to get to the work site too! Anyway, hiking up to the temple was exhausting so I'm going to try to get in a nap before my massage :)

Lots of love,
Jen

Day 2!

Orientation is awesome. Yesterday we were dropped off in the middle of town with a few tasks and had to make our way back to the Home Base on our own. It was really interesting to try and communicate with the locals. I'm glad I learned a little of the language before I came. This morning we had our first Thai lesson and I was relieved that some of it was familiar! Everyone was overwhelmed- it's a difficult language! I think we're going into town again tonight and there's rumor of a beach visit tomorrow. It feels like summer camp here, but I'm excited to visit my work site and get down to business! A few of us went for a walk this morning and it was beautiful. The weather wasn't too hot yet since we went about 8:30 and we said hello to the locals. There were some cows just hanging out on the road and lots of dogs! The greenery is beautiful- there are lots of rubber trees, which is the major part of the economy here. But there are also lots of fruit trees- bananas, coconuts, etc. I've been taking lots of pictures! We eat a ton of fresh fruit every day- at lunch today I tried lots of exotic fruits I've never heard of! I don't know how to spell them, but you'll see pictures :) The house cook makes great food, but it is SPICY! We're going to eat at a restaurant tomorrow for lunch. Everything is so new to me. A lot of the people here have already been traveling before they came here and it's fun to hear everyone's stories!! I hope that I can do more traveling in the future; this is such an amazing experience so far. They have so many cultural activities planned for us- there's so much to learn! Hope all is well in the U.S.

Lots of love,
Jen

Here finally!

After 24 hours of plane rides and 3 days of traveling, I'm finally here! We just got to the Home Base, ate lunch and started unpacking. It's beautiful here, but humid and rainy!! Luckily, the house is air conditioned. Everyone is really nice and there are lots of girls to gossip with :) All of the plane rides went smoothly, but my legs are aching to be stretched! We have a few hours and then orientation starts. I'm probably going to naaaaaaap... I got to the hotel last night around midnight, went to bed at 2, and got back up at 6. We got breakfast at the hotel and then caught a cab to the airport. My solo cab ride last night was a blast! I was trying to speak in Thai and the driver was trying to speak English, so neither of us were really getting anything across. He managed to ask if I loved hamburgers and after about 15 minutes I finally learned how to pronounce his name. I'm looking forward to exploring the town. A bunch of the girls want to go to the beach this weekend, so we might take a trip to an island. It's going to be so much fun here!

Lots of love,
Jen

Welcome!

HI! Welcome to my blog :) I will be in Thailand Friday, June 15th-Saturday, July 7th doing volunteer work. I'm so excited! I just received my updated placement in the program- I'll be working in a Primary Care Unit speaking with clients, taking blood pressure, educating about HIV awareness, etc. This is exactly what I was hoping for!! There is an internet cafe 5 minutes away from my Home Base, so I should be able to keep you updated fairly often :) I want to know how you are all doing! Make sure to send me lots of messages...

Lots of Love,
Jen