A Weekend in Thailand

Sawa dee from Thailand!!

As I sit here at the computer I am glad to be able to finally rest my feet. It's been a full weekend! I had a great time at Mission College in Muak Lek (2.5 hr van ride from Bangkok). That ride, in itself, was an adventure. Wait . . . I guess I should back up and start at the beginning.

On Friday, we (my cousin, Jessen, my mom, sister, and I) took a train all the way from Jessen's apartment to the van terminal. That's where we started the van ride. Unfortunately we began our journey at 6 in the evening and I wasn't able to see very much of the country side (and on the way back I slept . . . so I still didn't see much of the countryside!!). But the road system is very much like the U.S. except for the fact that here they drive on opposite sides of the road. Trust me, that takes a lot of getting use to! I keep thinking the drivers are going the wrong way! Anyways, back to the trip. Finally, we arrived at Mission College at around 9:00 PM at night. And we went straight to bed. Ahhhh, a bed! Soft pillow, mattress . . . luxury!

The next morning my cousin Deanna came by to pick us up for church. My mom and sister stayed back in the guest room because my little sister caught some kind of bug. But us three cousins went to church. They took me to the Malay/Indonesian Sabbath School class. I was so happy to hear Bahasa Malay! I don't understand a bit of Thai and to hear words that sounded familiar brought so much joy to my heart!! I really have to learn Bahasa now! It was slightly hard to understand the lesson content even in Malay but I at least got some kind of context :D After church I also met some of my mom's old colleagues and friends that she knew from Malaysia. They couldn't remember me because the last time they had seen me was when I was 7 years old. I've changed quite a bit since then!

We went back to the guest house after church and picked up the two "sick" ones and headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. Mmmm, they make good food in the cafe! Very different from Union Market but good nonetheless. Mom almost missed lunch because she was talking to friends whom she hadn't seen for 12 years! That was definitely understandable. After lunch Deanna gave us a tour of the campus. Very, very beautiful! The buildings are spaced out and, because it is out of the big city, there is plenty of fresh air. After lunch we saw students sitting outside under a tree playing their guitars and singing praise songs together. There was also an AY program that afternoon at the Student Centre. Later that evening, I went (with my cousins) to D'Chillz a little diner led by students, run by students, for students. There they cook (each night has a different menu) and they hang out and have fun. I loved the atmosphere! It was like Cooper's Corner but . . . cooler! One of the cooks suggested "Lime-and-Vanilla" mix of ice cream. I've gotta say, that was really good. Mmmmmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! After getting some sleep that night :D, I went for a breakfast/potluck at Aunty Rita's house. My mom had a good time talking with old friends. My sister and I went back after about 2 hours. She stayed until 1/2 hr before we were supposed to leave! She definitely enjoyed her time at Mission College. And so did I. I love the campus and the people. They were so welcoming and they actually wanted me to come as a Volunteer to MC. Maybe after college! I'll be the first English lecturer at the nursing school!

After another 2 hr van ride . . . back to Bangkok this time . . . us girls headed out to Chaktuchak. It's an open market, the biggest in Thailand, in Bangkok. I had fun! I learned how to bargain and got to see a new side of Thailand. You learn a lot about people from open markets. You learn facial expressions, body language, and a whole lot of stuff. I definitely didn't need to know Thai to be able to figure out if the shopkeeper was happy with how much I was bargaining for. Definitely an eye opening experience!

Now, I'm going to go to sleep. It's pretty late already and I'm heading out to be a total tourist tomorrow. No more shopping! I hope! Deanna will be taking us out to see some of the temples and the Palace. I need to buy another memory card to take pictures. I thought I had enough memory but I guess I've taken more pictures than I realize!

Anyways, ra-tree sawat (Good night), from Thailand!