January 23rd: Morning off…Thai massage…Dinner and Night Bizarre

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Today was a chilled day as we had the morning off so I woke up around 0800 and went down to eat breakfast. We had some of the delicious snowballs filled with pork and custard. J After breakfast, a few of us walked to a coffee shop near the college and I got some Thai tea. It was a beautiful coffee shop that had lots of plants. That is one big thing I am going to miss going back to the United States…all the beautiful greenery that is here. I love walking around amidst the beautiful plants and flowers. I think plants make any building or area look amazing. After we walked back from the coffee shop I spent some time reading and then we had lunch (Khao soi which is my favorite! Chicken and noodles, both soft and crunchy, in a delicious sauce!) and headed to our Thai massages. I was excited but a little bit anxious about getting a massage as last time it was quite painful and this time I had some extra hesitation because of my sunburn. I ended up getting the same lady as I had last time and she spoke very good English. She kept telling me how tight I was and how my hips were especially tight, and I could definitely feel it! She did more stretching than she did massaging but it felt a lot more relaxing and pleasant than the first time I think because I knew what to expect! She told me that in school she learned that you always have to look at your client’s face to tell if they are in pain or not and she said, “but you do not show any pain or anything on you face!” I laughed and said I was trying to be strong and hold back my reactions. I was trying to be like the Thai people and not show my pain and she said that the Thai people are a lot easier to tell if they are in pain. She said I was very strong. J It made me feel good when she said this and like I was fitting right into the Thai culture. After my massage, we went back to the college and Victoria and I walked to get a snack at the store. Then later we had dinner which was rice, vegetable stir fry, and fried egg. We went to the night bizarre with our buddies and drove in the big blue open bus which I love! It was fun to get to spend some time with them because I felt like I hadn’t gotten to see them in so long! We listened to music and sang along in the bus and then explored the night bizarre together. It was great to spend more quality time with them, but the prices at the bizarre were ping mock (very expensive)! We had fun laughing at the outrageous prices and they loved watching my face when I would hear the crazy prices. We ended up at McDonalds eating French fries and ice cream to avoid the crazy prices. I forced them to let me buy them some French fries and they enjoyed them. J A great day and a fun night with the buddies, but the fact that we are leaving so soon is starting to set in and I am dreading it already. L

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