Not "Same Same" - VERY DIFFERENT

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Hey everyone!!! I miss you guys very much!!!! Here is a "recap" of my time since I got to Thailand.

The Flight:

I flight was fine... I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. The lay-overs were very long, but I just camped out in some good spots and people-watched.

I landed in Bangkok and as soon as I was going to leave the airport to take a taxi, I found out that it was going to cost me 700 baht (around 25 dollars)! That is crazy for Thailand, so I mustered of some courage (YES, I know I am shy) and after asking a couple of people, I found a group of travelers to car-pool with. They actually turned out to be staying at the same guesthouse as I planned on, and get this: THEY ARE FROM DEVON! How about that, eh? You go half-way around the world and meet people from you home town? But, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

In Bangkok:
I ended up staying in BKK a little longer than I had planned b/c the people I met were so much fun. I took them to MBK (not CKB, Mike, hahaha) and we basically just hung out on the first day. The second day we planned a trip to Kanchaniburi (a province in Thailand near Burma) - so we spent the whole next day (from 6am to 6pm) on a tour. It was kind of hectic, as we went to a POW cemetary, the River Kwai museum, walked over the River Kwai bridge, went river rafting (well, it was more like floating, anyways), went on a train ride and went swimming in a waterfall. Clumsy me, though, I slipped and cut my knee open and now I think it is infected. It is very swollen and full of pus, so I am guessing it is. I hope I can get some antibiotics this weekend.

The last day I spent with the "rednecks" from Devon (jk/) we just hung out and I went for a really nice Thai massage. I then had to say goodbye to them, as I had to catch a night bus to Rasi Salai (more on THAT later :S) and they were going to Koh Tao. It was very sad to leave them... it's funny how you meet some people and get to know them so well so quickly... they are so much like my friends at home, it was very easy to get along with them! I miss you guys!

I was also very sad to leave BKK - I'm probably weird, but I LOVE that city. When I first went there last year, I hated it - it really is a full-on assault on your senses. But after spending a total of 13 days there, when I got to BKK this time, it was like coming home. It really is a great place.

Getting to Rasi Salai:
Here is where all the fun ends... as soon as I got out of the cab at Mochit bus station in BKK, everything fell apart. I started it all off on the worst foot - I was walking around the ticketing station in a daze, so I didn't even notice that all the Thais were standing still for the King's song. The Thais are very respectful of their king, so I got many dirty looks when I realized what I did. It was just that I was so confused as to where to go that I didn't even know the song was on. I felt really, really, really bad...

Then when I tried to buy my ticket, I found that NOBODY could speak English! I was sent to six different kiosks, and then when I finally found the right one, I was lucky b/c I got the last seat on the bus for that night. I had to wait for 4 hours for my bus to come, and I couldn't carry my bag everywhere, so I had no choice but to sit and wait in one spot for 4 hours. I had to phone my contact to tell her I was coming and to pick me up at the bus station, but I couldn't find a pay phone, so THANK GOD some really sweet Thai girl let me borrow her cell phone. I offered to pay her some money for the call, but she wouldn't take it. She didn't speak any English either, but somehow she understood my problem.

To top it all off I was very hot, so I sweated through my pants. It is very disrespectful to show your knees or shoulders at places other than the beach. So I wore pants and ended up sweating so much it looked like I peed them. 😞 I was very upset and was near tears the whole time. Then I couldn't understand the signs b/c they were written in Thai so I asked about 20 people where my bus was. It ended up being late, and to top it all off I ended up being kicked off the bus b/c they did not think I knew where I was going. Not many forgeiners go to Rasi Salai... it is a very traditional and poor village, so I do not blame the driver for thinking that I did not want to go there.

The best part was that somehow I managed to get off at the right stop. My contact - Pi-tuy (a teacher at the school) picked me up and dropped me off at my host family, Mama-Tu and Pa-Song's house at 5am.

Rasi Salai:

I was given a room in the top of the house and I had a nap when I got there (it is very, very HOT). The house is very small, and very traditional. It has geckos and ants everywhere! The kitchen and bathroom are outside, and it does not have air-conditioning.

Mama Tu's mother lives in the house also... she is 90 years old, but is doing surprisingly well. She walks around, gardens, and watched Buddist sermons on T.V. She spends most of her days in the garden mashing up herbs and eating them.

I have noticed that Thai people are very healthy... because everyone in this village is so poor, they only have fresh food to eat and they walk everywhere, so that is probably why.

Mama Tu also has a neice that is 19 years old. She does not speak very good English, but we can kind of understand eachother.

Mama Tu and Pa-Song are very sweet people. Mama Tu told me as soon as I got here that I am her daughter and she always tells me that she loves me. Pa-Song does not know much English but I am teaching him. He kind of reminds me of my dad, b/c he is very serious-looking, but very sweet when you talk to him.

I feel very bad for them, though. When I first got here I was very homesick. At lunch on the first day that I got here I couldn't stop crying! I cried at breakfast, lunch and dinner! I was very lonely and scared to be living with a family that I did not know. It is very hard to be in a small village where everyone stares and whispers about you. I am like a three-headed dog out here, and it is next to impossible to communicate with anyone. Anyways, they kept saying "Canada girl! You are so sensitive!". I don't think Thai people cry very much.

There is also a Japanese volunteer that is staying here for 1 year. She is very sweet. She knows some English, and I am teaching her more, so soon she will be very good at it.

I am also learning to speak Thai. I did not think I was very good at learnign languages, but I guess when you can't communicate any other way, you learn very quickly!

The past two nights I have gone to Thai weddings. I think it is tradition for Thais to get married before the rainy season, so it is not uncommon to see three or four weddings in the 2 km wide town every night. Their weddings are different b/c they do not have a ceremony... everyone just goes there and eats and eats and eats. They do not throw a bouqet, but they do have two VERY long speeches.

Teaching English is alright. The first day I got really stressed out and tried to give structured lessons, but today I just played it by ear. I'll tellyou one thing, though, standing in front of the class drenched in sweat is something very hard to get used to. The classrooms are very small, and they have no fans and maybe 3 windows. And I have at least 50 students in each one. It is very hard to keep their attention for 1 hour, but I think I am getting better at it. I think they are warming up to me.

Today a little boy told me: "I love you today!" hahahaha. It was cute.

Anyways, that is enough for now. I will update this again soon. Thursday and Friday are Buddhist holidays, so I am going to the next province to take part in the ceremonies. Pictures to follow, I promise! Take care. I miss you!

Love,

Raylene

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Photos

Seattle Airport
A nice view... that I looked at for 7 hours!

War Cemetary in Kanchaniburi
The cemetary where some of the thousands of POW's from WWII are buried. They are mostly Americans, Canadians, Australians and from the UK.

Bridge over the River Kwai
Walking over the bridge that the POW's built.

No Safety Standards
I wonder how many people have fallen through...

Elephant Ride
Dallas and I... who knew that elephants had hairy lips????

Waterfall
Mike and I... BEFORE I gashed my knee open on the rocks

Cute Couple
Curtis and Melissa

Drunkards
Me, Curt, a girl the guys know from Devon, Mike and a redneck from Saskatchewan

My nest
My room in Mama Tu and Pa-Soon's pad

Wedding Food
A fraction of the food I ate at the wedding.

Pu-tuy
In her office

The scenery
Just outside of the village

Comments

[jon]

bangkok
i agree with your comments about Bangkok. I have been 4 times know and love the city and people and it does feel like coming home. Great blog carry on.

[dallas `]

hey gnarly dude
so im going back to thailand in december wait there and i will see you soon hahaha you rock