McDonald's.

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Tuesday: January 24th

Hello readers,

This morning we had some more free time so after having breakfast which was my favorite (pork on a stick and sticky rice), I went out in the sun to blog. The sun was warm, but it felt good. I knew I had to soak it all in before heading back to cold Pennsylvania. A group of us walked to a coffee shop that was two buildings down from BCNC. Most people got the oreo frappe but I got the cappuccino frappe which was delicious! We sat outside to consume our drinks and were surrounded by beautiful hanging plants.

Around 12 we had lunch which was a spicy soup bar where we could put in soft noodles, crunchy noodles, and pieces of pork. It was SO good even if my mouth felt like it was being burnt off.

At 12:30 we headed to Donkeaw Community Hospital for our last Thai massage. Libby asked for a foot massage only because she had bad sunburn on her shoulders from Koh Chang. I didn't feel like having a full body massage so I asked for a foot massage as well. There must have been some miscommunication because while she did massage my foot for 10 minutes, she slowly started going up and really hammering into my leg. The lady then asked if I wanted a hand massage to which I replied with yes. The hand massage quickly turned into an arm and shoulder massage which then quickly turned into a butt and back massage. My 1.5 hour segment ended with a neck and head massage and LOTS of stretches that I never knew I could do. To sum up my experience, I got a full body massage, but this lady was much more gentle and responded to my pain twitches and grimaces (thankfully).

Following the massage, I wanted to go on another run. Because the Princess of Thailand was visiting her astronomy and space center (right next to BCNC) there were lots of police outside. Autumn and I ran for 3 miles and then headed back. It was HOT yesterday so I ended up finishing the run by myself (Autumn's has pain in her knees). As much as I miss running in warm weather, 90 degree weather is pushing it.

I had just enough time to shower and have dinner as we would be leaving for the Night Bazaar with our buddies around 6. We all hopped into the back of our blue bus (which was open in the back) including my teacher. The Night Bazaar was slightly more expensive but offered a lot of unique items that we had not seen before. We walked through the market and Mean helped me barter quite a few times. Libby had only had rice for dinner so she was getting pretty hungry. All of us agreed to find a McDonald's and get some food. I told Mean I would buy her something and she chose French fries 😊 Khim and Libby got a HUGE plate of fried chicken and fries. For me, I got a small cone with vanilla soft-serve. I keep craving good ice-cream so this satisfied my craving. As we were finishing our food, more of our friends and Thai buddies walked in. We sat and laughed in McDonald's for the rest of our free time, and while I could've shopped more, some of my favorite moments are just sitting with my friends and our buddies. Mean started bringing up the fact that Wednesday night was our farewell party and would be the last party we would have together. I had to stop her from talking about leaving because I am still working on accepting that I have two more days here. I just have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I will never be able to see these people again. America is SO expensive so it would take her YEARS of working every single day to pay for a plane ticket. Realistically, it would never happen. I'll just keep telling myself, "Maybe some day." Let me tell you, it's hard to realize the amount of opportunities and luxury we have in the states unless you visit a country like this. I hope I remember the experiences I have here and don't lose sight of what is important in life.

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Photos

McDonald's.
From left: Meji, Libby, Khim, and Mean.