Songkran

The Songkran Festival is the Thai New Year which lasts for about 4 days. It's a very important holiday in Thailand, not to mention one of the biggest international festivals in the world. The tradition is to pour water over other people to wash away their sins for the new year. This tradition has escalated into the biggest water fight you will ever see (or not see if you never go to Thailand in April ;)) the entire country celebrates and the bigger festivals happen in the bigger cities, especially the ones where there are a lot of tourists.

Ok, now that you know the background, we can get to the good stuff! This was by far, the most fun I have had since being a little kid! Really!! I don't think I have seen so many smiles on one street in my entire life. They say Disney World is the happiest place on earth? Well Disney needs a 3 day water fight...then it will be the happiest place on earth!!

Now if you aren't interested in getting into the middle of the water fight, you can stand on the platform to the sky train. This was not my plan. I couldn't wait to get into the middle of this water fight. I had a big group of friends and we were well prepared with our water guns, swim suits, water proof bags, and the desire to shoot lots of water at people!

The minute we got off the train, you could here the happy squeals of people getting water thrown at them. It was a crazy sight and we had to just stand there to take it all in for a minute. That minute didnt last very long because I couldn't wait to get down there! We got there pretty early, it was about 1:30pm, and although it seemed crowded at the time, by the end of the night you couldn't even move on the street because too many people were blocking your way. Walking down the street was tons of fun, shooting your water guns at random people and of course they always tried to get you back! Our numbers went from 3 people (Allison, myself, and our French friend Julien) to 6 people (our Australian friend Birgitta and a couple from Holland, Marloes and Goof), to 8 people ( another couple from Holland), to 15 people in our group by the end of the night! We ended up on a side street called Soi 11 and just stayed there for about 7 hours throughout the festival. At first it was really tame. There were maybe 5 groups standing on the street throwing water at people. By around 6pm, there were people lining the sides of the street having an all out war!! Our group would find someone and totally surprise attack them just for fun! It was great! Then they would get us back and we would recruit them to help us get someone else! My teachers in high school would call me an instigator...I guess it's still true!!

I really can't believe what an incredible time this festival was!! We left around 9 or 10pm, completely drenched from head to toe, and ready for some dinner! It feels really good to have a group of friends here. I am a very social person and its never easy to find people you connect with in a new city. I struggled with that in Chicago too. It's different here though. Most expats (or what Thais call Farangs) are out there looking for friends too. At least the ones who are in the same boat as I am. Having that group helps me to feel more at home. I'm excited to see how these friendships grow and I hope to stay in touch with them, even after leaving Bangkok.

I will never forget Songkran and all the joy it brought my life. It was like being a kid in your back yard. Except for the fact that there are thousands of strangers there too of course!! It was a much needed de-stressor for me. This past week was really hard for me emotionally and I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like I can keep going and not worry as much about my job. But that's for another day of writing!

My new nickname

Today will be my 4th day at work. I am working full time at a place called The Raquet Club where I am a personal trainer and will be teaching Pilates, yoga, and boot camp. So far, I really like working there! I don't have a whole lot to do yet so I am just trying to figure everything out. All of my coworkers are really great too. They are all Thai except for a trainer named Gina who is from Australia, but most of them speak English pretty well.

Yesterday we had a meeting about how to design a fitness program for a client according to their goals and abilities. Now this is all stuff I already did knew from elements, but it was a good refresher course for me and its good to know that the other trainers will understand some of those concepts too. The class consisted of me, Gina, and 6 male Thai trainers who are absolutely hilarious. They are all jokesters (at least that's what I call them). We laughed almost the entire time. And that's saying a lot because half the time I had no idea what they were saying! And sometimes I can tell they are talking about me but again, I have no idea what they are saying!! But they are all very nice and have made me feel a part of the team already.

Most Thai's have nicknames. It can either be a shortened part of their name (Nan for Sunan) or it can be something from their childhood or a certain part of their personality. The Thai trainers are named Joe, Jome, Boy, Arm, Chin, Yan, Ake, Tor, Jui or Juice, Dan, and Yo. Yesterday at the meeting, Jome decided that I needed a nickname too. They call Gina Mom sometimes because she looks after everything like a mom would. Jome, who doesn't know a whole lot of English, decides that my nickname is going to be Jeap. Phonetically it sounds like GeeAp and its said very quickly. At first they told me it means a baby chicken. They all agreed that this was true. Then I find out it is really the sounds that a baby chicken makes, like how we would say cheep cheep. I decided this nickname was fine so now that is what everyone calls me! I also found out if you put Nam in front of Jeap, then it means sweetly which I like also.

It all makes for an interesting day at the office, that's for sure!!

So the second part of this blog is my experience running my first 10k. I'm not much of a runner and have never been super competitive with it, but my new boss invited me to join so I thought I should go. I woke up at 3am on sunday morning and of course didnt actually get out of bed until 3:25am. I had to get a cab to get to the Racquet Club which is where we were meeting at 4am. I met up with Gina and one of the club members who owns a glass making factory, took a van about 35 minutes out of Bangkok, and met up with my boss Sunan at the race. It was just the 4 of us and we were specially invited to this race. It was a special run just for employees of a Sealect Tuna. I met the owner of the company as he is friends with Sunan and the other man we were with (I can't remember his name). The race was great, the 10k began at 5:30am and I got to see a lot of countryside, food vendors, people getting ready for a day at the markets, etc. it was all very interesting.

It was sooo humid though! I was dripping with sweat and am still not sure why I decided to run my first 10k when it is 80 degrees at 5 am!! I'm proud that I ran the entire race without stopping though. It has inspired me to do another one and Allison is going to train with me.

The best part of this story is what happened afterwards. There was a little after party and all the Thais were dancing and singing and having a grand ole time. We walked overland Gina and I decided to go dance too. It was really fun. Except that we were 2 of the 3 Anglos at the entire race. There were 20,000 people there. And it seems that most of them have never been in the same vicinity of a white person before. I'm pretty used to being the minority and didnt feel weird about it at all. Then someone walked up to me, a little thai girl, and grabbed my arm and her friend took a picture. Then they switched places. Then 3 more people did the same thing. Then a group of 7 people all took turns to take pictures with me and Gina. I probably took at least 50 pictures with them that day. They were holding my hand and putting their arm around my shoulders and grabbing my arm and telling me to do a thumbs up...it was crazy. Sunan was saying that we were like celebrities. It was all very weird, but I couldn't help but laugh and smile. They were so sweet!! Finally I had had enough and my fave hurt from smiling so much (not to mention I had 4 hours of sleep, ran a 10k, and it was only 7:30am!) that I had to just walk away. They were so funny and it's an experience I will never forget! Very different from being in Bangkok where they are used to tourists being around all the time. What a great start to my week!

Finding my niche

It's been a while since my last post, I know. A lot of things have happened over the past few weeks and I am finally feeling comfortable in Bangkok. I walk down the street and don't give it a seconds thought that the sidewalks are so uneven that I will probably trip at least twice, that is if the sidewalk even exists. On the smaller side streets (called sois), there aren't any sidewalks so you always have to look for cars, motor bikes, food vendor carts, etc. I feel pretty confident getting around to new areas as well. Last Saturday night we went to a music and arts festival and found our way by memory, without using a map. Success! The fest was really awesome. It seemed like there were a lot of other expats there and felt very much like something I would go to in the US. It gave me that feeling of having good natured people all in one area with the same interest in art and music.

We also found a bar called WTF (not with the meaning of those letters that we would think in the US, I think it's German) which feels like a bar that would be in Chicago. Very hipster, but I kind of like that!

Meeting new friends has been pretty easy through a social networking group called Internations. I heard about it from my friend Eric who has a friend who lives in Bangkok. I happened to get a hold of him and he said ere was an event happening the following day. We went. It was awesome. People were so open and friendly. Most are just looking for people to socialize with. Everyone there spoke English, but there were people from so many different places: Nigeria, UK, Australia,France, Germany, China, etc. Of course once we met all these people, we are hanging out with them frequently. A guy from NYC is traveling around Asia, just happened to go to the event, 2 df his friends from Detroit and Philadelphia flew in the next day and we all rented a car and went to the beach for a day. They left Bangkok for other adventures, but I don't doubt that I will see them again!

Some days here are definitely more successful than others. This past Tuesday was kind of an epic fail day for me. Ants are all over our kitchen so I spend a bit of time. Everyday killing the,. Of course they ended up in our peanut butter which I didn't notice until it was too late :S this same day I went on a 2 hour walk around an area called Silom in search of a place that I had an interview and still never found the building. Of course it' was 95 degrees out so I was. Hot and thirsty. Thought I would stop to get a nice healthy and refreshing smoothie from one of the street vendors. Instead of getting what I thought was a strawberry smoothie, I got strawberry milk made from strawberry syrup. Not exactly what I wanted. Getting my hands on food is sometimes a struggle too. Especially when Ian working out, I get really hungry if I don't eat every 2 hours and don't function quite as well as when I am full. This particular day I felt hungry ALL DAY LONG!! No matter what I ate, it just didnt fill me up. So of course i did not handle all the things that were happening on this epic fail of a day very well to say the least.

But the next day was a new day and better things happened. I'm still not working, but hopefully that is going to change soon. I have the potential to work at a summer kindergarten position which starts at the beginning of March. And the school for teaching dance wants me to come back for some kind of second interview, but that job doesn't begin until August.

What I really really want to do is go take a dance class. It's kind of expensive, but I think I am going to just do it anyway. I can't go this long without dance in my life!!

I guess that's it for now. Talk to you next time!!

First week in Bangkok!

So many things have happened already in the past week. We arrived at our condo (which was being lent to us by a friend until we found our own place), knowing it was unfurnished, ready to just get a good night of sleep. We had to bring 2 mattresses up the elevator from the 12th floor to the 15th floor in order to have something to sleep on. The only pillows we had were our neck pillows from the plane. We had no blankets either. After falling asleep, covered by our towels, our friend Jonah stopped by with the best gifts ever...pillows and blankets and toilet paper!!

There have been many surprises getting used to a completely new culture. The toothpaste is salty (really weird), we are boiling our water one little pot at a time (had to buy something to cook with!), ovens don't exist in any condo (too hot), we don't have a refrigerator so our meals consist of PB&J or pasta and tuna, and we have learned to be very careful to look both ways several times before crossing any street or parking lot (1. Cars drive on the left, 2. They don't stop for pedestrians, 3. And motorbikes rule everything).

The best news is that we have a condo of our own now! We officially signed the contract today. It has pretty paint on the walls, a washing machine, a pool on the roof along with a grill, a gym, and the best part is it's close enough that I can walk to work!

Well that's it for now. Le krong

Hong Kong

We have been in Hong Kong for 4 nights and are leaving to go to Bangkok later this evening. Hong Kong is a whirlwind of people, hills, tall buildings, food, and little shops tucked into every corner you could imagine. All the signs are in English so we only got lost once. Not too bad for being in a foreign country huh?

We took the cable car to see Big Buddha the first day. It was nice, but extremely touristy. The first night our wonderful hosts, Vicky and Nacho, took us to their regular hangout spot called Falfela. It was a little bar that had amazing middle eastern food and some of the friendliest people I have ever met. That was when I first realized how very different the night life is here. It felt like being in a movie because so many bars are just under tents and you can drink in the streets. Very different from Chicago that's for sure.

We also went to the Nan Lian garden and the nunnery which is close by. It was beautiful and gave me some very good incite to the Chinese culture, religion, and the peace that it can bring you. Words cannot describe how it made me feel. This for sure was one of my favorite things in Hong Kong. We ate at Nacho's restaurant called Vi Cool that night. It was on the mainland and we got lost trying to find it. Between Allison and I though, we figured it out. We decided that we work really well together without getting mad at each other.

Yesterday we went to The Peak which is the highest point in Hong Kong. How amazing it was to feel like you are standing on top of the world. Allison and I walked the 2.5 mi hike up the mountain. It felt good to be active again after being so send entry. Not that we haven't been walking a lot, but this trek took just over an hour.

Well I am going to go enjoy my last day in Hong Kong. Let's see what kind of adventures it will bring today!

One more week

My time in Chicago has been incredible. I have learned so many things about myself and have grown to be comfortable in my own skin. I guess it's time for the next step. As much as I am ready to move to the next stage of my life, I am going to miss a lot of people who have made such strong impacts on my life, both here in Chicago and family across the US. This past month has been extremely emotional as I am finally realizing that am leaving. I don't know if there has been a day I have gone without crying. So many changes and they are all happening so quickly. As moving day gets closer and closer, I am trying to spend time with as many people as I can. Saying good bye is never easy, but I just have to remember it's only good bye for now. I'm not sure where life will take me after this amazing experience in Thailand, but I know I won't be gone forever!

Getting Started!

Well getting ready to leave has been an adventure all in of itself! It's crunch time. Am I really ready to leave the country and live somewhere else for a whole year? I sure hope so! There are so many things to take care of before leaving. The stress of finding a job while still in Chicago took its toll, but I think I have a good system set up for the next 2 months. Since hearing about elements closing, I have gone back and forth trying to decide if going on unemployment would be better than trying to find a job for only 2 months. I went with finding a job and just signed my paperwork to get started at Argo Tea at the O'Hare airport. It's only part time, but with my other jobs in Chicago and Mt Prospect, (all 5 of them!) I should be good to go!

Now that that is taken care of, the really fun stuff starts: immunization shots, visas, finding an apartment in Bangkok, deciding what possessions to keep and what not to keep, crocheting tons of mittens so hopefully I can get and IPad, and most importantly, finding a job!!

Wish me luck over the next 2 months. I want to spend as much time with my friends and family as I possibly can! I know I will miss a lot of people while I'm gone (some more than others of course...just kidding!) This time of year is stressful enough and adding a HUGE trip to Thailand to it doesn't make it much easier. But I know it will be worth it.

I can't wait for my adventure in Thailand!