a couple of stories for the ages...

so, it's been a long time since i last blogged. i thought i'd warm myself up for the long blog about outreach with a couple of stories about life in thailand. so sit back and enjoy:)

the haircut

i pretty much have needed a haircut since i left the U.S. but didn't have time or a large extra stash of funds. i thought to myself 'how bad could it be? it's not like i'm going to actually DO my hair!' well it got bad. my hair got so weak and damaged that it was an out of controll frizz ball. there was nothing i could do but get it cut. in thailand. by a thai.

now, i'm not asian and therefore do not have the thick black asian hair. so i was nervous about someone who has never cut farang (foreigner) hair before cut mine. luckily, i was pointed to a place at a nearby mall that employed a few people who knew how to deal with farang hair. it went ok, aside from the fact that my stylist knew very little english and i knew even less thai. i showed him a picture and he went to town. a little too much into town, but he got the main idea. then he blow dried me! i thought i was going to pass out from the heat! but here's how it turned out. this is the only time i've had straight hair since i got here, so it was a momentous occasion:

laab

my wonderful thai friend taught me how to make my favorite thai dish that i've discovered while i've been here. it's called laab and is from the esan region of thailand. don't worry, i'll make it when i get home...if you're lucky :) we were able to make it in only about 30 minutes. we had to have one of the base interpreters help us out, but it was SO MUCH FUN! thank you so much mai! oh, and p'paul for translating of course.

The Magic of Swensen's

Why yes, that IS a shot glass of hot fudge in my right hand.

CHEERS!

Homesickness Blues

Lately I've been feeling really homesick. It's just been an exhausting last couple of weeks and I'd like to just run home and give everyone hugs and let them know I still think about them. I miss my parents' hugs and going to Adriane and Conrad's house. I miss going out to dinner with my friends. I miss being dry and having an amazingly comfortable bed. I MISS STRAIGHT HAIR! I know this time in Thailand is going to fly by! It already has gone so fast. But I'm stuck in a homesickness rut. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Kids, Kuts, and Krabi

So we went to the YWAM Thailand national conference in Krabi, Thailand. From the beginning, we knew we as a DTS were going to be in charge of childcare. What we didn't know however was that we were going to have 34 kids (not 19) and be in charge of them for 6 hours a day (not just 3). Needless to say, the beginning of the conference was a rude awakening to how unprepared we were! Oh-so-very stressful and overwhelming. But this story does have a happy ending! We were able to pull it all off with only a few minor hitches in the system.

The first night of the conference we were supposed to dress up in costumes for the welcome dinner, so there's the explanation for the bottom picture. Asen, Kate, and I did 80's babies, mainly because it was so easy to find stuff that worked for that theme...

Then it was time to enjoy the ocean! I was a bit apprehensive about swimming in the ocean, having only done it a couple of times before. My friend Kate said she'd stick with me and keep me safe. *my hero* We were out in the water about to our upper thighs and looked over to see our friend Anna limping up the beach back to the resort. So we turned around and followed her to see what happened. Anna had dove into the ocean, only to find coral directly under the surface which cut into her hands, arms, side, and foot. Also, her finger jammed into some of the coral, which resulted in a slight fracture. Such a downer for beach day! Luckily, she went to the hospital on Thursday and got all fixed up, so she's on the mend. But beach day was a bit of a bust...

I spent the majority of my free time lazing around in our room and napping in the air conditioning. I felt so spoiled! We even had a TUB! My favorite part was showering and NOT sweating immediately following my shower, which is a common occurence in Bangkok. And the food was delicious and the kids were adorable and the scenery was BREATHTAKING so really the trip was much more good than bad.

Pictures of Cambodia!

Back in Thailand

So we got back to Bangkok on Saturday evening, but it's been so crazy here that I haven't had the motivation to collect my thoughts and get a blog written. Cambodia was so fun! The first week we spent in a remote village about two or three hours outside of Phnom Penh. The second week was spent in Siem Reap, the tourist capital of Cambodia. Both locations were fun and hard in their own ways.

The village was hard because I wasn't expecting such, ummmm, rustic accomodations. We slept on the floor of a church on bamboo mats with all kinds of creepy crawlies and a cow and chickens living below us. And the heat and humidity! WOW. We spent the week having classes under the church we were staying at (it was set up above the ground in traditional Cambodian style) and did Bible studies and taught a lot of songs with actions. The people were so sweet and hospitable! None of them spoke a lot of English, but it was enough to communicate the basics and we had an amazing translator. And the untouched beauty of the nature was so great. There were fruit trees everywhere! It was definitely an experience of dying to myself and my own comforts, but it was also a time of so much growth both in myself and in our team.

We stayed in a guest house in Siem Reap. After a week of squatty potties and bucket showers, I felt spoiled by actual beds and a flushing toilet! Siem Reap is much more developed because it's where all the tourists stay. The main attraction there is Angkor Wat, which is one of the best preserved ancient temples in the world. While we were in Siem Reap, we split into two groups. My group taught English at a Christian school in the city. I had no idea how hard that was going to be! It was my friend Kate and I in a room with 27 first graders who only knew their ABC's! But they were so cute and we just taught them things like A-Apple B-Book and had them write it on their boards...easy stuff like that. During our break time we'd play patty cake with all the little girls! SO CUTE!! On Wednesday night, I had a scare when I became very sick and had to go to the hospital. The doctor said I had acute gastro enteritis and dysentary. I had eaten something unclean or undercooked I guess. So they hooked me up to an IV and I spent the night there! I was so sick and so bummed out about everything I missed. But they let me go the next morning, and I was able to be a part of the last day of work and visiting Angkor Wat and going to dinner as a team by Friday. I'm so thankful that it wasn't any more serious than it was!

So that's my trip. I love the Khmer people and food. They were so welcoming and gracious and sweet. I truly cannot look back on my trip and not be thankful for all of it, the good and bad. Thank you to eveyone who was rooting and praying for me back home!

Cambodia or BUST!

Ok guys, here's the deal! Tomorrow morning (Sunday the 5th) our DTS team is leaving for Cambodia! We'll be gone for two weeks. The first week will be spent in Phnom Penh and the second will be in Siem Reap. Our main focus while we're there will be to teach English and reach out to the youth of Cambodia. I don't know how familiar everyone is with Cambodia but in the 1970s there was a mass killing during a social reform by the Khmer Rouge that left almost 2 million people dead. The effects of that time are still seen everywhere in Cambodia, which is often referred to as the "Fatherless Country". So obviously, there's a lot of healing and learning that needs to happen there! Keep us all in your prayers while we're there. There's been a lot of sickness going around our group lately. Right now, I'm fighting a cold and both of my eyes are slightly infected. There are other girls with colds and flu-like symptoms. Also, swine flu has reached Bangkok! To leave you with a postivie note, here's a group picture of all of us with our speakers from our week 4 lecture: