The mob???

With our new friends that we met, we decided to check out some live Thai music in town. After being at this place for a while, listening to the music, the next thing I knew, there was a young boy that went up to sing. The 1st man who sang had very long hair and so did the little boy, which was odd because primary school kids have to have short hair. We found out that the guy who was singing, owned the place, and is part of the mob! He sends his son to a private school so that he doesn't have to cut his hair. Our one friend who had been here for a while seemed quite knowledgeable about it and said that the mob only exists in smaller towns and that whenever a new business wants to open up, they have to okay it with the mob and the mob gets half of the money.  Maybe it's because of the lack of mob action in South Dakota that made me shocked to realize that stuff like this still goes on!

I was estatic to finally receive my package from my family! It was loaded with Starbursts, Peanut Butter M&M's, homemade fruit rollup, artwork from Sam and Estelle, Reese's PB hearts, and a handwritten letter from my mom and dad....I mean could it get any better! I tried to give one of my bags of PB M&M's to James because he said after his dad was in the Vietnam war, he went to the US and would send those to him...but James wouldn't accept my gift. I laid them on his desk anyway...and later that day when Cailin tried to take some he said those were his! (jokingly of course!). Also James came into the office with my package from home and said, if you ever want to see your package again, you will have to pay me money! We never get his jokes right away because of his English, but when we do, they are hilarious! He is our angel in disguise! He has done so much for us and I truly appreciate him.

Just today I was up at the front of the class, ready to help teach, and I was talking to James about my idea of how we should teach the parts of the human body, and he said to take over! He said that he wanted the students to get more used to me and my voice and being able to understand me. It went very well, I was extremely pleased! I felt I was actually able to communicate!

Sidenote: for those who are concerned about if I get my potato intake...don't fret! There are these "french fries" right next to the school that fill my craving! I'm not sure they are made out of potato though. They taste a bit different, yet still very scruptous!

For those of you who are wondering how my bicycling is going & getting accustomed to using the other side of the road...thanks for your concern, but I am doing JUST fine getting used to driving on the other side of the road! I still get nervous being on my little bicycle with cars zooming by. But I know my bright blue helmut will protect me and I was told that alot of my students' parents are doctors and said that if we ever need anything medical, we will be taken care of! So, I feel confident and look both ways before crossing the street!

One thing that has been hard to deal with is the pace of life here. It is so incredibly different. For those who know me well, you know that I'm usually running around like a chicken with my head cut off in this crazy, hectic world! I'd claim to enjoy life, but I don't know if I really got to sit back and enjoy it and do any sort of reflection. There is no sort of strict schedule or rigorous structure to conform to here. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating, but it can also be very refreshing! It's been hard for me to not be really busy all the time, but I feel that I've actually been able to reflect on this crazy situation I find myself in. It's been quite the feeling being in the vast minority. It makes you think alot different about your perspective. It changes your thought process and opens up your eyes. I believe it is a very humbling experience.  I feel that everyone should experience being the minority in their lifetime at some point.  

The next 2 pictures are from the weekend market that goes on in Singburi. There is almost anything imaginable in these markets! Absolutely anything that you would need to live off here. There is really no reason to go to a store because all the markets have everything.

Our new friends took us to this restaurant where you basically cook all your own food! It was a bit overwhelming. There was this huge table that had containers of all the meat you could chose from; chicken, pork, beef, and maybe some fish. Even though all the containers were over ice, I still couldn't help but think that I might get sick from eating the meat! I figured that I've been over here for 6 weeks and haven't been sick yet so why not! So, you grab your meat, your veggies, noodles or rice, and your sauces, and away you go! I guess the standard process is after you are done, you eat the "soup" of what's left around the edges......I'm sorry, but no thank you!!

I have discovered that eating is a huge part of the culture here, which coming from the community and family I was raised in...I fit in just perfect because I love to eat! They eat more small meals througout the day, which I believe is the proper way to do it, thus why they are all so small here!  Even the kids at school take snack breaks in the morning and afternoon.