THE AMAZING KINGDOM OF THAILAND

So much has transpired in my life since my last report………where do I begin? Well, at the beginning of the month I did something to my mouth (don’t worry there’s no tongue piercing), I got braces! I always thought I needed them and for the price of $200.00 I figured I might as well go for it. Like I said in my last report, everything in Thailand is inexpensive, including medical care.

Anyway, about two days after I got my braces I was moved to my second host because my school was going to close for a month and my first host didn’t want me to be home alone. So I packed my belongings and moved in with my new family of six……yes that’s right six and they are one big happy family! My first night I didn’t feel well because I had a cold and they have a cat (I love cats but I’m allergic to them). So here it is, my braces have my whole mouth in pain, I have a cold and I’m allergic to cats (these are the ingredients for a horrible mood). So since I felt really sick I decided to stay in my room for a few days until I felt better. During this time, if I had to go downstairs for anything or go somewhere with my host family I tried to act cheerful and put my feelings of pain aside. After a few days my cold went away, the pain in my mouth subsided and my family makes it a point to keep the cat away from me (I'm feeling much better). I'm glad I changed host families because now I have a host sister who is closer to my age and she is teaching me Thai........'Life is Good'. Another benefit of changing hosts is, I live three min. away from one of my Y.E. friends so now I have company to explore Bangkok and get lost (I got lost already, but it was fun). My mom always says that some things that you think aren't good for you, usually are......I guess parents are always right!

The Rotary club of Thailand tries to keep the Y.E. students busy, so they planned an all day trip for us to, 'The Floating Market' and 'Rose Garden'. In my opinion the Floating Market wasn’t that interesting (it was a food and clothing market on water), but the Rose Garden was ‘WONDERFUL and INTERESTING’. There was a beautiful culture show, displaying different styles of Ram Thai (Thai dancing), sword fighting, Thai boxing and a demonstration of a Thai wedding ceremony (words can’t explain what this was like). This is definitely a show that should be seen if you ever travel to Thailand, it’s truly amazing! At the end of the show we thought we had seen it all, but to our surprise when we walked outside there were elephants performing many tricks including dancing, this was hilarious! If I have another chance to see this show before I leave Thailand, I definitely will.

At the end of the month Rotary chose thirteen Y.E. students to travel to Ang Thong (another province in Thailand) for a week to learn Ram Thai (Thai dancing) and of course I was one of them. When we arrived in Ang Thong, our host families for a week were waiting patiently for us and as usual I had a beautiful and happy family. The following day Thai Dancing seemed difficult to the Y.E.’s but as time went on, we became pros (I think we surprised ourselves by what we could do). Friday came and it was time for the Y.E’s to say goodbye, but not me. My host and I got along so well they asked if I wanted to stay and I gladly accepted the offer. Ang Thong is so different from Bangkok, it’s much cleaner and the population is small. If I had a choice of where I wanted to stay in Thailand, it definitely would be Ang Thong. Finally, we will be performing the Thai Dance at a Rotary Conference on the 26^th of October for our Hosts and Rotarians………..I can’t wait (I’ll be sure to send pictures).

In conclusion, I would like to say that I am truly blessed and I thank God everyday for allowing me to be an Exchange Student……………this is truly ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity’. May God richly bless you!