I think my blog has become more of a newsletter. I used to post often because everything in Thailand seemed so new. Lots of the foreign-ness of Thailand has worn off for me, but there are days when it's abundantly clear that I'm still a foreigner. For example, I got caught in a heavy rain storm on my way home one night. The street my friend and I were walking on was flooded up to our ankles and there were no taxis or song taos (pick up trucks with 2 rows of seats in the back and a roof covering the seats) available. We decided to keep walking, but we got a little lost in the process. We asked a man how to get to the main road and he said to follow him. We arrived at his motorcycle and he offered to give us a ride. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't be a problem for two of us to straddle the back of his motorcycle and go with him. However, we were both wearing pencil skirts and didn't think we could both fit sitting sideways. He said it was still a long way to the main road and we should go with him, so we did. I believe it was God who kept us glued to the seat because we were both afraid we would slip off any minute. I arrived at the sky train station bedraggled because we couldn't use our umbrella on the motorcycle. Everyone else in the train looked neat and well put together, as Thai people always do. When I told my Filipino roommate about what happened, she just said "oh." My Thai friend at work said the same thing. Apparently monsoon rain storms and flooded streets are an everyday occurence in Asia and no cause for alarm. So what's the point of the story: I'm still a foreigner, no matter how good my Thai is or how adjusted I feel to Thai life.
My dad came to visit at the beginning of the month, which was great. We went to House of Hope orphanage for the dedication of their new house. The house is very humble by American standards, but they are so grateful to have it. There are two rooms for the girls and one or two for the boys and now they have separate boys and girls bathrooms. I guess they took turns before. The kids sang many songs and performed some human videos. I've said it many times, but I love worshipping with them because they're so sincere as they sing and lift their hands and hearts to the Lord.
My dad got to enjoy the finer things in life here, like inexpensive massages and good food. My friend took us sightseeing in Bangkok, which was fun. I had never been to the Vivanmek Mansion, the largest golden teakwood building in the world (I think). I've seen my dad twice this year, which is a record since I've moved to Thailand. I'm grateful that I could spend quality time with him.
To give you an update on Bangkok since my last blog...
Life in Bangkok is back to normal. We started school on May 24th. I like my students. I teach one class of 2nd grade this year and they are so cute (they are the smartest kids in all of 2nd grade at our school, so they're fun to teach). Bangkok is getting cleaned up quickly as there are lots of people volunteering to repaint and clean up the affected areas.
I just came back from northeastern Thailand because we had a 4 day weekend. Thank God for an opportunity to get out of Bangkok and to visit friends. That's all for now.
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