A Weekend in Nong Khai

The Bridge
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On Thursday I ended my second week of school – I can’t believe it is going so fast! Well, I talked to Jack, and starting next Monday I’m going to be switching to the secondary school. Of course, one of the main reasons I agreed, is that I’ll still be seeing all the primary kids on Thursdays. My new schedule goes something like this: M-W, 10a-320p at the secondary school, Thu 9a-12n at the primary school, and Fri 10a-12n at the secondary school. I think it will be a big change, teaching HS Seniors after teaching first graders – or at least it should be a big change!:)  So cross your fingers, hopefully secondary school will be just as enjoyable.

In Thailand can get a license while still very young ;)
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Well, many of you have been asking how my Thai is going. Unlike English, Thai is a tonal language, which makes it very tough to learn for a tone def person like myself! I’m learning new vocabulary, but I still have problems when it comes to pronunciation and tone. The tones are mid tone, low tone, high tone, falling tone, and rising tone. What a word means drastically differs depending on tone. Haha- which I have been learning. At first, I thought if my tones were a little sloppy, it wouldn’t make a huge difference. BUT, I have the nagging suspicion that when these cute 2^nd graders were showing me their nicely colored pictures, instead of telling them Suay (rising) = pretty, I with a smile on my face, told them Suay (mid tone) = bad luck!! Ugh : P

Coconut Tree
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We’ve been having a nice quite week in Phon Phisai, but when Jack mentioned he was going to Nong Khai Friday afternoon – Lee and I decided to join. It is kind of nice to go up to Nong Khai on the weekends. It is fun socializing with the other volunteers, plus it is a great place to swap books. In Phon Phisai I’ve been doing a lot of reading, so getting some new books is a necessity.

Unlike last weekend, when everyone was visiting Chiang Mai, the dorms were full of volunteers. Luckily, there was just enough room for Lee and myself to stay the nigh, but we had no bikes to borrow. We mostly hung around the dorm, but at 6:30p we decided to join the Thai Cooking Class taking place at the Meechi dorm. As others pedaled, we negotiated with a Tuk Tuk to take us the mile distance to the other dorm. My cooking repertoire is pretty limited, but what fun learning Thai style cooking. The four main seasonings they use are fish sauce (salty), sugar (sugary), chiles (spicy), and one other I can’t remember. I told you, I’m not a great cook J Anyway, we stood outside, barefoot in the growing darkness, making individual servings of Kung-Pow Pork over rice with the help of portable burners. Mine was fairly tasty, but a little sugary. After dinner, it started to pour. We went up to the living room on the 3^rd floor. As the rain continued its downpour, thunder crashed every few minutes and lightening lit the sky. The room, which was lit by white Christmas tree lights, was quite cozy and music from an Ipod filled the room with American/European music. We had some drinks and played jenga for the next few hours. Lee had left right after dinner, so I was the only one without a bike. Luckily, when it was finally time to go back to the Green dorm, I got a ride on the back of someone’s bike. It was quite a memorable experience. I think it was good I couldn’t see where we were going – since it was VERY wobbly! I held my breath a few times, as we barely missed a parked motorcycle. The streets were dark, but the rain was now only a drizzle. The main worry, aside from crashing, was that we’d be chased by one of the many packs of dogs, who tend to roam the deserted streets at night. Whew, luckily we made it back safe and sound