There are lots of stray animals all of Thailand. People feed them rice and leftovers and somehow they manage to keep themselves alive. This is one of the cats that lives near me. Sometimes he sleeps in my stairwell. He's friendly enough, as long as you don't get too close to him.
Kru Yai Linee's daughter, Bua, got married this weekend. I was invited to attend, and let me tell you, it was a party of epic proportions. It was quite delightful.
Here is the reception hall. It was a a police training station or something along those lines.
This is a video showing the reception hall.
Me and Kru Mai
The first real event of the program was the umbrella dance.
Just a snippet of the umbrella dance. I wish you could have seen the whole thing.
Then the groom sang to the bride. It was quite sweet.
There were introductions and thank yous and the history of the couple. There were lovey dovey moments, etc. Really just a lot of talking. Kru Yai Linee is the lady in the blue dress.
Lighting the candles
Cutting the cupcakes with the BUBBLES
Bouquet toss
The reception was lovely and entertaining. It was fun to spend some time with people from school in a non-school setting. And the food was amazing! Especially the fish. Thai people make the best fish I've ever eaten in my life.
I hope I have the opportunity to attend more receptions in the future because it was the perfect way to spend an evening. Congratulations Bua and Q.
There was a marching band/drumline competition at the park near the Yamo statue. I went with Riam to support the Suranaree Marching Band. It was awesome. I wish that all of my friends from high school who were in the marching band could have been there.
Yamo Statue
View across the street from the competition
The marching band competition was complete by 5:30 and the drumline competition didn't start until 7:00, so we found a nice place to sit and eat.
Here is a 360 view of the place where we ate dinner. It was quite lovely.
Kanom Jeen Nam Ya
Som Tam
Pad Mee Korat
The drumline competition was so fun. They were spot on rhythmically and their performances were all really creative. I also loved their costumes.
The apartment I'm living in is still a work in progress. I don't have anything up on the walls, and there are still a few things I need to purchase to feel like I have a fully functioning apartment, but it is slowly becoming home.
I also updated the other blog. Go HERE to view that.
I am so grateful that I moved to Thailand just two weeks before the Ubon Thailand stake was created. It was my great blessing to serve in Sisaket and Ubon, and I love the people there SO much. The Korat branch was moved into the Ubon district a few months ago in preparation for the creation of this stake.
On Friday, we all hopped on a bus at 10:00 pm and started our journey toward Ubon. Plaa (Fish) was kind enough to pick me up on her motorcycle. The church is really far away from where I live. Within minutes of departing, the karaoke began. Karaoke is one of my favorite things ever.
We got to Ubon at 5 am and check into our hotel. We were able to get a few hours of sleep before heading to the church for a Relief Society meeting. It was so fun to chat with my friends from Sisaket and Ubon.
The Ubon building full of people from 9 different provinces of Thailand (The stake has a huge area geographically)
On the bus with Ying and Plaa
Some of my beloved friends from Sisaket
More Sisaket friends
Sister Prateep got baptized on October 27 and Brother Thawansak got baptized on December 25. I was serving in Sisaket during that time. It was so fun to see them. They are serving a 12 month mission in Udorn. I love this couple so much.
Me and Plaa
Neung
The place was packed. The lady with the brownish tannish jacket is Sister Mai. She was an incredibly faithful member that Sister Robbins and I used to visit regularly in Pakkret. I haven't seen her since my mission, and it was a really fun surprise to see her at the meeting.
I also got to meet up with Best after the meeting. She was 15 when I first served in Sisaket. She would teach with us all the time. It is fun to see the awesome person she's grown up to become.
After the meeting, we got back on the bus and headed home. It was an eight hour bus ride. It was a really special weekend for many reasons.
Hello, everybody! I arrived in Thailand Monday night, and I've spent most of the week at the school trying to wrap my head around how a Thai school functions, buying stuff for my apartment, and sleeping.
I have been super tired this whole week. I'm not sure if the cause is jet lag or the extreme heat and humidity. Probably a combination of both. I've got lots to say, but I'm going to save most of it for another day when I have more pictures.
I started a blog to share certain experiences with my students at S.S. Elementary. Rather than repost, I'll just link any posts I do on that blog to this blog. HERE is my first one about bathroom signs.
On Thursday, Mai (ใหม่) and Jin (จิน) took me to a buffet place called T-Bone. It had steak, mashed potatoes, soup, salad, and Thai food. It was 200 baht ($5.90).
In addition to the buffet, we also had Tom Yum Goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง). You have to shell the shrimp yourself here in Thailand.
Another shot of the soup.
Last night, I had a roti (โรตี). It is sort of like a fried crepe. I had her put banana on the inside. Often, these are served with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. The green at the bottom is a banana leaf. This cost 30 baht ($0.88).
Last night for dinner I had Bami Muu (บะหมี่หมู). This is one of my favorite foods. This cost 35 baht ($1.03).
I hope that everyone is doing well back home. I miss you all already. Transitions are never easy, and while I am very happy to be here, I would appreciate your prayers as I get used to a new lifestyle here in the land of smiles.
