Suvarnabhumi

Suvarnabhumi....can you say that? Sure...I knew you could! This name is the name of the new airport that has just opened in Bangkok. Don Muang in the north part of the city has just been closed after 92 years of service. The name Suvarnabhumi was chosen by His Majesty the King in the year 2000. It is interesting to note that this new airport has been in the making for over 40 years. Today, marks the grand opening of this new state-of-the-art gateway into Southeast Asia. The name means the "golden land" which refers to continental Indochina. This is supposed to be a highly sophisticated airport with the latest technologies. I will see for myself next month as we fly out for a retreat to the south of Thailand. It'll be exciting to see!

By the way... The airport is pronounced Su wa na poom...would you have guessed that?

Pawn's Baby is here!

Welcome to Baby Yoshua!
2.9 Kilograms
Born around 2:00 P.M.
September 28, 2006

Mother, Yoshua and Dad are doing just fine. We rejoice over the birth of this new precious life. Yoshua is the Thai way of pronouncing the name Joshua. Joshua was Irene's suggested name. I wonder if they already chose the name before our game!

Predictions

Right now, we are getting pummled by rain! This is a huge rain! This is the stuff that flooded roads are made of. A prediction is being made by the forecasters here for heavy rains on October 9-11. If this occurs, it is said that Bangkok will experience significant flooding. Supposedly the reasons are heavy rains in the north running off and coming down streams and rivers, plus the moon phase will cause waters to rise and there will be heavy rains in Bangkok as well. We will have to see if this really occurs. We have about 1 more month left in the rainy season and then we will be dry as a bone for about 4-5 months.

New Books

I purchased our next set of books for nighttime reading. Here is what we will be reading.

Gracyn: Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Following this she we will be reading Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes. Ginger Pye is about a dog, which will be right up Gracyn's alley since she is always pretending to be a dog! Ginger Pye is a Newberry Award winning book.

Aidan: I am a Bunny. This is a Golden Book which is Illustrated by Richard Scarry. He likes it already due to the Animals throughout the book.

My Addiction

Som Tam!!!

Ok, so I'm very near to joining a Som Tam eaters anoynomous support group. I just can't get enough of the stuff. I should probably explain what Som Tam is for the unaware. Som Tam is a type of salad here that consists of:

1. Green papaya cut into long shreds
2. Carrots cut into long shreds
3. Small tomatoes cut into halves
4. Long beans cut into small pieces
5. Roasted peanuts
6. Palm sugar
7. Lime juice
8. Fish sauce
9. Dried Shrimps ( none for me please)
10. Red small chilies ( some people add one chili and others up to ten or more)

All of this is placed together in mortar and pounded with a pestle. Som Tam means sour pound. The result is a simple delicious treat! This salad is particularly popular with the Poo Ying (ladies) but men do like it too. It has the perfect balance of salty, sweet and sour tastes. I take mine without the chilis, however, there is always a little spicy residue leftover in the mortar from the previous orders to give my dish a little kick. I had Som Tam three times last week because I was craving it so bad. I even got Jack started on his own addition. We both got to the point of just hearing the words Som Tam and we were both in the depths of craving. After my third dish in a week, I developed a rash on my hands. I wondered if I was developing an allergic reaction to my new favorite Thai dish. That would be tragic. However, I now think it is from pulling up pumpkin vines from our little garden. I think the oils in the pumpkin leaves caused a reaction. Phew!

New Discovery About Thailand

You can not renew your drivers licence until it expires!!! This little discovery cost me a couple of hours at the Transportation Office (DMV) and I left without a renewed licence. I got a cheery "See you on Monday!" Yep, I guess you will.

How my life might be different from yours...part 2

Your kids might have snow days...but mine have Coup days!

How my life might be different from yours

After living in Thailand for almost 8 years, I realized that there are so many things that I once found strange or annoying that have become my new normal. Sometimes these things still do challenge me, but as I reflect on this crazy life I lead I've realized how I've come to accept so many of them as normal.

1. Smells...upon first visit to Thailand, you will experience some smells that make you want to gag the moment you step out of doors. I hardly smell them anymore and if I do, my gag reflex has disappeared. What are these smells you might ask? Sewage, trash cans, the food courts inside malls, street vendors, fresh markets, and stagnant waters. I'm sure there are more.
2. Grocery stores and malls...these are the loudest places on the face of the Earth. Each shop feels it is their personal responsibility to cause premature deafness in their customers. They play the loudest music non-stop. It sounds like being in a disco. The shops have competing music playing so that not only is it loud but there are several songs blaring at you at once. We think these are tactics to draw attention to their stores to get you to shop there. It feels more like a deterant to me. They also have "pretties" trying to promote various products in the store aisles. Pretties are attractive young girls hired to make products seem more attractive. Sometimes these girls are quietly blocking the brands they don't want you to buy, while making sure their brand is very visible. Sometimes they squat in the aisles putting on makeup, brushing their hair or talking on cell-phones. Sometimes they are also loud by screaming the praises of their products at you while you walk by. You might even by accosted by a mini-commercial as you step in front of sensors of certain products. This is normal.
3. Crazy drivers and motorcycles... these are plentiful. While driving you must always watch out for motorcycles. They are always zooming in and out of traffic. They will sneak up from behind you and cut you off in front of your car. They expect you to notice them and watch out for them. You also have other drivers that do some very interesting things. One of those things is to push you out of your lane when they change lanes. If a car decides to get over, he or she will just do so...even if there is no available space. They will just push you out of the lane and expect you to get over. Traffic rules are really just suggestions. If you are driving down a one way street, expect to see oncoming traffic! A one lane road becomes two. However a four lane road becomes two as well due to cars parking in the outer most lanes. A road can be designated for two way traffic and suddenly turn into a one way road. Yes, these are things you can get used to!
4. Stray dogs running in gangs...there are always stray dogs everywhere you go. They live in the streets and have become super saavy about street life. They are often mangy and dirty looking. You could start a picture collection of "soi" dogs and fill albums in no time. Homeowners and store owners have even figured out a way to keep their sidewalks clean from dogs. You fill water bottles with water and place them in the areas you want free of dogs. I have no idea why this works, but it does. These gangs get pretty musical in the night with the sounds of fighting.
   
5. I go barefoot indoors at all times. This can be tough to remember at first. But after awhile, it becomes second nature to remove your shoes before entering a home. If you've ever walked a street in Thailand, this will make perfect sense and you will be all about this practice! We've become "very Thai" in this way. We'd probably even do it in the States...at least for a while.
   
6. You eat with a fork and spoon. This is the proper way to eat food here. You use your fork to push the food onto your spoon and eat off the spoon. Whenever someone fresh from the States arrives here and I see them stabing their food with a fork, it looks so weird now. This doesn't apply to steaks and big pieces of meat cooked in a Western way.
   
7. I can not drink from my faucets. I must always drink bottled water.
8. McDonald's can be delivered to you via motorcycle! Pizza is done the same way.
9. I have had snakes and big lizards in my yard.
10. Hair cuts are a risk. When you go to a salon or barber shop and tell them what style or how much you want cut off, they nod and then do what they want to do anyway. One inch means two or three. You have to always underestimate... and hope to get close enough.
    
11. When you get sick and need to see a doctor, you will leave with 5 or more meds to take. You always get an antibiotic. You have to refuse them at times. Thais just do not feel served if they aren't given medicines. If you find a conservative doctor who follows western practices and you aren't given an antibiotic, your Thai friends will insist you find a better doctor.
    

So this is my new normal. These are things I have had to adjust to and there are so many more. These are the things that once frustrated me, but now make me laugh or feel that Thailand has its own unique charm. Oh to see Thailand through first time eyes again! It can be overwhelming, but it is also strangely fun to experience it all.

Things you just don't see in the USA...

trucks heavy-laden with plastic water bottles threatening to tip over at any moment!

Thai Monopoly

We recently purchased the Thai version of Monopoly. It has just been released here in Thailand this year. It comes with a certificate telling us how special we are to have one of the first edition copies. We though it would be pretty cool to play this classic game with a Thai twist. We finally broke it out the other night and played. We have been too busy to have a proper game night. The properties are all Thai. The most coveted properties are Silom and Sukhumvit as opposed to Boardwalk and Park Place. The properties come from different hot spots throughout Thailand. The playing pieces are the same and the Chance and Community Chest cards are the same. There is both Thai and English written on everything. So you can be told to "go to jail" or " by kao kook" . I played Jack the other night. Of course, he has to "trash talk" about how he will win. I smoked him! I mean beat him badly up and down Silom and Sukhumvit Roads. I owned both properties with multiple houses!!! To be fair, he kept getting slammed with "fees" for various different things, while I kept getting rewarded. That's only part of the game. The rest was my saavy game playing! All of these "digs" are for my dear husband's benefit for his trash talk! He loves it!

Khao Keow Open Zoo

Last weekend, our family took a day trip to the Khao Keow (Green Mountain) Open Zoo. It is only 45 minutes or so from our home, in Chonburi province. Zoo's in Thailand ordinarily have horrible reputations. Animals are often kept in "cells" with little food or water. They can often look injured as well. With a bit of skepticism, we headed off for the zoo and were pleasantly surprised. Many of the animals had nice open areas to roam. The animals looked well cared for and healthy. At the zoo entrance, they had stalls of people selling bags of fresh vegetables. At first impressions, I thought, "this is an odd place for a vegetable market, but ok, whatever...this is Thailand!" Upon further thought, I realized that these bags of veggies were for sale to feed the animals. We promptly bought a bag and had a great time feeding the animals. The kids were able to pet deer and get up close with giraffes! Gracyn loved feeding them, especially because of their long blue tongues! She thought that was very funny. Aidan wasn't too keen on them. I think their size was a little intimidating. He wailed! Jack was all excited about being able to touch a hyena and play with a very playful elephant calf. The calf kept trying to wrestle people with his trunk. Jack was all about that. We were able to feed some monkies as well. We even caught one monkey in the back of someone's truck helping himself to a bag of Lay's chips. We could imagine the arguements later that day with accusations flying regarding the missing contents of the bag. Too fun. This was a great family place to visit. Afterwards, we loaded the kids up in the car and took a little scenic drive around a resevoir in the area. It was such a beautiful drive. I couldn't get over how beautiful of a road it was. Maybe I was just starving for a little nature, but the drive had a very calming effect which doesn't occur much here. I highly recommend this day trip!

Welcome to Andrew and Becky Bronson!

Andrew and Becky have arrived in Thailand. They will be working with our team for 2 years. We are thrilled to have them join us and look forward to getting to know them better during their time here.

Quotes

Kim: Jack, can you tell me how to rename a bunch of pictures that are of the same thing one more time. I can't ever remember and I don't want to do it individually.

Jack: Yes, just click on the first picture then click control....

Gracyn: Just click control, alt, delete! I learned that in computers.

Pawn's Baby shower

Today our team was able to give Pawn, our Joy Kid's coordinator, a lovely baby shower. Pawn is expecting her first child in about a week's time. Pawn and Chai had a good time at the celebration and were great sports in joining in the American custom of opening gifts in front of the givers. Thais typically open gifts in private...so they don't have to pretend to like it. Pawn and Chai were able to get many wonderful baby items for their Baby Boy! We played several shower games such as wearing a diaper pin and being forbidden to say any form of the word "baby" in English or Thai. If you say the word or a form of the word, your diaper pin is taken. The one who collects the most diaper pins wins. Awe, of course, won as she always does. She sits and waits on her prey very seriously. She will always catch you or try to trick you into say the forbidden word. She's good. We also played the "guess the girth" game where the mother's bump is measured with toliet paper squares. Each guest tries to guess how many squares it takes to get around the bump. Awe, of course, correctly guessed 8 toilet paper squares. We also each guessed the birth date, how many kilos and the time of birth. We'll have to wait to see if Awe wins. Just for fun, we decide to give some name recommendations for the new baby. They could be serious or funny. Too bad Bubba doesn't translate. Some of the names were Pawnchai...a combination of both parents names...and a nice Thai name, Noah, Joshua, Jarakae (Crocodile), Tao (turtle), Yo, Wa, DaJaPuTi (Dave Jack, Paul, Tim), Chai Jr. (C.J.) and Winnie the Pooh. Winnie and Pooh are both Thai nicknames. Thais have some interesting nicknames. For now we will have to remain in suspense regarding the name. We ended the shower with cake and ice cream and prayer for a healthy delivery, mom and baby. Hopefully, we will meet our newest team member soon.

It's milestone time! Last week we surprisingly discovered that Gracyn had a loose tooth. She was complaining of tooth pain and upon investigation we discovered that it was actually loose! I was really surprised because she just turned 5 a month ago and I really thought we wouldn't start having the tooth fairy visit for at least another year. I was wrong. Gracyn spent the entire week wiggling her tooth. Today we came to the conclusion that her tooth was loose enough to pull, but we were beat to the punch when Gracyn was running around the house and bumped her mouth on a chair. She said, " Mommy my lip is bleeding." I said, "nope...you lost your tooth!" Then, we didn't know where the tooth ended up and had to go on a tooth search. After all, how can the tooth fairy visit without the proof of a tooth? Jack found it after a few minutes. We were relieved that we'd actually get to keep the tooth and do the whole under the pillow bit. How anti-climatic would it have been to have lost the tooth? Very. So, after dealing with the blood and rinsing with salt water, we were able to take a picture of our snaggled-toothed girl. Once again this is proof that our little girl is growing up way to fast!

Welcome Asa Jeffrey Mills!
10 pounds 6 oz
September 1st, 2:14 P.M.