Relaxation and new experiences!

Tuesday was so relaxing! We were given the afternoon off so Laura and I went to At Ease to get Thai massages after lunch. It was not like a typical Swedish massage, instead the Thai ladies stretch your body in weird (but good) ways while at the same time massaging out every knot. It was incredible and the better part was that it only cost 350 Baht, which is about $11! Extremely inexpensive for how much they pamper you!! When we got the Thai massage, we were given fisherman-like pants and a baggie shirt to wear, instead of our uniform. They make you wear these throughout the entire massage, which at first I thought would be really strange, but then when they started the massage I quickly learned why they were essential. First, they start by washing your feet with lime and flower petal water…then the hour-long massage begins. When you finish they serve you hot ginger tea and cookies. I definitely plan to do this again. J

After our massages, Laura and I walked around the block and came across a place called, Your Hair where we decided to get our hair washed and blow-dried for only 100 Baht, which is just over $3. And to top it off, you get a 30 minute head massage! It was the first time my hair was worn down since I have left for Thailand. I think both of these events will be repeated in the future, maybe after one of the expedition courses.

Thailand has a large population of girly-boys and I recently had my first encounter with one. Here in Thailand they are called a “toot” which originated from the older movie Tootsie, which I found to be a little humorous. Every year in one of Thailand’s papers there is a picture and article about the “Toot of the Year.” The toot that I talked to was very nice and her voice was what gave her away. It is still pretty foreign to me but it was a really interesting experience.

The past few days I have been super frustrated with my Thai class, but today it was so much better. And now my goal is to start forming complete and logical sentences… which means I have to practice and review a lot. In our Foundations class in the afternoon we went to Wat Suan Dok and listened to a senior monk discuss Buddhism. Before the talk we ate at an incredible VEGETARIAN restaurant; a huge break from pork, which is usually served at every meal. We had some kind of mushroom fritter, a stir-fried veggie and tofu dish, spring rolls, a red curry dish and a few others. It was maak aloi (very delicious). After all of that food, each of us got fruit smoothies that were made with real fruit!

My Mae (mom) today after dinner that she is looking forward to me cooking American food… haha, what is American food? Burger and Fries, pizza, hot dogs?!? I have no idea what I am going to make, especially when I only have a wok to use. It will be interesting and I will keep you updated on how it turns out.

I am attempting to put a slideshow of pictures in this blog, but I don’t know how successful I will be. Anyways, I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for taking your time to read my blogs!

ally j