I got into Bangkok Thailand late Saturday night. It was nice to ride the bus to Narita Airport with a friend, another ALT who was going home to the states for Christmas. It just so happened that we made reservations for the same bus and had flights leaving around the same time! My flight was delayed about an hour because the incoming plane to Japan was late, so I didn't leave Narita until 6pm. The flight was about 7 hours and the meal for dinner was interesting, a spicy Thai pork curry with rice and smoked salmon with salad. It's always hard for me to sleep on the plane, so I started getting antsy the last two hours. I arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok around 11pm. The temperature was in the mid 80's, so I had stuffed my peacoat into my check on luggage at Narita Airport. The airport was surprisingly crowded and it took me an hour to go through customs and get my baggage. I had to walk through a sea of people to get to entrance number 3 to meet the Fujii's. I felt like I was going into culture shock again because I had become use to hearing Japanese and now was hearing a totally different language being spoken around me! People were lined up on either side holding signs, flowers and cameras and shouting to welcome a loved one, friend or visitor. Luckily, I was able to spot Mark amid the crowd and made my way towards him. We met up with Lani and walked outside to meet Uncle Leith. After exchanging lots of hugs and hello's we headed back to their house. Auntie Carol was waiting back at the house and after talking with her for a little bit went to bed because it had been a long day of traveling.
Sidenote: Thailand is two hours behind Japan.
Sunday, went to an international church in Bangkok with the Fujii's. Service was all in English and met some of their friends at the church. The Pastor gave a Christmas message from Luke and some Thai children sang and danced to a song in Thai about the birth of Christ.
After service we went to see Jim Thompson's house. Jim Thompson was an American who became famous for exporting Thai silk in the 1950s. I got a tour of his beautiful house, made entirely out of teak wood and looked around his store that sells Thai silk scarves and other things like purses and clothing. The material and patterns were amazing! We ate lunch at his restaurant and had a lot of delicious Thai dishes that included ingredients like coconut milk and lime and sweet and spicy flavors. After Jim Thompson we went to an art museum.
I got to experience driving through the heart of Bangkok and it reminded me a lot of driving in Chicago..very crowded and lots of traffic. There were tons of motorcyles, pink taxis and rikshaws everywhere. The King is very well respected and there were many pictures of him around Bangkok. We walked around the little shops in the art museum, but didn't have time to see the exhibits. Will be going back with Mark and his girlfriend later in the week. We walked around a little bit and it was really interesting taking in all the sights. Bangkok is very different from my little town of Takahagi. One of the major differences is of course the hot weather. But, everywhere you look there are little street venders selling fresh produce, snacks, soups, fish..you name it. Uncle Leith bought us a Thai snack similar to crepes from a Musim woman's cart on the way back to the parking lot. It's also very busy, crowded and a little overwhelming at times.
When we got back home Auntie made dinner and is a wonderful cook! I've tried Jasmine rice that's red and white, many different soups, a traditional Thai salad, warm soy milk, and various fruits like mango and one that resembles grapefruit, but is called something different in Thai. I've liked everything I've tried so far, except the soy milk and so far nothing has been too spicy for me. After dinner Lani took me for a ride on the motorcycle around their subdivision. It was my first time on a motorcycle and while I was a little nervous at first, it was an exhilerating experience! Later on Uncle Leith took me on the back of the motorcycle to see the Sunday outdoor market near their house. There were many street venders selling everything from food, jeans, underwear, motorcycle parts and music cds. Afterwards, went running with Uncle Leith around their subdivision. I told him I signed up for a 10k race at the end of January and needed to get serious about my training. He has been running and recently ran a marathon to commerate his 50th birthday! It was nice to have a running buddy in Thailand!
Monday, the weather was unusually cool but very pleasant. I went to Bangkok Institute of Theology, the Seminary where Auntie and Uncle work. I was going to sit in a some of their classes with them and meet some of the students. I had lunch with Uncle and one of the students at the Seminary. It was another traditional Thai lunch made up of rice noodles and spicy stew. A common ingredient in Thai cuisine is blood, yes blood.. and the stew included some pork blood. I tried one small piece, but couldn't really taste it because of all the other spices. Ate it to say I've tried it, but didn't feel like eating more!
Uncle gave me a quick tour of the campus and introduced me to some of the students and staff. Afterwards, I sat in on his 3rd year English class. Towards the end of class he encouraged students to ask me questions in English in order to practice their speaking skills. Most of the students weren't shy and asked me questions like how long I was staying in Thailand, what was I doing in Japan, was I married and did I have a boyfriend (a common question among Asian students!), do I attend a church in Japan, does my family live in Japan etc. It was nice to spend time and interact with the students. After Uncle's class I went to Auntie Carol's first year class. Auntie's class were freshman and did not have the speaking skills of Uncle's students. Auntie spoke a lot more in Thai than Uncle to help students understand. She had a lot of boys in her class and many of them tried to joke around during class. After the lesson she gave them a quiz and together we called up students to listen to their pronunciation of vocabulary words. It was interesting listening to Thai students pronounce English words vs. Japanese students. Thai students struggle with different sounds than Japanese for instance the 'st' sound vs. 'w' or 'r' sounds that Japanese students struggle with. After class one of Uncle's students came up to me and asked if he could speak with me in English. So we sat outside in the student area and talked about Japan, jobs, English and Thailand etc. He is a really motivated student and wants to learn as much English as he can. After talking with him for a good half hour we had to leave because I was going to play badmitton with Uncle and some of his neighbors.
We went to play at an indoor badmitton court not too far from their home. I haven't played badmitton since p.e. class in high school, but decided to give it a shot. We played doubles and Uncle and I lost badly the first round because of me! But, I improved a lot the second round and we only lost by a few points! His neighbors were very gracious and I could tell they went easy on me, haha. But, it was a fun time of friendly competition. Afterwards, we went back home and had dinner at the neighbors house. One of the neighbors said something that made me laugh. She said she tells people that Thailand doesn't have just one season, but three- hot, hotter and hottest! Right now it is the hot season, the coolest of the three!
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