Vietnam, Me Love You Long Time!

While Thailand was definitely the land of smiles, it has also become the land of ever-changing visa policies. Thus I only had three more months of residency available in Thailand before I would have to be deported. So unfortunately I have been forced to discover the untamed regions of Cambodia and the wild beauty of Vietnam. Darn!
I have been traveling with several volunteers from Tsunami relief and I'm always meeting new people and bumping into former travel buddies. However after about 5 weeks of trying to bargain in new languages and strapped with a backpack of pachydermic proportion,I have settled down in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). Vietnamese friends and foreigners alike have helped guide me to the basics of this cosmopolitan oasis. I have learned to ride the asthematic motorcycles that clog the lawless traffic, I have come to envy Vietnamese fashion the rivals the likes of Milan and Paris, and I have taken the gastronomic plunge of Vietnamese cooking and dining.However I still have a lot to learn. The most imperative being the Vietnamese language. I have come to really miss the Thai I had acquired and it is now time to start anew.
As I explore this awesome city there will be more stories to come. Although I must admit that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie coming here for Thanksgiving was a pretty big deal. Of course that was the one day we didn't go out..!!

P.S.
I seemed to have fixed the picture problems!! You should be able to view two more albums; "Cambodia" and "Vietnam" now without joining Facebook!!! Lemme know if you like them. Also feel free to text my Vietnamese cell phone anytime!!!!

Tsunami Relief!

After three months of an intense introduction to Thai culture via various teaching stints I am now onto the Tsunami Volunteer center in Khao Lac. Although an altruistic endeavor, it was heavily fueled by the desire to quench my need for westernization. The Tsunami Volunteer Center (TVC) usually has around 50-200 international volunteers at anytime. This dynamic group has a constant flow of newcomers that have provided me with crazy tales of international travel! I can't even try to compare my vacations to sky diving tours around the world, Sri Lankan war stories, or motorcycling through Vietnam. Thus I happily welcome the company of my new western comrades. Because contrary to what I expected, Asian culture has been quite a bit to handle. Ha..and I thought I was cultured.
I can actually speak the language now, although it did take me awhile. I am thinking that being tone deaf does not help when learning a tonal language. However learning the language doesn't help me understand all of their culture enigmas. Like how the Thais frenzy over having white skin with lackluster waif-like features to match, or the huge emphasis on grace and positioning of spoons and forks, not to mention that their education system has more holes than a colander (which always makes teaching interesting). So it is good to be around foreigners for a while 'till I hit the totally Thai scene again.
Meanwhile I am doing construction. It is quite heavy duty work (cement + monsoons = tons of fun). Also paying for accommodation and food here might run me dry pretty soon. Thus I may be heading back to teaching after a while. Meanwhile I do happen to be quite close to the amazing beaches of Thailand right now. So stories of clear waters and blond beaches are to come!

Cause we could all use a little change...

The past few weeks have offered some quite novel experiences! By far the most empowering and liberating thing that I have done is learn to ride a motorcycle!! I ride it to school everyday and pick up coconuts on the way home for a snack. Considering I haven't ridden anything with manual gears since my ten-speed bike in second grade, I think I'm pretty cool!

The motorbike is just part of my cultural immersion. I have unexpectedly found myself attending a funeral, market visits, meditation camps, relatives' houses, king's festivals, pot-luck dinners and pineapple farms. I really never know what is going to happen until I am already amidst its presence.

However I have managed to plan a few ventures where the experiences are anticipated. This weekend I went to the floating markets. Here canals are packed with long boats that are piled with various spices, tropical fruits, and of course a million tourists. It is a crazy hybrid of street market meets Venice canals. It used to be quite legit about 20 years ago, but now it is mainly geared towards tourists. Never-the-less, I was quite amused as were they when they figured out could speak Thai ( a rarity amongst the rotund western tourists who pay little attention to Thai culture and/or language. Thus they are mainly treated as cash cows). After the floating market I headed over to Bangkok, my first time really in this huge city. I have to say....I like Bangkok better than New York...BY FAR!!
Bangkok is a crazy fusion of the very old and the very new. I visited the ever so popular Wat Pho and The King's Palace. But my favorite adventure had to be to the Siam Mall. I had Pizza, now a coveted delicacy, and saw a movie in the extremely plush movie theater. The movies here are definitely an experience. They have velvet reclining seats, couches with blankets, and VIP sections (some with beds). It was awesome! The ferries, motorcycles, sky trains, taxis, and tuk tuks all added to the ease of getting around a highly congested area. And the extremely low cost of everything allows you to see a ton ( AKA I can sufficiently nurse my boba-holic addiction and buy pirated DVD's on a shoe-string budget).
But for now I am back in my small village, teaching kids who bring me pineapples form their parents' farms, biking through monsoonal forests, and trying to learn as much conversational Thai as their tonal acrobatics let me.

"Thai-ger Woods"

The last few days have been a whirl wind of crazy adventures. I visited the national park right next to where I am staying (insert GORGEOUS scenery pic), I visited a monk for about four hours, traveled to what seemed like a "religions adventure park", and helped my kids dress for their traditional Thai dance performance. But to answer all of your inquiries,no I have not learned Thai yet! I have like a hundred word vocab....which pretty much matches my English vocab..so really I should deem myself bilingual! And my only English speaking accomplis just ended her stay here!! She was the coolest Chilaen-Australian I've met and she promised to come and visit so we could visit temples and maybe some treking.

However, untill then I am left cobbled with mesquito bites, dazed with heat, and in awe of every meal I have. Every single fruit I have had here is something I never knew existed!! They are a pinata of tastes. Every bite explodes with a totally new and very unexpected flavor. And the spices here could clear even Fran Drescher's sinuses. I have tried every sour, hot, spicy, and sweet condiment on the table. I also took a gazillion pictures but they don't have USB ports at this internet cafe..so they'll be posted relatively soon!! And all of your comments are awesome!

PS
Thailand totally claims Tiger Woods!!

I say tomato, you say makuahted!

Wow...okay so this first day (well three including travel) has been extremely surreal. First off I almost miss the flight to the Ukraine because of NYC traffic. Once I get on I am the only one on the plane who is a tad darker than porcelain. Yup the plane was filled with Russian's and then peppered with Hasidic Jews (surreal I tell ya). So I sat next to this one hasidic Jew who didn't say anything to me (granted I was unconcious 90% of the flight) but saw the books I was reading and perhaps that I was alone and at the end of the flight handed me this book that said "Courage" on it. Haha..I take it as a good Omen.
Then once almost missing my flight from Russia to Bangkok (because the only Russian words I know come from episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Sex and The City") I arrive in Bangkok and I am totally taken in by the Thai teachers. I taught a class today, and the kids can be soooo cheeky (son as they say). And supposedly I have a Thai looking face! Yup that is right, thank goodness my parents got together and planned to have a universal abrigonal looking kid! So now I am at the house of one of the teachers and we just went out to Dinner, which she used as a two hour long Thai lesson! But the kids are cute and laugh at all my short commings (AKA everything I say).

Sometimes You Have to Venture Out for Inner Growth

I am off to the Kingdom of Thailand, probably to find treasures that I already posses, however I could not pick a more beautiful or intriguing catalyst than Thailand. Exploring the inner and outer workings of a culture I know virtually nothing about (except for what my lonely planet guidebook has directed) is something I thrive on. In the past I have found that while learning about other peoples and cultures you are often forced to assess your own. Thus this should be quite an enriching trip!

I am making it a goal to never say “no” and I am also going to try that whole Buddhist-meditation-nonattachment thing because I think the spiritual exoticism of the East is pretty phenomenal. I want to be able to evoke that type of energy from myself. Although I am not quite sure how well I will be able to awaken my spiritual expertise in Thai cooking, we’ll see. Maybe that is a whoooole other type of energy.

I will be posting pictures and small captions/updates on this site just to keep in touch. But if you are curious as to what provoked me to Travel to Thailand (or if you have been totally oblivious to my fetish for culture, travel, and adventure) you definitely have to check these books out: “The Alchemist” and “Tales of A Female Nomad”. Also, e-mailing me to update me on your life would be awesome ;)