About 11:00 this morning I walked to the little hair salon 2 minutes from my apartment to "hide those grays" again.:) (I know, I know, get over it Sharon!:) When I got to the salon, I waited maybe 20 minutes til the hairdresser finished up with another customer. I knew already that I would be late to the mall, so I sent a text message to Anita.

Sure enough, about 2 pm, the hairdresser finished up with my hair after coloring it, letting it set in for a good half hour, rinsing, conditioning, massaging my head (ahhh, wonderful!), and then blow drying my hair straight. Now my hair color is "chestnut burgundy". Or something like that.. It's really not that far out. I'm amazed at how brave I've gotten at trying new colors here.:)

After paying my friend for the good job she did, I caught a songtaew to the intersection, took a bus as far as I could, took a motorcycle taxi to the walkway across from Central, and walked the rest of the way to meet Anita. This is typical transportation here. It's kinda fun to learn what connects where and what all the options are. Anyway, I met Anita about a half hour late at 2:30.

Anita and I had a great time catching up and then praying together at Au Bon Pain in the mall. We parted ways about 5:00. Lo and behold, when I walked out of the mall, the sky was gray and overcast, and it was sprinkling.

I don't like to take taxis because they are the most expensive form of transportation here, but I considered it and opted against it. BAD CHOICE! I boarded a bus instead, and got off about 2 bus stops down, where I needed to walk across a "saphan loi" (walking bridge) to cross the road and to the next bus I needed.

It was still not raining too heavily in the 10 minutes I walked to the bus. However, once on the bus, the heavens opened and water GUSHED down upon us. Traffic slowed immensely, and the rain kept pouring down. The rain was still coming down in sheets when I needed to get off the bus.

Ugh, I had been hoping to catch a motorcycle taxi to take me home. But I was instantly drenched after leaving the bus, so conveniently a car taxi was sitting nearby--going the wrong direction--and I jumped inside, thinking I'd be home in 10 minutes or less.

Wrong again! The nearest U-turn was eons away, or so it seemed in the stop and go traffic, and people kept butting in front of us in the U-turn lane. But....I finally made it home, my new (temporary) hairstyle completely ruined. That's OK, I like straight hair just for a couple days and then it's nice to have my wavy/curly hair back again.:)

I got home soon after 6:00; it took me about an hour to get home instead of the usual 30 minutes. At 6:30 I had some new students coming to my apartment, so I rushed about my apartment getting ready for them to come.

All in all it was a good day in spite of the rain and traffic. Tomorrow I will do another string of transportation to go teach at The Shelter in Don Muang 2 hours away. I will probably take a songtaew to a bus to the sky train to a van to a motorcycle taxi to The Shelter. Can't get too bored that way.:)

One of Gop's "toys" is actually a gift from a good friend in PA. I don't know what you call it; it is an accessory to wear around your neck. Is "stole" the right word???? Maybe you can help me out when you look at the picture below.

The soft, furry brown thing on the chair is it.:) I think of my friend every time I see it. Now I also think of Gop.:)

Here is Gop's idea of how to wear it;

And here is my Monday night class, which seems to be quite fluid. I never know who will or won't show up. Hmmm, I wonder which one is Gop?!:)

...and now I need to give them up.:) My friend Tawan brought her sister to my apartment to get some help with her university level English. Tawan told me she had just decided she wanted to buy a mini water lily/fish pool for her balcony, so it seemed quite the appropriate thing to offer her mine. It actually feels like a God thing--one less thing to figure out what to do with.

Tawan scoops out most of the water for the ride home in the trunk of her car.

Me, Poompuang, Tawan before the trek down 5 flights of stairs carrying a HEAVY bowl.

After my friends left, I went down to do my laundry and in the process received an invitation to eat supper with Kitti and Ruung and the family, so I am now awaiting a call from them.:) I am getting an awful lot of free meals recently; how do I repay these people???

After eating supper, he played on the computer, and then, before I knew it, decided to send a Skype message to Pablo in Spain! Cute conversation. Poor Pablo couldn't figure out what my problem was--our conversations generally make more sense!

[9:11:36 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: hi gop
[9:11:59 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: what are you doing
[9:12:01 AM] Paul Kauffman says: what's a gop?
[9:12:27 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: my name gop

[9:12:44 AM] Paul Kauffman says: no understand
[9:13:32 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: i 12 years old
[9:14:00 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: friend sharon
[9:14:18 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: :D
[9:14:19 AM] Paul Kauffman says: what's 12 yrs. old?
[9:14:29 AM] Sharon J. Rice says: gop

I eventually got to chat directly with Pablo, so Gop decided it was time to dig out my camera and do a video. He told me afterward that he wants me to send it to my parents. This should work. If I'd known I would be posting this video, I would've said "Hi Mom! Hi Dad!".:) It's actually kinda cute, though there are parts that are "a little bit the way they are". Here goes:

OK, that's all! Oh, BTW, I am feeling a bit better--taught at The Shelter yesterday, was tired when I got home, stomach still not quite back to normal but not too bad.;) Now I am off to my friend Lee's apartment to work on an English teaching project.

Anyway, between emptying out both ends, I didn't sleep much last night. But my Thai family here at my building has been taking good care of me. They have called me different times to see what they can do to help, and they bought medicine for me (wouldn't accept payment).

This evening Ruung, Kitti's wife, brought me kao tom (rice porridge with pork) for supper. She sat wtih me while I ate in order, I think, to make sure I ate it all. She kept telling me I need to eat it all. :) She is also insisting on making breakfast and supper for me tomorrow. She says there is no need to chance buying meals that might not be "clean". So tomorrow's meals are pretty much covered.

What amazing people! I thank God for their care.

We sat on the floor as she described various vitamins and minerals and how they really help the body. She thinks I should become an Amway sales person when I go back to the US. I didn't promise.:) I did buy something from her, as I can tend to fall for natural products to some degree, so I think she was at least partly satisfied with her visit.

Ummm, I think I did something that is--technically, at least--against the law tonight. Gop came up to bring me supper and to eat with me. Then I helped him with his English homework. Not too long after that, Lak came knocking on my door, and we ended up playing games together.

First, while Gop played on the computer, Lak and I played 4 stars (Connect 4). Then I taught them both how to play Spoon. Then Lak decided to teach me a game. It was some sort of card game with very fast rounds. I still don't completely get it, as he was explaining in Thai, and I didn't follow everything. But I think I got the hang of it in general.

They didn't tell me till after a few rounds that I shouldn't play this game anywhere else because I might get arrested.:) I guess it's some sort of gambling game. So I asked what the big deal is if we aren't playing for money, and they promptly replied that the police would never believe us. Hmmmmm. Now the boys want to come up to my room early on Sunday to play this game before I help Gop study English..... Is this a good idea???

Tomorrow will be a full day. I teach Noy, the neighbor guy, in the morning. In the afternoon I hope to go to The Well and spend some time with the girls there (plus stock up on my dwindling card supply). Then, in the evening, I teach an English class in my room. Maybe my life isn't slowing down quite as much as I thought!

The attendees all fit inside the house.:)

Pastor Jim gave a very practical message in Thai. I like listening to farangs speak Thai because it is easier for me to understand.:) When he told the couple they could kiss, they grinned self consciously and refrained. Public display of affection is not generally part of Thai culture, though that seems to be changing some in urban areas.

Sao and Ping (I am not positive about Ping's name--will correct it if I find I am wrong:)

Jim and Judy with the bride and groom

Yours truly with the couple:)

After a simple meal and, of course, feeding each other cake, the couple headed off to go to work.:)

And one more thing, boys will be boys. A couple little guys were trying--rather unsuccessfully while I videoed them, to pop the heart balloon decorations with darts at the end of the wedding celebration.

Friday night I stayed with Kwan at her apartment, and Saturday morning we headed for Pattaya, a popular beach destination a couple hours outside of Bangkok. First we stopped at Underwater World, a marine life aquarium, where we saw all kinds of unique aquatic life.

Grrrr! Look out!:)

My dear cute friend Kwan--she's the one who makes me act 20 years younger than I really am.:)

I took a video of a fish feeding taking place.

After we finished touring the aquarium, we took motorcycle taxis to a nearby beach. I should have taken a picture of our chairs. Truly Thai beaches have umbrellas completely covering the sand, and you rent a section to sit under. Since Thais don't like to get sun (dark skin is undesirable), beaches are more places to relax in the shade of your umbrella, eat, and socialize.

If you do happen to like the water, there are water sports or you can simply jump into the water fully clothed. I wanted to at least get my feet wet, so here's proof I was actually at the beach.:)

I managed to persuade Kwan to dip her feet in the water, but not for long.:)

We didn't get home till after 8 pm, but we somehow felt tired and went to sleep before 10:00. I stayed overnight at Kwan's place again before heading home today about lunch time. As I walked in the door, Ruung practically attacked me (OK, that's an overstatement) and wondered where I'd been and if I'd have time to teach Gop English, so I agreed to teach him for an hour before I wanted to unpack, then get ready for a wedding at The Well at 4 pm.

So, what do these "last days" hold for me? I find I have more free time as other activities are beginning to phase out. But I am still teaching English at my apartment 3-4 nights per week, and I still teach English at The Shelter, which pretty much takes up a day in itself (2 hours to get there, 2 hours to teach and 2 hours to return home).

And I have several friends who want to take me somewhere for a weekend. In fact, this weeken I will be going to Surathani province somewhere in the south with my friend Kwan. Maybe I will have a lot of pictures to post from that trip.:)

This past Friday I finally got together with my neighbor, Dang. She took me and another of her friends to visit yet another of her friends.

Of course, almost any activity with a Thai involves eating, and sure enough, her friend Bpet had prepared a meal for us to eat at 4:00 in the afternoon! Then we went outside and explored her land, including a variety of fruit trees and plants, which of course, they wanted me to sample. I had water lily seeds (they taste like raw peas), some sort of sour fruit, and dragon fruit.

Saturday afternoon I taught my last class at Promise Baptist Church. I had told the class early on that we could eat out the last day of class, but they had forgotten, so we made plans to meet at 3:00 Sunday afternoon instead.

Since Saturday evening plans were cancelled, I was able to attend the celebration meeting in Bang Phli with the team and Thai friends. We ate a huge meal together. Then Colleen, along with Eder and Pon (a brand new believer) led us in singing Thai worship songs. Following that we split up into several groups to study a portion of Scripture together. I was blessed to be there; those meetings are special times.

When I got home about 10 pm that evening, my friend Kun called up to see if she could spend the night in my apartment because her boyfriend was having a group of his friends overnight. So I was happy to enjoy her company that evening, and the next morning she brought me breakfast--corn flakes covered with tuna salad. That was a first! But it was tasty.

Sunday afternon I met my English class as planned. We went to a restaurant called "Somtam Dontrii", meaning papaya salad music, or something like that. It was a very nice place surrounded with lush greenery and some parrots (both fake and real:). The food was AWESOME; we had fried fish, several kinds of papaya salad, grilled pork, tom yam gung (a popular Thai shrimp/coconut milk soup), and "jelly" for dessert. "Jelly" is actually jello, but this particular jelly was sweetened, jelled coconut milk. YUMMMM!

After the meal I handed out certificates outside, and we took pictures together.

After I came home Sunday evening, Gop came up to read from his English book for an hour or so. His mom had given me bamii giaw to eat for supper, but as I wasn't hungry, I offered it to Gop. We ended up eating it together.:) Then he played games on the internet till almost 9:00, when I had asked him to leave.

However, as he was on his way out, I showed him my game of 4 stars (Connect 4), and then he wanted to play a few games. So we sat on the floor and played 4 stars until his brother Lak called for him to come down. :)
Thus ended my Sunday.

The next thing I knew, I heard my students laughing and whispering. They explained that in Thailand no one ever steps over books because they represent knowledge. Thus, stepping over them is considered disrespectful. Hmmmm, who'da thought?:)

So happy birthday, Larry and Garry! I still don't who will get which card. Do either of you have a preference? Or maybe I should get my readers to vote on who gets which one.:)

Here are my brothers,,,

...and here are their cards!

So this morning I went to the doctor. I love her; she keeps me laughing. But she thought maybe I had dengue, a virus caught from mosquitos. So they did bloodwork; they even did it twice to be sure, but no sign of dengue, and no sign of bacteria either. So I was diagnosed with "acute rhinopharyngitis", which translates into the common cold.:)

Now I have the following meds to help me:

Codyl cough syrup for my cough

Arcoxia to reduce inflammation

Tylenol for pain and fever

Tussil for cough

Fluimucil for runny nose

Clarinase Repetabs for allergic rhinitis (so says the label)

And all of the above came packaged in this nice "gift" bag.:)

So hopefully with rest and a proper diet I can get back to normal once again. Thank God I don't have dengue.

We watched the movie Miss Potter, the story of Beatrix Potter's life. According to the movie, her children's books have become the best selling children's books of all time. It was a sweet movie with lots of "awww-ing" and "she ALWAYS makes that SAME face!" about the actress playing Miss Potter. I liked the movie, but I think I enjoyed hearing the REACHers' comments throughout just as much.:)

So, here are pics of the evening before the movie.

YUMMY pizza from The Pizza Company!

There's our movie! Or maybe it was one of the options, I don't know.

Here's the group! We could've just had a sleepover!:)

Beth says she has the knife for the watermelon, but I'm not sure.....

Outside Lotus a clown was performing Isaan style. As it was getting dark, none of my still pictures turned out, but I do have a video.

As I took quite a few pictures (that didn't turn out) and a couple videos, I dropped a donation into his basket and then crossed the street to find another "performance" going on. This one was an elderly beggar man playing traditional music. Below is a picture that sorta turned out, and then a video clip as well.

Yes, I still struggle with the beggar dilemma; I suppose I always will. But I did drop a donation in this man's pink plastic bowl this time.

Then at 4 pm Gop came up to study English, and this time he brought his friend Ink, who is one of the landlord's sons. Teaching Gop is a challenge; he is so curious about everything and has a very short attention span. He is so funny running around my room when he should be sitting reading. He finds my stuffed elephant and squeezes it so its belly rumbles; then he sits on my poor little elephant and jumps up and down to give the appearance of passing gas. Then he finds my nice brown scarf and pulls it over his head like a bandit. Oh, and then there is my small flashlight which he confiscates and cheerily calls out one English word he remembers: "flashlight!".:) After that he feeds my fish. But somehow, one and a half hours later, we have managed to cover 4 or 5 pages of his English book from school. I must confess, that 1 1/2 hours is probably the longest 1 1/2 hours I experience each week.:) But Gop is so good natured, it makes up for the frazzled nerves.

At 6:30 Gop called me and invited me to supper down in the office. After eating supper together with the family, I discovered that Kitti built a basic ping pong table for the extra room. So I ended up playing ping pong with Gop for another hour or so. That was fun, but oh, so hot! There was no air conditioning, and we couldn't run the ceiling fan because it swayed the ping pong ball. So it was "sweat city", but it was fun--more vigorous exercise than I usually get here.

Once back in my room I called down to Kun on 4th floor, so she came up and we chatted until 10:30. She and her boyfriend were originally going to study English with me, but they have too much going and no time to study English. I am happy for the friendship though, and Kun is very patient in speaking Thai with me as well. She is a teacher by occupation, and it is easy to see that gift as she speaks with me, repeating or explaining words as necessary.