Poopy Snakes - March 15

Superhero Misty fixed the toilet last night, so we are back to a normal flush. After a week of improper usage (I’ll spare you the details) we are back in business. We had a pretty relaxing night as we taught from 8-8.

My adult class was cancelled in the morning because some of my students were going to Phuket for the weekend to plant trees for the tsunami effort. In the morning we gave the university prep girls time to finish their video movies. They were very impressive, showing us with pictures what it was like to grow up in the slums. They went above and beyond what I was expecting. After lunch we decided to take them on a class trip. This was our last full day with them as they will begin prep school next week during the days so we will only see them for an hour or so in the evening as opposed to alternating the teaching from 10 am – 4. One of the girls has never really been anywhere so Misty and I decided to take them to one of our favorite places in Bangkok, Lumpini Park. We grabbed a taxi and off we went. The girls did not know where we were going as it was going to be a surprise. When we got there they were so excited. We saw some turtles swimming in the water around the park and some of our mini dinosaurs again. We rented two paddle boats and went out on the water. I will post those pictures. After we walked around the park for a bit and then found a nice relaxing spot in the shade. We had some great conversations with the girls, and even though we did not bring any formal work I think this was one of the best educational experiences we had. (The rule was also…no Thai). We got on the conversation of how we could not find post cards and the girls could not believe it, so off we went to Central World, one of the hi-so shopping malls that Misty and I seem to frequent. Here we found a pretty neat book store with tons of post cards and even better..,air conditioning. All in all we shared many great stories and many more laughs.

Upon returning to Mercy, Misty and I ventured out in the street vendors and got some supper. Oddly, now when I am really hungry I tend to crave rice. I never thought that would happen. We taught one student until 8 and then we came home.

This morning we slept in, FINALLY! The boys went out for the day so it was very quiet for once. We decided today was the day to do some major cleaning. We tackled our room first and then moved on to the bathroom. Even though it does not look very clean for our normal standards, it is as good as we could possibly get it. Our room looks pretty impressive too, but it also looks like we are moving out. We attempted to wash our sheets in the washing machine but we quickly decided that we better ask for help. (The water was coming out of the back of the machine, instead of inside of it.)

Off to MBK we went this afternoon. This is one of the teenage hot spots in Bangkok, and is one of the trendier places to shop. We were told by many people that we need to visit this place. We took the skytrain there and walked around the area. MBK is a 6 floor air conditioned mall aimed at teenagers. It is also quite cheap compared to the hi-so malls that surround it. Today was one of my more successful shopping trips too, or not so successful because I spent money, how does that work? I left the mall with 3 shirts, a pair of sunglasses, a watch, a Thailand badge, and a full stomach. I had Chinese for lunch at the international food court.

We went to see Step Up 2 The Streets at the movie theatre. This was an experience. The theatre was huge and was playing about 15 movies. Each individual room was larger than I have ever seen in Canada. When you bought your ticket you paid for your seats. The seats that were closer to the back were about 30 baht more than the ones closer to the front. You could also see on the screen where other ticket holders were seated. The movie began with a long string of commercials. I would guess that they went on for a good 20 minutes. Some of them were in English and others were in Thai. Then the National Anthem was played and everyone stood at attention. Pictures and videos of the King were played on the screen. Finally, it was time for the movie to begin. The movie was played in English but included Thai subtitles. I would recommend this movie, it was way better than I expected it to be.

After the movie Misty and I shopped around a little in the hi-so mall. I guess I should say we did more looking then shopping. I really liked a dress but did not care for the price tag, which would have converted to well over $750 CDN. No thanks. We were also entertained by young people break dancing on the street. This seemed quite fitting considering the movie we just watched. We also stumbled upon a skate park and an outdoor concert. Then on to the BTS and the walk back home.


Interesting Tidbits:

Hi –so = refers to people in the high society
Lo-so = you guessed it, people in the lower society (People are either hi-so or lo-so, there is no middle class)


The fascination with the King = There are pictures of him EVERYWHERE. Pictures are displayed in houses, stores and restaurants. Most of these pictures are surrounded by candles. People also wear bracelets that say “Long Live the King” as well as t-shirts. Larger than life pictures are displayed in most public spaces and many workplaces also have shrine like displays. The anthem is played twice a day, at 8 am and 6 pm over the radios and in the streets. People stand at attention no matter where they are. Misty and I have the opportunity to see this at the bus station and at the movie theatre tonight. One would not dare speak badly of the King as it would not be looked well upon. Also is a huge offence to step on a bill to prevent it from blowing away as his face appears on it (don’t worry; I did not learn this one from experience).


Dreams: The girls told us that if someone dreams about poop they are going to win the lottery. Boome said this is also true from personal experience however she did not have a big win.
Also if one dreams of a snake, they are going to meet or find their sole mate soon. Last night I went to bed thinking of poop snakes, but no such luck.


I’m not sure if I mentioned this one already but Thai people eat almost everything with a spoon. It is near impossible to find a butter knife here, even at the local Tesco. If you buy a cutlery set, even if it is plastic, it will only contain forks and spoons. The fork takes on the usual job of the knife, to push food on to the spoon. At no point should the fork enter your mouth. I thought this was rather silly at first, but now it makes so much more sense, so don’t look at me funny when I use a spoon to eat everything when I come home.


Pedestrians do not have the right of way here, or any right at all. Even if there is a crosswalk painted on the road, you are crossing at your own risk. The best thing to do is watch the traffic lights as they have a timer to see when they are going to change and make a run for it. Do not be alarmed if you find yourself standing in the middle of a four lane road waiting for another break in traffic. My advice, do not attempt to cross in front of the motorbikes or the buses. It is hard to judge the speed of the motorbikes, and the buses are just plain huge, that one seems more of a common sense. Your best bet is to try one or two lanes at a time and run in front of the cars.
Thai people do not seem to walk very far. What would be considered a short walk for us is considered a taxi ride here. Another thing I have noticed is the abundance of escalators. They are everywhere. I think their lack of walking may be one of the reasons why they can sport their fancy heels every day.


In the markets and small shops there are no change rooms. Some will allow you to try things on over your clothes but others will not allow you to try things on at all. I was annoyed by this at first but got used to it quite quickly. It is just hard to buy something and have no idea what it will look like. Also many things only come in one size but have an elastic to accommodate different body shapes. I do not know where an overweight person would shop in this society unless they can afford stuff in the hi-so shopping complexes.


That’s all I can think of for now. I hope the weather is bearable at home, it has been in the 30’s here this week with a humidity of the high 40’s. Our sunburns are shedding.

Jodie