Weekend trip to Bangkok

Moe and I went to Bangkok for our last getaway of the summer.  We were only there for a short time but very much enjoyed ourselves.  We flew down Friday afternoon, not arriving to our hotel until 6pm.  Our hotel was beautiful!! It had a living area, a kitchenette, and a bedroom.

We then went out to dinner to a Korean BBQ buffet thing with some of Moe's video game friends who live in and near Bangkok. We had a lot of fun trying new foods.

Saturday morning we slept in a little. We then went to the hotel restaurant breakfast buffet which was fabulous!! We relaxed a little more...it was vacation right!  Finally, we decided to be productive and went to explore the palace. We found out it was a little further from our hotel than we had thought. It took us about an hour via metro and boat taxi to reach our destination.  It was definitely worth it as the palace and the temple in the quarters are beautiful.  These first pictures are of the temple at the front entrance. It is gorgeous.

I had to wear a skirt, and the hat was because I forgot my sunglasses!

The Grand Palace

front entrance

guards keeping watch

Moe afraid of the statue. 

 We then went back to our room to relax after all the walking we were exhausted.  It started to rain a little so it gave me an excuse to nap :)  We then went to a mall (there are bunches) and found H&M and shopped til we dropped.  We then had OUTBACK for dinners.  mmmmm mmmmm it was so so so good. I am very sad we do not have more steak in Chiang Mai.

Sunday we woke up way too early to go to the Floating Market. It is a little further outside of Bangkok than I was expecting. We had scheduled a tour that left at 630 and got back at 230! We had to drive about an hour outside the city to get to this market.  It was very cool though.  The shops are set up along the canals and people use boats to get to the shops. Some shop owners pull boats close to them to get people to buy their things.  Originally this market was for the local people selling the goods they make/grow, but now it is solely for tourists.  It was still a fun experience to see how things began in Bangkok.

The name of the market...please excuse my finger :)

leaving the dock...

a shop in a boat. 

a man with a giant snake, dont worry more snakes joined him later :/

a shop on the dock. 

Moe and I having a great time!

After we got back to our hotel we had lunch and then hung out in the lobby/restaurant for awhile until it was time to leave.  We took the train home which was a 14 hour ride. It wasnt too bad though. I think we might do it again!

We loved Bangkok and hope to return often. We barely saw the city but the ease of getting around and the larger international things are definitely major reasons, for me, to go back... hello.. they have an IKEA!!!

Chiang Mai Night Safari = Great day

A few weekends ago we were asked to go to the Chiang Mai Night Safari with some friends.  We had no idea what to expect.  We had initially thought it was going to be quite costly, but when we got there realized it was quite cheap!  Always makes the day better when you start off saving money!

Anyway, basically the Night Safari is a zoo centered around a pond.  You walk around the pond to see all the animals and things.  It was so cool.  The view from the beginning was gorgeous! The first thing we saw when we got there were giraffes and there was a baby giraffe too! It was so cute.    

Then we saw tigers.  There were so many tigers here. White tigers and stripeless tigers and normal tigers.  Most of them were sleeping but we got to see one running around.  It was so cool.   I think that is what makes this place better than any normal zoo I have been to.  The animals were lively and moving around for the most part rather than just sleeping all day!

Next, we got to feed the birdies.  I was quite scared to do this, but it turned out to be fun.  There were hundreds of them.  When we walked in they were all sitting on the branches chirping away.  We held out our hands and they began to eat. All of a sudden they would all dart across to the other side of the cage.... ALL Of them.  It was so scary.  Here is Moe feeding some birdies.  He was the best at it!

We saw a chimpanzee, iguanas, tortoises, peacocks, leopards (and many other cats), parrots, owls, crocodiles, anteaters, lemurs, panthers, bats, and many other things that I can not remember.  

This is one of my favorite pictures because the panther is so silly!  Who knew cats sleep like that. 

What made this adventure unique is partially that we are in Thailand but partially the set up of the place.  As I said before, the animals were much more alert and awake but also because its Thailand you can walk around the exhibit or through the bushes to get a closer look! haha.  But it is true.  There aren't bars or concrete separating you from the animals.  It is generally just a net.  Sometimes there is a glass front for the scarier animals, but still nets on the sides for natural air flow.  If you really want a better view, you just walk around to look through the net.  Some of the animals are so close to the net that if you really wanted to you could reach out and touch it.... Moe was getting quite adventurous and touching as much as possible... though not setting a good example for the children with us ;)

Oh the other thing was that there were deer.  For me, seeing deer is not a big deal.  However, these deer were domesticated....like strangely.  You could walk right up to them, and they would just stare at you.  They would even let you feed them and pet them.  It was weird. 

OH and the camels.  They had camels by the deer at the end of the 'tour'.  They were quite smelly in my opinion.  Moe was feeling extra brave at this point and walked right up to the camel and started feeding it grass and touching it.  It was unbelievable.  There were 3 camels that were all jealous of the attention Moe was giving.  I was terrified of course and stood far away fearing for his life, imagining him getting spat at or kicked or something!  It was quite the experience though!

As we were walking out after a long but fun day with animals, we saw elephants walking around in the parking lot.  We had to go visit them.  For free we were able to pet them.  For 30 baht we were able to feed them LOTS of food. And For 100 baht we were able to RIDE them.  Of course we did all three things.  It was so cool.  Granted our ride on the elephant was through the parking lot but it was a start.  Hopefully at some point we will ride the elephants in the jungle or something...maybe even bare back.  

It was definitely a day to remember.  Sadly our camera died half way through the day.  Luckily our friends captured many pictures for us but we are still in the process of getting those from them.  I will share more pics when we get them.  It was a wonderful day and definitely a place we will take any visitors who make their way to us... hint, hint, come visit us!!

Update and video of driving :)

We have had a long and busy week!  I got a lot done at school and finally reorganized my desk space.  I feel much better about it and more organized!! My students are definitely in routine and letting their true personalities shine ;) I am very happy with how things are progressing though.  I am being adventurous in my classroom while still trying to have fun and maintain learning.  I feel so honored to be where I am.  The staff is so kind and supportive.  I definitely feel right where I am supposed to be!

This weekend I really wanted to do something adventurous but we are watching our money and what not so Moe was against it! We did finally go shopping with a car again and got a trash can and an ironing board!  Sunday we decided to go to Airport Plaza and shop around a little.  It was a beautiful day so on the way home I decided to record a video.  If you watch this please, please, please, watch with the sound OFF.  It was way louder and windier than I imagined.  At the stop light you might want to listen to what I say but that is up to you.  This is only the second half of the trip but still interesting.  In it you can see an outdoor fruit market, the river, a temple, crazy driving, and much more!  (I have been having trouble uploading it to the blog, if it doesnt work you can watch the video here on my facebook.

Also this week, I went to the Ministry of Finance Office or something like that to apply for my work visa.  The school is super super helpful.  They took a van of 12 of us, led us to the place we were supposed to go, asked all the questions for us, called us up to sign 1 paper, then finished everything else for us.  I literally only showed up and signed my name.  I have no idea what I signed or what else the lady did.  It is one of the amazing and scary things about CMIS.  They have people who do everything for us.  We sign where they say and trust that whatever we are signing is legitimate and needed.  Anyway, the building we went to was GORGEOUS and it was HUGE. I didnt have my camera to take a picture but trust me!

Moe has been looking all day every day for a new puppy.  We might be making progress and have more to report on that soon too.  Also, we got a maid.  She comes from another teacher at school because she needed more hours.  She is here 2 days a week and is a miracle worker.  We are so blessed and Moe and I get along much better without arguing over who is doing the dishes ;)

Well I think that wraps up our week. I will try to be more diligent about this.....try.  Love you all. Hope all is well.

The smells of Thailand

Before we left a few people warned us of "the smells of Thailand".  Moe and I did not think much of it at first.  Our first few weeks here we still had not thought much of it.  We drove around in cars.  We walked through well populated areas that were quite clean.  We ate at western restaurants that were air conditioned and clean.  For the most part we stayed in a very centralized area and did not go far past that except for with trained 'Thais'.

However, this has recently changed.  We have moved further out from the city (the house where we are house-sitting). We ride our motorbike much more often.  We explore the local markets for food and clothing. We take back roads to school and other places.  And let me tell you..... it smells!

There are places that are so odorous it is hard to breathe.  Thankfully (at least while on the motorbike) they only last for a few seconds until you get through them.  There are pockets of grotesque smelling things flowing through the air.  Passing food stands is a Do so at Your Own Risk type thing.  Some places smell lovely and make you want to eat there.  Other places smell awful and make you wonder why there are actually people eating there!

Right around the corner from our house-sitting house is a terrible pocket of smells.  I must say there is probably a reason it smells so bad, but currently I have NOOOOO idea why it is there.  Every night that we walk to the market we must endure this smell, not just once, but twice.  Sometimes I re-think eating dinner because I do not want to bare the smell!

So I must confess that Thailand is smelly!!!! Again, only parts of it :) But those parts are wicked!!

Well thats all I have for you for today.  I am hitting the hay. It has been a long day! Monday, I got news that a student left the school.  Today I got a new student to replace the missing one.  SO I had to retrace many of our steps and make sure that our new kid was comfortable..... Hopefully it worked.

Monday and Tuesday.. ugh

7/30 & 7/31  Monday and Tuesday’s blur of events!   Today's post was originally going to be much different.... lots has happened the past two days both good and bad.  I have a lot of bug bites... that is bad.  It is very unfortunate! But that is not the point of todays post.  It is just bothering me a lot right now!  Also, the Olympics also bother me.  They were just showing gymnastics which I have been dying to watch.  I was very happy.  Even though the commentary is in Thai I was still happy.  Then they decided to switch to the VERY beginning of womens soccer.  Now we are watching the national anthems and introductions rather than gymnastics which is currently happening.  UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANYWAY,  yesterday we went house hunting again.  We were meeting up with the real estate agent who showed us a couple places last week.  We wanted to see one of the places again and she wanted to show us a new place as well.  We were very excited and were hoping to make a decision yesterday.  To make a long story short, we did. We found the perfect place.  Both Moe and I were happy.  It was the location and price I wanted with the character and space that Moe wanted.  We talked to the owners, made some requests, and set up a meeting to put money down today (Tuesday) to reserve it and move in next Monday the 6^th.  We were both ecstatic. Everyone we talked to and showed pictures to said how lucky we were and was equally excited for us!

the beauty....$475 USD

Today we went to my classroom to do a few things before our meeting with the real estate agent and the owners.  While there Moe got a phone call from Gift, the real estate agent, saying that the owners had accepted money from someone else and the house was no longer available.  Both Moe and I were shocked and appalled.  We immediately called Principal and asked if this was normal and if there was anything that could be done.  He contacted a Thai office person to contact Gift and figure out exactly what happened.  (Listening to Thai people speak English over the phone is very difficult!)

What we found out and think happened was that the owner was not playing nice with Gift.  We think the owner already had shown the property to someone else who was very interested and planning on putting a deposit down.  The owner was sort of saving us as a back-up plan in case the other person fell through.  So even though we had a meeting and made verbal commitment that did not matter and she accepted money earlier in the day.  Everyone we talked to was shocked to hear what happened.  They said that it isn’t normal and should not have happened.  But it did and we have moved on.  We can look back and second guess every decision and said ‘what if’ but that gets us nowhere.  So we have decided to move on!

SO instead of meeting Gift to put down a deposit on a house, she showed us a new house.  I was not incredibly impressed with the house. It had a weird water feature right when you walked in and a pond next door.  The master bedroom was nice but for me that was about it.  Moe liked it though so that has made things complicated. 

water feature... the top bar is the hand railing... it is huge!

both rooms have seating areas. this is the spare room

We have been trying to decide if we want to settle with one of the houses we have already seen or want to start all over and begin searching again.  It is so tough to figure out but know that it will all work out.  Moe and I have definitely been working on our communication skills and are working on being honest about how we feel ;) So we now are aware of all of the emotions with house hunting… the good and the bad.

Now for other good news.  Yesterday I went to the Market with Deyla for fabric for my bulletin boards.  I was excited because I haven’t been to this market. It is ‘the’ market here and has anything and everything you can imagine.  Shops line the streets and there are shops everywhere.  Each ‘store’ might have 3 or 4, or more depending on the size, shops in it.  Here are 2 pictures of the largest ‘store’. The bottom level has food vendors selling any food you can imagine, fruits of all kinds, veggies of all kinds, meats of kinds, and some places sell full meals to eat on the go.  The second and third floors are clothing and other thing vendors.  Backpacks, clothes, toys, cosmetics, and random items are sold here. 

The fabric store was also very fun.  We supposedly went to the cheapest one but there were quite a few of every type of store that who really knows.  They had sections of fabric that were 68 baht a meter which is roughly 2 dollars.  I have lots of bulletin boards so I chose 3 different fabrics and got 3.5 meters of each for a grand total of 22 US dollars.  It was lovely.  Here are the pictures.  The first fabric is squares and the camera did not like it… sorry. 

While we were at the classroom today Moe and I put up the fabric on the boards and I very much like it!! I probably should have gotten something more fun but I guess I have to have fun things on the board instead.  I am very thankful for a helping husband. 

Well that is all for today.  Tonight we did nothing but talk about housing, eat Thai dinner and watch Olympics…sort of.  We have little plans for tomorrow too. I need to keep working on my classroom, so I will probably do that.  Hopefully Moe can drive around on the motorbike and find our new house!

Second Weekend... Fri. Sat. Sun.

Arcoboleno's Italian Dinner

7/27 – Friday.  Again, I must apologize for the delay in blogging.  Our days are getting away from us. But I guess it is a good thing that we are busy rather than sitting around doing nothing the whole time.  However, it is currently an issue because I do not remember much of Friday… I do remember that we turned in my receipt for my plane ticket so hopefully we will be getting that back soon…. not real sure though. (It will be interesting working with office people who do not speak much English.) We also got a few books from my classroom for me to read because I have so many books that I have not read…but yet again we are so busy that I have not read much L Then, Moe   and I went out to a nice restaurant for dinner.  We went to Arcobelano’s which is an Italian restaurant that is very very good.  We have tried to go their twice before but each time was closed for one reason or another.  I had chicken parmigiana and Moe had fettuccine with salmon.  

For dessert we had tiramisu and vanilla ice cream. Again, delicious.  It was rather expensive for Thai standards but again well worth it.  Our total was 650 baht which is 20 US dollars J

lynchee

7/28 – Saturday was real fun.  We went back to Deyla and Nathan’s for laundry and lunch.  It was great to just hang out and not feel stressed with all of our decisions that we have! After lunch, Deyla and I walked to the market.  It was the first time I had been to the/any market.  It was great! There were so many options and so many new things.  Plus the prices are super cheap as well.  We got a lot of fruit and a few other things.  Once we got back home Moe and I tried some of the fruit that she got.  We tried mango which we both considered pretty good.  We tried guava, which we both considered tree-like and did not like.  We had lynchee, dragon eyes,  which were strange. They literally are on tree branches and you crack them open to eat.  And we tried something else that I cant remember that I did not particularly like at all… Moe found it, mangosteen and he liked it even though it was a lot of work for just a little fruit.

               

After fruit testing and the kids naps we went to Airport Plaza.  Moe was looking for Soccer or Football (we need to get used to that!) shoes and I wanted to look for a few classroom items to decorate.  We both found what we were looking for.  Moe learned that finding shoes in his size and preference was a little more difficult than we had hoped.  I learned that paper, specifically construction paper is much different here.  They sell it individually and larged size, like poster board.  It comes in all colors and textures which is fun but not all sizes!  I bought some of that and some Velcro and sticky-tack.  We then ate Thai food at the food court and were on our way home.  Another good day!

Moe's shoes

"Construction paper" its the width of my bed!

7/29 – Sunday was also fun. Today’s goal was to get Moe a cell phone so that we could give back our ‘new teacher phone’.  We made plans with Principal to have lunch and then take care of the phone.  As soon as they picked us up they handed us a phone that they had bought awhile ago but did not need anymore… they are the kindest people ever!  Moe tried to give them monies but they would not accept.  They then took us to J.J.’s for lunch. It is an outdoor covered place that serves both Thai and Western food and both are supposedly good.  I had cinnamon French toast, which was good but I have higher expectations for French toast ;)  Moe had a club sandwich which he thought was quite good.  After lunch we went to a mall place and got Moe’s phone working.  Since we had a phone now all we needed to do was buy a SIM card and put money on it.  Most phones work with prepaid minutes, so that is what we did!

We then went back to Principal’s house and made a few phone calls.  His wife called a house that we wanted to see again and set up appointments for us to see them tomorrow.  She also clarified the prices and the ability to have a dog inside the house.  We then went back to the mall and shopped around. I wanted more paper and Moe wanted to see what was available!  We got a few things and then found dinner….PIZZA HUT!! The family really wanted Pizza Hut and I was more than happy to do so. It was very good and refreshing from Thai food. 

This was our ride for the day... Moe was very excited!

The weekend was overall great! We were thankful to do semi-normal things. Shopping always does the heart good.  We are beginning to get our bearings and tend to know where we are most of the time.  We still need to work on our public transportation skills and Moe needs to keep practicing the scooter so that we can explore on our own more.  We desperately need to find a place and hopefully tomorrow can bring some more closure on that!  That is my prayer but we shall see.  Thank you all for your support.  We can definitely feel all your prayers and support.  We are so blessed.  

Day 1.... 20/07/2012... Got to get used to that

Sleep was a wonderful thing for us.  We went to bed about 1230, shortly after we got to our place and figured everything out.  We were given a cell phone to contact the Principal so that we could arrange plans for the next day and so forth. We woke up about 830 because of time change and everything crazy. We got the internet going and relaxed a little here.

view from our balcony on a cloudy day

At about 11 we called Principal and his wife and they came to pick us up.  They took us to a Western brunch which was wonderful.  I had pancakes and Moe had a ham and Swiss sandwich.  They were both delicious.  They then took us to the grocery store, Rimping, which would be similar to a Kroger. It only had groceries.  There we saw many things that brightened our western tummies. They have peanut butter, ranch dressing, chocolate chips, and many other things that we were happy with that I can’t remember right now! Some of the western things that they have are very very expensive.  For example cereal exists here but it is ridiculously expensive.  For a regular sized box of Life Cereal it costs 350 baht which is about 11 dollars!! And I thought 4 dollars was bad for the big boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios (which they don’t have here and if they do is just as expensive as Life L) They do however have other cereals that are more local and do cost what regular cereal should cost.  There were other things as well that were ludicrously expensive but available if ever we should be in want (but again, I can’t remember what they were).

We also went to Big C Extra which is similar to a Walmart. It was HUGE!!! We were quite impressed. Inside this same building is a Home Pro shop which is like Home Depot and has household items galore. There was also a food court including McDonalds and other Thai food.

For dinner we went to a Thai place that is Principals favorite. Moe had yellow curry and rice and I had chicken and rice with soup.  It was very good. After dinner we went to visit a townhouse that is available 1 block from school and other shops. It is a PERFECT location. Moe has pictures on his facebook.

Throughout the day we asked tons of questions and learned lots!! We learned that Chiang Mai is very safe. (yay!) You can walk anywhere at any time and not be worried. The people here are very nice and accepting of foreigners.  A smile goes a long way and pointing is wonderful. Asian culture is a very happy and pleasant culture. ‘Saving face’ is very important. This means that arguing in public, getting frustrated, losing your temper, all are big no-nos here. It also means that children are very well behaved (yay for me!). But if ever you hear a baby crying here it is a foreigner’s baby; Thai children don’t cry (is it possible for me to have a Thai baby??....just kidding)  Moe was excited to learn that they have coffee here and American kind as well. He learned that they make it much hotter than in the States but I’m sure he will get used to it soon. We found watermelon and all sorts of other things that we are very happy about. 

Today, Saturday, we did nothing! It was good. We needed to just relax. We watched movies and slept a lot. We walked to get food and then right back and did it all over again. So we are thankful for that. 

Flight and Arrival

We have arrived in THAILAND!!! I dont even know where to start.  

At the Chicago airport

I guess with our flight.  Chicago was a breeze.  All of our bags were under weight and had no problem. It was wonderful. I however forgot about the rules of carry-ons. I thought you could take 4fl oz. of liquid but it was really 3. So I had to throw away my contact solution, which meant that I had none! (I was very nervous for this) But we passed through security just fine.  We had about 2 hours before our flight and were starving. Surprisingly there were little options for us so that was depressing. The ‘food court’ was BEFORE security and there were only little stands passed security. But we made it nonetheless.

Our flight was great. We had adequate space.  We were in second to last row and only 2 seats with 3 seats in front of us which meant we had more leg room than most!! LOVELY! Each seat had screens in the back so we could watch movies.  Moe watched a TON of movies but I only watched 3 I think! (I got to watch Hunger Games and I was very very very excited about that!) Our flight was 12 hours and 55 minutes so less than we thought and honestly it wasn’t that bad.  Korean Air is wonderful. During this flight we had 2 meals which were pretty good: chicken and rice with vegetables and then chicken and pasta with vegetables. (They had pork and beef but we stayed with chicken). We also got offered a drink of juice or water probably 5 times at least. It was beautiful. Overall a great flight.

Sprite can that I had with dinner

It was quite cloudy on the flight. As soon as we passed through the clouds we were on top of the airport literally. It was crazy.  Thank god for great captains! Seoul airport was huge and slightly stuffy. Once we landed in Seoul we had to go through security again with our carry-ons. My bag got checked because I had a bottle of cherry coke in it! But they let me keep it because I was going to Thailand ;) Moes bag however was a different story! He had his desktop computer in pieces in his carry on. They did not like this. He explained what it was and they finally understood. They had to take out pieces; he explained what they were and they scanned it all again. After about 3 scans they finally let him through but his bag was a mess, so we had to take a few minutes to put it all back together again! We then had about 2 hours to wait! Honestly it went a lot faster than we thought it would.

Our next flight was bad for me. It was only 5 hours but still. We were to arrive at 10:50 pm and wanted to be able to go to sleep. So we wanted to not sleep on this flight and get there exhausted…. This plan did NOT work. I was pooped. I was fighting sleeping for an hour or so. I had another meal and barely ate any of it because I was so tired. My tummy was upset because I hadn’t slept in so long. I started watching a movie in hopes that it would keep me awake but it didn’t. Eventually I gave in and slept for probably 2 or 3 hours!! It was wonderful, but not at the same time because I felt like I had failed! Moe only slept about an hour. He is much better than me ;)

Upon arrival the city looked so cool all lit up. We could see all the roads and houses lit. It was beautiful. Customs was fairly easy as well. On the plane we had to fill in these papers explaining why we were there and our visa numbers and everything. We handed that and our passports to the people. They verified everything and let us through. It was as pleasant as customs could be in my opinion! We then got our baggage. THANKFULLY everything was there. I was quite worried about losing our luggage but it was fine! We then had to get our checked bags checked ;) which again was fine. Deyla, the other 4^th grade teacher, and the high school principal picked us up at the airport. They took us to our apartment which in my opinion is a lot like a hotel room. The driver took us on a remote route. They said we would never see these roads again! (honestly that drive made me very nervous. It didn’t look safe or friendly or anything but it got better). But we arrived at our place just fine.

At our place we had a bag of goodies, mostly American things like Lays potato chips, granola bars, juice boxes, etc. Deyla was so so so kind and brought me a box of contact solution!! Our place has a microwave, fridge, beds with sheets, towels, bathroom, and lots of storage.  We haven’t gotten too comfortable by unpacking our stuff yet but we are managing.

So I just realized how long winded I have become. I guess to keep things in line I will do another post about our first day.  Apparently I need to stay on top of this since I have so much to share! If you have ANY questions feel free to ask us.  Also, obviously we have internet and would LOVE to skype with anyone.  If you don’t have it just download skype set up an account and then add us (Brittany.knecthel or matt.knechtel)  Look forward to hearing from you. 

It's almost time

Wow. This has been by far the fastest week of my life!! Monday we got home from Michigan.  Tuesday had dinner with my brother. Wednesday saw a good friend and celebrated a birthday with the family.  Thursday we did dinner and a movie with Moe's cousins from Cincinnati. Friday I ran errands with my mom, while hubby hung out with friends at home.  Saturday was our going away party, which was wonderful. Sunday we met my grandparents for dinner and said goodbye to some wonderful people.

Anyway, today is our last full day in Ohio.  We only have 1 more night in our bed :( We have a lot to do today! It is slightly overwhelming. But I know that all things will work out for good.

Just to remind you we are going to Chicago Tuesday and staying in a hotel there.  While we are there we are going to see The Bean.  I have been to Chicago multiple times but never seen The BEAN!!

We then fly out of Chicago at 12:45pm there time.  We fly to Seoul and then right into Chiang Mai. We will arrive in Chiang Mai at 10:50pm local time on Thursday which is 9:50am Thursday here.  I will send out an email or possibly a short blog update that we have arrived at the airport.  So please make sure to be following. Or send me your email so that you can be updated. 

 
Side note: I have caught a cold.  I am very sad about this. I do NOT want to be sick on a plane for 20 hours. So prayers are greatly appreciated.  I would love miraculous healing for my trip!

27 days but many blessings

We are now down to 27 days until arrival in Chiang Mai. It is quickly getting closer!    Trying to fit in doctors appointments, friend visits, family dinners, and everything else is quite interesting.  Our days are crazy.  But we would not want things any other way.     

I also wanted to share some blessings we have recently received.  Wednesday we received our VISAS!!! I was so so so so excited.  When Gramma brought me the mail I truly shrieked with excitement.  It took only 12 days (7 business days) and 2 shipments of information from me.  I assume that if I would have sent all the proper information the first time that it would have been done in 3 business and back to us in less than a week!  Thank goodness for efficiency within the Thai Embassy!!  

Secondly we received a check from our land lord.  This was something completely unexpected.  For those of you who don't know we broke our lease in order to save money.  We left 3 months early.  We were told that if they were able to rent our apartment within the next month we would get a prorated amount....blah...bah...blah!  The point is they were able to get our apartment rented fairly quickly and we recently got the check for the prorated amount.  I was stunned when it arrived.  Although I loved the apartment and did not think they would struggle to find a new tenant, I was not holding my breath for more money! But again God had a different plan and blessed us yet again!  

Thank you all for your support.  We can truly feel your prayers and are so blessed by the support system that we have here.  Every day is a reminder that we are following His will and in His hands.  

30 days and counting

Today I had a sad but exciting revelation.  We are now 30, thirty, yes 3-0, days from arrival in Chiang Mai.  Once I had this realization I knew a countdown was in order and a timeline for making sure that we stayed on top of everything that we need to do!! So here is the calendar that I have made on my beloved white board.  This is also one of those things that has been with me for forever.  I LOVE it.  It is probably the teacher in me.  If possible, I would take it with me, but I don't think it will fit in my suitcase :(

This also means that the updates might increase since more things will be happening.  You can see that we have some wonderful things coming up, but also quite a bit of empty days.  We would love to get these dates filled so any invitations would be greatly welcomed!

I decided to have the countdown be days until we arrive because we have such strange leaving dates. We leave Ohio on the 17th and leave the country on the 18th but arrive on the 19th.  Plus I wanted to start on an even number (again I know weirdo!).  The times listed on the calendar are local time for where we will be.  More information about our departure can be found at the previous post, plane ticket trials.

We still have a lot to do here.  We are still awaiting the return of our visas.  I firmly believe that everything is perfect with them now (after the second round of information was sent!).  They arrived at the Thai Embassy in DC on Friday so I am certain they are being processed.  We also have to pack. duh.  We are both definitely avoiding that task!!  Cleaning is another thing that we are both ignoring.  But again, thirty days means we better get on these things.

Ok this is enough.  I am quite distracted by the Newlywed Game on TV.  These people are crazy!! That is all for now.  Hopefully I will have a better update and better information for you soon!

Transportation Information

  

Recently, I made another major step toward moving away..... I gave away my car. {insert pouting face here} It was a major move for me. I love my car! It has been my baby for the past 4 almost 5 years. It has been with me through many travels all across the country. It went to Kansas City, Virginia Beach, all around Michigan and Ohio, and I'm sure many other places I cant think of. Isn't it lovely?? Yes, I know it is a thing of beauty.


Please dont panic when I say gave away my car.  It went to a well deserving home...my brother Zach.  He is the one who inspired me to blog but has recently become quite the work-a-holic.  {haha, just kidding Zach.  You are wonderful. I wish you would blog more because I love hearing your thoughts!!}  Anyway,  Zachy-poo has been suffering with a car with no air conditioning or properly working windows.  He has had his eye on my car for quite some time now, so has my whole family honestly ;).  But Zach really does need a new car.  So while we are away he will be using it and taking the best care of it he possibly can...right??

Anyway, the real reason for this post was to explain that 1) I gave up my car and 2) to explain transportation in Thailand.  Moe and I have had the privilege of talking with lots of people recently about our adventures and one of the questions most often asked is about transportation.  So let me try to explain some things I have learned so far.  First, we hope to live within walking distance of the school, which I know will be quite easy.  This will mean that I will not need to use any sort of transportation other than my lovely feet.  This does mean however that we will be 10 minutes from the town center and about 20 or so minutes from the school that Moe wants to attend.  So the need for transportation will be needed, at some point.

Similarly to the States, there are many types of transportation available in Chiang Mai. Buses are available but mainly for long trips to Bangkok or other larger cities.  Thailand is known for their tuk-tuks, which are the major form of public transportation.

tuk-tuk

Also available in the form of taxi are the songthaews, which means 2 rows.  These are red trucks with a canopy as pictured below.  They are generally cheaper than the tuk-tuks because they can hold more people.  An average ride within the city is about 20 baht ($ .64), although I have heard they will try hustle the foreigners into paying double or triple that amount! {Hopefully, I will remember this once I get there!}

As far as personal transportation there are still many options.  I have subscribed to a classified ad for expats/missionary type people coming and leaving Chaing Mai.  It has all sorts of things from pets, electronics, to housing.  One of the other sections it has is transportation.  One of the most popular forms of transportation is the motorbike.  There are many available to rent or to buy.  This is probably what Moe and I will get once we get settled.  Also available are small cars and trucks.  Honda seems to be a popular brand there but again many things are available.  

This is how the locals ride motorbikes

Hopefully, this has given you a little insight into the transprotation systems that we will be experiencing in Chiang Mai.  I have heard that traffic is not as crazy as Bangkok and other large cities in the area, but that it can be stressful at times.  I have already been warned by my principal that if/when we do get a motorbike we will at some point in our time there get into a small accident but we will come out better once it has happened! Hope this answers some of your questions.  We will definitely share personal experiences and pictures once we get there!