I love Saturdays...

Another lovely day in Nan.  Last night we decided to visit Tony's again for dinner--our treat of Western food last week was too difficult to resist. I was particularly looking forward to the chicken pate.  So we all arrive (me, Abby, Danielle, Lydia, Michael, and our new addition--Frank, a Rotary student from Minnesota) and sit down to begin our drinks.  About 15 minutes later when it comes time to order, Tony comes over and tells us that he slipped and fell the night before because his house flooded, so the menu will be more limited tonight and it will be slower.  Ok, we can deal with that.  However, when it comes down to ordering, we are informed it is hamburgers only.  They then concede that pizzas are a possibility.  So we grab some pizzas and share (Rhea and Gina have joined us at this point).  The pizzas were fine, but it was a bit disappointing, especially since we weren't told until after we had sat down/had drinks.  Oh well.

So we were still hungry after Tony's and decided to head to the night market to grab some quick food before heading on to a new bar outside of town.  Meat on a stick--check!  Rhea and Gina left to go home, and Frank left to go meet his host family.  So the core group continued on to the new bar.  Kind of weird to get to (think dark road through rice fields), but not far or difficult once you know where it is.  And glory be, they had cocktails!  And avocado salad!  And live music!  Overall a very pleasant evening.

Today was a pretty standard Saturday--breakfast at Hot Bread with the gang, then laundry.  Tonight should be fun though--we are meeting in about an hour to grab a massage, then head over to the walking market for our Saturday night festivities.  And I have been told that Jin (my minion) is going to be there selling bread with his friend starting this week, so that will be interesting.  The walking market is always a nice treat.

As for school, things are improving.  I have become more adept at not letting the bullshit bother me.  If the students are going to pass no matter what, fine, whatever.  I will just do my best to educate the ones who want to learn, and the ones who don't will only suffer later in life.

My Thai lessons are challenging.  I missed a couple weeks (first my teacher was sick, then we had to judge a competition).  So when I went yesterday having asked to learn grammar, I was overwhelmed that she expected me to know the entire alphabet.  For those who don't know, the Thai alphabet is exceedingly complex.  There are 44 consonants, 15+ vowels, and 4 tone marks.  Each consonant has a class (high, mid, low) which is then used to determine the tone.  So a certain tone mark doesn't always mean high tone--if it is used with one class of consonant it might mean high, if used with another consonant class it could mean rising (just an example, I have no idea if that is right because it is too advanced for me right now).  So I had been working on learning some of the consonants on my own, but 44 is a lot and many look very similar to me.  When I went to class, Kru Nina would point to one and say "What is it?'  The expectant look on her face was almost too much to bear--she couldn't seem to understand that 44 consonants all at once is a Herculean task (5 would have been more appropriate).  So as a compromise I am working to learn the first 22 by next Friday...that will be quite difficult, but at least it is moving me in the right direction.

I am also enjoying my art classes.  I am still quite bad, but Kru Kong takes over the drawing/painting whenever he is displeased by how it is going.  So whatever, it works!  I even got some watercolors yesterday so I can practice on my own (no class for 2 weeks while he travels).  My time in Thailand is certainly teaching me some new skills!

I liked this one

Big Ben.  I always lose perspective at the top.

Flower basket--not wonderful, but ok

Ugly tree

This one was fun

Creepy demon cat...

Not much more to report.  I was very flattered to get some nice birthday gifts here--some earrings from Rhea, a framed photo-collage from Pee Neat and the English department (seen below), and a Thai-English dictionary from Jin.  Very nice of all of them!  Lydia and Danielle also got me a little chocolate cake--not even ashamed to admit how quickly I scarfed that down.

Anyway, massage time.  A lovely end to a relaxing Saturday.  Plus Andrew and I are going to watch a movie later--bonus fun!  And it is now less than 4 weeks until his visit (yes, I am counting).  See you all later!