Drinks, beaches, dancing cameras and festivals

Well, MUCH to my surprise, last week I went out and found a life here in Bangkok! I am actually doing a whole bunch and my blog is already escaping through my little farang fingers.

I may have been slacking on the blog posting, but I have been good about taking at least one or two pictures of what I am doing. Although not really artistic or professional, its just a small glimpse of life on the other side of the world.

SOOOOO, last Friday I went out with my coworker Oh to gets drinks with his old high school friends. They are all from the Eastern part of Thailand and most of them live here but they try to meet once a month in BKK for drinks and to catch up.

They didn't speak much English, but after a few glasses of beer and A LOT of cheers-ing we just started teaching each other. I learned how to say "I am drunk" (Chan mi Maow!) and there was a BIG lesson on tones. Overall, I learned fun in a universal language....awwww.... :)

Nice cold glass of Singha beer over ice! yes--its so warm you gotta add ice... and beers come in towers! more on THAT to come (still).

On Saturday, which was Halloween I went with my new-found friends, Shannon and Heidi, to Koh Samet. I met my new American friends through Chalan (hi Chalan!) who was here before me at ABAC Poll. They are awesome ladies from Chicago who have already been here a year and know the lay of the land.

We ran off to Koh Samet (about 3 hours from BKK) and spend two days just relaxing by the beach, drinking whiskey, smoking hookah and enjoying fucking life! (thats me in the pic, workin on my tan!)

I returned to work on Monday which was the big Loy Kathong Festival! This is the day Thai people let go of all negative thoughts and "sins" by putting candles and incense on a little floating bed in the river. I decided to wait until Assumption's Loy Kathong festival on Tuesday and instead went dancing Monday night!

Shannon and I went with her Thai friend Guitar to Temple Bar--a farang bar that has latin dancing Mondays and Wednesdays. It was the MOST fun I have had in a really long time! I met really sweet people, both farang and natives, who just wanted to dance!! And that's all I ever want to do anyway so it was perfect!

The photo is blurry because flash kills anyone's mellow--but here is me getting a dance lesson from Mike, an instructor of Zouk and a very awesome guy who has lived in BKK for a total of 6 or so years.

Man, so THEN Tuesday I took part in a television recording of a birthday message for the King's Birthday (Dec 5). I have a great blog coming on The King, but here is one photo of the recording.... um, do I fit in OR WHAT?!?

Find the farang.... ha ha.

LASTLY, Tuesday night I went out to Assumption's Bang Na campus out in BFE and saw some of the Loy Kathong festivities. They had a beauty contest, dance contest, best kathong contest and cheap food being sold by the students. The weather kinda sucked--it was sprinkling and cold-- but overall it was a real nice view into some Thai cultural traditions.

OKAY!! I told you I had a busy week! Tomorrow morning at 5AM I am heading to Nong Khai until Sunday for a work trip. It's actually my second work trip since being here, so I will tell you about both next week.

Hope the States and SF are doing well. I read about you all the time. But let me know what you think and what you want to know and how you are in the SAY WHAAAT section...hehe

B

Thai phrase of the week:

Khao hai choke dee kah! (good luck!)