Picture a day September 30

Posing for a couples pic at the Hello Kitty photo spot in their cafe. Only in Asia. 

Picture a day September 29

No one leves hungry. My stomach is stuffed and my heart is full. 

Picture a day September 28

Happy hour and the family around the fire. Priceless. 

Picture a day September 27

Autumn leaf 

Cider mill donuts.  It's the little things. 

The day the world grew small

It was a shock to me, the first time I realized how small the world and fast the airplanes were. I had flown to Aberdeen, Scotland months earlier on my own and it felt like it took forever. But that Sunday, at the end of a week long visit from my mom, the truth surfaced. She and I had breakfast together before I took her to the airport, and as I cleaned up and settled in to the silence of my empty dorm room it hit me that she would be having dinner with my family in Michigan that evening. Breakfast in Aberdeen and dinner in Detroit- I couldn't fathom it.  

Until that point, my family back home felt so far away- an ocean and a time difference and a very expensive phone call stood between us- but that Sunday, everything changed. Sometimes, it's not about being able to see people all the time, but knowing that you can, if you need to. 

Even though the 11 years since Scotland have dramatically shrunk the distances home for expats, Bangkok still feels a whole world away. I no longer have to spend billions on a phone bill (truth, I never paid the large phone bills I racked up in Aberdeen, my dad did that :) or run to a computer lab to send mass email updates to family and friends. I Skype from my living room for free, text with my siblings, and keep a blog of pictures and stories. I watch the same Tigers games on TV the next day and follow everyone's day to day lives on "can't live with it and can't live without it" Facebook. 

But nothing, nothing beats being there. So sometimes, you just gotta get on the plane, shrink the world, and pop in for a few days. Travel hours v. Contact hours, it's not worth it. Dollars per day, it's not worth it. But I knew within 5 minutes if getting out of the car what I had suspected all along: it is absolutely worth it. 100%. My world got a lot smaller this week, in the best way possible. I don't plan to make it a habit of popping into family functions, just as my mom did not make it a habit of having breakfast on one continent and dinner in another. But to know that I can? Changes everything. 

Picture a day September 26

Getting these up a bit late... Only thing to say is, Pure Michigan. 

Picture a day September 25

Your source for everything in Thailand: 7- Eleven. This is my neighborhood seven. There is a small road nearby that we a call market street. It has two 7- Eleven's within a block of each other, and a third going up currently. I hope it's a replacement and not an additional one! I find myself in 7- Eleven for all sorts of reasons. Today I was buying peanuts, raisins, M&M's, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds to go with my cranberries and cashews in a little trail mix. I also pay my electric bill here :) 

Picture a day September 23

I feel like I must have put a picture of this on you blog sometime in the past two years... It's the spirit house at my apartment complex, and I walk past it every time I go anywhere. Most Thai homes have one, so we have one really large one for the entire complex. Growing up in Judeo-Christian based USA, reading about idol worship in the Bible, and all the warnings against it, never really hit home. But here, it's very present. It's not unusual for me to see people worshipping at this spirit house on my way to work in they mornings. It makes me sad to think about these people worshipping something that is not real and is not alive. I hear the verse "eyes that cannot see and ears that and not hear" constantly in my head. I try to pray for people as I walk past, that their eyes and ears would be opened to the truth! 

Tuck: Rocks Beside the Road

I have been thinking a lot lately about one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.  Yes, it's young adult literature, but it's also incredibly good, and really quite deep.  It explores concepts of eternity, of seasons and circles, of change and growth. In one poiniant chapter Pa Tuck has a conversation with our young protagonist, Winnie, in which he explains why living forever and never ageing or changing is actually not a good thing.  His words, rocks beside the road have echoed in my mind for many years.  It's a long quote here, to give you the context,but hang with me. It's that good. 

"Know what that is, all around us, Winnie?" said Tuck, his voice low. "Life. Moving, growing, changing, never the same two minutes together. This water, you look out at it every morning, and it looks the same, but it ain't. All night long it's been moving, coming in through the stream back there to the west, slipping out through the stream down east here, always quiet, always new, moving on...

It's a wheel, Winnie. Everything's a wheel, turning and turning, never stopping. The frogs is part of it, and the bugs, and the fish, and the wood thrush too. And people. But never the same ones. Always coming in new, always growing and changing, and always moving on. That's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it is...

But dying's part of the wheel, right there next to being born. You can't pick out the pieces you like and leave the rest. Being part of the whole thing, that's the blessing. But it's passing us by, us Tucks. Living's heavy work, but off to one side, the way we are, it's useless too. It don't make sense. If I knowed how to climb back on the wheel, I'd do it in a minute. You can't have living without dying. So you can't call it living, what we got. We just are, we just be, like rocks beside the road. 

Now, Pa Tuck focuses on the dying part of living, but for me, it's more the changing part of living that I don't like. I don't even like changing shampoo much less anything actually important. Or big. But Tuck's words remind me time and time again that if I'm not changing, not growing, than I'm not really living. If I don't allow those around me to change and grow, than I'm not allowing them to live either. 

This wheel of change is not easy. Living's heavy work says Tuck. My friends move into town, which means they go to a different church, which means I lose my Sunday lunch buddies and friends at church. We all move on from different things at different times. Kids back home grow and change and I miss major phases and stages. Even my little people that I see all the time- they change faster than you can blink. People come and go, they move, or yes, sometimes they die. We feel the weight of the wheel as it turns and we run to catch up with it, to move on, always new. And somedays when that strain feels too much I remember the alternative, a rock beside the road, and I sigh, and pick up, and keep turning. 

Picture a day September 22

I love the rain here, even when it hits just before I make it home. After my friends dropped me off this evening I had to run into the mini grocery store for milk and by the time I came out the sprinkles had turned quite heavy. I love how people here just stand and wait it out. I am not that patient and my umbrella and I braved the short walk to my apartment. 

A whole new world

My world in Bangkok changed significantly today, and in am so excited. This morning I purchased a VPN, which basically means I can have a US based IP address for my computer, whenever I need to. Why would that change my life? Because now many things that were once out of reach, that were once just part of what I had to give up living overseas, are at my finger tips. In this Olympic year, it means I can watch the performances at competitions all fall that lead up to the Olympics, and the actual Olympics as well. I can watch TV shows on sites like NBC.com, and I can use things like Netflix. 

It may sound small, but being able to watch TV, skating, and some movies is a huge about being overseas for so long without it! 

Picture a day September 21

Today there was a Minnesota Twins birthday party for the twins. Can't believe they are already 1. Here, the first bite of cupcake is clearly a success, either that or he wants to be a Detroit tiger instead! and is imitating Phil Coke. 

Picture a day September 20

Rain boots: something I never needed to own before Thailand. The rainy season starts towards the end of May, but it's this time of year that it really gets going and today I had to bust these guys out. Actually, I got them out a bit too late. There was no school today for our annual staff retreat redubbed Family Fun Day since we stayed on campus this year. So I walked over in the rain, with the promises of good food and good fun, except when I got there, they had run out of breakfast. Being the sort who Must. Eat. Breakfast. I decided I'd better trudge back home to eat something. On my way home a car drove past, causing a wave from the flooded street to come up over the curb and soak my shoes, so I returned to school with my rain boots on dry shoes in my purse. 

Picture a day September 18

View from the rafters at the Thailand Cultural Center (spiky hair guy and all) at tonight's orchestra performance. Don't worry, my life isn't usually that exciting, but it was nice to get out for an evening during the week with a few friends. Way past my bedtime, but worth it :) 

Picture a day September 17

This is one of my favorite fruits, passion fruit. It has a dark red shell that is quite hard, and is filled with sour slimy yellow stuff and slimy back seeds, as seen in the white mug. Is lice it in half and scoop out the inside. Since it is sour, I mix it with something else such a ripe mango or sugar to sweeten it up. Slimy and delicious. If you ever need something for a prank like "eating eyeballs" or something gross like that, passion fruit is your go to. 

Moment of the day September 16

It's not a picture, I know. So instead it will have to be a thousand words.  

After school today I had a meeting with a Korean parent who speaks Korean and Thai, but not English (or at least, not a lot, we chatted a bit in English and she knew more than I expected, even if she wasn't fluent). We had a Thai staff member sit in to translate and the parent spoke Thai, since we don't have any Korean speakers on staff.  First, it was funny to me that it was a Korean mom speaking Thai which was translated to English for me, and my English back into Thai for her.  But a cool thing happened through the 30 minute conference: I didn't need a lot of translation! I usually let the translator translate it into English since I wasn't catching 100% and I wanted to be sure I was correct in my understanding, but as we went I followed along more and more and even started to respond a bit before/without the translator.  I didn't get every single word, and since it was her second language she was definitely speaking slower than a native Thai speaker, but I got enough. I got the gist, and even a few details. It was a great moment for me, and as an often frustrated language learner, I need to hold onto those moments.  Maybe someday I will get to the point where I can respond in Thai too, but for now I am happy with a bit of understanding. And for your picture of the day, you can just picture me in my classroom doing my happy dance and beginning to recover a bit of the mojo.  

Picture a day September 15

The malls here often use their central atriums to stage events- from kids singing competitions to cheerleading to who knows what. This weekend I stumbled upon this remote control car race championship. 

Picture a day September 14

You get two today, as I had the honor of accompanying some beautiful young ladies to the Nutcracker on Ice, which is in town this weekend as part of the Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music. It was so much fun to watch them enjoy getting dressed up for a girls night out and then smile and clap and ooh and aah at the show.

Picture a day September 13

Tea with jam and bread... Or maybe just scones. Either way, I love that my friend and I can find wonderful tea shops and tea rooms in may nooks and crannies across Bangkok. We've never been to the same one twice. Today was lavender tea and an assortment of warm scones at a great shop aptly names Scones. 

Picture a day September 12

Fun car in the neighborhood! 

Picture a day September 11

Spent the evening babysitting my favorite Caped Crusader and his owl blankie. 

Picture a day September 10

This is the Parkland gym. It's not big or fancy, but it's also not very expensive, and since it's right in my apartment complex, I don't have to spend time or money to get there. I decided to join in March because the whole running outside in Bangkok thing just wasn't working out. To be honest, the running thing has never worked out real well for me, much to my dismay. Sadly, the gym closed while I was home this summer, but at least they refunded the remainder of my year long membership. At the beginning the this month the gym had a "Grand Reopening" with basically the exact same stuff,  though they did at least replace the AC unit that was broken. So today I rejoined and enjoyed some time on the elliptical. Not a long time, but it's a start. 

Picture a day September 9

The truth is, the most interesting things that I see day to day, the ones that are part of my daily life that are vastly different from life in the States, are not things I can take pictures of. They are the up close pictures of life and culture and poverty that surround me. This is one such cultural moment that I did manage to sneak a picture of, even though it's blurry. On my two minute walk to work, I often see barefoot monks walking around collecting alms so that people can make merit. I'll be honest, I don't totally understand it and it still isn't all that normal to me. This morning I happened to be walking behind two monks and their helper (in the pink shirt) who walks behind and carries things for them. It's hard to get a shot of the front two, or any of them, without being rude, but I think you get the idea from this, which is taken right outside of our school. Sometimes when I see them I see people stop them, wai (bow) to them, and give them food or something like that. Usually when I see that happen, I take a moment to pray for the people making merit, pray that God would open their eyes to the futility of idols and to the hope and grace that is found in Jesus alone. May God shine light into the darkness that is all around us! 

Picture a day September 8

Several area malls have an area in their parking structure known as Lady Parking- female drivers only. Doesn't matter how many women are in the car, the person behind the wheel has to be female for you to be able to park in the restricted area. So so funny to me. 

Picture a day September 7

It was super hot and sunny when we first arrived at Nak Suu but a short time later this started blowing in and before we knew it the wind was kicking, the rain fell, and then we were cold. Love rainy season! 

Picture a day September 5

This picture has nothing to do with Thailand, but everything to do with dinner. I love the expensive imported crackers, cheese, fresh market avocado, and freshly ground salt and pepper. Makes up for dinner in Tuesday, which was a complete bust. 

Picture a day September 4

Love the sight of Bangkok's BTS sky train pulling in to the station on my way home from downtown. This picture is from last weekend, I raced from school today to a meeting and then from there to have dinner with my friends and the twins. Should have gotten a picture of those cuties running around like crazy, but I forgot. So a weekend throw back will have to do. 

Picture a day September 3

Thai tutoring started up again a few weeks ago and this year, in addition to listening and speaking, I am working on my reading and writing as well. Today's picture comes from my Thai book. Thai has 44 consonants and 32 vowels, most of which I managed to memorize during my break periods during my last months of substitute teaching in Michigan before moving here. I don't know the obscure ones, but mai pen rai. The problem is I still can't read or write properly because of the tone rules. Thai is tonal and the tone of the word depends on the class of the consonant (there are three classes), the vowel, the final sound of the syllable, and the tone mark, if one is used. Confused yet? I am :)  My first task is to learn the classes of the consonants, as I was too overwhelmed to learn them with the consonant sounds. Then... I can start tackling the rules that are on this chart. Or, I could give up and quit, which is always a distinct possibility! 

Picture a day September 2

One thing I love about Bangkok is Helping Hands Fresh Food Delivery. They are a ministry initiative that works with people in the city's largest slum community. You place your order online for fresh fruit, veggies, herbs, eggs, or meat.  Helping Hands goes to the market the following morning, makes the purchases, and delivers them to your door. I love it because I can stock up on just about everything else, and thus avoid the grocery store lots of weeks, which is especially nice because there is just no good way/place to grocery shop here. The produce is generally very high quality and the delivery fee is somewhat offset by what I save in taxi fare to the store. Not to mention time. 

Picture a day September 1

It's September, yay! Today's picture was taken from a pedestrian bridge over Bangna-Trad, the main thoroughfare that I live off of. Here you can see the craziness that is this road, and why you sometimes have to drive a few miles out of the way in order to u-turn if you're on the wrong side of the street. The bright colored cars in the curb are taxis in the "local lanes" doing drop offs and pick ups at this busy bus stop. Inside the local lanes you can see the express lanes. The elevated section is a tollway that basically just gets traffic coming from the east into the heart of Bangkok. As far as I know, you can't really get on or off it easily in Bangna, my area on the outskirts.