Thanksgiving Picture

This is what Thanksgiving in Bangkok looks like. I am thankful for these friends to spend the day with! 

Favorite Thai food

Meet khao soy, my favorite Thai food. It's a northern speciality, so I was excited to eat it for lunch today on my first trip to northern Thailand. So far, I love Chiang Rai: beautiful, peaceful, green, and cool.

Pictures

Well, I think for now, the picture a day theme will take a rest. I feel like many aspects of daily life are now well photographed and I am running out of inspiration. I'll try to keep looking for unusual things and keep some pictures coming, but not daily. And of course, whenever I travel (going up north next week!) I will take a few photos for the blog. I'm actually pretty surprised that I kept it up as long as I did. 

Picture a day October 10

These are the ground floor shops in the building at the front of our school's campus. The one in the foreground has the best name for a book store/ cafe. Then there's a small music school and a snack shop. Quiet during the school day, this place area is swamped once the bell rings. Above the shops are small apartments for new teachers. I lived here my first 9 months in Bangkok. 

Picture a day October 9

The view from where I sit, or at least, when I'm sitting on the back of a moto taxi! 

The vehicles here are called a song taow, a pick up truck with a structure in the bed that has benches and a roof. They are used like buses. 

I love the pink apartment building up ahead! 

Picture a day October 8

Let's retry this post from yesterday: 

I was downtown with a friend and we stopped in a cute Japanese shop of organic products, not food, but clothes, table linens, blankets, baby stuff, etc. and then we found these, and wow. Whole other level of granola! 

Picture a day October 7

Today's picture addresses something that has long baffled me in Thailand: yogurt spoons. This is a picture of a Tupperware with a four pack of yogurts, and four plastic spoons. From time to time I find the four packs come in a little container and if I'm low on containers I buy the yogurts that come with a free one (the whole disappearance of Tupperware thing seems to be a global problem). But I was surprised to open the container and find these little plastic spoons. But I shouldn't be surprised, not anymore. You see, every time you buy yogurt at the store, they give you a spoon for each yogurt. Now, when I'm buying yogurt at 7- Eleven, that almost makes sense, as in, it's a convenience store so I might be about to eat my yogurt right then and there. But the fact that they give me a spoon per carton of yogurt even when I am stocking up at the grocery store has always confused me. So today I thought about it a bit. And I think it all comes down to the fact that Thais eat with a spoon and fork generally, and the spoons are a good soup spoon size, not teaspoon. Teaspoons are not common. I have them, because I like them for my tea, but I do confess that I usually use them for yogurt too. Maybe if all I had were the giant ones than the little plastic ones might be useful for the little yogurt cartons. Or at least, that's my new theory...

Picture a day October 6

Universal truth: don't go to the grocery store in Sunday night because EVERYONE goes on Sunday nights making for crowded aisles and long lines. 

Picture a day October 5

Live Postseason Tigers baseball in my living room in Bangkok. First inning is going well! 

Picture a day October 4

I had a bowl of mint chip ice cream and the twins attacked with mouths wide open. It was a bit like feeding the pigeons at the park, once if gave them a bite they chased me down till it was gone. 

Picture a day October 3

I walked past the soccer field after school today and thought this was pretty cute- a line up of little guys watching the high schoolers play. It's one of the advantages of a K-12 school, everybody all interacting together. 

Picture a day October 2

This picture does not convey the greenness of everything when I took it. There's a great lightning show going on right now, but so far no rain. 

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. 

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! 

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.