Let's...Get....Fat!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and you all stuffed your faces with deliciousness. While you got to enjoy turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all sorts of pie, I celebrated the holiday in a completely different manner. Rather than eating an unnecessarily large amount of baked goods and then passing out from a food coma, I went on a boat cruise in Bangkok with the EP staff and indulged in a large Thai meal. So I nibbled (read: devoured) on things such as gaang kee-o wahn geung sapbarot (green curry with shrimp and pineapple) and fried crab while taking in the beautiful sights along the Chao Phraya River. The next morning, I woke up nice and early so I could Skype with my fam while it was still officially Thanksgiving back in the States. I didn't think I would miss T-gives all that much, but after seeing everyone in one spot, I got a little sad. It was really nice talking to some of my family members that I hadn't spoken to since arriving in Thailand. 

On Friday, I only had some of my classes due to the National Buddhist Exam, so I decided to be a really cool teacher and show the students High School Musical. I wasn't sure how they would respond to it, but it was a MAJOR hit. Kru Sarah even came to join one of the showings and witnessed as the children swooned when Zac Efron came onto the screen. I loved looking over the classroom and just seeing smiles plastered onto their faces. Good thing I have the whole trilogy with me! Winning the students over, one teen heart-throb at a time. 

My relationships with the students have been getting stronger and more fun. The bonding has kicked into full gear and I am really thankful that I am in a program where I have such small classes that meet 3-4 times a week, as opposed to the other participants who have 900+ students that they meet with once a week. I have been having so much fun interacting with them, and seizing the opportunities to learn Thai from them. I've also tackled their names, which doesn't sound all that impressive after 7 weeks of teaching, but when you're dealing with Arm, Ja, Por, Benz, Liew, Tue, and Ohm (times 5), it gets a little difficult. But, I discovered that a lot of their Thai nicknames are actual Thai words, and I have been getting an absolute kick out of them. For example: Tangmo= watermelon, Tangkwa= cucumber, Noey= milk or cheese,  and Dao= star. I excitedly went over to one of the boys, Atom, while I was on my spree of figuring out the meanings and asked "Does your name mean anything in Thai?!?" and he responded "Ahh...yea. It means, like, a molecule." Oh...well, yea...same in English. But still pretty awesome. 

Sarah and I headed into Bangkok this past weekend to 1. run 45809494504 errands and 2. to complete Mission Westernize Me. #1 was fairly successful, but mission #2 was surpassed. We Westernized ourselves like none another, and gained about 7 pounds in the process. Don't judge me. It felt to great to eat foods like hummus and bagels, things I have been deprived of, and to wander around a mall, as opposed to a bustling, cramped market. A lot of the city and Siam Center was decorated for Christmas, which doesn't make too much sense, but I totally appreciated it. The Siam Mall was outrageously ginormous and there were many moments where Sarah and I would look at one another with our jaws dragging along the floor. We were in complete awe of our surroundings. We even met a Thai superstar and took a picture with him. Too bad I have zero idea of who it was, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity after seeing swarms of people gathering around him. We passed by another celebrity, but the crowd around him was too large to even attempt to pose for picture # 2.  The food court was it's own mall-It was glorious, and even had a store with lots of imported goods, so I was obviously giddily walking around, picking up all the things I've been longing for (i.e: Dr. Pepper and Honey Nut Cheerios). But, I passed on many products due to their insane prices and settled for pretzels, Reeses and cinnamon. The highlight of the day was clearly the Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks that I splurged on. It's funny how something so simple can transform you into a Christmas state of mind. Sitting in Starbucks and sipping on the red cup made me feel like I was right at home. I may or may not have went back the next day and got another one. Whoops! That night, we went way out of our way and hit up a Mexican restaurant where we absolutely destroyed some chips and salsa and chicken and cheese enchiladas.  We went back to our Thai lifestyles the next day, but it was nice to have a little break and get into the Christmas spirit a little bit. I even listened to my Christmas playlist on the ride back to The Soup. Hopefully everyone back home survived Black Friday and has started getting the Christmas decorating and baking underway. In my honor, please eat as many bags of Mint M&Ms as possible. Seriously, do it.