Home Again

As you may have noticed, I went a period of time where I did blog posts, blog posts, blog posts....SCREECH! The last time I wrote was in the airport in South Korea.  As not to leave you hanging (I'm sure you've all just been biting your nails wondering if I was kidnapped in Korea. :-p), I did make it home safe and sound.   Praise the Lord, jetlag was minimal.  I think going without sleep for a few days did it for me. Got some great REM sleep my first night back.  It was really great because I had a crazy weekend awaiting me then school started that monday.

All is well and I am fully loaded with school (8 classes!).  I am in the midst of organizing my desk (tossing junk papers, clearing off things I don't EVER use, etc.) Although I have quite the school schedule this quarter, I'm thoroughly enjoying my classes. My favorite and most practical class is Piano Pedagogy.  It is EXACTLY what I've needed during the few years I've been teaching.  Today I received in the mail my textbook for the course, and I am debating whether or not to read the whole thing in one week. So many of my questions will be answered! (Cue Hallelujah Chorus) :-D I'll have to restrain myself and remember that I DO have homework in my other classes.

There is so much I want to write, but I have to warn you that time for blogging is limited at the moment.  I will conclude by saying this.  God is good! Even when times are difficult. Even when we don't understand why things are happening, why He is allowing them to happen.  God is still good. He will ALWAYS be good. One of the many reasons why I love Him. :-)

Airport Musings

Here I sit at the Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea.  I am settling in for a 12 hour layover.  I'm thinking, this is going to be a LONG layover!  First stop, coffee of course.  I'm saving the delights of Mountain Dew until halfway through my layover. Gives me something to look forward to right? :-)  Here's my strategy.  Stay awake during the flight from Chiang Mai to Seoul (check!), stay awake during the long layover (oh boy), then sleep from Seoul to Seattle.  The time of flying from Seoul to Seattle is during night time in Seattle.  I am hoping that will help me to adjust better.  And after staying awake for about 35 hours should make me plenty tired, yes?  So that's the plan.

I am so glad that I got a window seat.  Granted, I am sitting directly above the wing which hinders some of the view.  But I find that watching lightening from above is most interesting.  Not to mention, I LOVE flying over the mountains into Seattle.  I hope that flying in from the West is a beautiful as flying in from the East.

One of my favorite things to do is watch people in the airport.  At this point in time and I am at the "Rest Area", a place filled with recliners as well as tables and a coffee shop.  I am surrounded by people as exhuasted as I am, yet they can indulge.  Must be nice!  I know I will be glad later that I didn't.  It's very interesting to watch the different positions that people can sleep in an airport.  Sprawled on a bench with a backpack as a pillow, laying straight out with mouth wide open, curled up in a ball, you name it. Most intriguing!

So now, I am trying to decide how to fill my time here.....Who knows, you may see another post in the future.  I do have to say that it's interesting to see Korean at the top of Blogger instead of Thai. :-)  Even though I couldn't understand Thai, it was a small comfort. haha. Well, signing off for now....

Tigers!

Yesterday the adventure continued with an outing to Tiger Kingdom.  I've been looking forward to this for a while now, so it was quite exciting.  You are given four options of sizes to visit: Smallest, Small, Medium, Large.  You can choose which to be in the cage with, then they allow you to walk around to see the others.  From the outside of course. :-)

Pookie and I chose the smallest tigers.  Adorable little babies!! They ranged from 2-3 months old and were just so cute! They were so fun to cuddle with.  Of course, they had their little tempers, but they're in training stage. 

David Martin is here visiting for two weeks and he came with us.  He decided to visit the small tigers, which happened to not be so small!  At 11 months old, they were over six feet when standing on their hind legs!

I've spent today preparing to leave, and that's been very hard yet exciting at the same time.  I'm very happy to see my family and church again, but a piece of my heart is here now and I find it difficult to leave.  Lord willing I'll be back. 

Pookie was disappointed that I would be missing Songkran Festival, which takes place earlier in the year.  Songkran Festival is the water festival where the entire country douses each other in water for several days.  Ahhh!!  Talk about a water fight!! Well, I was coming out of my room earlier only to be greeted with a very large cup of water being thrown on me! A few minutes later, again as I was coming into the house. Should have been prepared that time! So, I guess you could say that we had our own mini-Songkran Festival here in the house. :-D

Tonight consists of dinner out and then my last Thai massage.  Perfect before a looooong time of traveling.  So, my readers, this is my last blogpost from Thailand.  I hope you've enjoyed reading about my adventures and I can assure you, they're not over yet!

A Day to Remember

No, I'm not talking about what a fabulous day I had here in Chiang Mai, although it truly was a great day and one I will always remember.  But I am talking about a day ten years ago.  A day that each of us remember very clearly what we were doing, where we were.  At the time, I was too young to really be interested in politics or the happenings of the world.  But I do remember the devastation this event caused in our nation and around the world.  I think it affects me more now than it did back then.  It was at that time that our nation united and began to seek God's face.  My prayer is that once again we as a nation will recognize the Lord's presence here and do as He wills. Today, I am grateful for each person who laid their lives on the line to protect our nation.  I am grateful for those who continue to fight daily for our protection.  May the Lord always protect and bless our nation!

Buddhist Temple

We happened to visit this temple during their chanting. Very interesting and sad to watch.

Wat Chet Yot

Today I had the opportunity to see one of the ruined temples here in Chiang Mai, Wat Chet Yot.  It's still an active temple despite its age and condition.  It was built in 1453 during the reign of King Tilokkarat.  Bro. Tom made a great tour guide and explained many things to me about Buddhism and their beliefs. 

Aside from the religious aspect of the building, the architecture was very beautiful.  The artistry of the engravings must have been magnificent centuries ago!

Click to enlarge for more details.

Apple PIE?!

Yes.....that is Apple Pie.  Isn't it huge?!  A favorite restaurant of ours here in Chiang Mai is the Dukes.  They serve many delicious desserts but the one that caught my eye was this amazingly thick Apple Pie.  So, I ordered it.  It tastes as good as it looks!  You bet your bananas I'll be making (attempting?) this when I get home!

I wish you could see it more to scale.  It's larger than it looks in this picture. And yeah, those are giant cookies underneath!

Please leave comments! I love to know who is reading my blog and I have to say I've seen a lot of hits from Australia and the Netherlands. Hmm.....the mystery....



Let it begin!

And so....let the printing begin! :-)

Cafe Amazon.....always a nice addition to any job. :-)

Does this picture really need a subtitle??? :-p

Fruits

Ok.....so an interesting experience since I have been here is the fruits not available in the states.  Here are some that I've tried (Except Durian).

1. Durian.  Ick Ick Ick.  I am not brave enough to try it, but you can smell it a mile away.  It's a favorite of the locals (NOT by farang). 

2. Jackfruit.  Delicious!! The fruit is actually very large and looks like Durian on the outside.  The inside is quite different. :-)

3. Kong Thai

4. Lamyai.  This grows everywhere here in Chiang Mai!

4. Mangosteen.  YUM!!!  Soooo juicy!

5. Papaya.  A very popular dish here is Som Tum (Papaya Salad). It's more savory than it is sweet. I recommend ordering it with NO peppers....

6. Passionfruit

7. Rambutan.  Looks like it would be spiky but it's not.  Quite a unique and delicious fruit!

8. Pomelo

9. Rose Apple.  Tastes similar to an apple but not sweet.

10.  Ok....I don't know if this counts really but....the fried bananas here are just so good!!! :-D

11.  And I forgot to add Dragonfruit.  An interesting flavor and definitely an interesting look! The purple one is more sweet than the white.

Of course, there are many fruits I haven't tried yet and maybe I'll get the chance before I leave. (I hope!)

Elephant Parade

A little late in posting this, but this is the Elephant Parade from the show at the Maesa Elephant Camp here in Chiang Mai. It was so much fun to watch them prance around. And yeah...the elephants are playing harmonicas. :-D

Van drives uphill with no engine!

This was a fun experience on our recent trip!

Nearing The End

My time here in Thailand is drawing to a close. I have nine full days left and I know they will zap so quickly, before I know it I'll be on the long flight back. First, let me show you what we were able to do last week. I went with a few of the coworkers to a waterfall and it was so much fun! From the bottom it looked pretty piddly. But as we climbed higher....and higher..*gasp!* It was really beautiful. At one point, I got rather scared about jumping over rushing water from one slippery rock to another. But with the help of my trusty coworkers I made it across with no trouble and was rewarded by the beautiful view from the top.

Starting out at the bottom of the waterfall.

I don't know if you can see.....but Kaw is up high and Bro. A is down low. (Click to enlarge)

Climbing UP the waterfall!

Ok this is the part that I got scared....

Looking dooooowwn.....

Yes.....I can do this..I think...

Aaahhh!!!

Totally worth it to climb to the top!

If you enlarge you will see that Bro. Jeng Lang has lost his shoe. Hahaha!  He climbed down and surprisingly found it!

Kaw.....he was officially dubbed the Monkey. :-)

The Guys

So now....my time left is short, but it's not over yet. Much is planned and I hope to make the most of the time I have left.  It has been so nice to have the Gaudets back.  It's a blessing to be able to spend time with missionaries who have been on the field for over 30 years and to see a little what their lives are like.  If I've learned anything since I've been here it's how effective prayer is. We've seen Satan so obviously fighting in so many areas.  Prayer is such a powerful thing and through it we've seen the Lord do mighty things.  I can't WAIT to see what He has in store for the future.