Vh1's Best Weekend Ever... literally

This post might be long because I haven't been back in a long time. To begin with, traveling is stupidly awesome. I feel like I should be apologizing for having such a good time. I spent 8 days in Ubon Ratchatani at the Phibunmangsahan school teaching English. By teaching English I mean playing hangman and getting my photo taken by giggling Thai students. I stayed with one of the teachers who was a total hottie who although is 26 still lives with her parents in their farm house, as is Isan custom. They were all smiley and tried to be as accommodating as possible, but the language and culture barriers made the whole experience very challenging.

Actually maybe what really made the experience the most challenging was the effing roosters. These roosters are dumb as stones and don't know they're only supposed to wake up with the sun. They consistently crowed right outside my door from about 5-9... I kid you not even slightly. 5-9 AM! I mean come on. After waking up at these unreasonable hours, it was monk feeding time. The monks eat only one meal a day and by 7 they (and I) have already been up for hours. They roam around through the village stopping by each family to get sticky rice, soy milk and unrecognizable animal parts put into their golden bins. After the last one comes, you kneel on the floor and they bless you. All this Buddhism is nice, but the waking up early and the bowing down to idols are both highly frowned upon in my religion.

The highlights of the week included going to a Thai club with my host teacher and a bunch of the other young crazy teachers. Another good one was a Thai boy-band sensation asking me for my number. Me being white in Isan made me almost more of a celebrity than he was. The Thai school girls went crazy over that interaction. They're like a cute, extremely giggly version of the paparazzi. I think the number of pictures circulating of me since I was born just doubled. Everyone lives on a farm and squats to pee but has really fancy camera phones. We also sang "The Circle of Life" and did Sir Elton John proud on the last day of school in front of thousands of people. It was our way of giving back to the community.

I was sad when it was over, but also really relieved. It was an interesting but extremely challenging experience. I did pick up some Thai though, but in Isan it's some sort of bastard child of Thai and Lao that doesn't go over well in actual civilization. In the end I can say I learned to appreciate toilet paper and urban sprawl.

On Friday my host sister dropped my friend Lacey and me off at the bus stop to again try our luck in Laos. Lucky we were though. We wasted no time in Vientiane and as soon as we arrived we hopped right onto a local bus to Vang Vieng. Our bus was half people half rice and stopped next to seriously every Lao person's home to drop them off personally. The view was so beautiful though that the 4 hour bus ride went by pretty quickly. As soon as we got there it was sandwich eating time (a rare treat for me) and Beerlao time.

Vang Vieng is arguably the best place on earth. It was discovered in the 90's by travelers passing through on their way to Luang Prabang and is nestled right in the armpit of these amazingly tall and densely forested mountainous cliffs. A gorgeous river runs through and there are numerous bars lining the banks from top to bottom. For the reasons listed above, Vang Vieng lures a host of wildly attractive and fun loving travelers every day. The atmosphere was flawless and just hanging out there was some of the most fun I've ever had. But I didn't just hang out...

The day after some rambunctiousness and unbloggable things ensued, it was time to tube.

Now picture this and tell me what it's missing:

1. perfect weather and unbelievable scenery

2. alcohol and other such fripperies

3. great company

4. zip lines

5. tubes

6. free shots

7. ill music

8. flowing river

9. crackers

10. water slides and rope swings

It was a trick question- there is nothing missing. It's impossible to really put it into words, but tubing down the river and stopping at bars to hang out and tubing some more was the best thing. Just the best thing ever. It couldn't have been designed to be any more awesome. I was totally blindsided. Who is allowing this kind of behavior? I could go back every single weekend, but that Lao visa cost is starting to get to me. We spent most of the day with these Irish people we met. They kept us on our drinking toes and were really fun. Later that night we just followed our formula from the night before and finished it to a similarly awesome end. Everyone I met was such a pleasure to talk to... the people here are so interesting. So many of them haven't been home for years. How they get the money to travel is beyond me- but I'll just go and sleep outside or something. It's the way to live.

On our way back to Bangkok (about 16 hours away) our bus got a flat tire about half way to Vientiane. This was only a minor setback and was understandable given the terrain and wild curves and we were back on the road in twenty five minutes. About 15 minutes later, the other tire popped. This time of course, we had no more spare. So we all piled out of the bus because somehow it was cooler outside baking in the sun. For about 2 hours I sat with these Jewish Australian kids and these Israeli guys and played cards and did other people-sitting-in-circular-groups-activities on the side of the road. It was actually a pretty fun wait and somehow even though so much goes wrong in these parts, no one complains and the good spirits make waiting doing nothing fun. I heard someone say they saw a shirt that says "stop complaining this is Asia." It's true. while so much goes wrong, it always ends up being fun and complaining doesn't help. Deep shit, I know.

Anyway I'm sorry I've been so terrible at returning E-mails. I didn't have internet access for so long until today and I haven't slept in days. I promise I'll get to it soon. Tomorrow I'm going to an island called Koh Chang to hang out, unwind and "study" for "midterms" which are on Tuesday. Studying on the beach seems better than staying here anyway. I'm going by myself which I'm looking forward to but it's also a little nerve-wracking. Everywhere you turn it's impossible not to instantly befriend whoever's standing near you so I'm sure it'll be really fun. It's also just something I want to get comfortable doing. I plan to make quite a life for myself traveling somehow with no money. It has to be possible.... so many crusty hobos just travel here for years.

I'll post soon about the island, until then please keep on E-mailing me. I read them all and I promise to return them soon. Even when I don't have time though- I really really enjoy getting them so don't stop on my account please.

Love and misses,

Esti

Where the Buffalo Roam

This weekend I accompanied some of my friends, notably Num and Brian who I will describe shortly to Khon Khen which is in the Northeast or Isan region of Thailand. Brian is an runner at my school and speaks fluent Thai and Lao which he learned in Worcester, Massachusetts by befriending some refugees. When he first got to Thailand with no intention of working or going to school he learned (his words) "you can't just pick up your spear and march into the Lao jungle and expect a tribe to adopt you." So when he ran out of money Brian accepted a scholarship to run at Rangsit and is biding his time until his time has come to join the jungle. Anyway to pick up extra money he runs races throughout Asia and there was a huge international marathon in Khon Khen this weekend, which is why we went.

Khon Khen is Num's hometown. Num doesn't speak English and I don't speak Thai so our relationship is based on smiling and asking each other "how are you" repetitively, alternating between English and Thai. Meeting his family was really cool though. His mom runs a hair salon out of his one story house. They have a traditional Thai toilet (which is as horrible as it sounds) and the oldest Kobe Bryant poster ever printed hanging in their living room. They also eat all parts of a duck. Every part. We spent a couple of days getting toted around town in Num's father's pick up truck, eating weird rice pastes etc...

The marathon itself was really cool... lots of Kenyans obviously and I befriended a couple of the volunteers there who were my age and but looked 9. We picked up this American girl Kelley who gave Brian shit for only running the half marathon and only placing 4th in his age group. She was traveling by herself and decided to come with us to Laos. She's trying to set the world record for the youngest person to run a marathon on every continent. Give me a break. Maybe even more ridiculous was the Thai girl who came in first place for the females in the 11.5 kilometer race. She was 8 years old, ran barefoot and finished it in 45 minutes. There were also plenty of adults running that race with sneakers. Come on.

Crossing into Laos wasn't much of a hassle although the bus companies and the cabs have this system worked out where the buses abandon you as you're getting your visa and you're forced to get a cab to where ever the bus was supposed to have taken you. Luckily Brian knows everything so we knew to get all of our stuff off the bus before crossing in. 

I only got to spend about 2 days in Laos which is a shame but honestly, we were in the capitol city and it took about a hour to walk around the whole thing. The first escalator in the country was just built and it took people hours just to figure out how to board. Such is Laos. It's so nice though. Because it was colonized by France there is a lot more of a Western influence than Thailand. And by that I just mean they eat bread with their food. French bread. The pace is very slow, even compared to the small town I live in. It was nice though and I just spent the weekend wandering around, eating food that cost 18,000 gip. (I hate inflated money- it makes me so uneasy) and listening to Lao teenagers play hilarious western covers. 

According to Brian, because there are so many Viet-Lao people, it's the place to be for the Chinese/Vietnamese new year. The extent of the celebrations (which I think are probably all that Laos people can muster) was truck loads of toddlers dressed as dragons being driven around town, lighting horrifically unsafe fireworks in each other's faces. Which is all the celebration I need also... these kids were effing adorable. The government in Laos is pretty unstable and until recently all the citizens had an 11:00 p.m. curfew. Needless to say, the Laos nightlife has suffered. I do plan to go back though when I have more time, I really liked it a lot.

On the way back, I got pizza with bananas on it and met these 3 Israeli guys who I sat with and spoke to on the 13 hour bus ride home. I made it back at around 6:00 a.m. and realized I had left my cell phone, sunglasses and key on the bus. The worst part was, it meant I couldn't nap before my 9 a.m. class lest I sleep through it. So that is the fatigue I am stewing in right now and you'll have to excuse me if this post doesn't leave you in fits of giggles or pensive meditation. I'll probably think of more things to add to this Laos business when I'm in less of a daze. I just sat through 7 hours of class. If not, this weekend I will be staying with a Thai family volunteering up North so the chances of me having internet access are quite slim. 

I really do miss you guys so much and I'm sorry I'm so bad at keeping in touch. I really am very busy most of the time. 

xoxoxoxo

Sabaydee,

Esti

A Series of My Greater Than Mayo's Successes

What is blogging after all if not competition... So I'd like to point out that when I say successes, (unlike some people) I don't just mean I managed not to throw up and I didn't proofread my post to spite the reader (For more information on such success visit oh-mayo.blogspot.com). All of this in affectionate jest of course. Really I'm just jealous that Mayo's blog is funnier than mine. 

On to my triumphs though:

1. I skipped my two first Thai civilization classes and pretended that I had previously registered for a different course and decided to switch. Additionally whenever I show the professor my bandaged hand she just smiles and lets me do whatever I want. In my first (other peoples' third) Thai civilization class we put on a mock Thai wedding which was hilariously fun. Also at this class I learned that we only have 5 left. During one I will be teaching English in the North (Excusedville, Thailand), and during another I will be in Vietnam with GA and Ben. This means I only have 3 left and will have managed to only go to 4 classes all semester. I will also get an A even though participation counts heavily towards your grade. Such is Thailand. Cash. 

2. The other night I had the munchies in what can only be categorized as a life threatening way. I ordered Pad Thai (which I eat daily) and sat down with a bunch of people at a coffee shop to eat. Much to my dismay these totally disgusting teeny freeze dried shrimps were all over my food. Their eyes are like little and black and they fall apart and all all dried and just sit in jars on market vendors' stands. UGH. So I was back to square one with only inedible Pad Thai and my disposal. [NOTE: today I was in Chinatown to watch them set up for New Years and I saw how they package the shrimps- they have them on a dirty ass tarp on the ground in the alleys of Chinatown, and some barefoot guy with dirty feet just walks around amongst them and puts shovels them into barrels with a dustpan. EW.] How is this a success you ask? I instead ventured to a nice man making something that smelled awesome and inadvertently ordered the best thing ever. A fried flaky pancake filled with gooey yummy warm bananas and topped with sugar. Also on this adventure I met the most adorable Thai toddler and successfully conversed with him in Thai for like 45 seconds. Cash.

3. My wounds have started to scab over and one of them doesn't even need to be bandaged anymore.

4. Today on my way to Chinatown we had a really nice cab driver who we realized (after about twenty minute of Thai bashing) spoke English pretty well and had lived in Mississippi for 8 months (?) Anyway after paying him we walked a few blocks before hearing incessant honking and yelling at us. Obviously being so attractive and accustomed to this behavior it took us a while to realize it was our cab driver trying to get our attention. I had accidentally given him 1,000 Baht instead of 100 and he chased us down, pretty far out of his way to give me my money back. In Thailand (as my Nana warned me) if you want to cross a street in Bangkok you had to have been born on the other side... well that's how bad the traffic is and that's how nice this man was. Cash. Literally. 

Anyway, I'm going to Laos today for the weekend and I'm not really sure what to expect. At the very least I hope to get some cool stamps on my passport, and at best some sort of holographic visa. If you're back at Maryland, check out my Thailand column on Tuesday. I hope it's not too much of a repeat of my blog. I still miss everyone terribly but things are really starting to pick up nicely here. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Esti

The Real World, Thailand

This is the story of 24 kids who suck, picked to live in a foreign country together and with one girl who doesn't suck. Find out what happens when people suck... 

I'm exaggerating (mildly) and hopefully no one on this trip stumbles across my blog. What are the chances though. The blogosphere (apart from being my favorite word) is a big place I would imagine. My personal blogosphere consists of Mayo, Ben and me exclusively, and not for lack of people begging to join. The three of us are very selective.

I'm not the only person who's compared this trip to The Real World- everything has been largely dramatic and alcohol fueled. (I'm the emo girl with a hidden slutty side) Even so, I've found some people I like spending time with. Most of them are girls actually... The guys here have this weird complex where they can't spend time with girls who have boyfriends lest they accidentally might not be able to hook up with them later. 

Today I had class after my weekly Thanksgiving break. (suckaaas) The classes here are all once a week but they're 3.5 hours long. Most of the teachers don't take it seriously and let you out after two. However my Thai Business (laugh it up) professor usually uses up four hours! www.areyoueffingkiddingme.com

Anyway that's all I have to report. Oh, yesterday I ate a cold dog after the pool. It's a green hot dog bun filled with ice cream. A cold dog. I scooped the ice cream out and threw away the bun. Thais love filling hotdog buns with non-hotdog food.

Obama! Woo!

-Esti

First 3 Weeks in 1 Post

Hello Everyone,

     This is my first attempt at blogging, I'm sorry it took me three weeks to start but I can't promise I'll be any more consistent throughout the semester. I'm not sure what shape this blog will take as it's really only the second or third blog I've ever even seen. I don't expect it to get into any deep introspection or hilarious accounts of my antics, but it may run away with me. 

I'm in Thailand living in a very small, very Thai community about 45 minutes north of downtown Bangkok. That has its ups and downs as it takes a long time to get in the city and no one speaks any English, but I am getting a very Thai experience. I'm totally sick of the food here and especially where I am it's very difficult to get anything vegetarian. Not a salad for miles. 

The flight here was approximately 3 weeks long, stopping in Taiwan before finally arriving in Thailand. It took me a long time to finally get a place to live (there is not a single adult on this whole program to help deal with anything) but now that I'm here I like my apartment. All it is is a bedroom with a fridge and a bathroom, but I don't really need much else and it's only a ten minute walk to campus. 

My first weekend here me and some folks on my program went to the Island of Koh Pahngan for the full moon party which is one of the most notoriously fun parties in the world. We took an 8 hour bus ride followed by a 3 hour wait to take a 4 hour ferry ride but it was worth it once we got there. It was like a tropical paradise from the movies. Unfortunately, the first day we were there I got in a moped accident (I was the passenger) and got kind of scraped up and couldn't go in the water for the rest of the trip. Some British guy said they call the scars Koh Pahngan tattoos because everyone who goes there gets in a scooter accident. My first tattoos. I still got to go to the party which was just a bunch of drunk Eurotrash dancing on the beach. It was still pretty interesting and cool; apparently there were 30,000 people there. I don't really buy it but I'm obviously terrible at estimating anything to do with numbers so who knows. 

Since then I've been to some amazing Buddhist temples, some old palaces, ancient ruins etc. I'm going to try to set up a flickr account because the main reason for this blog in the first place is to avoid making a facebook account. I only have classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (pfffff) so hopefully I'll be able to do a lot of traveling and have some cool pictures to show for it. 

This weekend some people are going to Laos to run a marathon of sorts while others are going to a Reggae festival in Pai. I haven't decided where I'm going yet but it's sure to be fun. Oh and also- last night I had Mexican food. Woo. I love and miss you all very much and please E-mail me if you'd like some personal attention. (esti@umd.edu)

Sawadee Kah,

Esti