Flower Market

Today I went to the flower market with some girls that I have met here. This is the market where flowers are purchased early in the morning for local hotels. We didn't go as early as most people, but we were still able to see some unbelievable flowers for unbeatable prices. After the market we treated ourselves to lunch at the Oriental Hotel on the river.

Sarah, Meredith and Sarah

The bundle of orchids were 120 baht or about $3.50

and the 3 dozen roses were 50 baht or $1.50.

Thai School

For those of you who were requesting video of us at school...here it is. However, John refused to be on film while speaking Thai...sorry Erin. You can see how happy he is about school in the first video (sorry about the shaky picture). So even though my Thai is not the greatest, I agreed to be filmed. Our teacher was so excited that we wanted to film class!

What a week!

Well, we were very happy that we finally reached the end of this week. It was a very challenging and frustrating week. We had to spend each day reminding each other to not get worked up about things and realize that the Thai's move at a much slower pace than what we were used to back home. However, this week was a good week for getting out and meeting new people. I attended a coffee with ladies at the American Women's Club. After the coffee I spent the rest of the afternoon with a few ladies having lunch and visiting one of the ladies art exhibit at the Neilson Hays Library.

On Saturday John and I went to a bar called Salute to meet up with the owner who is originally from the Grosse Pointe area. We were a bit skeptical as to what type of bar we were walking into at first when we had to ride up an all glass elevator to the second floor. The bar was nice but very quite. We spent some time chatting with the owner and his wife and then headed over to a surprise party. At the party we met a great group of people who work at the U.S. Embassy and all live in the same apartment building. Some of them have been stationed here longer than others but it seems that most of them are typically stationed at a post for about 2 years. It was nice to have the opportunity to hang out with some Americans and chat about life here and getting by in Thailand.

So, tomorrow we are off to Thai school in the morning and then John has the afternoon off. Most business are closed here tomorrow because of the Chinese New Year-the year of the Ox. There are many big celebrations here in Thailand for this holiday. In fact, when I was shopping at Carrefour (which is a lot like a Target) the other day there was a Chinese New Year parade with drums, people in costumes and a very large dragon going up and down the isles. It made my shopping trip very interesting!

John's Diving Trip in Pattaya

John's catch of the day!!:)

John water skiing at Cable Park

Watch John grab the line as the cable pulls him around the lake at Cable Park. Pretty crazy setup! You will also see a quick glimpse of our driver Yai (Ya-ee)

Pictures from Pattaya

A refreshing drink by the pool!

One of the pools at the resort.

Very crazy night life here!

Pattaya, Pattaya!

Friday afternoon we were picked up by Yai and drove about 2 hours southeast to Pattaya. This was a very interesting town, to say the least, and I can't say that I would ever go back. Upon entering the town of Pattaya we were shocked by how busy the streets were. It didn't really seem like we had left the city of Bangkok. The first small street we drove down was full of vendors, shoppers, and men. Lots and lots of male farangs (westerners) with sleeveless shirts, earrings and tattoos. Not the street for us to hang out on. After about an hour drive through the traffic in town we arrived at the Sheraton (which was beautiful) and had lunch overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. After lunch we relaxed by the pool and decided to try a restaurant called the Lobster Pot on Walking Street for dinner. I am not really sure how to describe walking street politely. All I can say is that it is not a place for families with children but certainly has some great people watching. At the end of the night we did enjoy ourselves at the Blues Club. Yes, the Thai's can sing the blues...sort of!

On Saturday we hung out around the Sheraton most of the day and in the afternoon went to Cable Park so John could water ski. I will post video of this adventure soon! He was pulled around a small lake by elevated cables. Very interesting!

Sunday morning John was up early to go diving and I decided to relax by the pool and read my book. I am sure everyone at home doesn't want to hear how perfect the weather was that day...about 80 and clear blue sky. Finally, late afternoon we headed back to the city to unpack and getting ready for a new week.

I am hoping to have pictures from this trip posted by the end of the week. We are still dealing with internet issues here. The "internet" guy came today to set things up but he spoke no English and had no clue how to set up our wireless. So John did what he could with what the guy left him and we are hoping someone more knowledgeable from PVS can come here this week to help us. I am crossing my fingers...

View from our balcony

We Made It!!

I want to apologize for taking so long to post a message but we have been without internet since we arrived. To our amazement we have quickly realized how much we depend on the internet to communicate with others and keep our lives in order. So, this is the reason it has taken us so long to add a new post. But, we made and are settling in to our new home.

We spent the first couple days at the malls trying to buy necessary items for our place. We quickly learned that the malls were not the best place to shop for home goods...go to the markets! Linens, towels, electronics, etc. are still very pricey at the mall and you also have to deal with 8-10 Thai employees assisting you with your shopping (even though they speak no English). Last weekend we went to two different markets and were happy to purchase 3 beach towels and 3 towel mats for only 500 baht...about $15.

This week we started our Thai lessons. We are going every day for two hours. This is not an easy language to study and it is even more challenging trying to learn it together. For some reason I find it completely hilarious listening to John speak Thai. The first lesson I had to stop because I was in tears laughing. I have now learned to control myself! We practice our Thai with each other and with our driver-Yai. He loves listening to us pronounce words and phrases in Thai and he is very helpful since he can speak some English.

This weekend we are driving to Pattaya with Yai to spend some time at the beach. We have heard from the locals and others around that it is a bit of a party town but we figured we would give it a shot. We will post some pictures when we return!

My time is limited on the internet so I will have to end here. Hopefully next week we will have internet installed and I write more posts!