The Kingdom of Thailand

Today we had a crash course in the history and geography of Thailand.  We also learned about some cultural norms, which I was already well aware of thanks to my pre-reading. I'm so proud to be a nerd!

We had our first official Thai language lessons this afternoon.  Slow and steady are definitely the key to participating in this race!  The importance of intonation, rolling of "r"s and new letter combinations are proving to be a challenge.  Don't you worry, Reader- quitting isn't my style!


To familiarise ourselves with the neighbourhood we were randomly spilt into teams and sent out on a Scavenger Hunt.  It was hot but fun.  One of my team members is here with her son.  This is their fifth CCS trip together.  I think that is amazing!  I'd love to make this into a family trip. I've already tried to recruit some of my teacher friends as well.  I sincerely hope this is the first of many CCS programmes for me.
After working hard all day, a group of us headed out to the Night Market after dinner.  Obviously I'm tired because amazing is the only adjective that comes to mind!  I didn't make it through half of the market but here were my favourites:
The clothing - elephant pants galore! Can one ever have too many elephant pants? I'm sure we'll find out.

The gifts - I had to remind myself that the purpose of this trip is not shopping. Even though I saw gifts for almost everyone, I am here to assist the students in Thailand, not the economy.

The ice cream - need I say more? I'm also happy to report that Allison, one of my roommates is a sweet lover as well. We went separate ways at the market but both of us chose the same ice cream spot before we left for the night.

The fish spa! - Tiny little doctor fish cleaning away dead skin for a truly natural pedicure. I first saw this in Europe but have never tried it until now. I had a 15 minute treatment in a private tank for less than $5 US dollars.  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  I would suggest trying it. If you can get past the creepy factor it is pretty cool.

Overall it was a informative day followed by a pleasant night out with the group. So far, so good in Thailand!