The Thai National Hockey Team

Okay, so I know most of you are thinking, "what? Thailand has a hockey team?" and rightly you should as I was greeted with that same response when I told Yui the story I'm about to tell you. I began my morning routine at school by pouring myself a cup of tea, peeling my orange and navigating to the Bangkok Post website to read up on the recent happenings in this crazy country. I was skimming the page when I noticed this headline "Thailand in Olympics-era hockey record". Now this headline was very catchy because of the content that it contained, mainly the words 'Thailand', 'hockey' and 'record' in the same sentence. Needless to say, whoever wrote that article did their job because I was intrigued. I clicked on the article and began reading. Shortly thereafter, I broke down laughing out loud. The first sentence of the article reads as such, "Kazakhstan beat Thailand 52-1 to wrap up their ruthless march through the group stage of the Asian Games ice hockey tournament yesterday. A search of records indicated the game was the highest scoring match in Olympics history". process left the airport in miserable condition necessitating repairs of over $The Thai National Hockey team was beaten by a score of 52-1. Incredible. After spending about a year in total here, I have come to take a certain amount of pride in this country and have begun to feel more connected to the country. When the Olympics were in full swing this past year, Thailand sent one man to the Winter Games and I proudly routed him on even as he finished second-to-last in cross-country skiing. He finished second but it was a hell-of-a-try and he made a showing for himself. And recently I've been embarrassed at the state of the brand-new international airport that Thailand recently unveiled to the world only to discover that the corruption-filled constructionUSD 40 million only three months after construction was completed and it was introduced to the world as the "Pride of Thailand". This saga makes for another blog entry and maybe here soon I'll fill the world in but let's get back to the point of this entry. So, as I feel connected to Thailand I felt a certain bit of embarrassment as I read this article. While I fully understand the challenges and barriers facing the development of an ice hockey team in Thailand, I just simply cannot believe this. How is it possible to lose a hockey game by a score of 52-1? But at the same time, Thailand has many other problems to work on and I think that developing a hockey team is the least of them, so for now we'll simply just have to accept it and take it for what it is...a good laugh.

If you're interested in reading the full article click here.

RM

Two thoughts...

I was riding down the road yesterday afternoon right about sunset. The sunsets in Lampang are incredible. I'm not sure why, but everyday as the sun sets the sky lights up with the most brilliant reds, yellows, pinks and oranges. Everyday. It's a sight that one can never get tired of. Back to the story...I was riding my motorcycle and looking to the west enjoying the picturesque scene of the sun setting over the rice paddies and the warm breeze as I rode along. But that's no different from other days. Today, however, as I was riding there was a train in the distance traveling the same path I was across the rice paddies. It was a sight that stood out in my mind. Not that it's a unique nor inherently striking sight, but at that moment there was something unexplainable about that moment as I was riding - riding in seeming unison with the train through the rice paddies under the setting sun. Even now, I can't find the words to describe the sensation, but it was a pleasant one. And that's thought #1.

I was chatting with a friend online the other day while I was home and had the sensation of deja vu. I know that all of you have at some point or another experienced deja vu and I feel no need to describe the particular incident, but what is in need of explaining was my reaction, which I explained to my friend at the time. I have had deja vu in the past and have had this similar feeling then as I did now. But I take these deja vu incidents (for lack of a better word) as a reassurance that I am doing the right thing in my life. It is as if my experiencing these sensations of deja vu - the feeling that I've been here before - is a sign that I've made the right choices in life and am taking the right path. It's unexplainable why I think that way, but nonetheless, at this point in my life the feeling of reassurance that I received from that moment was pleasant. And there is thought #2.

May you have similar moments,

RM

A political commentary

Well, I finally decided to sit down and write about the politics of this adopted country of mine. As some of you may have guessed, the past four or five months have been a very interesting time for Thailand. It has been fascinating to be here and be a part of it all. This is a rather long entry and it covers many different aspects of the current political situation and I hope it is of some interest to some of you.

The current government took office on September 19, 2006 after a peaceful military coup. My first reaction to the coup was one of shock and fear. My western educated mind has always associated the word ‘coup’ with violence and bloodshed. History has shown that association to not be entirely untrue. However, Thailand’s 19^th coup d’etat was peaceful. No blood was split – people actually responded with an unexpectedly positive attitude – and thousands ventured into the streets to offer food and treats to the soldiers and take pictures with the tanks. It was a public holiday and a time to celebrate the start of a new era of Thai politics. Pledges were made to reinstitute a democratic government rid of the corruption and nepotism that plagued the former government and create a government based on morals and unity. Thailand was going to strive to achieve these goals, despite the fact that at the moment civil liberties were restricted and marshal law enacted. The situation in Thailand had degenerated to such a point that a military coup and governance under a military regime was preferred to the government of a democratically elected government gone astray. And so it was with this mentality that we began this adventure. I myself jumped on the bandwagon and was positive about the coup. I saw it as a solution to the increasingly divisive political climate and while not ideal, was a seemingly uniquely Thai way of dealing with political problems. The King endorsed the coup and off we went.

The next few months saw few changes. September and October passed without much activity. The government proceeded to establish itself and a new cabinet was created. The man chosen to lead the nation into this new period of history was a former general and member of the King's inner cabinet of advisors, General Surayud Chulanont. He is a man widely regarded as a highly moral and incorruptible leader completely dedicated to King and Country – the exact criteria sought by the general public. He assumed the position reluctantly and began governing the country. From the beginning, Prime Minister Surayud was stuck between a rock and a hard place and his appointment began the steady stream of criticism from democracy advocates and critics of the coup. The appointment of a former general to the head of an interim government created after a military coup was not exactly the ideal picture many democracy leaders had in mind. Visions of past coups and military rule slowly re-entered the public consciousness and the interim government quickly began asserting at every opportunity that they intend to return power to the people at the earliest possible moment. They began on the defensive and have remained there ever since. One of the many tasks that the interim government faced was establishing the legitimacy of the coup and bringing the former leaders to trial by completely legal means. This is exactly what they needed to do and it is what that have subsequently done. In contrast to past coups, assets were not immediately seized and political leaders were not imprisoned. The government set up several panels to look into the shadowy places and uncover what they could legally before any action was taken. In any government, this process takes time but in Thailand where the bureaucratic process is at its finest and corruption rampant, it takes forever. Several incidents have been investigated and preliminary findings released, but no legal action has been taken and it is still uncertain whether or not any substantial wrong doing has been uncovered. Moreover, the interim government must take certain steps to ensure that the supporters of the former government are not alienated and pushed to the outskirts. Many supporters of the former government still hold significant influence and the rural supporters of the former government still present a significant faction of the populace. This has forced the government to tread lightly and take a seemingly soft-handed approach in dealing with the wrongdoings of the previous government. But any attempt on their part to strike a hard-line approach immediately would draw criticism of them using the military for there own gains. And there it is…the rock and the hard place. If that were the end of it, it would make for an interesting story, but it doesn’t end there.

The Thai people, immediately following the coup, desired a strong moral leader to govern the country and that is what they got. Recently, it’s become increasingly apparent that one needs more than morals to governing a country. While I agree that a moral leader is essential to creating a stable and productive democratic government, it’s not the only thing. Prime Minister Surayud got by during the first few months of his term on that and that alone but as his government has had to actually govern, it has been obvious recently that they are less than qualified to run the country. There have been numerous incidents and I’ll focus on two or three to illustrate my point. Bangkok rang in the New Year in fear after nine bombings rocked the city on New Years Eve. The bombs exploded around 6 pm and midnight at different places around the city and pushed the city into a state of fear. The next few days saw dozen of false alarms as people thought the spotted bombs around the city and numerous false alarms. The bombers succeeded in creating a state of fear in Bangkok and destabilizing the government. Soon after the bombings, people were speculating as to the identity of the bombers. Was is the insurgents in the South? Had they mobilized and brought the violence from the South into the heart of the capital or was it the work of anti-coup leaders who lost power after the coup? Maybe it was the coup makers themselves seeking to find a reason to more deeply entrench themselves? Speculation was rampant and shortly after the bombings the government addressed the nation. What one expected the government to say was express condolences for those impacted by the bombings and vow to determine who is responsible for these attacks and reassure the public that they are safe and then go about doing just that. But the government jumped into the ring and started speculating themselves. Without any evidence to support their claims, they alluded to the involvement of the former prime minister and his supporters (who I believe was responsible…but then again, I’m not the government and am allowed to publicly speculate). Mistake #1. As a government that was installed after a military coup, one would think that they would tread as lightly in this situation as they have in others. It’s imperative that the impartiality of the government not be questioned and that civil liberties be as respected as possible to demonstrate a true desire to establish a democratic government. I understand a government reacting to a display of violence such as this, but they must act in a measured way not in retaliation for prior misgivings. The investigations drew on and speculation grew and people began wondering if the bombers would ever be identified at all and the political charade continued as several high ranking politicians engaged in a verbal spat through the media. A huge miscalculation. Several suspects are in custody now after a large raid several days ago and while charges have yet to be pressed, the initial reaction by the government leads people to wonder if the suspects in custody are scapegoats and designed to justify the government’s initial comments. My final verdict is still out.

The second incident that I’ll write about is more related to the governance of the country. Thailand was rocked by the SE Asia financial crisis in the late 1990’s and that resulted in a deeply ingrained fear of foreign currency speculation (part of the cause of the crisis). Over that past few years, Thailand has recovered and the economy has been very strong. Recently, the baht (the Thai currency) has increased in value against the dollar as the dollar dropped worldwide. This led many in Thailand to start worrying about currency speculation and a declining export market. The government responded to these concerns with a capital control which sharply inhibited foreign investment and made Thailand much less attractive to foreign investors. Overnight the Thai stock market dropped 15% and saw losses of more than 500 billion baht. The next morning, in response to the events of the previous day, the government eased the capital controls and adjusted the policy to increase Thailand’s attractiveness, yet maintained the controls in several areas. They admitted making a mistake, but declined to say that the action was irresponsible since it did stabilize the baht against the dollar. Further adjustments were made, but this action has increasingly stood out as one which characterizes the current government – a noble goal achieved through foolish means. This action was followed more recently by modifications to the Foreign Business Act which limited the total foreign control of business to 49% and excluded foreigners from having a majority voting right. Thai officials say that this should be positively looked at as it clarifies a previously vague law and seeks to eliminate those who do not follow the current regulations, but was widely looked at as the beginning of a trend.

Finally and most recently was a political row with Singapore over the movements and actions of former Prime Minister Thaksin. After the coup, the government allowed Thaksin to keep his diplomatic passport. Most former heads of state are allowed that courtesy and in an attempt to normalize relations between the former government supporters and the interim government this courtesy was extended to Thaksin. Thaksin used this to his advantage and traveled extensively in Singapore, China and Hong Kong and each one of his trips was widely reported in the Thai media. Most recently in a trip to Singapore Thaksin met with the deputy prime minister, who is also a close friend, and met with CNN for an interview in which he defended himself and criticized the current government. The Thai government was outraged at the idea of this deposed former government official meeting with a member of the Singaporean government and appearing on CNN and demanded an apology and explanation. After receiving a less than satisfactory response, they cancelled Singapore’s foreign minister visit scheduled for later this month. The governments exchanged words and demands and recently the situation has quieted down. But it has strained relations between the two countries and brought negative international attention to Thailand in a time where the Thai government needs to assure the international community that they are in control. The Thai government suspended Thaksin’s diplomatic passport and during his most recent trip to Japan the Japanese government extended him no formal welcome in an effort to accommodate the Thai government and not strain their diplomatic relations. Again, the government was shown to be ineffective and caught between themselves and their desire to create unity. It’s that rock and a hard place again. They can’t be more stringent than they are without drawing criticism and they can’t be more lenient because it won’t create progress and reconciliation that everyone wants.

So, there is my little political commentary and political analysis on the situation out here. I have left many things out, including many of the recent developments in creating a new constitution and a legislative assembly. I guess the take home message from all of this is that Thai politics are interesting. In some ways they are similar to American politics, but in many ways they are drastically different. It has been very interesting to follow and I will continue to do so and I hope to keep you up to speed as things happen. But if you have any questions, as always, please ask. For additional information, check out www.bangkokpost.com.

RM

Fresh Bananas!

Okay, so there are still some things in Thailand that despite having been here for almost a year still amaze me and make me say, "oh, that's cool". I'm living in my little house on the rice field now and out back I have several banana trees. The owners wife was over the other day to water the plants and I came out to chat with her about several things and we were in back by the banana trees. There was a bunch of bananas that were ready to be picked so she told me how to do it and so I picked a bunch off the tree and she gave them to me. When you pick them off the tree they are still green so you have to wait a few days before they ripen so I brought them inside and waited a few days. Last night, after I came home from school they were ripe and ready and smelled incredible so I sat down and had a few fresh bananas right from the tree in my backyard. And as I was eating them I thought to myself, "oh, that's cool".

RM

A unexpected challenge...

Afternoon!

Well, I had an interesting class this morning and I believe I have to classify it as a 'kids will be kids' moment but one which was created by the fact that I'm teaching in Thailand in English. I've been teaching an ecology unit in my M1 class and we just started learning about energy flows and food chains today. As I was teaching there was one word which, after I said it, prompted the students to laugh. I said it several times as it was an fairly important word and my saying it elicited the same response every time. As I was teaching, I was racking my brain trying to figure out if this word meant something in Thai. I've run into that situation where a word in English (key in particular) means something very different in Thai (key in Thai means feces, poop, sh*t etc.). I first ran into that at the English Camp as I was explaining to the students what to do after they checked in. Not only did I say the word "key" many times, but I placed emphasis on it as we didn't want them to lose or forget their keys. At the time, I missed it. But Peck kindly related that back to me later. So with that experience behind me I assumed that this instance was somehow related. I racked my brain and couldn't come up with anything. Finally, I broke down and asked the students what was so funny. Here is a pretty close duplication of the conversation.

Me: In predator/prey relationships, the predator eats the prey and the prey is eaten by the predator.
Students: Hehehehehehehe
Me: Okay, why do you keep laughing after I say the word "eat"?
Students: Oh nothing. Sorry teacher.
Me: Like I was saying the predator eats the...
Students: Hehehehehehehe
Me (laughing...at that point I couldn't help it):Okay, so what is so funny about the word "eat"?
Students: Hehehehehehehe
Students: Because it's Nonn's (a student in class) mother's name.
Me: Oh.

I didn't know how to respond to that, but Nonn didn't seem to mind so I gave them one more chance to laugh as I said "eat" and then I told them to move on and that the next person who laughs when I say "eat" would fail! :)

About 20 minutes later, the laughing starting again. This time they weren't laughing when I said "eat" but when I said "dead". This time it was easier to get an explanation out of them and it was similar to the other - a student’s father's name is Dead. Then I pretty much went downhill from there. The students choose nicknames for themselves and they are usually simple English words or simple versions of their Thai names. At this point, the students were very attune to the exact words coming out of my mouth and over the next 10 minutes I said several students names which elicited laughter. I have a student named First, Far, and Us and their names came up during the class and each time I said them the students would laugh. At that point it was almost impossible to continue teaching and class was almost finished so we just enjoyed a good laugh and then they headed out for lunch. As they left the classroom, I just sat down and watched them while leave shaking my head and laughing. They never cease to surprise me.

RM

Time flies

Today, January 6, 2007, marks the halfway point. As of today, I am halfway through my year here as I arrived on July 6. I've been thinking about that and as with everything in life I can't believe that it has been six months already. But at the same time, there has been so much that has happened and I can't believe that it has only been six months. It is a hard feeling to describe, but I'm sure that everyone out there knows exactly what I am talking about. This is also an important date in my head - it is the time that I told myself before I left when I would start to think about the future. I said to myself in July, "I don't want to think about the future right now when there is so much to think about here and now. I'll think about that in January." Alas, that time has come. So, I've started to think about what my life holds in store for me in the next year (it's also convenient that this comes at the New Year) and I've come up with a few ideas. I want to go back to school. I've always planned on continuing my studies and at some point (?) I will go back to school. I've thought about the possibility of studying here, but I still have to look into that. I also have no idea what I would study or where, so it's a bit hard to say, "OK, now I'll go study". But I do know I want to go back to school and New Years resolution #1 is to study for and take the GRE so that when I decide what I want to do, I can do it. I've also thought about staying here and teaching for a while longer. I started teaching during the middle of the semester and leaving then wouldn't do anyone any good. It would not help the students nor the teacher coming in to have me leave mid-semester, so I'm thinking about staying until the end of the semester (which ends at the beginning of October). Maybe then I come home. But, I could also stay until the end of the year and come home in February. And if I'm here in February, I might as well hang out, travel until July and head to China for the Olympics. Okay, and there is my problem...there is so much to do and so many options for the next few years that it's hard to narrow it down and decide what to do. I guess I'm really just thinking out loud here, but I also know that some very insightful people occasionally read this and if they have any advice I'd love to hear it. Anyway, I hope you all are doing well (and I guess I lied in my last entry when I told you I'd write about my New Years in the next entry...that will come soon, I promise).

Thanks for listening,

Ryan

P.S. New Years resolution #2 is to rededicate myself to learning Thai and focus on reading and writing and New Years resolution #3 is to rededicate myself to learning the guitar (hmm, I see a trend of needing to rededicate myself...interesting).

Welcome to 2550!

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it is 2550 already! "Wait, isn't it 2007?", you're thinking and right you are if you live in most of the world, but here in Thailand it is 2550. Actually, it's both. Here in Thailand they have two calendars, the Gregorian calendar (the one used in the US) and the Suriyakati (สุริยคติ) or Thai solar calendar. You will commonly see both calendars around (most people use both) and it is easy to convert between the two. The only difference between the western and the Thai calendar is the year they begin. The beginning of the Thai calendar starts the year of the Buddha's death (which was 2,550 years ago this year). This means that to convert from a western date to a Thai date you need to subtract 543 years from the Thai date. Many Thai holidays are still determined by the lunar calendar so the dates change every year according to the western calendar. Anyway, I thought I'd use the New Year as a chance to fill you in on that little tidbit of information.

And on to the actual holiday and celebrations! New Years is a much bigger holiday here than in the US. New Years is similar to Christmas in that this is when they give gifts and have big parties and such, so that has been fun. In addition to our school Christmas party we also had a school New Years party. The last day of school before the New Year was dedicated to parties and celebrations at school. Classes were cancelled but the students and teachers all came to school to celebrate and relax together. My students mostly spent the day listening to music, dancing, watching movies, eating tons of food and towards the end of the day they did a gift exchange. The most popular gift exchange is to have everyone bring in a present of a certain value (100-200 baht) and then assign each present a number and have students draw numbers from a hat. I did this type of exchange with the other teachers in the office and will do it again with the students and teachers from the music school where I am learning guitar and teaching English. Most people give gifts around New Years and the whole day different teachers from different departments found their way into our office to give gifts and we made our rounds as well. It was interesting to watch the gift giving process. The English Program went to present our gift to the director of the school and we walked down together and our director handed her the present and while both were holding the present the director gave us a new years wish or blessing or thank you (essentially she talked while we listened and it had to do with the new year and her wishing us well). Then we waied her (the Thai greeting/thank you/sign of respect...essentially placing you hands together as in prayer and bowing your head slightly...there is more to it and maybe that would make an interesting entry one of these days). Anyway, throughout the day we were greeted by people wishing us a happy New Year and it was quite fun. After school and after the students went home, the teachers had their party. We pulled out some table and a stage and had our Red and White New Years Party on the school grounds. Each department brought something to eat and drink and we had a grand old time eating and drinking (mostly whiskey and beer) out in front of the administrative building on campus. There was a DJ and music playing all night and occasionally at the behest of the crowd a teacher or two would be forced up on stage to sing karaoke. Throughout the evening the crowd would also break out into song and sing the traditional New Years songs. It's a bit similar to Auld Lang Syne in the US, but much more festive and usually sung without music and everyone sings and sings proudly. Nonetheless, the evening was eventful. But no evening or party in Thailand would be finished without door prizes! At the beginning of the night we drew numbers and those numbers corresponded with certain prizes. Piled up off to the side were rice cookers, blankets, toasters, blenders, a couple bikes and other assorted prizes and yours truly walked away with a brand new toaster. So, I now have a toaster and I really don't know what to do with it since I don't really eat toast at all and anyway toast isn't very Thai either, so if I come up with anything creative I'll be sure to let you know (and if you have any ideas send them my way). And with that the New Years celebrations at school came to an end.

Here are some pictures of the New Years celebrations at school (both the students and the teachers).
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For the actual New Years (this all took place on Friday, December 29) I headed down to Bangkok with the intention of celebrating in the city and going all out, but my plans were forcibly changed. That'll be the subject of the next entry.

Until then,

Ryan

P.S. You like how I'm leaving cliff hanging entries now?!? Hey, I've got to amuse myself somehow.

My Christmas Story

Running with the theme of the holidays, I wanted to continue to relate my holiday adventures as a foreigner living in Thailand. This is the first year that I haven't been home for the holidays and Christmas and that was definitely an adjustment and at times it was difficult to be away. But as I've written before, I tried to make do by incorporating old traditions into my celebration and creating new ones. Recently, I have been reflecting on what it means to be in the US and Colorado for Christmas and I have come up with a few things I miss (and note that this does not include family, which is implicit…I do miss my family and would love to be able to spend Christmas with them). Here is what I came up with

1. Having a Christmas holiday

Being one of only a small number of people in Thailand who celebrate Christmas, I like every other person here, went to work today. I guess that’s what I get for trying to celebrate Christmas and country that is 95% Buddhist. So, I went to work on Christmas Day and taught classes like it was a normal day. The strange thing was that it wasn't weird. It didn't feel like Christmas and I wasn't missing anything by being at work so in a way it wasn't a big deal to teach on Christmas precisely because no one here really celebrates it.

2. Snow

I miss the snow and being in the snow. I have been fortunate enough to have the chance to bundle up in whatever warm clothes I have as we are experiencing a cold snap here during the cold season, but alas it only gets down to about 45 degrees and there is and never has been any snow in Thailand (unless you count the amusement park attraction in Bangkok aptly named “Snow World” which, as the name implies is a world of snow. It’s a large freezer filled with snow and other assorted Christmas and cold weather items. There is even a sledding hill. It’s an almost laughable attempt at creating a true snowy world, but it’s a heck of a try and at the time of my visit I was ecstatic and was frolicking around like the rest of the folks there). It also does not help that Colorado was just hit with two incredible snow storms.

3. Eggnog

This one is pretty self-explanatory. How I long for that sweet creamy deliciousness that you only find once a year.

4. Christmas (and Thanksgiving) dinner

There is nothing like a turkey dinner complete with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli and cheese sauce, cranberry and topped of with cherry pie and vanilla ice cream. One of the memories I keep going back to is waking up Christmas morning and beginning to cook. The whole family gets together in the kitchen and get the turkey ready to put in the oven and are buttering bread for the stuffing. Mom is sauteing the celery, onions, mushrooms and carrots for the stuffing and we all are working impatiently as we yearn to open presents. Then as we ope presents, the turkey starts to cook and the smells slowly fill the whole house and by the time 2:00 roles around we are all starving and ready to dig in. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

While I have been able to reflect on what I miss, I have also been able to create some new traditions and attempt to create a Thai Christmas celebration of my own. This has been quite the adventure and I’m happy to say that at least some of the efforts were met with tremendous success.

1. A Christmas tree

I wrote about the Christmas tree already so reference that post if you want to read about my Thai Christmas tree.

2. My own Christmas dinner

I am the proud new renter of a house with a kitchen and so I decided to try my hand at a Christmas dinner of sorts. I decided to try to put together whatever I could find out here into something that resembled a Christmas dinner so I bought a roasted chicken, some potatoes, green beans and picked up some chicken stock from a local roadside restaurant restaurant and proceeded to cook and eat a Christmas dinner of roasted chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans. There was one thing missing from this all though - cranberry. The canned cranberry that we pull out every Thanksgiving and Christmas adds a bit of red to the browns, whites and greens and balances out the meal. But canned cranberry (nor any type of cranberry) doesn't really exist out here. After searching for a bit, I found the next best thing - I bought a cranberry flavored wine cooler and had that during dinner…so I got my cranberry.

3. Opening presents

This year I was able to open present over a period of 5 days. My parents sent a package out and it arrived about two weeks before Christmas. I put the presents under the tree and there they sat. But because of the schedule I have with teaching and the time difference between here and Colorado (and my desire to attempt to extend the holiday season as long as possible because it's so hard to create out here), I started to open presents on the 20th of December and opened about 3 presents each day opening my last present on Christmas day. I did this while talking to my family on the phone so it was quite the scene as I held the phone in one hand and tried to open presents with the other. Meanwhile, both of us (my family and I) were using speaker phone so I couldn't really understand any of them since they were all talking at once and they couldn't understand me because the phone kept slipping.

Here are some pictures from my Christmas celebrations. I've included some pictures of my dinner, tree and me opening presents and the Christmas celebration that we had at school. Enjoy!

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Overall, Christmas was good and it was interesting to be away from home and in a place where Christmas is not really a big holiday. But they do celebrate New Years and they celebrate it in a big way…they actually celebrate it three times (the western new year (January 1), the Thai new year (April) and the Chinese new year (February)). That's the topic of my next entry. Until then, I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!
RM