Pure, authentic Thailand right there.

Let me introduce you to a little thing called the 'Thai massage'.  Sounds relaxing, right? Think again! The word 'massage' is very all-inclusive in this country actually...it also includes physical therapy, reflexology, yoga and little bit of torture to keep you on your toes!

Gathering peanuts 'tua' from the garden at my homestay (Wahn & Reung-Sri)

My first experience with Thai massage was definitely memorable.  I walked down the street from my international dorm to the first one I found (maybe not the best idea in hindsight...) and saw the advertisement in English for a 1-hour massage for 179 baht, which is equal to about 6 dollars.  Such a steal! So I walked in and in my own special Thinglish language I have developed, communicated my desires and was assigned to a lovely cordoned off section of mattress.  I was prepped ahead of time by a friend that I would have change into some one-size-fits-all attire, so I wasn't thrown off by that at all, but I wasn't prepared for the awkwardness I felt when I was lying in a see-through shift on a mattress, surrounded by thin pink, lacy sheets, with soft music playing in background. At this point, I have to admit that a word *cough...brothel...cough* briefly passed through my mind and I had a tiny moment of panic, thinking maybe I had confused this institution with one of a more shadowy nature!

My doubts were not quite eased when my masseuse, of course a young and rather good-looking gentleman by the name of Gan/Gon, came to into my 'room' and found me in the strange, half-lounge position I had settled on because I had no idea where to sit.  After a few minutes, I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be the average, relaxing massage I had envisioned! I was walked on, pushed, stretched, prodded and folded into origami shapes until I felt like quite a different person. All this while, I had decided to try out some of my new Thai small talk on the poor guy and so we can some good laughs and bonding moments despite our language barrier.  Overall, I feel like we got to know each other pretty well during the session (hah) and I now like to refer to him as 'my dear friend Gan/Gon' when I talk about my massage!

When in Rome, right? :)

Pretty much what I do here is eat

Another exciting part of this week was the homestay with a Thai family that Fulbright arranged for all of the ETAs.  During training the day before we left, Fulbright told me, "Hey Siri, so you are going to be out in the country in a province a couple hours away from Bangkok, by yourself and you are going to spend an extra day there!". Whew. There is nothing like going big for my first homestay ever!  I also think that backpacking through Europe the month before coming to Thailand broke me of all desire for control in my life---I know fully realize that I'm pretty much never in control and that I need to go with the flow....and so that I did!

The house at my homestay

Three days of pure, authentic Thailand.  No malls, very minimal English, no regular showers.  So refreshing to be outside of the big, noisy, polluted Bangkok!  I was placed with a woman nicknamed "A" who was 34 (guessed she was about 26...oops!), her mom Reung-sri and their distant relation/maid named Wahn.  It took 3 hours by a van that provided many extra thrills at no cost, such as a foot of air over each bump, to get outside the city.

When we got out at our stop, I couldn't help but think, "Hmm...I'm in the middle of the Thai jungle, with a complete stranger, it's pitch black and there is not another human being in sight....here we go!".  But I quickly felt initiated into the family when we were met by the mom Reung, I hopped on the back of her motorbike, and tightly clung to her as we sped away into the black, buggy night.  Definitely one of my favorite memories of my two and a half weeks here...I had this huge, cheesy grin on my face the whole time, even as I was greeted/attacked by their dogs once we got to the house.

At their beautiful, country compound I spent a lot of time eating, playing with their dog Adee, asking about words in Thai, watching Thai soap operas, going to neighboring markets and talking to their relatives on the phone, who couldn't speak English. Saturday we did a whirlwind sightseeing tour  They took me to a beautiful beach called Baengsaen, and it was hilarious because it took hours to get there, but when we got there, we spent about 20 minutes there. Typical Thai fashion...take a picture, then leave! It seems like in general, people don't  like to be in the sun or the water I think too.

The pond at my homestay

Here is a shortened list of some things I did wrong while there:
-I put too much food on my plate at once (only tiny bite-size portions are taken from the dishes)
-I had dark colors on when we were going to a temple (white or bright colors are strongly encouraged)
-I didn't make my bed correctly (Thai people fold their covers into a square then place at foot of bed)
-And many, many more!

There were moments when I felt just pure, overwhelming discomfort.  The desire to communicate is so strong within me, that it kills me when I can't!  Also, I wanted to be as polite and respectful as I can, but I kept making mistakes! However, overall 95% of the experience was sanuk (fun)! They lived on land with every exotic fruit tree imaginable (bananas, coconuts, dragonfruit, mangosteen etc etc) and produce of all varieties.  I would wake up and they would show me how they picked the food and then we would prepare it for the next meal. Pretty dang local right there!  I also learned how to bucket shower! I had to ask A how it was done and she looked at me like I was crazy.  Good times.

Bangsaen Beach with 'A'

But seriously...I will remember this weekend for the rest of my life! They were sooo hospitable and generous and I could tell that they liked me even though they couldn't communicate it.  Oh and the mom stroked my chin and Wahn held my hand all the way out the gate as I was leaving...good sign? lol. I think so.

Wat Sothon

Alrighty, I need  to go to bed so I can be alive for training tomorrow! Love and miss you all.