Back.

And I made it. Barely.

I had a rough week, I have to admit. It should have been all rest and relaxation, but it was filled with an overload of the elements, emotions, and deep thinking about...'what am I doing here?'

I know I will never be accepted as part of Rin's family. I accept that. In the same way that as much as I know my family will accept him, we are from different lives, different stories that we will never fully mutually understand. I think that is part of the beauty of our relationship, how much we can teach each other.

But this trip brought on a whole new side to the drama of live "on the outside." I have described in the past the house, in the woods, not a whole lot going on. It is nice. It is peaceful. Until the sun goes away. At that point the creatures come out, and lights are too dim to brighten up the dark dark sky, and I never know what I am going to find.

A small selection of the episodes I survived:
-gecko falling from the ceiling onto my chest while sleeping. Rin said "don't worry, that's good luck."
-riding on the back of a motorbike, my hear out to the side to talk to Rin, a big bug I have only ever seen in cartoons buzzed its way into and under my eyelid. The wing remained lodged in there for a few hours. Fun.
-Wash clothes, hang them out, go out, come back, raining, have to wash again. Three times.
-Lack of edible food.
-Water a blackish color, so I quietly asked Rin to buy me some bottled water, and he said, "no, don't worry. It's only because of the rain. And the rain is clean, right?" Went thirsty for a week.
-Spiders in the toilet. Every time.
-Stomach troubles with a squatting toilet, no toilet paper and no squirty thing. Now I know why it is rude to touch people with your left hand in this country.
-His cousins insisting on jumping on our bed at no later than 5:30 am every morning.
-Bats flying very close to my face.

Not to mention Friday was my birthday, to which Rin didn't acknowledge until my mother called and I told her I was going to kick him in the head to remind him, to which he answered, "I told you last night. Besides, you're not a kid anymore." My birthday was spent in the car in the sweltering heat that even air conditioning couldn't help (why is the sun always on my side?). Arrived, went to work on Saturday and Sunday, and as Rin and I are moving into a new house, we took some stuff over last night, he was backing into where our gate opens, and what do I hear" *scrunch.* Followed by *loud engine noises.* Our muffler wrecked on the metal rain where our gate slides, and Rin fearing the wrath of me. A few thousand baht later, we shall continue to move this evening, and perhaps even go buy some wine to celebrate.

School opened today, I missed these kids so much. I am happy to be back into the swing of things, and have found myself with a promotion and a title: "Kindergarten Co-Ordinator." Which basically means I am in charge of all Kindergarten classes in TSEP, the English program (3). But it's a step!

That's all for now. Other exciting news, getting cable for my birthday. Finally I can watch reality television and trashy news again!

Hopefully no more episodes to report soon. Pictures to come once we have moved in.

voices from the woods

I don't know if I am going to make it this time. It seems to me moving from Phuket to Bangkok has made me a little more aware of civilization where I used to live, and now, I am in the throwes of it all again, but it seems worse, tenfold. No running water, fine. I can handle that. But the flooding has brought new little critters. Millipedes, bugs I have only seen in Disney cartoons, geckos the size of my hand, cockroaches the size of rats, rats the size of dogs. I can't sleep, there is always sand in our bed. There is noise. Lots of noise. More noise than Bangkok. We can't drive our car to his house, as there is only a path for motorbikes with palm trees on either side. So we park it down the road and walk in the dark. He says we are going home on Friday. I want to go sooner. I haven't had a minute alone, and this is my five fay holiday, since I have been working straight for six months. Not my idea of a holiday. We were supposed to go to Samui for my birthday. Flooding, so we can't.

I would kill for some American television and some soft tacos.

On the Road Again

Signing off for a week or so, as Rin and I are heading into the jungle tonight. He is picking me up form work today and we are going to drive until we find a place to stop by the beach...then tomorrow heading to his mum's place for a week of...nothing. I think it's just what the doctor ordered. Except that all of the southern provinces are flooded and there are warnings for no unnecessary travel. It seems the me that the weather in Thailand always ruins everything. (Christmas-tsunami. Birthday-flooding.) Bah.

Be in touch if I can...

This has been going on long enough. Something has got to change. Over the past month, Rin has developed some of the most wretched sleeping habits that have hindered my ability to carry on my life. I spend half the night sleeping, and the other half taking care of him while he is in his sleeping trance.

For example.

Last night we crawled into bed around 9:30 after doing the dishes and chatting for a bit. We watched TV, but it was crap, so I went to sleep, asking him to promise me he was not going to turn on the air conditioning as it was raining out, and I would freeze to death. He promised, and then also promised that he would turn off the TV.

Fast forward. One o'clock in the morning. Rin is drooling on the pillow case I just washed and ironed, snoring like hell, the Thai TV is blasting, and the air conditioning is on full. I think: communication error. Wanting to solve this problem I shook him to see what the deal was. He proceeded to roll over, slap his arm over my head (not good for Thais) and snore and drool on my pillow. No problem, I thought, I will simply take all of the blanket, and then he will be forced to go and turn the air off. The TV, I will turn off myself. Simply to teach him a lesson of course. I quickly dosed off again, to be woken up every fifteen or twenty minutes with one or more of the following problems:
-Rin's arm on my face, slowly suffocating me to death.
-Rin's leg on my stomach imparing my future abilities to have children.
-A combination of the above two.
-Rin actually drooling on me.
-Rin sleeping with 4 pillows, me with none.
-Despite my efforts, Rin having all of the blanket, forcing me to turn off the air. Plan backfired.
-Turtles scratching in their tank because the air in too cold.
-Rin tossing and turning so much he ripped the sheet off the bed beneath him, and not wanting to sleep on the mattress, he decided it was better to sleep on me.
-Heatehr goes to the bathroom, comes back to find Rin sleeping sideways in bed.
And the final straw:
Rin flailing his arm onto the bedside table, knowcking over a lamp, picture frame, my rings, remote, and two books.

So I woke him up, to show him how it feels to be woken up in his sleep, he apologized, cleaned it up, and we finally fell asleep at 6:00, in peace.

And my alarm went off at 6:30.

Showered, suit ironed, lipstick on, coffee finished, I finally woke him up to get ready for work. Funny, he woke up all cheery and well-rested. When questioned about his rest and if he was sorry about anything, he didn't seem to be able to remember anything, only that I was nice enough to turn off the air conditioning for him, and turn off the TV when he fell asleep. *kiss on the cheek.*

Jerk.

my good friends...

As much as I have truly enjoyed your comments, I am sad to say I am going to have to switch my settings. I enjoy the comments from my good friends "MP3 doctor," and "Digital Camera," and "Make your Penis Twice its Size," but I think we'll have to keep our relationship srticly limited to my junk mail box. Sorry.

NO MORE ANONYMOUS COMMENTS.

the end.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHH!

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I can't seem to get this out of my system. I am so annoyed. I don't know what the cause of this is, but I know I don't like feeling like this. (Know this is only today, not in general...) I am so overstretched. Being the only female foreigner at this school I have been roped into cancelling my classes with my kids, whom I love, in order to record a tape to teach "Political Terms and Phrases," to the goddamn PM of this freaking country. You see, the daughter of the owner of the school is in politics, and this is one of her assignments. Why do it herself when she can rope in daddy's workers to do it for her. And not only that, it was full of grammatical errors which she said "fix." And now I have sat in a hot hot hot room recording a script littered with errors for the owner's daughter with another man who is so beyond irritating and had a wretched London accent; ie, he cannot seem to pronounce "th"...it comes out "f," such as "fank you." As if this is going to help!!!!!!?????? Not to mention, I am not getting paid, but my boss is. So I am being whored out with my clear Canadian accent to speak with a wretched old Londoner to produce something for Prime Minister Thaksin, who I really, really don't care for.


To add to that I am training new teachers, telling them this is NOT America, so do the best you can. But when it's hot, don't complain, when classes are cancelled without notice, don't complain, and when they can't speak English...TEACH THEM.

To add, I am lowing on funds and I have one week off at the end of the month, not to mention my BIRTHDAY and the island we wanted to go to is flooded, and I can't seem to do anything right. Rin's boss hasn't paid him, and isn't answering his phone, and all I want is to spend one long weekend celebrating my birthday by the sea while someone massages my brain.

But, it doesn't look like that is going to happen.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Bored...

Almost late for class, took a quiz to see where I should live, if I was to go back to America. Here are some results:

1. Danbury, Connecticut
Small-Town Charm Near the Big AppleZadoc Benedict began making beaver hats here in 1780, starting this Connecticut town's important hat industry...
Population: 77,350 Average Home Price: $329,000 Precipitation: 39" Snow: 50"

2. Hartford, Connecticut
The Insurance CapitalThis Connecticut city is home to America's oldest State House, oldest public art museum, and oldest continuously published newspaper...
Population: 871,500 Average Home Price: $148,000 Precipitation: 41" Snow: 42"

3. Worcester, Massachusetts
The Heart of the CommonwealthThis city at the heart of New England is home to the
EcoTarium, a science center for all ages…

4. Providence, Rhode Island
New England’s Best Kept Kept SecretThis Rhode Island spot is the home of the award-winning flaming sculpture WaterFire, installed on the three rivers of downtown...
Population: 1,213,000 Average Home Price: $242,000 Precipitation: 48" Snow: 32"

5. Portland, Oregon
City of RosesThis Oregon city has the nation's largest forested municipal park, the aptly-named Forest Park…
Population: 2,000,000 Average Home Price: $259,000 Precipitation: 36" Snow: 5"

6. Boston, Massachusetts
America’s Walking CityHere in "America's Walking City," you can stroll down to famous Franklin Park for the annual Kite Festival...
Population: 3,400,000 Average Home Price: $461,500 Precipitation: 43" Snow: 41"


Aside from Boston, where I could really see myself living, it seems as if I am not suited for any of those places!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I am better off in Bangkok.

Another week bites the dust. I sit in my empty office with the air conditioner pumping god-knows what into my lungs, listening to the click of my own typing, because everyone else has gone home. You see, if you teach the older grades, you get to go home on Fridays at noon. But if you teach kindergaten, you have to wait for them to wake up from their naps to teach them before you can go home.

So I sit, and ponder, and dream about my new house. Rin and I have decided to move out of condo-hell into a proper house. We have been looking for a house for the past two weeks,a nd managaed to find one I thought I was going to settle for. Seeing as we just bought a car we thought we could save some money again buy something else next year. But I decided, hey...I'm 22 years old, and I want to have a nice place to go home to. This other place was down a soi (like "little street") behind a temple, where we couldn't even ride our motorbike it was so small. The place itself was alright, a townhouse, cramped into the hell of Bangkok planning (ir, no planning...) and to get nice furniture, a nice TV, set ourselves up nice, and still save a lot, as it was 3,000 per month ($75 USD.) But then he went looking on Tuesday and happened to come across a house down the main road (Charan Sanitwong, if you know Bangkok at all...) About 30 sois (maybe 1 mile.) This house. Oh. He took me to see it that night, and I decided right then, even if it was more than four times the other house, it had to be mine. It is huge. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, maids quarters (which won't be used.) full kitchen, two stories (rare for thailand), polished wood flooring (rare for thailand), wood furniture and a big yard with a gate and lots of trees and marble entryway. This house is the house of my dreams. Air conditioning in our bedroom, a nice breeze swoping in all day and all night, and in a really nice location.

So Rin pulled out his bargaining skills and saved us a few thousand baht a month, and we move in at the end of this month! I am quite excited, and will be having a party very quickly. And as a special birthday present to myself, I am getting the best cable program money can buy, as I have not seen one television program in English for nearly one year.

Adding to that, now that I think of it, Rin and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary.

That's about it...time to finish off my Fiday and head home to start packing. Three weeks before moving date isn't too early, is it?

updates through photos

A temple made of shells...where we had our car blessed.

A long hallway (to nowhere.)

Adventures down our street in the new car...

Climbing the wat in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand.

Celebrating the last day of the semester.

Friday, picking up the car.

Adventures in Ayutthaya.

so, it's a car. photos to come tomorrow.