Random Things

Some random food that I saw at the fair that is all over Thailand is dried, pressed squid. It smells disgusting but alot of people like it. They put it through a metal press and smoosch is until it's flat and sell it like that. Also at the fair people were drinking huge containers full of beer, with an big ice cube in the middle, some tables of two people had two of them. It was crazy. Thais love their beer. They also love their fruits at the morning market you can buy any kind of fruit for a crazy cheap price. You can get a bag of about 10 passion fruit for less than a dollar. One of my new favorites is green, unripe mango peeled, cut up and dipped in a mix of sugar and chili flakes. It is so good. I eat three meals a week at Tai's house and even though she says she's not a good cook, I love her food. It is so fun to hang with her I get someone to talk to and someone to feed me delicious healthy food. Everything is fresh and we buy the meat and fruits and vegetables from the morning market. Sometimes it is hard for me to walk through there because there are just pig intestines and hearts and all kinds of things hanging up dripping blood waiting to be sold. On the street outside the building is where the fresh fruits and vegetables are sold so that is normally where I hang out. I love this town, at first I was mad that they put me in such a remote location but I'm realizing it's not at remote as I thought, my first host family just didn't really show me the town. I get to ride on the back of a motorcycle everywhere which is also fun. I'm seeing new parts of the town, meeting new people, I'm starting to love this sleepy little town. It's not as sleepy as I thought, I don't depend on Rotary for anything anymore, I've realized it's pointless and doesn't help anything. It's easier to depend on myself. If I need any help I have plenty of people to help me. I also have tons of support from back home which has gotten me through my darkest days here. I'm busy teaching, doing aerobics and knitting and reading. I only have a few weeks of school left here so I'm on the lookout for a Thai flag that I will bring to school and have everyone sign. I think it will be a nice souvenir to hang in my college dorm room. Some of these people I will never forget. I'm touched by every one's kindness. Sure some people stare and some little kids hide from me but almost everyone is willing to help and willing to do there best to make me happy. My host mom is so cute and just wants me to be happy, my host brother is starting to talk to me more and I'm starting to fit in. Also when I first got here the thought of eating cold pork with sticky rice for breakfast was unthinkable. I couldn't even get it down. Now if there's a morning where I don't have that or fish or chicken for breakfast I'm wondering what's up. I also couldn't eat much if any rice when I first got here, now I find myself taking one spoonful and then another and then another. I'm finally starting to adapt and fit in as much as I can for being about a foot taller and whiter than everyone else here. It's so exciting, I can't stop smiling now. Everything is a new adventure and a once in a lifetime experience. I will definitely be coming back to visit all my friends in the future. I see my friends around town and they wave or honk or yell "Fah" and everyone is so nice.

Until Later, Dacotah Smith