MeaganClem.com

Su wat dii ka, everyone!

Let’s see… Because most classes were canceled on Monday and Tuesday due to a national holiday, attendance at GrapeJam on Tuesday night was lower than normal. This made it a lot more intimate though, and we had a really great time singing and playing games. The rest of the week was pretty normal, with school and Grapevine activities. After Thursday night’s market, we headed back to the Grapevine to introduce some Thai students, and some American students as well, to the amazingness that is Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It was so great watching it again, although I am not a fan of the newly added computer animated scenes. I think that they’re a bit too obvious. On Friday night we went to “Friday Night Alive” at Muang Thai Church in Bangkok. It was such a great time! We had dinner from street vendors, and then sang praise songs, prayed, and had a great discussion on grey areas of Christianity. I usually hate those talks, but the way we discussed alcohol, by splitting into 2 teams (one team saying that Christians can drink and another saying that they shouldn’t) and then presenting just 5 reasons for their argument went really well. It was very civil and no one was offended or upset. I was just really impressed with how it was handled. The praise and worship was amazing. We learned a song in Thai, and at one point the American students were singing “I Want to Know You” in English while the Thai students were singing it in Thai. It was the greatest sound and was an amazing experience for me.

Saturday was Chemistry lab, which I can not stand. Please pray for me because it stresses me out so much to try to do something that I am not good at, only to be given contradicting directions from different teachers while my partner doesn’t talk to me because she’s shy about using English (understandable, by the way) and people give her instructions in Thai and don’t bother to tell me what they are. I think it’s time to point out again that I don’t expect people to just speak English to me. I know I’m in Thailand. It’s just that this school is taught in English and the teachers and students all speak it and I was getting ignored and completely frustrated.

Afer lab we traveled to an area outside of Bangkok lovingly referred to as “Little America.” It’s pretty much an English area of big houses and American food for people that are moving to Thailand but can’t stand to leave America. We were going to eat at this amazing Mexican restaurant, but when we pulled up the sign on the door said “Closed for Funeral” to which Jenn responded “who freaking died?!?” We ended up eating at this New York Diner place and my french toast and bacon was heavenly. Yes - heavenly. Then we went to Starbucks, which I will never eat at again because the drinks were normal price which means that they were twice the cost of my lunch. Then it was girls’ discussion time, which was much needed. It was a great time to vent about culture stress and the emphasis on body image that is so prominent here. We’re also not used to the fact that pointing out people’s “flaws” in their physical appearance is not at all taboo. For instance, it is perfectly ok to say “you have acne and it looks bad” or something about your weight. We don’t get it because it accomplishes nothing to point out how I look. I already know what I look like and I can’t change any of it. So we vented for awhile over our mocha frappes.
As promised, here are some pictures for you. There are tons more on my Flickr page and I recommend checking them out!

It’s kinda an elephant…

Uh-Oh and Kristin at the Rugby Game!

The cowboy that tells us which van to take to Thammasat Rangsit. Yes, that is a pistol, and that is a flowered umbrella. He also has a sheriff’s badge.

Miscellaneous Grapevine Fun

Jesse and Ja Ja’s birthday party

Will is such a good sport!

The “ch” sound and the “sh” sound are hard for some people to diffrentiate. Ja’s trying really hard, so Jenn bought this shirt for her. I can’t believe she found it!

Oscar the “spirit fish” at Jim Thompson’s house. He lets you pet him!

Stephanie and Taan playing with the art exhibit

Victory Monument in Bangkok

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