Thailand

A few weekends ago I took a very short trip to Ko Phangan, an island in Southern Thailand, for the Full Moon Party - a huge party on the beach that happens every full moon. We put together a group of 20 people (all exchange students, and me) and rented two big vans to drive us there. We left at 3am on Friday and arrived at the ferry to take us to the island by noon. We stayed in small huts on the beach and spent the weekend either relaxing on our beach or at the party on the party beach. We left Sunday at 8am and arrived home around 11pm...as I said, a very short trip. It was definitely a good time though! There were 10,000 people at this party from all over the world and it was pretty insane. I watched the sunrise on Sunday morning (still on the party beach) and it was amazingly gorgeous. The sky slowly turned pink and the sun rose up right out of the water. I also went on a dive on Saturday afternoon and although the dive site wasn't that great, I did see lots of barracuda, various colored fish, and a blue spotted stingray!

The Thai countryside is very pretty as well and it was nice to drive through. There are lots of rice fields and trees and mountains in the background and small huts with the occasional brightly colored temple. On the way home, we drove through a parade for a Buddhist holiday that had lots of yellow floats, music, and dressed up people. Overall, it was a fun trip, although tiring. But I did get a nice glimpse of Southern Thailand and got to eat some amazing Thai food (mmm Masaman Curry...)

Today is my last day of class for this semester. It's very odd to think that half of my teaching experience is over. This past week class has been really fun because we finished the book so I played lots of games with my classes and of course there were lots of pictures taken. Lots. A few students got me cards and little gifts and asked what I was teaching next semester, which was nice! One of my classes bought me a "baju kebaya" (traditional Malay clothing) which was incredibly sweet!! It has been a very nice week of goodbys, and hopefully I will get to see most of these students again.

This Saturday is Deepavali which is a Hindu holiday celebrating the triumph of good over evil (the day the evil Narakasura was slain by Lord Krishna). There are many special sweets made and lanterns lit. I plan to go to Little India! Then, Tuesday and Wednesday is Hari Raya, the end of Ramadan, and probably the most important Muslim holiday. One of my students invited me to come stay with her in her village on the mainland and celebrate. I am going there on Sunday and staying until probably Tuesday or Wednesday. On Monday we will prepare by cooking lots of delicious Malay food - she said she would teach me! Wednesday evening I am going to another student's house to celebrate some more. These should definitely be amazing cultural experiences!

Last weekend, I went to a show about Baba Nonya (people of mixed Chinese and Malay decent) which was pretty entertaining. This took place at a Baby Nonya house, and there was one actor who came out and told stories, in character, about the history and culture. We also got to eat sweets, which were good. Later that day, I found a small tea store in Georgetown. There was a group of Chinese men who bought tea and were drinking it at the small table in the back of the store. They invited me and Mike to join them, so we sat for a bit and talked about all sorts of things and drank tea. They said they come there a lot and we should join them. Georgetown is a great place - the more I explore the more interesting places I find and great people I meet. It seems I will never be able to see it all, which is a funny thing to say on such a small island!

I hope you are all doing well. I will write another update after Hari Raya, detailing my Malay village experience.