Pray for Asian Disaster Victims- updated on Dec. 28

I'm sure you've heard that an earthquake in Indonesia triggered tsunamis and tidal waves. Waves hit several Asian countries, India, and even the Eastern coast of Africa. 22,000 people have been reported dead. One of them was a grandson of the King of Thailand. He died in Phuket. At our school, we were required to black or gray and non-bright colors to express our sympathy.

News reports said this may be the costliest disaster in history because so many people lived in the affected areas. Remember to pray for the rescue workers and the people who lost family and friends. Others lost their businesses and homes. Sri Lanka was probably affected the worst. The worst hit place in Thailand was Phi Phi Island. All the guesthouses were destroyed and hundreds of tourists were killed. I went there in August. I'm praying for the scuba instructor I had. I hope he's okay. Unfortunately, this time of year is the peak season for tourists at Phi Phi. So many foreigners were injured or killed. Thai warships had to come to pick up people from the island.

Earlier this month I went to the Similan Islands and Phuket. The coral reef in the Similan Islands was badly damaged by the waves. That's really sad because it was so beautiful. A Thai teacher told me that a restaurant that we stopped at in Phuket was destroyed. I was in Bangkok when this happened, far away from danger. I didn't feel the earthquake, but a Thai teacher who lives on the 19th floor of her building did. Take care.

Merry Christmas-- Trip to Sukothai and Mae Sot

It doesn't feel like Christmas, but Merry Christmas anyway! I'm far from home and family and friends and it's just a little cooler here. It's usually significantly cooler in Texas during Winter. Sometimes Texas has snow for 20 minutes before it melts away. I don't think it snows in Thailand even in the North.

At school, the Thais asked the farang teachers to come up with a Christmas program. We have 30 minutes to explain to Thai kids what Christmas is all about. But we're not supposed to say anything about Jesus. No nativity scenes. Stick with Santa and his reindeer. Actually, what we're doing will be fun. We're going to sing the 12 days of Christmas with Thai kids dressed up as each part. Mark and I made some very colorful wings out of plastic board and construction paper for the partridge, turtle doves, French hens, and so on. He even made beaks for the swans, geese and hens. We're going to decorate a milk cart wagon that will be Santa's sleigh. Zach will dress up as Santa and throw out candy. We'll teach them to sing We wish you a Merry Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as well.

The Thais are a generous people and this Christmas season is no exception. I have received numerous gifts from teachers and students. One kid gave all the foreign teachers Louis Vuitton gifts. I got a black Louis Vuitton tie. Mark and Zach got blue and red ones. Erin and Cyndi got Louis Vuitton billfolds. I don't even teach this student. She just didn't want to leave me out. I know they are real too.

Sukothai and Mae Sot

Now I'll briefly tell you about my trip that happened ages ago. Sukothai is in Northern Thailand. It used to be the capital of the country centuries ago. It has many ancient ruins with large stupas (the inverted funnel shaped structures) and large Buddha statues. We arrived at 5 am in the morning. We rode a bus all night to get there. We looked around the ruins for a day. Then we went to Mae Sot and met up with a teacher from our school. Geoffrey is a British ex pat who teaches at Chitralada. He visits Burmese refugee children in Mae Sot. There is a church there that teaches the children because they cannot go to state schools. We helped throw the children a Christmas party. Then we went to a fancy restaurant.

Okay. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Over the New Year break I will go hiking on Phu Kradung mountain in Loei province in Thailand. Later.

...If only in my dreams---- Similan Islands Trip

I won't be home this Christmas except in my dreams. It will be my first Christmas away from home. It's going to be tough. I don't plan to spend Christmas day alone though. I'm going to go out with friends. There are lots of places that have special Christmas dinners for ex-pats. I'll write some about my Similan Islands trip and then go. I'm going to meet with a director from the Youth With a Mission organization. They do missionary work in Thailand. I'm interested in it. I've met several missionaries who had great experiences with them. I let you know what I learn.

On my next post I'll write about my trip to Sukothai and Mae Sot. They are in the Northeastern part of Thailand. Mae Sot is right by the border with Myanmar (Burma).

Similan Islands trip

I knew this trip was going to be different because we (teachers from Baylor and Australia) were traveling with the Thai teachers. The Thais made all the arrangements. We booked a train to get to the Similans. There were 41 people that went from our school. We took up an entire train car. As soon as we started going the Thais started taking group pictures. The differences between how we take photos is funny. I normally don't like group photos. But the Thais take almost nothing else. I flipped through their albums and I saw maybe two or three pictures of scenery without people in them. On some of my trips I don't take pictures of people at all- just landscapes.

We ate fish, rice, and pineapple for every meal. Sometimes we had other things too like oysters and crabs. We got sick of the food. I also got badly burned. Otherwise I had no complaints. I was in paradise.

My friend Cyndi said, "I've always seen pictures of wonderful places on people's computers. I can now say I've been to those places." It's true. The water was so clear. You could see down about 20 meters. The beaches have sand that is as white as you can imagine.

My friend Zach said, "I'll never be able to go back to Galveston. There is just no comparison."
It is so true.


The Similans are the best islands I have seen. They are a national park. You have to have connections to stay where we stayed. Our school pulled some strings and we stayed on an island that only the elite go to. Our guesthouse was right next to one reserved for the Royal family.

We rode out to the islands on a boat. As I looked out on the water I saw flying fish. They hung in the air for over a minute sometimes. It was incredible! Zach saw a manta ray from the boat.

We went snorkeling and diving. On our diving trips we saw sting rays and lots of fish that I had never seen before. Some of my friends saw eels. We have some underwater pictures. I will try to load them, but they are very large pictures. I'm really not telling you enough about the trip, but I don't much time to write now.

I saw the Incredibles. It was very good!
There was a special Christmas service. It was so early because so many people at church don't stay in town on Christmas Day.

Take care. I'm going to try to write again before I go to Khao Yai National Park on Thursday. I am going with the school. It is an English Camp.

Other people I'm thinking about...

My whole family will be missed this Christmas. I'd like y'all to send me pictures if you can. I don't have enough family photos.

I'm really happy for my friends Brian and Missy. They had a baby girl last month.

Nick and Melody had a baby girl last month too. I pray for their missionary work.

Also I am so happy for my friends Andrew and Dana. I heard they just got engaged.

Chad is workin' in Africa too. I pray for him all the time too.

I can't write everyone's name, but I miss y'all.

So many things are changing back in America with my friends and family. All these things are so cool, but I don't get to see them. I wish I could. Okay later.

Monkeys!

I've traveled to a few more places since I last wrote. I went to Lop Buri, the city of monkeys. The people let them run wild at a temple and in the city. Monkeys climb around the telephone wires, sit in the middle of the road, and sometimes growl at people who walk by. Once a year at the temple there is a monkey feast. The people dump tons of food and let the monkeys devour it. We missed that spectacle but I witnessed enough.

The monkeys also grabbed food and anything else people were carrying. They snatched a woman's hat and shrieked at her when she tried to get it back. My friend Cyndi smacked a would-be hat snatcher and impressively grabbed it back from his mangy hands. My Uncle Steve warned me that if I wasn't careful the monkeys would steal my camera. Well they didn't get it. I was only pounced on by a baby monkey. Others weren't so lucky. We took a video of four monkeys that jumped my friend Lindsay. It was really funny! She was not harmed. She shook for a while, and they jumped off. One monkey sat on a boy's head and was just chillin' up there. But one woman freaked out when a monkey climbed up her back and started biting her hair. Her husband wanted to take a picture of it, but she was screaming. When they got it off her, she wouldn't go near them again. I can't blame her. It was a humorous and strange experience.

I also saw a vineyard, an ostrich farm, and a huge sunflower field in the same area.

Last weekend I went to the Similan Islands and with Thai teachers from the school. More on that later.

Sightseeing in Hong Kong Part II

This is continued from one of my earlier posts.

 

We thanked the lady who had ordered for us and then we kept walking down the streets.  Countless Chinese signs and decorative string lights hung above us.  We saw pigs, ducks, and chickens hanging from butcher shop windows.  Then we spotted an an Irish pub on the corner and went in to relax for a while.  

 

We walked to a Taoist temple that was dwarfed by skyscrapers around it.  In the entrance I saw a lady kneeling in front of large metal incinerator.  She got up and threw some paper inside.  On the other side I saw plaques and pictures telling the history of the temple.  This temple helped establish the first children's school in Hong Kong.  I walked into a small, dim room.  I saw a row of statues to my right that were unfamiliar.  They didn't look like Chinese statues I'd seen in Vietnam or Thailand. 

 

I walked to the back corner of the room and took a pictures of a statue that caught my eye.  It was a bearded man dressed in a yellow, black and red.  He looked like an emperor.  A small, cracked statue of a man in black knelt by his side.  Maybe he was a guard.  Beneath them were flowers in a beautiful vase and a bowl filled with sand that held burning incense sticks.  I watched a man kneel in front of them.  He bowed and burned incense.  Then he dropped some coins at their feet.  Other worshipers left oranges. 

 

I entered the main room and smoke from the incense stung my eyes.  Most of the smoke came from cone-shaped coils that hung above my head.  I took some more pictures of the statues as Taoists knelt and burned incense.

 

We kept walking on our tour of the city.  We passed shops filled with Chinese statues and furniture.  We turned to go down a street filled with traditional medicines.  There was a store that sold shark fins and bones.  Other traditional ingredients included lizards, seahorses, goat hooves and mushrooms.  They filled up bins in the shops.

 

We reached the end of our planned walking tour.  We had arrived at Western Market.  It was like a mini-mall.  It had souvenir shops, cloth stores, and restaurants.  And we went up an escalator and were surprised to see ballroom dancing.  

 

We decided to catch a red double-decker bus to go to Victoria Peak Tram Station.  As we crossed a street we saw a model making a commercial.  She was wearing sunglasses, an unzipped white coat with a pink bikini top and skirt, and tall white boots.  I think she was selling shampoo, but I don't really remember. 

 

We got on the wrong bus, and we had a little trouble getting a cab.  Finally we got to the station.  We took the Tram up and saw a wonderful view of the Hong Kong skyline below.  We took tons of pictures and walked around the shops.  We went to an American themed restaurant and waited for the sunset.  We took more pictures of the skyline and then we went down to Lan Kwai Fong Street.  It had lots of bars and restaurants.  We hung out in a British pub and some of us watched a football (soccer) match.

 

I went back early with two friends and we got a little lost.  We found the subway just before it closed.  Then we got off at a station in Kowloon with only a small map on the back of our hostel's business card to guide us.  We got mixed up and walked the wrong direction.  Finally we found a street we recognized.  We had walked around for about 30 minutes.  We were exhausted.

 

The next day our group split up.  Two of my friends went on a boat tour.  On part of their trip they sailed past Macao.  The rest of us walked around Kowloon for a while and then went to Stanley Market.  We walked past a pet fish market, a flower street, and a bird market.  Then we took a taxi.

 

At Stanley Market I bought a cheap painting of a Chinese junk (ship) in the harbor.  I also bought a framed Chinese character that stood for friendship and one that said year of the rooster.  I wish I had bought a Chinese stamp with a stone-carved handle.  There were jade statues, toys, t-shirts, and tons of other souvenirs you could buy.

 

We went back on a bus.  At night, we watched a laser light show from Kowloon near the Star Ferry.  Across the harbor, the skyscrapers in Hong Kong shot green lasers into the sky from their roofs.  Some buildings lit up like neon signs.  The lasers strafed the sky like they were shooting at alien invaders in Star Wars.  I felt like I had arrived in the future.

 

After the light show we went to the Peninsula Hotel.  We heard it was one of the nicest hotels in Asia.  We went up to see the view and to use the nice bathrooms we had heard about.  We got into the nicest elevator I have ever been in.  It had strange grooves in the walls and the lights dimmed when we reached the bar's floor.  We ordered drinks in the bar, and then we went to the bathroom.  The men's and women's restrooms were marked by a light shining in the shapes of the letters m and f on the doors.  We walked in, and a man directed us behind a curtain.  We used stone toilets in front of a window that looked out over Kowloon.  Then the man turned on the faucets for us to wash our hands and gave us towels.  The women said they were confused when they went in.  They didn't see the stalls.  They had to push open the doors which were blended in with the wall.  I don't even have to tell you that was the nicest bathroom I've ever used.

 

That's about it.

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Happy Thanksgiving from Steve

Hello almost everybody I know,

 

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope all of you are thankful for how God has blessed our lives.

 

Some of you may not have heard from me in a while.  I've been in Thailand since May.  I teach English at an elementary school.  My blog site is:  http://stevencross.blogspot.com

 

These holidays are sneaking up on us.  It really doesn't feel like Thanksgiving over here.  I'm not able to see family or old friends; the weather is still hot; and I'm not getting a vacation.  But I'm going to have a Thanksgiving dinner with some friends at a BBQ restaurant.  It's going to be a traditional meal.  We'll eat lots of turkey and stuffing. 

 

I went on another trip.  I saw an elephant talent show in Surin.  It's in NE Thailand.  The elephants were amazing!  They were trained to dance, play basketball, run relay races, and even twirl hula hoops around their trunks.  I'll write more details later and, of course, post pictures on my website.  I'm sorry.  I haven't written as often as I would like too.  I've been busier at school, and that is where I usually get on the Internet. 

 

I visited a Thai high school class yesterday.  I was impressed with how well some kids knew English.  They were better behaved than elementary school kids.  It was funny and surprising how much sarcasm they had.  My friend Teacher Andrew told the class to say thank you to me for my visit.  They did.  Then he said, "Now, tell me what a wonderful teacher I am."  In response, the class started coughing. 

 

I'm going to visit another class and see what I think.  I may decide to teach there next year.  It would be tough to adjust to it.  I know I would have to prepare a lot for each class, and the hours and hours of grading would stink too.  It would be tough, but I think it would be rewarding.  I haven't made up my mind yet.

 

I love y'all,

Steven

 

P.S.  I'll write more about Hong Kong on my blog soon.

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Sight-seeing in Hong Kong Part 1

I went to Hong Kong for a weekend about a month ago. I realized that I didn't describe it in detail for the blog.

I flew by Dragon Air with 6 other teachers to Hong Kong's International Airport. We arrived around 1 a.m in one of the nicest airports I have ever seen. We walked through security and entered into a high-tech world. I saw the blurry images of other travelers as they walked past heat-imaging screens. The airport was huge. It had a tramway inside the airport to take people to the furthest gates.

We had trouble withdrawing money from ATMs. Our Thai bank cards didn't work. We had to use our leftover baht to get Hong Kong dollars in automatic money exchange machines. Luckily our cards worked the next day. We found out later that our bank freezes transactions for a few hours each day.

Hong Kong is not cheap. Eight Hong Kong dollars are worth about one American dollar. It's really not cheap when you earn a Thai paycheck. 40 baht equals one dollar. So many things are about five times as expensive in Hong Kong as Thailand.

We rode in two red, spacious BMW taxis from the airport to our hostel on Kowloon Island. It was a long ride. We rode over a bridge and there was almost no traffic. I shared a very cramped room with three other people. The bathroom was the size of a closet. And the elevators in the building were strange. One elevator went to even floors and the other went to the odd ones.

When I noticed bamboo used for construction, it reminded me of Rush Hour 2. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker go to Hong Kong and get into trouble again. In one scene, they find themselves holding onto collapsing bamboo scaffolding. I wondered how Hong Kong would feel. It would be different than the movies. Every movie about Hong Kong I've ever seen has some international crime lord in it and Jackie Chan kickin' some martial arts butt. There was no sign of the mafia or Mr. Chan. But I saw an ad for his statue in a wax museum on Victoria Peak.

I had a good breakfast the next morning. I ate rice dumpling filled with pork and an "ox tongue" donut. The donut was very long and greasy. It was too much food for breakfast.

First, we went to the Hong Kong Art Museum in Kowloon. We saw beautiful gold and jade exhibits that spanned many different Chinese dynasties. I liked the golden earrings and helmets worn by royalty. I also liked the jade statues of pigs, horses and especially dragons. And there was a very nice statue of an old wise man was supposed to bring long life. Chinese calligraphy has always been impressive to me. I never realized how many styles there were. Each calligrapher had his own style. Some drew in straight, quick strokes. Others drew long, twisting characters like snakes. I read that each style added new and different emotional meanings to the characters. Then we walked into galleries of Chinese paintings. Lin Jen-tong was a nature painter and a plum blossom fanatic. He drew them in green, red and white colors. Sometimes he put them in snow. Sometimes in streams. Other times he drew them with grand mountains behind them. A modern picture had Chinese junks (ships) in the harbour in front of the Hong Kong skyline. We rode across the real harbour in the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island.

We walked the steets of Hong Kong. It was very clean. We saw the Ribbon Market which had no surprises. Just ribbons. Other markets had silk clothing, tourist t-shirts, and fake Rolex watches.

Hong Kong Island is hilly and many streets are steep. To get anywhere in Hong Kong you have to go up or down. To deal with this problem the people of Hong Kong built the longest escalator in the world. It just keeps going and going.

We got off on Noodle Street and had lunch. A nice woman ordered for us in Chinese. We had some spicy beef soup with noodles.
I'll continue writing later.

Reflecting on my time in Thailand

I'm probably going to stay another year in Thailand.  I enjoy living over here a lot.  I've made some good friends. 

I've found a good group of Christians to stay strong with.  I go to a Bible study small group once a week.  I've been going to an evangelical church.  It has a praise and worship band but each week different people lead it.  So one week they'll have a trumpet and the next someone will play violin.  I enjoy worship there. 

I've made friends with Christians from coutries all over the world too.  I've met Christians from Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Poland, Canada, Russia, and the Congo.  I think that's really neat. 

I've also met some missionaries over here.  In some ways what they are doing is the same as what I'm doing.  They teach English to Thai college students, but they teach Bible stories.  Some other missionaries I met are in Laos.  They can't mention their faith because the government doesn't like it.  They could only get into the country as teachers.  Laos is a communist country.  I can't share my faith with my students.  I've talked a little with Thai teachers about Christianity and Buddhism.  I'm not very good at bringing those subjects up. 

Sometimes I feel good about what the Lord is doing through me as a Christian.  I've had some discussions with the other teachers from Baylor.  Ironically, they are mostly not Christians.  I've never converted anyone though.  I feel guilty about that sometimes.  I know I shouldn't feel that way.  For one I can't convert anyone.  Only God can do that.  All I'm required to do is sow the seeds.

I know I have a long way to go in terms of who God wants me to be.  I still don't pray much.  I still don't read the Bible much.  I still don't feel comfortable when I talk about my faith.  I'm not sure why that is.  Please pray for me to get peace about my identity in Christ. 

I've also struggled in my walk.  Bangkok is a sensuous city filled with temptations.  Thai women are unbelievably beautiful.  I've been too physical with some of my Thai girl friends.  We're just friends, but when we go out dancing and drinking, things get crazy.  I haven't gone out dancing for a while because of that.  It's still tempting though.

I don't like teaching very much, but it seems like the only job I could find in Thailand.  I should find another school so I can earn more money.  I'm not saving much.  I only make $400 a month.  It's plenty to live on over here but not enough to take back to America.  I'll need to work somewhere better to save up for a car.  I don't think my parents can afford to give me one. 

I'm uneasy about Bush being our president.  I hope he doesn't start a war with Iran.  Please pray that the Bush administration will use more diplomacy.  Okay I'm through ranting.  I appreciate the prayers of everyone.  Thank you.  Peace.

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Sweet Victory!

In case you haven't heard Baylor beat Texas A&M 35-34 in overtime. I'm shocked.  I can't think of anyone I would rather the Bears beat than the Aggies.  I was there last year when A&M stomped Baylor 73-10 at their home field.  This is sweet!  I wish I could have seen the game.

Sic 'em bears!

 

I haven't written in a while.  I had a good trip in Hong Kong.  I went shopping, and I took pictures of the Hong Kong skyline from the top of Victoria Peak. 

 

My mind is focused on the U.S. elections at the moment.  It should be a crazy election with possibly more surprises than four years ago.  No one can predict how it will turn out. 

 

I've also been thinking about the crisis in Southern Thailand.  The Thai police force has really uspet the Muslim world with the way it handled a protest last week.  78 protesters suffocated to death after being arrested and then be transported in overcrowded trucks.  The Prime Minister of Thailand gave an unconvincing defense of the incident.  He said it was necessary to use force and that the deaths were a regrettable accident.  I don't think these deaths were accidental.  That doesn't sound right. Some soldiers will hopefully be held responsible after an independent investigation.

Allright see ya later.

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More travelling

My last two weeks were in Vietnam. I've just had one week of teaching and now this weekend I'm flying to Hong Kong. I won't have another holiday for a while. We'll leave today (Friday) and get back on Monday. It'll be nice to stay in Bangkok next weekend. It's exciting to travel to other countries, but it can be a little tiring. I'm going with five friends. None of us have been to Hong Kong before. I'm not sure what we'll be doing. I think we'll go to a famous peak to see a view of the city. But I'll let you know the details when I get back. I'm putting pictures from my Vietnam trip on-line today. Check my photo website: http://photos.yahoo.com/steven_c19

Take care.

How to Speak Australian

Aussie Lesson

I'm back in Bangkok or Bangers as the Aussies call it.  Is there nothing they won't abbreviate?  I learned a lot of Aussie lingo during the trip because I was roomming with Andrew Ross.  His family lives in Canberra and he went to Uni (University) there, but he doesn't say he's from there.  He grew up in some small towns in the state of New South Wales.  So now I can speak a little Australian. 

-G'day mate.

-How ya' goin' mate? 

-What's on the salvo? 

-Gonna drink a few frostys. 

-Fairdinkem!

-Hey, I gotta run to the dunny.

-Ok. Cheers mate.

Translation:

-Hey, man.

-What's up?

-What are you up to later?

-Gonna drink a few beers.

-True.  Right on! 

-Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom.

-Ok.  Later man.

By the way, don't tell an Aussie that you are rooting for a team.  I said my friends were rooting for Brisbon during the Australian Football Grand Final.  Rooting means having sex.  My friends were definitely spirited, but they were only cheering for their team.   Supposedly, Aussies and Americans speak the same language.

We met an Aussie expat in Hanoi.  He'd been there for four years and he'd been married to a Vietnamese lady for two.  Between him and Andrew I got I nice informal lesson while we were sitting on kindergarten chairs on a street corner buying drinks for about ten cents each.

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Traveling Problems

Most of you have probably seen the movie The Terminal.  I can't imagine being in the same situation, but I can relate to unforeseen problems at the airport.  I didn't get stranded, but if I had been traveling alone it could have been a different story.  I ran out of money.  More accurately I ran out of baht.  I had 170,000 Vietnamese dong which is about $11 US, but there was no place to exchange dong.  I had almost no baht in my Thailand account.  My paycheck hadn't cleared the bank yet.  I had been counting on that money to be there.  I had one traveler's check left, but I had mistakenly signed it already.  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.  I should have changed some of my dong back to dollars at my hotel in Hanoi.  If I hadn't had friends with me then I would have had no way to pay for the taxi ride home.  But I was fortunate enough to be traveling with generous friends.  I've learned a lesson.

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Voting

I received my absentee ballot.  I'm looking into how to send it the quickest way.  I sent for it twice.  There might be a problem with my residency since I filed it differently the second time.  But I'm still in Texas so I should be able to vote.

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More of my Journey from Vietnam

Xin Chao!

I've been in Vietnam for a week now. I'm going from South to North. I started in Saigon and I'm in Hoi An right now. I love it here. It's a great place to relax, and there are plenty of wonderful things to see. I didn't stay in Nha Trang for very long. I only was there for a day. I didn't see much of the beach, but it was very beautiful. I went diving and then I went out at night. Diving wasn't as good as it was at Ko Pi Pi in Thailand. But I did see a moray eel and an octopus. And now I am certified to dive in Open Water. I won't ever dive without a dive master though. I don't feel confident enough to do that, and it's good to always dive with someone who knows the local waters anyway.

I met a guy from China. He was really nice, and he spoke English well. He insisted that we had to visit China.

He saw that I was reading a book about China and he said we have a proverb in China: "It is better to walk 10 kilometers than to read 10,000 books about a place."

I agree. I would love to visit China. I'll make it to Hong Kong, but I won't be able to visit the mainland in the near future. Our Chinese friend lives a short distance from Hong Kong. We may see him again. He might also visit us in Bangkok.

As I said, I've really enjoyed my time in Hoi An. So far I've gone on two tours. Yesterday we went on a tour of the old city. We saw temples that were mostly decorated in Chinese Buddhist style. One had ornate dragon statues made of shiny, colorful pieces of glass.

The city has retained much of its identity from its ancient past. It used to be a major port of trade for merchants from China and other places about two centuries ago. Then the rivers dried up. This helped preserve its heritage. We learned some of the history at a museum and also at an ancient house that has been owned by one family for centuries.

Today I went on a tour of My Son. The Cham people built temples when they lived in the area from the 4th to the 13th century. The place was left in ruins from bombing during the Vietnamese-American War. They worshiped Hindu gods. It was a fascinating place. Archaeologists still cannot explain how the temples were held together.

Then we went on a boat to a pottery village. I had a chance to try to make some pottery on a spinning wheel. My bowl turned out half-decent. It was very difficult, but the village people made it look so easy. Then we went to a woodcraft village and saw carpenters making ships, furniture, statues and all sorts of beautiful crafts.

Tomorrow I'll see China Beach and the Marble Mountains. Then I'll take a cooking course in the evening. All this sounds expensive, but it is not beyond my budget. Things are very cheap here. We are staying Hoi An a day longer than we planned because we were unable to get sleeper beds on a train to Hanoi. There are worse places to get stranded in. No one is complaining. We may even go to a lunar festival tonight.

During my trip I've seen many beautiful Vietnamese women, but I'm not advertising that I'm single. The Vietnamese people like to play matchmakers. They don't understand why anyone doesn't have someone else. A bartender claimed he was a fortune teller and he said Cyndi and I would be a great couple. She's one of my friends traveling with us. It was funny because he said that Andrew Ross, my Aussie friend, would not be a good match for her. He got upset when Cyndi told Andrew. He didn't want Andrew to feel bad. He denied it. Then he told Cyndi that fortunes are not supposed to be shared. Fortunes about the heart are a secret.

Well I've gotta go. There is still a lot of time left tonight to go out.

I'll write again soon.

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Hello Saigon!

Xin Gio! I am having a good time in Vietnam! Right now I'm in Saigon with two friends. I've been here for three nights. I'm enjoying the food. I've had pho and spring rolls. I also liked Vietnamese Iced Tea.

Saigon is officially called Ho Chi Minh City. Uncle Ho's communist forces invaded or "liberated" Saigon on 30 April 1975. But many locals still call it Saigon. One local said with a bit of resentment that Saigon is the capitalist name not the communist name. The city has about 8 million residents. The traffic is crazy. I have never seen such chaos. Following the traffic lights is optional. Everyone just goes when there is an opening. I'll have to double check, but I think a tour guide said that there were about 20,000 traffic accidents last year.

Most people ride around on motorbikes- either made in China or Japan. Our tour guide said there are 2 million of them in Saigon. According to him 1 out of 8 people owns one in Vietnam. Vietnam has about 80 million people. That's a lot of bikes. They only cost about $400 American.

The road is also filled with cyclos (rickshaws) which are wheeled carts attached to bicycles and people carrying heavy loads of food or goods. Sometimes animals get into the road too.

Fortunately, we became friends with a girl who took us on a tour of the city. We went to the War Museum, Notre Dame, and the Chinese Market. The War Museum was a heart-breaking place. There were many disturbing pictures, but the ones that stand out were of the children who were deformed by Agent Orange. Yesterday we went on a tour of the Mekong Delta. There were floating markets on the river. We also saw women making spring rolls and heard some farmers play music.

Today we went to the Cu Chi tunnels. I crawled around in one of the tunnels. It was very small. One lady in front of us was panicking. She couldn't see very well and wasn't sure if the guide was in front of her.

Our tour guide was funny today. He joked that sometimes he looses tourists in the tunnels. He said, "Some go all the way to Cambodia without a visa."

We're leaving tonight to go Nha Trang. Three friends are there already. We're going scuba diving. We'll fly out of Hanoi to Bangkok on the 17th. I don't know what else we'll do before then.

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A good birthday, now I'm off to 'Nam

Thanks for wishing me a happy birthday.  I had a very good one.  I went to go bowling with some friends- Thais, Americans and Australians- on Friday.  And some friends gave me free tickets to see the Thailand Open on my birthday.  It has the world's biggest tennis stars.   I've seen Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, and Thailand's favorite Paradorn.  It's been great!

And I'm going to go to Vietnam for two weeks because I have a holiday.  I leave tommorrow.

I'll let y'all know more about it when I get back.

I'm going to take lots of pictures and say hello to Uncle Ho. 

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Questionnaire

Here's a questionnaire.

 

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Steven Ray Cross

2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? black work slacks

3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Janitors talking in Thai in the computer lab.  I have no idea what they're saying.

4. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? potato chips

5. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? no

6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? blue my favorite color

7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? hot, always hot in Thailand

8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Oi a Thai friend

9. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? YES!

10. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? relaxed and a little tired

11. FAVORITE DRINKS?  Root beer

12. FAVORITE SPORT? soccer

13. HAIR COLOR? dark brown

14. EYE COLOR? blue

15. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS OR GLASSES? no

16. # OF SIBLINGS? one younger brother

17. FAVORITE MONTH? December, Christmas time

18. FAVORITE FOOD?  That's tough.  I really like food.  In Thailand I like sin yai pad kee mao ky the most (that's big flat noodles with Thai veggies and spices with chicken)  I also like green curry and chicken.  In America I like Italian food, Mexican food, but BBQ ribs are probably my favorite.

19. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Signs with Mel Gibson.  I liked it.

20. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas Day

21. WHO DO YOU CALL TO VENT? I vent in my e-mails and on my blog site.  Sometimes I vent to my parents and sometimes in my prayer group.

22. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? a Hot Wheels toy car it was a classic corvette with monster truck wheels

23. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall!
24. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
25. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Vanilla!
26. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO REPLY? Sure

27. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? don't know

28. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? don't know

29. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? single studio apartment

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? it's been awhile... 

31. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? the floor and some dust bunnies 

32. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Sam and Nick Gantt

33. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? I watched the Thailand Open.  Roger Federer was impressive.  He had no trouble advancing to the next round.  Andy Roddick was amazing.  He can hit a serves that go 220 km/h.  I also saw the best tennis player in Thailand-  Paradorn Sirachaporn.  He is ranked no 20 in the world.  The Thais go crazy for him here. 34. FAVORITE SMELL? BBQ

35. WHO INSPIRES YOU? my dad

36. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? this question for starters.  That opens up a big can of worms. I'm afraid of making bad decisions basically.

37. PLAIN, BUTTERED OR SALTED POPCORN? buttered

38. FAVORITE CAR OR TRUCK? it changes often.  i really like mini Cooper's. 

39. NUMBER OF KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? three

40. CAN YOU JUGGLE?  yes, but not for very long.

41. DO YOU OWN A DONOR CARD? Nope

42. Last book you read?  I finished The Davinci Code and now I'm reading True History of Ned Kelley. It's about an Australian outlaw who was kinda like Robin Hood.

43. Is your checkbook in balance? yeah

44. Did you make your bed today? nope

45. Who did you last argue with? myself.  Does that count?  I don't argue very much with others. 

Godzilla lives.... at my school

A moat surrounds our school.  In it there are fish, frogs and other animals you might expect to find anywhere in America.  But then again this is not America.  Another creature lives or lurks you might say about the moat.  I don't know what the Thais call them exactly, so I will call them monitor lizards.  They look like giant lizards or baby alligators.  They are a scary sight.  About five feet long from tooth to tail.  You may have seen pictures of them on my website:  http://photos.yahoo.com/steven_c19 .  If you spot one in the moat you probably won't see it for long because they submerge into the green murky water, and they can swim quickly.  They not only can move quickly in water,  but as I discovered first-hand, they can go swiftly on land as well. 

My Australian friends who teach at the school had their first encounter with one on the way to home to the bus stop.  We all take the same route every day.  We walk out the back gate of palace grounds and then turn the corner and walk next to the moat.  On that particular day an ambush was waiting for them.  Andrew spotted it in the bushes only a few feet away.  He froze.  Mark didn't notice at first and kept walking.  Lindsay, another teacher who has been here a year, was walking behind them.  Andrew said something to Mark like "Watch out, mate!  Lizard!  Giant Lizard!"  Then Mark saw it and reacted instinctively.  Lindsay claims she has never seen someone jump so high and so far before.  He jumped from the sidewalk into the street and maybe nearly got hit by some cars.  I was not there, so I don't know.  Then it ran off.  I heard this story so I half-expected to meet a monitor lizard some day, but I was not prepared for where and when it would happen. 

Months later I'm waiting for my class to arrive.  It's typical for Thai kids to be late to class.  They aren't counted tardy, and I am thankful they were late that day because it decided to show up to my class uninvited.  The first floor of my wing has a roof, but it's open to the air.  It's basically outside.  I teach on the second floor of the wing which has two classrooms.  I was walking around on the first floor for no particular reason when it happened.  I was very startled.  Okay, I'll admit it.  I was freaked out.  I was ready to jump three feet high.  But I got out of the way, and I don't know what got into it, but it began to climb the stairs.  Maybe it wanted to learn English.  But I doubt it.

At this point I was thinking what am I gonna do?  I'm not prepared for this.  No one told me that monitor lizards come to class.  I could just picture my students arriving and then screaming like frightened masses in a Godzilla movie.  Some of my class have been freaked when a little gecko climbs around on the walls.  How traumatic would it be if they see little Godzilla running towards them?  They might be afraid to go to my classroom ever again.

So I ran to get the nearest people I could find.  I spotted the janitors.  I shouted "Lizard!  Big lizard!"  They didn't get it.  I didn't know how to communicate with them.  So I just motioned for them to come.  They looked puzzled.  But I insisted they come look.  They followed curiously, and they must have thought "farang ba" crazy foreigner!  What is he so excited about?  Then when they saw the monitor lizard wiggling around and struggling to climb the second set of stairs they began laughing.  I started laughing too.  They must have been just as surprised as I was.  We all stood there for a moment.  What do we do about this?  Then one of the men got a broom, and then he climbed up the stairs and swatted at it.  Then the lizard turned and came down the stairs.  The man jumped onto the railing and let it go by.  Then it was running around, and it nearly went into an empty classroom.  One lady was so scared she jumped onto a cafeteria table.  I thought that might be a good idea.  I was ready to jump onto a chair when the man with a broom chased it off towards the playground.  I looked around the corner to see if would come back, but it had vanished.  A second visit remains an unwelcome possibility.   

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Why do I blog in Thailand?

The purpose of this blog site has never been exactly clear to me.  And it probably is confusing to whoever reads it since the content seems random.  Sometimes I write about what I'm feeling.  Sometimes I write about something I read.  Othertimes I describe some event and what I was thinking about at the time.  In the beginning, I wrote just to Baylor friends.  It was just a way of expressing myself better because I frequently didn't share my thoughts or speak my mind.  Now that I'm in Thailand maybe the purpose has changed.  Now I think most of my readers are far away.  They don't see me everyday.  I think mostly family and some friends read it, and i'm not sure how often.  Now this is almost all they hear from me.  If my blog's purpose is to stay connected with family and friends than it is a poor surrogate.  It is nothing like being in the same room and spending time with people.  Even talking on the phone is way better.  So I've resolved to start calling family and friends more often.  So be warned, if you get a call from a number you don't recognize please answer it.  It's probably me dialling with an international calling card. 

Now that I'm in Thailand, I feel like writing interesting facts about the country and culture.  It's the scholar or nerdish part of me coming out.  I also want to share what I'm experiencing by describing sights and sounds.  Othertimes I sound like I'm Charlie Brown talking to Lucy's psychiatry-for-nickel clinic.  It's not easy being so far from America.  I'm learning lessons over hear.  God is working on me.  I'm not always willing to be reshaped by His hands, and it is painful at times.  So, I guess my blog's purpose is to help me record my feelings and experiences during my transition years from college and beyond.  Sort of a diary, except I don't think diaries are open to the public.  And there are certainly things I don't share here.  Enjoy reading in any case whomever you may be: family, friend, stalker, or lost-roamer in Cyberspace.  Thanks for reading about my journey.

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Where's Seabiscuit?

Seven friends and I went horsin' around for a day at The Royal Bangkok Sports Club
race track on Saturday.
There is a scientific way to pick a horse. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I looked critically at the favorites in the printed race guide. I did some in-depth research by noting the times the horses had in previous races and the places they finished. Of course, I had a little difficulty because the guide was written in Thai. But I was not deterred. After I got some explanation from Lindsay about what the columns probably meant, I was set. Two Aussies were in our group. They seemed to have the advantage because they bought a guide written in English, and they were experienced racehorse-pickers. The rest of us were first-timers. But as the day went on, it grew obvious that the playing field was indeed even. As I said, there is a scientific way of picking horses; it just isn't very effective. It's especially that way with limited data. I realized this after two races, and I changed tactics. I closed my eyes and pointed to a name. I announced my pick and new method to the group. Then Mark, one of the Aussies, said and I quote, "That's not a bad horse, mate."
Nara Vadee, lucky number nine, would be my trusty steed. I had picked him-- no he had picked me. Guided by fate and confirmed by Mark's instincts from Down Under, I was confident of victory. But after the horses entered the gates it seemed like an eternity before the race began. The horse stalls were given an appropriate name. The horses were stalled for what must have been three minutes of torture- for both horse, jockey and the betting audience. Thais never rush anything. I began sweating despite the air-conditioned coolness of the room. And an old Thai man started to chat me up in his limited English.
"Where you come from?"
"America. Texas actually."
"Oh Texas. You cowboy." He smiled like everyone does in the Land of Smiles.
"Yep. I reckon." I played along.
"I see cowboy movies. You know Shane? People used to say I look like Shane. You know, 'Come back, Shane?'"
"Yeah. Yeah. Great movie." He would be shocked if I told him I've never seen it. I haven't, but I've heard it's good.
Then he showed an old black and white picture of himself. He used to be a boxer. The picture showed him in fighting stance with a big title belt around his waist. He had a slight resemblence to Muhammad Ali, I swear. Then he demontrated a few quick left jabs and a follow up right hook.
The race finally started. As the horses rounded the first turn, and there was no way for me to tell which one was my horse without a pair of binoculars. It was a big cluster of them with bright colored Thai jockeys whipping their horses furiously. Then one horse broke away from the pack. He shot out like a cannon. The others weren't even close. But I had bet on my horse to place. It didn't matter if it wasn't Nara Vadee racing out ahead. As long as he came in third or better I would make up 150 baht.
But I had misread the signs. My horse came up short; he was fourth by half a length. Ironically, the winner that no one had predicted was named Win! Win! Win! This proves to me that God has a sense of humor.
Actually, one of my friends did have some luck that day. Andrew Cox picked a pathetic horse, a loser that no one gave a chance. It turned out to be his "Seabiscuit." He won 750 baht on a bet of just 50 baht. He wisely stopped betting after that. As the song goes, "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em..." I knew it was time to fold after 3 races. I felt guilty for wasting money so I gave a little more on Sunday morning. Could that be called hedging my bets?

Thai Mother's Day, Diving at Ko Pi Pi and almost walking on "The Beach"

I had a great weekend! I got my scuba diving certificate during my four days in Ko Pi Pi. I need two more dives to get my open water certificate. I would have done it, but we had to fly on Sunday. You have to wait at least twelve hours before flying after a dive.
There was a holiday because it was Queen Sikrit's birthday on August 12. Thais celebrate Mother's Day on her birthday also. They celebrate it much like we do in America. Farang (foreign) teachers at Chitralada (pronounced Chit-la-da) School were invited to her birthday ceremony. I saw the queen for a second as her motorcade of light tan BMWs drove by the Chitralada Palace. No pictures were permitted. I wasn't looking at her long because I was supposed to bow. Then she made a speech for a long time that none of us farang understood. There were Thais there from all over the country. His Majesty the King wasn't there.
The next day three of us went to Pi Pi. It has two main islands. The big one is Pi Pi Don and the smaller one is Pi Pi Lay. Maya Bay at Pi Pi Lay is where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. We flew to Phuket but didn't look around there. Then we took a taxi out to the pier, caught a boat to Pi Pi Don, and by then it was late in the afternoon. We had to find a place to stay the night. It was a little difficult. We were told all the guesthouses were full, so we had to spend more money than we wanted to. We stayed at a "resort". I would very loosely call it that. It had no A/C. But we found a cheaper place the next two nights.
Leigh and I signed up to get diver training at a PADI diving center, while Zach went diving since he was already certified. Our instructor was a big Swedish man. He was a good teacher and made it feel easier. A British girl joined us to get certified. We had to watch lots of videos that were corny like driver's ed. I was nervous about diving, but after doing it twice I have to say it's really fun. On the first day we stayed in shallow water and learned basic skills. The next day we went to Bata Nai, a small island near Pi Pi Lay. The deepest we went down was 12 meters and we stayed underwater for 47 minutes. It was weird breathing underwater. I couldn't inhale through my nose, which is hard to get used to. It was a little tricky equalizing the pressure in my ears too.
As you go down you have to pinch your nose and then blow gently about every meter. During the first dive we saw a leopard shark and many kinds of fish like trumpet fish, which are long, narrow and almost transparent. The leopard shark, white-gray with black stripes, was resting on the bottom of the ocean. Very lazy.
Then we had a break for lunch before we went to a site called Turtle Village. We were hoping to see a turtle but we didn't. Other divers who on the boat saw one. They also saw moray eels. Our group saw a scorpian fish. It was really cool. Our instructor pointed to it but I didn't see it. Then he tapped a rock and part of the rock was alive. The scorpian fish is very poisonous, but it doesn't attack without being provoked. It went back to hiding almost as soon as it moved. On this dive we stayed down a little longer but went to the same depth. We were under for 52 mintues. By the end I was getting used to hovering. You can control descent and ascent by just my breathing.
One of the things I love about diving is all the hand signals. You can communicate almost anything you need to say underwater with your hands. how much air? ok? go up, go down, follow me, look, i need to equalize, etc. If it's too complicated to say with hands you can use a thing that's like a dry erase board. I especially like the symbols for different animals. I learned signals for turtle, scorpian fish, lion fish, and shark.
The Andeamean Sea is really colorful underwater. I saw greens, purples, pinks, oranges, reds, and browns. It's not just the fish. It's also the coral reefs, sea urchins and other creatures. I want to go back. But I'll probably do my last two dives at Pattaya or Ko Tao. Pattaya is only two hours from Bangkok.
Since we coudn't dive the last day, we went on a snorkeling tour. We saw "The Beach" but we couldn't snorkel there because it was rough water. That was a big disappointment. But I took pictures. I guess I'll have to go back. Wow! Long post!

Thoughts during a Trip to Trang

Trang is a coastal city in southern Thailand (not near the terrorism. Don't worry!). There are many unbelievably beautiful islands right offshore in the Andaman Sea. Seven of us farang (foreign) teachers went. We didn't see many other farang around. Thais know about its beauty, but it hasn't gotten too touristy yet. On the first day we went snorkeling. It was wonderful! I saw many different kinds of fish such as parrot fish. However, the water got too rough and we could not see the Emerald Cave. It's a beach that is hidden inside a rocky island. The only way to get there is to swim underwater, but it was too risky to try it at the time. Our second day plans were canceled by rain, so it was a lazy day. We napped and read books all day. I borrowed Zach's gear and went snorkeling by the Ko Hai (or Ko Ngai), the island we stayed on. It was difficult to get into the water, because I went out during low tide. I had to step around sea urchins and walk over coral before I could swim. I saw some creature that had teeth that could blend in with the rock when it closed its mouth. Most of the pictures I took looked like postcards. Some of them looked like paintings. It makes me look like a good photographer, but it really is just the beauty of the scenery. Seeing the beauty of the beaches made me feel awe for God, the creator of nature.

I thought, God doesn't need any man-made altars. He already makes wonderful islands, mountains, oceans and streams that glorify his name. How can we glorify Him any better?

Obviously, we should glorify God. We should sing and pray and do good deeds. Church buildings and cathedrals are nice too, but God glorifies Himself better than we will ever be able to do it.

On the third day we had some excitement, and it was not welcome. One of the girls crashed her motor bike, but she only broke a sandal. She was almost completely stopped when she lost control. Then we had some trouble communicating with some Thais. We rented motorbikes from a Thai family, and they said they would provide transportation to the airport. So we thought we would get a truck and go straight to the airport. We thought. They got a minibus, a van that picks people up, to take us. The minibus kept stopping and picking up people, but they didn't have any luggage. We asked ourselves: Do Thai people fly without luggage? They don't. They weren't going to the airport. We crammed in 15 people. Then we finally stopped and the driver asked us, where do you go? Uh oh! We thought he knew we needed to go to the airport. I told him we needed to go to the airport, and we needed to now! He demanded that we pay him 600 baht on the spot. We gave it to him. We had no choice. We were afraid of getting stranded. So I said "Okay." Then he dropped off the other passengers and started to drive like a maniac. We made it 30 minutes before the flight was scheduled. But the plane was about 40 minutes late.

Here are some things I'll remember:
I viewed the moon peaking through the clouds while riding the train to Trang.
I saw clouds forming like islands in the sky during a storm.
The sea turned three colors with different shades of blue and green. I could have drawn lines dividing the colors into sections.
After a storm part of the beach crumbled into the sea dumping dozens of coconuts and debris into the water. Zach and I jumped across the gap and then watched it double in size in half an hour.
At night blue and purple silhouettes of the islands were obscured by mist.
I also had some wonderful coconut soup for dinner and for breakfast I ate pineapple pancakes.

Exploring Chiang Mai

Here's a late breaking story about my trip to Chiang Mai. One of the best parts of my trip was meeting other interesting travelers. I met two artists (a couple) on my trek through Doi Inthanon National Park. David is a printmaker and college lecturer from England. Caroline is more interested in sculpture and videography. She's from Ireland. One of the last projects she made was a 3-D sculpture of garnish out of 500 TV dinner boxes. David and I talked about history, religion and politics. I also met travelers from New Zealand, Scotland, Denmark, Holland, France and South Korea. Our trek guide Mr. P was quite a character. He kept telling the same jokes. Every time we walked by a Karen tribe hut, he would say "Cannibal House!". He said that at least seven times. When we walked by vines that twisted around trees, he said, "Anaconda!" It was funny because he seemed to laugh at his own jokes every  time. He often would say "Oh my Buddha" instead of "Oh my God." When we went to ride elephants he said, "We go to Thai airport. We catch Thai jumbo jet." The "Thai A/C" he spoke of was a leaf that could be used as a fan. And "Thai 7-11" was a jungle shop that sold cokes and beers. One time he showed us a huge termite hill. He said it had a termite queen and that if you broke the mound open you would see it looked just like Bangkok with a termite Royal Palace, termite school, termite temple, and so on. Mr. P was impressive. He spoke English well and he knew some French as well as some  words in the native tribal languages. He was also amazingly fit for a 60-year-old man. He set a quick pace through the jungle. I was disappointed with my train ride during the day. The scenery was nothing spectacular. I've romanticized train rides from seeing too many movies. They aren't that great. It was better than a bus ride though.

Chiang Mai was an impressive city. It is way more laid back than Bangkok. I could walk everywhere but I got tired of it and usually rode tuk-tuks. The traffic was heavy sometimes and made it hard to cross the street. On one day, quite by accident, David, Caroline and I ended up going on a tour with a tuk-tuk driver. He took us to the oldest wat in the city and lots of other interesting ones. One had an unfinished mural of the water festival. It was very contemporary. It included water guns (that looked like Super Soakers), hoses, and people with tattoos. In a hundred years what will people look back at this mural and say? I think if I lived in Thailand for a long time I would want to live in Chiang Mai. Bangkok is very Westernized and very big and busy. I hate the traffic. I hate the pollution. And there isn't much to do if you tired of going shopping. In Chiang Mai there were lots of interesting arts and crafts being made. I saw a silk factory, a lacquer wear factory, a jade shop, and place that made wonderful looking umbrellas. I bought some gifts for family and friends at the Night Bazaar. The funny thing is that much of what I got has elephants on it. I didn't really even intend that. People are going to think I like elephants. But almost everything has an elephant on it. Thailand is an elephant country. There are pictures of my trip on the yahoo pictures website. I also went to two mountain top wats: Doi Suthep and Doi Saket. Doi Suthep had a wonderful view of the city. I hope everyone is doing well. I'll send you another report soon. I might go to Ayutthaya this weekend. Law gaan. Bye.

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Oops. Wrong Order.

A funny thing happened when I was trying to learn to speak Thai. I tried to order one of my favorite Thai dishes, and it came out all wrong. I wanted to order Pad Khee Mao. Instead I said Pad Khee Moo. There is a big difference. The latter means-- well how I can I put this delicately--- pig s***. Oops. Of course this caused the restaurant owners to crack up. My Thai friends who were dining with me were hysterical as well. One of them told me what I had said. I was just trying to make sure that I was ordering pork which is moo in Thai. The correct way to say what I wanted would have been Pad Khee Mao Sai Moo. Obviously, I can't just make those kinds of substitutions. I'm glad they didn't give me what I asked for.

I went to the Grand Palace on Saturday. I almost don't want to post pictures of it because I really think you just have to go see it yourself to appreciate it. There were many areas that I couldn't take pictures of because it is forbidden.

People are football (or soccer) crazy over here. Right now you may not be aware of it, but there is a huge soccer tournament going on called Euro 2004 in Portugal. Unfortunately the games are shown at very bad times over here. Thai time 11 pm. 1 am etc. I haven't watched any on school nights. But I've been reading about them in the papers. It's a big deal. There was a big game between France and England yesterday. France won 2-1. David Beckham missed a penalty kick. If I were in America, I don't know if I would even be aware of this going on. I'd probably be watching the NBA Finals. I haven't been able to watch any of those games, but I'm glad that the Lakers are trailing 3-1 to the Pistons.

Speaking of Thai sports... I really want to go to a Muay Thai match. Muay Thai is Thai kickboxing. You may have heard of the Jean Claude Van-Damme movie "The Kickboxer," which by the way was filmed in Thailand. I want to see a real match. Some argue Muay Thai is the best hand-to-hand combat martial arts in the world. I've gotta go see it myself. Later.

Buddhism in Thailand

I have taken lots of pictures of Buddhist shrines and religious rituals. It has been interesting to see another religion practiced so commonly. I have been inside Buddhist temples, and I was even sprayed by holy water from a Buddhist monk. I was just sitting with my Buddhist friends, and I got wet.

I have talked briefly with some of the Thai teachers about Buddhism and Christianity. I asked them questions and they've asked me some as well. Always simple questions. I asked, why do use lotus flowers? Buddhists believe lotus flowers help them pray. Why do monks wear orange? I still have no answer for this one. The woman I asked didn't know. What do you celebrate on the Day of Buddha? The day is doubly important. It marks the day of Buddha's birth and his death. They happened on different years on the same day. His death is also called his enlightenment, when he became the first enlightened person. Buddhists believe many others have become enlightened like he has. It is also interesting that Buddha lived and died about 500 years before Christ. The official year of the Buddhist calendar begins with him not Christ. No surprise there. I also noticed that Buddhists give a lot of money to the temples. They don't pass around the collection plate, but they give generously. This is admirable. It makes me wonder about why we pass around a collection plate in churches.

Hua Hin Jazz Festival

I went to the Hua Hin Jazz Festival this weekend. It was a lot of fun. Hua Hin is a beach near Bangkok. It takes about five hours on a bus to get there. The King actually lives there instead of Bangkok. We listened to bands and threw the Frisbee on the beach. The next day I took photos of a temple nearby. Lots of monks live there. No one spoke any English. I wish I could have asked them questions. My knowledge of the Thai language is very inadequate. The Thai language does not use Roman letters like the English alphabet does. I think it would be difficult to learn to read it.

Answers to Some of Your Questions

This post was written during my first year in Thailand:

You might be wondering how I write my blog.  It isn't always easy to update it. I use the computer lab almost everyday at school, but sometimes it is full. Other times I use the Internet cafes, but they are very slow. It takes about 30 minutes to send one email from them. The school computers are fast most of the time. At peak times they get really slow too, and one time the power went out in the lab. Fortunately, I had just sent my email.

Here are some answers to some of your questions. I don't have a roommate. My apartment is bigger than my dorm room was at Baylor. It has a bathroom, a patio, and air conditioning.

 At school, I haven't received any more teacher training in Thailand. I guess they just assume I can do the job. I was given lesson plans for the year. Basically, I teach whatever is in the textbook.  It is a British curriculum. I am also teaching my students the words for common classroom objects like desk, pencil, and "rubbish bin" instead of trash can. I'm also teaching them colors.

My students know how to greet me, but I'm convinced many of them don't fully understand what they're saying. Every day one of the students says, "Students stand up." Then they say,"Good morning teacher." And I reply, "Good morning, students. How are you?" They say, "I'm fine thank you." (That's the usual answer from almost every Thai person when I ask them, "How are you?" Even adults. No one ever taught them to say something like, "I'm having a rough day, but thanks for asking.")

I have managed to get most kids to turn in their work before class ends and the rest do it for homework. There are only a couple of kids who don't do any of it. It is surprising how much kids can learn from me when I don't know their language. I'll say a command in English just like I would if I was teaching a 2nd grade class in America. If they don't understand then I pantomime or gesture what I mean. I also draw pictures and write words on the board. I have about 20 to 25 students in each class. I teach three classes per day from morning until lunch. Each period lasts 50 minutes but no one is in a hurry to leave when class ends. My workday lasts from 8 am until about 4 pm. A van picks me up at 7 am. I will soon start tutoring kids after school. I don't know how much time that will be.

I still haven't got a cheap way to call home. I'll buy a mobile phone and a calling card soon.

I bought a guitar yesterday. It is a nice one. The brand is Fina, which I've never heard of before. I got the case and everything for it for 7,000 Baht or about $150. It might be nicer than the guitar I have at home which was $200 used from a pawn shop, and that doesn't include the case I got for it. Many things are cheap here.

I really enjoyed playing soccer. I didn't score any goals, but I assisted one. Our team lost 2-1. It was fun though. I was the most aggressive player on the field. When I pressured the ball the other team shouted Farang! Farang! Farang! Which means foreigner. I want to get a jersey that says farang on the back.

I love and miss y'all.

Trying Thai Food

This post was written during my first year in Thailand:

I try to be adventurous when it comes to food. I'll try anything twice is my motto. I've tried some really spicy soups and lots of things that I can't even name. I order food in a restaurant at the bottom of my apartment by pointing at pictures. It's hit or miss. Some of foods are good and others are just weird. At school the lunch has been different everyday. I've had squid. It wasn't bad. It just doesn't look very appetizing. Yesterday there was this jello-like stuff around some fruit that was crunchy and served in coconut milk. Thais love the coconut milk. There is something with coconut milk almost everyday at lunch. I have also tried some Thai fruits. I think "mangosteens" are my favorite fruit now. They have a brown skin and two leaves. It's messy when you peel them off. It has a bunch of red junk, but inside it has a juicy white part. It has a flavor unlike anything I've ever tried before.

Later, I went to a restaurant called BBQ Plaza with my friends from Baylor. It had grills on the tables. You order meat and vegetables and then cook them yourself. They pour water on the grill and it becomes a nice broth. They had some awesome dipping sauce with garlic and chilies.

Yesterday, I hung out with some Thai friends. They taught me some words and told me not to repeat them, except to specific friends. They aren't curse words, but I guess they are too informal. I've been warned that I could get into some trouble if I use therm with people I don't know well.

I'll also hopefully play soccer this weekend with a team of school teachers.

Later

Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand

This post was the first email I sent after I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand to teach English:

Hello Everyone,

Sawat Dii, Krahp!
Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand.

This is my big e-mail that I'm sending to lots of people. I won't send very many like this. I will start updating my online journal soon. I have not talked with some of you in so long that you may not know what I am up to at the moment. I am currently in Bangkok, Thailand. I will be teaching English for the next nine months.

Here is a brief update of what is going on right now. I am having a blast! I graduated on Saturday, May 19th. Then I caught a flight on Wednesday morning and I arrived in Bangkok on Thursday at 10:30 pm local time. The time is about 12 hours different from Central Standard Time. I didn't suffer from jet lag too badly, but I don't want to go near a stinkin' plane again for a while.  It was so boring. The day after I got to Bangkok I went on a bus trip with some of the other teachers from the school. What a great cure for a plane trip, right? I don't know what I was thinking. It was a very long bus trip. They told me it would only be three hours. It ended up being seven hours. Oh well. It was fun. I got to meet other teachers before school started. The other teachers who went were mostly Thai. But two Australians came along too. After getting back from the bus trip yesterday, I taught my first day of school today.
The kids were hard to control. Some of them were well behaved, but others were just running around the room. I told them to sit down but either they didn't understand or they pretended not to. I had almost no preparation time. I was given a lesson plan half an hour before class.  But I did get some things accomplished.  I took attendance and taught some of them how to say "Hello, my name is ..." Fortunately, Namon, the lead teacher of the 2nd grade, came by and helped me get the class under control. Some of them started their homework and some even finished in class. One kid was very funny. He wrote his answers in a fluorescent pen so they would be invisible. Then, he showed me with a big smile as he lit up the letters with a special light. Another kid was a troublemaker. He got up on a chair, bent a plastic ruler and then launched it in the air at the ceiling. Later, I was talking to the class with a microphone. I asked each kid, 'What is your name?' He ran up and shouted, "JAPON!" into the microphone then he ran back and sat down. He is a very funny kid!
Well I'm going to write some more individual emails, but I won't be able to write everyone individually. Please be patient for a response from me if you write me an email. God bless you all. I will keep you in my thoughts.

I have a job this summer

This post was written during my senior year at Baylor University:

I am so excited. I am doing the Baylor in Thailand program. I will be teaching English in Thailand for nine months. I leave a few days after graduation and get back in March 'O5. If you're shocked, just imagine how I am feeling. I didn't even think this was a possibility two days ago. But I think God had plans for me. I really do. I was not on the list to go, but yesterday I received an e-mail that told me there was a spot available. I called Professor Mueller and I got it. Now I'm scrambling to get a passport and visa and a plane ticket. I'll let y'all know more details later.
I really am thrilled! You cannot understand how cool this is! I'll try to keep updating this blog while I'm there. Later.

Thanks Rilke

This post was written during my senior year of college at Baylor University:

Packing books into boxes made me reflect on that I’ve learned in college. I packed wonderful books like Letters to a Young Poet, Night, A Lesson Before Dying, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Poisonwood Bible. Next to them, I packed a different type of classic literature- my favorite comic books: Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, The Adventures of Superman, and Calvin and Hobbes (to name a few). I’ve crammed a lot of knowledge into my brain over these four years.

“You’ve really received a good education here,” my mom said. “You’ve been exposed to many different kinds of books that I don’t think you would have seen anywhere else.” I have to agree.

I thought about some of the great things that I’ve learned from books that I’ve read. One thing stood out to me. As a young person who still has many questions about the world, I was comforted by the advice of Rainer Maria Rilke in Letters to a Young Poet. FYI: He is a famous German poet.
I need to thank Dr. Tatum and Dr. McGlashan for assigning Rilke in my BIC Capstone class.

Rilke wrote:

“I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

Today I am striving to live the questions. What will I do after graduation? Why does God not make sense? Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper? Why does this world seem so messed up? What can I do to make a difference? What is my highest obligation? Why do I always procrastinate? How many teeth does a goat have? Okay I’m not really asking that one. The point is I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I will bring them before God in prayer. By trying to live the questions, I hope to achieve some answers.

Reflections on Blue Like Jazz

I've been reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. I recommend it to anyone-- both Christians and non-Christians. I was struck by the beginning of Chapter 10. Miller says that he no longer struggles intellectually to believe in Christ. "Sooner or Later you just figure out there are some guys who don't believe in God and they can prove He doesn't exist, and some guys who do believe in God and they can prove He does exist, and the argument stopped being about God a long time ago and now it's about who's smarter, and honestly I don't care."

This reminds me of a conversation I had with Ron today. We talked about why we have faith in Christ. We've heard arguments against putting faith in Christ, but we both keep coming back to it. We agreed that nothing else offers anything better. No philosophy or other religion gives me meaning. I cannot prove God exists. Nor can anyone prove that God doesn't exist. But I choose to put faith in Christ because it gives my life meaning. If the world really has no meaning, (and I don't accept that argument) then you could say that I'm delusional. But I choose to live for a purpose. I'd rather live for God than for myself or some high Ideals without a God. I believe in love and justice as real things not just abstract ideas. I believe they must come from God, and I feel God's love through the story of Christ. I cannot reconcile the suffering in the world with a God who says He loves me unless I believe in the crucifixion. If God did not spare His own son from suffering, then He must love us, and if we want to be more like God than we must embrace suffering. This makes sense to me, but it also doesn't. I don't know why we must suffer or why Jesus had to suffer. I don't know why God decided to create a world that includes evil and pain. But I know suffering is real and a God who suffers is more real to me than any other deity or idea could be.

Wrong Day

This  post was written my senior year of college at Baylor University:

I was prepared for an interview today. I wore my dad's three-piece gray and blue suit to look the part of a sophisticated applicant. I also borrowed a nice blue tie from Eric to complete the ensemble. I found a ride to Robinson Tower with Mark, and he prayed for me before I went inside. I was ready to knock the socks of a recruiter for University Directories. I hit the elevator button for the second floor thinking I was right on time and looking sharp. But I was in for a shock. When I got out and walked down the hall to the interview suite no one was there. I walked down the hallway in the other direction. Maybe it was down the hall. No one there. Panic struck me. What if it was in the Ferrell Center? If it was, there was no way I could make it there on time now. Was it tomorrow? I wanted to believe I had showed up a whole day early, but I usually expect the worst. I thought I better make the best of the situation and go to the career fair either way. I walked back over wet streets in my blue suit feeling down and embarrassed. I tried not to think about how conspicuous I was. Then my Aunt Linda drove by while I was crossing the road. I don't think she saw me. I looked like a fool. I caught the bus to the Ferrell Center, and I found the booth for University Directories and introduced myself. The recruiter didn't seem upset. I decided to confirm the interview. I said, "I'll see you tomorrow at Robinson Tower." She said, "Yeah. I'll see you there." Inwardly I was saying, "Yes!"

Am I Like Jonah?

As some of you know I attend Church Under the Bridge. This Sunday I heard a challenging sermon. The pastor talked about the story of Jonah and God's calling. He made a point that I had not heard before. He said that most of the time we are like Jonah in that we know what God wants us to do. If you're not Christian you still can have a sense of something you should do. The point is, we often don't do it. We don't want to. It boils down to a choice. Jonah did not want to preach to Ninevah. He knew they might repent and be spared from God's wrath. I started to think about what I know God wants me to do. I feel called to to go to another country to do the Lord's work. I have had a strong interest for a long time, but I haven't gone. I haven't even tried to go with any group. Why not?

Do I Look Like a Hippy?

Note: This is a post from when I was a senior at Baylor University. I looked a lot different then. I had a goatee and long hair.

Here is a conversation I had with Kyrian recently. You don't ever know when to believe what Kyrian says. He's never serious, but you know the saying, "Every joke has a hint of truth."

K: “You are a hippy dude.”
Me: “No! I’m not!”
K: “You are whether you know it or not.”
Me: “Why do you say that?”
K: “You’ve got the hippy hair and the attitude. And it looks like you’re not afraid of anything, which is awesome. And you’re just so happy and carefree.”
Me: “Just because I’m from Austin doesn’t make me a hippy. I’m religiously conservative. I eat meat. I don’t smoke pot.”
K: “You don’t! Man, I thought you did! You look like a pot smoker. The only difference is your eyes aren’t red.”
Me: “Okay. No one’s ever told me that before.”
K: “Hey doesn’t he look like he does drugs?”
Another guy: “Yeah. Nothing personal. But you do.”
K: “But he’s a God freak like you are.”
Another guy: “It’s the hair man.”