Mission Thailand

Arn't kids the same everywhere... you just cant stop them playing with their food.

Actually the feelers on this one double as toothpicks after your meal.


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Helpful Tip for you.

If a little girl who is being toilet trained gets off a seat, make sure you check the seat before you sit down on that chair, the seat may be wet.


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So Nart and Jain cooked up the snake that was found stuck in the dam this morning. Nart used his sling shot to kill the snake, then once out of the water a few more hits with a stick just to make sure. Yai kept the skin, and Nart used his trusty meat cleaver to mince it up.
So what did it taste like? Well just like dog. ...just kidding folks, dog is much more chewy.
The flavour of the dish was nice, but I asked Jain, what the hard bits were in the dish, thinking there were some nuts mixed in. He said bones. They didnt debone it, just chopped it up into mince bones and all.
By the way does anyone know if it is safe to actually eat cobra? I guess if you dont hear from me soon, I recommend not trying it yourself. Actually Im feeling woozy now, short of breath, ...must .... get ..... help.... arrrrgh.....

Ok parents, dont panic, Im fine.
Oh and if your wondering, No I have not tried dog.

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We think differently…

We had been out visiting a nearby village with Nart and we asked why only some people wear helmets when riding the scooters/motor bikes but most don’t.   The reply was “No one wears helmets on Sunday’s”. Our silent thoughts went something like… “What? What does the day of the week have to do with anything…” but our questions came out “Why?”…
Nart’s Response “Cause the police don’t work on Sunday’s – nobody gets caught. But at end of month everyone wears helmets”
Our  thoughts “OK humour us, what’s the reason for this one” but the actual question… “Why?”
Nart “cause police are out looking to make money if they haven’t made enough for the month” (i.e. bribes) So personal safety is of no big concern but days of the week are…

Here’s one other strange but true fact… we’re in charge of running the church from now on?!?

We did succumb to the desire for an a/cond.  We ended up buying one for the bedroom  and having it installed yesterday.  The daily high 30’s/40’s and low 30’s every night got a bit too much.  Too many disturbed sleeps, Jed’s blood noses, heat rash – the night before it was installed both boys had been up throughout the night. It was very hot. Jed woke with a blood nose – which I didn’t realize and had him in my arms in the dark. I finally realized with blood running down my back why he was up.  Ended up washing his bedding, pyjamas, and having a shower in the middle of the night only to have a lovely little scorpion (first one we’ve seen here) come and visit me there…that’s when I knew it was time for an air conditioner!

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I finally have my laptop back, yippee, so I have uploaded a few pics.

We have taught a couple lessons of english at the school, which has been great fun for us and them. We got the kids eating vegemite on bread, which most actually really enjoyed. We are teaching 2 half day lessons a week, and we make the lessons lots of fun, so the kids really enjoy it. We are also able to share some bible stories as part of the lesson, which is a good introduction to the only saviour, Jesus. There are about 30 children, aged 10-12 in the class. This is actually half the school, as its only a small school.

We have seen 3 elephants around the place this week. On the way back from school last week, we saw a guy taking his pet elephant for a walk, as you do. Then one at a local market, and another going for a walk on the way back from the market.

Suwan caught a lizard yesterday, which Jain cooked up with some chillies. I tried it with some sticky rice. The taste, ...well, all I could taste was chilli. Nart caught a snake stuck in one of our Dams this morning, so guess whats for dinner!



At the local market, we found some bugs for sale. I thought great my opportunity to try some bugs. I didnt want to eat it there just in case I barfed and offended the guy selling them. Nart tried them and said these ones didnt taste that great. But we brought them home, and with all good intentions to try them, I smelled inside the bag, and nearlly threw up just smelling them. They really stank. So I gave them miss, and will need to build up some more iron in my stomach, tolerance to the smell. I am still determined to try some, and will only accept heckling from you if you have eaten bugs yourself. The guys here have tried to attract some bigs bugs here, to catch and eat, but they havent been successfull as yet, only catching a handful, not enough for a meal. (Im actually kinda glad about that, ...yes Im procrastinating.)


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Today we went to visit the school we will be working at (few hours/week) over the next few weeks. We went to meet the principle and the English teacher.  It’s a small, poorer school; very old desks, cement floors, some rooms with fans, some without.  We took Isaac & Jed with us.  It was great for them to see a real Thai school. They liked coming out with us & being part of it.
Many of the students came past the “office” to see us and the boys. Jed was shy. Isaac just hated them staring at him and gave them is angry look.
 There was a group of grade 5 & 6’s having a music lesson (traditional Thai music & instruments) which we watched and Jed LOVED.  Isaac most of the time was just eager to go on their play equipment. 
Thankfully the boys were both wonderfully behaved during the meeting at the school and were invited to be part of the younger children’s class whilst we teach English.  At this stage, they’d rather stay here at our home and be looked after with the other children here, which I’m hoping will improve their Thai.  Fook who is their main little friend, speaks very good English so the boys (and us) are doing pretty well avoiding speaking Thai.  Sort of wish we were all forced into learning it!
We went shopping at the supermarket on our return from the school. Tried to order food at the Food Court but as usual we had the shop attendants laughing at us & themselves trying to work out what we wanted.  Sometimes we get it right, other times not.  We ordered what I thought was going to be ice creams for each of us but ended up with an ice and very sweet milk drink (maybe condensed milk) with a blob of ice cream on top.  I loved it, but not exactly what we thought we were going to get. Oh well, got to try something new.
Shopping for Thai food is inexpensive, western food is very expensive (donuts aren’t – maybe that’s where my extra weight is coming from).  We’ve tried heaps of new fruits. Isaac’s favorite is rambutans (sort of like lychee but sweeter) and Jed loves the pineapple.
We’ll update you on our adventure at the school later this week!

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Well my trip to Burma was a speedy one. I thought I'd do a bit more sightseeing when Lisa and the boys need to go too. The scenery near the border was great, with rice paddys in the foreground, and lush green moutains shooting up behind. At the border I just got stamp from Thailand to say I left the country, cross the road and a stamp from Burma to say Ive been there, then back to the Thai office to get another stamp.

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Our visa requires us to leave Thailand every 3 months, and we just cross the border to Burma (or Laos), get a passport stamp and come back. But on my passport, the customs in Thailand put the wrong stamp, and I have to leave the country by next week. Lisa, Isaac and Jeds passports are ok. I will drive to Burma tommorrow and return the following day.

I need to take my laptop to get repaired (yes Sonia, I should not have bought an Acer), in chiang mai, Im not sure how long it will be there for, so the website updates may be a little more sparse over the next couple weeks. Well Im sure I'll get to see some nice scenery on the way.


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(Some background for the following comment: The house we are in is designed for a group of children to live in, and so in our bathroom, we have a row of 3 toilets, 2 boys urinals and 3 showers.)
Lisa asked Jed if he likes being here in Thailand, and he said he did. So she asked him what his favourite thing about being here was. Jed replies, I love how we can all go to the toilet at the same time.

A few of the Thai staff here speak some english, with a strong Thai accent of course. A Thai lady started talking english to Jed, and Isaac interjects, "he cant understand you because he's not Thai", but Isaac thinking she is talking Thai just because of the accent and only he can understand because he is Thai.



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