We Became Bridges!

It is Tuesday morning and Hil and I are sitting around waiting for our new friends to come pick us up to take us to the mall. Yesterday was a wonderful day full of adventures! We started the day by taking the long trek to Carrefour which is a huge super store like walmart, yet very different. The other Thai intern Bon thought we were crazy for walking "So far" but we had no other choice we can not drive a stick... yet. In actuality the walk was only about a mile on a busy road. We had a wonderful time there stocking up on needed good such as towels and breakfast food. We discovered that mustard is not readily available here. Since we bought some ham they decided to throw in some free wieners for us. They are kind of scary looking, but we are willing to try anything. Speaking of trying anything, we purchased our first cup of Thai tea, we tried it, and we did not like it, but we are going to try to force ourselves to. After out carrefour adventure we ate lunch and walked around Payap University. We ran into some of our friends that we met on the plane from Seoul. They are two Americans who are studying abroad here in Chiang Mai. It was good to see some familiar faces. Then we rented a movie from a place next door. We thought we were buying it, but it was very difficult for the lady to explain to us that it was a rental place using only charades. We rented "Facing the Giants" which is a Christian inspirational film about American football, something we did not expect to find at a local rental place. That evening we were pleasantly surprised to be interrupted by Bon who informed us that our new Thai friend, Doa, was here to see us. She brought along her friend Mint to meet us. At that moment we knew it had happened. The moment we had been waiting for. Our purpose has begun. We became a bridge! We were drawing non Christian Thais to Christian Thais simply by speaking English. They are both English majors and desperately want to practice with some native speakers. We had dinner with them and some of our other friends here at the Zone. I ate the spiciest food I had ever put in my mouth and I thought I was going to die. Our friends and Hil did not think I could finish it... but I did! Booya! After dinner we were part of the craziest card game I had ever been a part of. "THE WATER GAME!" This game is all about making other people drink water until the want to explode, and you must earn your bathroom privileges. Every card you flip over tells you a specific tack you must complete with water, it was so much fun. The game ended with our new friend, Mint having to pour water on her head ten times... I hope she comes back! The day ended with a game of good old Texas hold 'em! It was a great ending to a great day!
Amanda