From today I have exactly two weeks left in Thailand. What happened?! I can't believe the time has gone by so fast, especially since Amanda and Kara left. I thought it might feel long but it has snuck up on me and I can't wrap my mind around it at all! I started compiling a list of lasts today: last foods, places, and things to buy. I don't know if I will actually do them all but I hope I can. I have been traveling so much lately it will be weird to just be here for these last two weeks but really good to say goodbye to everyone and get all my stuff together.
Last week Mark and I took the night bus on Thursday all the way to Pattaya to see Berm before we all went together to church camp in Cha-am. His birthday was a few days earlier so we got to celebrate with him and see a few of the sights we didn't see last time we were there. We also got to hang out with his little nephew Game who is hilarious. He went with us around town and loved doing everything! He also tried to talk to us a lot in Thai and would get frustrated when we didn't understand everything. It was really funny. He also had a CRAZY laughing fit and wouldn't stop for like 15 minutes. It was also good to see that Berm's parents were feeling better because they both have been having health issues, which is why he's been home for two months.
Game and Berm at Shabushi for Berm's birthday
Visiting a vineyard in Pattaya
On Saturday the three of us drove from Pattaya to Cha-am to help set up camp. Cha-am Beach Camp is where lots of Churches of Christ from all over Thailand come together for a week at the beach and worship and learn together and get to see other believers when they may not all the rest of the year. It actually started on Tuesday night so we were REALLY early. But is was great to meet the people from Bangkok who were in charge and we were really glad to have something to do. They were super welcoming and asked us to help with many things like making name tags and digging holes and setting up the food stalls. We had to use our Thai skills a lot and we learned lots of new words. Our new friends Tan and Lin really enjoyed teaching us slang that you would never learn in school. It was hilarious. We had also been told that it would be miserable hot and we would hate having to sleep on the beach all week, but it was actually really nice weather, not raining and not too hot.
Playing Phase 10 with Lin, Ai, and Tan
Hanging out on the beach with new friends
When camp actually started Mark and I helped sell drinks with our new friends and were able to take orders in Thai. I only messed up a couple of times. I forgot the word for can instead of bottle and gave this little boy the wrong thing and he looked at me like I was crazy! Many of the people there are from small towns where there aren't very many farangs (foreigners) so they were really scared to talk to us or order from us. Its weird to have people scared of you. I helped in the kids class one day and a mom plopped a baby down next to me and the baby looked up at me, made a shocked face, and started bawling. It was fun in the kids class because their Thai is about the same as mine so I could understand a lot but I don't really know craft words so I would just point at stuff and act things out. All in all it was a really good time to see the church coming together and to see how it really is a full body here because I really only work with young adults and I sometimes forget about the whole picture.
Having fun
Selling drinks with P Tum
Thursday we left and came back to Chiang Mai on another night bus with a few hours in Bangkok. I was actually able to find my way around after having been there 3 years ago! I was amazed. We wanted to get back in time to celebrate the last day of the Thai New Year, Songkran, with our friends here in Chiang Mai. After only a couple hours of sleep we went with our Chinese friends to the moat in the city. We spent all day throwing water on each other and everyone walking by. It was crazy and so fun! Some people put ice in their water and it was freezing. I got a sunburn and a few scrapes from my bucket I used to throw water but it was really great and a good way to connect with some of the Chinese students I didn't know very well.
Yai getting splashed
Tong playing in the water
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