Busy . . . I'm so busy my head is spinning . . .

Well, I know it's been awhile since I posted, but honestly, it's been crazy busy around here. I'll try to remember everything . . . here it goes.

Thursday

On Thursday morning, Christy and I headed up to the farm with Mike and Tutu. This is the widow's farm that was purchased with help from Maumee Valley Church. The truck ride was very bumpy and curvy; Christy was afraid she'd get carsick, but I was fine. It was about an hour and a half from Chiang Mai; I read an entire book on the way there! :)
Anyway, the farm is beautiful! There are a few widows who live there now, as well as Tutu's mom and dad and a few other workers. They grow corn, green beans, peppers, peanuts, and a lot of other produce. They harvest the crops and send it back to the orphanages, so it's a great deal.
Christy and I walked around and watched them pick green beans (there was one variety that was really really really long) and corn. I took a lot of pictures; it was so beautiful up in the mountains. There is a large house on the property that once belonged to a Christian lawyer. He was planning on moving there with his wife, but when they had their first child, they wanted him to go to a Christian school in Chiang Mai. So, the house is really pretty, with beautiful doors and windows. It's fallen into a bit of disrepair, but AH is painting and trying to fix it up. Tutu's parents are building a little cabin nearby; her mom doesn't like the "concrete" floors and would prefer a little cabin to this big white house. Hey, I'd live in the house!!!
We ate lunch at the farm--fresh green beans, chicken, and oh yeah, rice. Can't forget the rice. It was really good! There were other dishes, but I liked the green beans/chicken/rice combination, so that worked for me. Anyway, we got home late in the afternoon, so we rested on Thursday night and tried to prepare for the competition games on Friday.

Friday
We were up early on Friday to go the Christian school to teach English. We were supposed to teach 4th and 5th grades again, but the principal decided we should teach the pre-K kids. Christy and Rosie taught one class, and Kaillie and I taught one class. The kids were soooo cute. They were the real young ones with very short attention spans! We sang a few songs and practiced the alphabet. I had a lot of fun!
After teaching, Christy and I decided to climb up the 307 stairs to the wat at the top of Doi Saket. Basically, it's a big mountain with a temple at the top. Not to mention it was the hottest part of the day! We made it to the top, looked around, shook our heads at people worshipping really creepy images of budda, and then walked back down to eat more fried rice at our favorite little restaurant in Doi Saket. After a quick trip to 7 Eleven (oddly enough, on 7-11-08) we slathered on suncreen (oh wait, that was me) and headed back to the orphanage. It was quite a hike--did I mention it was HOT? Yeah, people did look at us like we were CRAZY! We made it, and after waiting a bit, Tutu took mercy on us and carted us back to the guest house so we could shower and cool off before the competition.
We headed to the orphanage around 6:30 and had so much fun with the kids. They LOVED the games for the competition. We did a few relays (over & under with a ball; chicken relay (ball between knees) and the kids were all cheering each other on and participating! In Thai culture, it's not really the norm to be competitive--they just like to play, etc. We also had a memory game, and the kids did really well remembering the items on the tray. They also had to write the items in English, so it was educational, too. The Red Fish were the overall winners! It was a great time!
After many hugs and goodbyes for Christy, we headed out to the Night Market. This time, I was ready. The first time is so overwhelming, and I have a hard time remembering to barter . . . this time I did much better. I bought a few things, and we had fun. But the highlight for me, I'm afraid, was eating Burger King! Boy, did that Whopper taste good! Sorry, but eating rice for every meal is a bit much. . . in my opinion! I like meat. :)

Saturday

Saturday was more of a transition day--Christy was leaving and the group from Virginia was arriving. The morning was spent packing up and cleaning . . . we headed to the airport around 12. The group arrived just fine, and it was nice to see my friends again. David was so happy to be home! Christy left to catch her flight, and the group headed back to Mike and Debbie's. I'm now staying in one of their guest rooms . . . they are so nice and hospitable. After resting a bit, we headed to the shake place--I got my "usual"-rice and mixed veggies and a watermelon shake this time. It's scary that I'm starting to have the same meals . . . anyway, we then headed to see the kids at DS #1 and #2. It was a fun afternoon! We headed to the Night Market, and yes, I did in fact get another Whopper! YUM! It was soooooooo worth it! It was another fun night of shopping!

Sunday

Sunday consisted of church at AH in the morning, lunch at the orphanage--sticky rice and chicken!!!! YUM! We then headed home to rest and relax. The group was still suffering from jet lag, so they really needed it. I went with Rosie, Kaillie, and Mike to the Christian Student Center and shared with the girls there. It was really great to see them and worship with them. I talked about trusting God, and then Kaillie added on to it. It was good. We ate there, too. More mixed veggies, chicken, and rice, with pineapple for dessert. It was a long day! I was pretty tired by the time I got home!

Monday

Another early morning. We left at 7:40 to go to the elephant camp (a different one than the one I went to last week). We did a short little elephant trek---sooooooo much fun. Sara and I rode together--and it was a BIG elephant. I'm so glad the "safety" bar was there, otherwise I would have fallen off the elephant! It was a bumpy ride! It cost about 13 bucks. We left the elephant camp and headed out to a very poor village. They have beautiful things for tourists to buy, and they really need the money. Our group bought some stuff and headed back home. We had stopped on the way to the village to eat--our whole group got fried rice. (Big surprise for me! :) We got home around 3, and I just fell into bed. I was exhausted. I took a 3 hour nap, and then opted not to go to the Khum Kantoke show. Instead, I headed to Carrefour to get some food and eat dinner. Yes, I got McDonalds!
Anyway, it's Tuesday around noon, and the group got up early to teach English and go swimming. Again, I opted to sleep and enjoy the solitude. Sorry it's taken so long to post; the Internet is sketchy at times, and usually I don't have enough time to write! Also, it takes awhile for any pictures to load, and I've tried loading video, but no luck. Oh well. I'll try to post again soon . . . we are headed to Phuket on Thursday!!!!!! We have to get our tickets today--I can't wait to see the beautiful beach!
Ok, I've got to go. The group will be home soon, and it's back to busyness! I miss you all! I'll attempt to post pictures soon!
Susannah