monsoon!

last night i woke up to rain pounding. not on a tin roof, just pounding. it was midnight. when i woke up around 8, it was still pouring.

riding my bike to massage class in my red poncho was quite an adventure - my pants, which are mid-calf length, got wet. not from rain, but from a puddle. this intersection was like a wading pool - half of my bike tires were submerged in agua...good times!

people are just wading through and driving through puddles. i wanted to see a monsoon and i reckon that prayer has been answered!

i think i'm turnin' japanese oh yes i think so

i am starting to think in broken english. all i do 6 days a week is go to massage class (one thai teacher and 5 japanese students) and when i'm not at school i'm at my guest house. i'm the only native english speaker there, and i'd say 95% of the people are japanese. i feel an affinity towards them; they're just quality people. their culture is so polite and systematic it's amusing.

sooo, i'm almost done with my second massage course and i'll be practicing a bit more here in chiang mai. i'm also heading to pai, which is supposed to be a cool city not too far from here. i can't believe i have only 3 more weeks left in thailand - time does fly.

still loving life here - it's so different from india, i still can't get over it. i have indadvertently eaten meat a couple of times here. i didn't get sick which is great. but one thing was this croissant with like an icing on it - and pork. these thai people love their meat, yick.

well i'm off to the saturday night market to continue with my hobby of barbgain hunting - wish me luck!

slacky mc slackerson

i have not posted in a muy long time therefore is am a slacker. i have had access to a computer almost all day (except when my parents bottoms are parked in front of it), but alas, nary a post. apologies. i have been prepping myself for my international adventures. i leave on wednesday and i am certifiably crapping myself. i can't believe how much i need to get done before i head off. good times abound.

i have done much of my errand running, but now need to start cancelling everything . . .car insurance, cell phone, gym membership. yee haw.

i have been spending time in san francisco as it is like getting free air conditioning. it is over 30 degrees cooler in san francisco than it is in san ramon right now (read it is into the 100's in san ramon and a pleasant 76 in sf). this has afforded me the opportunity to re-discover what a kick arse city san francisco is. i reckon i will attempt to live there upon my return to the states.

other than that i have been frolicking in the pool and putting off anything that needs to get done. i am off, it is probably close to 90 degrees in this room and the pool beckons.

this is an actual note from the student i was tutoring in india - she couldn't make our appointment:

Teacher la Goodmorning.

How are you?

I'm so sorry. becuase I am go to BIR. Because my rlative nun sick. I havent' the todaymorning no studing. I am sorry. My in home your to went came here.

Thanks verry much. you are teach me I'm happy. I will three days in come back. See you three days'.

I can't write English verey well.

I am sorry if there are many mistakes.

Lhadon

how do i describe this country?

paradise. might be a good start.

i remember talking to my friend matt in india about thailand. he said, 'yeah it'll be hot and humid but you won't be as tired because thailand is so easy....the people are always laughing and smiling.' and i thought, 'what do you mean, always laughing and smiling?' just that. thai people are constantly joking and laughing. any excuse to laugh. today i gave a little grin to a sort of scary looking lady on the street, and she gave me this big huge smile back. even the scary people smile! so there's always happy vibes on the streets, it's very carefree and cruisy. very different from india.

speaking of india, people keep asking me if i'm indian...i think it seeped into my skin or something!

so i have been keeping busy with thai massage school, from 9-4 monday - friday. i get so excited, it's like having a job or something! but only for 2 weeks so it's cool and fun! plus what i'm learning is freaking amazing! you use your body weight a lot so it's easier as the misseuse. the client gets stretching, massage, and you work the energy lines of the body. i've been feeling right nice on account of all the practice that's been done on me lately! next week i'm going to do another 2 week course - i'm stoked! i can't wait to do this when i go home!

reckon that's it for now in the meantime, rock on wichyo bad selves!

More pics!

Hi Heather!

Here are some more pics for you--a very fun night on a bus tour ( a very BFF photo) and a sunset at Lahaina! How's that for a walk down San Diego memory lane?!

Glad that you are having a good time in Thailand--it sounds lovely. Carley and Jai just got back from Thailand a few months ago and also learned the thai massage and LOVED the country. Nothing much new here--except that my brother Marc got engaged so we are busy planning a wedding in CO for next summer. Very exciting!

Miss you, lots of love, take care!
Jen

i want some freedom....freedom for my people

hi miss, i finally was released from the captive bonds that are OCS. we had a delightful parade on friday where about 800 candidates graduated and i got in the Moostang and drove like a bat out of hell as fast and far as I could. well i obeyed the speed limits and all posted traffic signs on base as my driver's license expired and the Military Police pulled me over. I had to go report to a Colonel who wasn't in the other day thankfully, he wanted me to go take a driver's improvement course in September in Quantico, I politely declined and accepted the 3 point Base driving penalty. If i get 9 more points I win a free crock pot and then have my base driving priveleges suspended, so I won't ever have to work on Quantico again, that's really not such a bad deal.

came up to camp hill on friday, hung out my friends for the weekend, then went to the Matt-inly family reunion at Aunt Lillies'. it was great to see all the cousins, the young ones are mostly adorable, some are little twirps, but for the most part good. everyone was aKsing about you and your travels, I astutely lectured them on your travels and your future endevours, but I don't think anyone believed me, and frankly, i had trouble believing myself at times. I think the Strawberry Dacquiris were kicking in at one point ......or several points for all i know. the fried chicken was really good, and I'm sure you would've enjoyed the corn on the cob.

Jonas Peter won the cutest of them all prize, I was runner up. I can't compete with the choppy baby steps and the grabbing of the crotch area all the time...... well i can't compete with the choppy steps, i'll leave it at that. i'll post some pics of the festivities when i get back to minne.

your travels sound grand. the papaya salad and mango-coconut stuff sounds like heaven. did you know himmelheber means heaven lifter or heaven bearer. most interesting. i'm going for a run on the appalachian trail tomorrow with bowker. i have a triathlon on saturday that i need to get some training in for, wish me luck!!!!

matt and i are waiting for the business ideas to start flowing when you return so keep an open mind....and we'll all step inside (Beastie Boys lyric =;)

i have paragraphed the crap out of this posting for matt and rach2LA who complain about my non-punctuated run on paragraphs. i hope you and all the other bloggers appreciate my copious use of the Enter key and the spacious electronic layout it affords for your reading pleasure.

i miss you and i love you, be safe and smart, all the best, love, will

Hi - My Name is Rachel - May I Take Your Order

Hi, this is your friend Rachel in Los Angeles, California. Remember me? I like pink and long walks on the beach and women dressed up like Bob Ross.

How strange is this - had a dream last night that you were back home and I was giving you the biggest, squishiest hug in all the land.

Miss you!! Enjoy Thailand and I call first Thai massage when you get back!!! xoxoxoxox

if you're really blogging, and you think i'm sexy, come on baby let me know...

first off i am just curious to know who is out there? can everyone be a peach and write your name in the comments? kind of like a guest book, aey? if you want to be my b.f.f. post a photo of your face because I MISS YOU ALL!

*leaving india was a little bit difficult, but after that bus ride i was ready to beat it. thailand is CUSH-Y!

*fellow india travellers may not believe this but my feet are clean! they were clean after 2 days in thailand! can you believe this??? non-india travellers, this is a feat and a half (no pun intended!). everyone scrubs their feet for about 20 minutes a day but we just figured that the dirt was embedded. i guess it was just getting replenshed so quickly....
come to think of it, i haven't seen any poop in the roads here - when's the last time that happened? before i went to india. mystery solved, but maybe better to have left that one unsolved.

*my friend sarah, who's been travelling for 2 years said that 'every country's different, but india's really f@#$%^g different!' couldn't have said it better meself.

*the travelers here in thailand are different too. when i offer people food, they politely decline. in india, it was 'hi, nice to meet you. wanna bite of my apple?' the people here are lovely and thailand is lovely but i'm not venturing out to any bars (yet), which seems to be a big scene here.

*food. it's real good. i have eaten papaya salads, sticky mango coconut rice, pad thai, and lots and lots of yummy fresh fruit that they sell in plastic bags with a big skewer for $0.25. a gal can't complain.

*i also scored myself a bike for $0.75 per day, not too shabby. whenever i have a bike i am automatically happy!

*i enrolled in a thai massage course and it's a really good one - i'm learning a lot and can't wait to practice when i get home. it deals with pressure points (like acupuncture) and stretching. thai people are self-proclaimed lazy people, but they really like to have fun! my lecturer at the school is also the director. he cracks jokes and makes farting noises during lecture. i cannot see this ever happening in india.

*thai people do not speak english like the indians did. i get lost on my bike all the time and no one can help a sister out with directions.

*speaking of getting lost and riding a bike, thailand reminds me of nantucket. compared to india maybe. but it's just nice and pleasant and beautiful, there's a lot of art, and it's just so cushy! i mean, there are trash cans everywhere, they have napkins with meals...just utter craziness.

i reckon that's all the news i can muster right now. today i'm enjoying my saturday off and just cruising around the town...

i miss everyone a lot though! most of the people in dharamsala were heading home and i found myself the slightest bit envious. after 6 months of travel in india, a toll is taken, mentally and physically. so thailand is a great 'vacation'. i'm happy to be here and happy to go back to india, but i have been daydreaming about hugging my family in paris at the end of september. so - sign your name in the comments section and make me feel loved!

xx,
h

Oops - I Suck

Well, I want to publicly apologize for being the world's worst blogger lately. I know you are going through withdrawal from a lack of my witty banter and hysterical anecdotes. But have no fear, my little Indian/Thai Princess, I am back.

First of all, I am very envious that you are now basking in the Thai sun with hot cabana boys rubbing your back with tanning oil (sorry, Mr. and Mrs. F). I must know that Thailand is amazing so that I can put in on my "to do" list for next year when me, you and Amy (and maybe your brothers if they ever stop moving around) can have a reunion. And how is the food? I hear that it's to die for. (I used to make a sweet peanut Thai dish when I lived in the Cardiff pad - Will always said it tasted like baby vomit, but, I thought it was delightful.) I am slowly but surely expanding my palette and I've begun with Thai food and I'm strangely addicted.

Second, I returned home last week from my trip to Brazil. Two words for you - FARKIN' AWESOME. I am hoping that after Amy does her stint in Korea she will elect to teach English to the Brazilians, which would be nice seeing as they speak VERY little English down there. The men are hot, the bathing suits are tiny (which was rather disturbing at times), the drinks are mucho strong and the sights are incredible. Go ahead and put Brazil on your to-do list!! I will definitely accompany you down. My lame butt even managed to throw myself off a 2,000-foot mountain and hang-glide. Yes, me, the girl who freaks out at the top of the stairs due to my obnoxious fear of heights. Once I got over the initial freak out stage, it was the most amazing experience (next to finding those Manolo Blahnik's on sale at Neiman Marcus in my size). And here Matt was calling himself xtreme - not so much.

Anyway, that's about it from here. Amy cakes stopped up for the night on her way back up north and I just squeezed her the whole night. We ate La Cabana and she carelessly left her leftovers in my refrigerator which was a brilliant surprise when I returned home from work last night!! I can't believe that shortly, we'll all be on three different continents. (Sadface.) But rumor has it that you'll be letting me squeeze you soon. Hmmmmmm????

Ok, don't want to overload you with too much Rachel-ness at once.....

Miss you desperately and write me soon - and send me a postcard from Thailand!!

Big hugs and kisses,
Rach

PS: Here's a little snapshot of where we stayed in Copacabana Beach....ahhhhh.

landed.

greetings bloggers -

i made it to thailand after an eventful journey. yes, eventful.

leaving on the bus from dharamsala i said good bye to some good good friends - my sister-cousin nataliana sent me off with some of the finest sweetie sweeties that dharamsala has to offer. and my monk friend, thupten, also came to the bus stand, and rehearsed a line that he had to have memorized and practiced: 'i wish you...i wish you well-be, joy, happiness, and luck.' i took like 2 minutes for him to say it before he draped a traditional good-luck tibetan scarf around my neck. i wish i could take him home with me. tutoring this monk was definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip to india. thanks to nat for sharing your student with me;)

once we (my aussie friend sarah and i) got on the bus, we were informed that while our 500 rupee ticket was valid, our names were not on the seating chart. (500rs is what i paid for 10 nights accommodation - this was the deluxe bus.) after much delusion, we were relegated to the floor of the deluxe bus. it wasn't so bad at times, and at other times it was so bad - like when the old man stepped on my face and kicked both of my shins in. sarah had indian men snuggling up against her legs so i'm not sure who had it worse - but we had a good laugh, and it made the a/c room in delhi all that much more rewarding. very few showers could have topped that one as well.

so whiled the day away in hot humid delhi, shopping, sleeping, chillin'...and then off to the airport. sat down on the plane, next to my (other) friend sarah from the u.s. - who is a nantucketer and i met in kerala 6 months ago! amazing! it was great to catch up with her and made me think that this world is the tiniest ever...

so now i'm in thailand...after the overnight bus ride and the overnight plane ride, i'm chilllling. reading a novel and lazing around. actually they forgot to forward my bag to chiang mai, but it was good because i got to look for a guest house without my backpack! next on the list is finding a thai massage school! thailand is beautiful, a little more expensive than india...the people are really really lovely. i am planning on purchasing a new wardrobe - the pants that i've been wearing for the last 6 months are completely shot.

sooo, thatz all i gotz for now...but i hope this finds you all happy and well.

and oh yeah: happy 4th of july! one of my favorite holidays because the only planning involved is picking up a case of beer, and then drinking it in the sun with your buddies - knock one back for me!