1. Halloween in Thailand is a crack up! Okay so you know how kids in the states are always complaining when someone gives them pretzels or something healthy when they go trick or treating, well how bout a nice dose of Nori Seaweed! Not kidding. We had Thai Craft Fair yesterday and at the end, they handed out halloween bags. A piece of chocolate, two chewy candy things, some biscuits (butter crackers), and Nori Seaweed (individually wrapped slices of it). I wouldn't complain too much anymore kids, at least you don't have a bag full of seaweed when you were expecting candy!

2. Thai people always ask where are you going and where have you been. In the western countries we don't ask that. It is personal, and the only time is if we need something and think they may be headed that way or need to let them know about something coming up. More for care than butting into your business. Here, it is "where are you going?" every time you pick up your purse/bag. Even if you are just headed to the restroom..."where are you going?" It is so weird. I am not used to that question all the time. As soon as I get home "Lala, where you been?" You just have to know that it is a Thai thing and you should go along with it. It is the weirdest, nosiest way of life. Nothing is private. Your every moved is watched and talked about!

3.When Thai people want to get together with you, they say okay this day...no time...no place. Nothing. You have a day. Alright, so you might have another piece of info like that you are going shopping or to see a movie, but don't get your hopes up too much, it might not work out the way you think it will. They fly by the seat of their pants...way more than the most spontaneous person I know. They say they'll call you. Oh right okay, so you'll call me and we can chat, but wait, you don't speak any English, and I don't speak Thai, how is that going to work? Life in Thailand is an adventure to say the least.

I will break off from my weekly facts at this point to share a funny story. Although it is way funnier to tell in person, hopefully, you'll get a taste of what adventure in Thailand means....

I was supposed to hang out with one of the ladies today. She is a sweet lady, but only speaks a little English, so my conversations with her have been random English words that I form into my own interpretations and hope for the best.

So we were going shopping today. Shopping with the ladies is fun because they take you to all the markets where things are extra cheap and there are many things to look at and choose from. The head of Rahab, Prai made sure that this lady knew that foreigners need a time and a place in order to meet. We just can't function like Thais. haha. So, Sunday at noon at the CentralWorld/Bts stop...don't worry about what all that means, I understand and that was all that was important. See she had just said that she wanted me to call her when I got to the area and she would tell me where to go. Not much English, remember. I tried to imagine the phone conversation. Nothing good would ever come from that.

So, today after church I made my way to the area I needed to be at. I arrived a little early, so I just wandered around the area until the time came. I went back to the spot and this lady called me. She asked me where I was? I said the meeting spot bts/centralworld. Then, since I was there and she was no where to be seen, I asked where she was. She said Chit Lom. This is an area up the way from where I was, so I said okay I will walk up there. You stay there okay. okay. Simple enough. Yeah, well, I ended up walking back and forth from the area she said she was to the spot we were supposed to meet at 3 times, before I realized that no matter how many times I talked to her on the phone, she wasn't where she was communicating she was. I ended up back at the spot I was originally and sat down. I called her again and said I can't find you, can you come to Centralworld. She said, all of a sudden, oh I am here. I was like oh ok. Where? This place CentralWorld has more than 7 entrances. It is a huge 5 story mall. Our meeting spot is a good place to meet, but get inside the mall and try to find people, it is just hopeless. She said that she was in this store Zen. Luckily, I knew where that was. *It has been 45min at this point!

So, I went to Zen and tried to tell her to go to level 3. She said okay...I am at level 3. Okay where? You have to realize at this point the amount of Thai I can speak and the amount of English that she can speak is very limited. We obviously have had communication problems thusfar. I started to get excited that we would finally find each other. I try to describe where I am and I get out of my element quickly. I end up begging people in the store to help me speak Thai to her. Finally someone takes the phone and tells her where I am. Phew, a sigh of relief. Then, something changes...I understand just enough Thai now to know when things aren't okay. She hands the phone back to me and says that she is somewhere else. She will come here now. What? So, we had been in the same store a second ago. She also says that she is coming here now. Okay, well, that is great, but this place is huge, how am I ever going to find her.

I literally walk out of the store and sit on the floor and want to cry. I have been trying to meet up with her for over an hour now and we can't find each other. I just wanted to go home.

In my moment of no hope I randomly looked up and saw Prai. She was waving at me and coming towards me to say hello. She immediately senses my stress and asks if I am okay. I told her the situation and she immediately calls the lady and fixes it like it was never a problem. The lady had been at another mall down the way called Central as well. Of course, why wouldn't you name all the malls in Thailand central. Please make it easy on all of us.

We finally see each other and I apologize that is was so difficult. She immediately says that she has been waiting for me and hour and a half. All I could say was it was my fault and I was sorry.

So shopping. She drags me to the area where the market is and sees a bag she wants. I'm looking around and she buys the bag and then drags me forward out of the area. Alright, so we won't be shopping there. haha. She asks me what I want to look for. My purse broke yesterday, so I point at it and show her the damage and say "new bag." Okay Okay is her response. Then, her phone rings. She hangs up and starts going on about what I am wearing. All of a sudden she says we go see buddha. What? okay. I assume a temple. Then, she says I need skirt. Oh no, and my shoes aren't good either. Okay, wait, what?, why are we going to see buddha? She takes my hand and off we go. In Thailand it is best to just go with the flow, you pretty much have to, so be relaxed about it. We get across the next street and she looks at me. "okay, we see my apartment," o...kay?! I seriously thought she wanted to take me to her apartment to get some clothing to go see buddha. She is tiny, not like me at all. There would be no way, but remember go with the flow(at least that's what I tell myself all the time). We get to the apartment and she tells me to sit. She pops some food in the microwave and turns on the tv. Now, understand this, my mind is going a million miles an hour trying to figure out what just happened and how our shopping trip just turned into a buddha visit and what are we doing now. I am about to crack from all the stress of the day and she sets a plate of food in front of me. "We eat now," she says. Okay, so we ate and watched tv. She asks what time I need to leave, I don't really have a set time, but I throw out a number to see why she wants to know. "Ok, I show you the way home;" "Okay, we go" she says as she is shaking her hand implying that I come now. Ok, now!?, alright. So she shows me the way and then says that we will go shopping another time and tells me goodnight. haha. I am at a complete loss for words. A day in the life..huh!

I got home and laughed so hard I cried. I couldn't believe the day I had. It was amazing! Only in Thailand would something like that happen. Even though it was nuts, I know that it meant a lot to her that I wanted to do something with her, so I just tried to think of it as a gift to her.

I know this is long, but I just wanted you to experience a real day with Thai people...I have to say it is incredibly stretching. You have to challenge yourself to not get stressed out and freak on them. You have to stay calm and deny every desire you have for the day.

This week was incredibly busy. It wasn't supposed to be, but like I said, you just don't know what to expect. My hair class went really well this week and they got to practice on each other and there were a few gone this week, so I got to work a little more one on one which is always fun. You can really see growth and confidence that way. It was neat.

I spoke of a lady in my last post who was in some trouble and I had seen her at the bar. I found out tuesday night that she is officially working for the bars again. She came up right before we headed out to the bars and said that she was in trouble and needed prayer. I am proud of her for that. That takes a lot in this culture. Thais are all about "saving face." They keep everything bad hidden so they always look good. They won't even ask for help because that would be considered losing face. It would be disgraceful to sink so low as to ask for help. So, she ended up telling us she was working for the bar again and then we all prayed for her. It is so heart breaking to have them go back to the bars. She was actually doing really well at Rahab and we all had high hopes for her, not that we don't still, it is just a fresh wound to us. She is young, only 22, and she has incredible potential, but transitioning out of the bars and the money they make there is difficult. They are willing to sacrifice anything for a little more comfortable life. I now see her sitting outside the bar everyday when I pass. I say hi and ask her how she is, but it is so hard to see her there, knowing what happens to her every night. It makes you sick to your stomach. I still have hope though, I believe that she could get out again!

The rest of my week was showing people around, answering emails and doing lots of hair. I was full everyday working on updating things on the computer and figuring out orders, then I had random hair appointments with foreigners who want a foreign hair dresser. It makes for a large variety every week.

Tomorrow is Loy Krathong. A day where people worship the river god/goddess(I don't remember which). I am going to go see some of the action. They put these elaborate floating creations with flowers and everything on the river as an offering to the river god/goddess. They are really beautiful. A lot have candles. It should be quite a sight apparently thousands participate. Hopefully I can post pictures soon!

Talk to you soon!

Chinatown and Dragons...

Another week in Thailand....

Facts for the week:

1. Thais think it is super sexy to have their picture taken while they are eating. It makes for the funniest and most awkward pictures I have ever seen. They love having their picture taken anyway, but if food is around, they will yell "wait, wait" and grab a spoon and dish up some food and eat it right as you snap the picture. They are so weird. haha It is really funny though. If you show them the picture, they will just say "oh yeah, sexy!" haha....wow, in my opinion it is the least attractive I have ever seen them, but that is just my opinion.

2. Thais will write 2 prices on things. One in Thai and one in English. The trick is that the English one is normally much higher than the Thai one. I have learned that it is wise to take a Thai along when I go to the market. They know that foreigners are east to rip off here, so they look at you and smile while they take your money. You would never know that you just paid double if not more for the product.

3. Chulalongkorn Day: This past friday was the celebration of one of Thailand's most revered Kings. They celebrate on the anniversary of his death. It is interesting because they have some celebrations, but it is more of a day to go and worship and bow down to a statue of him. You can travel and watch the ceremony take place, supposedly thousands go to take part in this worship. I didn't go to watch, but I got a nice day off because of it.

This week was a rush. We had many people come to visit and hear more about Rahab. I ended up helping Alex with the powerpoint and answering questions about the organization when each team came in. It is really interesting to hear what people want to know about the industry and what we are doing.

This week, when I went to the bars I took along some of a team that came to visit. It was an interesting experience. Before they were allowed to go with me, I had to make them sign this form stating that they wouldn't get up on the poles and dance and they wouldn't buy alcohol and other such things. It seems funny, but these things have actually happened. It is hard for me to believe. I mean the music is may make you want to sway a bit, but to get up on the stage with all these half-naked women and dance around for fun isn't really the first thing that pops into my head as to what I should be doing when I am there. Unfortunately, a girl that came to visit Rahab decided to get drunk and ended up getting up on the bar stage and dancing on the pole. No joke! At the time there was no standard in place for what could and couldn't happen at the bars, but that soon changed. She couldn't be controlled, so the bar owner had to drag her out. It put a bad rep on Rahab for awhile. Now, everyone, including myself has to sign this form.

This team that came on bar night was really interesting because they were more mature men and women (in their 50s and 60s) and they just didn't listen very well. They tested my patience by continuously asking if the men of the team could come with us to the bars, just to have a look, see what it was like. Now, my thoughts are first 'no absolutely not, Rahab will not allow it, it will jeopardize every bit of trust we have finally rebuilt after the incident above', and second, 'why on earth would you want to put those images in your head.' I mean it is hard enough just walking down the step with all the bouncers shoving pictures in your face, but to actually go into the bars, I just couldn't believe it. So after I finally got things straight, or so I thought, a guy jumps up and ask to sign the form that I told you about above, so he can go to the bars. I mean really people. I have to say I was extremely nervous to take any of their team into the bars at this point. Finally there was an understanding that only the women could go and we would all meet up afterwards. It ended up going pretty well.

I went with some Thai girls that spoke English from the team, which was really neat because they would translate my conversations and really go in depth with the women. These women were pretty solid in their faith, so they eased my mind once we got into the bars. We chatted with a few girls that now recognize me when I come in and I got to know them a little better. We ended up getting to know 5 girls pretty well. It was an exciting night! I hope someday that Rahab can help them get out. They are continuously in my prayers.

Besides lots of teams, we had orders coming in and worked on sorting through lots of things that need to be updated. I began writing a profile for one of the girls and had almost finished when I was asked to go to the bars for our afternoon visit. I saved what I had so far, and went out with the outreach team. Along the way, I saw the girl I was writing about, only, she was working at the bar we were at. I thought it was strange, but some girls have to finish out a month with a bar before they are completely free to leave. I figured this was such a case and dismissed it. I went back and began finishing up on this girl's profile and I realized I needed a conclusion. Before I would write "she is now out of the bars," I decided to ask what was going on with her. To my surprise, Prai immediately said she didn't know that she was back in the bars. I guess that her time with the bars was over and they had let her free. So, why was she back there. I asked Prai if she knew anything about the situation. She said that the girl had called her up the past week and said that she needed to take care of things. Prai asked what and she just said it was a secret and she couldn't tell her, but she would be back to Rahab as soon as she could. None of us know what is going on with her, but I am praying that she will open up about it and get some help. She is taking on something all alone and to be back in the bars is the worst situation she could put herself in. I will keep you all updated, but in the meantime please pray with me that she will come back and receive help! We never want to see our girls go back to those awful places.

It is heartbreaking to watch one of the girls that you were just getting to know, end up back in the bars. It made the week hard to bear. I see her daily hanging outside the bar that she is now working for.

We ended our week with a 3-day weekend. It was so wonderful! After a tough week you feel so drained. All you want to do is sleep and not talk to anyone. The other girls in the house were away at church camp, so it made for a nice weekend alone. Not that I don't want to be with them, but it is nice to relax and not worry about having to spend time with them. So, I ended my week with a relaxing weekend of reading a book on Friday, talking with friends back home, and a little bit of adventure in Bangkok.

On Saturday, I ventured out to Chinatown. It is a river boat ride up a few stops. It was my first time on the river. It was very beautiful and refreshing to be out of the city for a bit. Chinatown is a place that is constantly filled with crowds because Chinese vendors come down and sell merchandise that may only be there once. Everything from pearls to auto parts and tools. It is an extremely inexpensive place to find anything you could ever want. You only need to fight the crowds and slowly walk your way through the many markets. It is a bit of a hassel because there is absolutely no personal space. People are constantly touching you and almost hitting you with the goods they have just purchased. Although I enjoyed seeing all the goods and things it had to offer, it was a bit more like an obstacle course than a shopping experience. Once I finally got back onto the boat to head home I was informed that this was a slow weekend and that that was less than half the people you would normally see there. I can't even begin to imagine what it is really like.

Today, I went to a nearby park. It is a huge area right in the midst of the city that is filled with the cleanest air I have breathed since I left Colorado. It is absolutely stunning, with 3 lakes filled with catfish and coy fish, many gazebos of various Asian architecture, flower gardens, and works of art. It was an escape from the city life, if only for a day. I spent the better part of the afternoon searching for the giant lizards I had heard about. I was about to give up and wasn't paying attention and almost stepped on one. The funny thing was they aren't just giant lizards, they are Komodo dragons. It hissed at me before I smashed part of its tail and I immediately backed off. It wasn't just giant it was 4 feet in length. I was kinda prepared for more like 1 or 2 feet. I ended up walking down the path with it for awhile. They are quite fascinating creatures. They don't even seem to mind that people are right up near them in their living space. He finally veered off the path and I decided to let him be. I walked along for awhile and stumbled upon another one. This one was at least 5 feet and much bigger around than the one before. I snapped a few pics and realized a man was trying to get my attention. Once I looked at him, he pointed behind me. About 10 feet from me was a huge one that was almost 8 feet long. I was absolutely amazed because about 5 feet from him was a family sitting and sunbathing next to the lake. He didn't seem to mind and neither did they. Odd, but I ended up sitting near him myself just curious about what he would do as the day progressed. Not much, unfortunately, he just laid there, soaking up the sun. I left after awhile, it had been a really hot day, and looked like it might pour at any minute, so I figured it was time to head home. I made it just in time for the downpour. When it rains here is isn't gentle by any means, and no amount of rain covering can protect you from the fierce drops.... I ended up settling in for the night with dinner and a movie....

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Laura

Pet Squirrels and Foreign Men...

1. Ambulances are worthless here. First of all, the traffic doesn't get out of the way for them no matter how loud the siren is. If you are injured it is best to take a motorbike. Tricky, but the fastest way to the hospital. You could take a taxi, but if they think that you are hurt pretty bad and could potentially die in their taxi, then absolutely NOT! They believe that your spirit will haunt their taxi forever if you die in it, so they avoid that at all cost. So, even if your unconscious, a motorbike is the way to go!

2. Thais believe that killing an animal is bad luck, so there are stray dogs and cats everywhere. They take over the foot paths and wander around all day looking for things to eat. Bangkok is pretty dirty, so they normally find something and then they shred it all across the foot path. It is lovely! On friday, on the way home from work, I watched a dog finish a whole chicken off. There was a trail of bones including the feet for about 15 feet. Then, once you got up to the dog, he had the head, beak and al in his mouth. YUM YUM! Thais will not even kill rats and mice. They will set up traps though to just catch them and then they put them outside or keep them as pets. It is pretty disturbing. Although, our next door neighbor found a squirrel living in his house and now it is his house pet. haha It stays in a cage and he feeds it every morning while we walk to the bus. It's pretty cute, and it is funny that anyone would have a pet squirrel.

3. Really random...fleas like to live in showers here. There are a couple hundred in mine! I know you are starting to itch, but it is really gross. They constantly bite me whenever I shower, and I just don't really like bugs much anyways, so dealing with a new variety of them, isn't going over well! We're working on the flea problem.... A lot of houses in Bangkok don't have walls in the entrance. I am not sure if I am describing this right, but they have a solid door and then the rest of the front is a grated-kind-of wall. It isn't solid, although there is a wall. It is just too hot to ever worry about needing a solid wall, but this allows animals to get in, and since we can't kill them, they bring in fleas and other lovely bugs!

First off, I want to say that I picked out that thermometer thing on the right of the screen so that you all can see what the temp is here in Bangkok, unfortunately, the thing won't stay on Bangkok. I guess I am in New York now. haha If you type in Bangkok you can see how much I am sweating!

This morning I woke up thinking about what I would do with my day off. I have been really looking forward to going to this park near where I work. It is quite exotic with huge lizards wandering around and such, but things never seem to go as planned here. I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed made some toast and sat on the floor with Cal, one of the Rahab ladies, and her son, De-jour, who is 3, and joined in on a conversation she was having with Alex about the confusions of foreign men. haha Sounds funny huh? Unfortunately, the funniness of the conversation didn't last long.

You see, what I have learned about foreign men here, Americans, Germans, Canadians, men from all over the world, is that the majority of them that come to Patpong for the prostitution, say to these women that they want to be their boyfriend. It really doesn't make sense to me, so if you understand please shed some light, but why would you want to be the boyfriend of a woman that is selling her body to other men on a nightly basis. She really isn't yours. Weird!, well, these men sometimes emotionally commit to these women and email them while they are away from Thailand, and always stay with them when they come to Thailand, and sometimes send them money. They play with the heart of these women in unusal ways. I get this part though. These men play with their hearts just enough, so that every time they come to Thailand the woman is willing to do anything for the man just because she believes that he loves her or that he wants to marry her. It is really sad. Cal is involved in a situation like this. She has this guy, we'll call him Jack, and Jack and Cal have a son together, De-jour. So, Jack is connected to Cal in a big way and comes to visit her and their son once a year. The tricky part is that Jack never tells Cal that he loves her unless she tries to start seeing someone else. Then, all of sudden, "Oh Cal I care about you so much and I want to be with you." and so on... So, she drops everything and starts to stay in constant communication with Jack again and starts to fall for him again. So, today, i asked her if he was going to marry her, because this situation seems odd. She said that he didn't want to marry her because he has been married before and he doesn't like marriage. Alright, so he's selfish. At least that was my conclusion. I told her and Alex agreed that if a guy loves you he will do pretty much anything to be with you and he most likely will marry you or at least head in that direction. She said "oh, no, Jack just likes to have time to himself and travel and go to casinos to gamble." Great, so he gambles too, I soon found out that he has never even financially supported their child and that he has left her to fend for herself and yet, expects her to drop everything when he comes to Thailand and stay with him. It is a sad story. We talked it out quite a bit, and she said that she understood and had a lot to think about. We suggested that she lay it out for Jack. Tell him that he can come and visit De-jour, but she wasn't going to be part of his life anymore. He is dragging her along and he probably knows it, so she needs to stand up for herself and drop him fast! He will be here in December, so she has some time to think about it, so hopefully she realizes that she is worth much more than Jack!

Well, all that to say, near the end of our conversation, she bounced up and said "okay, we must go." Okay...I thought! Where? So, she took my hand and said grab your purse we are going to a party. Party here means like a dinner party, but for lunch. We all go to someone's house and eat and eat some more. Nice! So, off we went and I was treated to an extravagant lunch of lobster, prawns, clams, octopus, and fish. I must say it was pretty dang amazing! Here when you have a special meal, you normally are served a bunch of different lettuces, some cold sticky noodles, seafood, and super hot chili sauce (it is like salsa). So you combine the ingredients and wrap them in your leaves. It is really good. After an amazing lunch we all watch a thai animated film about elephants and their place in thai history. I got really in to it, even though I had no idea what was being said!! haha I was sitting with Cal's son, so I couldn't help, but get into the story, since he would randomly laugh like the evil character in a deep "ha ha ha" and stab me with an imaginary sword whenever the same bad guy came on the screen. He is so funny!

About 4 we all headed home and well, there went my day in the park. No worries, there are always other days. haha It really turned out to be a nice day!

THIS WEEK:

I finally got to teach hair this week! It was a blast. I had six students and I taught them to curl hair. Seems easy, i know, but they don't know how. They are amazing at making it straight,but otherwise, not so much! So, we curled each others hair until we had it down pat. Everyone looked very pretty when we finished. I also showed them how to cut layers into a longer hair cut. They can cut the length and frame the face, but have never had training in cutting more into the haircut. They can learn these things in school, but it is weird here because they have four 3 month schools for different things and in order to get started in a salon, you only have to do one. So, when you enter a salon you don't even really have much of the basics down.

One of my girls, got a job this week in a really nice salon. She will be making a really good amount of money and working decent hours. I am so excited for her because in a salon she can really get a lot of practice and learn new things on a daily basis. Rahab hopes that all of their hairstyling girls are able to get their foot in the door of a salon. Then, Rahab will support them financially if they want to take more classes in hairstyling and may even help them open their own salon if they show enough confidence, have had enough training, and are doing well at the salon they are currently in. It is neat how they work to provide for this women by using the woman's talents and making them better.

It was a busy week, but really good. I am adjusting more and more each week! I feel confident getting places now and being a little more independent than when I first came.

Oh and our bar visit this week went well, other than that I was asked if I liked women or shopping better? Yeah....About that! Umm, I spent the majority of my night explaining that I was there to just be friends with the bar girls and that I like men. It was funny and a bit awkward, but the girl just couldn't understand why I would want to be friends with her. It was kind of neat in a way. Hopefully, I will see her again, now on the terms that I am only there to be a friend, not for other reasons! She spoke quite a bit of English, so hopefully she will be able to share with all the girls that work there why we were there and that we want to help them.

Laura

Food Poisoning and Thai Craft Fairs....

Facts for the Week:

1. Thais love to watch Chinese Soap Operas. They are the most dramatic shows I have ever seen. People crying all the time, screaming at each other, slamming each other into things, and then pouf turning into a magic wizard. Let me tell you, if life isn't exciting, then watch a Chinese Soap Opera. No translation is needed to throw you full force into emotion and excitement. The funniest part is that it is translated into Thai and so everything is on a delay and the drama just gets better that way!

2. The feet are the lowest part of the body. This means they are the most disgusting, horrible and disgraceful part of our bodies. Okay maybe not quite that extreme, but close. All shoes are removed the minute you enter a home and you are never to point at anyone with your feet. It is great disrespect. If you sit on the floor you either tuck your feet beneath you or you put them off the the side of you like you would sit if you were wearing a skirt (guys just imagine). Thankfully Thais know that us "Farangs," foreigners, use our feet for a lot of things, so they just invented a phrase for the disgusting use of our feet. I don't know it yet, sorry! haha, but I know that it has the word farang in it. So, even though my fan turns on by pushing a switch on the floor, I am not supposed to use my feet! It is difficult to get used to.

3. Thais eat so many times a day. Like 6 or 7! It is crazy! Not all of them do this, but I swear snacking is like an art in this country. I guess that it would have to be with food vendors on every street corner. I feel like I have settled into this daily routine of constantly thinking about my next meal. They are always talking about food, making food, or eating food! It is, WOW, I dunno! They are all pretty tiny too...I guess with all those little meals you have a high metabolism or something!

Okay, enough for today!

So, this week was a crazy week of happenings and learning how to communicate better and planning things. You see, Sarah, the lady missionary from New Zealand, if you don't remember from my previous posts, set off for New Zealand on Tues. Now, We all found our she was leaving Monday night. It was a Shocker for sure! Her mom fell last Saturday and she broke her Femur. She is 80, I believe, so she needed help, and she was living alone, so that isn't good! So, Sarah decided that she needed to go home and help her and maybe move her somewhere where she could be taken care of! Since this is a task as with most older parents, she decided to go for a month. So, on Monday she officially taught me how to take all the jewelry orders and make sure that everything was in the right place, as well as how to respond to various types of emails. I have been doing some of this work, but mostly with her assistance. So, tues I was on my own! Alex, her husband stayed behind, so he is here working with me in the office, but I know that he would love to be with Sarah. He stayed because he knew that I couldn't handle it all on my own, and his assumptions were correct. I am grateful that he is helping me learn the ropes, hopefully I will be efficient within the next week!

So, I was supposed to start teaching this week, but because of the happenings, I was needed in the office, but I will get to teach. I will be holding class on Wed after lunch with a translator, which is so nice! I have 4 students, and I have been brain storming with Prai, the director/head of Rahab, and we are going to have a catwalk show the week before I leave. My job is to inspire the girls to be creative and put themselves out there. I am really excited! It should be fun to see what they come up with and how they work with what I teach them each week. I will be teaching updos/formal styles, just in case I didn't say that before. Basically, the girls are awesome at straightening hair, but that is the only style they can do! Thais love that, but I am going to challenge them to learn some other stuff!

So, besides working in the office, international school, and teaching some hair stuff, I also get to be the English Speaker at the Thai Craft Fairs where we sell jewelry two Saturdays a month. Today was my first one and it was a long day. You leave at 7:15, get to the hotel, set up, sell jewelry till 5, tear down, and head home. I got home at 6, so ,wow, long day! It was neat though, the fair is mostly for foreigners, with a huge appeal to Japanese. I guess it used to be more westerners, but now it has become primarily Japanese, which is still great, but they don't really speak thai and they don't really speak English, so that can be tough! Yukie, I could use some japanese lessons! haha Anywho, so we had a great day, sold almost a 1,000 US$ worth of jewelry, better than we have done in months. It was totally worth the long day!! Our record is $1,200, so we did pretty good! I have learned a lot about precious stones and pearls, I feel very educated in foreign jewelry right now! haha, I guess that will be a new skill I can bring home! haha

Life overall is good here, I do have to tell you all that I had my first bout of food poisoning. It wasn't fun! After 24 hours of feeling pretty miserable and puking my guts out, I was feeling back to normal! I will say that the thought of the last thing I ate before it all happened makes me nauseous, but I have a feeling that is pretty normal for food poisoning.

Oh and I went to the bars again on tues night, that was good. As good as it can be in a prostitution bar. I am learning how to relax and try and talk to the girls, even when they don't speak much english. I met a girl that had only been in there 4 months and she was the same age as me. It made me think about how different my life could be if I had grown up in Thailand. Not saying that I would end up the same way, but I am grateful for my life to say the least. I am very privileged! I am hoping that we can continue to build a relationship with her and maybe help her get out. For now, just planting a seed. The mama san was cool though, she sat with us for an hour, she speaks English pretty well, just chatting about life and her kids and working in the bars. She was a really nice lady, I am curious how she ended up a mama san. Maybe I will get to know her more too.

It has been a crazy busy week, but all is good in Thailand! Hope you all are doing well!

Laura

Cracked Lips and Annoying People....

Haha...I have to say that title sounds a bit harsh, but I will get to an explanation!

Thailand is getting better all the time. It is nice to feel more comfortable in my surroundings. I can now take the bus by myself and say where I am going. Well, at least 3 of the places I go, and I learned how to write my name today in Thai. That was neat! Too bad I have no idea how to do that on here. I guess I just have to do it for you when I get back, or take a picture of my new skill!

Well, back to the weekly facts: (these may run out at some point, then again, maybe not)

1. It is proper to eat with your spoon (shelley this one is for Dick), you use your fork to place things or scoop things onto the spoon, but never eat with your fork. It isn't polite. Chopsticks are still in here, but most people use spoons. (I am not going to lie, I felt ridiculous for the 1st week trying to adjust to eating everything, noodles, eggs, cutting things with a spoon. Somehow it just doesn't work out the same. I have adjusted though, I just have to not forget!)

2. Thais don't walk very well. I am not trying to offend any thais that are reading this, it is just that, in America we stay out of other peoples' way. We hoover to the right so that anyone can pass. The moment I stepped in the Bangkok Airport people were always walking as if on a leisurely nature walk and weaving about, so that no matter how close you got to them and tried to pass them, it wasn't happening. Even on the moving walkways, people would hang out in the middle, completely stopped with their baggage placed all the way across the walkway. Come on! Really!? haha, it is really annoying! Really my only complaint so far. It has actually gotten so out of hand in Bangkok that there are now lines down the middle of walkways so that people know to stay on their side of the line. Even in schools! It is funny! It still doesn't solve the problem.

3. Never pat a child on the head. It is a sign of great disrespect. I never realized how much I always touched kids' heads until I had to be conscious of it. Sometimes I go to do it and realize what I am doing and end up stoking the side of their heads...it is weird and funny at the same time. (we have two little boys living in the house...they are pretty cute!)

That's all I can remember for today.

My second week was busy busy busy. I have been doing various tasks for the office at Rahab. Putting together bulletin boards, writing thank yous to supporters, helping with the website, answering emails, teaching Alex how to use facebook. Oh facebook, the world is on facebook now! It is wonderful. Such a great way to connect!

Anywho, so first I should update you and say that WOW did come back! I am so excited. I give her a hug everyday and tell her that I am so happy to see her! I was so nervous that she wouldn't be back. Apparently, she was a prostitute for 11yrs and just got out last month. That would be intense. They say that after you have been in the industry that long, it really isn't that hopeful that you will get out because you are so used to it, numb to it, and it is such a part of your life that it becomes like a drug to you. Most girls are also making so much money by that point that to leave would mean a tremendous cut in pay! It's so horrible!

I went back to the international school this week to teach more jewelry. I had to share a powerpoint on prostitution statistics in Thailand. All of the statistics come from the United Nations, and it was funny, to me at least, because at the end we had a discussion time, and all the girls(they're 14) said they didn't believe any of it. It is really interesting because in Thailand, if it is considered "bad" you don't talk about it. That was really made apparent to me talking to these girls. They didn't even know what prostitution was. Their parents shelter them because it is customary to not speak of things like prostitution. Most prostitutes even lie to their families about what they do because it isn't okay to talk about it.

I have learned a lot about prostitution this week. I went to the bars on Tuesday night and the streets that I work on became a different world at night. Three of us, from Rahab, went to the Thigh Bar. Inside is a platform of girls with 12 poles that they all dance around. They are squished so tight, it is hard to believe they can dance. Every 15 min they all come down and chat with customers and the next 11-12 girls go up and dance. They trade off every 15min all night long, that is, unless they are purchased. When you first walk in it is a bit disturbing, especially seeing the men around staring at the girls deciding which one they are going to take for the night. It was especially weird to see several couples come in and sit and watch. I wasn't sure what to think of that. We stayed for an hour chatting with 4 different girls about their kids and where they were from and the various tv shows that were playing in the bar. They don't mind sitting with us because they make commission off every drink they sell, so they are still making money while we sit and talk. All 4 of the girls were from Isan, a northeast region of Thailand.....

Isan is the poorest region of Thailand. The majority of the girls working in the bars are from there. The problem is that because of the lack of money, you struggle with having enough to get a real education. Education here is only free until 9th grade, so 14 or 15. If you have high marks/grades, then you might be able to get a scholarship, but if you don't and you weren't able to pay for a tutor to help you, then you won't be able to continue your education. (money makes the difference unfortunately) Most girls come to Bangkok hoping to find a job where they can make some money, unfortunately, they are poorly educated and most have no real skills, so they end up in the bars. They normally get invited by a friend who says that she makes lots of money and it isn't hard work, the sad thing is that she gets trapped by loans and getting pregnant and then having to provide even more for children and sometimes even spouses. It is a crazy cycle that leads them to a life where they have to sell themselves and all their innocence to just provide for their families.

....So we chatted with the girls for awhile, and every once in awhile, while a switch was happening. I would look up at the girls and look into their eyes. I never knew what people meant by emptiness until I saw these girls. If you really pay attention to them you'll see that when there are no customers in the bar they never smile, they practically crumple over with sadness. They lean against their poles and won't even look at you. Then, a customer comes in and it is an immediate silent fight to win the man over. That man could be their food for the next day. It is a battle for me and Sarah said this as well, but you don't want them to get a man because they will have to sell themselves and do horrible things, but if they don't they won't be able to survive. It is tough to see what a lose-lose situation it can be.

I must say that the up to the experience was the bar manager. Apparently, she really likes Rahab and she always welcomes our team in. She even introduces us to girls. Very interesting I must say!

It is really neat to come back to Rahab the next day and know where these ladies have come from and how much their situation has changed for the better! It is cool to see them smile and know that it is genuine joy and not just a smile to get attention like it was in the bars. They are all incredible women!

On a lighter note, today I ate so much spicy food that my lips cracked and starting bleeding. It was brutal. Haha, but I deserved it. They told me that I should try their spicy Papaya salad and it was hotter than normal, then I picked something spicy for lunch, and then again for dinner. It is no wonder they cracked! Good thing I brought my burt's bees.

Well, I'll talk to you all later!

Laura