First Days in Thailand

I have arrived safe and sound in this country of "contradiction", as I am fast learning. It is a beautiful land, the people are friendly and the spicy food is...way more spicy than in the States. But, delicious!

I do not have words to describe my first few days in a nutshell. To be frank, these first days have not been easy. It was easy to talk about this mission before my departure. Now I am here and those first two days were much more adjusting than I anticipated. My mind is simmering many thoughts, my heart is brimming with emotions. My currently tranquil spirit is sorting through all of the first impressions.

I will share some pictures with you that show my first experiences of Bangkok. This is the easiest way for me to explain these first experiences.

A typical big city... But notice the contrast of the buildings! Oh, and many many Motosi--Motor cycles. More can afford one of those than a car.  

Walkways over the roads--yes, traffic is that bad. And you may get a 2,000 baht fine for trying to cross the street on your own!

Lots of pollution (which I think I may be allergic--it's that or the hot to cold temperatures that has given me a bit of a cold or something) but the hedges are trimmed quite fine!

Our street is quite narrow, but beautified with many plants. Oh yes, and the cats are all over--I don't know that they have owners? And bicycles as well as motorcylces come down these narrow, and often crowded, streets.

Marie, my sister of community from France. This is the bridge we cross each day in our neighborhood on our way to/from school and/or mass. It crosses the very polluted klong, or canal. You can see that they started to build a new bridge on the right--but it looks like that project was initiated quite some time ago--and God only knows if the lovely Thai will ever finish it!

Our house is on the left. Katie (my roommate and fellow tall American) is leading some new friends into the house. We invite children to our home every afternoon to play. This helps to keep them off the streets and allows us to pour some love and attention into their lives.

Fr. Daniel, a Redemptorist priest from Africa, who came to our home for a welcome mass.

Statue of the Thai Blessed Virgin Mary, and a drawing by Mai, one of the girls. I drew the Holy Family, and she colored it. Beautiful story... will be in my next sponsor letter :)

Our Kitchen. We have 2 gas burners, no oven, and it fits about two people in there at once!

Bathroom--no TP in the toilet, and flush by pouring water down it. Shower? The whole room is it! Yes, we have running water, but only cold--which considering the heat, is alright by me.

The corridor to our 2nd floor. We wash our clothes, and thanks again to the heat...they dry quite rapidly!

Our Laundry facility. It is really quite easy!

The Upstairs. Our calendar for the week.
For perspective, the bathroom and laundry area is below where I'm standing. We wash our clothes under the stairs.

View from the upstairs window.



Upstairs hallway and more clothes drying!



"my" portion of the house. With 6 other sisters of community, personal space is limited!

Again, "my" space. Realistically, I share with Katie. I love the mosquito net--I always wanted to sleep with one around my bed.  I always thought it as something so exotic... I could do without the bright pink color (but it is a 'lucky' color here in Thailand).

Our closets and desk.

Mai with her coloring! She also helped make my welcome sign. My Thai name is Phii Pandaa--Phii is how they address us, meaning "Big Sister", Pandaa means.. Panda! Yes, like the bear. The children choose our names. Eva is Phii Mii (Bear), Josephine is Phii Suaj (Beautiful), Katie is Phii Cheri (Cherry), Marie is Phii Oon (Sweet, soft), Laure is Phii Manao (lime), Thuy is Phii Ke (sheep). Thai people all  have nicknames as their real names are very long.

The Market! This is where we shop each week for our food. It is cheap, yes, but very smelly with fresh fish and meat combinged with the sewage and pollution of the city.  This area smelled a bit better with some herbs and fruit.

A Thai man working at the Market! The ground is usually quite wet so many people wear rain boots. Otherwise? Flip flops.

Katie (behind the pole), buying pumpkin, which we ate in a soup for lunch (with rice...of course). This is a country for short people. I've hit my head on the awning on the street more than once--oh, and I must beware of the fans on the buses.
 To get my hair caught in one would be... deadly.

Ahhh... I almost forgot: The Spirit House. Thais all have a Spirit house in front of their home. They believe that it is bad to build as you then disrupt the spirits. So, every building has one. Also, they use it to pay respect to their ancestors. So they have little 'dolls' inside, and give them food each day, and buy malai (flowers) for them. This helps them gain merit and keep the spirits from bothering them.



Our community!!! With Fr. Daniel, who came to the house to say mass for us yesterday as a welcome for Eva and I, as well as Josephine. Eva is from Argentina for a 20 month mission, and Josephine is staying with us for 1 month. She is from Switzerland and on mission in India. She is staying with us as she renews her visa.
From Left to Right:
Eva, Laure, Thuy, myself, Fr. Daniel, Katie, Josephine, and Marie.




I hope you enjoyed these photos and now have an idea of where I am!!!
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