Well, I am half-way through my time in Thailand and have been reflecting on what has happened so far. There is so much that I have to mention just a few highlights.

First that comes to mind would have to be playing badminton, which I have only gotten to do twice, and due to my schedule next semester, will be unable to do again. But the experience of those two times was rather unforgettable. You see, in America, we "play" badminton, but in Thailand, they PLAY badminton. Case in point: though they could afford to have AC (and I can't say I have been in more than one building here without AC) or at least fans in the indoor courts to ease the 95 degree heat, they don't have any. Why? It would disturb the flight of the birdie! Yeah... so everyone completely soaks through their clothing after only an hour or two. And no matter what I do, I lose every game.

So let's get to the second, which would have to be the trips I have taken with students. The first was to Bang Pa-In (a royal palace) and Ayuttaya (the ruins of the capital of an ancient Thai kingdom), both of which were incredibly beautiful. The second was to the Ancient City (a park collecting replicas of all the most famous structures in Thailand) and the Crocodile Farm (actually more like a zoo with a massive crocodile-breeding pond), and I have to say I had a lot of fun with all the students I was hanging out with. I will post pictures (ON TUESDAY, at long last!), but due to a pathetic excuse for a camera-battery, on each of these day-long trips, my camera was refusing to take pictures by about noon. So I have tons of pictures of Bang Pa-In and the Ancient City, but almost none of the other two.

And if I could choose one more thing, it would have to be the friends I have here. I don't want to try to list them all, because I am afraid I would forget someone. You see, everyone has a nickname here, often consisting of only two or three letters, which makes them nice and easy to get confused. For example, the grammar teacher at Santisuk is Tong and I have been given the nickname "Tong" except that it takes a little longer to say it, kind of like "Toahng", but it is written Tong, yet means something different. I hear that in Thai it makes a lot more sense, but it's all still confusing to me, so there are people who's names I still don't really know even if I know them. In spite of my stupidity, they are so welcoming and eager to spend time with me, and don't seem to notice if I didn't ever say their name the whole day.

Wow. So I have been quite tired lately. But I have been very healthy and fairly safe; God has really been gracious in those areas. Traffic here is really bad and I think that there is no way I could drive in Bangkok, though when I say that I have to think of friends from Wyoming who say there's no way they could drive in Minneapolis. About a quarter of my time in Thailand went by between this post and my previous one. I won't let that happen again, Lord willing.