Those are some clean ears.

What’s to update since the last blog? We’ve been pretty busy. Last week we were super excited to have a visit from Jeff + Meli, our friends in Thailand’s south. They are working in Krabi with deaf population, but they took a break and came up to “Itchy Bog” for a week. Hopefully, they weren’t too bored. It is a pretty slow pace around these parts. They did get to try their hands at construction for a few days., promptly followed by a Thai Massage at our local shop. (J and I have worked it into our budget as a bi-weekly thing.) After they left, it rained. Of course, it is rainy season here but still.. when one depends on sun and dryness to dry their drawers .. you don’t really want non-stop rain for 3 days. But I can’t complain.. it seems like you friends in the NE have had more than your fair share.

Today I stayed home to work and wait for the Internet folks. First they said 11. Now they say 5. But in between this they told us, NO, in fact you can’t get any of the higher speeds out here in the boonies. So at 5 they are coming “to check the static on the line.” Jeff and Meli know our internet sagas well… the people were supposed to come LAST week. : ) At least I know now.. it is what it is. Which means video skype is sketchy at best. Sorry. We are bummed too. But the good news is (TESOL class kicking in) the GOOD NEWS is we DO have internet. Right? And I CAN work. Working just involves starting an upload then going and doing laundry.

Speaking of clean. Poor J had been trying to get a haircut but everyplace he went they said ‘puu ying” only. Women only. He’s not much on having hair so for him to deal with the ½ inch he had was making him miserable. (“It’s soooo hot!”…ehh…..yeah… I don’t want to hear it..hahaha.) So a friend who is a barber took him to get his hair cut. (We thought the friend was going to do it.. OK.. miscommunication in foreign language happens, allot) so they went for their boy bonding experience. Here in Thailand you get the works.. hot shave, cut, neck massage and ear cleaning. How fun! Did any of you ever see the Anthony Bourdain episode of him in China when they did that? Yeah. Long fuzzy wires. Scoops. Hot oil. Fire (to burn those pesky ear hairs of course.) All this while having a towel over you face so you can’t see what’s going on. (and you only later find o;ut by watching them do it to someone else.) J is good with many things.. eating the frog our neighbor fried for us.. chicken feet for lunch at construction (today) but THIS.. this is what he finally called “WEIRD”.

Enough about ears. : )

We have really been enjoying ourselves and making some great friends. Yesterday I got to spend some time with a woman who has been here 7 years.. originally from Ohio. She suggested another friend as a tutor..so we are going to try to wrangle him in. (For those of you in our study group back home you know ALL about getting people teach you.) He is technically not part of the construction team so has o support himself as he travels, so we are hoping he wants a pair of falang as students. If not, I hate the thought of paying a stranger to learn Thai.. but it may come to that. Of course, it’s really most difficult because it is not the language of our heart. Some people here understand that, one friend even is trying to get us to study Lao with them in a language intensive. We are so up in the air. We had dinner with some friends and it was SO much easier trying to navigate conversation in Lao. However, you *really* do need to know Thai to read more books etc. Especially J. But, talking with people everyday Lao is fine. Normally I can switch pronouns around enough to stumble through. Change to “baw” to “mai” and add “kaa”. But we need to at least learn to READ Thai. So that’s the very long winded answer to “How’s the language coming?” One Lao friend called us a “kon Lao” because we made sticky rice. Sometimes, it’s the smallest bits of encouragement that make you smile the most. I think people are warming up to us finally, that we are real people. We drink beer, make jokes, make mistakes, get tonsonia and have lizards in our house just like everyone else. ; )

What else? We are hoping to go to Burma/Mynmar in December. Did anyone else get that letter read? We are wondering if it is just a Southeast Asia thing. I feel kinda bad because our Thai neighbors want to go to but apparently it is difficult for Thai natives to cross over. Then again, who knows if we will be going. We just filled out the ap. We aren’t even sure what city it is in. We think Yangoon.

We miss everyone tons. Family. Friends. Our study group. We wish it wasn’t so far + expensive to get here so you could all come visit. (We’ve been told we are NK’s version of Starbucks in the AM. ; ) )

Our love,

The Kids

(just noticed i am 33 today. who would have thought.)