Day 8: Gettin' Down & Dirty.

Today was a GREAT day! Allison and I got to go "survey a summer camp site" with the EIP department. AKA: We rode ATV's in the mud and rain, climbed a rock wall, and completely owned 4 guys in archery. I was slightly distracted because I called my dad for Bama scoring updates several times. (P.S. Roooooll Tide!) The drive to the camp site was 2 hours long, so it turned out to be a great time of reflection and solitude, despite the fact that I was in a van full of people. I just escaped to my own little world, set to the tune of my Thailand playlist. I always find myself turning to the same songs that serve as both heart breakers and heart warmers. I need to quit that mess on the ASAP. No room for emo-ness in the great Thailand adventure! :) So today was a great chance to bond with the teachers that we'll be working with at BCC. Christian, Jayson, John, and Chris came on the trip, and we had a great time joking around with them and just getting to know them. Turns out, Allison and I were absolutely, 100% wrong on every first impression that we had with all of those guys. The ones we thought were jerks or creepers actually turned out to be super cool, and the ones we thought were legit...well, they're the weird ones. Haha. Seriously. At least now we have some "local" friends to hang out with while we're here in Bangkok. And John said he could hook us up with a gym membership for freeeeee. Heck yes. That will go perfectly with our diet...that "starts tomorrow." Yet another thing that doesn't change between cultures. It doesn't matter what country I'm in...the diet always "starts tomorrow." Haha.

Is it weird that I totally felt like Bella while riding the ATVs today? It was my first time riding, and I felt like such a rebel. It was as if I could hear my own personal Edward saying, "I told you to be careful in Thailand." For a second, I could almost see that perfect smile...so I stepped on the gas harder (and almost ran into a huge ditch).

The boys at BCC had their annual "Children's Day" today while we were out riding ATVs. The entire school of 5,500 boys had a huge sports day. They were all divided up into color teams, and competed. Some even (unwillingly) dressed up as cheerleaders and cheered. Evidently that's some weird tradition of the school. Thailand is all about boys dressing up like women (i.e. "Lady boys). The students had a big parade and everything to go along with Children's Day, too. Some kids dressed up like vegetables to promote healthy eating habits, while others dressed up like the different regions of Thailand and such. All the students seemed to behave like angels. I'd like to see any American school try to contain thousands of boys ages 6-18 with no problem. Haha. Yeah right. Keep dreaming. But that's about all I know since Allison and I peaced out as soon as it started.

Today was Mama Jo's last day with us. That woman is simply amazing. We all got foot massages at Health Land for our last fling. And then we went back and just hung out in her room while she packed. She gave us all cards before we said goodbye, and she said she had really been praying about what to write in them. I was blown away by some of the stuff she wrote in mine. Gosh I just love her. And I'm going to miss her so much...we're moving to our new apartment tomorrow (off BCC's campus). Hello independence.

So I've been in Thailand for one week, and I can't figure out if it feels like I've been here forever or only a day or two. I guess it's a little of both. Allison almost got ran over by a motorcycle today BTW. It was scary and funny. Those suckers don't stop for anyone! Oh, and we ate "Spicy Chili Squid" flavored Lays chips today. Yum.

I'm out.
Cwalk.