Last night I went to the faculty New Years party which was a blast! Everyone was there and we all had hot pot which is this cool grill/bowl thing where you can grill food and make a soup at the same time. Hot pot is a blast because everyone can make whatever they want and you just eat food as it finishes cooking. I had a bunch of squid, shrimp, and some chicken with noodles. The kids had a blast having me try new foods since I can't say no to kids. Aear (pronounces ew-a) and Umporn (pronounced um-pon) were really happy that I liked this weird looking green jelly thing, it was green cubes that you put ice and syrup on before you eat it. They also thought it was funny that I broke the icecream scoop while getting them icecream...I swear the icecream broke the scoop the stuff was rock hard!

After P-Noy took the kids home I stuck around and moved over to the Vice President and LCB Deans table. That was a mistake! The Dean and VP broke out the bottles of thier awesome Australian wine which I had to have...and when that was gone they went and got a special bottle of french wine for me (since I don't like beer and can't stand Singha). So basically they got me drunk again...but not as drunk as last time! My keys went on thier table and not in the rice cooker! Before I left I got a couple PSU glasses and some canned fish.

Oh P-Noy also gave me a refidgerator on Tuesday so I have real food now!

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Well I've been here for a little over 2 months now. I'm having a great time and have made a bunch of new friends (even if they don't speak much English). This morning on my way into the office I was chased down by a couple of students who missed me. I think we're going to go out for dinner which is always fun. On Saturday I went to a dinner party where people I never met made sure to have crab because P-Noy (the woman I tutor for) told them it was my favorite. Everyone is so nice here and they're all trying to make sure I feel like I'm at home here.

On another note it's midterms! I don't technically have to be here today but I wanted internet so I came into the office. I have to proctor 2 tests this week one on Tuesday and another on Saturday. Luckily I get paid extra for Saturday so coming in for 3 hours isn't too bad.

Hearing about all the snow that's hit Virginia has made me glad I'm in fantastic 80 degree weather. I miss snow and the Christmas feeling that it brings but I don't miss the cold or wind. I'll post some pics of my Christmas tree later this week!

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Last weekend was the kings birthday...it was also Aear's birthday (one of the girls i tutor) and her parents 10th anniversary. I was invited to Aear's birthday which was fun. We had cake and tons of food! Everyone wanted to talk to me and ask questions about birthdays in America which are actually very similar to here.

Then we all lit candles for the king and they sang a song along with the people on the TV. After singing the song we placed the candles on the rail outside thier home so they could burn down on thier own.

I spent the rest of the weekend watching movies and making my stupid midterms...I officially hate making tests it's a pain in the ass!

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Last weekend I went down south to Hat Yai to visit my cousin Kelli at her campus. To get there I got to take a totally awesome mini-bus/van thing down every bumpy road we could find for 5 hours. After I got in at 10pm Kelli and I went out to a bar with some of her Thai friends. We had a good time especially when the band decided to sing "Achy Breaky Heart"!

On Saturday we slept in and then we went out to lunch at a buffet that had an amazing view of Hat Yai (the city is huge!). Then we walked around town and went shopping. I got a couple awesome Japanese flags for my apartment :) That night we took one of Kelli's Thai friends (Pam) to a rotating sushi bar which was a blast! We made a tasty shrimp and mushroom soup (we put in 4 different kinds of mushrooms) and ate a bunch of sushi. Then we went to another bar that played a lot of old english music.

On Sunday we went back into town to walk around before I had to head home. To get home I got to take another thrilling mini-bus ride for 5 hours. My trip to Hat Yai was a lot of fun! I was amazed at how big the city was and how much there was to do there compared to Surat.

I was also amazed at how close the city was to the school...we could walk if we really wanted to or grab a cheap tuk-tuk. In Surat you have to have a motorbike or pay a small fortune to get a tuk-tuk ride into town. Even though Hat Yai seems to be more convienient for getting around I don't think I would want to change. I still really like Surat and I love all the people I work with.

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As everyone knows last week was Thanksgiving in America. This year was the 6th Thanksgiving I wasn't at home for :( Sadly Thailand does not have a giant meal of Turkey and delicious mashed potatoes on the last Thursday of November. I really missed the potatoes so my dad sent me some...
However licking a computer screen doesn't taste as good as gorging yourself with a real Thanksgiving dinner :(

So I was reading the comments on my last post and Anonymous asked if there is a similar festival here. While I did some quick research there is no festival that involves gorging yourself on an awesome dinner but they do have a couple about spending time with family. The one that really seems to focus on family is Songkran festival (aka. the water festival). You're suppose to return to your home town and visit with your neighbors and family...however a major attraction of the festival is dousing people with water. I couldn't find any specific festival about giving thanks since this seems to be an important part of their daily lives.

I'll keep everyone updated about the festivals as they happen! This weekend is the Kings Birthday. It'd also be really awesome if everyone would write their names at the end of their comments so I know who's asking questions :D

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