school's out for summer!

School really is out for summer.  Classes don’t start up again until May 16^th.  So I’ve got a whole lot of nothing going on right now.  A typical day for me is something like this:

8 – 10: wake up, shower, eat breakfast

10 – 1: go visit one of my schools and eat lunch

1-3: spend time with my family/read/nap

3-5: bike into town/attempt exercising/shower #2

5-9: dinner/read/play lots of uno

I have been spending a lot of time with my host family.  Most of our conversations end up being both an English and Thai lesson.  I’ve been teaching them all kinds of random English words like: traffic, mop, and bellybutton.  I tell them ONE time and everyone remembers the word.  But I have to be reminded about 10 times before I can remember anything in Thai.  When our limited language skills and acting fail, my host brother and sister use Google translator.  I HATE Google translator because most of the time it does not make any sense at all.  The other night they were trying to ask me if America has ___?____.  I could not figure out what this Thai word meant.  So they acted it out and were pretending to hit and push each other around.  I still didn’t know what they were asking.  They used Google translator and apparently wanted to know if America has quarrels.

Does America have quarrels?  I said I did not know.

There have been a lot of other interesting miscommunications.  My host mom told me one night to be ready the next day at 8 AM because we were going somewhere.  She also said “wear a pink shirt.”  Naturally, I had no idea at all what’s going on.  I just wake up early and dress in pink.  Turns out we were walking in a parade through town with all of the government employees.  Everyone was in pink.  If only I had known, I would not have worn a skirt.

I am trying to put this free time to use and exercise.  Whenever I go outside with my yoga mat and jump rope – a crowd forms.  My (American) mom suggested I should start charging admission.  Everyone from little children to grandmothers come to see what crazy thing the foreigner is doing today.  Some people laugh, some imitate what I am doing, and mostly people just stare.  But, my host mom explains what I’m doing to the crowd.  “Kuhn Rebecca glua uan,” she tells everyone.

Rebecca is scared to get fat