Second month done and gone already! Time is truly amazing. It feels like yesterday was my first day of school but at the same time it feels like I've been here forever. Strange.. :P Near my home there is a bat colony. There are hundreds of bats here and I hear them late at night. I like them because they help me get rid of the awful mosquitoes, but they still scare me!! haha The other night I was writing emails at my computer when they decided to give me a little fright. There is a window beside the computer desk; there was a bat that hung on the wall just outside the window. It was so small, so cute, I was observing it when all of a sudden it flipped its head back and look at me with its mouth open! It scared the heck out of me.
Thai language. One of the biggest challenges I have to face here in Thailand. There are 5 tones and they sound so similar to me. If you have the wrong tone they don't understand what you say. The language consists of 44 letters in their alphabet and countless vowels. I'm still slow at learning but I won't give up ! â~º The end of this month was the final exams for the first term. I have never seen so much anxiety or stress in my life. All my friends went from outgoing and loud to silent and stressed. When the test came around the corner, it's like they shut down and had their noses in the books at all times. It was unbelievable- so much dedication and determination. My dad proved to me the other day just how real the respect for animals in Thailand was. We were driving on the highway when he noticed there was a lizard on the window of the car. He pulled over, had to play around a lot before he got the lizard off and then walk off the highway into the forest and placed in on a big leaf. So I asked him why he bothered taking the lizard off, it wasn't bothering anyone. He answer was; well we are driving fast, the lizard might get blown off and the cars behind might kill it if it falls on the road. Also when we drive (there are always dogs everywhere no matter where you are) my dad will honk at any dog or cat to warn them we are passing so they don't get up and cross. Ok so I know I wrote about eating in my first report, but it's such a big deal in my life here I thought I should write more about it :P So, you have a plate, you fill it up and you eat. Then you're done. Well in Thailand it's not the case. Someone will refill it again FOR you. It doesn't matter how many times you say "no thank you, I'm really full" you're always going to have more in your plate. At first I felt bad to say no, and I felt bad for wasting so much food but I really can't do anything about it now. Soon enough they will see that I can't eat as much as them! haha It's so strange that they stay so skinny but literally eat like twice the amount I do! I know Thailand is a tropical country, I also know that normally tropical countries have a lot of wild life and tend to be quite greenâ?¦ But I never expected it to be at this extent. It is SO green here. Everything is green, green, green! There are miles and miles of green rice fields, green trees, green banana leafsâ?¦ well I guess you get my point. Ubon is situated on the eastern side of Thailand. We are the first to see the sun in the country (the people in this area are proud of that :P) But let me tell you about the sunrise and sunset.. Wow that's something else. There are no mountains to block the view, wide-open space for appreciation. I'm going to be joining a Yoga class. I went once so far and it was great, besides the fact that I am the complete opposite of flexible. The youngest after me is 5? years old but they are all so flexible! When people say pretzel â?¦ well I'VE seen pretzel! It's a nice class because it is outside. In the park there are so many birds and they are SO loud.. but, in a way, the sound is comforting. (The only problem of, course, is the mosquitoes like always!) Oh and one more thing. When you go to the movies in Thailand, they play the national anthem before the movie starts! I thought it was pretty cool :P Hope you are all doing well!!!! Thinking of you all Love Mylène