August '11 My, How Time Flies!

A New Year

     

Lilli 3rd, Chloe 9th, Smyth 12th

    According to the Gregorian calendar January 1 marks the beginning of a new year.  However, I find that the beginning of August is more fitting for the beginning of a new year.  Perhaps it is because I come from parents who are teachers, I was a student for what seems a very long time before becoming a teacher myself, and now I am the mother of students.  It seems that my yearly planning always revolves around school opening, school holiday breaks, and school letting out for the summer.  So, here it is August 2011.  We are starting a new year. 

     I am quite shocked how fast the year has passed.  August 5 marked the one year anniversary that we have lived in Thailand.  It has been an amazing journey!  A panic attack did start to set in when I realized and shouted at Robert, "We have already been here a full year!!!  We have not checked off one-fifth of the items on our Five Years in Thailand Bucket List!!!"  I guess this means that we will have to work double-time this coming year.


     Smyth came home from the US on August 6.  When I put him on the plane to go to the US, I couldn't believe he was going to be away for 6 whole weeks.  I have to admit though, the time flew by and he was home before we knew it.  There was a half-hour or so that we were worried about what might have happened to Smyth when we got to the Suvarnabhumi Airport and learned his flight from Narita (Japan) had been cancelled.  With very little layover time in Japan and neither his American phone nor his Thai phone working, he was unable to call us and give us an update.  There we were, midnight in the Bangkok airport, trying to find a counter that was still open that had an agent that could help us locate our son.  Finally Robert pulled out his phone, called the US number for Continental Airlines, and learned that Smyth would be arriving at any moment on Delta Airlines.  So we waited......

Sure enough, there came Smyth five minutes earlier than he would have been had he come in on his original flight.



     I guess the most startling moment of time passing too quickly came on the morning of August 15, the first day of school for the 2011-2012 school year.  Lilli was starting 3rd grade already.  Chloe had moved up to high school as a 9th grader.  Smyth, my first born, my baby boy, my oldest offspring was on his way to his first day of school as a Senior!  It couldn't be!  August 20, 1999, the first day of Kindergarten for Smyth, surely was only 2 or 3 years ago at  most!  I'm certain he must have missed a few grades.  But, no, a look back at the School Days scrapbook and the pictures are there showing Smythie as a Kindergartner, a first grader, second grader, and so on... all the way up to an 11th grader heading out on his first day of school each year.

Now I have the final picture to add to all those first day of school shots of Smyth.  I'm certain he won't let me be there taking pictures on his first day of college.

Pattaya Orphanage

The first Mass I attended here in Pattaya I met Fr. Michael.  He is the associate pastor of St. Nikolaus Church and Director of Pattaya Orphanage.  He questioned me on my reasons for being in Thailand and the ages of my kids.  Upon learning that I do not work and I do not have young kids at home he enlisted me to hold babies at the orphanage.  I took this as a message from God and went to the orphanage.   My temperature was taken and I was ushered into a baby room to hold and play with babies ranging in age from 8 months to 18 months.  The kids and I love our visits to the orphanage.  Each time we visit we meet new babies and other foreigners volunteering their time as well.

Thai children learn at a young age how to dine Thai style.

Fun Times in the Neighborhood

Sometimes it's fun to hang out with your friends and neighbors and just have a day of general silliness.

Spontaneous Swim Party

The kids in the neighborhood all wanted to swim at the neighborhood school pool.  Here we have kids ranging in age from 5 to 16 all playing together and having a great time.



Swimmers on your mark.... get set.........

GO!

 Spontaneous Swim Party II

Smyth home from Arkansas, must have missed the neighbor kids.  He opened our pool up for a pool party while Robert and I were out doing errands.  Pizza was even delivered! The kids, ages 5-17, had a great time and no one drowned!

This is pizza delivery in Thailand.  I order it online then in 30 minutes or less a guy shows up on a motorbike, of course, with a piping hot pizza or two.  Another oddity, pizza is served with ketchup in Thailand.  So when we order pizza I always get 10 packets of Heinz ketchup for each pizza I order.  Needless to say, I hardly ever have to buy a bottle of ketchup.

Queen's Birthday

(Thai Mother's Day)

This is my second year in a row to celebrate two Mother's Days!  Since we are American we celebrated in May as most non-Thai countries do and since we live in Thailand we celebrate Mother's Day in August with the Thais!

The celebration included dinner out to one of our favorite "American" restaurants,

Benihana!

Special "khao phad" for Mom!

(Quick Thai lesson:  khao phad  pronunciaton /cow pad/ means fried rice)

After dinner, a walk with some of the stars at Madame Tussaud Wax Museum.

Sleepover

One of Lilli's best friends from school is Claire Chung.  Claire is a little Korean girl who is living here because of her father's job with Samsung.  Claire is a dual citizen of Korea and the US.  She was born in Kentucky!

Redemptorist Catholic Church

Pattaya, Thailand



Imagine our surprise after living here in Pattaya for a year when we found this Catholic church.  The church, built in a very traditional Thai Buddhist temple style,  is "hidden" on the grounds of a Catholic retreat center and cannot be seen from any roads. 

A mural on a wall inside the church depicts Jesus and the Disciples in the Upper Room having the Last Supper.

The International School Eastern Seaboard

The kids came home from school talking about the new giant billboard that was erected on the highway to the school.  They said we had to go see it.  Our thoughts were, "Nice sign, yes it's big too."

But on closer look....

Who is that guy to the right in the middle conducting a science experiment??

Robert and I attended a Hawaiian Luau hosted by the Amari Resort as a thank you to area business for their patronage.

August Comes to a Close

  School has started and we are starting our second year in Thailand.  We still enjoy living here and we are thankful for all the new friends we have met over the year.  We look forward to seeing and experiencing new sights and events in our second year here.  As mentioned earlier, our clock is ticking down to the end of our stay in Thailand.  Now is the time to plan your trip to see us!  We would love to have you stay with us and help plan your Southeast Asia vacation.  Keep in touch!

July '11 An American Family in Siam

 Celebrating Independence Day 

One of my favorite events of summer is celebrating America's Independence with family and friends.  We have always had family celebrations at my mother's home and at Robert's parents' home.  Another activity we have participated in over the years is the First Federal Bank's Turtle Races on the square in our home town.  What a sad feeling I had when thinking about the coming holiday and not being on home soil under the Stars and Stripes to celebrate the holiday.  However, I was quite excited to receive an invitation from the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok for the Annual American Independence Day Celebration.  I contacted our high school friend Boyd Barker, who lives in Bangkok,  and made plans to meet him at the celebration.  We had a great afternoon listening to bands that are made up of Americans living in Thailand, eating food from "American" restaurants in Bangkok, drinking imported Sam Adams beer (American beers cannot be found in Thailand.), and meeting other Americans living in Thailand.  I bought a book of raffle tickets and was lucky enough to win a 500 Baht gift card to Siam Winery and a new Blackberry Curve.  Of course with my aging eyes and the fact that the keys have both the English and the Thai alphabet on them, learning the new phone is quite difficult.

Robert and Chloe make muffins together.

Chloe and Lilli paint at the plaster booth.

Boyd Barker and Robert enjoy Hurricanes from Bourbon Street Restaurant.

This is what happens when you ask for an American flag from a Thai face painter.

Back in Bangkok

The girls and I were back in the city to spend another day of sightseeing while Robert worked in the Bangkok office.  We enjoyed a trip to Bangkok Dolls, a collection of dolls from all over the world as well as a factory of handmade Thai dolls.  We went to the Royal Elephant Museum which was originally the stables for the rare white elephants that belong to the King.  We shopped for Catholic religious goods at two Catholic churches.  Then we met Bob and went for a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Bangkok, Kuppa.

Some of the dolls representing many aspects of Thai life.

All the dolls are handmade by 7 people.

Thai style Nativity

Walking to the elephant museum.

These two buildings once stabled the Royal White Elephants.  They now make up the Royal Elephant Museum and the white elephants are stabled on palace grounds near Hua Hin and are not open to the public for viewing.

Holy Rosary Church

Beautiful little Grotto outside of church

Assumption Cathedral

Kuppa Cafe and Restaurant

Slides

Our pool was drained and regrouted.  The whole process took about 15 days.  This was a perfect time to try out the slides at the Pattaya Park pool.  We took along our neighbors Cobin, Saffron, and mom Ali. They are a British ex-pat family that moved here from Australia.  The pool is small but has slides as well as a lazy river.  It's right on the beach so you can leave the pool area and dip in the gulf waters if you want.

The regrouting of our pool.

Chloe tries the more tame blue slide.   We both had just gone down the yellow slides.  I became airborne and flew out of my swimsuit when I hit the water.   Chloe lowered the level of the pool water with the amount she sucked in her nose while flailing into the water. Fortunately we don't have either spectacle recorded!

Saffron, Cobin, and Lilli come down the red slide while some random guy walks in my way.

Lilli

Saffron, Cobin, and Chloe

Lightning Lilli on the yellow slide.  Her only complaint, "It gave me a wedgie!"

Happy Birthday Khun Dowan

Chloe baked cupcakes for our maid's birthday.

Welcoming New Neighbors

We were happy to have new neighbors move in this month.  The Kirsch family is from Michigan.  Steve works for General Motors and daughters Alexa and Gillian will attend school at ISE with Smyth, Chloe, and Lilli.  To introduce them to Thailand the girls and I took Jackie, Alexa, and Gillian out for a day of sightseeing, food, and fun.

Alexa and Chloe at Sanctuary of Truth

Gillian and Lillian

The girls release birds at the foot of the Giant Buddha Statue in Pattaya.

The girls had fun at the Floating Market, Lilli tries ziplining.



Songthaew

Chloe's first ride on a Songthaew (Baht Bus),  an inexpensive way to get around Pattaya.

This party Songthaew passed us on the Motorway on the way to Bangkok.  People pile in the back of this truck, crank the music high, and dance all the way to Bangkok!  Is it even legal to ride in the back of a truck in the U.S.?

Bowling Day

The girls and I decided to try bowling in Thailand.  Again, we got the Kirsch's to go with us.  The bowling lanes were bright, clean, and fully automated with very high tech scoreboards.  We had a waitress assigned to us the whole time.  She measured our feet and got our shoes for us, she picked out balls for us to use, and she took our drink orders, blended watermelon juice, ice lattes, pineapple smoothies, etc....  She also provided nail clippers, nail file, and band aid when I broke my nail.

Pet Care

The girls learned that with pet ownership comes pet care responsibility.  Some aspects of pet care are more appealing than others.  Pet care that involves paper towels, disinfectant, and plastic bags isn't the most fun part of having a new puppy.  However, bathing a 2 pound pup and making homemade dog treats makes up for some of the drudgery of poop patrol.

Just 2 pounds soaking wet.

Making homemade peanutbutter dog biscuits.

Getting into the Swing of It

Always looking for something new to try that all of us can participate in, I decided that the girls and I needed golf lessons.  My Kiwi neighbor, Kerrin, was ready to learn too.  I found an English chap at a local driving range and he had enough open spots to take all of us.  Kerrin and I took a lesson together and then Chloe and Lilli took a lesson.  We then went and played on a par 3 course as we were certain after one lesson we were ready for actual play...... HA!!!  We did have a good time, and we have continued with our lessons.  Kerrin and I have even made it to some of the regular golf courses now.

It's no fun playing in the sand!

An 8 year old's birthday party. 

Hard Rock style!

Lilli's friend, Jazzy, had her birthday party at the Hard Rock Hotel here in Pattaya.  The party started at 11 and went until 6.  There were non-stop activities for the whole family.  I'll show you a few pictures, but not too many, as Lilli has already told us we are having her party at Hard Rock in November.



Yes, that's Bob and Chloe in what appears to be a giant bubblebath.  I'll give more information on the foam party in November when I write about Lilli's birthday party.

Although it was hard being away from home, family reunions, and fireworks on the 4th, and having Smyth so far away, we had a good July.  We saw some museums and places that we had been wanting to see, I won a new phone, we started a new sport, and we met new friends.  July turned out to be a good month for us.