Goodbyes and Good Eats

Today was kind of surreal. It was my last full day in Bangkok, as well as the day Carol and CJ left for the Philippines. So my day consisted of packing, saying goodbye, and a last dinner with Kate's students.

Kate, CJ, and I hanging out before he headed to the airport.

Today he informed Kate that he's leaving for the Philippines where he's going to preceeded to break her heart. This comment slightly made up for the fact that the vendors down the street from where I live think that he is my son. When I found that out today it seriously made me sad. But kin or not, I am going to miss the four year old whippersnapper.

The send off party for Carol at the airport.

Oh, and we had to rush back to Lat Krabang from the airport to meet Kate's students for dinner. They took us to a "buffet", which actually just means that they keep bringing food to your table until you explode. It was a Japanese restaurant. So, I experienced sushi for the first time. As well as shrimp eggs and liver. Good thing I can actually use chopsticks now! (Thai's only use chopsticks for noodle dishes, so I didn't get used to using them until the last week or so, but Japan uses them all the time so we would've been in trouble if our skill sets hadn't expanded.) But just to recap: sushi, shrimp eggs, and liver. That was on top of all of our slightly more normal foods. And Thai spice levels to everything. Kate learned very quickly not to ask what was being put on the table. Even when she spoiled the surprise I decided to dig in anyways... after all, when in Rome Thailand. 

The orange on top of my piece of sushi is actually just a pile of shrimp eggs.

I'm off to bed though. I have to get up in a matter of three hours or so to catch our early morning flight to Chiang Mai. I'm not bringing my laptop, so expect posts to lull for the next few days. But I'll make up for it in mass posts before I leave on Monday, so no worries! See you on the flip side!

Babysitting: Thailand Edition

This morning I was peacefully wallowing around in my bed when I heared a shuffiling of feet followed by "oh no, she heard us" and shrieking. Good morning CJ. I preceeded to have a hyperactive four year old post-Frosted Flakes bounce around my room tackling Kate, myself, and anything breakable in sight. During this Kate informed me that Carol had left for the day putting her and I on CJ duty.

Me, being the bright person I am, decided to find somewhere that CJ could run around without breaking anything, or hurting himself or us. And where better than a giant park?

Less than an hour later I was caffeinated, and he was spazzing around with minimal injuries. He saw me using my camera and preceeded to ask if he could try taking some pictures. I figured I might as well let him. So, the following pictures are what happens when you let a 4 year old have control of your camera:

 He took some surprisingly nice pictures.

 No idea who this guy is.

 And then sometimes he's adorable. But only sometimes.

 He took pictures of Kate and I around the park.

Does your park have a giant turkey? I didn't think so.

Oh, and I finally got a photo of the water monitor on land!

He was about the same size as a park bench. And he was a tiny one.

And another photo of CJ for your enjoyment:

Do you see the mischief in his eyes? Because it's there. Look beyond the cuteness.

A week from today Kate and I are taking off for Chiang Mai! We can't wait! But it's also sort of sad, because I have to head back to the States afterword and by no means am I ready to go home. But I still have just under a week to hang with students, so I'm not out of adventures yet!