This is going to be a long entry... I was a little worried about spending my birthday and Thanksgiving in Thailand; holidays and special occasions can be the worst times to be abroad, so far away from your family and friends. But actually, my birthday turned out great! My friends at Step Ahead got me a chocolate birthday cake (it was yummy!), and Paul, Amnuey and I went to the beach and swam to the raft and dove, swam, and enjoyed the sunset and waves until the moon came out (lovely)! During the day, Ping and I made banana and pumpkin bread. We had a fun time in the kitchen, and I am so glad that we are starting to connect more. She's using a lot more English, I'm using more Thai, and I think she's warming up to me (she's quite shy). That girl is awesome in the kitchen. She chopped that pumpkin up in about 3 minutes, whereas it would've taken me about 15 to cut it (no joke). She was excited about making the bread; she'd been wanting to learn how to make it since the last time I did it. She thought we should try making mango bread, or papaya, hehe. She is cute. After the beach, nobody else wanted to go out, so Paul and I went to an Italian restaurant in Khao Lak that I've been wanting to try for a while. I had pumpkin gnocchi w/ creamy gorgonzola asparagus sauce. It was delicious. Then we visited Benz at work (she's working part-time at a tour company now; can't remember if I already mentioned that).
Saturday was the big cooking day. Paul roasted 3 chickens in the oven and helped me w/ various side dishes, and Amnuey peeled and cut the sweet potatoes for me. It was so much work, though. I cooked enough for about 20-25 people, but only 15 or so showed up. Two of our students came, plus Gan from down the road. I'd invited Al and Karin (Canadian couple from our church) and Jay and Melanie (another Canadian couple from church) plus their two kids. They brought some food, too. I chatted w/ the students, prayed for the food, we sat down to eat... and then halfway through my meal I got REALLY nauseous and had to go upstairs to the bathroom. The nausea was followed by a fever for a couple hours, so I was in bed for the rest of the afternoon until around 5:30 p.m. I've had recurring stomach trouble since I've been here, but it's so hard to figure out what the problem is, b/c it's not every day or even all day when I get it; it might be 1x or 2x a week. I eat quite a variety of foods (Thai and Western), and this time it was food I cooked at the house that made me sick! So I went to the dr. in Khao Lak yesterday, and the diagnosis was: inconclusive. He said it didn't sound like I had a bug; I looked healthy, stomach felt and sounded normal. He supposed it was a reaction to food but that I could get tests done at the hospital in Phuket if I wanted to. Bronson and Paul's mom both suggested that I keep a food log, writing down everything I eat and how I feel. So I've been doing that since Friday. I decided not to go to the hospital in Phuket yet, b/c my stomach is feeling a lot better since yesterday. But then yesterday I woke up w/ a migraine that lasted until late afternoon! At least I can thank God that when I get migraines, they are relatively mild (I don't usually get nauseous; but my vision blurs, my eyes are very sensitive to light, and then I feel a lot of pressure behind my eyes). So those of you who are praying at home, please pray that I'd stop having so much health trouble! It makes me feel worn down and stressed out to deal w/ this stuff all the time. But God comforts me in my distress, when I turn my worries over to Him (I Pet. 5:7, I think that's the one, but I'm not going to look it up at the moment!)
Saturday was also Loy Kratung (still not sure about spelling), a Buddhist festival. By evening, my stomach was settled (still hurting, but settled) so I went w/ Paul and Amnuey to the fairgrounds, which were bustling. People were sending off little boats made of banana leaves and flowers and candles on the river. It was very pretty, actually.
Our household has been more harmonious lately, and I'm happy about that. The conflicts were getting a bit tense, but I think that usually happens when people live together. In general, I feel like we're more balanced and settled w/ each other now, which is great. I love my teammates! Another good thing is that my Thai is coming along... well, I need to take a more active approach (and Bronson gave me a good idea about that), but I'm happy to be understanding a whole lot more now. OK, I've got to go for now. Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes, packages, etc. :)
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