Going to Phuket to see a dog's tooth?

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I'd like to open this entry with a story about language learning. During my Thai lesson this week, due to a slight mix-up in vowel sounds, I told Ton that I'd be going to Phuket next week to visit a dog's tooth. What I meant to say was that I'd be visiting a dentist. Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized I'd made a big mistake. Ton cracked up. During a lesson about prepositions today, Ton told me that the chairs were above the table. :) I got a kick out of that and had to demonstrate by holding a chair above the table, just for fun.

Unfortunately, the tooth that gave me so much trouble last summer has reared its ugly head again. It doesn't hurt that much, but it's about the same as last time, and the dentist told me I had a low-grade infection. Then I had the root canal redone by a specialist and hoped it wouldn't give me any trouble abroad. Fortunately, I've heard that there are some really good dentists and doctors in Thailand. John Quinley recommended a friend of a friend in Phuket, so I've made an appointment. I hope it won't be too expensive.

Interestingly, I managed to organize a Thai class for Ton to teach without exactly intending to! A while back, a German lady named Monika came to Step Ahead and asked me if we offered Thai classes. I said no, but that I wished we did. She came back again last week, and I suggested she sit in on my lesson w/ Ton the following week and then we'd see if we could learn together. About halfway through our lesson, a German guy showed up who also wanted to learn Thai! So I invited him to sit in for the rest of the lesson. Monika has two other friends who want to learn Thai as well, so starting next week, we'll have a class of four Germans, a Thai teacher and a teaching assistant. We'll meet on Mondays for two hours with a break in between. Ton will start at the very beginning with them, and I'll help by explaining some things in German as needed. I think this will be fun, it's a good way for Ton to earn a bit of money, me to brush up on my German, and for me to review the Thai I've learned already. And then I'll continue to meet with Ton on Wednesdays and Fridays to learn Thai.

Paul's parents visited for a few days. They were so sweet and funny! His dad has a really different accent. He preached at church last Sunday. We spent some time cooking and eating together, and Paul, his mom and I went shopping in Khao Lak for an evening.

I am really happy that I've been able to spend a lot of time with Pia lately. She is such a neat person, and it's wonderful to finally have a Thai (girl) friend that I can really connect with. Last Saturday, after teaching, she, Ton and I went to a nice restaurant at Tablamu Pier and had lunch, looking out over the water. Pia anad I spent the whole afternoon there, enjoying the ocean breeze. On the way back home, she took me on the Navy Base to see the beach there. Then we got the spontaneous idea to hit some golf balls at the driving range! Wow, I stink at golf. I'm amazed that I can swing and hit the ground instead of the ball about 7 out of 10 times. We had good fun, though.