Featured Friend- Benz!

These are old pics but some of my favorites. Good times. Pic #1: at the sticky rice restaurant


Pic #2: at Khao Lak National Park Restaurant, my first month here!


Pic #3: my birthday, of course! What would a birthday be without chocolate cake?



Name: Benz (Isariya Ar-ngee- one of only a few friends whose first and last names I actually know)

Age: 25


Interests: traveling, learning foreign languages and being friends with foreigners, translating (she is quite impressive at this), YWAM, Jesus, being a tour guide (sometimes), sports, being un-Thai, laughing loudly (even more loudly than I do) and singing loudly all over the house, showing ministry teams around Thailand and driving us around in the Step Ahead-mobile, doing anything that's new and fun.


I don't think Benz is afraid of anything. She is not shy at all; in fact, she has a loud personality. Another friend of ours told her to "tone it down" in public, haha! She is strong-willed and determined. I am always impressed at the energy and ambition with which she tackles new tasks. She perseveres. She loves a challenge and doesn't like to be bored. Benz is from the far north of Thailand, close to Chiang Rai (most of my friends are from the north). She is from the Akha hill tribe, which is mostly Christian. Benz's mom is really cool. She visited here and cooked all sorts of delicious northern food. Lots of people think she is Benz's older sister b/c she looks so young and she's very beautiful. Benz is beautiful, too. She says things straight, exactly as they are on her mind. She is genuine. I don't have to worry about what she might or might not be thinking, because she tells me! Benz and I are very different, but I appreciate her very much.

Featured Friend of the Week- Pia!

Not bad!

Pia getting some instructions from another golfer

The golf ball actually left the ground this time (which was progress for me).

I do not know how to swing a golf club. 

I've had the idea for a while to feature one of my friends each week (or at least, every so often) on my blog so that you (my readers) can get to know some of the lovely people I get to spend time with here. But then I got pretty busy and didn't post on my blog for a while. So here goes: hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it!

Name: Pia- this sounds a bit more like a "b" than a "p;" but we don't have this letter in English. It gave me a lot of trouble at the beginning, but I think I can say it now.  They don't really talk about last names in Thailand, so I don't know most of my friends' last names.

Age: 29 (they do, however, talk about age all the time)

Interests: spending time with and teaching kids, laughing and having fun, being adventurous- trying new things... like golf, drinking coffee, being outdoors, watching sunsets on the beach, knowing God and encouraging others to know Him.

Pia and I have a blast together no matter what we're doing. We laugh together until we almost cry. She is from northeastern Thailand. Thai is not her first language; she is from a people group called Gui (but I'm not sure if that's how it's spelled). She came here in 2005, after the tsunami, to work with We Love Thailand (the umbrella organization that included all Christian organizations who were helping with the relief efforts). Now she works for an independent ministry. Her vision is to build a ministry house where she can have kids come and stay with her, and she can help them with their homework and teach them from the Bible. She is also involved in community development projects, including a mushroom farm that is just getting started. Pia speaks English really well, and she often translates for me at church. But she helps me a lot with my Thai, too. Pia is better at golfing than I am.         

Going to Phuket to see a dog's tooth?

http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann
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.

Having Guests, Similan Islands, and other adventures

Similan Islands

Whitney and I- does it get any dorkier than this?

Teaching the kids at church



Ton with the motorbike loaded with kids!




It's been ages since I last blogged! Here's a link to several new photo albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann





So much has been going on that it's hard to know where to start! Well, first of all, there was a happy end to May's story (the girl who was living at Step Ahead, separated from her husband in Singapore due to visa problems). She hadn't heard anything for months about getting her visa to join her husband, and then one day, the letter that she needed came! Her husband flew here the next day, stayed for two nights, and we got to send them off with prayer and encouraging words. May (and her husband) joined us for our morning devotion for the first (and last) time, and then they cooked a huge Chinese meal for us. I miss May, but I'm happy that God answered our prayers for her to be able to return to her husband.





We've had lots of visitors at Step Ahead in the past two weeks, which has been really fun, and really encouraging- to have fellowship with English-speaking Christians. First we had Nick and Paula from Oregon. They're doing a trip around the world. Benz knew Nick from his DTS outreach in Chiang Mai six years ago. They were so nice, fun, and just easy to get along with. We made chocolate chip cookies three nights in a row! We went to the beach and played volleyball with some of Paul's friends who work at a hotel there, and I got a swollen, bruised wrist (I must've hit the bone; it's better now though). Paul, Nick, Paula and I stayed up late trying to solve the world's problems, and they helped me teach a really fun lesson at the Sarojin. We went to a waterfall (same one we went to with Gaan recently).





Then Whitney escaped the frigid cold of Xining and visited me for a week. We had lots of fun together! The highlight of her visit was our trip to the Similan Islands. Those pictures are definitely worth checking out if you want to see the most beautiful beach you can imagine (at least, it certainly was the most beautiful one I've ever seen!) I have never seen such clear water in my life. We went snorkeling and we climbed up a rock with a gorgeous view. We made friends w/ some ladies from Bangkok who spoke Chinese (Whitney chatted in Chinese, and I talked to a lady a bit in Thai). It was really neat to hear about Whitney's work, and we exchanged teaching ideas. She helped me with my classes as well. During Whitney's visit, we also had a girl from Chiang Rai come and stay at Step Ahead for two days. She's a friend of Ton and Chaiyot's, and she was a lot of fun too! Paul's parents are coming into town this weekend. For some reason, Feb seems to be the month for visitors.





The last thing for me to write about today is something I'm excited about: teaching the kids at our church. Last Saturday, Ton and I started teaching the kids from church, plus quite a few neighborhood kids. He did some songs w/ them and a few other things I didn't quite understand, and then I did a short English lesson w/ them. This week Pia and I will teach together. She'll do a Bible lesson, and I'll do English (obviously, since I can't teach the Bible in Thai!). We had 18 kids the first week, and half of them were kids whose parents don't come to church! I think this is a great opportunity to reach out to the community.





Oh, and one more thing: I seem to have become an expert at miscommunicating things lately! For some reason, whether I'm trying to speak in English, German, or Thai, the messages that I think I'm communicating are not getting across (or also, people aren't communicating clearly w/ me). Usually funny situations are the result. And I normally take these things in stride. But today, for some reason, I'd had enough of it and was frustrated to the point of tears. There is a German lady who is possibly interested in joining my Thai lessons with Ton, which is cool. I talked to her on the phone (in German) and invited her to sit in on our lesson next Monday, but I said I needed to confirm it with Ton first. He said sure, and so I sent her a text message saying Monday was fine, but I abbreviated Monday, and she thought I meant for her to come the next day! So while I was at the Sarojin teaching today, Monika showed up for a Thai lesson! I am sure that Ton was thoroughly confused, but (Benz told me this later) he tried to do a lesson w/ her. It didn't work out very well b/c he doesn't speak much English, so he didn't understand what she was asking him. I had a good laugh when I heard about it, but then I actually just felt frustrated b/c I couldn't explain to Ton very well in Thai what had happened (well, I sort of could; Paul said "Bri, your Thai is brilliant! You should speak it with other people besides Ton!" I appreciate his encouragement). And this was the 2nd day in a row that a major breakdown in communication had happened to me (along w/ several other minor ones this week). Oh well... it's all part of living in a foreign country.

Wan Dek (Children's Day)

Ton and I handing out prizes to kids after they played darts or basketball

Benz taking down names

I'm a little behind on blogging about this, but the Saturday before last, Step Ahead and Co. (as I'll now refer to the lovely group of people who spend lots of time here- mainly including Mae, Chaiyot, Ton, and then sometimes Sai, Pia, and Chompoo) got up early in the morning and loaded up the Step Ahead-mobile with games and prizes to take to Khuek Khak school for Children's Day. Children's Day is apparently a national holiday in Thailand (like Mother's or Father's Day). We set up darts and a mini basketball hoop, and the kids came to the prize booth where Ton and I were working after they had played the games. Each kid would tap me on the shoulder and tell me the number of points he/she had achieved. Then Ton would assemble the prize and I'd distribute them to eager kids, who had to "wai" and say thank you. (If you're not sure what a "wai" is, ask anyone who's been to Thailand. Or check out this photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann/JohnSVisit/photo#5125593616038410562

I'm not too sure about the point system, though. The prizes seemed not to vary much, regardless of the number of points, for example:

Kid: 15 points

Ton: 15, wow!

(Prize given= comic book and some sweets)

Kid: 27 points

Ton: 27, great!

(Prize given= comic book, some sweets, a drink)

Kid: no points

Ton: Aw, no points! No problem.

(Prize given= comic book and some sweets)

The kids were so cute, and we had a really fun time. The only spoiler was some large red fire ants. I had to have Paul go back to Step Ahead to bring me my tennis shoes b/c I was getting eaten.

Chiang Mai Trip Part II (traveling- read Part I FIRST!)

Bangkok slum where Step Ahead works
Chiang Mai bike shop; I couldn't resist. It's just funny.
John at the Step Ahead Bangkok office


I have a few things to say about traveling around Thailand:

• Buses are really cheap in Thailand.


• Bus drivers drive like maniacs. The biggest vehicle rules the road, and buses pretty much take the cake. They speed up behind every car and then honk their horn to clear the path. Ridiculous.


• I will NEVER take a bus again unless I find a more effective motion sickness medicine.


• Flying is the fastest and probably safest way to travel here. Most expensive, but not too bad.


• Motorcycles are probably the most dangerous way to travel, but definitely the most fun! (And I don't get sick on motorcycles.)

I took a 2nd class night bus to Bangkok, a TWELVE-HOUR-RIDE with seats that weren't particularly comfortable or spacious. Pun and I took a 2nd class bus b/c there were no seats available on any other bus; everything was fully booked b/c it was a holiday weekend; in fact, that is why there were no flights available, either. The one thing I can say about it is that it was cheap! Only about $15 (I can't remember exactly how much) to travel a great distance. When we arrived in Bangkok at 5.30 a.m., I was so dizzy, nauseous and out of it from having not slept at all that I could not even think about getting on another bus to Chiang Mai (a 10-hour-ride from Bangkok). So Pun very graciously invited me to her place, where I slept from 6-10 in the morning, showered, ate a little bit, and got to go to J & J Market, a really cool outdoor market with tons of things to buy. Then I took another night bus to Chiang Mai, but a VIP bus, which was much better than the 2nd class bus. It had comfy seats that lean back really far, a movie, a toilet, and food served on board. On the way back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai, I took a first class day bus, which wasn't so great. The only differences between it and a 2nd class bus were a toilet and a little bit of food service. But the seats weren't very roomy or anything. And I was more motion sick on that bus than I've ever been in my life. I took a Dramamine before I left which, as usual, made me totally out of it. Whenever I take Dramamine, I might as well have drunk 5 or 6 beers, because it has the same effect on me. It works for several hours to keep me from feeling nauseous, but it makes me really drowsy and loopy. But then the problem is that I don't sleep anyway! So after the first 5 hours, I took another Dramamine, and when I was about an hour outside of Bangkok, my head was spinning and I was so nauseous that I seriously wanted to die. I hadn't eaten anything all day except an orange and a small bread roll early in the morning. I think a combination of several factors were at work: I hadn't slept enough, I hadn't eaten because I didn't want to get sick, but then maybe the Dramamine on an empty stomach was a bad idea. And then I was motion sick anyway.

After I got off the bus, I waited in a long line to catch a taxi and watched a taxi driver come racing between the lines of people, screeching to a halt and narrowly miss hitting a little kid! I was on and off my cell phone the whole time with John Quinley, who was explaining to me how to tell the driver in Thai the directions to their house. It took another 45 minutes through Bangkok traffic to reach the Quinley residence, but at least I was sitting in the front seat, so I didn't feel as bad as I did on the bus. I was so happy to see John and Kim's smiling faces when I finally got there. I was only able to eat a few bites of dinner, went to bed at about 8.30, and my head literally did not stop spinning until I'd slept a full night and woke up the next morning. Yuck. The next afternoon, I caught a flight on Air Asia from Bangkok to Phuket, which was pretty good! I wasn't sick at all on the plane, and it was only an hour and ten minute flight. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to arrive at a place and see somebody as I was when I got off the plane in Phuket and saw Paul and Amnuey. I am so grateful to be back at Step Ahead again. It feels like home more than it did when I left.

Chiang Mai Trip, Part I

Chiang Mai, early morning
one of the temples

close contact with elephants

Three new albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/briswann I'm starting classes again tomorrow, and this is going to be a busy term! I'm teaching 5 classes, all different levels and including 2 languages. Plus, I'll be meeting with my language partner starting next Monday for 3 hours of Thai and 3 hours of English per week. That will be great; I'm so ready to really start learning some Thai! (which is not to say that I haven't been learning it; I just haven't organized my learning in a focused way.)

Ok, I have so much blogging to catch up on that I've decided to report about my travels in two parts: one part covering what I did and the second part talking about the actual traveling, which was quite a journey- the NOT so fun side of things. Anyhow, I left on Saturday, a week and a day ago. I spent the day in Bangkok with Pun, a friend of Bea's, a girl from my church. I was grateful to have a traveling partner for at least half of the trip. I slept at her place for a few hours and then we went to J & J Market, a huge market with row after row of clothes shops, and then all sorts of other stuff- handcrafts, food, books, jewelery, etc. And cheap! I did some shopping there but really went shopping in Chiang Mai. I haven't shopped much at all since I've been here, but Chiang Mai was definitely the coolest place to shop.

My friend Nee picked me up at the bus station in Chiang Mai on Monday morning and took me on a quick tour of the city on the back of her motorbike. Chiang Mai is absolutely lovely! It's an old city with plenty of interesting things to see- the old city walls, temples, and mountains! I was so happy to see mountains. We have small ones in Khao Lak, but the ones up north are tall. The weather was perfect- chilly at morning and night, so I actually wore a jacket for the first time since I've been in Thailand. Nee was a great tour guide, and she booked a guest house for me to stay in, too. I got to enjoy some northern food specialties which they don't have in the south; they have these curry noodles that are to die for. And they sold strawberries everywhere- with a chili sugar mix! Yum. I really fell in love with Chiang Mai; I think my pictures will tell a good story, but here are some of the things I liked:

• the walking street, a completely amazing outdoor market that sells beautiful things for really cheap


• the night bazaar, crazy and chaotic, similar to the walking street but bigger and a bit more expensive


• tuk tuks


• used bookstores with English books


• wonderful little cafes and restaurants; Chiang Mai definitely has the feel of a uni town


• fireworks and floating lanterns for New Year's Eve! (I watched from the bridge over the Ping River, close to my guest house)


• everything is much cheaper there than in the south!

I went elephant trekking and bamboo rafting about an hour outside of Chiang Mai (a must-do for anyone traveling in Thailand). I was pretty amazing at what those elephants could do- kick soccer balls, play harmonicas, paint pictures, "massage" people.

That concludes part 1; hopefully I'll be able to do part 2 tomorrow, but I envision a very, very busy week coming up.