Merry Christmas!

So as you might have guessed, Christmas was a little different this year. For starters it wasn’t cold, there was no real Christmas build up, and my family wasn’t here. Although it wouldn’t be what I am used to, I was excited because the kids were bouncing off the walls. Anyways, our Christmas Day looked a little like this…

-       Insa, Riley, Mira, and I had a fairly “normal” Christmas morning. We woke up early, sat around the tree my family sent me (you guys are the best), opened our packages from home, and ate breakfast. It was even kind of cold, which made it feel even more home-y haha.

-       Since Thailand is primarily a Buddhist country, Christmas is not usually a holiday that is celebrated… therefore we had school. Insa and I just had classes in the morning, which were filled with Christmas coloring pages, music, musical chairs, and treats.

-       The party started around two with the entire school. The theater was decorated with a tree, balloons, signs, etc. Everybody was so excited! It began with many traditional Thai dances, and a few silly dances as well. All of the students that were danced in beautiful costumes, next time I will try and get some better pictures of them!

-       About half way through the party, Santa Claus made an appearance. Oh, and how did he arrive?! VIA ELEPHANT! Yes, we were all freaking out. All of us volunteers and staff knew that this would be happening, but we were still through the roof ecstatic. So Santa came up the hill, waved to all of the students, and proceeded to the theater. Each student got to go up on stage and receive a present from Santa. We were SO impressed because the kids got their present, and they all were waiting so patiently to open until everybody was ready. Of course there were a few sneak peeks, but for the most part they did so good!

-       While Santa was talking to the students, many of us were taking pictures with the elephant. I will admit, I was terrified. But then Riley and I were offered to ride the elephant, and of course we jumped at the opportunity. You will notice Riley is holding my hand, trying to calm me down hahaha.

-       Everybody ate dinner together in the theater, and the party wrapped up. All of the kids were playing with their new toys, students were dancing and everybody was smiling.

                   

Overall, Christmas was a huge success! Being away from family and friends was weird, but I actually has an amazing holiday. Thank you to all of my family and friends who sent me cards, packages, or messages… it made me feel so special J Also to top it all off, I got to skype in Christmas morning. I watched everyone open presents and was totally part of the action! I know it sounds crazy but it felt like I was actually there. I am so thankful for modern technology! Anyways, I hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe holiday season back home.

Brough family Christmas 2013!

December, wait what?!

Happy December ladies and gents! I can't be the only one totally weirded out that it is almost Christmas time, right? Here in Thailand, it pretty much seems the opposite of Christmas season. Not that our holiday spirit is at a low, but it is so hot out! Since all of the volunteers will be missing Christmas this year with our families, it is nice to feel like we have a home away from home. We are all in the same boat, so we have tried to incorporate the holidays as much as possible! Ten of our students along with a few volunteers recently sang at the Le Meridien hotel in Khao Lak. The students worked so hard over the last month and learned the lyrics to Jingle Bells, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. Riley and I came to enjoy the show and were absolutely impressed. Of course we couldn't help get our picture taken with Thai Santa either. I also forgot to mention that the Le Meridien was absolutely gorgeous! It was right on the beach, the pool was so inviting, and everything we saw looked great. If you ever need a place to stay in Khao Lak, I would totally look into it!

The Yaowawit kids caroling at the Christmas tree lighting.

Our Santa picture this year, haha :)

As I mentioned above we have had some excellent weather lately. This has allowed for us to have quite a few beach days, and a trip to the waterfall. When I first got to Thailand Anna, Lan, Robbie and Seeba brought me to Memories beach. Anna and I returned almost every weekend and made friends with some of the workers. Anna you will be happy to know they remember us! After being closed all rainy season, I went back with Riley and Insa for the first time of the season. It was everything I remembered it to be! Being the beach bums we love to be, I think it is safe to say Memories beach will be our number one beach hang out for our time here.

Beach sunset in Khao Lak

On Tuesday, we had the day off of school for Teacher's day! So Insa, Riley and I decided to celebrate our teacher-ness and go on a hike to a nearby waterfall. I had been there once before when Chrissy and the Linfield boys were here, but I had not been back since. Since I was the only person that had been there before, I was in charge of directions and getting us there. Being the directionally challenged person I am, I was a little nervous but it all worked out! We had lots of fun, and the water was refreshing aka freezing, which is a nice change of pace for Thailand.

And lastly, the grade three kids acting as a transport system to their friend who had just had some teeth pulled at the dentist. They were cracking me up!

November Happenings.

Lately it seems as if the weeks have been flying by, and I cannot believe that it is already almost mid December! Since it is half-way through November, I figured it was only appropriate to write about November...whoops. We have been very busy here at Yaowawit with school, Loy Krathong, Thaisgiving, Patong beach, etc. I know I still have a few months left, but I am already slightly panicking that the days are slipping away too quickly.

November 17th was the Loy Krathong festival. This is a time when people build these elaborate little floats made from banana leaves, flowers, and a piece of tree trunk. In the middle is three incenses and a candle. At night, we all went to the river to set our Krathongs free as a symbol of letting go of the negativity in your life. It was truly a beautiful experience, and so fun to see the kids truly in their element.

This year a new holiday was born, Thaisgiving! Riley and I being the only Americans here, felt it was necessary to introduce Thanksgiving with our own spin on it. It turned out we had a nice family style bbq, and then the celebration began. We dressed in our most American clothing and it ended up being be more like the 4th of July than Thanksgiving, but no complaints here!

 
The last weekend in November the students went home, this meant a free weekend for the volunteers! We decided to venture to Patong beach, which is in Phuket and about two hours from Kapong. It was a wild weekend full of dancing, food, and beach time. Patong is one of those places you don't need to go often, but when you do it is a guarantee for a great (exhausting) time. Also we FINALLY saw Catching Fire! It was so good, I could sing its praise for literally an hour or two. I was so impressed by how they literally brought the book to life, and after seeing it I wanted to immediately watch it again.

Needless to say November was a complete success. It is hard to believe that I have already been back for over a month, time is FLYING!

Nerding out.

So I have kind of turned into a Youtube feen. At home I usually fall asleep watching Netflix or reading, but here in the jungle (when the internet works) youtube has filled my Netflix void. I think I am about 10 years behind everyone, because I just realized people have there own channels, you can subscribe, and yada yada. Also the more you watch a certain “youtuber” you realize all of the “youtubers” know each other in real life, and they appear in each others videos… it is kind of like a cult… that I am getting great entertainment out of. I figured since I am now an avid youtube user, I can share some of my favorite videos. I also realize that most of you might never watch these videos, BUT there are lots of freezing cold, rainy days when you will have nothing better to do :)

If you are looking for a youtuber to subscribe to:

My go to girl on Youtube goes by the name of Zoella. She is from the UK and posts anything from beauty tutorials, hanging out with her friends, favorite videos, lookbooks, etc. Her accent is awesome and as of recently in my head I am speaking in her accent hahaha, creepy I know. Well anyways she is quite funny, and around the same age as me and we have similar interests. Below is the link to her channel in case you find yourself bored.  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRV5AVOlKJR1Flvgt310Cw 

If you feel the same way about Taylor Swift as I do:

This is from when she recently received the Pinnacle award! It goes through many of Taylor's accomplishments, and you get to see how proud she is and rest of the world is of her. Obviously it goes without saying that I am Taylor obsessed, but don't worry if you cry when you watch it, I did of course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b9e1dAtN-Q

If you love hearing other people laugh:

Literally that's what the commercial is haha, but considering I love to laugh... it is one of my favorites. Simply a good message, and a really cute old man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR_UYx4vSPs

If you love a good proposal:

So this guy went totally above and beyond, way over the top.. and it's awesome. This girl obviously was so happy. Yes, I know it's long and some parts are cheesy..but just watch the whole thing. This guy just earned brownie points for life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz_s8ThT6oc

If you liked the couple above:

Here is their story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khUVJwbneWs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUxcSTXNsoAClNhPfT3blhlA

If you need to hear someone who knows what they are talking about:

Ashton or should I say Chris Kutcher, makes an awesome speech while accepting an award at the Teen Choice Awards. It makes you feel good to hear his speech, and it is very motivating. I absolutley loved this. Also if you need a little "kick in the pants" it seems pretty alright to have a hot Ashton Kutcher tell you if you ask me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXwKGZHmDc

If you need another reason to love Jennifer Lawrence:

In my eyes she is one of the funniest, most down to earth celebrities. Literally you can watch any interview with her and crack up, she just seems so normal! Also, I saw Catching Fire this past weekend... AMAZING. You should also check out any video between Jlaw and Josh Hutcherson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ACQpZW-eTg

So I realize as I am writing this that I look like I sit on my computer and watch youtube all day. I swear I actually do real life things in Thailand and love it. Enjoy.