Whoops...

So... Guess what. It's come to my attention that my Picasa links that I have given you are on a Thai-based website.
Which is fine for me, because I'm getting used to it.... but maybe not you.
I didn't realize I was giving you Thai-language links. I'm sorry! If I purposely give you a Thai link, I'll tell you and then tell you how to navigate/do a mini-tour of the site.
For now... I should tell you that if you wish to click on a previous link to Picasa, simply change the ".co.th" to ".com" and it should work fine/should change the language to English.
Or you could just click here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gecko.on.the.wall
Please update your bookmarks/favorites.
Thanks!

MoniNeko

P.S. - I leave for Phu Kradung in 10 or 15 minutes give or take 5-10 minutes. (It's Thai time... that's how it works around here). I'll be gone for a week. Feel free to drop a message, but don't expect any replies for a few days. Haha. Later!

Rice Cakes and Sideways Coffee Houses

Okay!
I updated Picasa again, check it out.

I have pictures of myself in a Thai dress, mainly taken for the fashion show purposes. My head looks swollen and fat, so be nice. *scowl*

Also, my fashion design teacher took me to the outskirts of town where a few shops sat against the road like a farm house in the country. Though this "farmhouse" was more like a tiny town composed of 5 one-story larger-sized houses on one side of the road. That's where we bought Thai silk (in the colors green and yellow-green) for the dress I'm currently making in Fashion Design class at Acshiwa. On our way there, we stopped at a gas station with a sideways "house." It turned out to be a coffee shop, and Aijan (same same like "sensei") and I bought some iced coffee for the mini-trip. Then we got passed by a truck with a red bull's head and red "eyes." (Chan mee loop kha. - I have pictures.) When we got there, we saw many things besides fabric; there was clothing, scarves , key chains, bracelets, bags; much like giant souvenir shops. Haha, I didn't go in, though. Anyway, in the same shop that we bought the fabric, Aijan and I saw a few scarves taken to our liking... she bought me one of them as a "Christmas gift," a fuzzy green one. I don't have a picture of it yet; I wasn't able to wear it today with my velvet-like shrug - the shrug was getting too fuzzy. *laughs*

We got back to Acshiwa and got to work on my dress; another student went out to buy some cloth-like interfacing... it's a weird mix of the two. It's lining, rather, but with iron-on sticky things. If you sew a lot, you'd know what I mean and how odd it is to find such things. Anyway, it was very nice and today I got my pieces cut out for the top and the skirt, and I got them all ironed and lined. [I have pictures.]

Link to Acshiwa pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.th/gecko.on.the.wall/Acshiwa
When you look at them, you'll notice a Thai girl in a plaid, poncho-like shirt. That's my friend Tip. She rocks. :)

Kun-Pah introduced me to real rice cakes last night. They're very tasty, much unlike America's. [In "Random" section on my Picasa.]

You'll also find a picture or two of my Kun-Pah and Kun-Meh all dressed up, as well as the breakfast I made BY MYSELF!!! Oh my gosh. My egg looks mighty perfect, if I do say so myself.

Me with a Dunkin' Donuts bag... no need for explanation there.

You'll find out what a songtao really is if you look at the pictures!!! It's the weird truck-like thing with numbers.

You'll see a [pretty much finished] lunch with a mini hotdog sided with a drink of iced coffee. School lunches here are delicious. The portions are bigger than you think.

That's all the updates for now.

Oh, random pictures link: http://picasaweb.google.co.th/gecko.on.the.wall/CompletelyRandomPicturesFromThailand

MoniNeko

Raisin Fried Rice

I recently just tried it, and I have to admit that's it pretty good.That's really not what it's called, either.It's actually named "American Fried Rice." It has no history of Americans actually cooking it, though. Rather, a chef [after seeing all the soldiers stationed in Thailand (this is 50 or so years ago)] decided that he'd make some fried rice that he believe Americans would like. It consists of no soy sauce; instead you use ketchup/catsup. Instead of oil, you'd use butter or margarine. Then he saw that a lot of the soldiers were eating raisins, so he stuck those in there, too. Then he heaped them onto a plate and put a miniature hot dog right next to the dish. Voila, American Fried Rice.There's a couple more steps to it, but you'll have to wait for me to come home and make it for you. [evil laughter]

More updates....Hmmm...... I believe I have mentioned of me being a model. I know it's tough to imagine me in high heels... I'm getting pretty decent at it!Oh and guess what.I designed a dress, and it has some Thai influence (mainly in the top). ...my teacher is helping me make so I can wear it in the catwalk. She likes my idea. How cool is that?! I'm going to be wearing a dress that I designed and made IN A FASHION SHOW!!! *screams*

I just made my first American Meal!!! Sticky Monkey Brains. Okay, it's not a meal, but still. It's American, and also goes under the name of Monkey Bread. They loved it, but because I'm in Asia [of course] people would eat one piece, say it's good, then say they can't eat any more because they'll get fat. *rolls her eyes* It's not like eating four small marble-sized biscuits covered in butter and sugar are going to make you 3x the size you are now. oh my gosh, 4 marble sized thingies... Oh well, my host grandmother was the only one who realized this, so she gobbled up the rest for me and had me offer a couple pieces to the guests and such. They liked it, but the same Asian result came up: uan. "Uan" means "fat" here, and it only means as an adjective. "Fat" as a noun here goes under a different name. So if you say "Mai chawp gin uan krup/kha," you're not saying "I don't like to eat fat," you're really saying :"I don't like to eat because it makes me fat." [mai=no, chawp=like, gin=eat, uan=fat(adj.)] I highly recommend, however, to not try and speak the Thai language when I write it in phonetics, though. You could be saying something else entirely. Please refer to my first couple Thailand blog entries as to why.

The following paragraph may contain some "nauseation" to the sensitive stomach. Readers have been warned.
I got my ears pierced yesterday at the mall!!! Yes, it was very sanitary. No, I didn't go to a "sokapok" (dirty) place. I went to a booth set up that I've bought earrings from before (and didn't turn my ears green). I bought a set of earrings that I believe are for sensitive skin (such as mine, and since I haven't had a problem with this brand, that's what I assume for now), and they sharpened the backs. ...they then proceeded to wipe everything down with alcohol again [they were already quite clean before], wiped my ear and their fingers [again]. Then they placed the earring on my ear... and pushed with their fingers until it popped through. Yes, it stung for the process, but to be rather honest, my ears haven't turned red at all since I've got them poked through with metal. Moei, my host sister, got hers done at the same place, and hasn't had any problems at all. She was the one who went with me yesterday to get them done.By the way, all the while she did the process, I watched her with the mirror she gave me.
OKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOK

It's okay now, my sensitive-stomached readers. *giggles a little* All you need to know is that I got my second row of ear piercings done, finally. And I didn't pass out like the first time I got my ears pierced. (It's alright, you can call me a wuss and such, I don't mind.)

Oh, and yes it was okay for me to do so. I verified with Rotary already and such. Then after I got my ears pierced with my [host] sister Moei by my side, we went to eat a small bit of food, then walked around the mall. I bought one more set of earrings that were rather cute (one was a star and the other was a moon).

Afterwards, we went to the photo booth and had a little fun.Check it out. It was a special photo booth. We coule mess around with the pictures before we got them printed and paid for. So we had a little fun decorating our photos up.
http://picasaweb.google.co.th/gecko.on.the.wall/PhotoBoothWithMoei

There's a weird line in a couple of the photos, and I admit they're not of best quality, but that's only because they were snanned in to the computer. Then, of course, I updated and put more pictures in the "random" section. I will forever update "random." *grins* [6 new]
http://picasaweb.google.co.th/gecko.on.the.wall/CompletelyRandomPicturesFromThailand

Muahahaha.

Okay, I be going now. Later!

MoniNeko

P.S. I found the article online about me in the Galesburg newspaper. My mom supplied the link for me online while we were talking. It's a great article, and not just because it's about me. I like the writing style, especially the ending statement. That was kind of cool.
For those who didn't see it yet... I don't know how long it will be online, but here's the link to see it yourself.
http://www.galesburg.com/education/x1086977955

Mini-Donuts and Photo Booths

Okay, guys. Guess what? Yes. Holly and I went to the photo booth the other day. It's different from American photo booths, but not by TOO much. Different [cloth] backgrounds/drapes, possible photo 'extras', a person to do the '1 2 3' thing... other than that, it's barely bigger than that American one.

And the photos are sticky. Yay.

We had fun, all-in-all.

Take a look:

http://picasaweb.google.co.th/gecko.on.the.wall/CompletelyRandomPicturesFromThailand/photo#5130818062951301234
Then we proceeded to get a donut and a few gifts for family, and I bought two watches. The first was cute but made my wrist smell badly metallic [I knew it would turn my wrist green or black], the other was the replacement for that one I just bought, which was a replacement for the one I lost. [I know what you are thinking. Be quiet.]

Today I got up and watched Moei bake some muffins, then went onto the computer and looked for different recipes, because the time to cook for my family is VERY VERY VERY soon, apparently.

I think I'll start little, like a breakfast. French toast, pancakes, one-eyed sailors, scrambled eggs, a few things simple like that.

Then later I'll cook them a bigger meal, like green bean casserole, chicken [I don't know how yet, probably marinated or crumble-topped], mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe soup [hopefully they have canned soup for my convenience...].

But then I found a picture of Monkey Brains, and I decided I'd do that first. Monkey Brains is another way of saying Monkey Bread... Yes, the delicious American favorite.

So I went and bought mini-Jello-mols, metal. I didn't see mini-bundts, and it made me sad, but I found mini-bundt-like-things with a very flat bubble on top instead of a dip. That'll work. If we don't have canned biscuits [which we probably will NOT], I found a recipe to make in advance for such a thing.

Yes, I know it was a wonderful idea. [wink]

I'm also going to teach myself how to make donuts. I've become so addicted to them here... I bought a couple normal-sized cutters, then a mini-one, which is OH-SO-Adorable. Seriously. It's like, an inch big in diameter, with a hole in it. How cute?! "You'll get fat." I've eaten like this for three months...

My meals: Morning: Fried egg with rice or cereal with milk. Each comes with fruit and a glass of water.

Lunch: Rice with vegetables, meat. Sometimes Pad Thai. Some fruit, maybe coffee. Water.

Supper: Same as lunch. Sometimes we eat Vietnamese, though.

Snacks: Bananas, Papaya, Yogurt, apples, Chinese fruit, donuts, jellies, marshmallow things, pocky, waffles, cookies.

The point is, I eat a LOT over here, now... and I lost 8 kilos since I've arrived.
That's about 12 pounds...

I love Thailand. I love Muay Thai. ...I love me...

Monica

No tengo una cuchara kha!

My Spanish, English and Thai is getting very baffling.
By the way, that means "I don't have a spoon" in Spanish, plus the "kha" in Thai that's just an ending that you slap on when you're a girl or a lady-boy.
I'm getting over my cold... yes, I had one. I didn't need to warn anybody though because at first sign of it, I started myself on Mucinex [Dear Lord, Thank for your kind gifts of Mucinex.]. I brought two bottles with, for those "just in case" things. I'm quite happy I did. I'm nearly over it now, and I'm not even done with the first bottle [yet]!
I highly recommend that if you go to Thailand, bring Mucinex. Otherwise you'll end up going to the Hospital [there's no "go to the doctor" here], get meds you DON'T NEED, don't get meds you DO NEED, and then not get a detailed "how to" and "what that's for" low-down on the meds you GET from the hospital.
So yes, I highly recommend you bring Mucinex.
Or something else that's just as strong.

To the spoon thing:
I went to Holly's host Rotary meeting tonight; we ended up serving Watchiporn's (Virginia's - another exchange student, but from Canada) Pumpkin Coconut Milk Soup stuff. When we were serving we ran out of spoons and I was going around saying "No tengo una cuchara kha," not really realizing I was speaking Spanish instead of English [or Thai], and adding a "kha" at the end. I mentally slapped myself on the head and said, "Mai mee spoon kha." Give me a break, I don't know what "spoon" in Thai is [yet]. I'm just glad these people knew what I was looking for [it really wasn't all that hard to figure out that I needed a freaking spoon due to the fact I was [randomly] holding a bowl of Pumpkin soup standing there like a confused idiot [BAKA!].
I again mentally slapped myself when I went to grab a napkin and thought to myself, "Hey, this hotel folds their [paper] napkins the same way my Rotary's hotel folds theirs." WHO notices this stuff? WHO?! Seriously. Krrai?!

Why yes, the cow is very white with dark white spots and is a pyro. Why yes, his spots all do look like hearts. What interesting perspectives, Apinya...

Got a couple new movies. One's a "horror" movie, but I think it will be quite, save the language... dung-like. That's good, though. I miss those American horror movies that end up turning dungy. They make me laugh. I also got Back to the Future [II and III]. Now all I need is the original, then I have a complete set!
If anybody wants a DVD, send me 3 bucks and payment for postage to send to you. That's the price of a new DVD here, without the case. If you want a newer movie, give me about... 4 bucks.
What black market? I'm talking about Tacos here... [shifty eyes]
No I won't send you guys, DVD's [for those who are [very much] baka people out there]. One, I don't want to waste the time converting American money to Baht just so I can buy YOUR DVD; not to mention I'd have to go shop stall to shop stall LOOKING for the DVD, let alone being in REAL voice [non-dub] and having [if needed] English subs. Then I have to get the envelope to mail the DVD, write your address and mine, take it to the post office and [finally] ship it. No, that takes up too much of my precious time. Now shoo, before I throw this small plastic bag at you.

Who thinks I should do a [test] video blog? RAISE YO' HANDS, HOMIEZ. [Please raise your hands, ladies and gentlemen.]
Or rather, comment. I can't see your hands, put them down. Write me a very very very brief comment of "I vote for video blogs," or "YES!", or even a simple "WHEE, CARROTS" will work.
Anything negative I will take as a "Heck no, don't do it."
...Apinya, you don't count.
...seriously. So keep your kau neo daam to yourself.......... [eats it all first] [*shifty eyes* gin gin gin]

So, anyway, good night, dear peoples all around the world [who are mainly below me, teehee].
*points to the ground and mocks you* "Stop pointing at me, it's rude!" "Stop it!"

Give me a break, I'm tired.

No, we don't have DST.
Now we are 13 hours ahead of you.

STOP ASKING!!!


Erm, please.

Oh yeah. I also got a donut today. Holly and I reflected upon the 90's [again during this exchange], and realized how old we felt and were. In just three year's time, we will be talking about something that happened two decades ago... Geez, I feel old.

Good night. =]

Monica

Halloween Fairies

H to the A to the Double-L O Double-U Double-E N!!!
First off, my leg itches like nuts, and I thought you should know that.
Second, I did celebrate Halloween, and I had a blast doing so [even though it was raining]!

On the 27th my [host] father and sister [with Apinya (Holly) and I] went to Lotus. That's like a Super WalMart, but flipped so there's more food items than non-food items. A backwards Super Wally World... Anyway...
I found a stash of pumpkins and saw they were like 12 baht per kilo, which is about 35 cents per 2 pounds. The pumpkin ended up costing about 45 baht all together, meaning it weighed all of about 3 kilos/6.5 pounds. It really wasn't that big of a pumpkin. That's the biggest they had, too. Well, I was going to buy the pumpkin when Kun-Pah said "Mai Bpen Lai," and said he'd pay for it. Sweet. I got a pumpkin.

Two days later, I carved it. I don't know how I managed to carve such a decent-looking pumpkin with no tools but a giant knife [look at pictures, that's the smallest knife we own], but I did it, and I like it.
Yay for Jack Skellington.

Then on Halloween day [for me, rather; you were still in day before; ...farangs], I went to school with my wings on, hair up, and even applied liquid mascara [don't get all frenzied up. I didn't wear it how you're SUPPOSED TO [see pictures]. Haha, I made a moon that you can't tell for sure is a moon until I tell you... and some stars. Yes, I meant for the moon to be that way.
I also bought tons of candy while we went to Lotus [and got the pumpkin]. A few bags; one of chocolate candies, another of marsmallow candies, another of gummy cows, and a little plastic treasure chest of chocolate gold coins. Most of the candy was gone by the end of the school day, as I was handing them out to teachers and friends. That was fun.
I got a lot of pictures taken. ... Not just with my camera...
"Oh, Monthida!" [camera-phone snapshot]
"Thida! Look!" [camera-phone... movie? what?]
Then in the cafeteria... I thought I was stared at enough because I was farang... atleast half the cafeteria stared at me and smiled or something when I entered... for the first several minutes. I much prefer the looks/reactions by the people who aren't paying attention then all of a sudden I'm so close to them asking for a meal or a drink or something and they're like "OH!" and simply have their mouth turn statuistic with an obvious "Oh" mouth movement. [giggles]

Then we all piled to Holly's later and Watchi and I spent the night. You are correct, actually. We really barely slept at all. We stayed up watching Scrubs and Corner Gas. I guess it was our version of the [was-going-to-be-but-ended-up-not-being] Farang Halloween Party.

Why yes, it was fun. Until people started getting ill from candy over-dosing. Bleh.

Then this morning Watchi went with Holly to school to visit her classes. I went home, took a shower, ate breakfast, then went to school for my classes... Thank you, later-starting classes...


Yes, I am getting eaten alive right now just to tell you this story.

Yes, it does hurt. The mosquitos here are freaking huge, and so are their snouts! [phantom shivers].

Yes, Cake the cat is somewhat blocking my keyboard routes for my arms/wrists/hands.

Oh yeah, and Kun-Meh's birthday was the day before Halloween! I have her a bracelet that my real mother made [I picked out the color, teehee], and Kun-Meh seemed to really like it. Which is rather cool. Because she hugged me.

We went out to eat Thai style BBQ again. I love that place. Yumminess.

Pictures pictures pictures.

Thank you, Picasa!

Happy Halloween, too. I hope yours rocked. [hearts]

Monica

P.S. - Thought I'd clue you in... I've been chosen as one of the "grand finale" girls in the fashion show on December 8th. Dec. 8... the King's birthday. Big deal. Big event. I'm part of it... sweet.

My friend Tip [pronounced "Teep"] is a model... she's showing me how to do the catwalk... and in high heels. I know you just winced at me in high heels. Don't worry, I'll try not to fall or trip... or stumble and fall on myself... even though I *am* Monica... Me + heels = catastrophe, I know! BUT I MAY TURN OUT OTHERWISE... it's a possibility!