Sawadika!

You may like to notice Chris's beard in this one....yep- not shaving till he gets home!

It took us the first 15 minutes of our 60 minute paid-for internet to change the computer language from English to Thai; so this will be a quick update as we both still want to check email/ect:)

First, Jake- you might want to find a new ride from the airport on June 26th for efy because I don't think we are going to want to leave Thailand...We love it here!!!! The weather is HOT and HUMID and there are bugs everywhere, but the food is incredible, everything is really cheap, and the people here are so nice!!!

Let me tell you about our first day here...

We are living with about 9 other volunteers and two program directors who are recently Thailand returned missionaries. Our program directors decided to use this past weekend to relax and help the group recover from the 30 hours of traveling and jet lag. So, we had pretty much the best first day ever in Thailand. After having an authentic Thai food breakfast (noodles and pot stickers), our group loaded in the back of the trucks they use to taxi people around Chiang rai and drove out into the country to an elephant farm. Chris and I got to share an elephant and ride it through the jungle outskirts! (Bucket list #7- check):) The elephants are so BIG in person- and a lot more hairy than I imagined.

After the elephant adventure we trucked back into town and got a Thai massage. The ladies were all laughing at the girls as none of us knew how to put the pants they gave us on and they had to tie them for us (awkward). Today I raised my hand in relief society during our lesson on 'The Word of Wisdom' and testified of Thai massages and their ability to revive the body.

After the massages we walked through the town and stopped at different fruit carts to buy fruit. The mangoes are incredible, the bananas taste like honey, and they have these weird little spiky fruits that taste like Asian pears. (I think they are called mangomites).

We then went as a group to get lunch. It is a GOOD thing we have Hudson and Dave (The two country directors) to translate everything for us. Most people don't know any English and our Thai is very poor. We have learned how to say "hello" (Sawadika), 'thank you" Kobkooncah, and "where is the bathroom?", Han sam uni. Dave ordered for us, and each of our full plate Thai meals cost about 80 cents (25 Bot). I was disappointed to learn that massaman curry, my favorite thai meal at home, is not actually a common Thai dish, as potatoes are rare, and it is only usually served at weddings. Chris and I are learning to tolerate spicy food.

Chris and I went on a run that night and came to a Rice Patti. It's still too early to plant the rice, and so we ran on the raised mounds of ground throughout the Patti field- so pretty!! Each day we have come home soaking wet with sweat- it is so hot!!!

It was really neat to meet with the Chiang rai branch today. They welcomed us as soon as we walked into the small two story room with open arms. (Literally.) We sang out of English hymn books while they sang in Thai. Dave translated all three meetings for us, and we had sticky rice, noodle soup, and rose apples with the branch afterwards.

After church, we met with one of the teachers at the Chiang rai school of 500 kids, ages 6-12. On Monday we will be doing some more planning, but Tuesday and Wednesday we will be holding different workshops and helping out with games/songs/ect in a teaching English camp she is in charge of. Later this week, we will be taking a trip an hour and a half north to visit with an orphanage of trafficking victims- I am unsure what we will be doing there. We also have plans to attend the hospital this week and meet with the doctor to get information as to the needs of the patients and area. Probably by the end of next week we will start breaking up into groups and establish some more specialized project, ie- teaching the boys of the monk wat, creating a workout video for the older people, and setting up seminar camps for girls who are potential victims of trafficking.

I feel like there is so much more to say. We love the group we have to work with, we love Thailand- the food- the culture- especially the massages. Thanks for all your support.

Sawadika!