So, last week was a tough one. Over the course of a few days, basically our whole office of teachers caught some type of stomach bug. Needless to say (and I'll spare the details), I was stuck in my room for the week, barely able to eat or move for that matter. America was punishing me for leaving because my 4th of July was not pleasantly spent. Luckily the worst of it was over the weekend so I didn't miss any classes.. they were just a struggle. But, now I'm back and ready to blog!
This past weekend was relaxing & I was able to try a lot of new things. Friday afternoon was spent at the spa/nail place. A lot of people told me that going to Thailand I should get manicures and pedicures all of the time.. and after this experience I'm in total support of that suggestion. I only got a pedicure (the 2nd one I've ever had) but it ended up costing 150 baht, which is a little less than 5 dollars. You really can't beat that. Plus, as an added bonus, the brand of every nail polish was called EMILY, so if that isn't a sign to treat yourself, I don't know what is.
Saturday I decided to go with a friend and try Zumba dancing. If anyone knows me well, I thoroughly enjoy a good dance session. When I say good, I don't mean the dance moves. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with the body coordination or gracefulness in that area of movement, but it doesn't mean I don't like to flail my arms and legs around and try to feel the beat. Zumba, which is an exercise that incorporates spanish/hip hop/african dance moves in routine steps. There are two fascinating aspects of my class. The first is my instructor. He is a Thai man, probably in his mid-late twenties, and is flamboyantly and fabulously gay. He speaks very little English, but can count and say "front", "back" and "side" which is basically all you need. I've never witnessed a man with more rhythm and with the ability to move his hips so fast. The second fascination is one of my fellow zumba partakers: a 60-year-old white South African man. Zumba classes, like most aerobic type classes, are mainly composed of women aging from 20-45, so you can see how this is intriguing to me. As much as he sticks out, he's not at all embarassed to take the class and is proud/confident enough in his moves to dance in the front row each week. As amusing as it is to watch him awkwardly & agressively shake his hips to Shakira, I give him credit for doing something he clearly enjoys.
Sunday was spent doing touristy things. St. Gabe's is close to the Grand Palace & Wat Pho, home of one of the biggest reclining buddhas in Thailand. The palace was beyond beautiful and although we couldn't go inside, the place just screamed royalty and luxury. It was seriously blinged out, but anyone in Thailand would agree that the King deserves nothing less. He is utterly worshipped, but not in a creepy way. I've never experienced a culture where one person is placed at the highest peak of admiration and trust. One hundred foot tall pictures of him at different times during his life are displayed in almost every intersection. The King's song is played each morning and Friday afternoon at 3:25 on the dot and the whole school must stand to sing it. The King's song also plays at the Movie Theater before each showing of a movie, and the entire audience stands to honor him. Despite all of the corruption in Thailand's political world, the love the Thais have for their leader is mesmorizing and definitely something that doesn't and probably will never will exist in America.
i
Me in front of the Grand Palace
No comments:
Post a Comment