Well, I did it. After about 10 trips around Bangkok, taking 8 or so tests, and filling out what seemed to be 100 forms (Thailand LOVES forms), I can officially drive in Thailand, I have my Thai driving license. I will now take this moment to pat my friend Paul and myself on the back, and I feel I can do this in confidence. This confidence is not brought on by the fact that we both walked away from the Thai DMV with a car and a motorcycle license. It is not brought on by the fact that neither of us had the motorcycle endorsement on our US license. It is not even brought on by the fact that we both passed a test which was written in broken english. However, IT IS brought on by the fact that we did all of it without the help of a Thai translator walking us through each step. 

To those who have been there, you understand. To the others, imagine going to the DMV in the states to get your license, without being able to speak a word of English. Think about how many different windows there are. Think about the lady behind the counter trying to call you but she can’t read or pronounce your name, and when she does get your attention, you can’t understand what she is trying to tell you. Think about trying to take the road test where the instructor is giving you directions in a language you cannot understand. Does that sound like a walk in the park? All in all it was a stressful, humbling, confusing and rewarding experience. At this point, I feel I can do anything here, but I am so happy it is over.

In an unrelated note, I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. Tiffany and I had a blast with her parents. I will post some stories and pics in a few days.

I felt like I was home, if only for a moment

No I am not a pig. Well, it depends on whether I have a bucket of crab legs sitting in front of me or not. For those who have gone to an all you can eat joint with me, I am sure you are remembering how I have the ability to turn my stomach into a bottomless pit. Anyway, Christmas came early this year (combined with a late birthday gift), as my sister sent us a box of Herr’s Sour Cream and Online potato chips. It seems quite fitting that earlier that week we found one of my favorite drinks (Snapple Original Lemon) in a grocery store in downtown. Even though we are enjoying eating rice 2 times a day, a taste of home is necessary, especially this time of year. Thank you Toot (Beth), the chips definitely hit the spot. All I need is some hockey and I will be good to go. 

That being said, I received another amazing gift from our (what seems like lifelong) friends. A two month free subscription to NHL Gamecast. This gives me the opportunity to watch any NHL game from this season, online. Each game is archived which allows me to watch any game I want, whenever I want. This helps since the games would be on at 7am here. So, I now spend my Saturday mornings watching LIVE hockey games online. I actually have more access to games now than I EVER did in Atlanta. Thanks Tim and Trish, you have no idea how great that was.

the new view from our balcony

So, in an hour we are heading to the airport to pick up Tiffany’s parents. They are flying in to spend Christmas with us here in Thailand. We are leaving early tomorrow morning and heading 5 hours south to an island called Ko Chang. We are spending about a week there and will head back to Bangkok to spend the other half of their two week trip here in Bangkok. It will be great to see familiar faces, and believe me it has come at the right time. It is amazing what moving to another country will do to you during holidays.

Believe it or not, I have been quite a grinch over the past 10 years or so. Many years in retail management will do that to you. But being in a far away land, away from family and loved ones, will really change you. Tiffany and I were walking through the mall today, and in one of the stores there was a Thai Choir singing “Away In A Manger”. It was just the scenario that would have made me scoff. Instead, I stopped, moved closer and froze. If it wasn’t for the Irish Gene that I posses, I would have given into the tears that started to fill my eyes. I am not sure what it was, maybe the fact that a bunch of Buddhists were singing “I love thee dear Jesus”, or the fact that their beautiful voices couldn’t fully pronounce the words they were singing, or just the basic fact that I wanted to be near my family. Whatever it was, we had to leave before I started to leak.

To all who read this, may God Bless you and your family this Christmas Season, and if you are our family, we miss and love you. Merry Christmas!

A smile from above

Apparently The Land of a Thousand Smiles needed some extra help this past week. In a time being dubbed “the worst state the country of Thailand has seen in 30 years”, a smile came from above to give a helping hand to the confusion and frustration. For the first few days of the airports being closed, I took the Thai style of thinking and figured everything would work itself out, so I gave no worry. Then on Friday, school was canceled (always up for a three day weekend). So I had plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee with a friend and (imagine this) talked politics. Not that a few farangs would be able to understand the Thai government, but we tried. It wasn’t until I picked up a local paper and started reading a few articles about the protesters that it hit me… THEY TOOK OVER THE AIRPORT!

This realization hit me when I started to think, what would happen if a group of protesters tried to take over even a bathroom of an airport in the U.S. I then started to feel like a caged rat. Since the airports were closed and I had no feasible way to leave the country, I never wanted to leave more. I can only imagine what those travelers must have been feeling. I won’t go into much detail (not like I understand it anyway) as I am sure you have been keeping updating in one way or another.

As we were settling in our new apartment one night, I heard a stream of sirens outside. Since we had no internet and no way of knowing what was going on with the protests, I went out on the balcony to see what was going on. I was greeted by the moon smiling at me. In an otherwise starless night, Venus, Jupiter and the Moon gave us a show, and a smile. It was a nice distraction for a while, but all I could think was… Isn’t this ironic.

floating down the river at the floating market

I will start off by telling the folks at home that we are fine, despite the ongoing unrest here in Thailand. However, we did hear that both Airports have been shut down as things continue to heat up downtown. I am not fully sure what is going on, but it adds to the everyday excitement that is, “Life in Thailand”.

The past few weeks has brought about the end of a season. Long gone is the every day promise of a torrential downpour (as much as I actually loved them). On the first full moon of November, Thailand celebrates the end of the rainy season with a festival called, Loy Krathong. This is a celebration where small boats, traditionally made from cut banana-leaves decorated with candles, incense and flowers, are sacrificed to the goddess of water. The boats are sent out in rivers and other bodies of water to bring health and prosperity during the dry season. 

We were lucky enough to be out in the city during the final rainfall. Tiffany and I went with friends to Chinatown to see how it compared to the Chinatown of Singapore. I have absolutely NO IDEA how we got out of there. The market was gigantic, there were turns and side-streets everywhere. We kept turning and turning and eventually popped out into a main street, and it just happened to be the same entrance we entered from. Ta-Da!!!

The end of the rainy season is pretty significant at this point because it means two things. One, cooler (notice I didn’t say COLD) weather is on its way. Two, you can go on day trips without the fear of getting soaked, then walking around the rest of the day drenched, like out trip to Chinatown.

artist telling me the story behind his artwork

One such trip was a trip we took with a handful of teachers to Thai pottery factories. We were shocked to find out that these “factories” were usually run by one or two people and did not resemble a real factory in any means. They actually resembled more of a garage. The first factory we stopped at is pictured above. What you see are huge vases that contain hand painted scenes from Thai history and culture. Each piece took him over a year to complete. The one in the bottom right was one of his yearlong projects that fell off a table and shattered after it was glazed and getting ready to be sold. I can’t imagine! But he talked about it as if it was no problem. He said he just glued it back together and put it on display. Mai Pehn Rai (no problem).

pottery from the second factory we went to

The rainy season is not the only season coming to an end. So is our stay here on campus. Room 404 in the commercial building of ICS will no longer be our place of residents. Tiffany and I are moving to an apartment off campus and more than a 5 minute walk to our respective offices. We found a great place which is only 2 years old, never been rented, and is fully furnished with brand new furniture. We are up on the 8th floor, so the sounds from the street will be less aggravating when we are trying to sleep. As much as we loved living so close to the school and around fellow coworkers, we will NOT miss the construction that goes on 24/7 right across the street. So we move this weekend and will give you all our updated contact info. But not much will change.

The front of our Hotel Room

Even though I have only been working for a few weeks here in Bangkok, thanks to being on the same schedule as the teachers, Tiffany and I were on October break and enjoyed a nice weeklong Vacation. My break, however, started earlier and ran MUCH later than the rest of the staff. Actually, as I type this I am sitting on the 18th floor of my hotel in Malaysia. Some of you may have heard that this is where I went with the Volleyball team that I help coach (CONGRATS TO THEM FOR BRINGING HOME GOLD). What a great trip that was. We got to see the Twin Towers as well as the Needle and we chaperones one too many heart-attacks, during and after the Tournament. 

Twin Towers of Malaysia

Not only did those boys play their hearts out, all the way to the tie breaker set and only won by 3, but the ride to the airport was even more eventful. We quickly realized after the closing ceremonies that we were going to be cutting it close to our returning flight home. As the bus driver stopped at the terminal all 25 of us BOOKED out of the bus grabbed our luggage and ran into the airport. Only to see Jack (the Athletic Director and Girls Coach) running down the street after the bus that had already left. We were apparently dropped off at the wrong terminal (T-Minus 40 minutes till our flight took off). This usually is not a big issue, except for the fact that the next terminal was 25-30 minutes away by car. It is at this moment that one of the students realizes that his passport was on the bus that was now out of sight.

After a few freak-outs and a lot of long faces around the corner from the other side of the terminal comes our bus. The fact that this student left his passport on the bus was actually a blessing. Since he found it on a seat he came back for us. We all then jumped on the bus, somehow thinking that there was still time to make it to our international flight which was now due to take off in 30 minutes. As we were on our way to the CORRECT terminal (not going fast by any means), we see flashing lights behind our bus. At this point you could only laugh and realize that there has to be a reason God doesn’t want us on this flight. The cop had us pulled over on the side of the road for over 20 minutes. 

When we got to the airport, some 10 -15 minutes after our flight was to have taken off. Jana (Jacks wife and other chaperone) and I RAN into the terminal to check flights and to get the process going for all 25 of us. She ran ahead as I still could not find the Air Asia sign. As I ran up to hear what the agent was telling her I see her fall on her knees like the famous scene from Platoon as she yelled “IT WAS DELAYED AN HOUR”. Well, by the end of the night it was delayed over 2 hours, but we still all made it home. We all may have been tired, hungry and cranky, but we had the taste of gold in our mouth, and a flight waiting on us.

The Bridge

After that trip a nice relaxing trip was needed. When I returned from Malaysia, Tiffany and I, as well as 2 other couples and a family of three, all great friends, went to Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The home of the infamous Bridge over River Kwai. As you can see, our hotel was beautiful. We had an amazing time eating great Indian food, Going to Hellfire Pass, hiking and swimming in the waterfalls. Not only did we have a great opportunity to shut ourselves down for a few days, but we got to get to know our friends a bit more and just had a nice relaxing time. One would think this is where the story of our break ends. It has just begun. Feel free to grap a cup of tea…

Hellfire Pass

(Un)fortunately for us this was not where our break ended. Due to a glitch in paperwork, my Visa could not be processes in Malaysia like planned. So another trip out of the country was necessary. We arrived home from Kanchanaburi on Thursday, and at 5 am the next morning we were in a Taxi on our way to the airport for our flight to Singapore. To fill you in real quick. It takes the Thai Embassy two working days to process a Visa Application. Since I was only in Malaysia from late Thursday to Saturday, there wasn’t enough time. So I had to leave the country, again. Tiffany has a family friend in Singapore, so we went went there to process the Visa. the stressful part was that our flight was due to arrive at 10:40 am, and the Embassy (a half an hour away) closed at 11:30. Amazingly, we landed in Singapore 15 minutes early, and we were out of the plane, through Immigration, received my checked bag, and in a taxi in no more than 15 minutes. We were thanking God every step of the way. We got to the Thai Embassy just in-time to hand in my paperwork before they closed, only to find out all the paperwork (filled out in Thai) was addressed to the Thai Embassy in Malaysia. So, NO they would not accept it.

After contacting the Headmaster trying to get new paperwork sent to me, it was decided that a plane trip BACK to Malaysia was easier than waiting two weeks for the new paperwork to be made up and sent to Singapore. Since it was now Friday, and the Embassy was closed Saturday and Sunday, Tiffany and I enjoyed Singapore for a few days. We went to the Singapore Zoo, I had a giant Singapore Peppered Crab. We went to Little India (Yes I am addicted to Indian Food), and Chinatown.

Temple in Chinatown

Even though we visited all of the ethnic areas of Singapore, it was great to be in such a western part of Asia. A place where English is a national language and you can be understood. Our trip was great, but short as tiffany had to get home to go back to school, and I had to get to Malaysia for my Visa. It was strange entering the airport together, but splitting up. Not only were we splitting up, but going to different countries, and me to a full country alone. That was weird.

So here I sit in my hotel room, still waiting for my Visa to be processes. Even though I got here late Sunday night, I didn’t find out till the next morning that Monday was a national holiday so the embassy was closed. Lets just hope I can get home tomorrow with no more instances.

I apologize for the length of this entry, but some stories MUST be told. I promise to make more of an effort to get updates entered more frequently. And remember to click on any of the images in these blogs to reach my Flickr Page to see more images.

sticker on the taxis window

Sorry for the lack of updates as of late. I have not had as much free time on my hands because I have recently started my job as the Creative Director of ICS, the school Tiffany is teaching at. I cannot express how excited I am to put an end to the job search in Bangkok. Everyone told me that finding a design job in Thailand would be easy… they were wrong. I have never felt so unneeded or unqualified in my life. Thats a whole 30 years people! So instead of going insane sitting in a dorm style apartment alone all day, I am in an office on the 4th (top) floor on the far end of the school. I call it Quasimoto’s Tower.

I do love cabbage, but still not going to eat there

Since I have no real interesting stories for you, I decided to unload some random images I took around Bangkok from my cell phone. I promise more updates as soon as I get things settled in the new job.

I REALLY hope this is dog and cat food, not food made from...

Bow & arrow made out of a handmade hanger and silk flower

I got a breath of fresh air last week when a good friend that I met on the Crowns tour came to Bangkok. Carl is involved with a few orphanages in northern Thailand and usually spends a day or two in Bangkok on is way in and out from the States. It may have been only a few hours of hanging out downtown, but it was great to see a face from home. We ate some great Indian food and spent WAY too long in a silk shop in an indoor market. I felt bad for Tiffany because the tour we met on survived with sarcasm and boy humor. So after an hour or so all that came back and she was probably wishing she stayed home and got some sleep.

BANGKOK DANGEROUS... or just Central World at night

In a span of 4 days, I spent 3 downtown. It was a great change to the typical day that involves checking emails and sending out resumes. Downtown Bangkok is such a great place full of great smells, amazing buildings and beautiful parks. Unfortunately, by the time we head down town (after taking taxis, buses and the Sky-train) we loose the adventurous mood that brought us into the city in the first place. So we normally hit the same places that end up being just to expensive for us (although the Lamborghini dealership is pretty cool) . But either way, it’s great to change the scenery and look at something other than the school.

how can you not love this soi dog

Due to the belief in the reincarnation side of Buddhism dogs and cats run all over the sois (streets) here. They never want to harm any of these animals as they never know what dead relative they may be. As we were waiting for a cup of coffee down our normal street this soi dog took a shining to Tiffany. If anyone knows Tiffany even lightly well they know how much she dislikes animals, ESPECIALLY stray ones. I found it pretty humorous that this dog could care less that I was taking pictures of it, but would not take an eye off of Tiffany. But look at that face, how can you not want to take it home and give it some love. Well, if you are Tiffany, it’s pretty easy.

You need to finish what you have before you get seconds

This past week, Wednesday was Polish night at the Ferencz Apartment. Tiffany, using her Grandmothers recipe, treated me and our friends, Becky and Paul, to gwumpkies and mashed potatoes. To some this may seem like an easy task. However, in an dorm style apartment with two pans and very little utensils, it was a lot harder then anticipated. But Tiffany did a great job and we had the glorious smells of cabbage and sauerkraut coming from our apartment all day in true Polish fashion. Thanks to Becky and her background we had great music to keep with the theme of the night. As we ate we listened to some great polka…

She’s a twosome,
She’s a foursome
If she’d lose some
I would like her more some
I don’t want her
You can have her
She’s too fat for me

Yummy

The power of food amazes me. Our family has lived with this understanding for years. Especially after moving to Atlanta from Jersey. But not until I got over here did I realize how important food would really be. For those days where a breakdown is within seconds of arriving, sometimes all it takes is some comfort food to get you through the day.

Brett on his way out of the window

Yet another adventure for our lives here in Thailand!  This weekend, Brett and I had a number of mini-adventures.  Friday night we went into town with another couple (Paul and Becky) to eat some Indian food!  It was very delicious!  On Saturday morning, Brett went with some guys to look for a jersey for one of the volleyball players, who needed a larger size.  Brett came back with a Polish soccer jersey for himself.  I, on the other hand, went to Jatujak market (or JJ market) for the second weekend in a row with the girls to go shopping.  This market makes Stanley market in Hong Kong seem like a broom closet!  I only came home with candles this week; last week I bought a floor lamp for the apartment.  Successful trips for us both!

After returning, Brett and I hung out at Paul and Becky’s apartment for the evening, not realizing that our day still had one more adventure.  When we got back to our apartment, we got on Skype with Brett’s parents; little did they know they would be a part of the last adventure of the day. 

You see, all our doors have locks on them, the kind that you push a button without really thinking.  This seems very innocent at first glance.  However, when you are used to locking the front door as you close it behind you, eventually you realize that habits are difficult to break.  We got home probably around nine pm that night.  Brett went to the bathroom and on his way out locked the door like he would the front door.  Unfortunately, we do not have a key to this door, which we didn’t find out until after the door got locked!  Brett went to the “building manager’s” apartment and he said that there are two different locks on all the bathrooms in the building - unfortunately for us the key to our bathroom is lost (They never made a spare?). He then told Brett that he would have to climb out on the ledge (remember we live on the 4th floor) and then through the bathroom window (trying not to fall onto the hard tile) to get inside and unlock the door. 

Brett on the 4th floor ledge

Brett trying to break into the bathroom

What a night!  The picutres don’t do this adventure justice.  Remember, Brett’s parents are on Skype this whole time!  I would see Brett halfway through the window and then he would come back outside trying to figure out how NOT to crack his head open.  Due to the size of the ledge and the height of the window, it was impossible for him to go in feet-first.  We tossed in pillows to break his fall; Brett was still intimidated by the hard, cold bathroom tile.  Brett, after a wardrobe change and deciding to put the ladder INTO the bathroom for ease of crawling down, was able to successfully open the bathroom door with only a few pulled muscles and brusies! 

Brett victorious through the once locked door

Sunday was also a bit of an adventurous day for us - a day of shopping.  We wanted to go to this store called “Index” which is pretty close; you can actually see the sign from our apartment.  If you leave our street it is to the right two blocks.  We decided to walk.  Now, we were walking down a major road, through, we weren’t always sure.  There aren’t really sidewalks; so we were darting oncoming traffic.  Usually we might take a taxi, but to take a taxi we would leave our street, turn left, go up over a bridge for a “u-turn” and then go past the store about 4 or 5 blocks, go up and over another bridge for the second “u-turn” and then it would be on our left.  So instead of taking and traveling all that way; we walked.  We saw fish swimming in the sewers and thought, “well, if they are living, than it can’t be that bad.”  We dodged cars and trucks and quickly crossed two streets making sure to look right THEN left.  All in all it was a good adventure and we came out with a few things for the house, which include a convection toaster oven - this is a great addition to our little home as homes in Thailand do not have traditional ovens as most of us might expect.  Now, I just need to learn how to cook with this new device.  When I went to reheat the pizza we had, it wasn’t quite warm enough and the first batch of chocolate chip cookies got burned; not perfected yet, but working on it!  I think we are just thankful for the opportunity to eat at home if we want.

To those who may have heard. Yes, as of this morning Bangkok is under a state of emergency, and yes we are fine. The past week or so the PAD has held protests in downtown Bangkok. However, until this morning it had remained a peaceful protest with nothing more then a few arrests. This morning one person was killed and more were injured. The Prime Minister quickly issued a state of emergency. 

Please realize that we are far from these protests. There does not seem to be any chance of us being physically effected. However, talks of power and water being shut down may be a possibility as it has happened in the past. Keep Bangkok in your prayers and for a quick end to these protests.

For more read this.