Thai Fairytale in Fashion Competition - WITH PICS

There's a Thai fairytale that tells the story of a woman who is a ferocious giant that terrifies everyone who sees her. However, one day she falls in love with a human man and tries to get him to be her husband. She is a giant though, and so she can never love him. So one day she captures him and takes him to her home where she uses the magic of her love to become a beautiful human woman. Naturally, her lover quickly falls for her and they have a son who is the same size as a human, but as strong as a giant.

That's what my friends at school told me... I could very well be wrong, but that's the basic gist of it. Anyway, today at my school, we had a fashion competition with this fairytale as the theme. What made this fashion show a bit more interesting though was that I was going to be in it.

My class decided to have me dress up as the beautiful giant who was in love. I was a little reluctant at first because I never had good experiences with fashion. But the thought of me being represented as a fantasy creature was a little intriguing, so I went along with it. For two days beforehand I would go with my friends to the costume shop to discuss plans and measurements. And then on the day of, I pretty much skipped school. The makeup and dressing started around 8 in the morning and I finally got done at 12:30 in the afternoon. But the end result was awesome!

(Phew, finally have pictures~)

Close up of the make-up!~

My fans... LOL

About half the school was at the event, which equalled to a lot of pictures. My lip muscles were actually sore from smiling too much. LOL When it was my turn to get up on the stage, show off my costume, and tell a bit about myself I talked in Thai: "Hello everyone. My name is Miki. I'm from America, so I am sorry, but my Thai is not good. I can only say a little bit."

That was enough for everyone though! I received many cheers from the audience. And my class even had posters they waved around. Most said Miki or "Win!" but one that made me laugh was what my class head made. It said, (and excuse a little profanity) "Miki, kill that bitch!" God, I love random Thai expressions. LOL

I must have done something well, because I got second place! And the prize for second place was 200 baht! Yay!! Okay, it's not much, but I was happy!

Weekend at Atsushi's House!

Another one of the AFS students that live near me, besides Jill, is a guy from Japan named Atsushi. Unlike Jill though, he lives in a city across from where we live. This weekend though, Jill and I had decided to go to his school's English Camp. The only problem was we didn't have board for the night. But thankfully his family was nice enough to let us stay at their house. The experience was exceptional! Not only did I get to join the English Camp, I also got to see how a completely different host family lived. But first, onto the English Camp.

We got there around 8 in the morning and met up with Atsushi to sign in. Afterward, I got to help read an English fairytale the students would have to draw a comic for as an activity. It was a cute story actually. One that I had never heard before. Basically, it was about two frogs that fell in a hole and couldn't get out. The frogs at the top of the hole told them both to stop trying to get out and die. Eventually, one of the frog's listened to them and died. The other kept trying, even though the ones at the top told him not to. When he finally made it up, he told the other frogs he was deaf and thought they were cheering him on. The moral was how the power of words can affect people when they are down and such. I thought it was cute, so I shared, heh.

Anyway, after that the Alumni who had been exchange students in the ASEAN area came to split us up into groups. Each group rotated around different activities that were aimed at improving certain English skills. I usually had to do the activities in Thai though. Glad I got some practice!

This pretty much went on for the until the mid-afternoon when it was time to go home. We could walk to Atsushi's house since he lived so close to the school. His family was happy to have us and eagerly took us to see a farm where all kinds of animals were. We got to feed goats, pet dogs, chase geese, and even catch fish...and then proceeded to watch them get prepared for our dinner that night... Which was actually more interesting than frightening. LOL

When we went home, we obviously ate dinner and then got to chill out. I, of course, used the Internet to check email and such. But I wasn't able to get on for too long, so hence no blog posts for that weekend, hehe. I think we stayed up until like 11:30 before going to sleep. In the morning we decided to have a lazy day and just sat around talking for hours on end. I got to brush up on my Japanese and even Thai, because his family only talked to us in Thai. Which surprisingly, I could understand most of what they were saying. I mean, I half-guessed with every sentence, but I basically got the idea with only a couple words.

I had to laugh when his mom asked if we had our school uniforms with us so we could stay another night. I was sorry to disappoint her in saying we didn't have them, but I had to get back to my own host family. Before leaving, we got to go to the local city mall and shop. I finally brought another watch for 100 baht after I had lost my original one. Now I wonder how I had survived without one all these weeks...

Once I made it home, I was eager to be with my family. And it seemed like they were too!

Update + List

First off, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates. I seriously had no free weekends this month until now. I'll explain a bit more of that in upcoming posts, so no worries. However, it seems I've run into a temporary problem. See, I ran out of American batteries.

No biggy I guess. However, unlike most cameras these days, mine happens to run on AA batteries. Okay, not so bad, except that the cheap batteries sold at my school shop only work with the Thai electronics; and my camera is obviously American... Don't fret too much yet though, for apparently Thai stores sell American battery brands like Duracell, but they're really expensive. So until I get the energy to go out and spend some of my money, no pictures on the blog. At least none from my camera...I think I can get some from Facebook if my friends post pictures and such. We'll see...

Anyway! On to the main interesting part of this post. Since I haven't updated in awhile, I decided to make a fun little post I'm calling "10 Things You Never Thought You'd Love About Thailand". Now some of these are serious, and others are completely silly or sarcastic. I might make an official one later, but now's time for fun!

1. Passing Gas is A-Okay!

Don't you just hate it when you're having that QUIET family dinner and you happen to let one loose? Well, thankfully Thailand understands you! I've heard many people cut the cheese in here and everyone just continues their conversations like normal. There's no laughing, pointing, or your girlfriend yelling at you!

2. Bathroom Wall Writing is Pretty~

Yeah, public bathrooms are full of graffiti in Thailand as well as America. But Americans usually put something dirty or inappropriate. Thai people write in pretty letters~ I mean, it COULD be saying how the exchange students are idiots or something like that, but I don't understand so who cares?

3. Flexible Traveling

When your only vehicle is a pick-up truck, you might think your pretty limited to who you can take along with you when traveling. Not in Thailand however. In fact, pick-up trucks are like owning a bus here! You can fit like 30 people in the back and go wherever! Sure, your passengers will be a little cramped, but hey, now you can take all your friends out to the city without paying for the bus!

4. Consistent Weather

Now I never realized this before coming here, but the constant hot weather has a hidden benefit. See, in America we have four seasons so you can never live comfortably. Just when you're about to get that ultra air conditioning system, it's already winter and you spend the money on a heater. Here you know the enemy and how to prepare for it's attacks. So feel free to get your ultra AC!

5. Eat More, Not Less!

It's perfectly acceptable to eat mountains of food! In fact, the more you eat, the more the Thais will love you! So eat, eat, eat, and eat until you're full! ...just don't get fat.

6. Uniform Equals Shield

I know most exchange students coming here or already here absolutely hate having to wear the Thai school uniform. But remember by wearing the uniform, you're telling the public around you that you're a student; instead of a tourist. Which can prevent a lot of unfortunate happenings to occur... If you happen to not be a student though, I suggest you make yourself look important so people think you work for the government or something. It can't hurt, right?

7. Dogs are Free!

I mean they're everywhere, aren't they? If you ever want a pet, just take your pick. I'm sure the store vendors would be happy to have one less dog begging for scraps.

8. If You're Not Asian, You're a Super Star!

Ever wanted to feel like a movie star? Just walk around the markets and speak Thai with the vendors. They'll look at you with awe and might even ask for your picture/autograph! And don't even get me started on how your school will be if you happen to be an exchange student there...

9. You're Automatically a Teacher if you Speak English

Sure ideally you should at least have a college degree in order to teach students, but who cares when you have a native English speaker right here?

10. Traditional Thai Clothes are for Everyone!

Back in the old days, American women wore corsets and men wore silk shirts that were ALWAYS loose. In Thailand however, their traditional clothing consists of colorful fabrics just folded around the person's body. So basically, they're all a one-size-fits all kind of deal. You could be fat, skinny, old, young and still look exceptional in traditional Thai dress!

Thai Pop Culture is Hardly Ever Thai

For last post I'm making for today, I've decided to talk about one of the random aspects of Thailand I have been noticing more and more. You see, in America, we have things that are, well, American. More specifically I'm talking about our pop culture. We have specific American music, television shows, and even food that we've all know to be American. And contrary to what people think, I doubt America is where you can find the most diverse cultures and customs. Why? Because Thailand has way more.

In America we may have European stuff, but we lack in the Asia department. It's hundreds of times more difficult for an American to (legally) download Asian music, movies, and other pop culture. In Thailand, they practically flash it everywhere. Korean and Chinese bands are quite popular. Some I can name as being well-known are Super Junior, One Generation, Girl's Generation, and TVXQ. Japanese cartoons and comics are equally popular, with the leading series being Doraemon, Hitman Reborn!, FairyTale, Yugioh!, Naruto, and One Peice. How do I know their popularity? I haven't know a Thai who has not been a fan of at least one of these. In fact, all the Thai girls I talk to, including Parn, say their favorite Korean pop bands' members are their boyfriends. LOL Thailand also has whole channels dedicated to Japanese animation and dramas from China and Korea.

Thai's of course have their own stuff, and it's not like it's horrible. But they also love things from other countries too. It doesn't just stop with the pop culture either. You have random store signs in Japanese, Korean, or Chinese. As far I know, no one understands what these signs are advertising, but they don't seem to care. In stores, Japanese candy and snacks dominate the shelves much like noodles from China do.

The reason for all this? I think it's because in Thailand, there are many different types of Asian people with a bunch of different backgrounds. Put this all in one country and you get Thailand. Either that, or the fact that Thai people are so freakin' friendly. Locals tell me Thailand loves other countries and welcomes just about everyone. They aren't interested in building big businesses here, so they don't mind getting their stuff from other countries. Thailand makes enough money in agriculture for it's easy to grow and raise food there.

There is a downside to all this though. Thailand lacks diversity in the European, African, and South American department. In fact, when Jill talks to the Thais about Germany, most have no idea where the country is let alone what there is there. The only place I've seen anything European is in a high tourist area, which is kind of where you'd expect to see more international stuff. So in a way, Thailand is opposite to America. In Thailand they are clueless with Europe and in America, we're clueless with Asia. Kind of interesting, eh?

Although I'd have to give Thailand some points for having more of a international feel to it. America doesn't have European channels, just saying...

So I hope you enjoyed all the posts for today~ And I'll be coming back with more soon.

Thai Head-Thing

So! I figured if I am going to talk about the Thai-Foot-Thing, I might as well talk about the Thai-Head-Thing while I'm in the mood~ If you missed the feet from last post, click here!

Now that we're all caught up, I'll mention the same things apply here with my knowledge of the whole situation and reasoning. Basically, I am not 100% sure on anything said here! 8D But I'm sure I'll get somewhere close to correct.

Anyway, with the feet being the lowest part of the body, it can therefore be assumed the head is the highest part of the body. This is because the head is where the mind and spirit are located. Therefore, one must take great care and pay the highest respect to the head.

Unlike the feet, the head rules aren't really separated into public and home rules. Pretty much, they're the same no matter where you are. The one and only exception I've ever seen is Parn hitting Film on the head when she's mad at him. So I'm going to guess around friends or other informal situations, hitting is okay if you're mad enough? I'm perfectly sure that's wrong, but I just go with what I see. As for the rest of the rules:

1. NEVER touch the head of someone older than you.
2. NEVER step on a pillow or anywhere that would have the head (ie: a hat)
3. NEVER reach over someone's head, especially if they are older than you

Yeah there are only three I could come up with, but unlike the feet rules, Thais seem to be more picky with the head. Each time I've accidentally broken one of these rules, I always got told off, in the nicest way possible of course. From this sort of reaction, I am guessing it's a bit more important to respect the head than pick at the feet.

And there you have it! It feels a bit more complete now that I have both the feet and the head covered, heh.

Updates!

Wow, it's already June folks. Looks like I've been here for over two months. Sometimes I think the time has gone by so fast and other times I think it's taking forever. And it doesn't seem to depend on my mood. I could be as happy as day and still think, "Gee, these two months have been slow." LOL

With time still passing by, I've been looking into ways I can add to my blog, post wise anyway. I think now that all my basic "milestones" have been met (ie: getting in host family, going to school), I can start to talk more about the things I notice here. Hence you get posts like the one I did last time. Now I'm going to right out and say this blog should not be used for strict research purposes because when it comes to what I see, I get very little explanation. I'm hoping that will change, but for now all you're going to get is a bunch of guesses. However, if one of you reading this should desire to use my blog as an insight for a way to plan your trip to Thailand, then I highly recommend you follow the blog closely.

Looking back at May's posts though, I am highly disappointed I didn't manage to put up a lot more. This was totally out of my control unfortunately. For the last few days I planned on blogging frequently, my Thai dad accidentally forgot to pay the Internet bill. So I haven't has access to Internet until now.

So sorry for the lack of posting in May, I'll do my best to pick things up this month. We still have like 8 months to go so I'm sure I'll be able to cover a lot in that time~

And I think that's all I have to tell you all, so enjoy the rest of the blog~