American Products, Thai Style

You all can probably guess big companies like Oreo and Pepsi have their products in Thailand. However, since being here, I've noticed some things we have in America that I didn't think Thailand would have. And so I have created this list to show you all. Hope you enjoy:

OLAY Beauty Products

 

SUNSILK Shampoo and Hair Products



Maybelline Make-up



Colgate Dental Products



Oishi Tea Drinks



Pringles Chips



Lays Chips



Listerine Mouthwash (The name is normally ttranslated into Thai script, but I couldn't find a picture of this...)



Halls Cough Drops (I have no idea what the Chinese writing is in the corner because the label is in Thai...)



Nesquick (The Thai name for Nesquick is Milo. But both are made by Nestle so I counted it)



Lipton Iced Tea



Ramen Noodles (Though in Thailand it's referred to as Mama Noodles)



Gatorade



Magnum Ice-Cream



Coca-Cola



Pepsi



Oreo



Cheetos Snacks



Activia Yogurt

Mother's Day

August 12th is officially Mother's Day in Thailand. However, unlike in America, Mother's Day here in Thailand is actually the date of the Thai queen's birthday. And also, the holiday is seen as a MUCH bigger deal here than in America. Not to say that Americans don't love their moms. (Believe me, I do) It's just seen as a more personal holiday. Where as here public affection towards your mom is hoped for.

As such, the Friday beforehand, my school had a huge ceremony to celebrate Mother's Day. How this involved me was that my host sister and I would get to present our mom a flower arrangement in front of the whole school. Basically, each class was to choose one student's mom to represent the whole class and have that student give their mom the gift on Friday at the ceremony. Even though usually only one student is to present with their mom, this time the school made an exception so the host sisters of Jill and I could also be included.

One Thursday we practiced the steps to time the gift-giving with music played in the background. This would have been a tad more enjoyable if the lady in charge of setting us up had an idea of what she wanted us to do in the first place. But thankfully my host sister kept the boring routine funny by pointing out random things and making jokes, haha! I seriously was concerned I would mess up on Friday if she made me laugh like that, heh.

The day after we practiced a bit more and then went back stage to wait our turn to come out. We were all nervous, yet I think the biggest concern on me and Jill's minds were that we didn't want to cry. Okay, for those who are not exchange students, you really wouldn't understand this feeling. But I'll try my best to explain. See, when your an exchange student, you have to try all your might to hold in every little feeling even though you want to explode. Hence, Jill and I were well adapted to hiding our tears. And also, crying in public is ultra embarrassing, hah.

When it was time to go though, we all stepped out with our flower arrangements towards our moms. I knew there was instantly going to be a problem when I saw tears in my host mom's eyes and then I looked back to see Jill's host mom crying fully. I kept my cool though, properly bowing and my mom placed her hand on my head to show appreciation. I then gave my mom the flower along with my host sister. And then we all hugged our moms. It was then, I heard my mom sniffle and then began to cry myself. Although when I turned around to face the audience, I was a bit less embarrassed when I saw half of them were crying. So I guess it was rather appropriate for this time!

So many emotions were felt on this day. But I think the main one was how much I love my host mom even though I had only known her for a month. To me, my host mom is absolutely beautiful on the outside and inside. She smiles at me all the time and always makes sure I'm happy as well as healthy. If she sees I'm not looking myself she'll ask if I'm okay and then will try to fix it even if it's just a small problem. My host mom also let's me be a person. She understands I'm an exchange student and so tries to make my life as easy as possible. I love her so much for that. Thank you so much mom for being my host mom in Thailand!

...

Oh, and I took pictures! Hah! Or well...someone else did. I have pictures is what I meant to say! These first ones are of Jill and I hugging our moms with our sisters, Just and Belle.

From left to right, then bottom: My coordinator, my host mom, me, Jill, Jill's host mom, my advisor, my host sister, and Jill's host sister

This is all of us taking a picture next to the director of the school!



Sport's Day!

You guys remember last month when I went to the South for the BIG Sport's Day trip? Well this one was with my own school and it was a lot of fun!

In a sense, the Sport's Day is like a school's Field Day in America, except on a MUCH bigger scale. My school had four team colors: Blue, red, yellow, and purple. And the funny part was that I was purple and Jill was blue. We had fun with that, let me tell you. Heheh.

Each of the team colors were to create a theme, decorate their cheering bleachers, design a T-shirt, and figure out a set up for the opening parade. Red's theme was The Matadors, purple's Fantastic of Art, blue's Peace of Blue, and yellow's Pharaoh Topaz.

EDIT: There was a green team, but I seemed to have forgotten their existence and their name/theme...

Two weeks beforehand, the whole school prepared for this by shortening the class periods. That way we have about an hour or so at then end of the day to train, decorate, and basically get ready for the Sport's Day. Though Jill and I just kind of sat around during this time, which was quite enjoyable actually. Since we didn't have to travel far for this one (duh), we had this Sport's Day for three whole school days: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I split the days up on here accordingly:

Wednesday

Jill and I get up at 3 a.m. for one reason, and one reason only: To get dressed up for the school's Sport's Day parade! Since the Sport's Day is such a big event, all the students plan out a parade. Jill and I both got selected to carry a banner (that I still have no idea what it said) for the school all dressed in beautiful Thai clothing. Having gotten all suited up in June for that fashion show, I was quite used to it. But this was Jill's first time wearing a Thai dress. So I was happy she finally got the chance. It's a cool experience, and the results were awesome!

That's me on the left, and Jill on the right. Her hair is real, and my hair is fake, heh. Maybe this is a sign from God that I should grow out my hair.

While we were waiting, we got to see the rest of the parade go by. I was so happy my purple team had a horse! A real live horse with a guy riding on top holding a purple flag. Take that, Jill! Blue might have pretty T-shirt's, but purple has a horse!

After the parade we met up with Atsushi and two other AFS students who had come to his school about four months after we did. The one named Amy is from Italy and the other Seline is from Germany. I think it goes without saying Jill was happy to be able to speak German, heh. We all went out to eat at a nearby restaurant that served Western food at a cheap price. The new students were quite happy to see their favorite foods from the Western world not priced at 500+ baht. Even though he's Japanese, Atsushi seemed quite pleased with food too. I think he might be European on the inside, hah!

Thursday

This time, Atsushi's school was having the Sport's Day parade. Apparently it's a well-known fact that their parade is ALWAYS better than ours, so we weren't the only ones who stopped by to take a look.

(Yes, Jill, I am stealing your pictures~)

The two girls from Europe got to be in the parade, but poor Atsushi got left out somehow. I felt bad for the guy, really. It's not everyday you get to be in a parade. Though he said he didn't really care, so I guess I can't feel too bad, right?

Jill and I then went around the school, talking with the students and seeing all the cool things their school had. I was kind of happy my school had a pretty fish pond and theirs didn't. Although I think they have more room to have sports and such. People at my school sometimes have to go outside in the parking lot to practice their sports, heh. Also, their school had six colors instead of just five, adding on pink. I somehow get the feeling their school is bigger than ours, even though our school is older. Not quite sure how that worked out, heh.

Friday

Last day of the Sport's Day was quite interesting. Since Atsushi and the others couldn't come visit our school again, both Jill and I were able to watch some of the matches. In the morning, we watched Thai boxing matches. It was funny because the first pair went after each other constantly and kept punching each other without thinking. And then the second pair that fought were so hesitant to even throw a punch, hah! It was all good fun in the end though. And Jill's team lost both times, hah!

Once the matches were over we went out to a large field where people were going to play Tug-of-War. It was nice because blue and purple were never against each other, so Jill and I each cheered for our teams together. I will unite with you just this once, Jill...

It was quite brutal. Even more brutal than the boxing. People slipped into the mud, fell over, and got bruised. One girl even passed out! But at the end of the day, it's all part of the fun. Oh, Thai Tug-of-War, how complicated you can be.

We got around to watching a few more sports until the end of the day finally came. Now it was time to announce which team was the winner. We all waited in the large field while different names got called out and awards were given. Then it was the moment of truth...

Would it be blue? The team I despised so much, yet was my best friend's color. Or would it be purple? The team I was destined to belong to.

...

Agh! The winner ended up being blue! Wah! Okay, I'm not really that mad about it. You win this time, Jill, heh. With the winner announced, it was time for everyone to join hands and sing this song I THINK is about being together. I hate it when I can't understand an important song... It was really touching nonetheless though. One thing both Jill and I have noticed about Thailand is the people are all united. We say we are one school, one town, one nation. Something I have never seen in America.

I like this feeling. I really do~

Late Post is Late

So, um, it's August everyone! Yay!

...

...okay, I know I'm a bad blogger. I haven't posted anything the whole month. And now August is almost over! Wah! You all have the right to pelt me with bricks right now! But...um, make sure with not too many~

Anyway the August updates are as follows:

For me, this month was pretty busy. I went on vacation, had a school event, and got sick, yay~ So hence my lack of updating. Though now it's calming down, so I'll be putting up some things before the month is over.

I had planned on making a really cool "Back to School" series of posts. But then the busy August weeks and lack of camera messed up the idea. So I will be doing this special in September, hopefully. I hope you all will like it! Never fear though! I have a few things to talk about this month as well. But if you want more, just drop me a suggestion. I'll pretty much talk about anything, so no need to fear I won't pick it. Heh.