a day off?

So, I am in a pensive mood tonight and I can’t exactly explain why. I’m in a writing mood and thus I have taken my computer in hand and set my fingers to typing. Sometimes when the mood strikes it just needs to be done so here I sit typing away on my black keys. J

I had an unexpected day off today—which was pleasant, though the reason I was off was not so pleasant. Jason caught something over the weekend, some type of flu bug. Keep him in your prayers-he’s getting better and I plan to be with him tomorrow, though I’m not sure how much actual school work we will accomplish. Being sick is no fun and I often find that it takes a few days for mind/body to fully recuperate.

Nonetheless, I was left with a day off on my hands. And what did I do with this unexpected luxury, you ask? Quite a few things actually—I had lunch with my friends Baa and Noon and Baa’s family. That was a true cultural experience. I sat and smiled a lot, ate amazing food-some of which was quite spicy, and tried to follow conversation as much as I could. There I was, sitting in a Thai restaurant, very conscious of my “farangness” in the midst of a Thai family trying to make sense of it all. Noon knows a bit of English, so she and I would chat for random bits of the time but for the most part the conversation was in Thai. I might start teaching Baa’s sister English. She knows some, but desires to know more and said she could also help me with my Thai, which would be lovely! She seems like someone who would be fun to get to know and she was saying how most of her friends are in Bangkok, so it seems like she would really like to get to know me as well.

After a quiet half hour of journaling/reading in the garden, I cycled over to my friends’ Claudia and Kat’s house to go to Big C with Claudia (similar to a Costco/wal-mart). She shopped for a few groceries and I picked up a few random bits and pieces of food and other things. We went to Swenson’s for ice cream afterwards---sometimes it seems like ice cream truly does make the world a better place. J After which we caught a sang-taaw to head back home and I cycled home from there without running into any dogs, for which I was grateful. Then it was here to exercise for a bit, get cleaned up and proceed to write the above blog. I am really grateful that I am getting to know some people here-it helps so much with the lonely factor that will occasionally still hit. I like being able to do things with people rather than on my own. Sure, journaling and reading I like to do on my own, but things like going to Big C or Tesaban to see the monkeys, or even just going out to the night market, those types of things are more fun when you do them with people.

I feel like God is teaching me so much here….about everything. Its one of those times where I feel like I’m beginning to learn life lessons, which is a true gift. It seems to be one of those times where I’m learning to be open to God and what he has in store for me, whatever that might be. It’s a bit scary/daunting yet at the same time extremely exciting! Who knows what could be around the next bend in the road.