Kristy's Capers

new sister!

2008-01-14T01:09:00.000-05:00

Belle just became a Christian! Yea!

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-14T00:55:00.000-05:00

We had a great Christmas at the Well! Celeste the WonderCounselor encouraged the girls to make fun new Christmas memories because so many of their current memories are hurtful or difficult. So they decorated the house and yard and performed songs at the Christmas party. Aren't they adorable!

so CUTE!

2007-09-30T01:37:00.000-04:00

motorcycle mama

2007-09-30T01:30:00.000-04:00

Well, motorcycle taxis are the fastest, easiest way to get around BKK, but if you get on/off on the wrong side, you will get a little burnt... If you'll notice, I have an old burn slightly lower and to the right of my new burn. I'm thinking to aim for a design of some sort. A flower or something. Another motorcycle tip (besides dismount on the LEFT) is to always remember your surroundings. I was riding behind this driver, on the road at night on my way home from a little house worship service, and I just got caught up in the lovliness of the night and started to sing a praise song... out loud. Basically, in his ear... which was a little embarrassing after I came to my senses.

karoake madness

2007-09-30T01:28:00.000-04:00

beach getaway (with 15 teenagers in tow)

2007-09-30T01:21:00.000-04:00

I mean, really. I'm in love :)

2007-09-30T01:05:00.000-04:00

pizza party

2007-09-30T01:03:00.000-04:00

yummy

2007-09-30T00:58:00.000-04:00

sad prospects

2007-09-30T00:50:00.000-04:00

I met this little urchin in Chaing Mai. She was selling these flower necklaces, running around the tourist area, barefoot and stained. I called her over to talk for a bit, and she sat down on the steps beside me. I asked her if I could wear the necklace ( I think they're really to be used for Buddha). Good little saleswoman, she said of course I could wear it. I asked her where her parents were, expecting them to be vendors at one of the many booths around. Oh, they're at home, she replied, gesturing vaguely. So I asked who she was with (surely one of the vendors or adults around was keeping an eye on her). No one, she smiled, surprised. She was wondering the streets alone. I invited her to come with us, walking around the tourist district, but she had work to do. She flitted off, lost in the crowd of people twice as tall as her. She said she went to school, and liked it, so that's good, but I wonder what will become of her.

the chicas in Chaing Mai

2007-09-30T00:45:00.000-04:00

songtaw take-over

2007-06-26T10:39:00.000-04:00

We took over a songtow (this lovely vehicle--basically the back of a truck) and all headed to the night market for a celebratory and absolutely lovely Thai massage. Happy Birthday to ME! It was great.

feliz cumpleanos a mi

2007-06-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

My birthday party with friends in Chaing Mai. We went to a Mexican restaurant (delicioso!).

isn't she darling?

2007-06-26T10:29:00.000-04:00

I love this child. She backed right up into my lap today, and jabbered to me, and led me by the hand outside to play. She seems to understand my Thai, which endears her even more!

Donna Ponders Life

2007-04-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

Hey all, here is a serious blog post. Our friend Donna, who is one of the bargirls we've spent more time with and have paid to take out to dinner, tonight was down and quiet. I asked her about it, and she was frustrated with money. I told her about another option, the Well (you can see thier website from the link on the side) and she seemed so interested. She said that she wants to leave bar work. Now this is HUGE. This is why I'm here, because I know that God loves Donna (and the thousands of others) and wants so much more for them than this. But this is the first time I've actually seen it happen (or almost happen). So please give a shout up for Donna, as she hears some very new things about God and makes a crossroads decision for her life these next few days. Pray for courage to leave what's familiar, trust these crazy new people she's met, and most of all, trust God.

Songkran!

2007-04-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

Guys in a tuk-tuk, trucks converted into water-squads, babies covered in powder paste... It must be Songkran. Songkran is a holiday in Thailand where people throw water and powder and say "Happy New Year!" It originally had something to do with washing away sins, but now is basically a water party to keep cool during Thailand's hottest month. I've had a lot of fun celebrating this new holiday as you'll see!

Songkran at Nana

2007-04-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

Nana is one of the red light districts where we visit friends. They had a big Songkran celebration. People were everywhere, throwing water and joking around. This last picture gives a glimpse at the bizarre world in which I've found myself. The girl in the orange shirt is Celeste, and linked with her is a ladyboy (transvestite) friend of hers. The line of "women" behind them are all ladyboys outside of a bar/brothel that they work at. They were getting into the spirit of things, and one scantily clad ladyboy was running out into the street, literally stopping traffic.

Songkran at Soi Cowboy

2007-04-14T21:52:00.000-04:00

This is Songkran at the other red light district, Soy Cowboy. There was a lot happening! They had barrels of ice water outside of every bar, and people filled the streets, throwing water on people and patting their cheeks with a powdery paste. There was water everywhere! In the first picture, you can actually see several streams of water caught in one shot. The guy in the second picture is getting the powder paste. The funny thing is that even in a red light district, even as they smeared your face with goo, they were polite. They would smile or say "sorry" or "excuse me" and then very gently glob you. Check out the last picture. We laughed when we realized that our picture of our friends (red and orange shirts) also included a woman getting sprayed (in the center) and a couple making out (far left). Always lively!

Songkran with Naan

2007-04-14T21:43:00.000-04:00

I was able to spend Sonkran Saturday with some good friends, Naan and Bik, and they took us to the famous Kaw-san Road celebration. The picture on the left is just one road leading to Kaw-san! We walked almost a mile through crowds like this to get the actual road. It was a lot of fun because we were talking and laughing with our friends, but had they not been there to lead us through, I may have turned and run in the face of such a crowd!

Songkran in Silom

2007-04-14T21:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, this is a lot of people! We were down among all this friendliness for several hours on Silom Road, usually a bustling downtown street. You can see that thousands of people literally took over the road to play Songkran there. We met up with some other friends and inched along. It was almost like conga lines going every direction. I stayed directly behind my friend in front of me, and we shuffled/danced in one direction, while people passed us in lines going the other direction (we had to be in lines because it was so crowded, the only way to move is to move into the space directly in front of you). As people passed in other directions, they shouted, "Happy New Year" and slathered us with the powder paste. People sang, danced, yelled, and splashed, but for all this craziness things stayed pretty polite. We took this picture from the skytrain platform above the street--we were ready to be out of the crowd! Look closely at the bottom picture, and you can see individual people as far as you can see! I had a vivid thought: "You're not in Folsom anymore, Kristy!"

Songkran

2007-04-14T04:05:00.000-04:00

My first Songkran celebration was definitely an eye-opening experience, but I have to say that it was a lot of fun!

fun at the zoo

2007-03-20T07:01:00.000-04:00

tower jump

2007-03-04T09:21:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors invited us out for a day of fun in Pattaya, the nearest beach to Bangkok. They asked us to dinner and an "activity." After we arrived at the tower, we had a lovely lunch at a revolving restaurant on the 55th story, and then jumped off the 56th. It was a lot of fun, but I will say that I didn't get my money's worth at the buffet dinner. It was quite unnerving to try to eat while people sailed past the windows on their way down!

Why wai?

2007-02-22T00:59:00.000-05:00

Ronald and I are demonstrating the universal Thai greeting, the wai. At first it's a little tricky (in fact, I ended up saluting once--it was quite embarrassing). Your age and status dictate who wais first, and how low, and how long. But after only a few months, the wai is really growing on me. When someone wais me, I feel kinda special... it seems very gracious, somehow. And when I wai someone, I feel respectful, appropriate, and kind of classy. Even when it's good ol' Ronnie McD.

laundry

2007-02-22T00:54:00.000-05:00

Laundry day! Our laundry is whisked away by a woman in our building and then returned the next few days. I'm not sure what happens in the meantime, but this is a common scene in Bangkok.