Life, love and the pursuit of...cockroaches?

I never thought I'd be saying this but I started my day off with instant coffee. Yes, I Dawn (coffee snob) Kovarik, drank instant coffee, and liked it. It may have something to do with the fact that Ground is so far away. And there's just something about waking up in your own place, grabbing a cup and filling it with pure joy while still wearing your pajamas. (the little things..) To make my day even better, I hacked up my first coconut while still wearing said pajamas. I don't think I've ever felt so hardcore in my life. (except for 15 min ago. We'll get to that later) Not to brag or anything but I'm pretty sure if Tom Hanks were to see me he'd produce Castaway 2 just for my coconut hacking skills.
We moved into our house! It's so nice to have our own place that isn't just a hotel room :) until we get a washing machine we have to scooter our clothes to get them washed. This is another time I felt pretty hard core ;) (picture attached)
For those of you who really know me, you are well aware of the appreciation I have for the delicious food carts of Portland Oregon, so don't judge this next statement: food carts here blow Portland out of the water. If I could bring one thing home with me it would be a food cart with a Thai family so they could start a business in Portland. Mmmn (picture attached)
As much as I love Thailand and can hardly say anything bad about it, once in awhile you come across some stuff that ain't too purdy. Like the other day, I'm walkin down the street mindin my own business when this old unattractive white man passes me struttin' his stuff in none other than...a belly shirt. Yep. You just can't un-see that. Awk. Ward. (Unfortunately I am unable to share this story with a picture. You're welcome.)
Tonight was the most rewarding part of my trip so far. I got to interpret a song for meeting into sign language. It was half Thai and half ASL. I don't know if it was great but no one threw tomatoes at me so that's a plus! Later on I had to translate some comments from people that were speaking in English since I was the only English speaker of the group. I wasn't expecting that one so needless to say I flubbed up pretty good. I'm most definitely out of my comfort zone but its so fun and I really think it will help me improve my signing :) We had a family from Japan visit tonight. They were so awesome! Great loving family :) (Picture attached)
Today has been full of a lot of firsts for me. First coconut hacking experience, first song I've ever interpreted and oh back to the '15 minutes ago' story I mentioned above... at this very moment, you have the privilege of reading the story of a true...wait for it.... cockroach slayer! Ahhh yeahhh.. I didn't really want to rub it in everyone's face but, I could probably take on dragons now.. This bug was a holy terror. I pursued it into the depths of the bathroom as it rushed past my feet several times as if it were a bolt of lightning. But alas! It was no match for my foot of fury! And thus ends the wretched life of one ugly bug..
Welp, I think I've reached the end of my silly quota for the day ;)
Until next time..
Sincerely,
Dawn the cockroach slayer Macgyver

What to say what to say...

Aside from the occasional tired/really hot days I have nothing but positive things to talk about.
Our congregation had CO visit 2 weeks ago and he and his wife were soo encouraging. They just got married in November and our congregation was the first she had been to. She's a natural :) She told me at the assembly today she'll pray that things will work out for me to stay and help in Thailand or at least come back to live here :) At this point I'm feeling like that might just happen. The love I have for the people and the country is nothing I've ever experienced. So my advice to absolutely everyone: if you have a chance to even just visit Thailand, DO IT!
Highlights of last week: got to see rubber trees in service, wouldn't have guessed they looked like that. So cool! (Picture attached) Spent all day Thursday giving out special invitations to the deaf in the area for the assembly since it was interpreted. Almost everyone I got to meet came! 19 deaf were there in total. Rad. One of the sisters ran out of gas on the way back from service, (side note, we go in service on scooters a lot here, also rad) so two other sisters went to pick up gas for her. Was it in a normal gas can? Nope. Not in Thailand. They come scootin' around the corner with the girl on the back riding 'side saddle' holding a glass pop bottle with no lid. Yep. That just happened.
Friday and Saturday we stayed at a beach named Railey and climbed/bouldered down to a lagoon. It was all around epic. There were times I thought I was gonna slip on the ropes we had to pull us up and down but it was so fun, and gorgeous. Then of course we had to stay in a bungalow, that in itself with my coffee in my hand would have been enough for me to be completely happy. Crazy story, Leah this sister from Canada and I were playing with a group of Thai kids at the beach that were absolutely adorable! When they left they all gave us hugs and our hearts melted. Later that night Leah said 'wouldn't it be funny if we saw them tomorrow at the assembly? Then we'd be family for life!' Well.... they were!!! Leah and I FLIPPED when we saw one of the girls! The oldest girl is I think around 16..? She said her family was all Buddhist and the witnesses came to their house, studied the bible with them and they all decided to become Jehovah's Witnesses. They live three hours away from us so we're going to visit them :) I still can't get over it..
The assembly today was awesome. We listened to a brother give a talk in English, then it was translated into Thai, then it was translated into Thai sign. AMazing! That talk was very focused on how important it is to simplify and focus on the more important things in life. Loved it :)
This week I start interpreting songs into Thai sign language. I am SO nervous. But at the same time I'm so excited since I've never been able to before :) so as long as everyone understands the general idea I'm trying to get across, I'll be happy :)
I know everyone has been wanting to see a picture of the squat toilets, I promise as soon as I have an opportunity I will share it. It was most definitely memorable. Haha
I feel like I have so much more to say but I'll leave it at this for now :) I hope everyone is doing awesome! Miss you all!

Loving life

Wow, so much to say.. Life in Krabi Thailand does not consist of your average day to day routine. Everyone here is very easy going and never really in a hurry. I have to say I like it a lot. Chill out and don't worry about it is the name of the game. Just be sure to give yourself an extra half hour for eating out if you have to be somewhere at a certain time :)
I've already got my favorite spots, coffee shop, dessert spot, restaurant..mmmn. There are few things I like better than sitting at a coffee shop, reading a Jane Austen novel, and having absolutely nothing on your mind.
Getting back to the food...people told me when you go to a foreign country for a few months you'll come back really skinny since its new food and you'll be exercising more. Well I'm here to tell you I won't be surprised if I gain 20 pounds here. The food is absolutely fantastic! I don't know if I could get sick of it since there's so much variety. 'Pad Thai' in the states is way different. The legit stuff over here is the bomb diggity. Leah and I quickly figured out how to say no spice (my pet) since their mild is our hot. I've had a couple mouth burning experiences.
My absolutely favorite thing here is fresh coconut shakes. We're talkin take a machete to the fresh coconuts in the back, blend it with some other goodness and you have yourself a glass of rainbows and lollypops while your sitting on a cloud of happiness... True story.
Yesterday I tried to go out preaching but found out they don't go out Mondays. Hakuna matata. So instead we went hiking and ended up at a gorgeous waterfall with no one in sight. It was just what we needed since we've been mainly in the town of Krabi the last week. Getting to see the country of Thailand takes my breath away. Pictures just don't do it justice.
I'll be supporting the Thai sign language group here. I absolutely love it! I think I've mentioned before, it's very similar to ASL so at the Thai meetings I've actually been able to understand quite a bit of it :) And I might be helping them translate songs! I'm soo excited and nervous. In ASL we use a lot of DVDs for signing. But in Thai they have very few publications translated as of now. It's a very small group so needless to say the ones involved are very busy. We have Japanese, American and Puerto Rican listening to Thai while trying to translate that into sign language (they've got mad skills) They're giving spirit has been really encouraging to me. The congregation here is full of some of the most loving people I've ever known. When they find out Leah and I are staying until march they light up with huge warm smiles and hug us with sincere thanks. It makes you wanna cry. Even though we may not share the same language, being able to share the same beliefs of unity and peace brings you close no matter what.

We'll be heading to northern Thailand soon so see more of the country and we can't wait! Elephant rides, wilderness treks, you name it, we'll probably do it ;)
I hope you all are doing awesome:) please feel free to email me, I love hearing from everyone. My Internet service is iffy so I'll respond when I have wifi ;)

Change of pace

So what started out as Leah and I coming to Thailand to enjoy the country and help out in an English congregation teaching people that want to know more about the bible, ended in us visiting Krabi and falling in love with the Thai speaking congregation here. Thus begins our complete switch in plans that will involve learning as much Thai as possible while we're here and teaching the Thai people about the bible. What's interesting about the Thai culture is while they may not have an abundance of knowledge about the bible they still have great respect for it. I talked to one Thai woman about having a happier family life and she was the sweetest thing. Listened intently as I stumbled and fumbled trying to communicate with her in Thai. But if you're gonna learn a new language you gotta use it even if you make a lot of mistakes, and by that I mean, 'I have no idea what I'm doing' but hakuna matata it's fun :)
It's funny to me how every culture has a different perspective on what beauty is. Here is Leah and I laying out on the beach yesterday trying to get a deep tan because we think its better than being white and the cutest Thai 'grandma' falls in love with us and keeps saying 'suai!' (Which means beautiful in Thai) She loved our white skin. It was so cute ;) so although I'm still gonna be working on my tan while I'm here, I've come to appreciate all forms of beauty :)
I can't get over how great the culture is. In the states if you go to a mall or 7 eleven you'll get the worst customer service ever. It's not like that here. People are kind and genuine. Always helpful. It's so easy to be happy and content here.
Thai sense of humor is so awesome. Leah and I fit in really well ;P We started busting out 'gangnam style' in the mall the other day and everyone that saw us started giggling. They love us...(or they think we're from the crazy house) haha
Someone recently asked me what my favorite thing has been in Thailand and I couldn't answer, but I've recently discovered its definitely the people. I haven't been here very long and I'm already sad that when I go home these people won't be there. But I'm going to enjoy every moment I have to be in their presence :)
I've learned how to say I love you in Italian and Korean sign language. (Pictures attached) Meeting people from all over the world is so rad. I've only met one person from the states. And I love it!
So although we started off coming to this country to use English, we're jumping out of our comfort zone to experience a great adventure :)

Really real..

Ok people, things are about to get real. Really real.. (Disclaimer: This post is not meant for anyone who has a prudish tendency whatsoever lol) So I've now experienced one of the most awkward situations to be in, ever. As you all might have already assumed.. getting used to Thai food can be somewhat of a challenge since my American fed body is not accustomed to legit foreign food. And so as I'm walking through the most amazing market I've been to so far having a great ol' time with bracelets I've bought for lest than a dollar, delicious dinner and dessert, my body decides to hate the food I've consumed and cause me problems. And by problems I mean I needed a bathroom stat (stat means now) And so this begins the frantic search for the bathroom that of course couldn't be found. I asked three different locals and finally arrived at what I thought was my 'city of refuge'. I pay 5 baht to use the facilities and enter only to find all the stalls are full (obviously) So as I'm standing there doing my little dance that I had hoped was subtle, a door finally opened and I 'gracefully' bolted for it. As I open the door I look down in horror. I blink my eyes in hopes that what I see isn't real. But to no avail.. there, in the bathroom stall lays a squat toilet. At this point I have absolutely no strength left in my soul to find any other option. And I just have to say Thai people must have the strongest thighs of anyone in the world. I mean, have you ever squatted like that for a good period of time when you haven't been working out recently? To make matters worse I look around only to discover.. There's no toilet paper. Of course there's no toilet paper! As in all the bathrooms here they have what looks to be a kitchen sink hose. But let me tell you..it only has one setting, garden hose. And so through this entire process I'm literally laughing to myself thinking 'I cannot believe this is happening right now'. After I've finished my 'bidniss' I start to walk out of the bathroom and as I glance to my left I see an unoccupied stall with what? Yes that's right... a normal toilet. So obviously I had to post it on the Internet so everyone could get the real story. What happens in Thailand obviously doesn't stay in Thailand when it comes to my experiences. So hopefully you've found this as hilariously ridiculous as I have. You're welcome.
Tomorrow starts my new exercise program mainly consisting of squats.
Footnote: No pictures of my 'experiences' this time. Again, you're welcome.

For the love of Thailand

The past week has been amazing with Thai food, Thai service, meeting and beaches.
The highlight of my week has been meeting people from various parts of the world that know the sign language for their country. Comparing their sign with ASL was so fun :) We went to our first Thai meeting on Thursday. It was so encouraging! We met witnesses from Sweden, England, Korea, Italy, France and Japan. I sat with the Thai sign group. I couldn't believe how much I understood. It has a lot of similarities to ASL.
Friday we spent the day at Railay Beach. It is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been to. Mind. Blown.
The Thai culture is amazing. 'Mai Pen Rai' is the everyday Thai saying which means 'no worries' or 'hakuna matata' as I like to say :) They are so friendly and helpful. It started raining mid dinner the other night and the sweetest older Thai man handed me his towel to wipe off our scooter :)
Speaking of scooters..you might think this chick from the backwoods of Washington who had her first dirt bike when she was 7 would have no fear of driving a silly little scooter in Thailand..well, let me tell you, it is not as easy as it looks. People don't really obey laws here... Therefore you have no option of just scootin' along (Mai Pen Rai style) since you literally have to be watching every direction imaginable for cars and scooters. I'm just waiting for a scooter to fall out if the sky since they seem to come from everywhere else :P
Today we went preaching with the Thai congregation. Such a crazy awesome experience :) I went on a bible study with a Japanese sister who has been helping in Thailand for three years. She is so sweet! A young Thai girl we talked to helped me with my Thai :) she's so adorable! She wanted me to have a sleepover with her ;)
Every morning here has consisted of some kind of fresh fruit which has been so great. Coconuts, mangos, bananas, dragon fruit, watermelon and pineapple. Soo good!
So much has been going on so I'm hoping I didn't forget anything important.
Just remember when you're having a bad day Mai Pen Rai! :)

Bangkok

Bangkok is unlike any city I've ever experienced. The hustle and bustle of the over 9 million people (according to the Internet) that live in the surrounding Bangkok area causes me to realize how small I am when compared to what I'm used to. The markets are huge and cheap and the driving is..lets just say many times I've thought I was going to die or run over one of the hundreds of scooters that seem to have no concern for the vehicles that are 10 times as big as they are and could smash them in an instant.
Our first 'day' we decided to do the tourist thing. Went to a historical park and road bikes for a couple hours, went market shopping and road a boat down the river. So far I absolutely love Thailand and I haven't even been out of Bangkok yet!
Last night was awesome, our first meeting in Thailand! We went to the Bangkok Kingdom Hall that was on the 14th floor of a tall building somewhere downtown. There we met people from all parts of the world. Korea, Philippines, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Canada and Ukraine (Probably missing some) It was amazing to see the unity of all those people. I definitely gained a new appreciation for our worldwide brotherhood :)
Today we went out along the street to eat at food carts. Ate some delicious food but I have no clue what it was.. (Picture to follow) Also Leah and I have decided we just ate the best grilled corn we've ever tasted. The cart was run by the cutest Thai woman standing there with her portable 'grill' that appeared to be made out of a barrel. It was fantastic.
Smoking is very common here unfortunately which is surprising considering what their cigarette cases look like. (picture to follow)
Today we fly to Krabi to visit friends and beaches so we are stoked! Word of advice: if you ever book a ticket trough airasia don't do it when you're half asleep and haven't researched the fact that there are other airports in a city this big. Yes, that is in fact what I did. So instead if getting a free shuttle ride to the airport we're staying right next to, we'll be driving an hour to make our flight (Dawn dumb) In moments like this you truly appreciate an awesome travel partner who could care less when you make bad decisions while sleep deprived ;) (thanks Leah!) One mistake down, a lot more to go. Gotta roll with it :)
My last picture will maybe seem insignificant to most but to those who really know me you'll understand. Thailand has good coffee!!! All other concerns need not occupy my mind. I am one happy girl :D

So it begins..

At one o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday January fifth 2013 Leah and I embarked on our journey. The plane trip was rather entertaining. Whilst the rest of the world would be eating their bags of peanuts on the way to their destinations we would be getting moist towels. (sorry Danielle, it was unavoidable) Needless to say we were impressed enough to take pics. After an 11 hour plane ride you can imagine how exhausted we were when we landed in China to reach our connecting flight. Our 4 hour layover felt more like 30 min. It was quite an experience. It started with us walking in the wrong direction up to the info counter only to get chased down by a Chinese woman on a Segway that had a face that said 'its business time'. Thus after she spoke in Chinese and motioned us to the other side of the airport, we moved. (You don't mess with people on segways) Us along with other Americans on our flight were confused to say the least. We had to check in at the airport, get our passports stamped, (although we wouldn't be staying there..) go through airport security. At some point we all thought they lost our bags and it felt like we were on the amazing race figuring everything out without any help from airport personnel. But we made it!

Bear in mind the fact that there is a 15 hour time difference which means I've pulled all kinda of all-nighters on this ride. And so you can only imagine the humor I found in this last pic. Do they want me to rinse dishes off in the bathroom or....?