Here are my notes from the field trip this weekend:
730 pm Friday--
This is definitely a surreal experience. These kids are a trip and a half. They're so excited, and the driver's put on a mix CD so they're dancing in the aisles and up to 13 year old shenanigans. This could only get more interesting. I plan on documenting this with pictures and stream of consciousness entries.
Our buses look like they were designed by the Thai Lisa Frank. I'm at the very front of the bus, sitting with Ami, which so far has been an interesting vantage point. I've got the big ass window view, but I am also unfortunately directly in front of the speaker, which has proved quite loud at points. Thank god for earplugs. And also thank god for ladyboys, because they will definitely be chief among my entertainment this weekend. One of them has already donned a brunette wig and flower wreath.
This trip reminds me of my own to New York City when I was two years younger than these jokers. Only we weren't allowed to dance in the aisles then.
830--
We're at song 23 of 38. Dear Lord these crazy children just pulled me into their dance party. There's a couple of them pushing me down into the rest, and the rest are cowering as I approach, because apparently my innocuous American dancing is not so innocuous here, and it makes some of them nervous. Funny what happens when you acknowledge that you have hips... I only just managed to escape, because we've now stopped at a gas station for a quick bathroom break. Oh Lord Jesus it's a fire.
1115--
All's quiet on the western front. We just finished watching a movie and I am amazed that the only sounds are the creaks and thumps and whooshes from the bus. Not even a whisper from these kids. They've just all accepted that it's sleepytime.
The movie we watched was of course entirely in Thai. It was a spoof of a famous Thai ghost story, Ami tells me. A Thai comedy group remade it, in essence. While I understood very few words, it was actually somewhat easy to follow plot-wise. I'd like to find it again sometime, I quite enjoyed it and if I could either find it subtitled or rewatch it once I understand more Thai I think that could be a thing.
The plot was this: the movie begins with a pregnant woman. We see blood start to run down her legs, she collapses and it cuts to men fighting in a war. Many are wounded but we see that one group makes it out and manages to help one of the guys get back home. When he gets there, the villagers act weird. Turns out that his wife died in childbirth and the whole village knows and won't tell him. His friends find out and try to tell him, sort of, I think. She starts to haunt them because they try to take her husband away from her. The twist is that he knew she was dead nearly the whole time, but didn't care because he loved her so much. He pretended he didn't know to make her happy. Somehow looking back through your legs lets you see if someone is a ghost/dead or not because that seems to be how the husband and one of his friends each knew. Overall, it seems like it could be a really freaky horror movie but as this one was a comedy, it was quite enjoyable.
Going back to my 6th grade trip, I was reminded that we watched the mummy and I was freaked out the whole time. I don't recall having gotten much of any sleep, I think we watched movies and talked the whole night so it's kind of a remarkable thing to me that I already hear snoring and not a single whisper from these kids. If only I can be so fortunate as to also catch some zzzzs, I will be satisfied. Good night all.
830 am Saturday--
We are now apparently headed for Hall of Fame, a wax museum like a Thai Madame Toussaude's... I am intrigued. Not sure what the day holds entirely, as while I have the schedule I still can't read Thai. But I am working on that. They've been playing karaoke songs with both the characters and the phonetic English spelling so I've been trying to follow along somewhat and learn new things.
We were woken up at quarter past 6 after fitful and shitty bus sleep, and I don't know if a coffee ocean would be big enough today. But Ami and I agree that it's too early for thinking and have been small talking instead.
We stopped at a temple here to clean up and grab something to eat or coffee or what have you and yet again I have been surprised by these kids. That they were basically allowed with no supervision to run around and find food or do whatever for like an hour is very... different. I am definitely not used to the level of personal responsibility bestowed on 13 year olds that still act like, well, 13 year olds. I was not allowed this kind of freedom at 11 (thinking again on my New York City trip) and I don't think any American teachers would allow their kids the same freedom these kids are capable of retaining. I suppose it's another one of those cultural peculiarities.
230
I can now scratch several more things off my bucket list. While I still have yet to pet a monkey, I have now seen about half a hundred up close and have been chased down a hill by one. Of course I have (a few) pictures.
The "Thai human imagery" museum was creepy. It was only one building with a sort of market-y area outside, complete with karaoke. Nothing is Thailand is anything if there isn't karaoke. We stayed there about an hour and then were back on the bus, this time to the former palace of Rama IV I think.... It was pretty interesting, an abandoned concrete monkey house now. The monkeys are everywhere, and they are aggressive. I had an empty coffee cup that many of them were trying to intimidate me and steal when I first got there, until I found a bin to throw it away. Win! On the way back down the mountain, a couple of monkeys managed to get two water bottles from the girls we were escorting. As I tried to take a picture of one of them, he all of a sudden decided I was not worthy of his sidewalk water (he'd unscrewed the cap and poured all the water on the ground to drink it), so he started to approach me, teeth bared. He got within about 6in and I realized probably was not going to stop, so I screamed like a wuss and ran to the bottom of the hill. Char said she thought that was the fastest she'd ever seen me move.
I also have now had the famed Thai Coke-in-a-plastic-bag. And it has been the tastiest and least flat/syrupy Coke so far. I think that also counts as a win. The little vendor man shoveled ice into a plastic bag, cracked open a glass bottle, and poured it in. Then he shoved a straw through the ice and that was that.
630pm Sunday
Today was spent at Dream World, what Thailand refers to as a theme park. My first thought upon seeing it was "oh, that's cute." These kids would lose their shit if ever they could go to 6 Flags. First I was wearing my harem pants but since it was so hot I decided it would be a better choice to wear my jeans again. By the time I had changed, Ben Alli and Char were inside and in line for something without me. I'd wanted to spend the day getting to know Ami better so it seemed I got my wish. We ate lunch, then went to ride some rides. First was a water ride called Grand Canyon. If we weren't soaked enough after that, we got on Splash Mountain which finished the job. We were soaked to the bone but it was so much fun. We paused in the 4d show (a super cheesy short film about a guy in a lab that makes mutant bugs that flew out of the screen) on our way to the bus change into dry clothes. When we got back to the park, we stopped in the Giant's house and then walked to the Haunted House. Ami and I were both too wussy to go in just the two of us, so we waited until a group came along and eased into the middle of it. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was pretty creepy when they'd shut off the lights for a few seconds and choose right after they lit again to have something jump right out at you. Ami spent the whole house with a death grip on my arm, and I spent it shoving into the guy in front of me and ducking under my hat brim.
We were at the park for around 5 hours, which seems now like an overly long time. The kids had a blast though, and so did I. It was a great time, and I'm really glad I got to hang out with Ami.
We're now in the bus on the way home, music blasting. Thank god for ear plugs. Several things I have figured out about Thai music: they love canned beats. We've been listening to a CD of what sounds like the same song over and over. It's not though, I asked. They also love voice overs. And the whinier the singer, the better. Makes me want to claw my ears out sometimes. Friday night they turned everything off around 11... I can only hope they do the same tonight.
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