Its been a month...

It has been a month since I moved to Pak Chong - something I can keep track of because I change my contacts and pay rent on the same day!  I have to say, this first month has been even better than I could have expected.  I love my new school, I like the neighborhood I'm living in and the 3 older ladies who make fun of me (nicely) for walking home after getting off the songthew every day, I like being able to do my own laundry, I love being closer to Bangkok and the friends I have there, and I love the people I'm working with here.  All in all, I feel very thankful for everything I have here in Thailand.

One of the best things about Pak Chong is how lucky I've been with my TA and CO (which was true in Chaiyaphum too).  This past weekend they were going shopping together in Korat (a big-ish city about an hour/hour and a half away).  Bee picked me up at my apartment Sunday afternoon, pointing out a nice lake and other such sights on our way out of town.  On our way to Korat we stopped at a temple called Wat Ban Rai which houses a statue of Luang Pho Khun, a widely revered monk.  Bee told me that her family has always wanted to come to this temple and I could tell that it was an important trip for her. 

Wat Ban Rai

The temple itself was beautiful and packed full of people.  Bee said it was a holiday but the temple also seemed to be a place of pilgrimage.  I was the only farang (that I noticed anyway) which normally would have made me awkward and uncomfortable but something about going to the temple with a Thai friend made me feel OK about being there.  

wishing fountain in front of the temple

Bee made a wish!

It landed in the third bowl, which means something but I don't know what

Look!  Its a picture of me!

Pictures of Bee

Luang Pho Khun

a side building temple

When we first arrived there you had to walk through a "visitor center" where there were several opportunities to make donations/offerings.  It was interesting to me how Bee chose which opportunities to take as far as stopping for prayer and offering.  When we got into the Temple it was the same situation - there were several different things going on and while we stopped for a few of them we didn't do every single one.  The most interesting to me was in the back of the temple we sat in front of a figure of a monk and after praying people would shake a cup of sticks, each with a number on it, until one stick fell out of the cup.  Then they would look at the number and find that number's subsequent explanation on a board next to the monk.  I guess it was interesting to me because normally I wouldn't stop long enough to observe how that ritual worked but being with a participant allowed me to be there without feeling too out of place.

After our visit to the temple we drove on to Korat where we met up with Ray and then went to a market for a bit of shopping!  The girls bought some new shirts, skirts, and shoes for work and I bought myself a new pair of rain shoes for 100 baht.  I had a great time hanging out with them and generally felt really good being included in their weekend plans.  

My new and sparkly rain shoes

This weekend its my birthday so I'll be heading to Bangkok to hang out with G and other people there.  Its the first time in years I've been really excited about my birthday which just feels like one more thing going right in my life right now.  :)