On Luck and Luxuries

It's quite strange being a volunteer here and being treated like somewhat of a celebrity. We've been introduced in a local radio show. We met the governors and directors and the movers and shakers in town. We've been on tv. Apparently three times? It's really quite embarrassing though. Apparently, the letter "v" in thailand is near obsolete, and r's and l's blend. I try to enunciate my name and say it really slowly, but the tv host (who has a spray of white hairs sprouting out of the mole in his neck) just butchered it like crazy:

"My name is Val-er-ie."

"DHALERAA?"

"Valerie."

"RAROLEE?"

I gave up. However, I should consider myself lucky because it wasn't nearly as bad as this one other volunteer. We have thai nicknames (mine is Mapao. It's "coconut" in Thai) and this volunteer's nickname is "Tukata" which translates to dollface. However, she was still struggling a little bit at the time on the correct pronunciation, so when she introduced herself, the Thais got really confused as to why she would christen herself with the name, "The Insect." I helped out with the correction. But, I'm on the periphery of the video, clearly about to pee my pants from laughing for a good minute. I should have displayed more decorum. But oh well.

Today, I had my first Thai massage. Mostly because I thought I was going to get to nap for an hour and a half in an airconditioned room. FALSE. No airconditioning. And the massage was not for the faint of heart--this little old Thai woman packed a punch in her forearms and her teeny fingers. At some points I didn't know whether to laugh or howl out loud in pain. However, i think it was ten dollars well spent.

What else? LAst night, we got to tour the night market in the city, armed with 50 bhat, which is basically $1.60. It's basically a closed off street where you can get food of all sorts, from the extremely palatable to the slightly questionable. But. OMFG. I thought I had died and gone to heavennn. I got two empanadas with palm sugar inside, barbecued pork, rice, some vegetable entree, and a coconut pie. All for a dollar sixty. I think I might just gorge myself with tasty pastries here for the next 11 months, thank you.

My highlights of the week:
Visiting a silk factory and this one spot where they produce Thai musical instruments.
Winning a Laotian silver bracelet that's supposed to bring me luck.
Visiting a Buddhist Temple and getting to pray with incense and lotus flowers.
Going on my first run with a buddy.
Laughing every single day.

Overall I think orientation is going well. We're learning a lot every day and I'm getting to know the other volunteers quite well, especially since 8 of us girls are crammed into one room. After my initial scare, I think I'll be okay for now. Thank you for your emails. I prayed about how I'm thankful for my friends and family.