We are going to the Lice farm!

Lice = rice :)

This week has surely been a trip- cut short!! Pi Yod, our supervisor, told us that we are going home (from northeast Thailand) tomorrow. Great news :)

We have spent most of the week interviewing farmers about Thai farming philosophy (for me) and marketing (for Sarah). We’re an interesting mix.

This farmer is a agri-celebrity in Thailand

Cool plants everywhere!

Guava for snack time.

Memorable moments:

Before we left we stopped by Siam Paragon’s grocery store and found cheddar cheese and Kellogg brand cereal. Happiness.

ahh. :)

Today we ate legitimate Vietnamese food and got to make the spring rolls ourselves! And by that, I mean they bring us a plate of toppings and we attempt to peel apart the clear wrap stuff and package it all together. Needless to say, it was a messy affair.

Yesterday at one of our farm visits, a quite vicious looking snake curled up next to my chair and during the middle of the interview the farmer pointed to it and I think I let out my loudest, most blood curdling scream to date. (Which means a lot, because I feel like I scream at least once a day here.) The snake was probs about a foot long (even though it was 3 feet in my mind)  and generally harmless, but it scared me silly. Also saw a scorpion and several bright yellow and black Rosie’s-hand-sized spiders.

Pi Yod, our supervisor, likes to sing along in the van. Which is a fantastic accompaniment to the blaring Thai music that our driver likes to jam to. Sarah and I spend a lot of time in the car laughing (kindly) about the music that is quickly driving us nutty. It has gotten to the point where we try to sing along, but we end up just making eerie throat noises and laughing at each other.

Also stopped at THE WORLD’S LARGEST WOODEN CHURCH! It was just about as exciting as it sounds, but it was good to be back at a church again. (There aren’t too many of them in Thailand.) It was interesting to see our coworkers learn about Christianity; they seemed fascinated by things that we have known about forever. Definitely made me miss Sundays at Riverview with my East Lansing family.

No smoking

My contact solution leaked all over my bag, and when I asked if we could pick up more Pi Yod thought I needed more contacts, not solution. He simply took me into an optometry store and asked the power of my lenses and what color I wanted them in. That is so Thailand. 

This trip has been filled with fantastically horrifying bathrooms. Most of them have been on farms, and you never know which creepy crawly thing is going to catch you with your pants down.

Typical Thai bathroom. Where are the sinks? Your guess is as good as mine.

Today we hit a market that lined the banks of the Mekong (our old stomping grounds from Laos). Was able to find some awesome things to bring home to my American peeps. Prep yourself. Also, Sarah found Giant Bag. Which she has named “Thai-style suitcase” J

Tonight I was able to talk to Dad and make sure he nor Terri were in Japan during the earthquake/tsunami, and both are stateside and fine. Thinking about and praying for those affected by the destruction as well as those who are about to get hit by the wave. Awful stuff.

Tomorrow, alarm goes off at 5:30 so we can hit the “Green Market” early and head back to BKK. Trip was cut short by 3 days, so we are happy campers.

Love to America and-

Rosie