Boring week..

This week was uneventful. My computer seems to be in and out of the computer hospital. I have it back now, but my external hard drive is broken, so now I am starting from scratch. All of my information is gone. I dont have word or microsoft, because my disks are at home, therefor I cannot do any homework on my computer. The internet isnt good enough to download open office. Oh, the internet only works on 2 computer right now, the one I am on in the lab and my roommates laptop. Every time the internet goes out, it seems to choose a couple computer to still work. Its weird. But the internet has been out for a couple of days now. Also you can get rip off, microsoft here for like $3, but they only have it for PCs not macs. As you can see not really the best week. On the bright side I got a facial, bought the turquoise pendant I have been wanting since I got here, and I got a sweet henna tattoo. Anyway, I'll update again soon. Peace.

KJSDFHAJKSDFHUIASDFNAWEKR!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL OF MY INFORMATION IS GONE FROM MY COMPUTER AND MY EXTERNAL HARDDRIVE!!!!! 6,000 SONGS, 6,500 PHOTOS, AND 3 YEARS OF COLLEGE WORK. AWESOME.

the photos

Ko Chang and more

White sand and blue water

So this past week I was on holiday from school. Thank you Buddha for having a birthday. I decided to go to Ko Chang, an island on the eastern side in the Gulf of Thailand. I flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, slept in the airport, and after a lot of wandering and questioning I found the bus to take me to the pier that would carry me over to the island to get a taxi to then go to the TreeHouse, on Lonely Beach. None of my friends were interested on coming along, so I went on a lone adventure. The trip there was long an tiring. Once I got to my destination, I found a place to stay. The guy running the place was very rude and not very nice to converse with. But i chose to stay there anyway, it was about $2.50 a night. I had my own bungalow near the ocean, with a mini porch and a hammock. Sounds nice right? Not really. Very, very budget. The huts were made of sticks and the beds were moldy and there were no locks on the doors. We had shared bathrooms, that were squaters. The showers were buckets. I liked it though. But because of the situation there was little airflow, and it was quite hot to sleep in. I stayed in this hut for 2 nights. I moved to a place behind it that had its own bathroom, a fan and locks for $6 a night. This place was also moldy and very dirty. That is Thailand budget accommodation. If I really cared, I could have spent $30 a night on a super nice place. I know it sounds like I didn't like it, but is really wasn't bad. I enjoyed the hut more than the moldy room. The first day in Ko Chang, I took it easy. Ate some food and wandered around. The second, I made friends from Canada and Amsterdam, went to the beach and wandered again. I also laid in my hammock and read. The third day I just went to the beach. It was great. The sun attacked me again, but now I am nice and tan. The fourth day I took it upon myself to wander around the western side of the island. I first went to a fishing village, than to a beach where I walked like 5 miles and waded thru waist deep water, then to a couple of towns, and back to Lonely Beach. It was a good day. Sunday was down pouring. I left at 8 am to head north with the Canada friend. The taxi ride was in the back of a truck, without side panels. Very, very wet. Anyway about 10 hours later I was in Bangkok. I went into the city with Canada friend and we shopped. I bought lots of gifts...We wandered for a long time, I slept for about 2 hrs before catching a bus to the airport to come back to Chiang Mai. Now I am here. I am typing on my computer, but everything was erased. My external hard drive isn't working. And I cant seem to get connected to apple support. Fun times. Anyway, check the link Ill post later for more details and photos from my trip.

I will post again in a week...

Computers....

So my computer died. Yesterday, I woke up to do my usual computer obsessive email checking, and it wouldn't turn on. It just beeped at me. I called Apple and they told me to bring it to an Apple dealer. So I did. I showed them the beeping, they all surrounded my poor computer and began to point and laugh at it with wide eyes. Good sign. I asked if they had seen this symptom before, they said no. And quickly after he asked if I had everything backed up. Another good sign. Luckily, I bought a hard drive before I came and even brought it with me. Everything is backed up until right before I left. So I am only losing a little bit. Good thing I have mastered procrastination and have not began any projects yet for school. It would have been a total waste of time. Anyway, if they need to ship it to Bangkok- which I think they will, I won't have it for about 2 weeks. So my posts may be minimal.

Photos of me for family...

At the bar with the Thai blues band
Dinner, the new face is John
Song Tao Ride, Ping, me, Naomi
At Doi Suthep
Bamboo Rafting
Ox ride with Ping and two people we met
Me, Kirstie (my new roommate), Naomi, Pauline, Andrew
Me and Pauline at the Queen's Garden

my dance pants

The best kept secret

We discovered, by default on our way to get ice cream, the best market in Chiang Mai. There were no other farongs, aka westerners. Everything was even cheaper then normal and it was HUGE. The best part is, it is right around the corner from Payap. Every Friday night. I bought a bag and a shirt for $5. I need to stop buying crap, I know. It's hard here. Everything is soo pretty and cheap. The odd thing is, this market has been going on forever, and it's only a bike ride away. No one ever mentioned it. Well it's ruined now, I discovered it and it will be completely bought out by the time my mom makes it here, by me. Last night a few friends of mine and I ventured into town to see a Thai blues band. I met the lead guitarist a couple weeks ago. The bands name is Boy Blues Band. Because the guys name is Boy. They rocked out! I didn't know Thais liked good American music, most of them cover bands like Maroon 5, ick. These guys were so talented. They covered Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Eric Clapton. Click here to listen to them. Oh and back the the name Boy. All Thais have really long, complicated first names. So as children they get nicknames. Most Thais go by their nickname for life. Often their names are English. Some that seem very odd to me, but are fairly popular here are Computer, Tree, and Boy. They think it sounds cool. Just like how some hippie-down-to-earth Americans think its nice to name their kid Tree in some Asian language.
If your interested here are some Thai words:
Men add Krap to the end of every sentance
Women add Ka

Hello- Sawadi ex. female- Sawadi-ka
Thank you- Kha Phun ex, male- Kha phun-Krap
Yes- Chai (no ending)
No- Mai (no ending)
How much does it cost?- Mun racer tao-rai (with ending)
I want this- Chun ow anee (with ending)
Excuse me- Khor Thot (with ending)
Please- Ka- roo- na (with ending)
1- nueng
2- song
3- sam
4- see
5- ha
6- hok
7- jet
8- paed
9- kao
10- sib
20- yee sib
30- sam sib
40- see sib
and so on...

It's not that easy

Thai Dance

This is an example of Thai Dance, one of the classes I am taking. I know it doesn't look too hard, but you'd be surprised. It's a graceful dance...I am not graceful...

AND...

Oh, by the way, I now have an American roommate. My Thai roommate didn't like me, so she traded me off. I'm over it, I didn't move, she had to. I like it better this way. She was very young and immature, we barely spoke any words to each other. Also, if you haven't heard my mother and I will be traveling for two months after my semester; we will be in Thailand for 2 weeks, then to Malaysia, India, Morocco, Spain (briefly), Sweden, maybe a few other European countries, Ireland, and then home. Great trip, huh?

link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103230&l=17dfc&id=6906696

Bad immune system

So I have come down with a cold. It's not slowing me down much, especially because I have so much free time anyway. Saturday, the day I was supposed to meet the ladies to help out at Lanna Dog rescue, I never met up with them. Luckily, my friends were on their way up to a mountain so I joined them. The mountain is called Doi Suthep. It has a temple on top, a huge tourist attraction, but one of those things you need to see. The next day is when the cold came. I have been keeping low key, to try to heal. This weekend the International Student Union has planned a camping trip, that I would love to go on. Last night, I went to a real Thai market. It was even more inexpensive than the others. I also bought 6 movies for about $13. Not too bad. Ive posted more photos at...