La Piñata

Good, or even just decent, Mexican food is difficult to find in Asia. It's something I crave without any hope of actually satisfying while here (next time I'm in the US - watch out).

I've tried "Mexican" restaurants in Asia before, but it's as if it's too close but SO far from what I'm looking for that it makes the craving worse.

Happily, we tried a new Mexican restaurant (La Piñata) while our boss was in town this week. I won't give it a glowing review, but I will say that it provided that comfort food feeling and we took full advantage of the Corona happy hour - a real treat!

Maybe I can last another 6 months before going again, we'll see.

We made it out (of the group of death)

This world cup has been SO fun despite the game times being mostly in the middle of the night for us. It's exhausting but so worth it :-)

Fortunately the final games of Group G played at 11pm this past Thursday night so we were able to go out with friends to the bar owned by Tim, who sponsors Sam's hockey team.

We didn't win, but we advanced and I can't wait to see what's ahead for all the teams in this Cup.

USA! USA! USA!

Weekend update

Had a whirlwind of a weekend filled with dog sitting, work, our favorite foods and exploring new bars in town.

It's no U of I quad, but it's still nice.

Qi-bone (means 'little stinker' in Thai).

1 of 2 Maltese... I still can't tell which is which.

2 of 2 Maltese.

Hainanese chicken rice. YUM!

Hey, Chicago, whaddya say?

Pork noodle soup. Classic and delicious.

Watching the World Cup with the bar staff.
Small creature wants nothing to do with me.
This woman goes by the nick name "Jim Beam."

Lazy time with the sweet pups.

Playtime

After 3 months, I think the roof is finished on our playground at school. With my limited Thai and inability to stand around watching them while they're working, I am only left to wonder what has taken so long. The likely answer? This is Thailand.

In any case, I'm so glad it's up so our students can burn off some energy while here without also burning their hands/feet on the scorching ground/equipment or getting sunburned skin. They obviously love it and it really is fun to be able to run around with them.

Sam and I have been doing our own running around and making the most of this awesome city. Last night, we went to a new street (for us) and it was funny to be called out to like tourists. It's amazing how differently foreigners are treated in various parts of the city. We had a relaxing evening, walking around with a beer in hand, sharing food and getting a massage. Felt like we were on holiday and I'm reminded that apart from work, our normal life is basically a vacation. Feeling very lucky!

Moto-cop

Don't see much of the police around town here except for having their morning coffee at spot along my walk to work.

Yesterday, I saw a whole squad of them going along in 2s on motorbikes. To where, I don't know, but they weren't in a hurry. But then again it's rare to see anyone rush around here :-)

Catch up from BKK

Hi, all! It's been basically one month since my last post - yikes! Since then, I've had my first experiences with martial law, a military coup and nationwide curfew. At first all people had to be in from 10p-5a, then 12a-4a, and just this weekend it was lifted throughout the country. 

Poolside during the "coup-day."

I like to tell people from home that the announcement of the coup and resulting rumours that schools would be closed felt a lot like waiting for a snow day to be declared. After the 4pm announcement of the coup, Sam and I went straight home from work in a taxi playing what I'm told are traditional military songs rather than the usual bouncy/squeaky Thai pop since the military had taken over all TV and radio broadcasts. 

Rainy season is upon us in BKK!

First stop - beer at the pool. We were glued to social media trying to make sense of how things would progress (I've since given up doing that). The military did eventually order all educational institutions to close from Friday - Sunday and Sam and I were ecstatic about the surprise 3-day weekend. Since then, we've had a couple curfew sleepovers with friends and gotten lots of extra sleep since we were forced to be home early anyway.

Stir-fried pork and vegetables with an omelet.

Me and my fav dessert, coconut ice cream.

Now, the junta is actively working to "restore happiness to the people" by providing free concerts and street festivals all over the city and even going so far as to coordinate the free broadcast of all World Cup games on public television.

My playgroup class during "critical thinking," i.e. jamming a square block into the triangle space.

Throughout all of this, my life has been quite the same as usual, with only the curfew and buzzing social media surrounding the junta's detainments of political figures, journalists, activists and academics really standing out. Did you hear about the creative forms of protest people were using here? Some read George Orwell's 1984, some flashed the 3-finger salute from The Hunger Games movie and some even declared that eating sandwiches was a symbol of protest.

Had extra time to clean the apartment during curfew.

Anyway, life goes on for us all and I'm feeling particularly aware of the many ups and downs thrown at us along the way. Over the past few weeks, I've been making a real effort to get out and be active/social. Sam and I have started doing Monday night pub quiz which is humbling (to be fair, it's geared towards the 55+ British expat crowd) and a fun way to meet people or catch up with old friends. I'm making yoga a priority and have found a great teacher/group to join. 

These signs are always puzzling to me.
But really, you're not supposed to throw toilet paper in the toilet over here,
you're meant to throw it in the 'bin' (a.k.a garbage).

Just the other day I was walking from work to the gym and marveling at how easy it is to live here. But then over the weekend, I had quite an upsetting experience while walking down the street to get a cab when I was groped by a passing man on his motorbike. Extremely unsettling and confusingly quick, I didn't process what happened for a few seconds and by then had no interest in going out, but instead returned to the comfort of my apartment. I had been in a great mood, excited to go out for girls' night and suddenly felt so sad that someone would violate another person like that. Luckily, I came home to the safety of my apartment and convenience of a phone call to Sam and my sister and the company of friends upstairs. And luckily, that is just one bad person I've encountered out of the hundreds of very pleasant and often wonderful people I've met since living here. 

Fluffy clouds over the temple.

And so it goes, the good, the bad and the other stuff. After these first 5 months of amazing emotional highs and some low points missing family and friends and adjusting to expat life, I'm really looking forward to the adventure and inevitable learning that lies ahead. And I'll try to post more updates, too. :) 

Sending lots of love to you all, wherever you may be!