07 Oct, 2011

07.10.11:  Today we learned about Thai herbal compresses, and about some of the herbs used to treat illnesses.  I wonder if I will be able to source all of the ingredients in the US or the UK.  I know some of them, but not all.  I will have to start searching around to see if I can get either the plants or seeds and then find a place to grow them myself.  This seems to be the best answer, but a very time oriented one.

We also started learning about the ten sen lines – the Thai energy lines.  They make sense.  It’s a whole ‘nother set of anatomical landmarks to memorise, but that’s ok.  That’s what I’m here for.  I’m trying to document as I go and it’s going to take me some time to work it all out. 

Thai yoga is called RueSi DatTon, and we are learning the first 18 postures.  Eventually we will learn 32 of the 127.  I will continue to learn them after leaving here – after doing all the work for three months I won’t want to let it go.  It’s good for me.  We do RueSi DatTon every day, M-F and rest on Sat/Sun.  I have noticed that I improve a little each day – I can balance on one foot longer and do a few more reps of the various exercises.  This Saturday we have Muy Thai, but I think I may have to skip it this time due to needing to study.  It’s probably for the best that I have no internet tonight. 

I’ve discovered green mangoes.  They aren’t as sweet as the ones we get in the UK, but the flavour is delicious!  I can’t get enough.  I might have to buy some more on Sunday.  I've given up on the chocolate here, it's so waxy that it's just not worth the effort.  Most of the Thai sweets/desserts I've tried are so sweet I can feel myself slipping into a diabetic coma before I finish the first bite - I'm not used to eating that much sugar in one hit.  I am having too much fun trying all the new fruit to bother to much with dessert.

My English has gone slightly wonky.  When speaking to people with a limited grasp of English I’ve found it best to eliminate all unnecessary words and just speak the noun and verb, and don’t use too much slang.  It’s also useful to speak clearly and make helpfully descriptive gestures.  Do not get frustrated or angry (not that I would, Thai people are way too sweet to get mad at!!!), and in Thailand one never shouts.  Ever.  I mean never ever.  Keep smiling and stay polite and these unbelievably patient souls will move heaven and earth to make it happen for you, once they've figured out what you're on about.  Lose your cool and you lose face, and not only is that a bad thing, you also won’t get what you came for in the first place.

All the massage is starting to loosen off my tight shoulders and back.  My bones are starting to pop back into place.  I’m still sweating like a mad sweating thing, but it’s water – my sweat has no smell which means I’m not consuming any toxins.  My diet is pure good food and water.  Every night I’m fighting the urge to go to bed at 7:35pm and I’m not sleeping very well, but I think it’s the combination of missing my husband, sleeping in a strange bed, and the six hour time difference that’s thrown me a little.

My iFox data SIM card doesn’t want to know.  It just doesn’t work in my HTC Desire, even though I called HTC to check the APN settings.  I’ll take it back to the shop on Tuesday but I know I won’t get a refund.  Sigh.  I can only try.  My DTAC SIM works, which is cool.  Sixy-nine Baht for the SIM plus another 200B phone credit at 1B per minute.  The SIM comes with 300 mb data per month for 4 months.  I cannot tether my laptop though, and that disappoints me.  I was grateful to escape the DTAC store with a SIM card that worked, I wasn’t about to start demanding extras.  None of the girls in the shop spoke any English so they had to call DTAC customer service to get an English speaker to help translate for them.  I could barely hear her because the music out in the mall was playing so loudly, so getting the help I got was better than I had hoped for anyway.  The internet connection via DTAC is slow, painfully so, but better than a poke in the eye with a frozen carrot I suppose.

I better put on some Flaming Lips and do some studying before I drop in my tracks completely.