Catching Up! Language/Church/Cultures(Fun Facts)

I am so thankful to have so many friends and family members that keep up with my blog-if only I could keep up with trying to write on it. Things have gotten extremely busy here! I spend 4 hours daily in language class and another 2-4 hours studying every afternoon and evening. I am really enjoying learning another language but Thai certainly is hard! There are a few basic questions in Thai that I am confident in using like "how are you", "what is your name", what is your favorite color, do you like......... I use most of them daily and the Thai people always compliment me on how good my tones sound--I don't get too overly excited because these are the phrases that I learned first when I had my tutor so I have been using them for a while now. Practice really does help in making it--let's say close to perfect.

Along with language I am busy with several other things too. The pictures above are from the Valentine's Party that we had at Canaan Baptist Church on Sunday. We had a good turn out. It always amazes me how creative other cultures are at making things. One girl cut out watermelon pieces in the shape of hearts--that must have taken a lot of time! People also made Valentine's cards and they all looked good! I just walked around and looked at their cards and talked to people. I am the most uncreative person when it comes to making an art project--well actually I have lots of great ideas--it is just that the end product never looks the way I imagined it to look.

The last thing I will write about in my entry today relates to cultural differences also referred to as "fun facts". One of the many things that is a no, no in Thai culture is that you don't point at people with your finger, and you don't pick your teeth in public. Both of these things are considered offensive. Are you ready for this---it is totally culturally acceptable to pick your nose in public. People do it all the time here and it is no problem. Isn't that interesting???? Being an elementary school teacher I was used to kids picking their nose all the time and reminding them constantly to get a kleenox and wash their hands. I don't get to tell people that here. I will make this promise right now. That is one thing that this culture will not change about me---I will never think it is proper to pick your nose in public:)

That's all the news update for today! I bet you all learned something new today.