11-30

Well, Phu Kradung was quite the trip. (November 25 – November 29)

Tuesday, November 25

We left at 9:30am… we were supposed to leave at 9, but (as usual) my family had forgotten about me, and the driver was late… We took an 8 hour van ride to the foot of the mountain. We stayed in a hotel the first night… we were assigned four girls to one room… so guess who got the [uncarpeted] floor… yes, that would be me… but it was okay, because I was used to sleeping at the farm. We had a big barbeque with all the exchangers and then we sang crazy thai karaoke (Thai people are crazy about karaoke… likewise, exchangers do it all the time)… then we headed off to the rooms and talked… I think we finally went to sleep around 2 am and then we all got up at 7 to pack our stuff and get on the gigantic song-tao that would be taking us to the bottom of the mountain…

Wednesday, November 26

We got up, packed our bags, and we were off. We ate breakfast at the foot of the mountain… I had cow pat gap khai (thai fried rice with egg)… then we hiked up the mountain. I think it was like 4 miles up. It was hard… even the few people that were in shape were really pushing themselves… the first part was the hardest, which was nice, because when anything got hard, you just remembered the beginning, and it made what you were going thru seem so much easier. Then we all just kind of chilled and moved into our cabins because we were so exhausted after the climb… we talked and stuff… and then went to sleep around 3 am… see, when we all get together, it’s like we haven’t seen each other in years… it’s just so weird… and it’s like we’re all giggly best friends who have so much to talk about…

Thursday, November 27

We woke up at 5am to see the sunrise (that’s right, 2 hours of sleep)… It was the WORST sunrise EVER… there were so many clouds that we barely even saw the sun, and it lasted for maybe a couple minutes… Then we came back to the cabins and left for a hike that was over 14 miles long and lasted the whole day. We took tons of pictures. It was so beautiful. Then we came back and showered in the FREEZING water… I mean, it was so cold that it knocked the breath out of me. Then we had shish kabobs that we cooked ourselves… and again… talked FAR too late into the night… so again… we went to sleep around 3 am…

Friday, November 28

We woke up around 7 and ate breakfast… We had a free day today… so after several hours of “putsing around” (as my mother would say)… we went on a picnic on a cliff and played… EUCHRE!!! I actually found some fellow Midwesterners who also know this amazing card game. It was so beautiful… and FREEZING… the whole time I honestly wished that I had a winter coat… I was in a hoodie at ALL times (of every day)… one day, we could even see out breath (brrr)… I think most of the time it was in the 50’s but when you’re used to the 90’s… that’s AWEFULLY cold!... and let it be known that I taught a Brazilian how to play euchre…I’m spreading the Midwest love around the world!

Saturday, November 29

Again, with the two to three hours of sleep… and we woke up early to pack our bags and clean the room. Then we descended down the mountain… it sure is a lot easier going down than up… except for the fact that I was more sore after going down than up… and my feet have SO many blisters that I’m wondering if they’re actually feet, or blisters. After descending, we ate lunch and headed home… with many sad good-byes… two of the South Americans are leaving before Chiang Mai so it was the last time we’d see them in Thailand… and maybe…ever…

Sunday, November 30, 2546 (the year in Thailand)

No surprises here… but I woke up very sick this morning. I took several pills that my mom handed me… they didn’t help--so I won’t be going to school tomorrow… but Tuesday for sure… I feel like I haven’t seen my Thai friends in forever! Well, that’s about it… oh yeah, and December 7th is the day I switch host families… so I have about a week to pack all my stuff before I move… Well, I can’t wait to hear from all of you soon… oh, and mom and dad—I still haven’t received the package.

Love always,

Kati

Ps- HAPPY belated THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!