who stole my family?

no one in my family is responding to my emails. i find that quite odd. isnt it my parents' duty to email me? isn't it part of my God-given rights as a daughter to get emails from my parents? or my brother? i emailed his fiance and my cousin tonite. maybe they will write me back. my parents havent talked to my in over two weeks. dont they miss me? how can the world go on without me? i dont get it.

chiang mai

Phuket was a lot of fun. We went bowling the last two nights in town and made friends with some locals. The first of the two nights included more ridiculous US navy guys. But they picked up our bill, which was at least $25, which is more than we spend here in two days. Plus there was this one guy who was 19 and obnoxiously wasted. and we convinced him to stand on the lane and dance for us. then he wanted us to dance but we demanded money. he paid us each 1,000 baht, which is about $30. but then he paid me another $2000 baht ($60) to dance with him for less than half of a song. i won.

then our local friends drove us down the patong beach, which is the touristy part with all the bars, kind of like a ghetto cancun. another navy guy talked to us while in line for crepes, then paid for them. but we refused to go home with him and he left us alone. we won again.

then we posed as canadians and talked to two more navy guys or marines, im not sure which, from madison and san diego. they were nice guys. they dont like being in the military. they told us about their year in iraq and how a couple, the woman pregnant, was walking down the street and crossed the military barricades in attempt to get to the hospital so she could deliever her baby. they were ordered to shoot and kill them. very sad story.
then the guys bought us a cab home. we didnt ask. we just told them we were going to get cab home and they offered to haggle for us. turns out they paid. we won again. a half hour cab ride isnt cheap at almost $10, which is waaaay a lot of money here.

wow, i am rambling.

here are more pics from phuket:





well now we are in chiang mai.

we are super into it here and might even spend our entire last week and a half here. take thai cooking classes, ride elephants, play with monkeys, trek through the mountains by the hill tribes.


we got thai massages yesterday, which was much needed after a day of travel, carrying our heavy packs for miles in the heat, and soreness from two nights of bowling. its amazing that the best massage i ever got was an hour long and less than $5. back home i get those $100 ones for 45 minutes.

i think it would be cool to spend a summer here and study thai masssage. its quite inexpensive and i think it would be really neat. perhaps if i become a teacher with summers off...

I just read on MSNBC about mondays tsunami. it is really sad and scarey. i was in phuket when it hit indonesia. phuket is where the last tsunami hit a year and a half ago. it is so sad and my hearts go out to the people of indonesia. they are a poor country and still struggling from the physical and tourism damages from the last one. and i thank God that I am okay.

phuket

we are in phuket now. it is amazing.

we were told that we would be picked up for transport at 9:00 and arrive in phuket at 5:00. we got here at 9:00. it sucked. i have no idea how many buses and trucks and boats we were shuttled between. exhausting.

Refreshment stop along the way:
but i read almost all of my book "My Friend Leonard," which is James Frey's sequel to "Million Little Pieces." Equally awesome. Last week I read "The Kite Runner." Go out and get it now. Read it. Seriously. Thank you tim for loaning it to me. Adrienne is reading it now.

yesterday i took a warm shower for the first time in over a week. amazing how you take modern amenities for granted. and i am learning to live with cockroaches. Last night we went out for drinks and met some boys from the US Navy. Hilariously crazy bizarre times ensued.

We had to hire a motorbike to take us to the clubs, which are a half hour from wear we are staying. Adrienne was petrified. Three people on a tiny motorbike. I sat in the back so that if someone fell off, it would be me not adrienne. Although it was scary considering the crazy busy winding streets, no helmet, shortpants and halter top, flip flops, and no foot rests, i still found it invigorating. adrienne was trying not to cry.

today we hired a long wood motorboat and went snorkeling over coral reefs with an abundance of beautiful fish. then we ate weird exotic foods. and i also purchase a crab and had it grilled at a roadside stand. then we found a weird vegetarian restaurant, ate lots of crazy weird but amazing foods and drank pumpkin and carrot juice.

it is amazing here. i love it. i dont want to leave. the culture is amazing. and the little kids are the cutest.

i wish i could adopt a little thai girl. i found the perfect one last night at a reggae club. we took pictures. (note: which later i lost, thank you hard drive) too bad i cant have her. adrienne and i are both obsessed with her.

well its adriennes turn to use the computer now.

samui

we are in kho samui. it is the first overcast rainy day, and our first day to relax on teh beach. irony is a bitch sometimes.

tonite we are going to a thai boxing match. im kinda stoked. tomorrow we leave for phuket.

the full moon party was amazing. the nights leading up to it were even better. we developed ironic crushes on the thai fire dancers. i miss them already. we danced for like 7 hours each night. apparently there are amphetamines in the red bull and also in the thai whiskey. that explains a lot. we are going through detox now, which is also kind of a bitch. in kho pan gang we slept during the daytime and partied all night. but one day we couldnt fall asleep until 5 at night. it was frustrating.

full moon party

so we are waiting for our boat out of kopang nan. the full moon party was amazing. one fo the funnest times of my entire life. and the few days leading up to it were also amazing. danced the whole night until the sun came up. drank too much redbull with alcohol. this is a different kidn of red bull though. massive uppers in it. someone said there is meth amphetatimes. yesterday we couldnt fall asleep until 5:00 pm. but amazing fun. developing ironic crushes on the thai fire dancers and isrealis with pony tails. its hilarious.



the night before the full moon party was perhaps the best. we were invited to dance on the bar-- the only people invited the entire time we've been here. and it was great because there was a fan and we were free of people. danced for seriously like 7 hour straight. and got free drinks all night. it was great.

but time to take a break from partying for a bit. i think our bodies need it. i am amazed at how much fun we are having.

but it almost time for our boat to depart, so i will write more later.

koh phanang

we are at the full moon party in koh phangan. today we didnt get up until the sun had set. having a lot of fun dancing on the beach. developing weird fascinations with fire dancers. its hilarious. this internet is expensive so this is short.

bangkok

so adrienne and i are in bangkok. the 27 hours of airporting kinda sucked but its worth it.

its insanely humid and hot and we sweat non-stop. but we discovered this amazing cooling powder that controls oil and makes us feel all silky smooth. its awesome.

i bought a denim mini skirt on the street today. its a fake diesel. it was like $15 but i figure i can sell it to crossroads when i come home and am done using it.

then we searched for money belts since i forgot our money belt at home. we found this obnoxiously awesome ones. mines a weird tie-dye and adriennes is hideous 80s geometric pastel pattern. we are totally rockin them as fanny packs. we are basically awesome.

tomorrow we leave for the full moon party. 6am flight. google it and be jealous.

aint that america, the home of the free

So its Independence Day.

Since I was a kid I have loved this day. Town parade and picnic. Decorating my tricycle, scooter, and later bike for the parade. Winning a trophy basically every year because I kicked ass with streamers and ribbons. Dressing up in obnoxious red. white, and blue outfits. I was all about coordinating for the occasion. Cotton candy and sno-kones. Candy from the parade. Running around the Fireman's Park, seeing all my school buddies that I hadn't seen in almost a whole month since school let out for the summer. Riding the tilt-a-whirl. Playing ring toss with my grandparents' dollars. Full of too much sugar. Watching the town fireworks at the park, then walking home and doing our own fireworks at the bottom of the driveway, on our tiny dead-end street. It was awesome.

As I grew older, traditions changed. My town turned 150 and decided to bypass the Fourth of July parade and fireworks and instead focus on a sesquicentennial party, which gave birth to the annual "Richfield Days" in August, the last weekend before school resumed. Took from the excitement of seeing my school buddies, as I'd be seeing them a few days later at school, when I'd be rockin' my cool new threads.

Tonite I was reminiscing about past Independence Days. Some good times. The last time I hung out with my grandma before she was in the hospital was on the 4th. I spent one year in New York. that was the first Fourth after the 9/11 attacks. That was a weird day. Spent the day at the beach in Brooklyn, after a three-hour subway ride (lots of terror threats kept delaying and rerouting our trip) This year I worked and then went with Sarah and Adam to Cedarburg fireworks. I insisted we listen to John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen. Its only right to match the music to the mood and event. drank a can of pabst and ate too much cotton candy. Some things don't change.

At work today I talked with some coworkers about America's founding fathers. Wow. They were amazing. I wish we could bring them back today to fix the mess we've collectively made of their vision. I don't know if the USA is the best country in the world, but its pretty damn good. I have traveled a little bit, but haven't truly experienced life in any other country. But I do love the US. We have our share of problems, yeah, but no where is perfect. The basis for our nation is amazing and deserves respect and admiration. The founding fathers were so brilliant, I am amazed at how thourough they were, how they could plan out something that would hold strong over 200 years later, in a totally different world. Something that would serve as a model for other nations. To build a country on ideals that would continue to attract immigrants from all over the world, for years and years to come.

America isn't perfect. But its pretty great.

And I'm ready to take a break from it for awhile, as I embark on my next adventure in 34 hours. Thailand, here i come!