Having Pai here with us is still a little strange for me. I really enjoy her company and she does a wonderful job in everything that she does, it’s really me adjusting to the caste system here in Thailand.
Thai Cooking 101
Since it was Pai’s first day she wanted to cook us a feast! One of my main goals for having a nanny/maid is to learn how to cook Thai food! There is only one problem with this…. She doesn’t speak English fluently so when she has an ingredient she doesn’t know the name for it in English most of the time so I have to write down the Thai pronunciation of what I think she is saying and then figure out what the ingredient might be…. So for now I will just write about what we did and once I get a better handle on what we are using I will share recipes for anyone interested.
Language Barrier Breaks Down Walls
We had our first official day with our nanny/maid yesterday. Her name is Pai (pronounced bye) and she is amazing. She arrives in the morning and because it is her first day we are both a little nervous. We start talking and she gets something out of her bag, two small roses, and hands them to me! I say “wow! My husband doesn’t even get me flowers unless it’s my birthday!” She smiles and then hands me a wrapped gift and a card. I say “wow! Why did you get us a present!? You didn’t have to do that!” She says “yes this is for Chris birthday!” I say “what?” She says ” you said it was Chris birthday today?” “Nope not his birthday….” She starts apologizing and I’m apologizing and then we are laughing and she says “well this is welcome to Thailand gift!” I just died laughing and we literally laugh about it the entire day. Later she asks me “I wonder how I hear that it was Chris birthday?” I said you probably heard me say “Chris will be so happy on your first day!” She says “yea that was it….”
I really feel like that little misunderstanding started us off on the right foot. It made us feel right at ease with each other. The gift was awesome, two coasters that are full of Thai chili peppers, which Chris absolutely loved even if it wasn’t his birthday!
Jim Thompson’s House
Saturday is our sight seeing day and yesterday we decided to go see Jim Thompson’s House. Jim Thompson was an American that revived the hand woven silk industry in Thailand. He made his home in Bangkok and through his work it was easy to see his love of Thailand. We took the tour, which Killian and I only made it 10 minutes in and then a meltdown hit, but Chris really enjoyed it.
Weird Desserts
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For a week now Chris hasn’t been able to stop talking about this coconut ice cream that he had on the street, how great it is, and how I need to try it. On the streets I walk on to go to the park I have never seen an ice cream stand but yesterday after … Continue reading
New Dangers
While reading in the Bangkok Guide I come across a section that discusses some safety concerns. In this section of the book they explain that there aren’t really any poisonous spiders or bugs that I should be worried about but instead they suggest the reader should watch out for the spitting cobras that hide in the gardens. (Insert jaw drop here) COBRAS! IN THE GARDEN? They go on to warn the reader not to try and kill the cobra, since this wastes precious time, because what you should really be doing is washing your eyes out and getting someone to take you to the hospital. Then they suggest do not get someone else to go kill the cobra because again they should be driving you to the hospital. Then finally they explain if you did kill the cobra do not bring it the hospital with you.
Our first adventure: The Emerald Buddha
Last Saturday we decided to venture out to see something new in Bangkok. We want to see the temples and touristy places but doing so is an “experience” to say the least. We take a taxi to the Grande Palace to see the Emerald Buddha, it takes about 30-45 minutes and costs us about 130 baht ($4.40 USD). We get to the palace early in the morning but boy is it packed!
An addition to my job description
As Chief Mommy Officer, CMO, I have added a new bullet point to my resume.
I am now officially Killian’s Personal Assistant. As you have read before I am trying to “make it happen” with the different play dates just to make sure we get out of the house and so I can meet some new friends. I am so thankful to God that His plan involved coming to Bangkok with a child, otherwise I have no idea how I would make any friends, kids are the icebreaker for every single conversation. With that being said I search the Internet daily at nap time to find us activities to do during the week. I think I have just about planned out our week for the most part, which is needed to keep Master Horace on a schedule to prevent any meltdowns.
Our New Theme
Chris wanted me to share this with everyone, most of our close friends know us as having a theme each year. As some of you recall our wedding year was called “winging it” 2008. This was because we didn’t know what we were doing but decided instead of me becoming a bridezilla we would just “wing it”. It’s more fun that way anyway.
Thai massage: not for the faint of heart
I went for my first Thai massage today. Wow! What an experience. I assume most of you know how a massage is in a spa in the states. You go into a nice dark room, where you undress down to your comfort level, you get under the blanket, then the masseuse gives you a great massage and after the hour you feel like a big puddle of goop because you are so relaxed. This experience in the states at a nice spa will run you around $130ish with a tip.
Thai massage is NOTHING like that or anything I have ever experienced before.
From Palmetto Pride to Pad Thai 