Christmas/New Years etc

I've been trying to do a video blog for a while, but it hasn't been working out too well.  My computer hasn't been cooperating and my digi camera needs a mini tripod or something to sit straight on.  I guess I'll make due with my written words once again.

Christmas was a good time.  I'm used to 20 degree weather and snow on the ground, but here it was like 78 degrees and definitely no snow.  I watched about 5 Christmas movies in a 2 day span to get in the spirit.  Elf, Bad Santa, Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, and Charlie Brown Christmas did the trick.  I had dinner with a few friends at Dukes, which is solid American cuisine.  It was similar to Thanksgiving, only a few more options and was all you can eat.... obviously made some money back that way ;) .  Late night my friend Matt and I tried watching NBA, but NBA.TV was acting as the Grinch apparently.  We did get to see some hoops though, so it was a very merry Christmas after all.

Christmas photo

I don't have any firm plans for New Years Eve, but will likely go out for a little while.  I hear it gets pretty crazy downtown so I'll likely check that out.  Going into 2012 everything is still very much up in the air.  I grabbed a bunch of brochures of things to do in Chiang Mai, which I may or may not partake in.  There's zip lining, rafting, atv-ing, elephant stuff, and more.  All of it costs decent money, so I guess I'll see how things go.

My island trip has been put on hold as our friend is no longer coming.  I still might do something on my own, but no plans as of yet.  I have complete freedom, so I might just catch the next plane somewhere, who knows.  I'll probably at least wait til after New Years so it's not quite as ridiculous to travel.  That's it for now, have a good New Year everyone!!!!

Three Months

In a couple days I'll have been in Thailand for 3 months.  In some ways it feels like I've just arrived, and in others it seems much longer.  I went to Immigration yesterday to extend my stay for another 90 days.  It looks like I'll be here til at least March.  By then money could be running low, and Chicago will be warming up.  I still haven't decided how long I'll stay, but I'll probably have a better idea in March.

I really miss some of the food back home.  Pizza, steak, burgers, Italian beef, ribs, are all pretty average here if they're available at all.  Since that was 90% of my diet back home, it's been quite an adjustment.  Some of my go to candies aren't available here either.  Sweettarts, Bottlecaps, pretzel M&M's, and caramel chocolate bars I haven't been able to find anywhere.  I think I've lost about 5 pounds without trying though, so I guess it's not all bad.

I've been trying to speak Thai more and more.  I've realized I'm pretty terrible at it though, and am probably better off sticking with English and pointing/gesturing at things.  Today I ordered pork fried rice, but they gave me shrimp instead.  Pork and shrimp sound very different in Thai, so I'm not sure how I/they messed that up.  I'm still going to lessons twice/week (when I'm not sleeping in), and I'm sure it will get better.

I'm planning a trip to the islands in late January.  It sounds like Phuket, Railay, and Phi Phi are on the agenda.  I haven't done much traveling since coming here, so it will be nice to branch out a bit.  All those places have beaches and beautiful landscapes, so I'll be sure to take lots of pics.  I will eventually visit Bangkok, but I can always do that on my flight back home, since most of the time it's cheaper to fly out of there.

That's about it I guess.  Christmas is one week away and it will be a little weird being away from family, friends, and snow.  Happy Holidays everyone!