Speed blogging take 2

I went to the hospital today. It wasn't a big deal. People around here go to the hospital for super minor things. My eye has been irritated for a couple of days so P'Joi drove me over. We passed the sign for the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and it said really large in English with an arrow pointing to the building "Drug Store."

The hospital isn't all that exciting. I had to put my eyes up to some weird gun looking thing that took individual closeups of my eyes. It felt like a rush of air. The guy before me was a farang from Ohio. He was old and decrepit and refused to learn Thai. He lived in Thailand for 5 months and couldn't say a word because he didn't see the point of learning the language. I wouldn't call Khon Kaen english friendly I don't see how he gets along. I did my eye exam in Thai so he assumed I was some sort of missionary that had lived in the country my entire life. His Thai wife kept asking him if I could learn Thai why can't he.

After he left P'Joi and I made fun of him. So my diagnosis is corneal infilteration. I was given some meds, some of which I don't understand how to take, and it cost 1000 baht. Thanks mom.

Anyways lots has happened in life. I stayed with organic farmers in Yasathorn. I drank too much herbal whiskey at the interns house with some Thai people. I learned how to play the ukalalee. And I earned my first 7 baht playing it outside of a 7-11 (Thanks to Ajaan John placing a cup next to me and the P'Joi throwing in change out of pity).

I watched P'Joi kill a chicken. I went to the Khon Kaen National Museum and saw a skelaton that Mikaela carries around an article on at all times. We couldn't find the restaurant we wanted to eat lunch at so we asked a food vendor who proceeded to hop on his motorcycle and drive us individually over there. I made my own tea at Wangnamcha. I picniced at a dino park on the lake downtown. I ate dinner on a wooden ship restaurant thing on land. I made more tea (lemongrass, ginger green tea to be exact). Randomly asked people how to get home after the song-taos ran, turns out they drive song-taos too so they gave us a ride.

I stayed in a chumchon a-at (packed community aka slum) Theparak 1. Drank beer with the town drunk, weaved baskets, napped, was the pied piper of the village. I took a walk and children followed to the point where there were at times 8 of them trailing me. I walked to the community next door and they still followed until a guy on a motorcycle came and drove them all back.

I stayed in a landfill, the Khombon Noi community. Fell in love with my host family. I am writing a profile of my Pa. I speared a chicken in the landfill accidentally. Found a sick book of bird postcards and old photos. Left it there not on purpose. Gipconggaowed a bit. Rested mostly in the salum. Played with crazy adorable children (except for the devil incarnate child). Waited all day for the ice cream man. Drank beer at a village party and got hit on by my host sister.

Ate dinner with some of the Thai roommates and other CIEE folks. The Thai students have hot plates and rice cookers and they make dinner in the hallway (which is more of an outdoor balcony deal) 4 nights a week. Drank more herbal whiskey last night not on purpose. Had a conversation with my roommate about what it means to be slim in Thailand and what it means to be slim in America.

Phew. So hopefully some of these experiences will be transferred to a column for The Collegian and other such venues. But for now. Goodnight.