Family is great.

I received a facebook message while I was waiting to board my flight in Bangkok.  All it said was “true or false: you and garvey will both be in attendance at next week's wedding-palooza in phoenix.”  It was from my cousin, Mike, and it made me so happy.  Family is awesome.  I love that my cousin is excited to see me.  I am so excited to see him.  I’m happy to be back.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Two

I do not want to become addicted to my telephone, but I do want an iPhone.

I spent the past two years with the simplest of telephones.  Every time I left Thailand, I didn’t have a working telephone at all.  And, last time I checked, I was alive, and my friends and family knew that.  Somehow, I have been able to survive without the newest appendage the majority of humans seem to have sprouted- an iPhone.

In my handful of trips back to the States I have seen human interaction shift dramatically.  Face to face conversation is now a lost art.  Cellular telephones are never in purses or pockets.  They are in hands, thumbs in motion and an epidemic of carpal tunnel becoming inevitable.  I was unable to be with friends without being “tagged” or “checked- in.”  I was unable to question something for more than thirty seconds before it was googled, and the answer was found.  I was required to repeat myself with frequency as friends held simultaneous text conversations and couldn’t multi- task well enough to listen.

When I visited Bri in San Francisco this spring she had an iPhone.  We sat on the lawn of the University of San Francisco campus.  As we were talking, something came up that neither of us knew the answer to.  I held my breath, knowing that she would pull out her phone, google it, and then check her email, facebook notifications and Words with Friends while she was at it.  But she didn’t.  We continued talking.  The conversation flowed, as it should.  Bri even said, “we can look it up later, if we remember.”  She didn’t even type herself a note as a reminder!  I am so happy we are friends. 

Part of the reason, I have realized, that I love traveling so much is the authentic human interactions.  Most people don’t have working cell phones, or simply choose to leave them at home.  The people that are traveling have to, and want to, have conversations.  All of the people I met in my “It’s a small world” post were met through conversations.  And I hope to meet many more people for another small world post.

But here is where I have potential to come off as a hypocrite- I want an iPhone.  First of all, they are awesome.  GPS, camera, iPod, and Siri in a telephone with a built in speaker?  That’s pretty cool.  And secondly, they are quite practical, as all smartphones are.  In this era of instant gratification, being able to respond to emails, without being at home with my laptop, will definitely be helpful.  Will I check facebook?  Yes.  Will I play Words with Friends?  Yes (if it works).  Will I tweet?  Yes.  Will I check in?  No, probably not.  It creeps me out.

I won’t pretend for a second that I won’t use my iPhone a lot, I just don’t want to become obsessed.  I want to make eye contact with people.  I want to talk to the people in my here and now.  I want to look at the world that is happening right in front of me.  I want my iPhone to know what the inside of my purse looks like.  I want to know that if I forget my phone at home, or in the car, or the battery dies, I won’t have a panic attack.  I want to people watch. 

Wish me luck!  

And please, tell me if I become crazy.  I don’t want to be that girl.

Things I learned while living in Thailand

Now that I am living back in the United States of America, I feel it is only appropriate to reminisce about all things Thai.  Therefore, this blog post will begin a series of posts about the many things I learned while living in Thailand.  The posts will by no means be an exhaustive list of things I learned, just those that I think are worth sharing.

So, number one on my list is:

I always need a man in my life to save me from scary creatures.

I know that living in Thailand made this more of a priority than it will be in the US, but it doesn’t make it any less valid.  Luckily I had Paul and Andy to save me from the creepiest and crawliest creatures, but now they live many states and continents away, and I need to find a new hero.... fast!  

There was the snake.

And the other snake.

And the humongous gecko.

And the rats.

And the ticks all over Manao.

And the dead bird.

And the centipede!  This one was in my downstairs bathroom...  Yikes!

I never took photos of the mice, cockroaches, scorpions or various other creatures, but you get the idea.

It’s smelly. I must be in the right place.

My final stop on my little getaway was to Rotorua.  Rotorua is known for its strong Maori culture and its strong scent of sulphur.

Jennifer emailed a friend from the Department of Conservation to ask for suggestions for my time there.  Nicki was kind enough to not only offer me suggestions, but a place to stay!  She told me I was more than welcome to stay at her house as long as I didn’t mind three noisy children.  Clearly she doesn't know me very well, because noisy children will almost never be a problem!

When I arrived in the town I put my backpack in a locker and wandered around.  I walked along the lake, getting whiffs of stinky Rotorua as the breezes came and went.

I also walked through Kuirau Park which most recently had an eruption in 2003.  Now, the pathways bubble, the water is warm, and there are plenty of warnings!

After I shopped around the town, and found presents for my mom and Erin, I called Caleb, Nicki’s oldest son, to pick me up.  He brought me to their home just as the three kids were sprinting in the door after school.

Manahi, Hinetaapora and Pokaihau are all still in primary school, and an absolute riot!  Hinetaapora, the daughter, is the Milky Bar kid!  She won a nationwide contest last year and became the first female Milky Bar kid.  When I told her that I had never had a Milky Bar she seemed confused.  And she said, “oh, well I don’t think we have any right now.  But, I can tell my dad to call Milky Bar!  They will send us more!”  Unfortunately, I was still on the two day schedule, and the shipment would not arrive in time.

Hinetaapora was quite thrilled to have a girl to play with in her family full of boys.  We jumped on the trampoline, drew pictures, played games and talked about Justin Beiber.  He is soooo handsome!

The next day Caleb and I walked to the museum.  Caleb, who is very passionate about his Maori heritage, was kind enough to walk me through the museum.  He explained certain stories, tales and histories in more depth, and told me which were his favorite.  Caleb graduated from high school last year, spent a few months in Australia, and is currently enjoying his time back with his family.  He was a wonderful tour guide!

The Rotorua Museum.

Later that evening Caleb had practice for his haka competition, and he invited me along.  I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that, so I gladly went with him.  Over the next two hours I watched as the men and women practiced for the regional competition in February.  It was amazing!

Unfortunately, the video I took of the haka practice isn't loading.  So here is a video of one of the more famous haka performances, The All Blacks performing at the Rugby World Championships against France this year.

I stayed with a family where all four children are fluent in Maori (and the parents are learning), the daughter is the Milky Bar kid, and watched and intense haka practice.  If that isn’t an awesome trip to Rotorua, I don’t know what would be!  Once again, another two days well spent.