I have a new 2nd cousin!!!! Vivien Claire was born January 20th!!!! I am so excited! Kirsten and Keith, love on that baby extra for me and know that in all the world, the only place I want to be right now is Lubbock, Tx. (I wonder if that's ever been said before) :)

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So, Thailand. I maintain my theory that this is the cutest place on the planet. One of the girls even had a sugar glider in their purse.... yes, this place is THAT cute. I am dying.



As I said before, even the rice is cute.



We have had a great week in Bangkok tagging along with our friends here. It's been great to see their lives first hand and experience some of this cool country. It's comfortable and chill here. Just relaxed, you know? Here's Clay hanging off the back of a taxi.



We did some shooting in an English language class the other night. My heart literally embraced all these precious people trying to learn another language. I just wanted to wrap them all in my arms as they struggled with simple English phrases and say "You guys are my people! I totally GET it. Learning another language is so hard. Keep trying. You can do it!!" So many of them are planning to move to America soon. It takes so much courage to do what these guys are doing. The next time you see someone who seems new to the country, be extra kind and patient with them. They need encouragement in a huge way.



I got a haircut a few days ago. It only costs $10 here as opposed to like a gazillion in Belgium, so I feel like I scored the deal of the century. In Belgium I always end up with a mullet, and it appears that in Thailand they lean more towards a buzz... Whatever, it's all good. The most embarrassing thing was what happened afterwards. See, I usually just let the hairdresser do whatever they want as far as styling my hair after the cut. Cultures are just so different that there is just no point in trying to describe how I, as an American, would like my hair to look. I actually look forward to how it all turns out- it gets pretty crazy. Anyways, this lady gave me a HUGE dome with individual spikes enforced with their own squirts of mousse. It was pretty incredible. Pointy sideburns... yes. I said I loved it, thank you so much, etc, paid, and then proceeded to the nearest bathroom to make myself a little more presentable. You will never guess who walked in right after I drenched my head in the sink.... Yeah, my hairdresser. Sheesh. All I could do was laugh.... there is no explaining away what I was doing. It was too obvious. She said "You not like it?" to which I responded "I like it, I like it!" Not all that convincing. I questioned whether or not to say "Bye" to her through her stall door as I exited but thought better of it. Sometimes you just gotta walk away. Oh gosh.

Here I am after the incident.



Today we did a little tour of Bangkok, complete with Thai tour guides. We met some college students earlier this week and they agreed to chill with us today and show us some sites. It was fun to get some good shots for the project and also just to see more of this awesome city.




One thing we are in love with are grilled bananas. It's really cool how common street vendors are here. We have never been somewhere where it's safe to eat food off the street. It's so cheap, too!



The Buddhist belief in karma results in some of the best looking stray animals I have ever seen. They are every where, usually have collars, and never lack for food. Incredible.



We went to the Grand Palace which is this HUGE grouping of sacred Buddhist buildings and temples.



Clay had to rent some fancy pants to put on over his shorts out of respect.



We had to take our shoes off to enter some buildings... my feet are so covered in mosquito bites from this week it's ridiculous.



When we saw a camera team shooting with some pretty heavy duty equipment, Clay had to check it out.



Here is his face afterwards. He was pretty pumped.



He then told me that he had learned that they were there filming for The Travel Channel... Guess which show?? Samantha Brown!!!! And she was there!!!! Here I am, the Queen Dork, really really nervous before my approach...



AGH!!!!



I have never been more tongue-tied. There is no hope of us being best friends (yet), but she is just as friendly as she seems on her show. How wild to meet the woman whose show I watched years ago, anticipating all of our travels. Cool!

We traveled by boat, taxi car, and bus today.



Here's Clay hanging out the bus door... anything for the perfect shot, right? :)



Enough musings for one night. We head to Chiang Mai tomorrow! Can't wait to see a new place and meet some more incredible people.