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| Journal from RYE LJ Karlson |
Editor: Thomas, Margie
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Name * LJ Karlson
(Nick Name)
Lj
Email * ljkarlson@yahoo.com<mailto:ljkarlson@yahoo.com>
Home Country
*
America
Host Country *
Thailanad
Florida District
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6970
Your journal:
My first five months here in Thailand have
been beyond amazing. I can already notice my self growing in so many ways. After
having to give a speech in Thai in front of my whole school the first week was
here, i am no longer shy to speak out loud or in front of crowds. Last week we
had to go to Pattaya to march in a parade and then do a performance on stage for
the people in order to raise money to donate to the flood victims. During this,
my job was the MC who was in charge of introducing the people and there
routines, if this had been the old me back in America i would have been freaking
out and had no confidence to do it but since i have gained the confidence i was
able to do it with ease. School here is getting a lot better even tho its still
crazy long. I have got my self very involved with my school and now have just
about a full schedule every day. Every Tuesday i have sport day were i get to
play futsal and badmittion with my friends. Every Wednesday, my two favorite
teachers take me out of school for a class called Thai culture. This class is a
blast because the teachers, even no they don't speak English, have great
personalities and a great sense of humor, and the best part about it is that
they take me to really cool places, two weeks ago we went to the national Sea
Turtle conservation center were we were able to see hundreds of turtles and
learn about the type they were and what these people are doing to preserve them.
Last week we visited the temple were the Head monk, equivalent to the pope,
Lived and worshiped for most of his life. It was a beautiful temple and it also
had a room with a giant cage that contained a piece of the Buddhas body which i
thought was really interesting. This week we went to a Chinese museum were we
got to see hundreds and hundreds of artifacts dating back to the A.D. Times. I
am also very involved with my rotary. I go to the meetings every single week and
join in eve ry fundraiser or activities that they have. Tomorrow i will be join
them in going to Bangkok for the whole day to help provide support to the flood
victims by giving out food and water or helping them stack sand bags. I have
also put on 7 kilos which i am desperately trying to lose. I have got a new work
out system that i created so hopefully that should do the trick. The other
exchange students are very friendly and its all ways nice to see Annie and
Rachel who are my fellow Americans. Eight weeks ago we had our first trip which
was to a mountain called Phu Kradung which is located in the north of Thailand
about 16 hours away from where i live. We Started off the trip having a big
party with the natives to celebrate Loy Kratong which a huge festival were
people light these balloon like things on fire and release them into the air.
All in all the festival was a blast and it gave us an opportunity to relax
before our big week we had in front of us. The following day we had to wake up
at 5:30 am to begin our 12 kilomountainn climb and when i say climb i mean
climb.We were Constantly having to pull our self over rocks and other objects
and helping each other out any way we could. For my group it took us 3 painful
hours to reach the summit or the top but man was it rewarding. The rest of the
week was spent wandering around the 27 kilo plateau that layed on top and
visiting its many beautiful water falls. I also had my first in-counter of
leeches which i must add are the most disgusting creatures ever. I Have adjusted
my self pretty well tho Thailand and its culture. Some things it only take you
one time to learn like for example BRING TOILET PAPER EVERY WHERE YOU GO! I can
not emphasize this enough for the Future outbounds to Thailand. Most places let
alone even have a really toilet let alone paper. Its more of just a hole in the
ground with a bucket and a hose next to it that your supposed to use instead of
the paper. I can truly say that never in my life will i be ungratefully for any
real toilet that has paper. One big thing that i haven't quite got used to is
Thai time. In Florida the Rotarian's emphasize being on time like crazy which i
think is great because it gets us very prepared. In Florida when they say it
starts and 7:30 that means you must be there atleats 5 to 10 minutes early or
else your considered late but here in Thailand its the complete opposite. If
they say 7:30 You might be lucky if its starts at 7:45 or even 8. In Thailand
there is really no sense of emergence to do really an thing. My Thai has
increased greatly within the past two months. I can now have a pretty good
conversation and i can defiantly make it by on my own if i had to. As I'm typing
this i am on a plane on my way back from Singapore. I was fortunate enough to
get the opportunity to spend a week there with my host moms sister and my Thai
sister. Singapore is a great country and a great place to spend a week, but i
must say that i am re-leaved to be on may way home. Due to the fact that my host
sister doesn't speak English i was her translator for the week and to my
surprise i was able to translate just about every thing she wanted me to. I have
never felt so accomplished I'm my life as i did then. To know that i can now
comfortably speak Thai and also translate it for people was the most rewarding
feeling ever. My Christmas is one that ill never forget, mainly because it the
first year in my life i was away from my family during the holiday and that i
did even celebrate it. I have noticed now that when ever i do allot of traveling
i feel my self start to think about going home and crawling into my own bed, and
by own bed i mean my Thai bed. I feel so at home and part of most host family
its crazy. I am able to do comfortably joke around and walk around my house like
Ive been there my entire life. I will be switching to my second host family
soon. My current host mom told m e that she wishes i could stay with them the
whole year because she doesn't know what she is going to do when i leave because
the house will be so quite. My host dad also said something along those lines,
he told me i had made a permanent family and that i am truly his son and that i
will all ways have a room in his house. To know that the impact i have made on
them is almost the same impact they have made on me. There is nothing nicer in
this world to know that your have met people that now love you and that are just
as upset that your switching host family's as you are. Due to the fact i feel
like i am with my real family here in Thailand i haven't been home sick a single
day and I'm starting to think that ill be extremely lucky and wont get home sick
at all. Even tho I'm sad that I'm leaving my family I'm excited to move in to my
new moms house. She is a very emotional person and has already fallen in love
with me and the other exchange students. Each of my family's also introduce me
as their son which makes me very happy. My second host mom loves to travel and
she invites me every time, thanks to a mixture of both my family i have seen so
much of Thailand . I realized that i oly have about another 170 something days.
Time is flying to fast for me. I am dreading having to leave Thailand. My life
is at an all time high at the current moment and I'm not expecting it to go down
any time soon.
Excerpt *
Some things it only take you one time to
learn like for example BRING TOILET PAPER EVERY WHERE YOU GO! I can not
emphasize this enough for the Future outbounds to Thailand
Photo file
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LJ-Thailand-001.Jpg
Photo description:
Top of the
Mountain
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Photo
file name:
LJ-Thailand-002.Jpg
Photo description:
Me and my
Friends
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