party time!

Well I've had quite the exciting couple of days.

On Friday I left off having to go run some errands. Unfortunately during these errand runs, my flip-flip broke! I had to limp all the way home, but successfully avoided stepping on any shards of glass, so that was good. Of course, this meant I would just HAVE to go shoe shopping. Tough life, right? Once I got back, my Spanish roommate Laura let me borrow her flip-flops, and I made my way to the mall. I really wish I had a camera (planning to buy one this week), because you really can't understand the massive shoe selection here without photos. They have a bajillion shoe stores in the mall (and that's only in the part of the mall I'm willing to explore, because if you go any deeper in there you might not come out! Seriously, it's intimidatingly large!). And they seriously have the cutest shoes here that I have ever seen. Needless to say, I am very happy with my new purchase - adorable white flats with the most intricate flower. I'll definitely be posting pics; best shoe purchase of my LIFE!

By the time I got back home from the mall, it was quite late, so I tagged along on a dinner run with Laura and one of her visitors, Alicia. I guess I haven't mentioned this yet, but there is a really nice Spanish family staying with us (mom, dad, uncle, and 3-year-old Jonas). They arrived the same day I did, on Tuesday, and they are my roommate Laura's childhood friends. As you all know, I am a HUGE fan of babies/toddlers, so Jonas and I have been having a great time. He runs around naked a lot, which is funny, and he thinks when he speaks to me in Spanish I understand him. I kind of wish I'd taken Spanish instead of French! Anyway, the ladies and I went to pick up some dinner from the street vendors behind our house; I got fried tofu and shrimp, as well as dragonfruit and unripened mango, and they picked up just about everything to bring home to the men. By the time we got back, my other roommate Marisa was home, so we had a really nice family style dinner together, all seven of us. It made me feel really home-y.

So yesterday (Saturday), Laura and the Spanish family left in the morning for a 4-day trip up north, so it's just Marisa and me now (I still haven't met our fourth roommate Kira because she's on vacation). Marisa and I had been invited to the retirement party of Dr. Sombut, the doctor who my father arranged to pick me up at the airport. So Marisa took me downtown (on the motorbike again!) to go shopping for a gift. We went to the Thapae Gate area, which is where the entrance to the old walled city is. It's a big touristy area with lots of hotels, restaurants, and English language bookstores. We saw TONS of Westerners - American, English, French, Aussie, etc. We ended up getting the good doctor a dark wood picture frame at the outdoor market; dark wood things are apparently very popular gifts. Once we got back home, we spiffied up and waited for the doctor and his wife to pick us up.

So, I had been on a hunt for a used bicycle, and when I called Dr. Sombut about the party earlier in the week, his wife offered to let me use hers! When they came to pick us up, they dropped off the bike, and I was just over the moon to get a FREE bicycle to use! It was their garden bicycle (don't ask me what you need a bicycle in the garden for, I have no idea), so I'm going to take it to a bicycle shop guy that Marisa knows to spiff it up and oil it and all.

And then it was party time. Dr. Sombut and his wife hadn't told Marisa and I where the party would be; we figured it would be at his house, or his colleague's house, or maybe the hospital. But no. It was at this gorgeous hotel along the Superhighway that sits on a lake with beautiful yellow lights that make it look terribly romantic at night. When we got into the room where the party would be, Marisa and I were told to sit at the main table next to Dr. Sombut and his wife. It was really special! The other people at the table were the heads of the nuclear medicine and radiology departments and their significant others. It felt kind of guilty to have just met them and to be sitting up front as the "special guests," but I wasn't about to argue. They served us beautiful dishes to share, and there was a whole process to the evening. First, the dinner. Then, Dr. Sombut's colleagues (with whom he'd worked for over 30 years!) went up and gave speeches. Oh, and THEN they started the karaoke. It was hilarious to see all these male and female doctors get up there and sing old Thai songs together. It was actually really sweet. Then there was a gift-giving ceremony where we all stood in line in the front to go up to Dr. Sombut and give him our gift, and there was a photographer to capture each gift-giving. And then, the good part. Apparently it's traditional at this type of event to have your son or daughter hold a large chalice full of buddhas, and the guests line up to receive one. And Dr. Sombut's wife asked me to go up there and play the role of his daughter! Ahhh! What could I say? So I went up there and held the buddha-filled chalice for Dr. Sombut, smiling like a fool the whole time. It was really cool. Pretty soon after that, it was time to go. I cannot even put in words what an awesome experience that was! The doctor and his wife have been incredibly kind to me. I hope I can return the favor some time.

Well, it's Sunday morning now and time to start my day! I'm off!