Foodventure: Thailand Edition

I can't really explain my obsession with taking pictures of food. Every time I try something new, I get the urge to take a picture. I think it's in my blood actually, because my sister does the same thing. Whenever we go out to eat at a place with interesting food, one or both of us will inevitably whip out a camera to document it. In the last few days, there have been many food pictures taken. Although nothing has been as "interesting" as a chicken foot, there have been some good finds. To start with, let me tell you- food served in a plastic bag can sometimes be surprisingly delicious. After working at The Centre one day, we went to the university market to grab some dinner. I decided to get sticky rice and some fried chicken and pork on a stick. Oh my goodness. It was sooooo delicious. I can't even describe it. Even though it looked like this before I ate it:

 Also, apparently Thai people eat omelettes a lot. While I got some rice with chicken and vegetables for dinner the other day, Cory got a pork omelette, served over rice. I can't really explain how or why an omelette and rice go well together, but some day soon, I'll have to try it. Maybe that would help to ease my perplexity.

When I got pad thai with chicken, it came served also with tofu. Usually, I think food should come with either tofu or chicken, but maybe the idea is the more protein, the better?

Finally, today, I got food that literally made me cry, and not out of joy because of how tasty it was (although it was pretty good). I've always known that I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy food, but when something is unexpectedly really spicy, it's a little bit embarrassing when your nose starts running and you start to cry. Even though my mouth wasn't burning too much, my body decided to react insanely, and eating my basil chicken made me cry. It came with a fried egg. I'm not sure why, but conveniently, egg yolk (and cucumber) help to ease the burning.

For the last few days, I've been mostly taking Thai lessons, giving English lessons, and hanging out around the house. I LOVE languages, so even though three weeks of Thai lessons will barely even help me to be conversational, it's always fun to me to use that part of my brain and to learn more about how another language works. Honestly, within a few weeks, I'll probably forget nearly all of the Thai I learn, but it's so fun to me! I also love talking to my teacher, Jaew. It's fun to help her with her English when I'm giving an English lesson, but it's even more fun to help her with English during my Thai lesson. I always love to turn the tables on her. As far as teaching English, even if coming here were a total flop from this point forward (which, by the way, "flop" is SO far from what I would use to describe this experience), yesterday would have made it worth it. Teaching English yesterday was really fun, and it was cool to see Not and Jaew conversing and asking me how to say things and learning how to say new things! Part of the lesson gave them a few situations to role-play to practice starting conversations (for example: You are at a party. The food is delicious.") We laughed a lot, and it was fun to see what all they said.

Yesterday, we went to a women's home as well. I don't know too much about the backgrounds of these girls, but some of them were rescued out of abuse, trafficking, or addiction. We just went to hang out with them, do a craft, and sing some songs. To prepare for the craft, Cory, Kim, and I spent a few hours cutting cardstock that the girls could use to make pictures frames. My thumb is literally still numb two days later from cutting for so long! But in the end, it was totally worth it. It was fun to walk around and see how the girls were doing with the craft, helping where I could, and interacting with them in any way I could. In spending time with them, it broke my heart to see how much they just wanted to be loved. I wish I could have gotten to know them. I wish I could learn their stories, laugh with them, cry with them, and ultimately, just share with them that they are valuable, to me and infinitely more so to God. I had no way to communicate with the women, since I have minimal knowledge of Thai. But I offered what I could- help with the craft, smiling, hugs, holding their hands. I kept thinking about that quote from The Shack about how every time we reach out and touch a life, the world changes, and how with every kindness, God's purposes are more fully accomplished. Those girls may not remember me, and that's ok. I only hope they could see Jesus in me, and that they could see God in the hope and life inside of me.

Anyway, God is definitely doing work in Thailand. I feel like being here and getting to know some missionary families has helped me to understand more of who God is and how he's the same in every country. It's so cool to think that he perfectly understands every person and every culture, and how he's sending people, including people who are natives of the culture, who want to understand the culture and truly get to know and understand the people well, and through that, to share their faith. That's all I have for now, I should probably go to bed since it's 1 AM here. But thank you all for your prayers, and lots of love to you all!