Local time: 12:46 am (Again, technically now the 24th)
Travel travel travel. Literally I haven't done anything on this entire trip.
I woke up this morning, had some breakfast with Matt, and did the whole "shower and get my stuff together" thing. I'm pretty impressed that I was able to sleep from 1:30 am until 7:45 am when Matt's alarm went off. I left his flat around noon and caught a (double decker!) bus to Liverpool Street. It was about a 15 minute trip. From there I snagged some free WiFi from McDonald's before miraculously finding the coach bus to Stansted Airport. I fell asleep for maybe 10 minutes of the one hour ride.
In typical me fashion, I made a friend on the little monorail thing on the way to the gate. EasyJet is weird in the way that there are no seat assignments. I ended up sitting next to my new American friend, Kevin, in the exit row. Score! Good thing he managed to get that row...he's 6'8". The flight was about 40 minutes and I managed to stay awake. Kevin was super nice and helped me find my way to the train once we collected our bags. I then managed to get on a train for about 6ish minutes to a place with a hard-to-pronounce name, and then took the tram to some other crazy Dutch-sounding stop, also about a 5 minute trip. Judith was there to meet me at the station! It's so funny to be with her in Holland--we met in Thailand last summer.
Sooo we made dinner and I've been hanging out here all night. It's pretty low-key but after two straight days of traveling I'm okay with it. I enjoy the company of her and her boyfriend, Wouter. The phone I have can receive text messages but apparently do nothing else...I tried to put some more money on the account via the internet but it doesn't accept Visa. I'm borrowing Wouter's phone tomorrow so I can contact the HCrew boys and Judith if need be. I also noticed that I forgot my camera charger...I'm going to borrow Judith's camera for when I'm in Amsterdam but still use my own lens. The extra battery for my camera should last me through Paris. Good thing I have that one--the current battery is on its last bar. Yikes! Stupid me. I ALWAYS forget something when I travel. I guess it's because I really haven't done anything but travel...but I've seriously taken maybe four photographs. I also decided that every day at 2 pm I'm going to take a picture wherever I am. Okay also I had my computer plugged in for hours and when I unplugged it I only had about 40 minutes of battery life :| Technology hates me in Europe.
Tomorrow I'm hoping to wake up relatively early and get myself to the Van Gogh museum before hopefully meeting up with da boiz at the Heineken Factory I guess around 2 pm. Woohoooo! I'm not sure what else I'll be doing tomorrow, but Judith is taking the day off from work on Thursday and we're going to go around the city together :]
I didn't (really) nap all day! It's 12:33 am and I'm getting ready to go to sleep.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
August 22, 2011
Local time: 1:27 am (August 23rd, technically)
I’m here in London! I was successful with my all-nighter last night. I allowed myself a ten minute nap on the train to the airport, and about a half hour nap at the gate. My plan to sleep immediately was foiled as I ended up sitting next to someone with whom I enjoyed conversing. I think I managed to sleep three or four hours…not entirely sure. Although I DO know that I missed a meal and the jerk flight attendants didn’t wake me up for it! It’s okay, I got to eat maybe about an hour and a half before we landed and I’m still pretty full from that.
I managed to catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station (£18 what the heck?!), where I then met Matt (my cousin) and we took the tube together back to his flat. It was about a 10-15 minute walk from there. Unfortunately there’s no internet here but that’s alright…before I get to the airport tomorrow I’ll pop in at McDonald’s and soak up the free WiFi while I can. Here’s to hoping I make it to Stansted without getting lost…
It’s 8:33 pm back at home but I’m more than ready to call it a night and get some sleep! I think my plan was pretty successful… I guess we’ll know for sure tomorrow.
I’m here in London! I was successful with my all-nighter last night. I allowed myself a ten minute nap on the train to the airport, and about a half hour nap at the gate. My plan to sleep immediately was foiled as I ended up sitting next to someone with whom I enjoyed conversing. I think I managed to sleep three or four hours…not entirely sure. Although I DO know that I missed a meal and the jerk flight attendants didn’t wake me up for it! It’s okay, I got to eat maybe about an hour and a half before we landed and I’m still pretty full from that.
I managed to catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station (£18 what the heck?!), where I then met Matt (my cousin) and we took the tube together back to his flat. It was about a 10-15 minute walk from there. Unfortunately there’s no internet here but that’s alright…before I get to the airport tomorrow I’ll pop in at McDonald’s and soak up the free WiFi while I can. Here’s to hoping I make it to Stansted without getting lost…
It’s 8:33 pm back at home but I’m more than ready to call it a night and get some sleep! I think my plan was pretty successful… I guess we’ll know for sure tomorrow.
Monday, August 22, 2011
All-Nighter
Okay so it's 2 am and I've decided to pull an all-nighter in preparation for my trip to Europe in the morning. I'm hitting London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris! My journey begins with a 5:25 Dinky...my flight to London is at 9 am. I'm expecting to pass the eff out as soon as I sit down in my seat. Once I land I'll be taking a train and then catching the tube with my cousin back to his flat. It should be pretty late (local time) and my guess is I'll still be exhausted enough to mostly sleep through the night. So that's my plan! Three more hours to go before I leave my apartment...we'll see if I survive. I'm pretty beat. I'm a little anxious to pack every last item on my very thorough packing list, but there are still the morning essentials that I have to use before they can be safely put in my bag. Speaking of which, it's a tad heavier than I would have liked. Although, to be fair, my camera bag (complete with body, two lenses, and various little things) is resting at the bottom (in its own closed off section! Glorious). So many parentheses in this.
I've got my passports and my tickets all printed out and ready to go! I still have yet to book a bus from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels but that'll happen soon.
This is a stupidly long post for still being in Princeton, but I suppose it's a good way to kill these three hours.
I've got my passports and my tickets all printed out and ready to go! I still have yet to book a bus from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels but that'll happen soon.
This is a stupidly long post for still being in Princeton, but I suppose it's a good way to kill these three hours.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Better late than never..
August 15, 2010
11:20 am
Sheesh, where to start? I haven't updated in a while, it feels like. Left the temple on Friday morning after going for a walk again with Sam--this time with my camera. I'm staying at Diva Guesthouse in Chiang Mai, just across from Julie's and it's even the same owner. I went to Julie's and made some friends. Some people from England: Alice, Ed, Henry, and Mike, and some girls (and one guy) from the Netherlands: Sanne, Judith, and Judith's brother, Sjoerd.
We hung out at Julie's and had a few beers before heading over to the reggae club. Lots of fun! Three beers and two margaritas later, I found myself on stage at the club, saxophone in hand. I didn't really know what I was doing, I was just told the key we were in and tried to follow the other sax player. I didn't even know the songs. Too bad but it was fun, regardless! I was told Alice has a picture, I definitely need to see that! Went to bed at 2:30 and after the room stopped spinning a bit I slept until 6:30.
Woke up, ate, and went on a trek all by my lonesome. I was lucky to meet three more English folk, two girls: Fi and Charlie, and one guy, Ian. Ian goes to Oxford and potentially has heard of one of my friends. Weird! It was practically identical to the trek that I did in January but it was still lots of fun. I was lucky that there were people around my age that I enjoyed spending time with. We went to a butterfly garden for like 20 minutes (eh), then the same hike to the same waterfall as January…but it was different in the rainy season and I still love hiking. There were lots of dogs and kitties! It seemed like every group had their own little animal following them. Adorable. After that we went white water rafting! Super fun during the rainy season :D Next was one of the hilltribes, the same place where I saw the tiny puppy get crushed in January :[ After that we went on an elephant ride. It was a little boring…I suppose I've been on quite a few elephants. It was literally just a big circle and not really too exciting but whatever. After that we stopped at the Long Neck Karen hilltribe…I didn't feel like shelling out an extra 300 baht just to see them so I waited for some of the others who decided to go have a look.
Got back from the trek, showered, grabbed something to eat (a cheeseburger mmm…so sick of Thai food since being at the temple!) and headed over to Julie's. I met two MORE people from London, Matt and Sam. I hung out with them for a bit, played some pool, talked, whatever. Then the people I met from the trek showed up and joined us. The three from the trek ended up going out, I was too tired so I stayed at Julie's. The two guys left, too. From then on I hung out with the Dutch girls and two other Dutch guys. Since the fridge with beer was locked, our intention was to quickly grab one last beer somewhere else and then go to bed…but of course we ended up going to a bar and didn't get back until past 3 am. I had a lot of fun, though! We all ended up getting silly temporary tattoos that this one random guy in an internet cafe had. I have a tiger on the inside of my left arm and tiger eyes on the back of my neck. I ended up "marrying" one of the Dutch guys because I said our matching tattoos constituted as an engagement. We made each other rings out of leaves and it was just very silly (we were waiting for the other two to finish up their very lengthy goodbye so it was a great time killer.) I didn't have my camera with me (for any of this, really, except for the trekking) so I'm hoping to snag some pictures off of the others.
Today I don't have any plans…waiting to see if I get an email or something from either Matt or Sam, they're off today (they're training for some sort of Thai boxing/martial arts/whatever thing here in Chiang Mai) I'm pretty tired so I'm okay just hanging around for now. Probably around 5 or so I'll hang out at Julie's and see who I know/meet.
August 16, 2010
9:10 pm
Has it really only been one day since I wrote that? Crazy. I'm waiting at the airport, about to fly back to Bangkok. These last two days were really low-key but still a ton of fun. I made two new friends: Adrian and Darren, both from Australia. Darren and I had some really interesting talks for a few hours and that was great to kind of have those talks filled with content that is constantly swirling around in my brain. Adrian and I spent a bit of time together, too. Especially after Darren suddenly broke out with a fever and went to the hospital. That really sucks, I feel so bad! Adrian and I went to visit him this afternoon, though. It was nice. I said goodbye to Judith but then realized that I'll probably see her tomorrow in Bangkok! That'd be nice. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to go to Tiger Kingdom…never got a response back on Facebook from the English folks from the trek. Oh well, guess that's an excuse to come back to Chiang Mai yet again.. Before [read: At the temple] I was so ready to go home, but now I've been meeting a ton of people and having a blast. I wish I could stay in Chiang Mai longer! Sucks. It would've been fun for Sam to come along but to be honest I really loved being alone. Actually, I don't think we would've been "clingy", for a lack of a better word, and I'm sure would've done our own thangs when desired/necessary/whatever. Oh well! Too bad. He and Darren could've bonded over the whole "I'm from the Gold Coast" thing. I'm stupid and left my headphones in my backpack…which is checked. Luckily this flight is only about 45 minutes. I also very much plan to sleep. Super, super tired. I haven't gotten much sleep lately!
11:20 am
Sheesh, where to start? I haven't updated in a while, it feels like. Left the temple on Friday morning after going for a walk again with Sam--this time with my camera. I'm staying at Diva Guesthouse in Chiang Mai, just across from Julie's and it's even the same owner. I went to Julie's and made some friends. Some people from England: Alice, Ed, Henry, and Mike, and some girls (and one guy) from the Netherlands: Sanne, Judith, and Judith's brother, Sjoerd.
We hung out at Julie's and had a few beers before heading over to the reggae club. Lots of fun! Three beers and two margaritas later, I found myself on stage at the club, saxophone in hand. I didn't really know what I was doing, I was just told the key we were in and tried to follow the other sax player. I didn't even know the songs. Too bad but it was fun, regardless! I was told Alice has a picture, I definitely need to see that! Went to bed at 2:30 and after the room stopped spinning a bit I slept until 6:30.
Woke up, ate, and went on a trek all by my lonesome. I was lucky to meet three more English folk, two girls: Fi and Charlie, and one guy, Ian. Ian goes to Oxford and potentially has heard of one of my friends. Weird! It was practically identical to the trek that I did in January but it was still lots of fun. I was lucky that there were people around my age that I enjoyed spending time with. We went to a butterfly garden for like 20 minutes (eh), then the same hike to the same waterfall as January…but it was different in the rainy season and I still love hiking. There were lots of dogs and kitties! It seemed like every group had their own little animal following them. Adorable. After that we went white water rafting! Super fun during the rainy season :D Next was one of the hilltribes, the same place where I saw the tiny puppy get crushed in January :[ After that we went on an elephant ride. It was a little boring…I suppose I've been on quite a few elephants. It was literally just a big circle and not really too exciting but whatever. After that we stopped at the Long Neck Karen hilltribe…I didn't feel like shelling out an extra 300 baht just to see them so I waited for some of the others who decided to go have a look.
Got back from the trek, showered, grabbed something to eat (a cheeseburger mmm…so sick of Thai food since being at the temple!) and headed over to Julie's. I met two MORE people from London, Matt and Sam. I hung out with them for a bit, played some pool, talked, whatever. Then the people I met from the trek showed up and joined us. The three from the trek ended up going out, I was too tired so I stayed at Julie's. The two guys left, too. From then on I hung out with the Dutch girls and two other Dutch guys. Since the fridge with beer was locked, our intention was to quickly grab one last beer somewhere else and then go to bed…but of course we ended up going to a bar and didn't get back until past 3 am. I had a lot of fun, though! We all ended up getting silly temporary tattoos that this one random guy in an internet cafe had. I have a tiger on the inside of my left arm and tiger eyes on the back of my neck. I ended up "marrying" one of the Dutch guys because I said our matching tattoos constituted as an engagement. We made each other rings out of leaves and it was just very silly (we were waiting for the other two to finish up their very lengthy goodbye so it was a great time killer.) I didn't have my camera with me (for any of this, really, except for the trekking) so I'm hoping to snag some pictures off of the others.
Today I don't have any plans…waiting to see if I get an email or something from either Matt or Sam, they're off today (they're training for some sort of Thai boxing/martial arts/whatever thing here in Chiang Mai) I'm pretty tired so I'm okay just hanging around for now. Probably around 5 or so I'll hang out at Julie's and see who I know/meet.
August 16, 2010
9:10 pm
Has it really only been one day since I wrote that? Crazy. I'm waiting at the airport, about to fly back to Bangkok. These last two days were really low-key but still a ton of fun. I made two new friends: Adrian and Darren, both from Australia. Darren and I had some really interesting talks for a few hours and that was great to kind of have those talks filled with content that is constantly swirling around in my brain. Adrian and I spent a bit of time together, too. Especially after Darren suddenly broke out with a fever and went to the hospital. That really sucks, I feel so bad! Adrian and I went to visit him this afternoon, though. It was nice. I said goodbye to Judith but then realized that I'll probably see her tomorrow in Bangkok! That'd be nice. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to go to Tiger Kingdom…never got a response back on Facebook from the English folks from the trek. Oh well, guess that's an excuse to come back to Chiang Mai yet again.. Before [read: At the temple] I was so ready to go home, but now I've been meeting a ton of people and having a blast. I wish I could stay in Chiang Mai longer! Sucks. It would've been fun for Sam to come along but to be honest I really loved being alone. Actually, I don't think we would've been "clingy", for a lack of a better word, and I'm sure would've done our own thangs when desired/necessary/whatever. Oh well! Too bad. He and Darren could've bonded over the whole "I'm from the Gold Coast" thing. I'm stupid and left my headphones in my backpack…which is checked. Luckily this flight is only about 45 minutes. I also very much plan to sleep. Super, super tired. I haven't gotten much sleep lately!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
August 11, 2010
5:11 pm
I'm sick of writing pages and page so hopefully this will be short and sweet. Yesterday was pretty boring. I'm seriously considering leaving either tomorrow or Friday and spending some extra time in Chiang Mai. All I'm doing at this point is sitting around, going online, and talking to Sam. Yesterday wasn't really memorable or noteworthy except for the night time. Oh, since all of the schools are closed this week I can't teach English while I'm here. Bummer. So yeah, last night I got all emotional and whatnot when Sam and I were talked. We were up until about midnight with a kind of heart-to-heart.
So today Mike got ordained. We went out for lunch which I cam SO sick of, I can't wait to go home. I don't usually get homesick but I think the combination of being bored, hungry, and unsatisfied with the food is really doing it. I took like a 3.5 hour nap today. Not much else to do. Chevaun arrived here yesterday afternoon from Singapore. I'd say she's in her early to mid-thirties. She's here until Friday, I like her! Right, that's really it. WAIT!! My camera is giving me Error 99 again...what the hell I just spent a ton of money getting it fixed like aw eek before my trip. NOT. COOL. Very upset.
I'm sick of writing pages and page so hopefully this will be short and sweet. Yesterday was pretty boring. I'm seriously considering leaving either tomorrow or Friday and spending some extra time in Chiang Mai. All I'm doing at this point is sitting around, going online, and talking to Sam. Yesterday wasn't really memorable or noteworthy except for the night time. Oh, since all of the schools are closed this week I can't teach English while I'm here. Bummer. So yeah, last night I got all emotional and whatnot when Sam and I were talked. We were up until about midnight with a kind of heart-to-heart.
So today Mike got ordained. We went out for lunch which I cam SO sick of, I can't wait to go home. I don't usually get homesick but I think the combination of being bored, hungry, and unsatisfied with the food is really doing it. I took like a 3.5 hour nap today. Not much else to do. Chevaun arrived here yesterday afternoon from Singapore. I'd say she's in her early to mid-thirties. She's here until Friday, I like her! Right, that's really it. WAIT!! My camera is giving me Error 99 again...what the hell I just spent a ton of money getting it fixed like aw eek before my trip. NOT. COOL. Very upset.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
August 9, 2010
From my handwritten journal
~10:25 pm
Today was pretty great. Mike, Sam, and I went to up to the Daylight School with Fred. We brought them some little cakey things and bagged snacks. The school is for children of Shan migrant workers. Refugees from Burma. These people have no papers so according to Thailand they don't even really exist. Shan people have their own language so learning Thai is extremely beneficial towards their success here in Thailand. It's so amazing that they have this opportunity thanks to The Blood Foundation. The children learn four subjects: Shan language and culture, Thai, English, and mathematics. We got there just as both the older and younger kids were eating their lunches. Perfect timing! We got to hang around and play soccer with the kids. I took some adorable photos of the kids brushing their teeth and just being super cute in general. Fred was telling us that before they eat they say a kind of grace that says something like "we're so lucky to have this food and I feel badly for those who have nothing to eat." These kids are practically in the bread line themselves yet they still think that way. If only Westerners could be so grateful.
Man, I really loved being there. I really want to get involved in something like that. Even when I'm in school back in Princeton I can totally go through with volunteering at the Cherry Tree Club--a preschool for local homeless children--which is a mere five minutes from my house. I've volunteered there before and it's wonderful. I had planned on volunteering once a week during the school year but now it feels as if I have to do it. Ideally, I'd love to set something up like that myself. There are so many things I can do right in my own area. Of course I'd love to come back to Thailand and other regions of the world, but for now, Cherry Tree is perfect.
We came back to the temple and met the newest addition, Eliano. He's originally from Italy but he's been living in Tokyo for the last 36 years. [Man the dogs are going nuts right now...I wonder why..I hope everything is okay!] Anyway, we hung around and talked, went to evening chanting, then had a chat outside (with Ben, too!) Funny story, Ben and I were born in the same hospital! Also, his birthday is the day before mine. A few years, too, but that's besides the point! So later on it was just me, SAm and Ben. [Oh my goshhh there's a huge commotion and squealing/barking. I wish I could do something!!! I feel horrible. I hope every doggy is okay, especially the new puppies and CK :[ :[ :[ They're so tiny. Okay upon looking out of my window all I can see are the dogs barking at two women in the Sala...but that doesn't explain the squealing and sad noises..still alarming. Okay it's dying down. Sucks for the people trying to sleep.]
OKAY ANYWAY. The talk with Ben was really good. We kind of expressed our opinions about Fred's one-sided teaching and he actually had very similar views. He was saying that the important part of religion is what it does to improve the world. We also talked about the program and our expectations and what we think we'll ultimately get out of it. Both he and Sam recommended a book for me so I'm going to probably start it now. It's A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and apparently it's Oprah approved. Wonderful. It's not Buddhist but that's all I really know about it. We'll see! Hopefully it gives me some insight. I'm hungry so hopefully sleeping will fix that. I'll wake up and be able to eat! (After waking up the initial four times, that is.)
~10:25 pm
Today was pretty great. Mike, Sam, and I went to up to the Daylight School with Fred. We brought them some little cakey things and bagged snacks. The school is for children of Shan migrant workers. Refugees from Burma. These people have no papers so according to Thailand they don't even really exist. Shan people have their own language so learning Thai is extremely beneficial towards their success here in Thailand. It's so amazing that they have this opportunity thanks to The Blood Foundation. The children learn four subjects: Shan language and culture, Thai, English, and mathematics. We got there just as both the older and younger kids were eating their lunches. Perfect timing! We got to hang around and play soccer with the kids. I took some adorable photos of the kids brushing their teeth and just being super cute in general. Fred was telling us that before they eat they say a kind of grace that says something like "we're so lucky to have this food and I feel badly for those who have nothing to eat." These kids are practically in the bread line themselves yet they still think that way. If only Westerners could be so grateful.
Man, I really loved being there. I really want to get involved in something like that. Even when I'm in school back in Princeton I can totally go through with volunteering at the Cherry Tree Club--a preschool for local homeless children--which is a mere five minutes from my house. I've volunteered there before and it's wonderful. I had planned on volunteering once a week during the school year but now it feels as if I have to do it. Ideally, I'd love to set something up like that myself. There are so many things I can do right in my own area. Of course I'd love to come back to Thailand and other regions of the world, but for now, Cherry Tree is perfect.
We came back to the temple and met the newest addition, Eliano. He's originally from Italy but he's been living in Tokyo for the last 36 years. [Man the dogs are going nuts right now...I wonder why..I hope everything is okay!] Anyway, we hung around and talked, went to evening chanting, then had a chat outside (with Ben, too!) Funny story, Ben and I were born in the same hospital! Also, his birthday is the day before mine. A few years, too, but that's besides the point! So later on it was just me, SAm and Ben. [Oh my goshhh there's a huge commotion and squealing/barking. I wish I could do something!!! I feel horrible. I hope every doggy is okay, especially the new puppies and CK :[ :[ :[ They're so tiny. Okay upon looking out of my window all I can see are the dogs barking at two women in the Sala...but that doesn't explain the squealing and sad noises..still alarming. Okay it's dying down. Sucks for the people trying to sleep.]
OKAY ANYWAY. The talk with Ben was really good. We kind of expressed our opinions about Fred's one-sided teaching and he actually had very similar views. He was saying that the important part of religion is what it does to improve the world. We also talked about the program and our expectations and what we think we'll ultimately get out of it. Both he and Sam recommended a book for me so I'm going to probably start it now. It's A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and apparently it's Oprah approved. Wonderful. It's not Buddhist but that's all I really know about it. We'll see! Hopefully it gives me some insight. I'm hungry so hopefully sleeping will fix that. I'll wake up and be able to eat! (After waking up the initial four times, that is.)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sunday August 8, 2010
From my handwritten journal
Did NOT sleep well last night. I was up a lot. Woke up around 3 am with bites on the bottom of my left thigh. Bedbugs for sure ewww!!! So naturally that really freaked me out and it took a while to get back to sleep (of course only to wake up from the ringing of the bell. Oh man I can't wait to be back in my own bed. Six more nights here, one in Chiang Mai, and two in Bangkok...then one on the plane (yuck.)
So when I woke up I actually wasn't starving or anything. I had two bowls of Frosted Flakes. We sat around and talked this morning. Max and Becky left around 10. There are a TON of lay people here today. The second Sunday of every month is a Dhamma lesson and meditation and all sorts of things for them for the day. It's strangely mostly all women. Perhaps the men are working. We had lunch with them but (surprise surprise) I didn't eat very much. Sam and I went to go to some walking meditation but the space was occupied by lay people. Oh well! Time to read, I suppose.
8:10 pm
Same ol'. Talked lots, didn't eat past noon, went to evening chanting. I hung my bedding out in the sun so hopefully that took care of the bedbug problem...ugh ew I'm seriously so grossed out by that. We all talked about how being here isn't quite what we'd thought it'd be. Mike ended up meditating throughout the entire chanting and had a really big breakthrough with that, so that's definitely inspiring! I'm going to try to go to bed by 10...let's see how that goes.
Did NOT sleep well last night. I was up a lot. Woke up around 3 am with bites on the bottom of my left thigh. Bedbugs for sure ewww!!! So naturally that really freaked me out and it took a while to get back to sleep (of course only to wake up from the ringing of the bell. Oh man I can't wait to be back in my own bed. Six more nights here, one in Chiang Mai, and two in Bangkok...then one on the plane (yuck.)
So when I woke up I actually wasn't starving or anything. I had two bowls of Frosted Flakes. We sat around and talked this morning. Max and Becky left around 10. There are a TON of lay people here today. The second Sunday of every month is a Dhamma lesson and meditation and all sorts of things for them for the day. It's strangely mostly all women. Perhaps the men are working. We had lunch with them but (surprise surprise) I didn't eat very much. Sam and I went to go to some walking meditation but the space was occupied by lay people. Oh well! Time to read, I suppose.
8:10 pm
Same ol'. Talked lots, didn't eat past noon, went to evening chanting. I hung my bedding out in the sun so hopefully that took care of the bedbug problem...ugh ew I'm seriously so grossed out by that. We all talked about how being here isn't quite what we'd thought it'd be. Mike ended up meditating throughout the entire chanting and had a really big breakthrough with that, so that's definitely inspiring! I'm going to try to go to bed by 10...let's see how that goes.
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