OK!  So the Photos are in Honor of Alesha...who loves photos and who also keeps me in contact with Mom.  She is awesome!


These are some Monks I saw at the river as I was doing my quite time one morning.  Looks like they had the same idea.

Lao Cooking Class.   A full day of cooking and eating..yum!

The Waterfall.  We took a tuk-tuk to the falls and hiked around a bit.

There was also a cave that we could hike in.  Only fifteen mins to the far side of the cave...but there were Buddhas scattered throughout.

Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher

So, there is this young man, maybe my age.  He works at the Hotel that I am staying at in Luang Prabang.  He is very sweet...and especially sweet to me.  Why is he so sweet to me, you may ask?  Because he has been buttering me up for a few days until he could ask me to help him with his English.  Yesterday after breakfast we worked on Passive verses Active tenses, and today after I get back from the internet cafe, he wants me to help him with some difficult vocabulary that he found in a book he was reading.  So even though I am on holiday until my Volunteer teaching in Thailand, I am still teaching.  That's me!

So, I met some really nice people at the cooking class.  And we met that night to sit in a restaurant and chat.  Some ate, some drank.  I just sat there as full as I could be from the day's cooking lesson (eating lesson...haha). Anyway the next day, I met with an Austrian that I met in the cooking class.  We then found a small group to split a tuk-tuk with and headed to the waterfall about a half hour out of town.  It was absolutely beautiful!  And we found this cave that you could hike in...it was a little scary at first but once you got pretty far in and saw a bunch of little Buddhas...you realize that many tourists have been here before you.

That night I met back up with him (the Austrian) at a Restaurant called the Hive, and we saw a fashion show (free) of all the different traditional fashions from the hill tribes in the area.  I am afraid that I have taken a million photos and I apologize to everyone who by having the title of my friend is obligated to look through them all.  HAHAHAHA!  Love you guys!

Laos

OK!!!!
So...I have been an emotional roller coaster!  I have never had to plan like this before.  I have a lot of respect for the people that just go with the flow and travel around for months on end.  I am 2 days in and I am exausted.  When I landed in Laos, I had to pay for an entry visa.  $35.  Well, I said, I am a resident of Korea so all I have is Korean won.  "Oh!  We don't take that"  They took my passport and I couldn't get it back until I paid.  But I couldn't pay.  so I tried to pull from the limited cash in my american account...but, the atm wouldn't let me.  TEARS FLOWED!  Then, a random Korean man who happed to be there exchange some money with me.  And later once I was in the country...I was able to exchange more.  BUT I WAS JIPPED!  They exchanged it for half of the price.  But who am I to argue with them...they were the only ones exchanging money.  I still have Won that I didn't exchange hoping to get a better rate in Thailand when I return.  But we will see.  Just emailed the girls home to let them know what happened and to warn them that I may have to pay for my stay later. (Hopefully my Korean paycheck will go in on the 25th and I can use my card.)

Anyway...found myself worried and pouting half the night.  I am broke.  But then I just realized that everyone else here is too!  But we are all backpacking poor people looking for fun.  So this morning, I apologized to God.  I know that I should trust him more.  And I got off my self pity horse.  I walked around for a good 2 hours and saw the beauty of this place.  This village is between two rivers and it is amazing.  Neat how you enjoy yourself when the self pity goes away.

I want to go sometime to the night time market, and one sunrise to see the monk progression.  Both are free...which is another reason why I like this place.  We are all poor.  :-P

Tomorrow I have one thing that I paid for..a food market tour and a cooking class.  I so look forward to it.  I may end up paying for a bike rental one of these days too...just for the fun of it (it's really cheap)...but we will have to see what happens.  I am well though..so don't worry about me,  Just keep me in your prayers and I am sure I will stop being a worry wart eventually.  Love you guys!
~Caroline R.

Airport

Ok...my plane boards in about 30 mins.  I have a 5 hour layover in Beijing, then on to Bangkok.  Yes I am excited! I will try to keep up with you guys too!

Though there is still a lot to think about, I am praying, going with the flow, and trusting God to take care of me.  :-) I was skyping Dad this morning and told him that I messed up balancing my American check book, and after student loans, I didn't have the money I thought I had.  I was going to be pushing it financially this next month.  AND GUESS WHAT!!!!  Daddy gave me $50 in my bank account!  I am so happy!  That will pay for my train both ways to the girls home in Northern Thailand!....I have the best family ever!   It's not just the money, but it's this re-assurence that no matter how far away he is...he is always there for me.

Anyway...I guess I better go sit at my gate now.

My toe hurts a bit though...I broke it a couple days ago when I tumbled down my steps to get my ringing phone.  Lesson learned....never own stairs.  ;-P

Thai Bound

SO....I am flying to Bangkok on Monday.  Can I tell you how hard it is to plan for a trip to a foreign country, while in a foreign country?

1).  Time: There is not much of it to spend prepping. And more to-do lists than I know what to do with.
2). Money:  I am having to convert Korean Won to Thai Baht to Laotian Kip.  And somehow know what that is going to be in USD.  So...I am going to carry a handy homemade conversion chart with me.
3). Information:  All information for travel (itineraries, contact info, etc.) all has to be hand written from the emails because I have no printer.
4). Culture and Language: I am going to try to forget my Spanish temporarily, and block out the recently acquired Korean, and try to separate Thai and Laotian in my mind.  The dress code in Laos is very similar to that in India, no shoulder and no legs showing.  Thailand allows me to wear knee length shorts.  BUT, the culture in Thailand is very interesting when it comes to Monks, Heads, and Feet.  I could give you details...but I am not going to unless you ask...because it's a lot to type.  :-P
5). Prep: I have to get the apt. ready to be left alone for a month.  That means eating everything perishable...trying to communicate with someone in the postal service...cleaning one last time....and hoping that my guesstimates are correct in regards to the time the metro takes to get me to the airport and the amount of money I will need to bring.
6). Family:  One last Skype date with each member and the promise of attempted phone calls and internet during break.  Not sure how much access I will have...but hopefully some...because I need to stay in contact with the girls home in Northern Thailand so I can get picked up from the train station on the 24th when I get there.

AND....not to mention packing...which I am no where near ready to do.  But it shouldn't be so hard...just fitting what I can in my backpack...what doesn't fit doesn't come. OH KOREA!

Video of the Polar Bear Plunge

OK!  I am having troubles stealing the video of this event...so I am just going to send you to another blog that has the video.

http://somethingweakly.blogspot.com/2011/12/polar-bear-club.html

Yes...it was below freezing outside.  It was New Years.  I am crazy.  Love you guys!
~Caroline R.

Just a Random Thought

So, this morning I woke up maybe 8:30am.  It felt so good to sleep in.  I am off school today because the semester is over.  The only thing separating me from winter break is English Camp which starts Monday.  Today is to be as follows: clean house, laundry, meet co-teacher and shop for English camp supplies, then come here and plan my butt off all weekend.  :-)

So,  I stepped out of my apartment this morning to walk to the next district's 24hr coffee shop (my favorite!) and the cold air turned my breath to steam.  Traffic busied itself in the streets, buses going here and there, with the occasional crazy taxi driver speeding by.  As I started the brisk walk towards my impending Skype date and  Chai Latte, I was struck with a random thought.  "THIS IS MY LIFE.  This is my normal.  This is my home for now."  I am used to travelling.  I love travelling.  But I am not on a trip.  I have an apartment.  I have a job.  I have a life?

Suddenly the words of an old song from Semisonic came to mind, "Every new beginning come from some other beginning's end."  Hmm...I am not sure exactly when my life here began, (when this turned from a trip to a life) but does this beginning affect my old life?  Not sure.

On a less random train of thought.  I got my Christmas presents yesterday.  I was so very happy to open the boxes and snack on homemade peanut brittle while reading the cards that the church kids wrote for me.  The cutest one had to have been from one young boy who wrote, "Merry Christmas, have a great time!!! PS. Don't get arrested.  Your buddy, xxxxx xxxxx" (I left off his name obviously...who would name their child xxxx?)  Well, don't worry friend, I don't plan on getting arrested but your concern touches me.

Oh, I am so full of joy knowing all the love that comes from home.  Even from the kids.
And I know that I am very blessed.  Not sure if this "new beginning" is the end of anything at all. :-)