Things I have learned

Some things that one learns in their own country have to be thrown to the wind in order to fit into another culture. Some of the things that are common knowledge in the U.S. but just don't fly here are as follows:
1. Eggs belong in the refrigerator (Here most of them don't even go into the refrigerator)
2. Dogs cannot eat chicken bones. They may die if they do. (Thai dogs are given bags of chicken bones)
3. Don't name your child after a fruit, it's just plain weird and is reserved for movie stars such as Apple Martin, child of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin from Coldplay (In Thailand, you can name your child after fruit and it's fine, we have a Cherri (cherry i know but that's how they spell it) here and a Peach-one of the girls used to be named Orange, but she chose a biblical name. Also, the niece of the builder who I spent two days conversing with in English to help her with her English said her little brother is affectionately nicknamed Pineapple (sip a rut is the word for it in Thai) because her mom ate tons of pineapple when she was pregnant with him).
4. Fruit is fruit and goes along with other sweet things such as with chocolate fondue or sometimes the combo of apples and peanut butter. (Thais consider unripe mango to be too sour so they eat it with a spicy mixture-its actually quite good, but I also will eat the unripe mango alone because it basically tastes like an apple to me)
5. Defensive Driving (I don't think Thais even have a word for defensive driving or if they do they certainly do not use it)
6. Traffic Lights are non-negotiable. (Traffic lights as far as the turning from yellow to red are simply a reason to rush quicker through the intersection-even if it is red as you pass the light. You best watch out if you're on the side where it has turned green.)
7. Spicy food is good, but doesn't kill you. (Spicy food in Thailand should not even be touched by people who do not know what spicy food is in Thailand-Basically, spicy here has a whole new meaning, it means if you are not used to constantly eating burning spicy foods, then probably steer clear-it's not even enjoyable for me to eat that stuff- i am convinced that Thais have developed different taste buds that make spicy stuff bearable and stuff that to others would not seem sour, seem really sour.)
8. Staring at people is not nice. (Staring at people, especially farang in Thailand is completely acceptable and sometimes must be done with such an enthusiasm that one almost falls off their motorbike as their head does a 180 to continue staring at what is now behind them.
9. Pointing feet at objects isn't necessarily totally cool, but it's not an insult. (DON'T DO IT HERE IN THAILAND, THIS IS COMPLETELY RUDE. and furthermore, don't assume you just won't do it-i did it oops! fortunately, Averil saw me and noone else so she just pointed it out to me....i was eating food and had my hands full and was trying to show her which purse I liked-thus i realized, yes i do sometimes point at things with my feet).
10. You can say whatever you want about authority (Do NOT say anything bad about the King. I haven't done this but I certainly can tell it's completely unacceptable. Also stand at attention if in a public place at 8am and 6pm every day when you'll hear a song playing-even though you don't understand it, you'll quickly learn which song it is. Also, Thais wear yellow on Monday since Monday is the day the King was born and yellow is the color of royalty. There are pictures of the King and royal family everywhere. His face is on the money-so don't do anything to that either).

Well that's all for now folks. I'll be back to put up pictures later. I have a good one of Abby with chocolate all over her face-really cute and priceless.
Later, Brittany