Firsts

Well, Barry is sick. He was a little whiney yesterday about how tired he was etc. and I was getting a bit sick of it, so when he started in this morning I felt very impatient. But then I felt his forehead and realized he's actually ill and felt sort of chastened. It's just a stomach bug or something, fever and chills, and he's not so sick he can't eat -- I've been making food all day long! But he's just been in bed all day.

This led to me having my first foray into Bangkok unaccompanied. I didn't go far, just to the market down the street, but on the way I stopped and ordered water from the doorman ("Nam Plow! Khap kun ka!"), who speaks about as much English as I do Thai. We figured it out, though, and my trip was uneventful.

I cooked on the stove for the first time -- stir fried some vegetables, nothing fancy, but it felt domestic and thrifty and healthy to do as we have been eating out almost every meal. The stoves here are incredibly insulated so they don't throw much heat -- it's like cooking on a kiln. I bought a pack of pre-cut vegetables that included 12 -- yes, TWELVE -- cloves of garlic. The pack was big enough to feed two people, so I figured Thais must use that much garlic, and threw it all in. Turned out great and not too garlicky -- of course, I cooked the hell out of it, but still...

Experienced my first Bangkok rain -- tropical summer storm with huge raindrops and wind blowing them sideways. Even up here on the fifth floor the sound of rain splatting down woke me from a nap -- the energy in a storm here is intense, and apparently the one I witnessed today was very mild -- only a few claps of thunder and a flash or two of lightning.

Finally did some yoga -- I investigated the world of free on-line classes and found it to be rich. I did a very mild class first, and then a short vinyasa class with some German woman who didn't get the same memo I did about yoga -- she was all, "Right! Jump up! Touch your toes bend your knees reach down! Turn around! Do the hokey pokey!" etc. -- but it was still vinyasa and it felt good. I'm going to use on-line yoga until I get a job -- I'm reluctant to spend much money without having an income. B doesn't seem too worried about it, but that doesn't ease my mind at all.

The maid situation here is incredible. Som comes Tuesday and Thursday to clean and two other days to deliver laundry etc. On Thursday I left out a pile of clothes that needed ironing after their rolled-up trip in a suitcase from Portland. I didn't even see Som, much less "ask" (mime would be more accurate) her to iron them, but when we got back from a day out everything was clean and the wrinkly stuff was gone. Friday we came back from a field trip to find that Som had come and (1) delivered laundry which she (2) put away (!), (3) ironed the basket of clothes I'd left out WITHOUT BEING ASKED, (4) returned and put away the ironed clothes, (5) changed the sheets, and (6) left us a bunch of tiny, sweet, finger-sized bananas, which I think grow on a tree by the pool!!! It's amazing and I don't even hate myself for loving it.