Holiday in Thailand Part 1--Still Alive

Is it me or is returning from a holiday away so hard to come back from?  

We just spent the most amazing three weeks in Thailand.  It was divided into about three different trips.  First Jess and I went and spent time at Baan Santisuk with our friends we met last year.  (I will do a whole post on the orphanage). 

After the orphanage we headed over to Krabi to a local beach Ao Nang.  My sister, Katie, flew out to spend the time with us.  We had a blast.  We enjoyed the sun, rode elephants, ate, went snorkeling, kayaked, ate, laughed, got massages, ate, and more.  Here are a couple of the pics...I still need to get some from Katie.  

 You sneaky elephant...

 She was so thoughtful and stubborn going the way she wanted

 After riding elephants we hiked to a waterfall

 The obligatory sunset picture...love her!

 My soul-mate and me just hanging out at sunset

 God's beautiful creation

 Starfish!

Being silly...

After the beach for nine days we went to Bangkok.  Jess and I had originally planned to go to the job fair there.  Thankfully we got jobs in BRAZIL before the fair so we had time to hang out and see Bangkok with Katie. (I'll do another post of Bangkok and on our jobs! )

Sorry this was so random, but I wanted people to know I was still alive.  I guess that's a theme of my blog...yes, I'm still alive.

Making Jiaozi

Yes, I'm still alive.  Things have been so busy here.  We go to winter break in two days.  I'm so excited to go back to Baan Santisuk and see my sister in Krabi, Thailand.  I'm also so calm going into the job fair.  I know God will open doors and place us where He wants us next year.  It's such an exciting time in our lives, so much change!

When I left for China my mom wanted me to learn how to make Chinese food.  I'm afraid I have left her disappointed, but it is not for lack of trying.  The other weekend one of my students had me over to her house to teach me how to make jiaozi (dumplings).  It was so much fun. She is darling and her mom and grandma are precious.  They had a whole spread for me. 

 

The whole process is actually very time consuming.  It isn't hard, but folding each jiaozi is a feat in itself. I was told I did very well.  I'm not sure if they were just being nice or what, but I was very proud of mine.

I thought all we were having was jiaozi, which was perfectly fine because I could eat about 20 of them.  I was shocked to see all this food being put on the table.  There were some interesting options, but I sucked it up and ate it because I didn't want to be rude.  Let's just say I'll stick with jiaozi. :)