Making Music

When we came back to the hotel last night, there was a talented musician playing the khim (yup, pronounced just like the girl's name). The khim is a traditional Thai stringed instrument that's played with two, thin bamboo sticks. The musician gave me and Uncle Sean turns to play it. (I warn you - this is an incredibly pathetic attempt to nail down Jingle Bells.)



Obviously I need lots of practice! That's why I'm bringing a khim home with me! I bought one tonight so that you can enjoy playing it, too.

At a Buddhist temple the other day, we also had a chance to play a special temple gong - one that has 8 gongs. You can play all 8 gongs at the same time by moving a small wooden lever up and down. The gongs are used to call the monks to prayer and for meditation. We recorded our gong playing because we might use it as part of the soundtrack when we're editing this video.

Mornings With The Monks

It's morning here in Thailand... which means you are fast asleep! When you look at the globe, you can see that I'm on the other side of the world - which means that when the moon is out and you're dreaming, the sun is out here, and I'm awake.



Every morning when I wake up, I go for a run, and I see some pretty interesting things! There are people here called monks... they're like priests at church, rabbis at temple or mullahs in the mosque. The monks are Buddhist, bald and barefoot! Here, even kids can be monks (as long as they're boys and at least 10 years old).

The monks all wear bright orange robes (which are like dresses), and early every morning they walk down the street holding big bowls. The monks are hungry! At first their bowls are empty, but there are lots of other people on the street who want to feed them breakfast. When you feed a monk, it's called "making merit" which means doing something really nice. And when people are nice to the monks, the monks are very happy--which makes the people happy, too!

Men and women stand on the street and fill the monks' bowls with foods like orange juice, water, sticky rice and sweet fruits. Monks only eat one meal a day, so they are very grateful for this food! After receiving the food, the monks say "thank you" by saying a prayer as the people kneel on the street.

People also give the monks flowers - specifically lotus flowers. The lotus flower is a very beautiful white flower that grows in water. It's hard to believe that before the lotus becomes such a gorgeous flower sitting on top of the water, it is growing out of yucky, goopy mud. The monks believe people should be more like lotus flowers--and rise above the muck. I took a picture of this lotus flower while I was exercising on the "playground" at Chiang Mai University.

Thai Travel

Kids have a pretty zippy way of getting around here! Lots of families in Thailand do not have cars. Instead, Thai Moms and Dads drive motorcycles or scooters, and that means Thai kids ride on them, too. Imagine - no car seat! Take a look - this is how kids in Thailand get to school, go to the store and how they visit their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.



Would you like to travel to pre-school like this? (After the pick-up truck debacle, I don't think we should risk it!)

Boy from Burma

A lot of kids I see here look like they have dirty faces. But their faces aren't dirty at all! They're covered with a yellow powder. It's thanakha (pronounced tahn-i-kuh) powder.

Thanakha powder is made from the bark of the thanakha tree. People who live in Thailand and Burma take the bark off the thanakha tree, smush it up with some water, and then put the golden paste on their skin. People say it feels really good and smells pretty. Women wear it like makeup and to protect their skin from the sun. Kids also wear it as sunscreen on their foreheads, noses, cheeks and arms.



This little boy has thanaka powder on his face. I met him in a Burmese refugee camp where he has been living since he was born. He doesn't have any electricity in his house. Since his Mom and Dad don't have any lights to turn on, they have to light candles to see at night.

Candles are very dangerous here because the homes are all made of bamboo and most of them have roofs made of overlapping attap palm leaves. Also, the homes are very close together, which means if one house catches fire, all the homes could quickly burn down. That's why the leader in this village is starting a solar project. Pretty soon, the sun will provide the electricity in this boy's house, and his family will have lights! This is very exciting for all the people living here.

The kids here have a big playground with swings, see saws and slides, and they play with balls made out of bamboo. This little boy is about to go down the slide!

Mother's Day Chiang Mai

Hello, Best Daughter!

Isabelle, since the video Skype isn't working right now, I've decided I'm going to make Flip videos for you and post them here on your blog. I recorded this one outside of the Amari Hotel where we're staying in Chiang Mai.



The hotel only costs $35 a night, and has a huge pool. I've gone swimming twice since we've been here. You know the hot tub at our pool? Well, this entire pool feels like a hot tub because it's very hot right now in Thailand - over a hundred degrees. My first swim was at 4 in the morning - the moon was still out, and it was beautiful seeing the crescent moon through the palm trees as the sun started to come up.

Guess what! I saw two kitties and a doggie tonight! They were playing in a little village that we visited about an hour away from here. I met one Mommy from Burma who told me that she misses her daughter, too. This woman owns her own business, too. It's a small store in a migrant village, and her house is actually part of the store. The most popular item in her store is the tofu she cooks. Each piece of tofu costs one baht which is the equivalent of three cents. She showed me a picture of her daughter who is still living in Burma because she can't afford to raise two children in Thailand.

The food here is delicious! Last night I went to a Burmese restaurant for dinner. There were six of us, and we ordered 9 dishes, one big beer, and one iced tea. The whole meal only cost $10! Some of the foods have funny names. Two of my favorite dishes have been salads: pennywort salad and tea leaf salad.

Thank you so much for my beautiful Mother's Day picture!!! It's spectacular--and so are you!

Isabelle - a true patriot!

Isabelle learned the Pledge of Allegiance at Little Kids Pre-School!

We Overheard Isabelle Saying...

Is that God? (while looking at a picture of Herman Melville at the library)

Horray for Istanbul! Mommy, I'm going to Istanbul all by myself on the plane. (driving to Anika's 3rd birthday party)

This is really good pasta! Thank you for cooking it, Daddy. (at the dinner table)

I'm almost tall! (at the doctor's office... we measure her while we're waiting for the pediatrician to remove the earring sticker she lodged in her ear canal)

Mommy, I'm so glad you're enjoying this picnic. (while we're sitting on a blanket in the kitchen having an unusual spaghetti and turkeyball picnic)

Anika has walking pneumonia. I have running pneumonia!

So, how was pre-school today? (while crossing her arms at the kitchen table talking to Nana and Grampi)

Where is God? Where is Mickey? Is Mickey a girl? (Mickey was our cat who died
before Isabelle turned one)

Daddy, why you say no when I want to go to basketball? (I decide we're going to cheer Daddy on at Tues night basketball, but--and I quote--"Please don't come. No other wives ever come." So, we came.)


I'm the teacher.

I want to put kitty in the washing machine.

I like listening to Grampi sing. (while listening to Frank Sinatra in the car)

Are you f*%$@! kidding me??? (immediately following Auntie Rory's visit)

Why is there a dead bird in my playhouse?

I want to go to the pool! (every day)

I want you to be right back. (when she wants to stay in the car after we've arrived somewhere)

Can you help me make an "S"?

Mommy, you're so (long pause while I anticipate words like beautiful and precious) enormous. (after I whispered "I love you" in her ear)

We had a car accident. I hurt my knee. Daddy wasn't wearing his seat belt. I was strapped in my car seat. Mommy was driving. Mommy had seat belt on. I was in my car seat. The car flipped. We went in the ambulance.
(to the random mother on the playground)