I realize that I have neglected my blog lately and this post is very late in coming but better late than never right? My last post was about a month ago, right after my 3rd month in Thailand, the anniversary of my 4th month in Thailand is fast approaching and I can not believe it. One of the things I was told by past exchange students is that the exchange goes by way too fast, at the time I brushed off their comments thinking how could 10 months go by fast? Now I understand what they mean I would give anything to have time slow down and be able to stay in Thailand forever. A lot has happened in the past month so I will give a brief update on the highlights.

I had my first rotary trip with the other exchange students to Phukradung National Park. It was so much fun! It was the first time all of us had been together and it was so great to meet so many people from all over the world. Phukradung is about 6 hours north of where I live. It is a mountain that we had to hike to the top of. Thailand is a very flat country their mountains would be hills in Oregon but hiking up Phukradung was the hardest hike I have ever done. We hiked about 6 Kilometers straight up and since this was Thailand there was no straight clear path, we had to climb over rocks and around trees which made it that much harder also the Thai people have never hear of switchbacks. I am proud to say that I was part of the 2nd group that made it to the top and we did it in about 3 hours, it took some people all day almost 9 hours. We stayed at the top of Phukradung for 3 days during those days we hiked from one side of the mountain and back again to see waterfalls and cliffs. It was absolutely breath taking and I loved every minute of it even if I came home exhausted, leech bitten and sick. At Phukradung I saw something that will stay with me for my entire life. As I said it was extremely difficult to walk to the top but the only way to get up to the top is to walk. That means that all the supplies used at the top of the mountain must be carried up by a person. There are men and women who carry up to 50 kilos tied to sticks that they carry on their backs everyday. Seeing these people walk up this mountain carrying everything from tourists bags to the water and food we'll eat and drink and even propane tanks was completely insane. It was something from one of my history books but it was happening right there in front of me. I don't think I can ever accurately explain how hard those people work or how you feel when you see them but I will never forget them. Being with the other exchange students was part of what made this experience so awesome and I can not wait to see them all again in 17 days for our Christmas trip to the North of Thailand!

The next thing that happened was Loy Krathong day and honestly I think this might even top Phukradung! Loy Krathong is celebrated in the eleventh month of the year on the first day of the full moon. It is a day to give thanks for the river and to let go of any bad things inside you. This year it was on November 28th, last Wednesday we had the day off from school because every year there is a parade through town. I being a foreigner got to be in the parade dressed in traditional Thai dress and I got to be part of the...well I'm not sure what you would call it but it was our school honoring the king. I had to wake up at 2 am to go and get my make up hair done which I was not very excited about but it ended up not being that bad because I got to hang out with some friends from other classes. We went to the parade grounds at about 8 am but our school was the very last school so even though the parade started at 9 we didn't actually start to walk for a long time after that. I was the center of attention and I took pictures with so many people, it was crazy but I loved it! The parade itself was very, very hot and tiring. I got a very lovely sunburn because my outfit covered one arm but not the other. After the parade I went to lunch with friends to celebrate and then when home to get ready for that night. At night is when you really celebrate Loy Krathong, the Thai people go where there is a body of water in my town it was the park right across the street from my house. I went with my friends to Loy Krathong because my host mom was in Bangkok and my host dad had to work. During Loy Krathong you make these little boat things from banana leaves and flowers called Krathongs and then you float them in the water. I wasn't able to make my own since I was in the parade but one of my friends was very nice and him and his brother made me one. At the park there were lots of activities like a futsal tournament, beauty pageant, live music, people selling things and as always lots of food! There were even fireworks and it was so cool to see them because in Thailand there's not much thought about how far away the fireworks should be set off from all the people so they were literally right above us, my friends got scared cause they were so close! Another part of Loy Krathong day was the famous paper lanterns that you always see pictures of. Lighting a lantern and letting it go was one of the coolest things I have ever done it was so magical and dream like I loved it! In all I think me and my friends ended up lighting 6 lanterns in one night! So all in all I had a blast on Loy Krathong day and I hope to celebrate it again in Thailand one day!

Some other smaller details from the last month. I am having a tough time with the language. I mean I'm definitely progressing just not as quickly as I would like to be. Thai is a very hard language because of all the tones. I'm trying my hardest and hopefully in a few months I will be more fluent. School is great and I've become very close with many of the kids in my class and now, especially after the parade, kids in other classes are starting to talk to me more and more. I have become very close with the  2 girls from my city who are going on exchange next year and they are kinda like my little sisters in Thailand. It's very strange to be so popular! The girls in the younger grades look up to me and everyone is always yelling at me telling me they love me. I will be moving host families soon, which is both happy and sad. I really like my host parents but I am not very close with my host brother and sister in my first family. So I hope to be close with everyone in my second family. My second family is much younger speaks even more fluent english than my first family but I am going to ask them to speak only Thai with me as much as possible. Maybe I'll try to post some pictures from Loy Krathong, Phukradung and just my daily life in Thailand in another post!