My heart dose go on ... And on!

Nope, it's not one of my usual iPhone auto correct induced typos, I really do hope the dose of love my heart has been receiving goes on and on and on.... So actually it's a bad English translation typo that was on the karaoke machine from last nights session. I thought it was pretty funny, but couldn't explain it to anyone so I chuckled to myself, another favorite from the same song was: you're here, there's nothing, I'm fear.  Am I easily amused? Another great one that I forgot to mention was from a menu: pork shop with blown sauce. The last thing I want on my pork shop is blown sauce, let me tell you!
        Well as seems to be pretty standard, life in Thailand is incredible!  Friday was Kru Su's last day at school, it was bitter sweet.   We arrived to school early and I played uke outside for the kiddos, I played my Jessie J, price tag song for them and there were a couple of student who knew it!Su teaches the lower levels, grades one two and three. I joined her for her last two level three classes. We played alphabet games and did some matching, Su handed out pencils as a goodbye present and I helped with the games. During lunch time, Kru us said goodbye to all of the students and she sang them " you are my sunshine" while I backed her up on uke. The students were so sad I see her go an they crowded around her and cried and hugged and asked her if she would come back. I was happy than it wasn't my turn to say good bye though unbelievably it is right around the corner, only ten days left at Anuban school.  It will be a busy week and a half because I will take over Kru Su's classes.
       After lunch we were invited to Kru Oy number ones classroom. I thought we were just going to watch ramwon(traditional Thai dancing) practice. We arrive and are introduced to Noom, who dresses us in traditional clothes and and proceeds to do our hair and makeup. He puts this yarn donut on my head and starts back combing and hairs praying and gelling and pinning my hair into this , big sleek beehive, bride of Frankenstein up do. The he tops it with a bright shiny gold, crown drizzled with dangling mirrors. Like a little temple just for my head. I have I admit that all of his was quite unexpected and amazing! I had been so curious about the ramwon costumes and secretly wished I could adorn mysel in such a way! Wish granted! Noom was efficient with my hair, and went right along pinning up Su's hair and topping it with a temple  as well.  Then the makeup, but first, he shaves my eyebrows! Thank god not completely off! I've always been lassaiz faire with my eyebrows, so I was a little worried when he started hacking at them with a straight razor, but he's an expert, and I'm in for the ride so, shave away Noom! Anyhow what could I do? I couldn't remembers Thai phrase for " please don't shave off my eyebrows".  He expertly applied all of the makeup, an d another first for me, false eyelashes, equipped with bejeweled bling! I could hardly open my eyes to look in the mirror, and all I could do was laugh at this farang girl all thai'd up, staring back at me. I felt super silly in my get up but everyone insisted: suaui mahk mahk!" Or very very beautidul! Oh did I mention that after I opened my eyes all of my students were there! Ha nothing like sixty kids watching you get dolled up!  The ramwon dancers came and surrounded me like bridesmaids and coated me with gold bracelets, armbands, the ear wings, and other shiny gold accoutrements. After Noom completed his " masterpieces" it was time for us to learn ramwon! It was fun, and I tried the best I could! The dancers are so graceful and precise! I felt like a big clomping vulture next to a bunch of sleek swans! They are so absolutely good to us and do their utmost to see that we are having an amazing experience! Which I am! This is definitely the experience of a lifetime! Learning to dance was great, but I enjoyed watching the girls practice their dances.  We undressed and my flurry of handmaidens came to undress me and brush out my stifhair, I don't think I've ever been so delicately tended to in all of my life!
          Su and I retired to the staff room where we proceeded to have the best Thai dance party ever, we watched Thai pop music videos and tried to copy their dance moves, such a workout!  We were I. Hysterics dancing with the other teachers!  I made a dancing fool of myself as is typical, just wait until I bring my new skills back to the U.S.!  We enjoyed a quiet dinner with Kru Kung and Kru phun, mmm pad pak(fried veggies) and rice! We joked about new " Thai"  women, who are independent an never get married and have lots of boyfriends.... Hey, I'm new Thai!
       Saturday was our day off and Su's last day in thsiland. We headed to the market and bought ourselves some pineapple. Seriously I'm living on pineapple while I'm here. Anyhoo, we also browsed market stalls am I discovered where I can get fresh codonuts! Or doconuts, which pun is better? We headed to the school to get wifi and Kru Kung and O pull up on a motorbike to tell us we are coming with them to Aran to the rong kleua market. Okay, well there goes our day off, let's adventure! We wait and Kung comes back to fetch us with Her car.  We listen to pop music on the way to Aran and I take on the usual sights of motorbikes and sugarcane fields.   There's a big traffic jam on the way to the market but we make it and are greeted by three mascots in the street! The market is huge it's something like fifty football fields. Second hand everything, clothes, toys, stuffed animals stacked to the stall rafters, close wrinkled from being packed so right into plastic  bags and shipped around from who knows where. Objects burst and spill from bags and shop stalls in every direction. We decide to look for puppets for the children so we paw through mountains of used stuffed animals.  In the end we got a stuffed kitty puppet, a Minnie Mouse, a Garfield and a puppy. Giant wedges and stacks of salted dried fish. People wheeling around carts of food and simultaneously cooking it. Ramshackle carts made of logs and held together with anything are piles impossibly high with loot and being pushes and pulled around the market. It seems that these carts could collapse at any moment. And some have, abandoned with the weight of their load crushing them to a halt on the side streets. It is an amazing scene of people warching. Pots pans spoons woks kitchen implements of all shiny metal varieites glint I the hot sun. It's dusty and smells like petrol, everywhere people wear dusk masks. It's overwhelming and I'm happy to tuck into a restaurant for some fried rice with a ridiculous amount of chillies yum!
     We head away from Aran and rong kleua and I'll be happy to skip it on my way out to Cambodia in a little over a week, oh yeah I'm going to csmbodia, did I tell you? Well you were bound to find out eventually.   More countryside, we are heading to Kru O 'a school. Or so we think, due to the language barrier su and I often are unaware of what plans are acrually being made around us. After an hour of driving we arrive at a breathtaking reservoir with a mountain backdrop. The shore is spotted with thatched roof huts protecting diners at picnic tables from the sun. We are greeted by more teachers who join us at a table by the waters edge. The teaches all gab in Thai. I'm happy to look about over the waters rippling, children play and swim with inner tubes, boys fish from the shore and I smile.  It's a supremely relaxing afternoon with a gorgeous setting. We driver more and I watch flooded rice paddies whiz by. At another reservoir I play the uke and watch fishermen paddle to shore. One of the teachers looks at me and says" dream dream dream" and I start singing, I don't know how this sing became so popular in Thailand, but I'm glad I know it.
         At sunset they drive us far into the wilderness, trees are thick  and covered in vines that explode into thick lilac colored flowers, Kung  keeps pointing to them and telling me how much she loves them. The sun is just setting we arrive right on time. The clear water laps the shore and the sun  deepens itself into  orange. I've never seen a sunset where the sun actually has stripes of color, but this one did, it's beauty so  new and appreciated.   I sat in awe as I watched it slowly slowly duck it's head behind the mountains leaving us all I the remnants of it's light.
           A sleepy dart ride back to Tapraya, and I  informed when we arrive that we are having a karaoke party! Oh okay! The Thais surer know how to pack in a full day!   The kids are so excited when we pull up and I munch  odd snax, coated peanuts weird flavored chips, and just like in America we are all on our cellphones ignoring each other!  We karaoke it up! They insist I sing I will survive, by Gloria gaynor. So I. Ibutcher it and  you're just to good to be true! I receive someone Thai pop dance lessons . I play the little girls uke ! Ike's are wverywhere!  And I retire home , I'm wired on coco cola and  so I read my lonely planet, fantasing about my upcoming island adventures! Where shall I go? Any requests/ suggestions? Lovely loves to you all!
Gretchyn