Delicious Thai Food for Dinner - Again

Tonight we got brave and ordered "spicy" at our favorite Thai restaurant. We met the owner at the temple we visit. We practiced a few of our phrases on her and she graciously helped us with our pronunciation.

John ate: Pad Kra Prow Moo - Pork with green chili peppers, onion and basil.
June ate: Gai Pad Med Ma-Muang Him Ma Parn - Chicken and cashew nuts sauteed with onions, mushrooms, and dried chili peppers in a tasty gravy sauce.

Although the dishes are called "spicy" John and I both found our reaction to be the same - warmth in the tissue of the mouth, tingling lips and a runny nose. But boy were those dishes good. We can definitely get used to this. Another interesting thing - we have read that in Thailand food is typically eaten with a spoon - not a fork and chop sticks are used only for soup.

A Special Day at the Wat (temple)

Today was a very busy day at the temple. People from many places were there. All brought food and gifts for the monks and to share with each other. We met a large family originally from Laos who now live near Charleston, SC. They come to worship and visit about every 3 months. Others came from Colombia, SC and Atlanta. There was sooooo much food.

One photo is of Duong our friend and student. There were so many people some ate outside at picnic tables while others ate in the kitchen and more ate in the worship area. Our friend Bunyoung, one of the monks, will be leaving for Thailand at the end of the month for a two month visit. His English is limited but his heart knows no bounds!

Ever Been to Curves?

This is Jan. She always greets you with a smile just like this one! And when you are finished working out - she gives you another one and wishes you a Great Day! What more can you ask for?



Here are Jan and Terri. They work at our local Curves gym. What a great team. Encouraging us all to stay in good health, limber and have a positive attitude! My nickname for Terri is "Tigger". She is a wonderful inspiration to us all.

Unfortunately, today was her last day at our Curves gym. She will be missed by all.

Blue Ridge Elem Fall Festival 2007

Today we all went to Caleb's school for the Fall festival. He tried and tried to dunk a teacher but . . . His little sister, Tanner, did dunk a teacher once. We made name bracelets and tie dyed t-shirts. There were lots of games. The fishing pond was a favorite where you could catch a lollipop or maybe a small toy. Then all three little ones posed in a real horseless carriage. There was also face painting and lemonade. Lots of fun.

Reunion!

That old gang of mine! We met for dinner and it was great! (l to r) Loretta, Bill, John, me, Pam and Beverly. The second photo is of Loretta and Anna - her very beautiful daughter.

We want to get together again before we leave. Bill is already retired but the rest are still putting in their 9 hour days. What good guys. We sorely missed a few who couldn't make it but hope to see each other again before Jan 20th (and our flight to Thailand) rolls around.

Thai Food Tonight!

Tonight we ate at one of our local Thai restaurants. John had Kang Kiew Whan Goong (Shrimp. pineapply and green beans in green Thai curry). On the menu it had a picture of two hot chili peppers. I had Kang Dang Gai (Chicken, bamboo shoots, and green peas in red Thai curry). This item also had two hot chili peppers next to the listing. Both dishes were good - and left the mouth tingling for about 20 minutes after eating.

In case no one noticed - John has shaved his beard in preparation for our assignment in the Land of Smiles.

Tutoring - Augusta Tech

Here is John reviewing blended letters in English e.g. bl, ch, sw, st, etc. Our classes have such a variety of students in both ability and background that one concept may be really easy for someone from Columbia and at the same time difficult for a native speaker from Korea. But we do have fun and laugh a lot. This is our Monday/Wednesday group. Sometimes there are more and sometimes there are less. After the phonics review we tried reading some books aloud. We have children's books we pick up at the local dollar stores that are of varying difficulty. But we are making progress! All of us including John and me!

A Visit to the Temple - 10-7-07

Visited the temple today (Sunday) and saw our friend Dong. She let me work with the mortar and pestle and prepare what she described as a salad. It was not one I had seen before. The monks grow a small green vegetable in their garden. It is round ball shape, about the size of a silver dollar and has seeds in side. I mashed and mashed and she added some of the bottled fish sauce, chopped scallions, parsley and MSG. Then came the infamous small red peppers. Dong said that as with som tam, each maker puts in the ingredients they like best. Today there were three different makers of the papaya based som tam. One lady used only 4 red peppers, another used 10+ (said she likes it hot) while the third was also only 4 red peppers but was heavy on the sugar. Dong likes her som tam sour. Me? I think I will like it best with 4 peppers and sweet.

Today we took the monks two hanging pots filled with light blue/white pansies. We hope they liked them!

Temple Visit - Wed 10/3/07

We had a wonderful visit today to the Augusta Temple. We arrived at about 11:00 am in time to see the monks sitting down to their last meal of the day. We brought a gift of dessert - doughnuts, chocolate eclairs, pastries, etc. I was allowed to place them on 5 dishes (one for each monk) and take them to the table. When placing the dishes on the table I get down on my knees and place the tray on the table making certain not to touch the monks. John can shake their hand etc. but I cannot.

Another photo is of the little peppers that give the Thai food its "kick". They are grown here on the temple land. The temple sits on 13 acres of beautiful softly rolling hills.

I had the opportunity to get a first hand lesson on how to make Som Tam. Note that the salad is made using a large mortar and pestle. This is a salad made with many ingredients but the main one appears to be grated papaya. We have read about this salad and talk about the rotten fish sauce. Actually the sauce is not at all bad. It went into today's salad in two forms. One was a dark almost black solid and the second was a liquid in a bottle. In addition there was lime, tomato, sugar and MSG. Oh yes, and I almost forgot - some of those darling little red peppers. Yes, we both actually tasted it and survived.

The photo of John and the monk, Bunyoung shows them sitting at a computer. Bunyoung copied two CDs he has from the Tourist Office in Thailand. We are going to try and upload them and offer a link to our group members for viewing. The images are gorgeous. Buddhists are believers in reincarnation. 39 years ago when I first met John I told him that I believed we had loved each other in a former life. Could have been as friends, brothers, lovers, parent and child but we had known and loved each other. He kind of looked at me and thought secretly what a kook I was. Well, Bunyoung apparently took one look at the both of us during our first visit and decided we have been family in a previous life. His English is the most limited of the 5 monks and the ladies who cook and serve them said he is the most withdrawn of the group. But . . . Bunyoung always wants to talk to us and give us whatever few worldly possessions he seems to have. He is the sweetest guy. He insists that once we are settled he wants our address and will come to visit us.

The last photo is of the meditation hall. The hall is where instruction takes place. The interesting part about the hall is that the money for it to be built was donated by the professional golfer Vijay Singh. He visited the Temple one year (I think it was 2001) before participating in the Augusta National Golf Tournament. He visited with the Abbot. The Abbot told Singh that this was the year he would win the National. And he did! He apparently won a car which he gave to the temple. In addition he gave a gift of $100,000.

The current Abbot is to give a talk to a class on World Religions next week. I typed up a list of about 15 questions I thought may be asked by the average high school student. I gave him the list today and we will return to the temple to see if we can assist him in his preparations.

A Visit to the Temple

Yesterday we visited our local Thai Buddhist Temple. There are five monks in residence. One of our ESL students, Dong, helps prepare the Sunday meal for the monks each week. She invited us to join her. First we were introduced to a visiting monk. He will be here for about two years and then return to Thailand. Then we met the Abbot. The Abbot has been here for about 10 years. The Thai are truly a people of smiles and a gentle nature. We spoke with several of the monks for quite a while until it was time for them to eat. Soon after the group that had brought the food sat down to share a meal. John and I joined them. We tried to spend the majority of the time sitting on the floor with the others but did fall back to sitting chairs for a little while. There must have been 15 to 20 different dishes on the table for us to try. There was also steamed rice and sticky rice. The food was delicious. I am afraid I am going to gain weight living in Thailand!

Next we went into the temple proper while the monks chanted and prayed. This was another 2 hours on the floor! We wiggled a little bit too much but all were patient with us as we moved our old bones around finding a new position every 20 minutes or so.

The Abbot is scheduled to speak to a world religions class at a nearby high school in about a week. We promised we will return to see him and try asking him questions in English that high school students might ask. He said it will give him a chance to practice his English. The Abbot also gave us a number of books and color brochures on Buddhism and the Thai culture. He is most gracious. We look forward to our next visit and plan to take some photos.