Formica Family Day

   
  This past weekend Formica had it's annual Family Day in Thailand.  They do things a little differently here than in the U.S.  Here it really isn't a family day with kids, wives and husbands.  It is the Formica work family going away for a day of fun.  But everyone said that I was invited so I went.  I was the only non-Formica person there.
 
     They rented 2 double decker buses to travel the 3 hours down the coast to just past Chanthaburi. 

The guy on the left is Somchai our driver. 

The silver car is our car that Somchai drives Steve and I around in.

And off we go to the party!

 

After lunch the workers had to do team building games.  Steve was picked to lead the purple team in the flipflop toss:

 

He readied himself (it took a lot of concentration)

 

 

He kicked . . .

 

 

And he scored!  The purple team won!

 

 

In the evening we had a dinner.  The theme was about wearing the brightest colors.

 

During the evening we had music, dancing (mostly men with men - another strange custom), a comedian (his routine was in Thai), I wish I could have understood him because everyone was laughing hysterically.

 

 

These girls won the contest for most colorful group. 

 

Here is Steve with our driver Somchai (in the wig, with guitar).  I don't know who the other guy is.

It was a very interesting night.  Unlike any other family day I have been to. 

 

Linda

 

 

 

More on the Orphanage

       Some of you would like to see more pictures of the orphanage and what the working conditions are.  After I had taken all of these pictures I noticed a sign saying no picture taking, but no-one tried to stop me.  So here they are:

This is the sign in front of the Orphanage - The Pakkred Babies Home - Babies can be dropped off and kept there for up to 2 years.  Then the parent must decide if the baby will be put up for adoption or taken home.  The little girl that I had last time "Somchai" had been taken home by her mother - Yea!  I was glad to hear that.  So this time they gave me another little girl - she looked to be about 12 months old.  They told me her name - but it was hard to pronounce so I called her "Penelope" - it was close to her Thai name. 

 

This is the room we take the babies to play in.  We discovered that there IS an airconditioner in the room so it was turned on right away.  We play on the floor with the kids.  All of the toys have been donated - they are in good shape.  The caregivers seem to really care about the kids.  The babies I have worked with have all been clean healthy looking.

These are the women that I went to the orphanage with, they are all members (like me) of the American Women's Club here in Bangkok.  Their names are Deb, Renee and Bee.  Renee is holding the little boy she works with.  His name is Richard (they pronounce it Litchard).

Here I am with Penelope and Henry.  Henry had been with Deb earlier.  Now it is time to get ready for lunch:

Penelope has her bib on and is ready to eat!

For lunch today she is having noodles and sauce.  Also a small glass of water.  She ate everything in her bowl!  I was very proud of her.

This woman across from us is from a German Women's Club.  She and her friends were really nice.

After lunch we change the babies and then hand them back to their caregivers so that the babies can take a nap.

This orphanage has many buildings and I believe they house kids up to kindergarten age.  Here is an example of their playgrounds.

Before we work with the kids we always take our shoes off.  It is an Asian custom, but my feet always feel so dirty afterwards. 

So that is my day at the orphanage.  I am glad that they allow me this opportunity to help.

My friends by the picture of the king outside the building.

 

Linda

 

 

 

 

Chinese Proverbs

     While on our city tour of Suzhou, China, Steve happened to sneeze.  The tour guide, Janet Wu, and I both said "bless you!"  She then said, "that reminds me of something we Chinese say . . .

          Sneeze one time - Someone misses you.
          Sneeze two times -- Someone loves you.
          Sneeze three times --- You have a cold!

     Earlier she told a story about ancient Emperor Wu and Emperor Yow.  Emperor Wu captured Emperor Yow and sentenced him to 3 years in prison.  While there Yow determined to get his revenge.  He learned everything he could about Wu - what his strengths were and what he liked the best.  When released Yow found an attractive girl - taught her to sing, dance and speak intelligently.  Then he got her to meet Wu.  Like you thought, Wu fell head over heals in love.  He was so in love that he began to neglect his kingdom.  The girl told Yow when Wu was at his weakest, then Yow pounced and captured Wu.
     And that is where the saying comes from of "wooing someone". 
             I thought it was cute.


                                  On Chinese Food

     Janet Wu also told us about a young man who left China to go to the west to earn a lot of money.  While gone, his younger brother did many things for their mother.  The mother loved this but still longed for her oldest son.  When their mother's birthday was almost there, the oldest boy determined to send his mother the most wonderful gift he could find . . . a beautiful bird that could sing like an angel.  So the oldest boy sent the bird to his mother.  It cost him $20,000 US dollars!

     The day after his mother's birthday he called his mother.  "Mother, how do you like the bird I sent you?"  His mother replied, "Oh son, what a wonderful present!  It was
delicious!!!"

                                       A Star is Born

     While on the city tour, we visited a Buddhist temple in the heart of Suzhou.  I don't believe I saw any other caucasians around.  We definitely were something to stare at - Steve, a 6 foot 5 inch white man, and me, a "lovely" white woman (I can dream can't I?)
Many people stopped and stared at us.  While I was taking a picture I heard a commotion behind me.  I turned to see a short, young man standing in front of Steve.  The kid said (in very good English) "May I take my picture with you?"  Steve laughed and said sure.  So the kid's friend took the picture and the 2 walked away.  The Asians in our group laughed and said, "Steve, you are a star!  They must think you are a basketball player!" 
                            Super funny!!

Karioke, or in other words - Ouch! Quit Singing!

     The last night of Steve's business conference, we had a dinner and Karioke night.  The Formica MC went around to each group from China and each got up with their salesmen to sing a Chinese song.  Some were good, some not so.

     Anyway, the guy came to Steve and asked him what he and his Thailand group wanted to sing.  We thought and thought and then we came up with the perfect song, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame!"

     So Steve and I and the Thais and a few Chinese went outside the room to practice.  None knew the song, none really knew anything about baseball.  We tried to explain hitting the ball, catching, the bat . . .  no-one was getting it until finally one of the Chinese said "Oooo, over da fence, right?"  We said, "Yes!!  You know baseball!"  He was very proud.  So then we began practicing the song.  It was hilarious!  We had to do it about 6 times until they felt confident enough - as it was, half of them weren't singing - oh well.  So then we went out to perform.  The Chinese guys actually found the song and the words in English so they were up on a huge board for all to see.

     Steve took the microphone and said, "This song is not our national anthem, but it is our Summer anthem" . . . "Take Me Out To The Ballgame!"  Dead silence in the room.  I think everyone was dumbfounded!!!  The music began and we started to sing.  The Thais behind us mimicked throwing the ball, hitting, all in a very Asian way -- come on, I know you can picture this in your head!  When we finished the verse we all put our hands in the middle and did a cheer.  The audience laughed and clapped.

     Then . . .  the music began again!  I said, "Everyone sing!"  The audience laughed and tried to sing with us.  When we finished I asked Fred, the President of Formica Asia, "did you like it?"  He laughed and said "Very Good!"      IT WAS A SUCCESS!

                                      Linda

Graft the Chinese Way!

     One night Steve and I went to dinner with all of the other Formica people.  There were so many of us we had to take two large buses to the restaurant.  Steve and I sat in the front of the 2nd bus.  Our driver loved to pound on his horn.  He beeped it even when we crossed some empty intersections!

     So as we were following the other bus we came to a small but long stone bridge.  There was a guard shack at the front of the bridge with 2 guards out front.  The first bus went on through and over the bridge, but for some reason we had to stop.  One of the Formica guys got off the bus to talk to the guards.  I read the guard's lips as he asked in Chinese, "what is your quest?"  Our guy said, "dinner".  The guard said, "what is the capital of China?"  Our guy said, "Beijing".   Then the guard said, "what is your favorite color?"   Really, I was able to read their lips!

    Then the Formica guy called someone.  I watched all of this.  I happened to see the sign by the guard shack that showed a bus with a line through it - "no buses".  Then the Formica guy came back on the bus to get his bag.  I told Steve - "I bet he is going to pay those guys!"  Sure enough, our Formica guy went over to the guard shack, opened the door and actually put money on their desk!  I was amazed.  I watched the guards as we drove by - that was when they picked it up to count it!  At least in the "Holy Grail" movie they didn't have to pay to cross the bridge, but in China you still do.
                                  Linda

1st Full Day in China

     Steve and I are in Suzhou, China for a 6 day meeting.  Then we will drive to Shanghai for another meeting.  All in all, 9 days in China.  I have learned how to say hi in Mandarin - "ni how" and thank you  "shi shi ni".  Our waitress in the hotel restaurant taught me that. 

     So far I have felt safe and happy here.  This morning while Steve went to his meeting, I went for a walk.  While walking down this long street I spied a motorcycle coming near me.  I noticed the man staring at me.  As he drove by he yelled "helllooo"!  It was really cute.  He went by too quickly for me to answer.  Anyway, I walked for a whole hour - and I was drenched in sweat!  It was sooo humid.  I walked down to and through Egret Park which borders Dushu Lake.  I took some pictures while there.

You could see this egret sculpture from the restaurant in the hotel.  It was really pretty.  If you look above through the egrets you can see a christian church that they are rennovating.  I don't know if it is catholic, because all of the signs were in Chinese, but there were stained glass windows and a huge statue of Jesus out front.  The men working on the church were on bamboo scaffolding.  I took a picture of it but it is on my phone, and I don't know how to download that to the computer.  Sorry!

     Later that night we had dinner with all of the Formica people (about 40 of them).  The President of Asia Fred Wang made Steve and I sit next to him at his table.  From then on we were at his table every night.  He is very friendly but drinks like a fish (it seems like a lot of Chinese do!) 

     The highlight of the meal were the cooked pigeons with the heads as garnish - interesting stuff.  Oh, and I even tried eel - not my favorite -    I think I am going vegetarian!!
                                               Linda

Volunteering

Orphanage in Bangkok

     I have finally gotten to do my first volunteering in Bangkok.  On Monday Renee, Bea, Abby and I went to an orphanage that Abby has been involved in for about a year.  She said that she had heard that this is one of the cleanest and best run places for small children.  I was a little anxious about what I would see, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Here is a picture of the little girl that I was assigned to that day.  She is about 14 months old and her name is Somchai.  

She cried when I first held her, I guess I looked a lot different from the women that usually take care of her.  We each took our little ones across the compound to a room where we were to play with them for the next 2 hours.  We were warned not to bathe the children since it was winter ~~  ha ha ~~  I thought.  But they were serious!  We were sweating like pigs in this room - it must have been 85 degrees with pretty high humidity.  They had the windows open and the fans on, but it was hot.  So anyway, we did not bathe the children - I don't think that would have crossed my mind anyway. 

     Here we are playing.  I had just pushed her around and around the room on this horsey.  She doesn't look like, but she was smiling!  

Abby told me that women can drop their babies off at this place and they will take care of them for up to 2 years.  Then the women have to decide if they want to keep them or adopt them out.  Abby had fallen in love with the little girl that she was working with.  I asked her if she was going to adopt her, but Abby said that the way they do it in Thailand is that you put your name on a list, and even if you want a specific child, they will give you whatever child is next on that list.  You can't ask for one that you know.  So she isn't going to do that. 
     It was a fun experience.  We are going to be doing that 1 time a week.  I will show you more pictures of the facility later. 

The Movies

     I finally got to experience a Thai movie theater and it did live up to my expectations of new and strange!

     Most of the movie theaters I have seen thus far have been at the top of these huge shopping malls.  Steve and I went to see the new Total Recall movie.  When you go to buy your ticket the girl shows you a screen and asks you where you want to sit.  We picked seats 13 and 14 in the back Row B.  She printed out tickets for those 2 seats.  Then we found our theater and were greeted by a young guy who took us directly to our seats.  There were only about 20 people in this huge theater.  The seats were gold and plush.  The lights dimmed . . .  and we then had to sit through 30 minutes of adds and previews.  FINALLY  what I had been looking forward to finally occured ~~ we were asked to stand and give our respect to his Majesty and the national anthem.  While the song played we watched a propaganda film about the King ~~ his life ~~ and the people bowing to him and giving him food.  It was pretty amazing.  They act like he is a God.

     So then the movie started.  The sound was LOUD throughout the movie.  I had to cover my ears many times.  Steve said he had to do the same.  Oh, and yes, the movie was in English with Thai subtitles.  After awhile you learn to ignore the subtitles.

     Anyway, as soon as the movie ended, the usher yelled out something in Thai.  Steve looked at me and said "I guess that means get up and get out!"  Everyone rose and left at the same time. 

     Another strange experience in Bangkok!

Geographical Oddity

     I know that many of you falsely believe that you and where you live are the center of the known universe, but I actually have proof that Bangkok is truly at the center of all that is important in the world.
     As you walk down the skinny, uneven, dangerous sidewalks in Bangkok, you come across many obstacles like telephone poles, street vendors, and huge holes.  But the one that I love is the Thai mail box.  It is huge, red and it always makes me laugh . . .

So as you can see, Bangkok is the true center of the world, and all of you are in . . .
other places!!

                                                 Linda

Pattaya Photos

Here are the photos I promised you from our trip to Pattaya:

I also made my first Baht in Pattaya (well sandbaht) . . .

It was a really nice trip.  I have heard that the western coast of the Bay is even better than this one.  I hope to see it soon!
                                                              Linda

Pattaya

Monday, July 30th


     Today Steve's driver Somchai drove us to Pattaya.  It is a city on the eastern side of the Bay of Thailand.  It is about a 2 hour drive from Bangkok.  As we drove into the city it reminded me a lot of Bangkok ~~ same kind of shops, apartments and street vendors.  And of course the ever present motorcyclesb~~ they are everywhere!


   We stayed at the Sheraton which was right on the bay.  It was absolutely gorgeous!!  From the bellhops and ladies taking our reservation (all dressed in traditional Thai clothing and the girls were beautiful) to the architecture of the buildings ~~ all very Thai. <br><br>


     I just tried to add photos but it didn't work.  I will have to wait for Steve to get home to help.<br><br>
           To be continued . . . 


    

Surprise Visit

     Sunday afternoon we had a knock on our door.  It was a couple from Colorado ~ Amy and Bryan.  They are here for 2 years and have brought their 2 sons (14 & 16) and a 4 year old daughter.  The boys go to an international school about an hour away.  They say that once you enter the compound you feel like you are back in America.  It is a totally American curriculum and many diplomats send their kids there.
     Anyway, Amy is very involved in the American Women's Club.  She invited me to a get together on Thursday.  I said I would love to go.<br><br>
     She told me some advice that other women had given her ~~ it is ok to cry or be depressed once a week for awhile.  It is perfectly normal.  That made me feel good because I have been trying to ignore the twinges of sadness or depression about what we've left behind.<br><br>
     She also said it gets better and to try to enjoy this luxury lifestyle for as long as it lasts.  Good advice ~~ I will try to follow it!