Combined Womens' Luncheon

  

   Today was the biggest event that the American Womens' Club will put on all year.  It was their turn to host the combined womens' luncheon for all of the womens' clubs in Bangkok.  It was held at the Sofitel Hotel. 

The theme this year was the rip roaring twenties.  Women could dress as flappers or just in a nice dress if not as brave.  Most of my table (including me) chose to come in just a nice dress.  Here are some of my other friends in their amazing outfits :

The woman in black is Melanie, I work with her in the consignment shop, she is also the Vice-President of the Womens' Club.  The woman in blue is Naina, she is in my book club.  The lady in blue is Christy, I work with her in the orphanage, she is in our club and in the German Womens' Club!

The flapper on the right is Amy, she lives in my apartment building and is very nice.  The flapper on the left is Yevon, she also lives in my building and is Canadian, but also a member of the American Womens' Club (we'll let anyone in!! ha ha)

This is Bee Laughter.  She is one of the ladies that I go to the orphanage with.  She is very funny and nice.

These were the ladies that sat at our table.  Starting from the left:  Bee, Renee (in green), Vicki (in Black), A Japanese lady that I had just met but now I can't remember her name, me, Sonali, Nancy, and another lady that I had just met.  We had a very fun table, lots of laughter and fun!


     Soon they had a competition to see who had the best outfit.  The best dressed paraded out to the stage.  We clapped for our favorites!

 

 

The 2 ladies in black were from the Brazilian Club.  One of them got 2nd place.

 

The lady in pink is from New Zealand, she got first place.  I was told that she won best dressed 2 years in a row! 

 

Then it was time for the entertainment.  I really wasn't too impressed at first.  Here we are, a room full of women, watching 4 women on stage bumping and grinding.  THEN the Japanese woman next to me whispered in my ear (you know they are girly-boys don't you?)  WHAT???    I could not believe it.  They looked so real!!!  Check it out for yourself:

Then they invited our ladies to get out on the dance floor with them.  It is a sad thing when a real woman looks far worse than a girly-boy!!! 

 

So this is my life.  Think of me as you are going to your lovely jobs in Ohio, Kentucky, California, Washington State, or wherever you are in the world.  I am slaving away here in Bangkok having to go to these damn luncheons.  Oh the life we live . . . ha ha ha

                                                                         Linda

A New Volunteer At the National Museum !

   

  This week I went with some friends to a meeting at the beautiful Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok for the National Museum.  It was an informational meeting for people who were interested in being volunteers and for people who were interested in becoming new members.  Also a time for older members to catch up with others that they might not have seen in a while.

      I went because I love history and I had heard about all of the wonderful programs they had going on there, so I was definitely going to join.  When I told Steve that I was now a volunteer at the museum he asked, "How much is that going to cost?"  Well they do actually charge 1200 Baht to be a member but you get free admission and if you want to go to lectures it costs less than an outsider.  Also, what I am really excited about is that they have a 2 month class that is 2 days a week starting on January 29th which will train me to be a docent in the museum.  A docent is someone who will give a free tour to English speaking visitors.  There are also Japanese, German and French docents.  I will learn a lot about Thai history and culture, meet a lot of people, and at the end of the class, if I feel that being a docent is not for me, I don't have to commit.  I think it's pretty cool. 

     While I was at this open house, my friend Deb introduced me to a Budhist monk she knows.  He originally was American, grew up in Indiana, and by the age of 10 knew that he wanted to be a Budhist.  Kind of a tough thing to be in the middle of the cornfields of Indiana! 


     His original name is Karol, but most people called him Percy.  When he became a monk he took on the name Bhikkhu Kantasilo, but he asked us to call him Bante.  I think "Bhikkhu" is an honorific but I am not sure.  He has been a monk here in Thailand for 32 years and came here just after the Vietnam war ended, sometime around 1979.  He said that at that time white people were still pretty unusual to see and a lot of Thais would stop and stare and point at him.  I won't go into his whole story because he is quite a talker and very personable.  I hope one day to get to tour the Wat that he is at. 

     These children played traditional Thai music for us.  It's very hard for a Westerner to appreciate their music.  At first it sounded to me like my high school band as we were all warming up our instruments at the same time.  Then they played another song where one of the boys sang, and his voice was very sweet.  I suppose the music could grow on me if I heard it enough! 
                                    Linda 

Lost in Translation

     I had to go to the hospital today for a check-up with my doctor.  Last month I decided to try the doctors here since people had told me what great service they had gotten.  Well I have had migraines for well over 20 years and the medicine that my U.S. doctor had prescribed had run out.  The pharmacies here had never heard of that medicine, so that was the last straw . . . I headed to the Thai doctor. 

     My doctor's name is Dr. Theeraporn Thaichinda.  I call him Doctor.  He was educated in the United States and speaks very good English, but still there are many times I don't quite get the gist of what he is saying.  He prescribed a medicine and all was well and good. 

     Which brings me to today's check-up.  He wanted to make sure that the low dose he had given me was working well.  I told him that I was still having slight headaches and that I would like to try acupuncture.  I forgot that someone had told me to be careful about what you ask for because you get it right away.  I thought I would get an appointment to come back to see the accupuncturist.  Oh no, I was marched right up the steps to his door. I sat down opposite him and before I knew it, I had needles in my head!  Then he asked me how I wanted to pay - by the session or a cheaper way was by the package - I said probably the cheaper way.  But as I lay there in the dark with needles in my head, I thought maybe I want to pay each time I come.  So when the session was over I told the nurse at the desk that I wanted to pay by the session.  She marched me down the steps to pay.  I signed the credit card receipt - and low and behold - I had paid the "cheaper way" - by the package - something was definitely lost in translation.  My friends had told me it is too hard to make them give you the money back so I just gave up. 

     It's times like these that I really miss the U.S.!

                                                             Linda