Thai-way: Team Suphanburi

I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, and tell you how I fell into a boat on an island called Koh Samet. (Ohhh, Fresh Prince)

There are forces in the universe that are just beyond our capacity to understand. Do things really happen for a reason? Should Karma be taken more seriously? What separates the mind from the body? Assuming gravity is one of these forces, I begin my descent into a tale of how Thailand broke Laura Guenther.

I had a catastrophic run in with the force of gravity in Koh Samet, an island off the coast of Thailand. First of all, it was a fabulous weekend. I took Friday off and headed to the island Thursday evening (planned on meeting the rest of the crew coming there Friday night). Such a relaxing day on Friday, just laying on the beach, watching as people slowly filtered out of their bungalows, hotels, hostels, and shacks right on the beach to enjoy some breakfast with friends or family. The vendors were getting their ancient bamboo-over-the-shoulder-carriers ready for the day, filled with eggs, fruits, fried chicken, and other foods unrecognizable to my foreign eyes. I got my first "thai massage" since I've been here and it was... orgasmic. I miss my weekly visits with my chiropractor and the chiropractic masseuse that I would see in the States and my body was missing her too. Owner of truly the hardest of all shoulders and neck muscles in the world, I gladly accepted the elbows and feet applying massive pressure to all points on my back, legs, and even my arse. Friday night brought a storm, meaning my friends would be arriving much later than expected. Upon arrival, most were already drunk from their "booze cruise" from Bangkok and their extra drinks while waiting for the "okay" from the boat taxi to take them to the island once the storm had passed. It was a fun night playing in the rain, dancing to OLLLLD american pop music, and meeting random americans also there for a weekend away from their respective concrete villages and school sanctuaries. Saturday was much of the same, nothing too exciting. Sunday was exactly what I wanted... an early start for home because it would be about 4 hours to get to bangkok and then another, almost, 2 hours for me to make my way back to Suphanburi... I wanted to get there before dark because I had a few loose ends to tie together for the following week at school. A group of us were grabbing a ferry at 12:30. I took one step off of the dock, reached for the hand of a friend, and all giggles, not paying any attention to the distance between the dock and the ferry, nor the measure of the drop into the boat, my foot basically missed anything solid and went (i think) in between the two objects and my body flew forward. Having my heavy backpack and huge purse on my right arm probably didn't help my fall, but then again maybe their weight carried me INTO the ferry as opposed to just falling straight down into the water. Unsure of the specifics, I know I hit my left shin hella hard on the edge of the metal ferry step and threw the rest of my body onto my right thigh as I landed on it on something equally as hard. Ouch.

Both legs throbbed and I was in shock.. i thought i broke my femur.. and when i saw the blood it REALLY started to hurt.. then i got dizzy and started throwing up/gagging over the boat and almost passed out while people tried to bandage me and apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
Instantly bruised quad on my right leg and the large gash on my left leg required 3 stitches.
Thank all that is immortal that I had friends with me to take care of me and to "hold my hand" because the hospital was painful.. numbing shot didn't work too well. Anyway, I'm fine. I was more upset about my stupidity and how much this was going to affect my ability to get around. In the end, it was MUCH less painful throughout the next few days than expected. I went to the doctors that I know in Suphanburi that speak english and are parents to one of my students and checked for breaks/fractures, got new bandages, and realized that although extremely painful the first day the pain went away quickly and wasn't as much of a nuisance that I expected. Phew.

Khru Da (who I have talked about quite a bit, which I will refer to as Da, and is probably my best teacher friend at Supaluck) calls me a lot. I am usually hesitant to answer phone calls, even in America, because I just don't like making small talk sometimes and here it is especially difficult to understand a foreigner like myself. Let alone trying to understand the broken english/thai coming from the other end. However, I know that Da means well and she is HILARIOUS. I honestly find her more and more 'western' like by the day. She actually just called me (it is about 8am) and said, "Laura, come to school NOW" and I asked why. She laughed and said "I MISS YOU" Sounds cute, right? I just laugh, because I taught her the word miss and how to use it, like that she "misses" her husband during the week because he stays in Bangkok where he works and only comes home on weekends. We've basically started to refer to ourselves as long lost twins from opposite sides of the earth. At the EXACT same time I had my accident falling into the boat on Koh Samet, she fell off of a chair during the "Teacher Sports Day" and busted up her lip. We wear the same size shoe, love the same food (aka anything spicy, basically everything here), and we have similar senses of humor.

Da: "Laura I have speak with you, have talk...tell you"
Me: "umm.. ok
"next week. you have time? I have time. you have time?"
"time for what?!"
"ummmmmm... have time. weekend this you go koh samet. next week, have time?"
"oh yes.. I have time" realizing she meant to ask if i had plans for the next weekend or not
"we go beach. i tell husband. he say 'ok' ... take children sister, she say 'ok' ..."
"OK!"

Just a little insight to some of our conversations (difficult to try to type out, they are much more confusing and in depth than I alluded to, but once we DO understand each other it is giddy excitement).

So Cha Am Beach, here I come with my new Thai family. The first excursion we went on to a nearby temple and the 100 year old market in Suphanburi calmed my nerves with regard to spending time with this family. Now I'm quite inclined to sing along with the English songs they play while driving... hone in on their thai conversations when I recognize a thai word I know... and tickle the two sons, Leo and Levi, until they almost cry. I've referred to us as Team Suphanburi, and they think it is hilarious. What I find hilarious is their explanations for the nicknames of their sons. Leo, a popular beer in Thailand, and Levi, "like the jeans"
I'm awake and ready for our 4 am departure on Saturday morning, meaning I had a lovely Friday night alone in my apartment. That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't smell it. I was about to pull my hair out I was so bored. After the week (Tuesday-Friday) of teaching requiring me to stand and walk all day left my legs the antithesis of dainty. They were swollen and about to pop and I had some serious fluid build up around my stitches teamed up with new bruising under my right ankle. The thais at my school got a kick out of touching the fluid pocket and stopping me wherever I was walking to tell the nearby thai people about my condition (in thai, so I really had little idea what they were saying, if it even had to do with my injuries at all). I was done with work at 3 pm on Friday so I came home to elevate my leg, knowing this was the best idea ever. I looked at the clock at 4:25 pm and thought I should just take a sleeping pill and call it a night because laying on my bed wasn't keeping me interested. I reached for my book (one of the three I'm attempting to read right now) and read about 2 pages... blah. Turned the tv on to watch yet another random American movie, it was "Teeth" (just a plug about this movie.. which I actually have already seen... it is about a teenage girl that makes a holy vow to not have sex until marriage and her vagina then grows teeth, eating anything that enters its "cave" Not exactly the material I was looking for) so I turned off the tv. Went to my computer thinking I might have a few words to type out, but nothing. So I lay back down, put my leg in the air, and start texting (might as well see what everyone else in Thailand is up to while I self indulge in my solitude). Ultimately, I end up ordering food from "The Pizza Company" and because my salad and bread sticks weren't enough baht for them to deliver, I order 2 salads. And, yes, eat them both. 8:30 rolls around. I drink a beer instead of a sleeping pill and sleep through the night... well, until 3:20 am when my alarm went off. Nothing like magic, my leg had lost about 10 pounds and I was packed and ready for my day at the beach.

3.5 hour drive. Not bad at all. You don't see many thai people wearing bathing suits, especially women. Boys wear tight shorts and a shirt usually, to protect them from the sun. I had my bathing suit on but wore a dress, well knowing that I would likely not be flaunting my American skin as a guest with this fam. I actually wasn't supposed to go in the sea at all because of my stitches but the doctor gave me a waterproof bandage so I managed to get in just enough to splash with Leo and Levi, and what do ya know... ran into one of my students there. Very random when you are 200+ kilometers away from your school and you hear "TEACHAAA LARRRRLA" It was the first time for Leo and Levi to see or be in the sea and they loooooved it. We ate tons of seafood and upon further review decided it would be best to go back to Suphanburi that evening instead of spending the night in Cha Am. That way, we could all go to BuengChawak (http://www.hotsia.com/suphanburi/bueng%20chawak.shtml) on Sunday! (They all knew how badly I've been wanting to go there, so I was absolutely for it and very appreciative) We went to some more beaches, they names escape me, and had some lunch, stopped at a crazy candy shop where I definitely overindulged, and headed back, where I made them take us out for dinner so I could treat. OH MY GOD. I love the food here. But I seriously need to stop eating so much of it.

Funny I should mention that... I WILL HAVE to stop eating it come next week when I get my first Wisdom Tooth pulled out, thai style. Oh yeah. Bring on the local anesthesia (I asked for general just to see, and they laughed). It's an "easy" case for the specialist, seeing as my tooth has already shown its nasty little white head, and honestly, I'm not that nervous/scared/worried at all. I'm actually kinda proud of myself, maybe for my parent's sake, that I'm saving so much money in getting it done in Thailand. Medicine, Dentist visits, and teeth pulling (all-inclusive) will cost me around 100 dollars max. Holler.