Bangkok

It's been awhile! China is still blocking Blogger, facebook, twitter, and YouTube. I'm in Bangkok this weekend for an IB training, so I'm taking advantage of a break to use the computer lab. Oh, sweet internet freedom. To think, I can post my thoughts online without restriction.

I'm at this conference for three days, and I've drug our little Eden along. A hotel housekeeper has been watching her these three days. I am trying to shut my mind to it, and not think too much about it. At least I was until a fellow workshop participant actually told me he thought it was kind of "reckless." Thanks, Buddy. What am I supposed to do? The school forbid Joe to come along, and I don't just have a bunch of people I know in Thailand. It is funny, though, how I often find myself in these somewhat stressful situations, and I wonder how did I get here. There are two things that I'm really doing to please my boss - #1 - working full time #2 - coming to this conference with no one I know to watch Eden. I guess in the end, it will all work out fine. I can't say I'm working full-time entirely because of my boss either.

But, I digress - Thailand. I was telling Joe last night how Thailand has been on my list of places to go, but the funny thing is, I don't think this counts. It's really quite like being at work. The workshop takes all day long. Also, I want to go to the beaches of Thailand. I'm sure we'll make our way there before too long.

Bangkok is a busy, bustling place. My first impressions when I arrived to my hotel at three in the morning were not so good. The nightlife was out, and I'm in a touristy area, so there were prostitutes and creatures of the night out and about. My sweet, innocent Iowan sensibilities are always intimidated by these kinds of things. Here are some observations about Thailand -
You can get lots of meat grilled and on skewers.
There are little street food carts about every five feet.
There are many sweaty, fat white men with petite, young Thai women.
They love children and call out to Eden as I carry her along in her front carrier.
There are tons of little street stalls selling various items - colorful clothing, jewelry, hairbands, cheap shoes, etc.
There's a mix of cultures - Indian, Muslim, etc.
There are motorcycles and tuk-tuks (motorcycle like mini-trucks) zipping along everywhere.
There are shopping emporiums and lots of different foods to try.
Plenty of little bars and night spots.

Those are the things all around me. I'm not doing much, ordering room service in my room because it's easier to eat there with Eden than out. I don't mind. There's nothing wrong with a little hotel vacation.

I head back tomorrow and get in around midnight. Then, one week until our fall break. Not too shabby. I think we'll head over to Lamma Island near Hong Kong for a night. Maybe I'll get to post again then. I'll make sure to plan ahead and bring pictures of the girls to upload. I didn't even bring a camera with me on this trip - too much to carry!

As for Eden, she is getting so big! She is chubby! 6.8 kilos the other day which is roughly 15 pounds. I'm going to get it from her pediatrician, but I just feed her when she's hungry. She is the most alert baby and loves to be looking out at everyone and everything from her carrier. She won't sleep if there's something to see. She has been a fabulous sleeper at night, but rarely sleeps past an hour in the day time. Poor Aling, our ayi (nanny), and lucky me! You would think I would go to bed earlier, though, to take advantage of this. She does wake up about 3 am to eat, though.

She's a little bundle of love, although she frustrates us by wanting to be held all the time. Sophia is still loving her sister, and thinks she's so great. The other day I was telling her all the things Eden would say to her when she could talk. Sophia just got this content little smile on her face. She especially liked it when I suggested they could share a room and Eden would ask her to show her how to paint and color.

So that's about it. Back to the workshop. I hope there aren't too many misspellings and mistakes in my hurried ramblings.