Cell phones and Thai tattoos

I can't believe it but i finally had to break down and buy a cell phone this week. I've been having problems with my land line because it's shared with everyone in the building and it kicks you off the line every 15 minutes. Plus, the cell phone system in Thailand is so much sweeter than in America. You don't use up any minutes for incoming calls and you just buy these SIM cards that are fairly inexpensive. You don't have to sign a contract or anything and your phone number is associated with you card, not the phone itself. It's been crazy having a phone but it has already helped me out this week. Unfortunately, i had to call one of the thai teachers wednesday night because noah had a terrible bout of food poisoning. he ended up having to stay in the hospital overnight because he was so dehydrated that he needed an IV. luckily, he got the poshest room that i have ever seen in a hospital. the hospital gowns here are neon pink so noah looked quite festive! don't worry, he's feeling much better and has been eating regularly.

today was declared a national holiday so school was cancelled. of course, we only heard about this two days ago. as everyone keeps telling me, it's just the "thai style, thai style." we've taken advantage of our day off by practicing riding motorcycles. our friends dave and karen were gracious enough to pick hilary, noah and i up on their bikes and take us to a park to practice driving. i think it's exciting and pretty exhiliarating. the only thing i'm afraid of is getting a "thai tattoo" which happens when you burn your leg on the exhaust pipe. hopefully avoiding it will just become instinct. we're going to practice some more tomorrow. hilary already had a little spill but she's just got a couple of cuts. she turned too quickly and got scared so she and the bike fell over. other than that little mishap, it's mostly like riding a bicycle. we plan on renting the bikes because the rental rate includes maintenance...oil changes, new tires, etc. we just have to pay for gas.

so tonight we are going to enjoy the festivities at Kaelang Park. there is a procession to the park and then there will be some performances and fireworks. i think i forgot to mention that hilary and i were rejected from the thai dancing. i think this happened partly because we weren't very good at it and also because we couldn't stop laughing because we kept falling over. i hope i can learn thai dancing at some point but it's a relief to not have to perform in front of everyone. i will be sure to post pictures from the events tomorrow. oh how i love three day weekends!