Pride and Prejudice

In 2005 I lived in Thailand, volunteering at an orphanage.  In the town of Khon Kaen it was very hard to find English books...well, anything in English was hard to find for that matter!  

One day in a tiny bookstore, while looking through stacks of books, I found a delightful paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice.  I was so excited!  Not only did I finally find an English book to read, I had just purchased my very first copy of Pride and Prejudice.  I was in a state of complete joy and happiness. 

Years later, while living in a small town outside of Chicago, some friends were over my apartment, when someone quoted Miss Austen incorrectly!  My friend Bailey knew the correct quote and stated that if she had a copy of Pride and Prejudice she would prove it.  So I went to my bookshelf and pulled out my copy.  

We laughed as she looked at my tiny copy of the book.  "Where in the world did you find this?  This is not adequate at all."

Months later when I moved to North Carolina, on the day I was all packed up and ready to pull out of town, Bailey handed me a gift.  

A beautiful, hardback copy of Pride and Prejudice that was published in 1963.  It came with a letter telling me that since my copy of this wonderful book just wouldn't do she decided to give me hers.  

Tears stung my eyes at her thoughtful gesture. 

This past weekend I was in a store, window shopping.  I wasn't expecting to buy anything, just having fun going from shop to shop.  I wandered into a store, and on display were some beautiful books, they were hardback with cute little dust jackets in different patterns.  Mostly florals and prints, all ready for spring.  

I glanced at the top cover and was completely surprised to discover it was a copy of Pride and Prejudice!  I bought it and returned home thinking, “Did I really just buy this book because it's cute?” 

But the answer is no...I didn't buy it because it's cute.  

I bought it because for some reason holding a copy of Pride and Prejudice make me feel like I'm home. 

A familiar story, with words that bring comfort to my heart.  Personal connections to the book from places I've lived all over the world.  Memories of happy times and friends so dear.

A good book is more than it seems.

Bugs and Such

Thursday, July 8th
Khon Kaen, Thailand

After leaving Ban Maeta we went to the Khon Kaen Night Market. The Night Market is located on a huge street that is blocked off at both ends, filled with street vendors selling everything from clothes, movies and music to fruit, Thai food, and bugs.



So... I bet you're wondering what we ate tonight, huh? A lot of bugs and a really strange fruit were on the menu!



First we ate crickets. My personal favorite. Crunchy and tasty.



Then large grasshoppers. Taste good but it's a little awkward pulling their legs off first (so they don't get stuck in your throat).





Following the crickets and grasshoppers was durian, a yellow fruit that smells like rotten eggs, but actually tastes good. It is a little stringy on the outside and like a custard on the inside. It is definitely as strange as it sounds. Surprisingly though, it was good and tastes nothing like it smells.



We then finished the evening with grubs. Seriously, we ate grubs! And let me tell you, I thought it tasted like the crickets at first, until I bit it and the inside squished out! It was really gross, but somehow we finished it.

To get rid of the squishy grub taste, we ate more crickets :) Yum! And some of my favorite fruits: dragon fruit and lychee.



If you don't believe me, there is proof! There is a video of Glen, Jeremy, Miguel and I eating all of these, um...delicacies. So... anyone hungry?

-Tiff

Khon Kaen

Thursday July 8th
Khon Kaen, Thailand

Today I woke up to the sound of motorbikes and people outside speaking Thai...hours before my alarm. I was so excited I couldn't sleep! After we had breakfast we explored the area around our hotel and found some Buddhist temples.









We left Bangkok and flew to Khon Kaen at 12:40. Jain met us at the airport. He is going to be with us all week translating for us (When he isn't translating for teams, you can find him in Phrae. He also does a lot of pictures and videos for all of the Children's Homes).

After checking in to our hotel we walked a few blocks to Ban Maeta Khon Kaen. It is a home for children who are HIV positive. We saw the buildings and had a little orientation with Kingsley and Grace. Kingsley and Grace are volunteers with Mercy International. They are from Australia and have the coolest accent. As soon as our orientation was over the kids started coming home from school. I don't know who was more excited, us or them!

We played soccer and other games with them like tag, duck-duck-goose, and water balloon toss! After we could run no more, we all sat down on picnic mats to eat sticky rice with sweet chili sauce, chicken and a variety of fruits, vegetables and fun fruit drinks.











We had some entertainment afterwards from the Palm Valley team acting out funny skits and doing some crazy songs. The kids laughed and enjoyed every second of it! At the end I was part of an impromptu skit, complete with Thai conversation and sound effects from Nelly and Jeremy that had everyone laughing.



We prayed with the children and then enjoyed some more time playing, laughing, taking pictures and making memories we will never forget.














-Tiffany