My Girls

I first wanted to write about our trip to chatuchak market (lost in fish zone), and the little friend I woke up to this morning (hint - it was a bug), but I think I will save those for another time and write about something different.

I've written about my apartment, how hot it is, and what I will be teaching, but I realized today that I missed one of the more important things out here - my girls.  The girls I will be living next to, teaching with, taking classes with, exploring, discovering, weeping, and partying with.  And I couldn't be happier that I have each of them.  I wanted to share with everyone a little bit about them, because they are all so wonderful and interesting:

Jen

Jen is your go-to gal.  She is one of the most generous people I have ever met, much more concerned for your own comfort and well-being before her own.  The couple of times that we've been in a pickle, she's jumped right into the situation and solved it.  Stomach aches, home sickness, organizing cars, getting keys out from the inside of a locked apartment.... she has a cure for it all.  She will be the first person to volunteer her time, is very attuned to others' emotions, and genuinely wants to help whenever possible. She is also very responsible and methodical in her organization and planning, which I sometimes tease her about, but in actuality admire.

Martine

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the various pictures I have of Martine show it all.  Whenever I find myself feeling negatively towards something or someone, I simply relocate myself next to Martine.  I don't need to talk, or vent, just being with her helps.  She is full of energy, full of life, and full of the same child-like excitement I like to think I have.  That's why being with her is always so much fun, and probably why we have the weirdest adventures, absorptions, conversations, and songs.

Mary

I knew Mary the least when we first came out here, as I never had classes with her nor attended the same weekly meetings.  I can say though, that we became fast friends.  Mary is extremely easy to talk to and comfortable to be around. She is a fantastic listener and (usually) has a calmness about her that I find relaxing.  When she doesn't have that calmness, it's because she is giggling and blushing about something silly someone is doing.  In fact, making her giggle has quickly become one of my favourite things to do.  Playfully teasing her is made even more fun by the fact that I know she will take it good-naturedly and share a laugh about it.

Reanna

Oh Reanna.  What are we going to do with you. 

Never will you ever meet another person like Reanna, she is one in a million.  Extremely playful and creative, a perfect fit for the theater.  Whenever I am with her there is guaranteed split-your-sides laughter.  Just watching her will make you giggle and smile, which makes more sense when you find out that she is a trained horror-clown (which is fascinating, awesome, and somewhat frightening all at the same time.)  She is also super sensitive to your needs, and has a very nurturing disposition.  Case in point, on our second day here in Thailand she made everyone acrostic poems about ourselves.  That's just the kind of person she is.

Shari

Shari is a blast.  She is passionate about everything she endeavors in or has an opinion about, whether it's animals, art, coffee, teaching, or eating cockroaches, and it brings a whole new excitement to the table.  This girl has such enthusiasm, that she doesn't even need to verbalize it - her non-verbal cues are both loud and hilarious.  This passion she carries with her is also something that I admire greatly.  She is also incredibly fun to goof and joke around with, sometimes a little too-much so (remembering the morning where we did absolutely no prepping and just used each other to procrastinate. Good times. Je'mappelle)

I could never do these girls justice in one short paragraph, but I just wanted to show everyone a glimpse of how lucky I am having such a diverse, interesting, fun, and lovely group of girls to share this experience with.