Five Continents

Ms.Gounis requested more information about the specifics of Thailand, so I’m going to go into a little bit more detail here. But I’m also going to talk about the other adventures I have had the privilege of going on because I want to.

Thailand is an interesting place. There are Buddhas everywhere, and the people are an interesting mix. Most of the upper-middle class send their kids to international schools that teach in English, and these kids go on to attend college in either America or the UK. But people who work closely with tourists, like taxi drivers or waiters also know quite a bit of english.

The food there is phenomenal, if you get Asian food. Stay away from western food. If you want bread, go to France. You’re in South East Asia, the rice is amazing. You will never experience any other white rice like it. But stay away from most Thai desserts. If it isn’t sticky rice and mango, it’s probably not that good. But sticky rice and mango is one of the greatest desserts ever invented. It’s fabulous.

This is a snowman that I made out of sticky rice. A fun fact that I didn’t know before going to Thailand though is that there are three different types of sticky rice. I had known about the dessert sticky rice, it’s sort of sticky and sweet and delicious. Then there’s regular sticky rice, which is just a stickier version of regular rice. And then you have the substance that made Sir Rice Man. It is the stickiest rice ever. It is like rice cement. It is not sweet, it is just sticky and is eaten on picnics because it’s so sticky it’s nearly impossible to make a mess. Utensils are no match for this rice. Hands are the only way to rip it out of the container it is served in.

That is not to say it is not delicious. All rice is excellent, but this sticky rice was crazy. That’s why I made Sir Rice Man.

Another thing that I can’t remember whether I mentioned is that the level of tourism has greatly increased in Thailand. I’ve been there before. My first time was when I was six months old, and the last was when I was eight. But every time before now, we had been able to visit the Grand Palace and walked around it at leisure. This time however, was different. There were thousands of people there, it was suffocating and you could barely move around the palace. There is an emerald Buddha in the Grand Palace that many locals (since the majority of Thailand is Buddhist) like to visit, and when I was eight you could go in and kneel down and spend time there.

This time was very different. Since the Grand Palace was filled with thousands of people, it was not a fun experience trying to see the Buddha. Think of a mosh pit. There was one tiny doorway everyone had to file into and one tiny staircase leading up to it. Everyone was crowded around the door, trying to force their way in. I was walking in with my family into the building, waiting in line and then we got separated. And then I was stuck between to men. And then the two men were trying to push in front of a third guy. And then a large woman was behind me pushing me into the men. And suddenly I’m trapped between four people all shoving against me and I am carried into and then back out of the building by them.

I’m sorry if I already wrote about that but it was a truly traumatic experience. I couldn’t breathe and I was kind of suffocating.

But other than that the trip was super fun. Also from the title of this blog (lmao I was about to call it a video) I was going to mention my excitement for the trip I’ll be going on in February. I get to go to Peru with the school, so I will finally be able to cross South America off my list.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting a ton of crazy things, and this year I finally get to see Machu Pichu, which they may be closing soon. It’s going to be kind of weird after going to Cambodia, because they have so many more rules, but it’s still going to be really cool and I’m super excited.

Also thank you Ms.Gounis for switching me into your advisory. I was devastated when I saw I had missed it by so little. That was the most tragic moment of my week.