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Sunday, July 8, 2012


OKAY so I’ve been lax on the blogging aspect of the trip. There’s just so many people to meet and things to do that I keep forgetting I need to sit down and flesh out the best parts of the trip. I imagine the rest of the group has done sufficient overviews of the trip thus far; ironically, I haven’t gotten to read the blog due to our limited internet access. So I wanted to do a list of ways that I personally think Tie Land is better than ‘Murica.

Pantip!!! This is essentially a 5-story mall/bazaar of sorts, but it’s entirely electronics. My inner geek had a nerd explosion when Ben showed me the main floor. It’s just tons and tons of shops selling everything you could possibly imagine: phones, computers, ipads, software, music, movies, Beats by Dre, YOU NAME IT! I’m terribly disappointed I didn’t save enough money before I came, because it’s essentially Newegg if it was a physical store, with stores selling video cards, MOBO’s, cooling units, towers, and everything you need to build a up-to-date computer on the cheap. It’s amazing, shiny things everywhere, definitely recommend.

FOOD! Holy smokes, if I don’t come back 50 pounds heavier it’ll be a miracle. Kao pad kai/moo, literally rice fried with chicken/pork, a staple of any Tie diet. It’s made by the order at every street cart and shop, and makes panda express look like a joke. The spring rolls are amazing, the tea is amazing, the coffee is amazing, the soups are amazing, the noodles are amazing, the curry is amazing. I literally haven’t tried something that I didn’t enjoy (albeit my moderate tolerance of bugs and some of the local Kranuan greens/roots which is basically like eating grass). I’m still having trouble with chopsticks though, which is depressing. I’m praying about it though, and I will persevere!

PEOPLE! I feel like everyone’s somewhat aware that the Tie people are some of the nicest people on the planet, but you really have to be here to experience just how consistent that sensation is. It’s like every person I meet is my new best friend, and even the strangers we pass in the streets who are inquisitive about these pharongs (foreigners) still smile and laugh when we butcher our attempt at local greeting customs (OH HELLO, SWEATY COP *YYYYYYYY*). The lady that gave me a massage even gave me a Tie name, “Som Chai”, which means “perfect man” or “gentleman”, since Morrell is too hard to say (which is as funny as it sounds). Not sure how comfortable I am being hit on by a 53 year old lady, but I’ll just roll with it. Also, it has been a total joy to communicate with everyone, even in spite of the language barrier. When I had to perform on stage as a comedian or actor back home, it was important to make extreme gesticulations and portray clear facial expressions. I feel like that has trained me for talking to the people here, as everyone uses their hands much more when they talk, and using transparent expressions helps communicate what I’m trying to say with my limited Tie vocabulary. It’s just been so fun to talk to everyone, even though we’ve only met 2 people who speak sufficient English.

So this blog entry feels pretty long now. I haven’t talked about much Jesus stuffs, but know that he is clearly at work in my life on this trip, and in the life of our team and the people we’re working with. My following entries will have a better mix of serious-face material and fun stuff; I just wanted to get the exciting stories from the beginning of the trip out there. The Lord has helped my attitude towards some of the more difficult road blocks so far, and I can’t wait to see His hand at work as we start helping with projects and the church.

Talk to you soon! Sawadee Kap! YYYYYYYYYYY

-Morrell

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for posting. It is great to hear about all you are experiencing. Eager to read more!!

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