Thai aerobics and beauty pageants!!

Hey all!
Last night I participated in my first Thai aerobics class! The only way I can describe it is pure ridiculousness. You really have to experience it for yourself! It was a bunch of old Thai women, and I am pretty sure the instructor was a lady boy. The moves were crazy dance moves to sped up Thai music. I am pretty sure it didn't give me a workout, but it was so fun dancing like a crazy person that I will go again! I did sweat a lot, but that is mostly due to the fact that the class is outdoors and I pretty much sweat standing still in this tropical heat! When it was over all the Thai ladies were like "you come back tomorrow"! They have these classes every evening. They are pretty easy to follow, even if you don't know any Thai...but I was proud that I was able to understand some directional phrases! Maybe I will learn how to say things like "pump it up" in Thai!

Aside form my adventure in Thai fitness, the past few days have been pretty great! The festival is still going on, so it's pretty loud and crowded, but I have enjoyed it. I have been teaching a lot more lately...I still have Pierre (I am taking him jet skiing on the local island tomorrow), and I have taken on a new student, Stina, who is 18 and from Finland. She is not as fun as Pierre, mostly because she doesn't do cool activities in the afternoon, strictly lessons, but also because she is not as outgoing and fun! OH well! I start online teaching on Monday, and have already planned my first lesson! The program is really cool, it is like you are in a real classroom. You can see all of your students, you are in the front of the virtual classroom and they are all situated around you.

Today, we set up our office. We each have a large desk and computer. We have also looked around the room and found such helpful items as a megaphone, a disco ball, a light show projector, and (my personal favorite), a giant dinosaur. We have used these items to decorate our office, naturally.

The other night there was a competition on the big stage for white people. Basically it was so thousands of Thai people can make fun of foreigners at once, but the prizes were $200 US dollars, and free hotel stays, and free dinners. Matt and Pierre entered with about 11 other white locals. White foreigners are called "Farangs" here, so it was called the "Farang" contest...and let me tell you it is a big deal! The Thais already think we are circus freaks for being tall and pale and often stare or take pictures of us just walking down the street, so as you can imagine, this was a spectacle. It was much like a pageant with a costume contest, a talent, and interview questions translated into Thai. The stage is massive, and literally thousands of Thai's are watching. The theme of the contest was "I love the sea". Matt placed third with his coconut bra and karaoke rendition of the little mermaid's "under the sea". Pierre clinched second with his floaties, snorkel, and interpretive dance that he made up on the spot. The winner was a Thai woman who cheated and entered. Allegedly she is a famous Thai actress, and the whole contest is rigged for her to win and humiliate white people. We didn't mind because it was hilarious and the boys both won about $200, a free hotel stay, a t-shirt, a dinner at a restaurant, and a Giant trophy.

All in all, everything is great on my end. We still haven't found a house (which really angers me) but I have a roof over my head at the school (complete with freezing shower), and I don't have to pay rent.
I have pictures and video of the white person contest and videos of Pierre and Matt's prize winning talents! I will put them up later!
Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!