Bridget's Birthday Ball

Now don't confuse the title of this post with a extravagent party (ball). I am, of course, referring to one of the highlights of my 23rd birthday here in Thailand, which was a giant pork meatball. Let me explain.

I couldn't finish it, too much meat for one ball

I was very fortunate that my birthday fell on Teacher's Day in Thailand, which meant we had a day off midweek! Eric, Anna and I woke up Wednesday morning and met some of my students (obviously Nay was the one that invited us) to go to the 100 Year Market in Sam Chuk. Evidently this market has been around since the early 1900s and was settled by a largely Chinese population (something like 85% of Thais have Chinese ancestors) and the super old buildings are still around. We didn't eat before leaving so the first order of business was sitting down for a late breakfast at the market and a shop that was known for its huge pork meatballs. I obviously had to order one (50% to eat it and 50% to take a picture with it), but learned that it was meant to be shared between a much larger number of people. It was really good though and I got to call it my birthday ball the entire meal, which I still find more funny than it probably is.



We strolled around the market and tried the many weird and sometimes tasty Thai treats. In general, Thai desserts and sweet snack are not my thing but we did find some good ones! Most of the shops sold some type of food, but there were a few cool clothing stores, standard souvenir stores, and other random stores. INCLUDING one of those amazing places where you dress up in traditional wear depending on where you are and take an awesome black and white picture. My family took one of these types of photos in Virginia City when I was a kid and it hangs on our wall in Tahoe keeping the cabin classy. Eric, Anna, Nay, and I dressed up in some traditional Thai outfits, which are hilarious and posed for an ancient looking camera (is was 60 years old). The woman knew what she was doing and put us in different outfits and sat us or stood us where she wanted us. Unfortunately it takes a while to get the official picture (it will arrive at Nay's house in a couple weeks), but we were able to snap a few of our own! (which will be posted soon)


We finished the market outing at a cake shop where we ate some delicious cake that was half chocolate and half orange. Of course is did not compare to a cake my mom or sisters would make for me, but it was amazing for Thai standards and I got a couple pieces to go to eat after dinner. We headed back to Suphan and Eric and I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the hotel pool down the street and getting our bronze on (Sidenote: I accidentily bought lotion for making your skin whiter and have been using it the past couple weeks after every shower. I was wondering where my New Years tan was going!

We then made some pesto pasta made from Thai basil and asparagaus for dinner, which was awesome, finished off the cake I brought home, and may or may not have (we did) go buy icecream too. The three of us finished my birthday off playing Jenga and Uno. It was a very nice birthday and it was great to receive birthday wishes from my family and friends via email and facebook! I am also asking anyone who would get my a birthday gift if I were home to donate to my Run Vietnam for Literacy campaign here. Thank you to everyone who made 22 such a great year and I look forward to the adventures to come this year!