The Lantern Festival

Loi Krathong (see previous blog) is coupled with a Lanna festival in which hot air, floating lanterns are released into the night sky in order to earn merit by Buddhists.

My students took me to several different celebrations surrounding this and I LOVED it! Fireworks and street foods and carnival games are all part of the festivities. Thankful for my students who let me be a part of this really, really cool holiday!

 Here's the lantern lift off! you can see it for miles! Unfortunately I was still a half mile away when they launched! #fail However, we later found poppers and sparklers and I taught them out to appropriately use both.  Of course the appropriate use of poppers is to throw them at the feet of your unsuspecting friends! This backfired on me as my feet seemed to be the prime target AND once I got home and a box had spilled in my purse and I dropped my purse to the floor and thought I was being gunned down in a drive by!

I taught them how to "write" with sparklers! We only spent about 20 minutes trying to get this photo!

The whole night was pretty amazing!

 If you like dried fish or pork balls or street sushi or guinea foul to snack on then this is the festival for you!





I spent a little too much time and money at the shoot'em over game, but my students got many laughs from my failed attempts.  To say we had a great time together would be an understatement! As a matter of fact on the way home one of my students said, "My cheeks hurt from smiling so much tonight!" Success!

Here are just a few more pics of our evening! Happy Loi Krathong!

 

 

It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary... or is it?

It's a jolly holiday with Mary...

Every Christmas we go and see a movie as a family. This year we chose, Saving Mr. Banks, we all loved Mary Poppins so it seemed like a no brainer. And... we all HATED it! We left depressed and deflated. I made mention of our disdain in a brief FB status! One would have thought I'd have said something against Phil Robertson. We were alone in our opinion of what was evidently an amazing, Oscar worthy film! I'm going to guess it was our real life understanding of the devastating effects of drug and alcohol addictions. But even without the sad, sad tale of the little girl's alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, it was SLOW and depressing and just NOT GOOD! I'm simply baffled that anyone liked it at ALL! 2 thumbs down from Mary herself!

or is it?

Why yes, me and Poppins do share our names. Which has gotten me thinking, is it really a jolly holiday with Mary?  With THIS Mary? (I prefer Mary Beth BTW or Bess, but only if you're Niah!) There would be many, many different answers to this very RHETORICAL question, IS it a jolly holiday with Mary?!  My goal is that the answer would be a resounding YES from all who encounter me, but I'm afraid I'm a little too human, one day you might get Mary Poppins the next you might get P.L. Travers herself!

Last year, I joined Beth Moore's scripture memory challenge and memorized 24 verses. (Well, if you can tell me how it starts I can finish it for you!) This year I'm hoping it really WILL be a jolly holiday with Mary, for all those who encounter her, and starting my year off memorizing Galatians 5:22-23 in hopes that when I'm bumped or hit by yet ANOTHER car that THIS is what spills out!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law!"

If by chance you encounter me on a day that I resemble Travers more than Poppins, then just add a spoon full of sugar please and remember it's Mary that you love!

A terrible, terrible movie I tell you!