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So, I'm almost done teaching. Next week we review, and the week after that is final exams. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Sometimes it seemed like it would never end, but now that it is I find myself having trouble believing that I'm moving back to America in just a few short weeks. Words, pictures, drawings can't explain everything I've gotten to see/do/hear/smell/eat/live here. Sometimes it just seems so surreal that this is my life. I am looking forward to getting back to America. I miss my friends and family more than I thought possible. The support I've had from family/friends has been so wonderful. I've strengthened a lot of friendships that surprised me, and kind of fell out of touch with others. But, knowing everything/everyone I'm going home to makes leaving Bangkok seem okay. As much as I complain about missing America, I seriously can't express how much I love Thailand. I have also made some sure to be life-long friendships with people from all over the world. They've all made living so far away seem easy, and we really depend on each other like family. I really am a lucky girl. So my goal for the next 5 weeks is to just really take in every moment I have and enjoy it. I may even miss a few students!

I was talking to a friend the other day and she told me to go have an adventure and blog about it. And I did! Nick and I went to the Grand Palace, which we've been saying we'd do for the past 10 months. The Grand Palace has a very very strict dress code--You have to be covered from your shoulders to your toes. I totally understand this, but seriously....it's like 193 degrees every day. So, it was hot. But it was beautiful. Rama II made the Grand Palace like a billion years ago, and it's still used for government purposes, but not like it was, obviously. We got to see the most holy place in Thailand. It's called the Emerald Buddha. It was in a temple that had gorgeous wall paintings, and it was pretty much filled with gold. The Buddha was on top of a bunch of other holy things, and it was just this huge room where you could sit and think or pray or whatever. It was so so beautiful. After we did that we just walked around the rest of the place, pretty much just walking in circles because it was confusing. Anyway, I don't have a lot to say about it, so I'll just post some pictures.

Ps, I got a nasty burn from a motorbike today. No good.