wildlife

Okay, so I forgot to mention the wildlife I have seen so far in my first blog. There's somewhat of a moat that surrounds the school, and in it live these MASSIVE lizards! When we saw them for the first time, we thought they were alligators or crocs, but it turns out they're called Monitor Lizards - they're really intimidating, but they actually run from humans, which is comforting, lol. They move really slow and I saw one crawling out of the water and trying (unsuccessfully) to shimmy through a gate - it was pretty sweet.

Then, get this...there are peacocks that live on the palace grounds as well! So cool, right? I've seen them several times (it might be the same one - I'm not sure), and they're so beautiful. We are in the beginning of the monsoon season, and the other day, I saw one camping out from the downpoor right outside of my office window! I saw one run today too, and realized that I NEVER want to be chased by one of those things. They're necks protrude forward and shoot backwards quickly as they run, and I'm pretty sure they could do some serious damage with that beak...I'll be enjoying them from a distance :)

Hmmm, what else? I have yet to see an elephant. Apparently there are some small elephants that are used as tourist attractions throughout part of the city, but I don't want to see them because I heard they're maltreated and chained like 24/7. We do plan on going to Lampang, which is in the north, where there is an elephant conservation and you can spend a whole day with an elephant! We can ride them there as well, so I'm really looking forward to that!

There are also some HUGE black birds that live in close proximity to the school. We see them every time we walk to the bank and they look like crows on steroids with really big curved beaks. Tiller and I deposited our paychecks in the bank today, and when we were walking back, she jolted all of a sudden and said, "Ow!" When she touched her head to see what had hit her, she felt a huge clump of bird poop! It was more like a bird dump I'm sorry to say. I think it was one of those massive black birds. She's such a good sport, though, and just laughed it off until we got back to school...it was pretty funny.

I'm glad to report that I haven't encountered too many bugs, just the typical mosquito and ant here and there; however, I was walking through a little strand of street vendors the other day and saw a pretty impressive array of insects being sold as snacks. There were crickets, beetles, worms and these monstrous (we're talking a good 2.5 inches by 1 inch) cockroach looking things - DISGUSTING! I tried to take a picture, but was scolded by the vendor...oops. I don't care if they are "a great source of protein," I'm definitely not trying them, sick out. I did notice a girl about my age ordering a bag full of worms or something, though. She was a brave soul.


Well, that's it for now. Hope all is well!!