Update Part 1

I haven't had internet for a bit so I'm going to post a blog that I already wrote now. More to come.

July 23, 2010

Wow..my mind has been blown in more ways than one. We took a ferry to the Phi Phi islands yesterday and...wow. This is the most beautiful place I've seen in my whole life. I wish everyone in the world could see it. It was almost like a dream. I wish the pictures could do this place justice! I also learned that I can't judge people (too much) based on their religion. These girls have been pretty awesome. I love them. Here's a story. Daddy I hope you don't cringe when you read this but: I got another tattoo. Let me explain though. So we arrived to this beautiful place with the nicest people with the nicest girls who can appreciate this just as much as me and anyway there is this guy here who does traditional bamboo tattoos. That means he sticks a long piece of bamboo dipped in ink in and out of your skin making for a longer and much more painful tattoo process (but way more badass). I decided to get one and what an experience! The four other girls on my trip (Ryleigh, Ashley, Amy, and Holly) all helped design this tattoo at dinner around my life and experiences etc. The end result is an elephant with different designs inside. The trunk is made up of 3 words written in Thai: family, discovery, passion. The elephant's heart is the shape of Thailand condensed down to a heart (if you look at Thailand you can see it's sort of heart-shaped). This is the best tattoo I have ever gotten! It's beautiful and the process was amazing. All the girls were so excited to go with me and they were great the whole time. They stayed with me from 9 pm to 2 am even when I told them they could/should leave. It was so painful and my Amy said "Do you want me to get you a bucket?" Let me explain what a bucket is. This island is all about partying and they sell a bucket filled with alcohol with about half a bottle of whiskey inside among other things. It sort of tastes like cough syrup. So I said "Yes! I need a bucket!" The pain of these tattoos instead of being dull like all the others is more like sharp jabs of constant pain. So picture this situation: I had 4 amazing girls supporting me. One holding a straw to my mouth from the bucket, 2 holding my hands, and one stroking my head. All were singing to me or telling me random stories as I got this tattoo. The shops here don't have a front, they're just open rooms so drunk people kept walking by and stopping to chat and they were nice too! They were telling me how awesome it was, how brave I was, some fed me their food. It was hilarious. Honestly one of the best experiences of my life. Oh! And get this. The British boys from the plane are here too. Their names are Tim and Phil. We sat with them on the way over on the ferry and they're coming snorkling with some of us today. They were amazing too. They sat with me for a awhile telling me stories in their little accents trying to distract me. They even came back later when they were heading back to check up. What an epic epic day. It really changed me and I am so thankful I have had this experience. So... dear parents, I just want to say even though I got another tattoo I also got an unmatched experience that has definitely changed my mind about people.