CANNONBALL! ! !

Today was our first day off in two weeks, and we all really needed a break. I slept in some and woke up at about 8 o'clock to go running. It was pretty warm by then, but I am still glad I got to go. When I got back, I spent a good part of the morning catching up on my journal and emails. It is so easy to get behind with all of that and also so easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. At about 9:30, I decided to take a break and go grab some breakfast at the cafe next door. On my way out, I ran into Chris, Casey, Maggie, and Melanie. They are a young missionary couple with two kids who moved here about six months ago. They are the nicest people! It is crazy because they are less than two years older than me, but they seem to much more mature then I am. They are both so patient with their kids and the people around them. I admire them both a great deal. Their family was using the day off to go to the pool, which I am sure they all enjoyed. After they left, I ran and grabbed some fruit and tea. When I got back, it was about time for our first Thai lesson with Janhom. Everyone decided to attend the first one, which was kind of cool. I am really glad I get to learn more Thai, but it can be kind of overwhelming at times. Hopefully I can get it down though. I really feel like the more of an effort that I make to learn Thai, the easier it is for me to relate to the people here. After class, Robert picked us all up and we went out for Mexican food at Miguel's. It, again, was delicious! I got cheese enchiladas this time, you can never go wrong with those. After lunch, all the Aggies met us back at the zone to pick up their bags before heading to the train station. It was good to see them all one last time before they left for good. After their departure, P'O took Butter, Yam, Whitney, Melanie, and me to Grace International School to go swimming for the afternoon for our first "youth group" activity. All the kids showed up, which was a good sign, but they all kind of did their own thing. I had a jumping contest with Butter, Yam, and Melanie, and after that we kind of just hung out and talked. At about 7, P'O suggested we go grab some dinner at a nearby Italian food restaurant called Mr. Chan's. My expectations were low, but the food turned out to be pretty good. After dinner, P'O took us home, and I hung out downstairs with the people at the zone for a few hours before going to bed.