Lindsey's Birthday Party

I just realized that I'm in this video at least three times, LOL! We had a party for Lindsey right here at the gym bar last Saturday night. I tried Tiger beer - which is exceptionally strong. I monitored it very closely, no worries. But it was a great time!

Something's Working . . .

. . because this dress fits soooo comfortably and loose, and the inner lining (underneath) used to be kind of snug. But it's a breeze to wear now, and it had been less than ONE WEEK. I swear it's the kicks, they work every muscle in your body, geeze! Funny because I put it on last night and everybody thought I was going out somewhere, when in all actuality I was so tired all day I just didn't want to finally put on a bra, period, so this dress was my only option, LOL! I was only walking to the pharmacy for Tiger Balm for my back, but Deng wouldn't let me walk and rode me there and back on his scooter. Which of course is quite tricky in a dress. Clearly I'm still a geek, but life is good!

Oh, this picture was taken at like 6:45pm. Because we are near the equator, the sun rises and sets at like 6:30p.m., daily. Which is nice when you want to feel like you have a nightlife AND go to bed pretty damned early, ha ha ha. I skipped training this morning and will work out very hard this afternoon. In about a half hour I'm getting another Thai massage; I simply REFUSE to be one of the injured people around here. I'm taking heed the wise words given to me by a wonderfully kind Muay Thai Instructor here training from Los Angeles that were shared with me while dishing at the local internet cafe, and they were don't be a hero, meaning DON'T push-push-push, especially at first, because it is a dangerous sport. Plus, I ALREADY feel better on Day 2 of raw, and am utterly calm about reaching my goals. Thanks, Dr. Ann Wigmore!

Hello, Fruitarianism!

Today is DAY 1 of me being ALL RAW. So far that has meant bananas and a Vega nutrition shake, simply mixed with water. That is because I am so damned tired! My diet will consist of green smoothies, Vega nutritional shakes (after workouts), and plain vegetables and fruits. And tons of water, which is a non-issue when training in the tropics. I don't like how I feel, and I know being all raw will make a difference. It always does!

It will also help me achieve my goals. Deng weighed me yesterday and told me I could be 70 kg when I leave in 3 months, which is exactly my goal. He also said I should jog. I also appeared to have gained about five pounds, though, which upset me. There's no way it was muscle yet! Danny reassured me that when people are new to the tropics, their bodies hold on to water, so not to worry. Basically, I want to lose about 25lbs in the next eleven weeks, while of course putting on muscle and toning up.

I have very little muscle, it seems. I realize I'm older than most and have been less active than most thanks to the big "detour" my health seemed to take as I felt worse and worse throughout a large portion of my life. When hit with insomnia AND chronic fatigue for so very long it seems that life feels like a cruel joke all too often. I feel so grateful to have the information I have now, but it is very hard to not compare yourself to others----something I struggle with all too often.

My goal this week was to make every workout session, which means about 3.5 - 4 hours a day, total, working out, and 12 workouts in 6 days. That is a hell of a lot when you are used to nothing, especially when you are drenched with sweat and in the heat of the tropics.

Many missed this morning's workout due to the fight last night, but I got up and went. I am proud of that! Even the trainers seemed tired, and it was a lighter workout, but one in which I was able to peacefully learn more blocking, plus practice my footwork. Right when I feel like I'm uncomfortable with something and might be in over my head, almost intuitively a trainer has me work on that very thing. It's awesome!

But at some point I felt my lower left back tighten up and spasm. As soon as training was over I took a long tired shower and headed off down the road for a Thai massage for 250 baht, which is about $7.50 or so. It was EXCELLENT.

I know now I cannot go to the beach in between sessions because it tires me out too much, as fun as it is. I also was going to go shopping today, but I opted not to. I'm just far too tired. Training is in an hour this afternoon and I just don't think I can make it. A lot of the guys got sore throats and were tired, and thankfully I don't feel ill, but I don't want to force my still overtired butt to train because that is when we get injured.

As much as it's my "goal" to make it to every one, I think I have to sit this one out. My totally ripped "muscle-man" friend Dave (who is the one who told me about this gym) is 40 and warned me that he trains about 1.5 days and takes 1 day off. Simply put, I'm 34 and I have some degeneration going on. I'm training hard and now that I'm all raw, I'm not going to stress about every second I'm not working out. It's still under a week that I've been here for pete's sakes! So I forgive myself for missing training this afternoon because as unable as I am to nap usually, I still feel super, super drowsy! I cannot even walk to the store, so I'm in bed resting, typing, and sipping water. And trying to stay cool. I just want to sleep it off, especially because my mind keeps resorting to thoughts that I really don't want to be having, like how my former "best friend" Peggy mistreated and used me. Ug. Who wants to think about that?

I may get up and cut up my dragon fruit. It looks like a lot of my fruit here will be bananas, dragon fruit, apples, watermelon and pineapple. Oh, there's a lot of huge grapes, too. Maybe some papaya and oranges (which are green here!?) Lychees are too much work, good but not great, and have this sticky crap that gets all over your hands. There's a lot of pomelos and guava here, too, so that's exciting. Fortunately, every restaurant has fruit plates and plain salads and yummy coconuts for very cheap, too. So I can enjoy going out with my friends, too, or treat myself to a meal out. I may even do that tonight IF I can, who knows....

I hope to be all raw/fruitarian for at least 3 weeks, but will likely stick with it a lot longer. I mean, why not? I feel really good about getting on this path already; it's calming my fears AND I'm going to feel and sleep so much better. I'm also going to see and feel the results very quickly, too, which I'm extra excited about.

Where will I get my protein?

Obviously, everybody is obsessed with protein here, just like everybody everywhere else, especially if it's a place where everybody is trying to get healthy. Sigh. I'm not sure people truly know what it even is or if they have ever looked at a food other than (what they are told about) "meat" to investigate the issue of protein. Cases of protein deficiency are actually very non-existent, especially in the western world. But you would never know that due to everybody's fear of and obsession with not getting enough.

I will get all the protein I need from fruits and vegetables. In fact, I am primarily taking the Vega shake for the probiotics, added enzymes and small range of excellent fats it has, even though it is of course low fat overall. I'll write more about this in my next post, actually, because it's an important topic. . . .

In general, I'll answer questions if asked about my diet, but that's about it. I don't preach because nobody responds to preaching, myself included, and I don't want to be "that guy". I also don't preach because I'm so far from perfect myself that I have no business doing so, and realize that. Thirdly, I don't want people to view me like so many view my former friends, people who will literally pretty much stop hanging out with people for continuing to put shrimp on their salads after they've explained to them how bad shrimp is for them.

When you take it those extremes, you really lose sight of what truly matters in life, and how important it is to just love people unconditionally. My 95 day fast really showed me this, as well as my experience being around my supposed "best friends" and seeing closehand how their treatment of people and their views on "helping others" have ruined various good friendships. I'm so grateful for this lesson, although I would have chosen just about any other way to learn it rather than have my best friends prove to be embarrassing, insulting, offensive and untrustworthy as hell. I can finally sit in peace while people pretty much do anything and simply not care, just appreciating their company. And hopefully I'll only have people in my life from this point on who can do the same for me.

Fight at Bangla Stadium

Last night was a big fight night for the gym. Lindsey from Canada was fighting, and she is dearly beloved by everybody at Rawai Gym. As a result, two (mini) buses were hired to transport all of us from the gym to the stadium, where we could cheer not only her on but also another stellar gym personality, Michael from Denmark. The fights here cost about $30 U.S. dollars so it was a tight squeeze for a lot of us but hey, we're here to learn Muay Thai and some of us are not opposed to getting in the ring one day ourselves, so it's something all gym members should check out at least once. Here she is with ME (yikes!)

There were about 8 fights, starting out with the kids. The kids were about eight years old, I'd say, meaning that they were my nephew's age. They have great, great form, which is excellent to watch, and thankfully they are not allowed to fight "until the end", or beat each other to a pulp. They still can take a beating, though!

Michael from Denmark fought his first fight, and won with a knockout in the first round. I was really happy for him because I've crossed paths with Michael more than a couple times thus far in my short week here and truly find him to be quite genuine, super friendly, and an all-around enjoyable guy. He's shown in this picture with his trainer, Yib.

Last night was also "special" because a katoy, or "lady-man" fought. "He" fought another guy. Katoys are like drag queens in that they are gorgeous, but male and gay. A lot are actually transexual, meaning they go under the knife, too! There are LOTS of them here, and they consider themelves "entertainers". The Thai are very accepting of katoys, which is really nice to see when you stop and think of the hate crimes that go on and the prejudice that exists in the U.S. just over homosexuality alone. I also like katoys because a lot of men come here to cheat on their wives or exploit young women, and end up going home with a man.......Too funny!

The katoy fight was absolutely kickass. He/She got in the ring dressed like a guy (of course) but pranced around the ring like a queen, finger-snapping and all -- at least before and after the fight. then "he/she" proceeded to tear shit up when the fight began. The crowd went nuts! It was an amazing fight to watch. Obviously, surgery or not, he/she was still going to have the same physical strength capacity as any other male, but considering what a fairy (and PROUD of it) he/she was behaving like, jaws were on the ground.

Unfortunately, at least a few students saw the katoy's opponent lock eyes with the bookie, watched the bookie nod, and then watched as the opponent fell to the ground, "knocked out", after that. Even though it was a great fight, it appears to have been arranged ahead of time.

Lindsey's fight against a Thai champion turned into a fight with a local pizza parlor chick, who never struck once and bailed in the first round. The person she was supposed to be fighting bailed, so they just will find any Thai chick, pretty much, who wants to make a buck, and put them in the ring. So there was essentially NO fight, and that is what we paid to see. Lindsey trains hard, but all of her fights thus far this year have been similar bullshit. Apparently, this happens a lot and the fights advertised on the posters are sometimes just to get you in the door.

Another interesting feature is that they will lie about where you are from. Michael from Denmark and Shane from Boston were both listed as from Australia since 5% of Thailand is Australian and it will sell more tickets.........Shane, by the way, is 22 and has fought Tae Kwon Do since he was six. He fought 3 nights ago and won with a 2nd round knockout. I like Shane a lot, and am glad he won. He did say that he was overconfident, and would never make that mistake again. He fights again at the beginning of October, and I wish him the best. This picture is, from the left, a gym member, Deng (a trainer), Shane, and Yib.

Some of the students felt a bit ripped off, and that is understandable. Who wants to see a rigged fight? I'm a bit dissapointed, too. But there are shady aspects of most businesses, plus they don't seem to complain when they pay 1/4 the price for the same meal here as they pay back at home. I'm not hung up on it, overall, although I doubt I'd go again unless I was fighting . . .

All in all, it was a fun night --- just a little bit too late considering that we had training this morning. BOY was it hard to get up!

Oh! This is a shot of some of the guys (and my neighbors) at the gym, from left to right: Bob, Shane, Cha-chi, Troy, Matt and Jamie . . .

Signing Off...

Mary

Focus & Breakthroughs

I know I only got here Wednesday night and today is only Monday (and that Sundays don't even count because you don't even train), but I'm really on my ass to crack down and be more focused. By that I mean to not eat Thai food and to -- at least for a few weeks -- eat only fruit and (supplemented) green smoothies. It's hard because when you do eat out, it's literally just rice and veggies (with sauce), and it's not that expensive. But I know that to jump start my training and to get an edge on my goals, going raw is just what the doctor ordered . . . it's just a matter of tuning everybody out and getting focused. People always say I'm too hard on myself, but I really want to achieve a lot -- and the key is truly FOCUS.

It's easy to go with the crowd and hang with your friends and do what they are doing. Technically, I can go to a restaurant with them and order fruit or just get the fruit shakes (watermelon or pineapple blended with ice; hold the extra sugar). And I will probably do that. It's easy to think that you're in a foreign country and that you should just indulge in everything because it's not always available to you. But I'm not here for that, and keep reminding myself of that.

I also intend on getting a scooter, which is something I wasn't planning on doing but now see the value of. With a scooter I can get to the beach in-between training sessions versus hang out and chat or eat with the others. The only drawback to that is that the sun and ocean are very draining, of course. And yet sooo invigorating in other ways! I met some new girls today (I'm always introducing myself to everyone I see, it seems) and they have done the whole Hawaii and Caribbean thing, like most people. They said this is easily the best ocean they've experienced. Many went today (briefly), in fact, but I hate mooching rides even though it's not a huge deal, overall. Just not my style.

This afternoon I just did NOT want to go to training. I wasn't upset about it, I wasn't overly sleepy, it wasn't anything like that. I just kind of didn't feel like it at all. I of course WENT, because there was nothing else to do, really, and I'm here to go to the gym. I LIVE at the gym, so it's stupid to just hang out at home, 40 feet away from everybody doing what I'm here to do, too. You know? So I put out the intent that something inspiring would happen this afternoon at training.

I show up and shadow box, then do bag work. Every 3 minutes, the whistle blows, and you start a "round". In-between rounds, you do sit-ups and push-ups, and of course drink your water. (You easily drink a gallon a day without trying around here, it's awesome). The bag felt a bit less awkward since Saturday, but it still hurts a lot to kick it and I definitely canNOT knee it as a result of my knee injury from this summer. Fortunately, I can knee in actual sparring and just the bag irritates it.

Anyhoo, today I got to work with Tuk and spend time with Lotta. Having Tuk teach you muay thai is like having Andre Agassi teach you tennis. He was the World Champion in 2005 and either owns or co-owns the entire gym now. It's especially meaningful because he was an orphan, literally dropped off at a muay thai gym as a child, as happens when families are extremely poor in Thailand. The gym was literally his home. Even now, there are kids who train during our off hours at the gym. They are so cute to watch, then you see them in the ring and cannot help but notice how GOOD they are, already. Some live here at the gym. I'm not sure what the details are on that, but I know that Rawai Gym is unique in that it insists the kids also go to school. I love that about this place. They also have the highest paid trainers in Phuket, easy, which I'm thrilled to know because they work very, very hard.

Tuk was showing me how to grapple and throw, because I have not learned any of that yet. Nor have I learned much blocking, which is very important. When I start sparring with other students, I'll need to know these skills.

That was definitely a highlight of my day. As was him pairing me up with Lotta from Sweden to work on my blocking. Lotta has been here four times. She showed up her first time without knowing anything, just like me. She has had many fights over the years, and has won some titles herself. She was very kind and encouraging, and working with someone like Lotta is not only inspiring but exponentially educational. I always ask lots of questions in terms of when you would use certain moves or blocks, etc. We also had some good laughs because my brain to body communication is seriously scary sometimes. Practice will cure that, though!

My favorite part of training is getting in the ring with a trainer and going 5 three-minute rounds. Usually about three pairs of us are going on at once in the ring. Today I had Fahd. He was great! This part of the session is a great workout, and you get one on one attention. We did a lot of kicking, which is great because I just don't do well kicking the giant bags yet. I am so thrilled to report that I experienced a huge breakthrough with my kicking today! My kicks have SUCKED thus far. They are NOT easy to do. And I still have a looooong way to go, for sure. But it all started to come together and I could handle it. My form was better than it's ever been, it had more power than ever (for me, mind you), and I wanted to run and show Fin but I held off. My friend Chachi had a "kick breakthrough" today, too, so we were all proud of ourselves in the sauna later, dishing alllll about it. It seriously was exciting!

In muay thai fights the scoring system is a bit loose, but kicks and blocks and actually throwing people down are moves that count far more than punches, I'm told. I still would consider fighting. I really, really hope to figure out my bank situation so I can go to Patong and watch Lindsey fight tomorrow night. Many of us are going, it's going to be incredible. Lindsey is a Canadian chick here to fight, and a big reason why I'm here; she's super kind and answered a lot of questions for me. She is the one that ran out and greeted me when I showed up. She's a powerhouse, and I want to cheer her on! A lot of us are planning on going.

What a great start to my week, honestly! I'm psyched to see how much I improve between now and Friday, honestly. Next week I will start running and add more sit-ups and push-ups to my routine. I can't wait! I need to start preventatively wrapping my left big toe, though. I'm beginning to get "the" blister, the one that EVERYBODY gets. Now that my kicks are improving, I'll be damned if I'm going to let that halt my progress! I just cannot wait to see where I'm at in three months. The progress that you make here (as long as you show up and don't party, etc.) is just incredible!

I'm off to get some bananas and some more water. I go through about 4.5 liters a day, at least. I think my goals for the next few weeks are reasonable and attainable, and I look forward to the challenge of achieving them.

Until next time........

Kata Beach

Today, Sunday, was our day off from training. Most of the crew rented motorbikes. My money is kind of tied up right now and I cannot reach my bank until tomorrow, so I had to pass....but enough offered for me to hitch a ride with them that I got to go anyways.

And what a fiasco! Trying to keep 7 people or so together, well fed, organized when nobody knows how to get anywhere is a freakin nightmare! The scooters are GREAT fun, and at least getting as lost as we did (outside of the flat tires, running out of gas, and other issues that cropped up) I got to see a TON of the island. It's SO beautiful and just plain awesome over here. As the group split up or ran into issues, I went from riding with Coolio to Troy then to "Jazz", my roommate. What an adventure!

I got to see elephants as we headed into Kata, and passed plenty of shopping to be had. When we finally got to the beach, I just couldn't get into the water fast enough. It is by far the cleanest, purest water I've ever swam in. The waves are gorgeous, there is nothing -- not even seaweed -- floating around, and the floor is ALL sand. I was in love! (Usually I'm hesitant due to the crap you step on, the stuff you bump into or get caught in but cannot see, etc.)

Bob, Jamie, Casper and I tried to body surf. Bob is some kind of "expert", and it was a phenomenal time. I felt so lucky to be where I am and found myself wishing John was there because he's such a water lover. I swam, rode waves, and of COURSE had to lose an earring. I was stupid to not take them out, though. . . .All in all, I felt like a kid again. I laughed my ass off all day because the guys I'm with are HILARIOUS.

For example, Troy and I needed gas on our moped, so we all pulled up to the mini station. We of course see some old scary white guy with a crooked smile pulling up to the restaurant next door with some young Thai chick. Nasty! His smile was so wierd, and 30 year old Troy from Canada announces -- and in a British accent to boot -- that "He must be British because they all have terrible teeth", then points his finger at Jamie first, then Casper, and then Coolio. Bob and I started DYING, and Troy was literally bent over. I couldn't stop, it was sooooo mean. Of course Casper, Jamie and Coolio are all nice-looking guys with perfectly fine teeth and all, it's just the joke that counts. All day, everybody is just hilarious. I love it!

In other news, for the first time in my life, I'm having a tough time not falling asleep, but staying asleep. This concerns me as muscle recovery is done largely while sleeping, and if I'm waking up every couple hours, I'm not getting deep sleep. I stopped by the pharmacy to ask for something.

Here pharmacies are totally different. You can walk in and just get prescriptions in a heartbeat - the pharmacist just gives you what they think you need, or you can literally just tell them what you want. For sleeping, they usually go with xanax, versus valium -- but you can pretty much walk in and get either, or other stuff, for it. It just depends on your preference. It is WILD! Obviously, foreigners can abuse this, but all of us are here to get healthy. Still, I bought a single xanax to see how it works for this issue.....I'm going to take it very shortly.

I had a blast today, and feel pretty comfortable getting around. I cannot wait to get a scooter soon. You can rent them by the day, for as little as $4.50 a day. And yes, we all wear helmets.......

Everybody went to the Freedom Bar tonight, but I am too tired from the ocean. I had a lovely conversation at the local restaurant, The Cashew Nut, after having a young Thai coconut, a bottled water, veggies and noodles with peanut/satay sauce, and all for about $3.30 (although it is very easy to spend almost twice that at meals).

Even though I finally found the good, cheap pad thai places and figured out how to order some other stuff that I like (even though it almost always comes with meat after I'm assured they understand that I don't want any meat), I'm committing to at least 2 weeks of straight fruitarianism / smoothies. I just want to jump start my fitness, honestly. I'll have the most energy that way, too. It's all about keeping my focus, which isn't hard when you live right at the gym. . . .

I am really excited about my first full week of training twice a day, starting tomorrow. I will have worked out at LEAST 24 hours in the next six days! Also, I'm eager to hit the beach again, and soon! I'm hitting the market tomorrow to stock up on greens and more fruit. So awesome! After this full week, I'll start jogging and lifting weights on top of my "regular" workouts.

I have not figured out my computer yet, nor have I taken out my camera. It is only day four, truly, although that is hard to believe, geeze. Soon I'll post my own pictures versus these generic shots, but these are better than nothing, I reckon!

Signing off . . . .

My First 24 Hours

I have FINALLY arrived at Rawai Muay Thai Gym, after years of planning. It feels great to meet a goal and make this idea a reality, and I know I'll be meeting MORE goals as I stay longer, needless to say. Go me!

Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe 2 minutes walking from the gym. Nui, who runs it, just brought me a fresh pineapple and ice blended drink while I type (I told her to hold off on the added sugar). It cost me 20 Baht, or approximately 60 cents. I'm getting a watermelon one next . . .

My trip here was LONG and tedious, but uneventful. A 10 hour train to San Francisco, a 15+ hour wait in San Francisco, then a 13 hour flight to Taipei, Taiwain . . . a 3 hour layover, a 3.5 hour flight to Bangkok, a 1 hour flight to Phuket . . . and I lost a day somewhere in there, too! My flights were peaceful and everybody I met was so kind! I LOVED all the ethnic diversity, too. Everybody on my flight to Taiwan was transferring to Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, China, The Philippines or the Middle-East. It was fabulous! Being in Oregon, I miss cultural and ethnic diversity a lot. Everybody is just boring old "white" (myself included).

My taxi service to the gym consisted of a super charming mini-van driver who drove like a banshe on crack. I was laughing so hard, albeit wide-eyed, as he rode people's asses and weaved in and out of the two-laned roads. It was pure chaos! I knew I'd get there safely and that -- looking around -- this was clearly "the norm" here.

What I noticed most were the colorful businesses lining the streets. All of the restaurants are pretty much OUTSIDE. Just kind of "hut-like", with no real walls. It's pretty cool. There's no need for it in this weather, honestly. But what shocked me most were the schoolbuses. I'll have to get a picture of them! They are like pick-up trucks with roofs, but no sides and really no back. Seriously, the kids are crammed in there with no seat belts, some standing on the back of the vehicle, driving down the highway! It's NUTS, and yet looks like total fun.

All the public school kids here wear uniforms, and in middle-school all of the girls have to cut their hair ear length. This is pretty much to deter sexuality; kind of fasccinating and ironic considering the country it's in, yet very much a relief considering all the junior high kids in America running around catching STD's in their thongs, clown make-up and bustiers. Also, as an aside, at nicer stores and businesses, you leave your shoes outside (TGFF! Thank God For Flops!)

The Gym
So my driver drops me off outside of Rawai Gym. I hear the students punching, and it looks crowded and intimidating. Immediately I panic and wonder what in the HELL I have gotten myself into. Then I see a girl walk out, dripping with sweat. She asks, "Mary???" I recognized her as Lindsey, a kickass Canadian chick who was back training for a year and to fight. She had emailed me visa advice and answered some questions for me on the board. She's SUPER people! I smiled HUGE and confirmed that it was ME. She laughed, welcomed me, and said she wanted to give me a hug. I was so gross from the flights I just took her up on her offer anyways. Then Danny, the outrageously nice and helpful gym manager from New Zealand, came out and greeted me by name. He is very interested in raw foods, which is a nice touch.

Note: I was very active on the message board here, where I posted as "Mary". That is my middle name and also my Grandma's name. Pretty much it stuck, so I'm "Mary" here. It's actually kind of nice since I'm entering a whole new personal "era". Having the strength and self-respect to end a very powerful friendship that had grown toxic and abusive and, in doing so, setting new (and improved) boundaries for myself is pretty monumental for me. Plus, doing something like this is a pretty bold move, too. So I'm feeling more like a new person these days . . .

I had a bed in the Shared Housing, which is approximately 40 feet away from the gym. Perfect! It's three beds in one big room, with a TV and small kitchen area (with no stove) and a shower/bathroom that is all one----meaning that the toilet gets all wet when you put the shower on, there is no "stall". Fortunately, you are so damned HOT after training, you simply DON'T CARE.

I immediately met Bob, my neighbor in the tiny strip of shared rooms. This was easy because everyone is kind of tired and just kind of lounging outside on the porches, anyways. Bob is 30 and from Philadelphia, although he's lived in Korea the last 2 years, teaching English. He had hurt his foot so he hasn't been training, and immediately offered to show me where the restaurant was and where to buy water, etc. Bob used to be super fit but let himself go and is pretty self-conscious about it. His goal is to lose 37lbs here while getting into shape.

I have found out that that is the norm, pretty much. Or at least there are enough of us here doing that that I feel pretty at home. At least four guys are really upset with their weight and are here to work on it. Even better, just about everyone I've hung out with just got here within the last week, so we're allllll newbies together. Today I was in the Beginner's Class with a guy named "Jazz" who got here after me last night. Tomorrow a Canadian named Troy will join us, as he just got here tonight. I feel very at ease and very comfortable with everyone already. I see why everyone talks about what awesome friendships you make here. It is truly a camp! A lot of us right now are either from the states or the London area, but there are people here from all over.

Training

I crashed out in my bed last night at about 10:30 p.m. What's phenomenal about living at the gym is that my housemates got up to work out at 7:00 a.m. for the morning training, so I of course got up too. I had given myself permission to get all the sleep I need, but I was pretty awake and very motivated, so I went this morning.

Within minutes you are soaking wet. This morning Jazz and I were instructed to jumprope for 10 minutes, then stretch. Next we learned the general form and stance, and started learning all the different punches. "Fin" and another guy were our trainers, so we got a lot of individualized attention. I learned how to do a punch, jab, left and right hooks, uppercuts and elbows. I LOVE the elbows! Uppercuts are pretty fun, too. Then we started to learn how to knee. That went....alright (for me, at least). My upper legs are ridiculously atrophied, I can tell. That is just one of the many therapuetic reasons I am here, basically.

This afternoon, we met up at 4pm again. We tied up our hands, put on our gloves and leg pads, and practiced all our moves again, plus learned kicks. Kicks are pretty embarrassing for me, because I sucked at them so bad. But ultimately, we were all laughing and I was quite proud of myself. I kept getting it wrong, so Fin would grab my leg and hold on to it. I'd hop and sometimes fall down, but upright myself. He holds on to it for two minutes in the position it's SUPPOSED to be in. And it works; I started getting it better. But he had to do that a few times in a row! Hilarious! Right in the middle of training Fin will have us take off our gloves and drop for 10 - 20 push-ups, then 10 - 20 sit-ups......then drink some water. And this week they are going easier on us as we acclimate. Within a week I'll being worked for 2 hours then be given 100 sit-ups and 100 knee kicks on each side for "homework" after training is over. Everybody is kind of just toast afterwards, but it's a good feeling.

Tonight there was a local market about 100 feet away. It reminded me of the Saturday market in Eugene. Lots of merchandise, prepared food, and produce. I bought a ton of mangos, bananas, greens, parsley, mung beans and some sauces, and earlier today I bought a blender and even a rice cooker/food steamer, so I am SET. You cannot get brown rice at the restaurants here, and some of the guys were concerned about it because they are trying to lose weight. Myself, I just want to be able to make my own meals, truthfully. They guys are also very interested in green smoothies, so I cannot wait to start cranking them out. We'll see how it goes! I get to start my VEGA nutrition shakes tomorrow, which is exciting for me.

Overall, all of the trainers have a GREAT sense of humor. They will work you as hard as you want to be worked and take you as seriously as you take the camp. They all started as kids and have won many many fights, and it shows. They are smaller in size, but they are like these human machines, I swear. This one guy was kicking today and it was one of the most intimidating things I've ever seen. They were easily bone-breaking kicks! Muay thai is a bit daunting, that's for sure. It's easily an intimidating sport......

Afterwards, I hopped in the sauna, but not before "Bang" dumped a bucket of water on me outside the door. Good thing I was already drenched! He had already grabbed my foot, laughing, while I was trying to kick. I'm glad everybody tries to have a good time, too!

In general, I am THRILLED to be here, and love the people I am here with. Most of the people living around me are male; the girl who is living in my room leaves in 2 weeks and I am sure a guy will move in. (Before me, 2 girls were living in there). But you're never in your room anyways, it seems, and all the guys are respectful and nice. I feel very comfortable with the people already, and everybody is incredibly friendly and kind. For having only been here 24 hours, I feel pretty situated and just look forward to more of the same. Everybody is just so NICE. I was walking to the cash station earlier and one of the trainers offered for me to ride with him on his motorbike since he was going home. That was so much fun, and so kind of him. I love the Thai people! And Phuket is incredible. I love it here, tropical weather and all!

I'm also impressed with everything I've learned in just 1 day! This gym is great. I made a great decision for myself, one that I'll reap many, many benefits from. I'm safe and sound, and having a kickass time! Um, let's see. What else? Hmmm. I'm sorry that this blog entry wasn't written better but I can barely keep my eyes open, I cannot believe I'm sleepy at 9 p.m., holy cow am I going to be SORE soon, and for the umpteenth-millionth time in my life, I wish my boobs were smaller. Okay, that pretty much sums everything up, ha ha ha!

Love,

Mary