Sweet Victory

This list right here confirmed that I passed the first semester of Uni. This feels like victory, it feels so good. Not to get ahead of myself, we're only halfway there. But we also are already halfway there. Hard work pays off. That's what I discovered. So just going to keep doing what I am doing and I should have no problems conquering this second semester. 

My Instagram-account is more up to date than my blog so if you want to get more updates you better go follow me on there as well. Username: hannahdevet

Rainy Restday

Yesterday was a sunday again and sunday's always are a little different due to the fact that there's no training. The whole time schedule of a day gets mixed up. People sleep in, go get breakfast somewhere else or go on a small trip. So instead of the normal breakfast at 10.15 like during the week, Mama now just prepares something and puts it out for you to serve yourself. Normally it's just sitting out there in the kitchen somewhere and you have to get it yourself but yesterday I walked out to get breakfast and found a little fancy buffet. Seems like Sitmonchai is upgrading! It was still the average meal witch chicken, baked eggs and veggies but still. Good start of the day. A lazy day that is. The gym was really quiet (more than usual..). The boys went out to party the night before in Kanchanaburi so they weren't really around and there are not that many other people right now so I just spent most of my day studying my Thai and sleeping. Oh and I got a massage do try and fix my legs. Helped a bit but it's still shit. 

Now that we're in June the hot season changed into the rainy season. Which doesn't mean it's any less hot during the day. It only means that we have torrential downpour almost every afternoon. Tourists are bummed about it (rain doesn't give you a tan and if you go to Thailand you want/demand sun) but I'm actually pretty excited about it. The rain makes training in the afternoon just that much cooler and in the evening it cools off really nicely. I get to wear sweatpants almost every night and I sleep really well because of the rain (guess that's what living in Holland does to you). The Thai really don't like the rain though. If they have an appointment somewhere and it starts raining, they just don't go. It's an accepted excuse; 'oh it rained, no problem'. Wish we could say that in Holland! The Thai are also dead terrified of getting their hair wet. They don't care about getting wet, as long as the hair stays dry. I have no idea why that is but it's always fun to see them try to keep their head dry. Scroll down for some pictures!

Our fancy Sunday Morning Buffet

The rain is good for multiple things. It makes the temperature nice and cool, you get a free car wash and even a quick shower for the lazy ones. When it starts raining, immediatly, all the boys are summed to drive out the motorbikes to give them a good wash to make them nice and shiny again. And Ley (middle) and Jimme found these fancy hats somewhere around the gym. Very useful for keeping your head dry, as where Pan (right) just doesn't care and takes a shower. Deat is cleaning Pnae's motorbike, and yes, he has a plastig bag wrapped around his head. He was soaked when he was finished, but at least his hear was dry!

Kongfah made good use of the rain and even got the soap out for a big shower

Deat (right) and Jimme (left) cleaning Deat's motorbike

Moira wanted to try a hairstyle she saw online on my hair so I let her. Turned out pretty sweet! Even though we are living in a muay thai camp and turning into boys slowly, we are still girls! We still like to get pretty, wear make-up, paint our nails and do our hair every once in a while. It's not always easy being a girl in a muay thai camp where there's mainly guys but we're doing a pretty good job. And this hairdo looked really pretty. And my hair is getting so long. I actually like it like this, so no need for a haircut just yet..

I'm back..

So.. I've been slacking a little bit lately on keeping my blog updated. I just couldn't really get myself to do it ever since I came back from Koh Samui. But now it's been over two weeks so I figured there are no excuses left and I should just get my lazy ass to update my blog. I came back to Sitmonchai Friday the 17th of May and it really felt like coming home. It feels so good to be back. I knew that when I'd come back I'd havesome important decisions to make. I had to decide whether I would be going home on May 27th (my initial plan) or whether I would stay in Thailand for just that much longer. After some good talks with my parents and some friends I decided I wanted to rebook my flight. I am now going home August 14th. Yeah, I just extended my stay by about three months. That means, right now, I have more time left in Thailand than the time I already spent here this years. And that is a really good feeling. 

I've picked up studying my Thai again and that's been going really well lately. It's quite easy actually, since you've got all Thais around you that speak slim to no english. I'm curious about what my level will be in two months if I keep this up. It comes in handy for my study as well (yeah, the one I'm starting in September.. It's still happening!) so I'm pretty motivated to keep going strong on this one. Also I have to finish up some stuff in preparation for Uni. I actually can't wait to start in September. I'll be back home August 15th and I guess Uni starts September 2nd so that's right on cue. Then study my ass off for five years and then return to Asia a.s.a.p. (that's what I say now..). So, that's a small update, I'll try to keep it up again. All's good for now. My next fight might be somewhere around the 19th/22nd. Taking it a little easy right now on training but stepping it up again when I know more about my next fight. Muay Thai is life, that's it. 

For now, enjoy some pictures!

My Thai-teacher (from Holland) sent me some material to help me study, so good to receive mail!

The morningruns with my boy Orleon

When I was clearing out my room before going to Koh Samui I thought I had put my certificate away in a safe place. But when I came back and went to look for my certificate, I couldn't find it anywhere! Pretty bummed about that of course but luckily one of the boys that's in my old room now found it behind a desk. Made my day! And now it's back, right where it belongs.

Orleon. This dog is not a dog. It's a cat. It just doesn't pur. I swear.

Watching UFC on sundaymorning with the boys

It's funny how you start appreciating the small things in life when you're living in a muay thai camp. This bowl of cereals made my day. After only eating rice for about two months now, I'm starting to miss western food. The rice is still good though, and mama's cooking is still great (most of the days..) but I would kill for some Dutch cheese or some really good Italian pasta.

And of course, still waking up at 6.30 every day. It doesn't get any easier. And I'm still not a morning person. 

The Boyz (Zach, Willy and Brent) had to fight at MBK May 29th, so we all headed out to BKK to support them. Two wins by K.O. and one loss, every single one of them fought like beasts. Good heart, that's what matters.

Comes in handy to have your own Thailand Masterchef on site. Kongfah makes some pretty good pre-training meals. Only thing I learned here is when I ask if something's spicy and he tells me 'little bit', I might just as well start calling 911 and ask for a firetruck because that means it's just hell on a plate. And they love it here.

AMSTERDAM & UNIVERSITY

 This saturday me and my sister had to go to Amsterdam to visit an introduction day at the University of Amsterdam. Eventhough I love travelling, there is no escaping University. So next fall I will start studying. Only problem is that I don't have a clue yet what to study. For seven years I said I would go to Lawschool to become a kickass-lawyer but after getting back from Asia I lost all motivation for that study so I withdrew my application (jup, I already applied before I left to make sure I'd get in) and I had to start all over again thinking about what I would like to do with the rest of my life. This gave me headaches and I thought I'd never find something. Until I read about the study: Cultural and Social Antropology. Everything fell into place. I could still travel, mean something to a lot of people in the world and in general it's something that I just love to know more about. Reading stuff online is not everything so yesterday I got to take some classes and talk with some students that were already in their 3th or 4th year of this study. The study sounded just as good in real life as it did online so I guess I finally found something I want to do! It feels like a weight just dropped of my shoulders. My parents couldn't believe it at first when I told them I wanted to study 'Antropology' because this study always comes along as old-fashioned and boring. But it has changed so much compared to thirty years ago. Nowadays it's a really interesting study and I can't wait to start. Guess my plans to conquer the world are starting to get shape. Watch out. Oh and did I mention how much I love Amsterdam? I freaking love Amsterdam.

Back to school, it felt weird to be sitting in a classroom again and to have to listen to a teacher telling me things. This is going to be fun next year..

Temperatures were freezing yesterday and it rained almost all day but that didn't keep me and my sister from having a great day. Wednesday we get to go to Amsterdam again, sweet! 

Nothing finishes a cold and rainy day better than a cup of hot chocolate and some newly purchased books. 

I guess I finally found my study, my future got a little bit brighter yesterday. Exiting times are ahead. Brazil in January, Thailand by the end of March and University in September. Big decision-making in progress and I'm just happy things are falling into place bit by bit. Okay, thanks for reading and take care! More posts will come soon! :)