Update from the BKK

A quick update: I am alive! Slightly bruised and battered from my foray into the world of international sports competitions. But Bangkok was a blast!

To recap, I went to Bangkok the weekend of the Oct 17-18 to play in the Southeast Asia Gaelic Football Tournament. Our team of 12 ladies, dubbed the DuraCelts (like Duracell baterries), hail from France, Germany, England, America (me), and Viet Nam. Zero Irish players, and almost zero previous experience playing the game. After about 1 month of intensive training 3xweek and a 1-hour rule-learning session 4 days before we left for BKK, we decided we were ready to take on the giant players from teams around Asia. And I have to say I'm really proud of us. Despite the torrential downpours. Our team played 7 games (7 more than all but 1 player had ever played before): won 2 games and lost by 1 point in two others. We were even the runners-up in the Bowl championship and lost by one point in an epic battle to the end, with Marion, our captain spraining her ankle in the final few minutes and another girl playing with a broken nose. We all came home with a medal. And very smelly uniforms.

Definition of surreal: watching a traditional Thai song and dance performance and moments later an Irish step dancer, then eating spring rolls with Guinness beer and signing traditional Irish songs with a bunch of drunk Gaels

Afterwards, I did 2 days of sightseeing in Bangkok with a friend and really enjoyed the trip. Bangkok is surprisingly modern, which was a nice respite from the craziness of Ha Noi. We visited the Grand Palace and eased our aching muscles with an AMAZING massage at Wat Pho, which is a temple that has been training masseuses for centuries. I got back early Wednesday morning and went straight to work and was so exhausted I had to take an afternoon cat nap so I wouldn't start drooling on my computer. Naps are actually pretty common here- another coworker who was on travel has been consistently napping this past week until the jet-lag wears off. And if you go into any cafe or shop after lunch, chances are you'll have to tread carefully around the snoozing shopowner on the floor as your peruse the wares.At the Grand Palace in Bangkok