Day 13

January 9 (National Championship Eve in Thailand)

Aubrey has learned to pull herself up. She can get into full crawl or standing position.

It does not get much better than watching your daughters play ball!

Brynn has turned into quite the big sister on this trip. She is getting better at sharing with Aubrey, but not with other kids. Brynn and this girl at the pool have a brewing rivalry over territory. It is extremely amusing!

Russian Party Update: If you remember from a previous blog, the Perdues have had trouble with some Russian partiers in a condo near ours. About a week ago, they kept us up all night with loud music and shouting. Eventually, I talked the guard into getting them to turn their music down. Sarah would not let me go to their room, but promised I could if it happened again. 

Fast forward to last night... About 9PM the partying starts. Sarah and I both agree to finish watching our show before deciding how to handle the situation. When the show is complete, the party is wide open. If the people would just close their balcony door, it would not cause such a problem. I am pretty frustrated at this point and go out to get the guard once more. He is NO help! He tells me that I must talk to reception which closed about four hours ago. At this point, I am actually fired up with the adrenaline pumping (where is Robert and Scott when I need you? Oh yeah, in New Orleans!!!) I storm up to their room. In my mind, I am playing all the scenarios in my head of what is going to happen. From our balcony, I can see everyone. It is four girls and one extremely large, drunk Russian. The number of shoes in the hallway match the number of expected people. I knock, no one comes. I knock louder, no one comes. I basically kick on the door and finally a drunk or drugged out Russian girl answers the door. I inform her that the music is way too loud. She says OK and promises to turn it down. I also tell her that I have two small children and this needs to stop. By the time I get to my room, the music has been turned down. About an hour later, however, it is turned back up. Luckily for me, I remember that I have earplugs. 

Today, I went to the main office and complained. I was not the only complaint. The Russians are getting warned and will be kicked out if it happens again!

Russian Hate: Sarah and I have picked up on some anti-Russian feelings in Thailand. Our first clue came in our cab ride from the airport. The cab driver told us that the place we were staying was full of Russians. Just from his tone, you could tell the man did not like Russians. Also, one of the restaurants on Kamala Beach has a clear sign that says "Russians Prohibited". Finally, from talking with a man today about the party people, he made it seem like Russians are known for this sort of behavior.