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Our Trip to Krabi
When Grandma and Grandpa visited us, we got to go on vacation to Krabi! Krabi is a beautiful place. It has amazing beaches and you can go snorkeling in some picture perfect spots.
One of our favorite finds was this awesome restaurant called Joy Beach! It was a short walk on the beach from our hotel where we could play in the sand and the ocean while waiting for our food.
We discovered, if we got a bucket, some sand, and a couple small clams we found laying around, we could have clam race’s to see which one digs down first. It was really fun.
I had a lot of fun playing with the sand. If we took really wet sand and poured it slowly, we could make little sand castles that just seemed to grow as we poured more sand.
Make certain, if you ever go to Krabi, go to Joy Beach. The food is great and the views are amazing.
Selah broke her foot a few days before we went to Krabi, so she couldn’t do some of the stuff we planned. Not wanting her to feel left out, we would go to the pool at our hotel and Selah sat in a pool raft with a towel as a blanket with sunglasses and a hat. My parents wrapped up her foot carefully so she could enjoy the water.
There was so much to do. Sometimes we would eat breakfast at the buffet, then sit on the beach and talk and other times, we’d walk around the beach looking for fun seashells and coral.
Krabi is known for pretty blue water and tropical fish. One day we decided to go on a snorkeling trip in these long-tailed boats to the three beautiful islands. You probably thought that we would go on a speed boat but we didn’t. These boats are common in Thailand and part of the snorkeling experience.
The day we decided to go snorkeling, a big storm came. I should probably tell you if you thought that it was going to be a beautiful ride through the ocean you are very mistaken, it rained so much that if you saw us you would think we had fallen off the boat and gone swimming instead. Second, we were supposed to go to four islands but we instead went to three because our tour guides said there was going to be another storm and we were running low on fuel.
And we saw some weird big rocks that looked like they were floating!
On a different day, we went on a very big boat to go to a different island called Koh Phi Phi. The water in the bay really clear that we could easily see all sorts of little fish swimming around us. It had a nice beach with soft white sand.
Since Selah broke her foot she couldn’t go swimming but she still had fun playing in the sand with Tallulah.
We were able to rent kayaks so my grandpa and I rented one and paddled around the bay.
We had so much fun at the beach with our family. It was a great time.
Well that’s it for Our Trip to Krabi. This is Jeremiah signing off!
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Conversations with the Keim Kids
During the last school year, we (the Keim kids) set up a YouTube channel. Our friends in Atkinson Nebraska sent us pictures and asked us questions about our life in Thailand. We made videos to answer their questions, but instead of just making videos for them we decided to put all the videos we made on YouTube so everybody can see them. Josiah, Selah, and I did all the work so that we could learn about it and have fun with it.
These are all the videos we made so far if you want to see them:
Episode #1
Episode #2
Episode #3
Episode #4
Episode #5
Episode #6
Episode #7
Episode#8
Episode#9
Okay I got to go now, so see you next time!
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Earthquake in Taiwan
Recently, we visited Taiwan to apply for new Thai Visas. We were on the eleventh floor of our hotel when the earthquake hit. At first the earthquake was small, then all of the sudden the building started shaking really badly. It felt like we were being shook by a big hand. It looked like the buildings outside the window were teetering and tottering. In our room, a cup fell off of the counter and the hanging lights were banging into the wall.
My dad told us to stand in the doorway because the doorway is the strongest place in a building. The building shook for about a minute, then it finally stopped. My dad said there would most likely be aftershocks. The second aftershock was pretty big, but the rest were pretty small. There were over 1,100 of them altogether while we were there. At least 14 people were killed.
After the first earthquake, we went outside and saw some rubble that fell off buildings. Everyone in the city was perfectly normal because earthquakes are a regular thing there.
I would like everyone who is reading this to pray for the 14 families who lost loved ones in the earthquake. Also, if you would like to read more about our trip to Taiwan my brother wrote a blogpost that you can see here.
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The Potter’s House
A couple weeks ago we had a pottery class. First, we had to find the place and we did. There weren’t any parking spots so we had to pretty much just park on the side of the road. We were so close to the wall that we couldn’t even open the door.
Then we entered the shop. We were early so we just waited until the class started. First, we got a tour of the shop and we got to see the kiln. I didn’t know what a kiln was, but I know now it’s like a big oven.
Then it was time to make and paint a mug. We got a chunk of clay to shape into a mug. Mine was a little bit different, but I still liked it. It was green and it had a snail on it.
If your mug was dry and cracking, you just get a sponge and wipe it and the cracks would get filled in. While we worked outside, the big kids worked inside. Josiah made a mug that looked like it was dripping and Selah’s wasn’t a mug it was a cup with a lid.
Next, we painted the mugs and the cup. Then we had to wait for three weeks to get them back. Sadly, Selah’s cup got smooshed during that time.
I thought the pottery class was going to be like you put a little piece of clay on a spinning wheel and mold it. Even though it was different than I thought it be, I still enjoyed it.
Well, I guess this is it.
Signing off, JPK
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Cousins In Thailand
Recently, our cousins, Avery and Jaxon, came to Thailand!
Jaxon and I are like best friends. Selah and Avery are also like best friends.
They brought us American candy. It was sooo good.
Jaxon ate a cricket! Can you believe that?
We took them to our favorite pool, to our favorite restaurant, and to Sticky Falls. (P.S. My sister made a blogpost about Sticky Falls.)
Next we took them to a hot spring, Art in Paradise, and a temple that was really high up. (PS. I wrote a blog post about that temple before.)
Also, we went fishing and it was so fun!
We also went to Elefin Cafe.
Then the adventure was over…
the book was read…
and they had to leave.
See you next time,
Jeremiah (:
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Lantern Festival
My blog post is about Loy Krathong. Loy Krathong is a lantern festival in Thailand.
We made our own krathongs that float on water. Khru Em taught us how to fold the banana leaves.
Afterwards, they made us traditional Thai food called “pink noodles.” They are called pink noodles because they are pink.
After we ate, they taught us a dance.
We put our krathongs on the canal behind our house. We didn’t put incense in it, because we are not buddhists.
Also, we saw floating lanterns in the sky.
We didn’t float a lantern up, but we did find one that came down. When a buddhist person sends a lantern up, they are floating their sins away. I don’t believe that we can float our sins away, I think the only way you can be saved from your sins is by believing in Jesus Christ. So I didn’t mind that someone else’s “sin lantern” fell near me and I was not afraid to touch it.
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Moving To Thailand
This personal narrative was originally written by Jeremiah Keim as a requirement of his coursework for The Good and the Beautiful Level 3 Language Arts.
The day mom and dad told us we were going to move to Thailand, I was scared because I thought I wouldn’t be able to see my friends again. I was sitting on the couch and it was dark outside when mom and dad told me and my brother and sisters. After I calmed down, I felt really excited about it. It took several days to pack and we made our house into a place for other people to stay. Finally, the week before we moved we went to spend time with our family. Personally, I felt really sad that we would have to leave them but also really happy because they said they would sometimes visit us.
When we went to the airport it was really early in the morning. When we got to the airport we said goodbye and then loaded all our stuff onto the plane. Our first plane ride, I took a nap and when I woke up we were nearly to Detroit. The next two flights were nice and comfy because I got to watch movies and wear soft, warm, fuzzy slippers. It was longer than I expected, but then we finally got to Thailand. I felt really happy because we met all the ZOE people and I finally got to breathe fresh air again (the air wasn’t really fresh it was actually smokey, but, hey, at least it was air that wasn’t inside the plane all night).
First, one of the missionaries took us to the house that we chose to live in. It was OK, but I was really scared of the geckos and of the snakes that might live here. Luckily, I haven’t seen any snakes. Eventually, I started to like geckos. I like to catch them and release them outside.
Next, the missionaries took us around to all their favorite restaurants and stuff. For example, we got to go with a missionary to a plant market. It was pretty fun. I saw lots of cactuses and Elephant Ear plants. Another example is that another missionary took us to this really cool art gallery where the paintings look super realistic, like you were holding a hammer in the painting or like you were fighting a dragon.
Also, one of the families took us to the zoo with them. It was really fun because we got to rent a golf cart and we saw a whole bunch of cool animals that live in Thailand and other places. Afterwards, we went to this awesome restaurant with an big pretend boat outside and we played tag on it.
I am really happy we live in Thailand now because my dad is helping ZOE stop child trafficking. I think my dad is doing what God made him to do. I want to support him and do what I can do to help raise money for ZOE so that we can give help to the kids who have been trafficked. My heart makes me feel like I want to help and give them a normal life again, because after being trafficked it would be hard.
THE END
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Temple Run
We wanted to learn more about Buddhism so we went to a temple. The temple we went to was called Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. This is what we saw. First, we had to go up a mountain. Then, when we got to the temple there was a market with Buddha souvenirs.
We had to walk up lots and lots of stairs and we saw butterflies and stuff. Also there where dragons made of tile.
Inside the temple, there were lots of statues, spirit houses, and things made of gold.
People were bowing down and burning incense. There were monks who were bald and wore orange robes. We have seen monks quite a lot at markets or walking on the side of the road. The monks at the temple seemed older than the ones that we have seen before and their robes seemed to be more of a bright orange color.
The Bible tells us we should not worship idols. I have never seen anyone worship an idol before, but now I have. I am glad I do not worship Buddha or a Buddha statue, partly because I would not like to go up those stairs every time, but mostly because God made Buddha. Buddha is a mere man who died.
My favorite color is green, so I thought the buddha statue made out of jade was pretty cool.
I remember hearing the church bells ring at my home in America. They did not have church bells, but they did have a really big gong at the temple.
There was a platform that gave a really good view of Chiang Mai and we saw a rainbow because it was raining. We liked to watch airplanes fly by since we could see the airport.
When we were done, we went back down all the stairs and drove on to our next adventure.
I might not agree with all the things that the monks at the temple believed in, but I still really liked to see it. I think you should know about it, too, because then you can get some idea of what Thai culture is.
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Our Malaysia Trip
We went to Malaysia last month because of our visas. If you don’t know what a visa is, I will try to explain it. We are American citizens so we have to get permission from the Thai government so we can live here. When we first came, we had permission to live here for a little while, but then it expired. We needed a new one. The first time we renewed our visa we went to Burma. The second time we went to Burma, too. The third time, we went to Malaysia to get a whole new kind of visa so we could stay longer this time. When we went to Burma we just walked across the border, but when we went to Malaysia we drove to the airport and went on an airplane to Penang, Malaysia. Well, two airplanes to be exact.
To get our visas we had to go really early in the morning and wait in line. I don’t even know what we were waiting for, but it wasn’t very fun. But I am glad we got it all done quickly: just two days.
After we got our visas, we got to play in the ocean.
We stayed in a hotel room really far up and we could look far out at the ocean. We were on the 24th floor of our hotel, but they called it 23A because they think the number 24 is unlucky.
It was really fun and I am glad we got our visas so we can stay in Thailand longer. See you later!
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The Snack Shack
Our kitchen has the coolest window. It slides open and it slides shut. On one side of the window, it is the kitchen and on the other side, it is the dining room. I came up with the coolest idea: what if I served snacks from the kitchen to people in the dining room?
From there, it became “The Snack Shack.” First my sister, Selah, bought a cash register. Then my dad put shelves in so that we could pass things out from there. Now I sell candy, and Oreos, and Beng Bengs (which are candy bars that are like rice krispies with chocolate on them). And now I am partnered in association with a business called “Keim Café.” Selah can tell you about that.
For a couple of days, during math time for school, mom and I figured out how much everything should cost. We took the total price for a box, counted how many things were in the box, and then divided up the price. In my head I could estimate how much each thing cost. We have 5 baht treats and 10 baht treats. That way people could pay for it with the money we get each week for snacks.
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