My name is Ethan, and I am 9 years old. My dad works for the United Nations. He has to travel to many countries to do business. I always get to tag along.

My favorite thing to do is play soccer. We call it soccer in America, but the rest of the world calls it football. I have no idea why that is. No matter where we move, my dad makes sure I have a soccer team to play on. I always make new friends playing soccer.   

We just got to Bangkok, Thailand.  My dad told me they call it the “Land of Smiles” because everyone is so nice here. So far, they seem pretty nice. In Thailand, the way you say hello is to “wai” people. To “wai” someone, you press your hands together like you are praying and slightly bow your head. The higher your hands are, the older the person you are greeting is.

Thailand has so many kinds of different fruit. My nanny, P’Noi, insists that I try a new one every day.  She keeps telling me that Thai people are so lucky to have all of this amazing fruit year-round.

The kids on my new soccer team are very nice and speak a little bit of English. They are even teaching me some Thai.

The Thai word for ball is bon.

The Thai word for soccer is foot bon.

The Thai word for goal is pratoo.

The Thai word for friends is peun.

It is very hot in Bangkok. But the other kids don’t mind the heat.

Bangkok is a busy city with lots of traffic and shopping malls.  They have a sky train called the BTS that you can take to get places much faster. I like to go to the malls because they sell lots of American food like McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, Dairy Queen, and Taco Bell. 

If you are in traffic, instead of taking a taxi, you can take a tuk tuk.  It’s like a motorcycle with 3 wheels and a seat on the back.  It was so much fun to ride on!

Thailand is a Buddhist country. Their religion is Buddhism. Many Thai people bring food for the monks early in the morning and receive blessings. My nanny P’Noi took me one morning to give the monks the food or what they call “make offering” to the monks.

In Northern Thailand, my dad and I went to a Thai Elephant Sanctuary, and we got to take care of an elephant for a day.  We fed the elephant, gave her a bath, and got to ride her.  It was so much fun! .

The beaches in Thailand were on of my most favorite places that we visited next to when we went to visit the elephants. We had a soccer tournament in Phuket so we got to go to the beach with my team and that was so much fun. Thailand truly is the “Land of Smiles.”