The story of my aunt and uncle coming to Thailand should start on the 27^th of April but actually it starts on the 26^th. I decided to go to bed early to have lots of energy the next day to make the best of my family being in Thailand. I went to bed at 9 and started thinking of what we were going to do and going to see and everything I needed to do and take them to see and things I should remember and 10 came and 11 came and 12 came and by now I was thinking about things like how they drink their coffee and if they packed flip flops and if they could sleep on the plane. Then I tried counting sheep and then I tried listening to classical music and somewhere close to 1 I finally fell asleep. Then I had to wake up at 3 AM and get dressed and ready and start going to the airport at 4. When I got to the airport I got some coffee and went to International arrivals and waited and waited and waited and I didn’t see my family. After a while I went to go and ask if there was more than one gate they could be and the lady told me that there were 2 gates but that everybody had to pass through the gate where I was waiting to get out but I know my family and I know they will be waiting for me right where they get out of the gate so I decided to walk to there and I was right they were waiting right there. When I got to hug my aunt for the first time in 5 months I could not help but start crying tears of happiness and relief. We got some coffee and then headed back to their hotel. It was the most amazing feeling to get to sit in the car with them and be able to answer their questions as we were driving and showing them a little bit of my world. They unpacked and changed their clothing because they realised just how hot it actually was and then we went to the royal palace for a few minutes and then we got a tuk-tuk to take us to the mall for breakfast. Seeing my uncle’s face in that tuk-tuk is something I will never forget even the driver was laughing at him and I realised for the first time (there would be many more times) that I was used to the things they find new and amazing. We had to walk around in the city for a while because the shopping malls were not open yet but I got to show them the magic shop called 7 eleven. Then we went to get some breakfast and they had traditional fried rice breakfast for their first breakfast in Thailand. Then I took them to Amarin centre to see the market where everything is handmade and all the proceeded go to the local people and they got to try Aunty Anne’s Sweet Pretzels and loved it! We then went to MBK centre and they got their first look of just how big shopping centres in Thailand are and how many things you can buy around every corner. My aunt went for a message/facial and me and my uncle got a chance to talk. It’s amazing to me how much I missed having real long conversations in which I can say what I think and how I feel and actually understand what the other person is saying and having a common back round to relate to having people we both know we could refer to. I never realised how much I miss that until I had that conversation with my uncle. Then we went to dinner and I ordered traditional foods for them to try and they liked most of them but hated others and it was nice to see they felt the same about the food as I do. At dinner we saw a really drunk group of people next to us and got to talk about them and they didn’t even know. Oh how I missed Afrikaans. Sadly they day had to come to an end and I went home. The next morning after their horrible night at the hotel we went to the airport and I had to say goodbye and they went to Phuket. Then I went back to the city to see my friends and got to meet Nikolai for the first time. The next day a whole group of exchange students got to spend the day together and it was most of the most amazing days in Thailand ever  simple things make a very big difference and I don’t think that is a day I will ever forget. On the 2^nd of May my aunt and uncle came back from Phuket but I did not see them because it was at night but I saw them early the next morning because it was my uncle’s birthday!! And everything he said on his birthday goes. We went to breakfast and then went swimming on the roof of the hotel. And ate sweets and talked and watched tv in the hotel room until it was time to go to dinner and I took them to a Danish restaurant and we had great food. After eating we went to an Australian pub, let me just say it is so fun to support your team in another country even if they arnt playing that well you just feel so proud and want everybody to know you are supporting them (and believe me everybody did know because my uncle is South African and loud) we watched Rugby and talked until it was time for me to go home. The next day my host mom arranged a car for us to take us into the country side of Thailand were I have exchange friends and my family would get to see a different side of Thailand. The driver could speak no English at all and my Thai is very limited so im still surprised that we made it there and back but I told him we wanted to go to the tiger temple and after a 3 hour drive we got to a really temple with a tiger statue and not the temple that had tigers. Luckily I had my phone and Google maps helped us with the hour drive to where we actually wanted to be and at least they got to see a nice temple. When we got to where we wanted to be we were just in time to see the whole tiger show and it was more than amazing!! We got to see all the tigers and take pictures with them and walk with the and see how they live and it was just something that not a lot of people ever get to do and I am so grateful that we could and I will never forget it but something that would of made it so much better is if it wasn’t 42°C. it was so so hot and being in-between all  the mountains made it so much more humid and hot and im pretty sure we almost melted but it was an unforgettable experience and im so glad I got to share it with my family. After that we called my exchange friends and they gave us a name of a really nice local place we could meet them for lunch and the prices were less than half of what you pay in Bangkok and so much more and so much better and im so glad I could show that to my family. Then we met my friends Ryan and Frederik and they stayed with my uncle while me and my aunt went to get a traditional Thai message. My aunt and uncle had what they thought was a Thai message in Phuket and I wanted to prove that what they had was not a traditional Thai message so me and my aunt got changed into our message outfits and the message started. Through the whole message I kept looking at my aunt and seeing her facial expressions and I kept wishing I could see my uncle get a Thai message because I am pretty such I would almost die of laughter. A traditional Thai message hurts anybody can tell you that but you feel so amazing afterwards when you are drinking your sweet Thai tea. We tried getting my uncle to go but sadly he said he didn’t wanna be our clown. Then we joined the other people and just talked for hours, going up and down the streets to different places sitting down having something to drink and talking and I am so happy that I could show my family Thailand out of my friend’s perspective and not just mine and show them a different side of Thailand that not many tourist get to see. We only got home very late so we all slept in the next morning and then I went to show my family other parts of Bangkok and they got to use the subway and had some awful coconut ice cream and walked around eating until it was time to go to my house for dinner with my host mom. Having dinner with my host mom in my house with my family was really strange and great at the same time but I was so happy that they could see my family and try my host moms food and see that I am okay. On the morning of the 6^th it was such a nice rainy day and we went to Amarin centre again and had Auntie Anne’s for the last time and walked around talking. Then we went back to the awful hotel they were living in and packed and had some problems with the hotel that were really bad but my uncle just has a way of making everything so funny that I was crying of laughter. Then we went to get something to eat and had to walk in the rain a little and decided to get lunch at our favourite restaurant at the same table we had been sitting all week and talked and laughed and saw the weirdest couple in the whole world and im sure the people around us thought we were crazy because you could see me and my aunt crying and then laughing and then crying again. Saying goodbye to them sucked so much but it also gave me the motivation to get through the rest of the year quickly so that I can get back to them and the rest of my family. There were so many moments that I will always remember but there is just no way in the world I could ever explain it on paper. It was a very very special week of my exchange because I got to share it with them.