Thanksgiving in Thailand

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday of the year. It was definitely a little sad spend a Thanksgiving away from home. It was weird to think about my family doing all of the normal preparations and getting together. But I actually did get to celebrate in Chiang Mai. 

For one of my classes, we have to teach some english classes as part of our fulfillments. We had to teach two sessions. For the first one I taught a group of women studying in the nursing school at Payap. They were a great group and knew a really good amount of English already. We pretty much just practiced conversation with them. We talked about appropriate language for different settings, etc. For my second session, an opportunity came up to teach a class about Thanksgiving to some Thai students studying English at Payap. I taught the class with two other American girls that are in the Thai studies program with me. We produced a slideshow that discussed the history of Thanksgiving, how it is celebrated today, what the meal is like, and some of the traditions surrounding Thanksgiving. It was funny to try to explain all of the common dishes we eat. Cranberry sauce and stuffing were both particularly difficult to describe. They seemed kind of alarmed at our descriptions. We also made sure to talk about football, the Macys day parade, and of course--Black Friday, which they all found pretty amusing. Describing the holiday made me realize how typically American a lot of things about Thanksgiving are. Eating a lot, lazing around watching football, spending the whole next day at the mall shopping... so I think I learned a few things about our country also. At the end of the class we also made 'hand turkeys'--the things where you trace your hand on a piece of paper and then decorate it to make it into a turkey. They did really well with that... some of them really went into detail with their decorations and designs. 

On Thursday, our dormitory held a big Thanksgiving dinner where many professors, students, administrators and international students came to eat. The food was pretty good. Except we all almost lost it when they said that they had run out of mashed potatoes. But the turkey, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce were amazing. The Thai studies students were asked to put together a short presentation about Thanksgiving so my friend Sarah and I recycled our slideshow and gave a short little talk. 

To be honest, it was a really nice way to spend Thanksgiving. It definitely wasn't my dining room, my family, my dad's stuffing or my mom's pie crust but it was different and really enjoyable. 

Lisu Village Stay

After the couple of days we spent at UHDP we left to spend a couple of days in a Lisu village. It was not too long of a drive and very beautiful. The village where we stayed was is Doi Lan at the top of this mountain. To get there we had to snake up this pretty steep incline. You could definitely feel the temperature change the moment we stepped out of the car. Lisu people are an ethnic minority group that live throughout the hills of Thailand and some surrounding countries in Southeast Asia. Since they live on Thai land they are Thai. But they have their own language, culture and beliefs. Ethnic minority groups in Thailand tend to suffer from a lot of discrimination, inequalities and poverty. Access to healthcare and substantial education is often difficult. A woman named Atome came with us on the trip. She teaches and Payap and has written a lot about this. She lived in this particular Lisu village for 6 years. So she knows the language and everyone in the village. They love her and were so happy to have her bring some students to stay.

My friend Angela and I stayed together with a woman who came and pointed to the 2 of us, picked up our bags, and hurried us off to her house. She was great, we called her "Mae" which means mother in thai. The children are taught Thai in their small village school so most of the younger generations know Thai. But she also knew Thai very well so that's how we communicated throughout the trip. Mae had 3 children-- 2 sons and one daughter I believe. Two of her children had moved to the city to find work but one of her sons stayed home. She joked about marrying one of us off to him. He was cute but I don't know about marriage. It's really common today amongst the younger generation for children to go to the city to find work. They usually only end up being able to acquire low-paying jobs because many actually do not have thai identification cards... which is kind of a long story. Anyway, it was interesting to be in this village that consists primarily of middle-aged, elderly and young children. There were two little girls that hung around my house all of the time. My mae would feed them and care for them but we were pretty sure that they were not related at all. It is so cool because there was such little presence of ownership in the village. All of the kids would just run around and then get scooped up and put on the backs of different women. It was such a compact community.

The food our mae made throughout our stay was hands-down the best food that I have had in Thailand. All of the vegetables were fresh picked and so tasty and the rice was a different, more grainier grain. We also had this amazing black sticky rice that is popular to eat in the North. The kitchen was a large room with a cold cement floor. We would sit and eat together on these tiny stools around a low round table with all of the dishes laid out. There was a wash basin in the corner, a small stove and a mattress in the other corner. The bathroom was outside of the house in a small cement hut and the shower consisted of a bucket with cold water. Our bedroom was nice... but at night it would get so so cold.

I shared with her some pictures of my family and friends. She seemed to enjoy that. Then she brought out these huge photo albums and showed a bunch of old and new photos of her family and the village, etc. She had this amazing photograph of a little girl standing in a beautiful poppy field. They used to harvest opium on their land in the 80s and these hills were covered with miles and miles of purple, red and white poppies. It was very lucrative for them. Some would become addicted to smoking (mostly men) but mostly it was just a source of profit for these villagers. But then the previous PM Thaksin had his 'war on drugs' in which he ordered military to shoot-on-sight anyone he thought looked like they might be suspicious. This created a lot of resentment amongst hill tribe villagers. Our mother talked about how one of her siblings had died from an opium addiction but also talked about how three men from the village had been murdered during the war on drugs. It was pretty interesting and sad. 

The next day we walked through the farmland to this open field where they were growing cabbage, celery, tomatoes and some other crops. We spent the whole day there preparing a meal and a chicken to sacrifice for a ceremony. The people in this village practice a mixture of buddhism and animism so there is a lot of belief in forest spirits and ghosts but also there are touches of buddhism throughout a lot of their customs and rituals. There were very intent on us drinking their local rice whiskey which was very good but extremely strong. Even a small shot glass size of it puts you in sort of this warm and fuzzy daze. So we spent the whole day in this field laying around in this cabbage field under the hot sun in a whiskey daze. 

That night they had a party for us at this house on top of the hill. They dressed us up in their Lisu garb which is incredible. The women wear really vibrant colors of shiny velvet material that are sewn together into these long dresses with black velvet pants underneath. It looks so beautiful on them with their dark skin and jet black hair. It looked a tad different on us foreigners but it was fun to come together like this. There was a big meal, Lisu dancing, Lisu music and of course, more whiskey. It was a fun and very strange night. Strange because I had this weird thing happen where a tripped over a cord and when I went to plug it back in, I was electrocuted! It was so strange because I didn't even touch the outlet and I wasn't wet but my whole body kinda shook for only for a second. It really freaked me out. It was crazy because I looked up after sitting around and everyone was crowded around me looking at me in all of these outfits. Pretty bizarre... I rested for a while but felt better by the end of the night. 

We said goodbye to our families on Monday. So basically I would say that nothing that happened that weekend was an experience I have ever had before. Pretty eye and heart-opening. They were such welcoming and warm people. It was a great last group trip. Now its about a month more of class and such until I meet my family in Chiang Mai. I am pretty excited. That's about all for now. 

Here's a link to some pictures from the trip:

http://s438.photobucket.com/albums/qq110/emilyfwolff/UHDP%20and%20Lisu%20Village/

UHDP trip

Last week we embarked on our final Thai studies trip. It included a two-day stay at a place called the Upland Holistic Development Center (UHDP). They work mostly with ethnic minority villages around Chiang Rai province to help them practice sustainable, affordable and eco-friendly methods of rural development. They have a center with a few acres of land where they research different techniques of farming and cultivation. We stayed 2 nights there. The first night we got a basic tour of the grounds and learned about the different plants they grow and work that is done on a daily basis. The entire next day was centered around a giant pig. First thing in the morning, we followed some workers out to a small bamboo table next to a huge caged pig. They informed us that this would provide our meals throughout the rest of our stay. I won't get into the details but basically we watched the whole process. It was amazing to watch all of these men (there were about seven of them) go through this process of shaving, butchering, and dividing up the pig, etc. (sorry to be so blunt) They hardly talked about who would do what, they all just jumped right in and the everything flowed so naturally and efficiently. It is pretty uncommon anymore for these villages to kill such a large pig like that but it was like these men just had the knowledge of how to do it in their blood. I realized that I had never really seen that process from beginning to end before. It was pretty real and a little traumatizing. But that is definitely where our bacon and our bbq ribs come from. I am not a huge meat eater and usually try to avoid pork if I can so I had a pretty tough time when it was served for lunch, dinner and the next day's breakfast. But I guess you have to realize that everything goes full circle that way. Later that day we cut down some huge bamboo stocks and made a northern thai delicacy by filling each 'bong' (thats what the small sections are called in thai) with sticky rice and coconut milk. They were fired and served at dinner that night. I preferred that over the pork for sure.

trip to Mae Sot

Last week, the Thai studies program took a trip to a place called Mae Sot. It is about 5 hours from Chiang Mai and a part of Tak Province. Mae Sot is right on the border of Thailand and Burma. It is largely a Burmese town because refugees and immigrants have set up their lives there. So there is ton of Burmese food and writing and stores everywhere. The political situation in Burma (Myanmar) is not very good. It is ruled by a ruthless regime that has completely stripped people of their human rights and has basically sought to extinguish anyone who does not comply. There are many ethnic minorities throughout the country that are especially targeted and are continuously forced out of their homes and villages, becoming IDPs or 'internally displaced peoples'. The army basically invades these villages of Karen people along the border (near Mae Sot), raping and shooting, burning down villages and planting land mines around the ruins to ensure that people won't dare to return. These people have very few choices. They either end up in forced labor camps, refugee camps, or they illegally migrate into Thailand where they face poverty, poor working conditions, and discrimination in many cases. Mae Sot is an area where there are many local organizations and NGOs that are working to resist oppression and assist those impacted. So our trip this weekend allowed us to meet many people working in various fields each with different histories and stories. 

We left last Thursday and pretty much drove all day until we reached Mae Sot. We had the incredible opportunity to have dinner with the Karen National Union leader. He works on behalf of the Karen State (an ethnic minority) and his union has been a major force of opposition against the SPDC Burmese army. It was interesting to hear him speak because he has been involved for a very long time and he seemed so fearless despite the fact that there are many who would love to see him gone. 

The next day we started out by having breakfast at a Burmese tea shop. One of the professors with us on the trip, Win Min, is an activist and scholar. He lived in Mae Sot for a while but grew up in Burma and has been a major player in the fight for a free Burma. So he has many connections in the area and he was the one who coordinated a lot of our weekend. This place was great... Burmese food kinda tasted like a fusion of Indian and Thai food to me. They gave us a ton of freshly made nan bread and then there was this chickpea dip sort of thing that was so delicious. And then they also had Burmese tea which was amazing. The owner was so nice and lively... one of his waiters was a boy who looked like he was maybe around 12 or 13 years old but he had this crazy loud, booming voice and he would call out each of the orders running around. It was really great. After breakfast we headed over to the Karen Department of Health and Welfare. The man who spoke to us told us how difficult but also how important it is to provide healthcare to Karen people because the Burmese government doesn't provide them with anything.  He said that communicable diseases, malnutrition and pregnancy risks are their primary issues that they treat. It was interesting because blamed not only the Burmese government but the Thai government as well for refusing to recognize the right of these people to healthcare. 

Next we went to visit an NGO called BGET- Border Green Energy Team. They work in villages doing all sorts of projects like setting up solar panels or hydro-powered electricity systems. It was definitely a new perspective and approach than what I have read about or seen as of yet. The craziest thing about this visit to BGET was that I ran into a woman who went to Bard! She graduated the year before I came to Bard so I never knew her. And to make the coincidence even more outrageous we figured out that when she was a student she began the project that I know lead with a couple of other women at Bard. She was one of the founding members of the project I lead called the "Children's Expressive Arts Project". I have always heard things about her and had seen some pictures of her but I had never met her. (she is like a celebrity to me!) So we were able to talk about mutual friends and I caught her up on the news about everyone. She also was in the dance department which is my second home at Bard so we got to talk about that as well. It was tooooo weird, but absolutely wonderful and it was so refreshing to talk to someone who had so many of the same strong ties that I do from home. Anyway, she is in grad school now in California now and is doing a semester long internship with BGET and she is focusing on hydro-powered energy. 

After that crazy encounter we next went to visit the Mae Tao Clinic for immigrants and refugees. We were given a guided tour by a wonderful woman who had been working there for a very long time. This place was amazing... it is difficult to even describe but basically it was a cluster of small facilities and rooms for all sorts of illnesses and health issues. We walked by one room where there were these 5 doctors who were foreigners who had come for a week to treat people with eye problems. There were large groups of mostly elderly people sitting on small mats waiting to see these doctors for eye surgeries. We walked past another room where there were 3 newborn babies who had been orphaned and left at the pregnancy ward. Another room we went into provided prosthetics for amputees and people who had lost limbs due to land mines.  After that we ran into Dr. Cynthia Muang who began the clinic in 1989. She is considered the Mother Theresa of Burma so it was such an honor to meet her. 

Next we went to the headquarters of the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. This group works to assist Burmese political prisoners and their families, collect data and information about the situation of political prisoners and works with international groups like the Human Rights Watch. There were 3 speakers there who were all political prisoners at one time--all serving around 3-7 years in prison simply for being a part of the resistance movement on Thailand. They were very generous in telling their stories and explaining about the current situation of political prisoners. Burmese prisons are internationally known to be some of the worst institutions. These people talked about the physical and mental torture they went through and the horrific conditions under which they lived. It was amazing to sit there and watch them recount their experience without crying or breaking down. They talked about how thy could only leave their cell for one hour a day and see sunlight and how they weren't even allowed to read books. I think it must be therapeutic for them to tell their stories to others... but I also can't fathom how difficult it would be. 

The next day we traveled to a refugee camp about an hour away that was right on the Burma border. There was a worry that we might not be let in because it just depends on who is sitting guard that day but one woman who was a Karen graduate of Payap had a connection with a teacher at the camp which helped us get in. As we drove along the road approaching the camp there were seemingly infinite clusters of small bamboo huts packed around the lowlands below this mountain. It just kept going on and on. Just over the mountain was Burma. To get to the school we had to take a little trek on this dirt path. When we got there the teacher led our whole group onto the stage where we sat facing a group of about 200 Karen, college-age refugees. We just kind of stared at each other while we waited for everyone to get settled and I wondered about what each of their stories were and what they thought of us sitting on this stage above them. They sang a couple of songs for us which were extremely powerful... they had beautiful voices and harmonies. We sang a little song for them too but it wasn't nearly as impressive. After that we took a tour of the camp... I was actually a little surprised about the conditions of the people leaving there.  There was electricity and internet and little shops dispersed throughout. But on the whole, coming to a refugee camp is often the last resort for these people because they don't want to leave their homes and communities. Many of the people there live away from their families because they have been displaced. When we were leaving this man approached me... he was probably about 50 years old and had an american flag wristband and a pepsi bag slung around his shoulder. He just took my hand and explained that he was imprisoned for 9 months because he had contacts with the US government. He said that he had met Jenna Bush and that he had the cell phone number of the white house. He also mentioned that he liked McCain better than Obama (this was pre Obama's win) because McCain was older and deserved to get president because he might not have another chance. He also liked McCain better because he was a prisoner as well. It was quite an interesting perspective. Then he told me that he loves freedom. I just listened, he might have been a little off of his rocker but who wouldn't be after a life like his? 

That pretty much concluded our trip. The next day we drove back to Chiang Mai and didn't get back until late Sunday night. I felt completely drained... there was a lot to process and digest. It has taken me all week to simply garner the energy to write about an experience like I had last weekend. I didn't know if writing it down could do justice to what I learned and saw. I know this was a long one but I hope that you were able to bear with me. 

I only have about a month and a half left of my semester... how the h-e-double toothpicks did that happen?

Here's some more pictures:

http://s438.photobucket.com/albums/qq110/emilyfwolff/Mae%20Sot/

Whatever happens

For one of my classes, 'Intercultural Understanding', we were told to blog about one of the cultural patterns that we have been studying and discussing and relate it to an experience we have had while in Thailand. We read one article called "Diverse Cultural Patterns" that described 'person-nature orientation'. It discussed the difference between societies that believe that human beings are subject to nature, are in cooperation with nature, or must control nature. This distinction really jumped out at me because this has been something I have confronted a lot while being here. I guess I would classify Thai society as a culture that lives in cooperation with nature. I always sort of feel uncomfortable making broad generalizations but in many instances I have observed this attitude. I think that this observation originates a lot with Buddhist thought and practice. And since this is a country where 98% of the people are Buddhist (I think that's the correct percentage) it makes sense for this idea to be linked to Buddhism. Maybe it's that when there is a god or a figure to look to as a spirit that is responsible for the way things happen, nature is simply at the mercy of a greater being.

One day I was talking to my friend Ping (who is actually from Taiwan and is not Buddhist). We were discussing the use of helmets when riding motorbikes. She explained that she grew up riding motorbikes along with everyone else around her. She said she had gotten into a couple of accidents... there is still proof of one of them-- a large scar across her right shin. I said that I had only ridden one a few times before and told her that I would be extremely scared to ride one without a helmet. She replied by saying that "Well, you know, I think that Asian people are just more brave or something". I kinda laughed and said that I guessed that must be it. The more we talked the more I understood that she didn't really have many things that she worried about. I have seen that this is sort of the general sentiment amongst most people here. It's not that they are not aware of the risks involved, it's more of a "whatever happens, happens" attitude. 

Coming from a family where I have received monthly lectures about how it's "better to be safe than sorry" and from a country where it is illegal to ride in a car without a seatbelt on, this concept of "whatever happens" is a little difficult for me to grasp. Don't worry Dad, I am eternally grateful for how you have prepared me for the world and all of its possibilities but I sometimes wonder if it is worth all of the anxiety that Americans suffer as a result of trying to control nature. Especially if you are a person prone to worrying (as I am) life can get pretty bogged down with all the thoughts of what could happen instead of enjoying things as they happen. So I don't know if I would call Ping "more brave" or simply "less paranoid" but it's nice to be in an environment where things are more accepted as they come and less fought against. 

Sukhothai and Phitsanulok

After a brutal week of midterm madness last week it was nice to look forward to the trip we took this weekend to two provinces--Sukhothai and Phitsanulok, that are about five hours south of Chiang Mai. We arrived at our guesthouse in Sukhothai at around 6 PM and took a little time to settle in and explore. It was a beautiful place. There were gardens all around and little bungalows with hammocks. There were also tons of little bird cages all around with beautiful birds of all different colors and there was a pool. Sukhothai is one of the hottest places in Thailand because it is in the center of the country in the plains. So at night it still felt like it was around 75 degrees and the air was so humid. Unfortunately I couldn't swim because of my burn so I just lived vicariously through others. 

The next morning we woke and had a great breakfast. A couple owns this guesthouse. The man is probably in his early 60s and had white hair that was slicked back and golden skin. He is Italian but has been living in Thailand for many years and is married to a Thai woman. I asked him what originally prompted him to come and he said that things in Italy got too expensive, busy and money-centered. He said he loved the Thai laid-back lifestyle. He had this super thick Italian accent and was such a character. When he would speak Thai it was so hard to understand him because it was infused with so much of his accent. Anyway, the breakfast they served was toast with fresh jams and a little omelette. There were also these little bananas, fresh honeycomb, and really nice black coffee. Paulo, the owner, served us our food and would say "delicious", "ammmazing", "fresh honeycomb from the jungle" really loudly with his accent. He was hilarious. 

After breakfast, a professor from Naresuan University (which is in the nearby province of Phitsanulok) gave us a lecture on the history of Sukhothai. Sukhothai is the ancient capital of Thailand and it is unique because it is covered in ancient ruins that were built during the empire. Originally people lived in the forest surrounding these ruins and built homes around them. But about 60 years ago they renovated the area and turned it into a national park. (Which unfortunately also meant that they had to basically kick these homeowners out of the area) The ruins contain many buddha statues and are situated between these small bodies of water that were originally constructed as water sources for these ancient people. 

We headed over to the park after the lecture and took a guided tour in a little trolley car around the grounds. The sky was a perfect blue and it was really hot so the sun created these great shadows and all of the details were accentuated. Next we went to the museum on the grounds and got to explore for a while. Sukhothai is also known for its ceramics. During the lecture we had in the morning the professor explained that Sukhothai became renown for its style of having tiny cracks that create a great sort of spider-web design around the ceramic. We were able to see some of these ceramics as well as some other great things. After that a few friends and myself rented bicycles and rode around the park exploring all of the ruins. It was pretty hot so by the end we were all dripping with sweat but it was such a cool way to be able to look at everything. We would ride a little bit, stop at a ruin, walk around and take pictures and then ride some more and stop again. 

The next day we drove to Phitsanulok which is about an hour away from Sukhothai. We stopped at one temple along the way and also went to a folk art museum. Friday night in Sukhothai we went to a hotel near Naresuan University and had a big dinner with some of the students there. The students at the dinner were mostly in their fourth year of school and were in the social sciences department. The students at my table were so nice... most of them knew a good amount of english and we also were able to practice some Thai with them. The dinner was really good. There was even a salad bar! This is something I have not seen in Thailand anywhere yet. Vegetables are always cooked here so it was nice to have some fresh veggies. First, they performed a traditional thai dance that I have seen a few times since I have been here. I think that it is a typical to open up ceremonies with a dance like this. We found out later that the woman who was dancing was actually a 'lady-boy'. I don't think I have mentioned lady-boys yet but there tons of transvestites in Thailand. It is really accepted for men to dress like women and most of the time you wouldn't even know they were men until they speak. Te=hey are called "lady-boys" or the thai word is "gatoy". Myself and my friend Kelsey were given the task to put together a little performance for them. We sang a thai children's song for them first and then had some people show off their special talents. A couple people juggled and then one girl sang the ABCs with her mouth closed. Lastly, we taught them the "make new friends but keep the old" song in small groups. It was pretty silly but it did the trick. Throughout the night we exchanged gifts and did a lot of dancing. After the party a bunch of the Naresuan students took a group of us who wanted to see the town out with them. It was so interesting to see the nightlife of this smaller city. It was somewhat similar to Chiang Mai but had more of the feeling that everyone knew each other. And at 12:00 PM I was even sung happy birthday to! And of course, there was a little bit of drinking being that it was my 21st. I don't think that I ever thought I would be with a bunch of university students in a small province in the middle of Thailand on the eve of my 21st. 

The next morning, before we left to drive back to Chiang Mai we stopped at a Buddha casting foundry. It explained the whole process which would be kind of long to explain but it was so interesting and there were all different sizes of these sculptures. We got to watch people as they worked on various parts of the process. They all looked so calm and comfortable. It made me want to just quit school and run away to Thailand and learn how to cast buddhas. You could just meditate all day while creating these beautiful things.  Maybe that's what I'll do in retirement. The best part was when I went into the gift shop, the clerk was a Thai woman wearing a shirt that had 'New Jersey' written across it. New Jersey was surrounded by hundreds of buddha statues for sale seated all around her. It was too perfect.  I don't think she had any idea what New Jersey was before I told her it was my home. She even let me take a picture of her outside in front of a large buddha. That concluded our adventure for the weekend. It was a really great weekend again. 

Here's some more pics from the weekend. 

http://s438.photobucket.com/albums/qq110/emilyfwolff/Sukhothai%20and%20Phitsanulok/

Long Mae Ping

On Saturday morning I woke up to a call from my advisor at work named "Malinee" saying that she had heard about my burn and wanted to know if I needed anything or wanted to go the doctor. I thanked her and said that I thought I would be okay but that I would tell her if I needed anything. (Yet again, more proof of how amazingly nice and generous these women I work with are). In the afternoon I met Cruu Bakeauw at the school and we drove together to the temple, or 'Wat', in downtown Chiang Mai where she goes every weekend to practice local music. Beside the main building at the temple there was a beautiful cemetery. Cruu Bakeauw told me that inside these white, ornate structures the ashes of past royalty and important monks were buried. The actual temple itself was huge. It is one of the largest I have seen yet--and I have seen many temples here. When we walked inside there was a group of people sitting on the ground underneath various large buddha statues with their instruments. People either had a 'seung'- a the small guitar-type instrument I am learning, a "saw u"- a 2 string fiddle that uses a bow and has a coconut shell body, or a small wooden flute. The people there were of all ages. There was an old man who must have been about 75 or 80 years old sitting eager to begin in the front and sitting next to me was a couple of young boys. I was the only "farang" (foreigner) at the class, beside one little girl who was a "klung" child or half-thai, half-farang. A woman next to me asked if I was her mother. I shook my head...

We sat practicing and fiddling around until the instructor, Cruu At, arrived. He was probably in his mid-30s and had a long ponytail thatreached all the way down to his butt. He was very energetic and expressive and I am guessing he was pretty funny as well because everyone around me kept laughing at the things he would say. (I could pick up a few words here and there but for the most part I was reading body language and watching throughout the lesson. I am used to this by now though.) Before we began playing, he took everyone's instruments and tuned them. Then we all turned toward the Buddha and he led a series of chants. Even though, again, I cannot understand a word that is said, I love Buddhist chanting... there is something about the tones and the words that sort of lull you into a little meditation. We started with the song I had been practicing called "Long Mae Ping". It is a song about the Ping River which runs straight through Chiang Mai. I kind of fumbled through because the tempo was much faster I had practiced it. Then he took a small group of us aside (everyone whose first lesson it was) and broke down the basics. A woman who told me she was a teacher at the bilingual school in town helped to translate what he explained which was so nice and helpful. The teacher kept saying that when you can sing it, then you can play it. So first he had us sing the notes, following along with the thai characters for "do re mi fa sol la ti do". I could do this easily, but it took me a while to really get comfortable with the playing. At the end we all came together to play some more and before departing we again prayed to the Buddha. 

I couldn't stop thanking Bakeauw for bringing me along. She encouraged me to come back any weekend I am free. Hopefully I can practice enough to get through the whole song without mistakes for next time. We'll see...

A Burn the Size of a Golf Ball

In October all of the school and university students have a holiday break. It starts around now and lasts until the beginning of November. This means that my days at work have been very different. Instead of running around from class to class with a bingo board in one hand and crayons and markers in other, I have been able to just help out with things here and there. Even though the teachers are technically on a break as well, a lot of them still come in and hang out around the campus at Kawila. Can you imagine being a teacher in the US and coming into school over your summer break to simply relax, eat and chat with other staff members? That is what is so remarkable about people's relationship to their work here. I know some people in the US thoroughly enjoy their jobs but I would go as far to say that about 80% or even more don't enjoy their job or find some fault with what they're doing. And I have noticed that across the board, at Kawila and other institutions I have had interactions with, the workplace is not just a place where people come in the morning, punch in, and do their time. Instead, it is literally a whole other community  and family. I mean maybe I am making assumptions... because a major value in Thai society is "saving face"--making sure you never let your guard down. From what I've gathered it's not about being fake, it's more about avoiding making others feel uncomfortable or inconvenienced. So maybe they are not as happy as they seem to be? But at Kawila, so many of the men and women have been working there for so long and seem to really just enjoy being around one another and the work they are doing. It's so refreshing... and it makes me all the more grateful that they have invited me into their family. 

So anyway, getting into the golfball story. Since I have had more free time at work, I have been helping to paint these linen bags that they sell for the benefit of the schools. On each bag, you trace a floral design and then use fabric paint to shade things in. It has been a great little meditation time for me. It actually makes me think of my grandma a lot. I just have such strong images and recollections of watching her paint beautiful flowers or doodle little designs and she would just sit there so quietly and calmly. Anyway, one of the teachers at Kawila who has been there for 20+ years has sort of taken me under her wing and guided me along in this painting. Her name is 'Cruu Bakeauw'. She knows a good amount of English so she enjoys speaking with me and asking me how to phrase certain things. She has also helped me with my Thai skills--which are slowly starting to take shape. She has also been really excited to teach me how to play a small Thai guitar-type thing called the 'seung'. It only has 4 strings and is made out of beautiful teak wood. It is specifically a Northern Thai instrument. She even lent me one of her own to practice at home on. (don't worry I am getting to the golf ball) So on Wednesday she told me that she wanted to invite me to come and learn with her music teacher at a temple in town on Saturday. On Friday when I came in, after a day of painting bags and practicing music, she brought me to the market in town to find a nice Thai-style shirt to wear to the temple on Saturday. So we hopped on her motorbike (motorbikes are the primary means of transportation for people here-- but don't worry, I wore a helmet!), and drove to the market. As I was getting off of the bike the back of my leg grazed the exhaust pipe of the bike that was burning hot. I ended up with a beautiful red, circular burn the size of a golfball on the back of my leg. OOOOuch. Despite the stinging on the back of my leg, we still found a great white shirt for me to wear. When I got out my wallet, she told me she wanted to buy it for me for my birthday because she remembered it was next week. Could this woman get any sweeter? When we got back to the school, Cruu Bakeauw ran to this house near the school and broke off a leaf of an aloe plant, peeled it, washed it, and stuck it onto my burn. (I thought that it was so cool that I got my camera out, limped over, and snapped a picture of the process). The pain was pretty bad at first but the aloe really helped. I did, however develop a wonderfully large bubble over the burn which was pretty sexy as you can imagine. She drove me home in her car that day. 

Happenings

This past week has really been kind of strange. We are a different semester schedule than the rest of everyone studying at Payap because we follow the US system. The thai students have the rest of October for vacation. So this past week has been exams for everyone else and packing up bags, moving around, etc.  It's already weird walking around campus with so little people around. 

Also a really tragic thing happened a few days ago. This boy who lived in the dorm where I am named Andrew was driving on his motorbike just outside of campus and was hit and killed. He was actually wearing a helmet (which many people in this city don't do) but I guess that the force was too strong. Andrew was a Korean American who grew up in California and had a pretty rough life before he came here. I didn't know him well at all... I had only seen him around the building and campus but whenever I saw him he smiled anyway. There was a service for him on Friday. It was really nice... so many people came, the place was packed. He was a devout Christian so the service had many religious songs and some passages were read. Towards the end people had the opportunity to go up and say things and everyone talked about how genuine, generous and caring he was. People spoke about how he really took the time to greet people everyday and help them out with anything they might need. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can be there one minute and not the next. It's just so easy to forget how impermanent everything is. But he was a person full of faith and his death I think reminded everyone to just take more time with each other. At least for me, even though I did not know him well, he reminded me to just appreciate people as people and not worry about where you are going next or what you need to get done before the end of the day. Because when I think about it, the people I admire most in life are the people who are not afraid to spend time with people and really look at them and listen when they talk.

My really good friend here named Kali is leaving this week. She is from Vermont but was on a different program here so she started her semester in June and is now finishing. But here mom just got here beccause they are going on a 2 month adventure excursion because Kali does not have classes until January. They have some money tucked away and a couple plane tickets but they are starting here, then flying down to southern Thailand to the beaches and then they are going to Malaysia, India, Morocco, Amsterdam, Ireland, and I think there are more. I am sooooo incredibly jealous of them. I wish I could go on a 2 month trip with my mama! But I am going to miss her so much. It's going to be so weird not having my right-hand-woman around. But luckily we live close enough that I will be able to see when we are back in the States. 

So things have been shifting a lot this past week. In a couple weeks we are going to Sukhothai- the ancient capital of Thailand. It is supposed to be a really interesting place so I am looking forward to that. That's all for now. Hope everyone is happy and safe. 

Golden Triangle among other things

Things this past week flew by. I was a little sick in the beginning of the week and took a day to stay in and rest... I guess I was just very dehydrated. This has happened to me many times when I have traveled. So I think I need to pay closer attention to my body being in new country with new weather, new food and a different routine. 

Things were a little different at work this week because October is often a break for school children in Thailand. So when I came in on Wednesday hardly any kids were there. The teachers still come in for the most part. But I guess this break will last until the end of October. It's a little disappointing because I felt like I was just getting really comfortable with kids and warming up to teaching and things. But hopefully they will be able to put me to some good use. One teacher was mentioning that I might be able to come along on some home visits throughout the month. They visit the children in their homes throughout the month. Some of them live in small villages that are somewhat far from the city. So that would be very interesting. I will have to wait and see what happens this week with all of that. 

This weekend we got to go on a great trip... everyone in the Thai studies program (which includes over 20 of us) was able to go. We went to Chiang Rai province which is about 5 hours east by car of Chiang Mai. We left on  Friday morning in these large air conditioned vans that they rented out for us. The drive was really beautiful... especially as we got closer to the town where we stayed for the first night. As we approached Mae Salong village the road wound around these green mountains and on either side of the road you would look out onto amazing views below. I still can't get over the landscape here. It's just amazing to think that there are thousands of these little villages of people that live scattered about on the mountains and have these views all of the time. This settlement where we stayed, Mae Salong, largely consists of immigrants from Southern China and their families who left China to escape communism and settled in the hills of Northern Thailand. The people there have Thai citizenship but mostly still speak Chinese and continue to maintain Chinese customs and tradition. It was so interesting to notice the nuanced differences in the food, the language and the lifestyle of these people. The area was also significant because it was a hotspot of opium harvest years ago. But the the Thai government and military was able to put a stop to production of opium there and now the area  is primarily known for its tea plantations. We got to taste a lot of the tea which was wonderful... there are little shops all around town where you can sit and enjoying trying all different varieties. They have the beautiful chinaware and it's so fun to watch them go through the process of preparing the cups and brewing the tea. We got to visit a museum there and also went to the shrine of a hero general at the top of this hill overlooking the town. The hotel we stayed in was great. Each room had a balcony that had a great view and the dinner was wonderful.  It was the lazy susan style and there was some amazing vegetable dishes and some soup. 

The next day we got up early and left to head for Chiang Saen which is the area where the Golden Triangle is. The Triangle is the meeting point, united by the Mekong River where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet. So where we ate lunch you could look out and see Burma to the left and another mass of land to the right that was Laos. The Mekong was beautiful as well. The Golden Triangle is also notorious for being a hub for opium trade between China and the other 3 countries because of its geographic position on the river and between 3 countries thar had acres of land devoted to growing opium. We spent some time at the Opium Museum there (which is supposedly the best museum in Thailand). It was definitely the best I had been to yet here. It was huge and beautifully constructed and arranged. It took a long while to go through but it was very interactive and basically traced the history of opium in the world and its social, economic and political impacts up until the present. At the end we even got to enjoy a poppy seed cookie that was really great (however, it wasn't laced with opium). That night we had dinner along the river which was nice. The hotel where we stayed was great as well.

 Today we got up again and stopped at a couple of temples on the way home. While visiting the first one I was able to get my fortune by shaking a cup until a stick with a number on it fell out. I got number 27... so I reached into the little box marked 27 and pulled out my fortune which informed me that, "Just like a dying tree, suddenly refreshed and soaked with rain, reviving back to life. Just like a teenager who never knows sorrow. Legal case is favorable. Patient fast recovering. Good supports. Overall, this one is good." I don't know if I ruined the chances of this coming true by sharing it with you... but it actually seems like it could be applied to my state currently. I am especially happy that my legal case is favorable though. 

The second temple we visited was this temple that was all white and silver. This cool Thai Buddhist artist conceived of it and on the inside there is this giant mural that includes a bunch of pop icons. I guess that it is supposed to depict sin but in the 2 eyes at the top, george bush's face is in one and Osama Bin Laden's is in the other. Also Nero (i think that's his name) from the Matrix is floating around in there as well as images of cell phones and gasoline tanks pouring out and surrounded by flames. It was very interesting... the opposite side of the main room in the temple had a bunch of buddha images and statues. It was definitely a gutsy comparison to make. 

It was a good trip yet again. I feel pretty damn fortunate to have all of these opportunities to go and see and experience all of these things. I just keep pinching myself so that I can make sure I don't take a single thing for granted. 

Road Trip

This weekend my friends--Kali, Rooney, Asa and I decided to rent a car and take a weekend trip to a province about 6 hours away called Nan. A couple of us had heard it was supposed to be beautiful and were intrigued by the idea of a road trip. It was pretty cheap to split the cost amongst the four of us... it ended up being a little less than 30 dollars per person.  I, of course, was the biggest worrier of the group and bought about 3 different maps just in case. But the drive actually ended up being very easy. The roads here in the north are marked really well and are very well kept so there was not much to worry about. We left on Friday afternoon and decided to just take our time, stopping along the way if we saw something that seemed like it could be interesting. While we were driving through this valley that had beautiful rice fields all around we spotted this round, golden thing peeking out between some hills. As we got closer we saw that it was this humongous Buddha statue perched at the top of this big hill. So we decided to turn off onto this little road and try to find it. On the way we stopped at this beautiful temple in the middle of this little village. We pulled up in our car and the temple dogs started barking so loudly... they did not seem happy that we were there. We could hear the monks chanting from inside. But eventually some of the monks came out and talked to us-- at that point the dogs had calmed down and were letting us pet them and play. The monks were kind and let us take some pictures. They also gave us directions to the Buddha on the hill and encouraged us to go and see it. We got back in the car and drove a little more until we reached the top of this hill. There was a series of steps leading up to the statue and dragon-like creatures lining the staircase on either side that had really beautifully carved, but very sharp, scales. It was so cool to stand under this massive thing and look up. It's eyes sort of gaze diagonally down at you and it is this beautiful golden color. The sun started going down and there was some thunder and lightning in the distance and everything cooled down a bit. The sky turned this great pink color--which created a great backdrop. We left before it got too dark. We drove until we hit the province of Phrae and decided to check into a guesthouse there and stay the night. We had a pretty good dinner at this little restaurant and then walked along this main road where there was a small food market going on. Kali and I got some mango with sticky rice that was phenomenal. Then we walked some more and ended up meeting this older man and his wife at this little shop who was from Phrae and we got to talk with him. It was so great because we were actually able to have a long conversation with him... we were so excited to be able to use our Thai and see that we could actually communicate with some one for a significant amount of time. After that we wandered over towards the moat in the center of town and ended up hanging out with this group of kids around our age who were from Phrae. Many of them were lady-boys, which is what Thai people call transvestites. There are tons of lady-boys all over Thailand and it is widely accepted to be gay here. You can hardly tell that many of them are men until they speak. But this group who we were hanging out with was great. They had a guitar so they were singing some Thai songs and they were so into taking pictures. It was a fun night.

The next day we drove the last 2 hours to Nan ended up getting there a little after noon. We kinda wandered around the city a little bit--which was much bigger than Phrae, and found this great guesthouse to check into after a little bit of hotel hopping. The rooms were huge, everything was so clean and there was hardly anyone else there. We drove over to the Nan river where we heard there would be boat racing going on. Nan is known for its boat racing--there is a big festival at the end of every November that is pretty widely known. They race these long skinny beautiful boats that are painted with intricate little designs. We got to see all the little novice racers load into their boat and push off. (It's only men who race) They count and make these cool grunting noises as they go to time when they paddle. Right near where all of this was going on was an outdoor aerobics class with a bunch of middle-aged and elderly men and women doing disco aerobics as this hilarious pump-up music plays. It was great to stand in between the two events and have the disco music in one ear and the grunting of these men in their boats in the other ear. It was quite the contrast. After that we drove across a little bridge and explored this great residential area that bordered the other side of the river. Then we found this cool restaurant that was right on the river... there was not another soul there but they opened it all up for us and handed us some menus. Of course, everything was in Thai but the menu was about 5 or 6 pages long so we knew there must be some good stuff on there. So we decided that we would randomly point to a few dishes and see what happens. A couple of them were really good but there was one that was extremely spicy and weird tasting. It is very possible that it could have been frog or snake or something though because later they found a English menu and handed it to us. But this was after we had eaten these things so who knows. Eventually more people filled into this place as it got later and there was a band playing live music and people were dancing which was fun. The next day, after searching for some coffee and anything resembling breakfast food, we decided to hit the road and just take our time getting back. We chose to take the more mountainous, rural route on the way back which ended up being a great decision because the views and the countryside was amazing. Lots of curvy windy roads and then sometimes it would flatten out as you were going through a valley. It was a beautiful sunny but very hot day and we stopped off to get lunch and see some temples along the way. We ended up getting back around 7 which was good because it meant avoiding the night driving. It was great to get away for the weekend and just see how other people are living their lives and also just to be immersed in something new. I hope I can do more while I am here. 

Here is the link to some more photos. 

http://s438.photobucket.com/albums/qq110/emilyfwolff/Phrae%20and%20Nan%20Weekend/

Reflections on Kawila Anukul school.

 At work on friday it was sports day. The day was kicked off at 8:30 with a big parade. All of the kids were dressed in different color shirts according to team. At the front of the line there was a marching band which was really cool... they were so good. Everybody, kids and teachers included, marched down the street together grouped by color. It was really nice. They were even able to stop traffic and people on the side of the street clapped and smiled. The teachers threw me right into the swing of things and one bought me an ice tea. They sometimes drink ice tea out of plastic bags with a little straw and the tea is so sweet. It kind of reminds me of New Orleans sweet tea. Throughout the day various teams competed against one another in little relay races, soccer matches, basketball or other games. I helped with the kindergarteners for a while in the morning... they are a handful. They have so much energy but are such cuties. I was working with this one little boy who lacked many muscles in the left side of his body so he kind of just throws himself on you and on anything really. So both his physical and mental control were limited. But he was so adorable and ended up winning the relay match for his team.  There was also some dance performances by some of the girls which were really great. They were all made up and so excited. I wish I had pictures because it really is such a beautiful space and environment. It was a great day... so cool to see kids so excited and motivated. Also, one thing that is really sticking out to me about these kids is how well they take care of one another. They really act like family members and seem to have such strong bonds. People who I have talked to here say that the value of family is very great. It makes sense when you see these kids acting like brothers, sisters or even parents for one another.  Also, I have been noticing things about how the kids are disciplined that is very interesting to compare to the US. If one kid hits another here and a teacher witnesses it, the teacher does not jump to their feet and reprimand a kid for causing trouble. It's just sort of seen and possibly acknowledged, but the teachers aren't pounding the kids with consequences and talks. It seems to be treated as, "it will be what it will be" and whatever consequences one faces is what they will have to be individually responsible for. This is not to say that if one kid was being cruel or really physically harmful that the teacher wouldn't do something. But overall, it seems to be more of the hands-off approach. And believe me, this place is not crazy or chaotic. It is so peaceful in many ways. So I am enjoying observing different styles and comparing it to what I am use to. 

Mae Chaem Village stay

I just got back a week long stay in Mae Chaem village, which is in the lowlands of a mountain region about 3 hours southeast of Chiang Mai. It was definitely my favorite experience so far. I think that there was about 30 of us--including the 20 of us that are doing the 'Thai Studies' program along with about 10 "Thai buddies", who are students of the English communications department. These "buddies" came along to help bridge some communication and cultural gaps. There are all amazing people... so nice and genuine. For most of them this was a new experience though as well because city life is vastly different from the way people live their lives in small, rural villages. So we all piled into a huge truck early last wednesday and embarked on our journey. Of course, my stomach was not happy with the ups and the downs and the swerves, so I ended up getting to sit in the front about halfway through so that I didn't share what I ate for breakfast with everyone around me. That would not have been pleasant. Anyway, it was a beautiful ride... the terraced rice fields made such cool patterns. And our village was at the foot of Inthanon Mountain--which is the tallest in Thailand. It was huge!

When we got to the village, we all sat under a little canopy space and all of the mothers of the village laid out the meal that they had prepared. Tons of rice and vegetables and eggs. It was really fresh tasting and delicious. Then we found out who our host mother would be... My mother was named "Mae Lai". I also lived with my friend Kelsey and our Thai buddies' name was Tuk Ta. Our house was a beautiful wooden and concrete structure. There were roosters everywhere. And they did not refrain from waking us up at 4 AM every morning while we were there. They also had some pigs and some chickens in the back. The kitchen was a wood stick structure in the back of the house. There was running water and electricity. And our shower entailed a bucket of cold water in a small closet-like space. They also had a tv and a non-functioning computer. I a little surprised to see how much tv was watched. In my family there was my mother- Mae Lai and my father- Paw Moh. And then their daughter- Pii Dtang lived in the house as well with her husband- Pii Joo. And then Dtang and Joo had a 12 year old daughter that lived in the house as well. Her name was Ploy. They were all so great. We did not see much of our father or speak with him a lot... it was interesting to see how the women were our primary caretakers throughout the trip in many different areas. Paw was a rice farmer and was much smaller than his wife. (which I gather is pretty unusual for Thai people... it is rare to see a woman much taller or larger than 5' 5" and 130 lbs) Paw had beautful dark, sun-worn skin and you could tell by looking at his hands that he has worked hard for a long time. And Mae was a weaver and also seemed to be the head mother of the village. She had a beautiful wooden loom in the front of the house and also had a little shop. Her fabrics were extraordinary. So many bold, stunning colors weaved into shirts, hats, skirts, etc. I ended buying a few things and she gave the three of us some gifts of scarves and hats. 

While in the village we would have Thai language class at least once a day with a professor that joined us. We would eat most of our meals with our family which was so nice. It was so amazing to observe how much closer the people in this village are to their food compared to our ways in the states. I mean, they go out back and kill the chicken or pick the vegetables and it is all sitting in front of you-- along with a pile of sticky rice-- fresh and so tasty. I know this is how many people live and how people have lived for centuries, but the only time that I have ever seen chicken is in plastic wrap under fluorescent lights. It was so cool to see everything in its full cycle. Beyond class and our meals, we had a good amount of free time to hang out with our families and relax. I got to draw a lot with my little sister Ploy and some of her friends. She was such a great artist. I did this one game with her where one person scribbles anything on a sheet of paper and then the other has to turn it into some sort of scene or monster or landscape. And she was so inventive... the things she came up with were amazing. This one time when we were just doodling she drew a caricature of Samak with a pig nose. Samak is the former prime minister of Thailand who was just recently forced out of office... there were huge protests in Bangkok by a resistance party throughout the past month calling for his removal. He is known for his pig-like turned up nose. Anyway, it was interesting that she would draw this because the majority of rural people support Samak because of all of the aid he has given to populations in the countryside. So I was a little suprised. But it was so fun to draw with her. That is one of my favorite things about art-- it doesn't require much language a lot of the time. My family knew a little English and I know a little Thai, but for the most part our Thai buddies and hand gestures were our primary means of communication. 

One day they took our group on a little tour of the area. They brought us to this house where this old man-- I think he was in his 80s, made these Thai traditional hair pins. They were these beautiful golden pins, with are carved with intricate little designs. Supposedly, he is the only person in Thailand that can still make them in their traditional form... the king's son even came to visit him in his home once to honor him. He was great... and one of his five wives was sitting in the corner of the room selling some weaving as well. Wow. Then they took us over to this woman who makes fermented bean paste wrapped in banana leaves... it was sooooo salty! And I only had a tiny little taste of it. We also go to visit a few beautiful temples. There are TONS of temples because every little village has their own. At night they took us to this local outdoor massage and sauna place. The sauna was this little stick closet with some seats and the steam flowed  in scented with local natural herbs. We got to exfoliate by rubbing this porous rocks all over. And the massage was wonderful- it was an hour long and it was a Thai massage, which is different than other kinds of massage. It involves a lot more of stretching and pressure. Another day we got to go to this arts and crafts festival at a local school. There was music and local crafting and really good food. All of the children were dressed in their traditional Thai clothing so our mother decided to dress Kelsey and I up in some of her skirts as well. That night there was a welcoming ceremony with singing and dancing and other performances. It was so fun... many people from the village came. We sang 'Stand by Me' and taught everyone the 'hokey pokey'. They were a hit. Some of the young girls of the village performed a dance that used candles. My thai buddy did all of their makeup... which they loved!

Antoher day we got to visit some beautiful waterfalls. We got to go see the highest in all of Thailand. It was so beautiful and strong. One night we witnessed a beetle fight. This is really amazing. Men in Thailand raise these black beetles and then hold these matches where they fight each other. They sit the two beetles on a log and place the female beetle in the center and then the men duke it out and whoever can knock the other one off of the log wins. Men in these rural areas hold matches all of the time and they often place bets on certain beetles. The shouting and calling coming out of these men was hilarious. (It actually reminded me a lot of the sounds that would come from the basement when my brother would play his video games when we were younger... screaming at the television)

The second-to-last day that we were there, there was this festival that only happens once a year called "Loi Gatong". It involves making offerings to the village temple in order to make merit for family ancestors and loved ones who have passed. Every family builds these tree-like offerings out of straw and bamboo and then hang them with all sorts of things that the monks at the temple can use. These ranged from bars of soap to bags of tobacco to bags of chips. It was so interesting to look around and see all of these little products hanging on trees and in the backdrop to see these ancient temples and holy monks with nothing but orange robes walking around. We got to participate in the various prayers and rituals. All of the women and the children sat under the little canopy area and prayed and made offerings and the men all stood in the open space near the temple talking with one another and carrying the giant bowls of sticky rice offerings into the temple. It was interesting to observe that gender divide. I got to play with this little boy named Sanon who was around 2 years old. He was so precious and had the best smile. But he was very small and a little weak because he has a heart condition. His grandmother told me that he is going into the city to get surgery soon. She asked me to stay in Mae Chaem and be his sister. I wish! It was beautiful to observe how the mothers and grandmothers care for their children--they are very affectionate and often keep their children close to their bodies. 

The next morning we ate breakfast with our families and said goodbye and then Mae Lai walked us over to the temple to say goodbye. It was difficult to leave but I think that I will return at least once before I leave Thailand. I am attaching a link to a website where I am going to put up pictures now because there is not enough space to load them onto this site. I got some pretty good ones. 

http://s438.photobucket.com/albums/qq110/emilyfwolff/Mae%20Chaem%20village/

Long overdue... sorry!

Hello again. 

I have not written in a while... 2 weeks have gone by extremely quickly. A lot has happened. All of last week was orientation which was very good. I felt like it gave me a good taste of what life will be like here at the university and in this city. I really enjoyed going into town when I have had the opportunity. Last saturday I just went off and explored all of these cool little streets and food markets and shops. Tourism is definitely not absent.. tons of places geared towards backpackers and foreigners. Lots of people wanting to sell you things or give you rides. But it was nice just to be able to walk around... there are tons of temples all over the place. Most are clad in gold that has a really cool shine if its a sort of gray day because you can really see the contrast between the two hues. 

I also was lucky to have the opportunity to go zip-lining last weekend. For those who don't know what this is, basically you are harnessed in and attached to a rope that extends between two giant trees. You jump off these platforms that are built around each tree and fly through the air until you reach the next. It was scary but after the first couple of zips, it got a lot easier. I just had to rarely look down.  A big group of us went so we got a great rate. The cost includes transportation and dinner as well. At dinner I met one of the cook's daughters. Her name was 'Chom-pu' and she was so cute. This place was up in the mountains and right near a tiny village where people live in this sort of wooden houses on stilts. It was nice to experience and see another little bubble of life somewhere for a day. 

My classes and service started this past week. My classes have been good. I especially like this class I am taking on Vietnam because we will be learning mostly about post-war Vietnam which I am interested in exploring. I am interested to see how it will contrast what I was taught in school about the war. My service has been great so far. I have had only 2 days of it so far. Wednesday and today. Well, I guess I should say for those who don't know, I am volunteering at a school for mentally challenged children called Kawila Anukul three times a week. It has been great but definitely challenging. I have worked with many children before and many mentally challenged children before but I have never had to work through this sort of language barrier before. Its a really interesting experience though. Like today, I was sitting there and the kids were doing activities with these wooden blocks that had characters of the thai language on them. As the teacher was asking them various questions, I was learning too. In my thai class we have not done any writing yet. We have only done basic speaking so I was absolutely more lost than they were. And they were all looking to me for help! It was a little frustrating but it was also kind of nice to learn along side them. Throughout most discussion that goes on I can pick up a few words but for the most part its like watching a movie with no sound. I have really never been in a place for an extended period of time where the predominant language practiced or used is not english. But the kids are so adorable and it is amazing already to see how much can be communicated with gestures and smiles. (sounds kinda cheesy but it's really true) All of the teachers have been so welcoming and understanding which is helpful. 

To add on, I am also using this blog to journal for one of my classes. And my teacher suggested that I write 3 expectations that I have of this trip and 2 goals that I want to try to achieve. (Don't worry... this blog won't turn into a series of class assignments) So here it goes, my first expectation is that my perspective on language will endure a major shift as a result of my time here. My second expectation is that I will be opened up to an entirely different set of politics and history. (I have been really enjoying following thai current events and relating them to what I have learned so far about the history and evolution of this country) My third expectation is that I will eat more spice in the next 4 months than I have in my entire life. (For those of you who are familiar with my eating habits...I grew up eating plain pasta with butter and refusing to have anything on my plate "touch" and I have just recently started to stray from this habit).

My first goal is to remember as much as possible about this trip... journaling and emailing is already assisting this goal I think. My second goal is learn as much as possible about as may people as I can here. Sometimes in my busy craze of life in the states, I think that I forget that there are still things to discover about people. So I am going to constantly remind myself to ask questions and listen intently. 

Sa wa dee ka

'Sa wa dee ka' I learned means "Hello", "Good Morning", "Greetings" and so on. And when people say it here they bow their heads, smile and hold their hands close to their heart in lotus position. I have picked up a few things so far but I am learning quickly that Thai will be difficult to learn. 

The past couple of days have been packed with activity. On sunday, the day after I wrote last, myself and a group of others visited a temple up in the mountains called, Doi Suthep. We rode in what is called a 'sung tao'--which is basically an open-air red taxi truck that seats many people. We had to go all the way up this winding road that seemed endless and I became a little motion sick. This temple dates from the 16th century and is probably the most famous in Chiang Mai. There were 307 steps that we walked up and when we reached the top we started to smell incense. People were encouraged to buy flowers in order to make offerings. In the center was this huge golden structure with golden scaffolding around it (because the monument has undergone so many renovations). It is called the Golden Chedi. And on the four sides of the Chedi were amazing umbrella-type structures all in gold also. There were all sorts of people there... many foreigners but also monks and other Buddhists coming to visit.   You had to take off your shoes and you also had to keep your head below the buddha statues and images at all times. Also, you cannot wear sleeveless shirts, you have to have skirts or pants below the knee, and you cannot display affection for another while in the temple. There was also an amazing look out point on the side of the temple, which overlooks Chiang Mai. It was really powerful to be in that environment... there is so much tradition and custom involved in so much of the way it is all organized and practiced which I think is a pretty interesting energy to be around. 

Sunday night we went to the night market in downtown Chiang Mai with our whole group (about 20 of us) along with a group of Thai students from the university. It was really fun to be able to talk to the Thai students and ask questions back and forth. The market happens every sunday night and many hand-made bags, clothes, jewelery, paintings, toys, etc. are sold there. Also there is great thai food. One of the Thai students got me some Pad Thai... which was very good! She also made me try some of this cold salad and it was sooooo spicy! My throat was on fire for at least a 1/2 hour. However, I am getting much better at eating the spicy things already. Anyway, then it started to pour rain. We spent the next hour before we left just hopping from tent to tent trying not to get soaked. August and September is still the rainy season in Northern Thailand which means that it usually rains at least once a day. But it is usually pretty short and it actually cools things down pretty nicely. 

And today we had our orientation. It was a full day of all sorts of things... basic introductions, safety information, info about the university, etc. We had lunch with our thai friends again. We spent a lot of the time laughing about what sounds animals make in the thai language versus english. They really got a kick out of a rooster being "Cockle doodle doo!" And their sound for a cow is "Maaaaaoo". Also, tonight the program took us to a show and dinner in town that was really amazing. All sorts of thai dance and music and a buffet on each table of all different foods. It was sort of a touristy thing, but was also very beautiful. This week is packed with a lot of things but so far the jet-lag does not seem to be really affecting me so maybe I will hold up. We'll see

I am here!

So, I arrived yesterday in the beautiful Chiang Mai, Thailand. My flight was pretty long and I had a difficult time sleeping so I am a little jet-lagged and groggy but I think that I will survive. 

The university where I am studying is called Payap University and I am living in the Paradornparp International House which is a gorgeous new building with three floors. I am living on the third floor and have a Japanese roommate named Aoi. She is very nice... I just met her this morning. But she has been here for about 5 months already and she is studying English. So we can communicate pretty well. 

From the window of my room I have a view of some of the campus with beautiful giant mountains in the background. What I have seen of the campus is very interesting so far. I am hoping to walk around some more this afternoon. It is very hot and humid here though. And I was told that it rains around twice a week on average. Tonight we are supposed to go to a night market downtown which should be cool.  I have not seen the downtown yet but I know that it is supposed to be peppered with Buddhist temples. All that I have seen so far outside of the university is a mall not so far from campus. That was an interesting experience. We went yesterday to get some basic things like sheets, pillow, shampoo--things that would take up too much to pack. We shopped in this HUGE store... sort of like a Wal-mart equivalent. Almost everything was in Thai and myself and 3 other girls from my program were just wandering around the entire thing getting lost and trying to decipher the labels and such. And then all of the sudden this song starts playing on the speakers throughout the store while I am rummaging through some items. I look up and EVERYONE in the entire store had stopped what they were doing and stopped talking (except for the 4 of us girls). They were playing the national anthem and I guess that it is a custom to pause out of respect and listen while this song plays through. O my goodness! Well I guess now we will know...

Anyway, I guess that covers it so far. Orientation starts bright and early on Monday morning. I am eager to see what my classes and service will be like.