Man, I'm not even sure where to begin, it's been quite the whirlwind of a week but in the best way possible. It's absolutely beautiful here and I feel like there are no words that can describe it accurately. I will try to walk you through my first week as best as possible, and I hope I highlight all the important stuff!
On Sunday, after checking in to the accommodations, we all met up as a group for the first time, and I took my first of what would become many Songthaew rides to a nearby restaurant for dessert (Mango and sticky rice!) A Songthaew is basically a pickup with a covered bed that has two benches (song= Thai word for two; thaew= Thai word for row) and can fit about ten people. I've really enjoyed riding around in them, however it makes it pretty difficult to get your bearings as you can't see much out of the small windows.
Monday began our week of culture and language training. Originally, we were supposed to just meet in our hotel lobby area but our directors were actually able to reserve a classroom at Chiang Mai University so we have been spending our days on campus. I love the feeling of being back on university grounds again and CMU is so beautiful. And there is no shortage of dogs wandering around so that is a huge plus! I had my first true moment of self-restraint when a man was walking through campus with a box of two tiny puppies. He was trying to give them away, but knowing that I'll probably encounter, and already have encountered, many more opportunities to potentially acquire a four-legged friend, I decided to pace myself at risk of becoming a crazy(er) dog lady.
Monday also brought my first hospital visit. I elected to go get my typhoid shot since it is much cheaper here than in the states and for those of you that know me well, you know I am not a fan of shots. Not only was this a huge adult moment for me, it actually turned out to be quite enjoyable to see what a healthcare system is like in another country. Most of the staff spoke some English and the hospital itself was very clean and orderly. I'm hoping that all of my hospital visits will be voluntary however it does give my peace of mind knowing that I'd be in good hands if something were to happen...at least as long as I'm in Chiang Mai.
Tuesday was the first day we dove into Thai culture. We have been receiving lectures from one of the directors of XploreAsia about Thai culture and politics, which have been so captivating and interesting. I wish I could consolidate all that has been shared with us here, but I have a feeling more of my learnings will be revealed as I begin to interact with mostly Thai people in my placement town. We also ventured to a small rice farm a bit outside the city to learn about the rice making process and plant a couple rows of rice for ourselves. Wading through calf high mud was actually kind of fun and relaxing... until all of our muddy selves went to a Muay Thai boxing class. The combination of mud and sweat made for a stenchy Songthaew ride back, but the Muay Thai class itself was so fun, it didn't really matter that we probably collectively reeked more than a Durian (a stinky fruit that is relatively common here but forbidden in most hotels/enclosed areas because of its potent odor).
Wednesday and Thursday were filled with beautiful temples, and an exploration into Buddhism. It has been interesting to discover how interwoven Buddhism is into the fabric of Thai culture. We learned that most likely all of our classrooms will have three photographs displayed at the front of the room: The flag of Thailand; a picture of the King; and a Buddha image, representing the three pillars of Thai society. Monks maintain a very respected position in Thai society and blessings from monks are deemed to be of vital importance when embarking on any new venture. We had the opportunity to meet with a monk who spoke to us about the monk hood and gave us a blessing bracelet. I'm pretty wary about my luck with Buddhism however, because the following day, we went up to Doi Suthep, a beautiful temple overlooking all of Chiang Mai, and I received a paper fortune predicting that I was probably never to find love. When I initially read it, it didn't seem too inauspicious, but I took it over to our Thai language teacher to translate the Thai version and was immediately humbled. And I wasn't the only one with a bleak outlook. One of the other people in the group was told they shouldn't venture out much because they are quite clumsy, prone to accident and very unlucky. Not quite the confidence builders we were looking for, but luckily the amazing views and scenery made up for our "misfortunes."
The ride up to Doi Suthep was purported to be quite winding, and given that we were riding in a Songthaew, I had a bit of anxiety about getting motion sick. Thankfully, I could ride in the front of the Songthaew, which enabled me to practice the little Thai I had learned with our driver. We got about as far as "what is your name" (Khun chue arai ka) before we devolved into "Thai-glish," with hand gestures being our primary form of communication. Boy (the driver's "name") was trying to explain to me why we were going so slow up the curvy road: "Lot of people -pretends to vomit- on this road." Of course I laughed and tried to tell him that normally that is me on roads like this and then he said "how you say in English? -pretends to vomit again-." Thus, I've officially given my first English lesson, teaching my Songthaew driver how to say throw up. I'm making an impact already, folks.
Friday was spent mostly in the classroom, indicative of how the next few weeks will go when we officially begin our TESOL training. To cap off the week of culture lessons, we had a nice dinner out altogether at a beautiful restaurant along the river. Although the "fun" programming is just about over, most of the group self-organized on Saturday to rent a couple of songthaews and head up to "Sticky Falls" or "Bua Thong" Waterfalls, a cluster of natural waterfalls in the jungle an hour or so outside the city. The falls themselves are not that tall but there is a strange composite of minerals in the soil that makes them a bit sticky and enables you to climb them. It was such a blast and so beautiful. Many of us have since agreed that we have had a hard time fathoming that we actually get to call this place home for the next couple of months. I am so grateful that I get to do so.
Food I've Eaten:
Mango Sticky Rice: A yummy dessert that is said to put you right to sleep. It's exactly how it sounds with a sweet coconut sauce drizzled on top. I've found myself craving this a LOT. Luckily, it's pretty easy to find.
Pad Thai Gai: Chicken Pad Thai, a very staple dish in my diet thus far. The best one I've had was from a street vendor on our walk back from the hospital, whom I haven't seen since, but hope to go back to soon. Plus it was only 35 baht (99 cents).
Star Gooseberry: As we were leaving the rice farm, one of the farmers ran up to us to give us a handful of these little grape looking berries. They are quite sour. He also had a little salt that we dipped it in that made it a little more manageable. Apparently they are very common all over Thailand.
Custard Apple: kind of a mixture between an apple and a pear, but it is the color of a sour apple candy. Meh. Maybe if I liked pears more it would be good
???: This is mostly what I get. Because I'm either ordering based solely on a picture, or what I order doesn't come the way in which I thought it would. For the most part, it has all been yummy. I had a weird soup the other day that was filled with very strong tasting veggies that I hope I can avoid in the future, but other than that, I've mostly been satisfied.
Books I'm reading:
I finished
Small Great Things and ended up really enjoying it. It did eventually have a signature Jodi Picoult twist, which left me quite satisfied. I am starting
The Sociopath Next Door next, but I haven't ventured too far past the intro yet. I have been falling asleep at around 8 or 9 most nights which doesn't leave me much time for reading, but I have a feeling it will become a good escape from the TESOL coursework coming in the next week.
Photos (we are lucky enough to have a photographer, so a lot of these photos were captured, quite candidly in some cases, by him):
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| Sticky Mango Rice. It doesn't always look this fancy, but it ALWAYS tastes good. |
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| Getting our typhoid shots at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital |
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| Best Pad Thai yet! |
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| Feeling all the feels. |
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| Uhhh not sure what it was but I hope I don't accidentally stumble on it again |
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| Rice planting |
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| Realizing I'm not that great at straight lines. (Who am I kidding, I knew that already) |
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| The finished product. Those are supposed to be straight rows... good thing we came to teach and not plant rice! |
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| They found me really intimidating. |
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| Trying a bit harder to work the game face. |
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| Not Muay Thai but I did do my first tire flippy thing. And I even grunted. |
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| Can't decide if we're better at rice planting or Muay Thai |
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| It was pretty cool to see the real thing. |
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| Just Songtaewing around town. |
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| Custard apple |
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| Wat Umong Temples (Tunnel Temples) |
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| Some inspirational quotes with a matching(?) inspirational picture at the temple |
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| Doing some standing mediation. I was focusing on not falling over because my right foot had fallen asleep. |
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| Receiving a blessing bracelet from the monk. |
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| At the base of Doi Suthep. Only 300 stairs to climb |
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| Panorama of beautiful Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep |
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| Doi Suthep |
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| Doi Suthep |
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| Doing the Wai |
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| Some divas. |
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| Getting my fortune: I didn't know what I was getting myself into at this point. |
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| Apparently it's a lot more foreboding in Thai (we're lucky to have a translator too!) |
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| Sticky Falls! I couldn't get a photo to do it justice. This is one of four levels of the falls that you can climb. |
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| Not my photo and not me but here is a cool image of someone from my group climbing the falls. |
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| Riding back in our songtaew |
