Best Restaurant

I had lunch today at the greatest restaurant in the world. I dare you come here and eat at this place and tell me I'm wrong. I've already been to some incredible restaurants here in Chiang Mai, and this one today was right up there with The Waterfall restaurant I went to a few weeks ago. (The Waterfall is at the base of the mountain and it overlooks a huge waterfall. The entire restaurant is a bamboo style hut meets Swiss Family Robinson tree house. Complete with white lights and palms and the best green curry in town.)

The restaurant I went to today is called Pun Pun. It's located on the temple grounds of Wat Suan Dok, one of the most beautiful temples I've yet to find. The restaurant was created to help support an organic farm with the same name. Everything is vegetarian, organic, fresh and local. I have to admit I don't always think about where the food I eat comes from (very few people do), but it really is a good feeling helping support this farm and support an advocate for sustainable agriculture. Most importantly, it was the tastiest food I've had in Chiang Mai. I split an avocado salad with my lunch date. This salad was as aesthetically pleasing to the eyes as it was pleasing to the palate. It was a (giant!) avocado halved and in the little space where the pit was a pile of pureed veggies and a sweet dressing. I thought about taking a photo of it, but by the time I had that brilliant idea it was already in my belly. It's the kind of dish that belongs in those fancy food magazines. (Speaking of avocado, Lisa, I read your card again today. Miss you!) The other dish I had was a sweet and sour stir fry with lots of mushrooms, cucumber, pineapple, ginger, peppers, and served with brown rice. It was really refreshing to find a place that serves brown rice rather that the starchy white stuff. So so good. Their teas are quite tasty too. We ran into some good company so we just oooh'd and ahhh'd over each other's dishes. I can't wait to go back. Good food really puts you in a good mood.

There should be more restaurants like this in the world. If you want to read more about the idea behind the restaurant or the farm itself, check out their website: http://www.punpunthailand.org/ I think it's a fantastic thing.

After lunch I stopped into the temple to confirm my reservation for the meditation retreat. A monk helped me with my paperwork then starting asking questions that weren't related to the retreat at all, and that's when I realized he just wanted someone to talk to and perhaps practice his English with. It's always a little awkward when he pauses about 10 seconds in between each question as he's probably checking his grammar in his head before he speaks. We had a nice conversation and I finished my paperwork and stood up to hand it to him while he just stood there and looked at me. That's when I realized you aren't supposed to hand something directly to a monk so I kind of gasped and set it on the table in front of him. I have a few things to learn. I am excited because he said this secret location of the retreat is about a 40 minute drive north of the city. I can't wait to see what it's like. A friend at lunch was very excited for me that I was doing the retreat tomorrow and he kept saying in his British accent "ah! great fun great fun!" Not necessarily an adjective I would have come up with. He must have a party going on in his mind all the time. He also gave me lots of great info on local yoga and weekly meditation groups. I can't wait to get involved with all these great things. (I do actually have a job by the way. It might not sound like it, I know.)

Diving Right In

I'm not all that experienced with meditation, but I've definitely become more interested in it in the past few months. Before I left, I started going to a place in Minneapolis called the Common Grounds Meditation Center. This is a great place to visit if you're interested in trying it out. They have a decent website and a meditation schedule posted. It's run by donations.

Anyway, I looked into mediation retreats here in Chiang Mai, and the same temple where I did the monk chat seems to have a promising program. I made reservations for a retreat this upcoming week. I will have a long day of teaching classes then I'm going to head right to the temple. I will miss the opening introduction to Buddhism, but I will make it in time to catch the bus that will take me and a small group of other yogis to some faraway secret location in the mountains...? That's what it sounds like anyway. It will be two days of quiet time, mostly in meditation with some breaks for food and chanting and discussions. I am very excited and curious as to how I'll handle the whole thing.

No...I'm downright terrified. I'm really good at distracting myself in real life so I don't know what kind of scary things will happen in my mind when I force myself to sit still for two days. I've been practicing on my own and I can maybe sit still for about 30 minutes. For example, I was meditating this morning and had to stop abruptly because I had this brilliant idea to do a retreat. So I got up and made reservations. Yeah. I have a problem with sitting still.

It's funny how I've lived with myself for as many years as I've been on the planet and I'm extremely scared to hang out with myself and my thoughts for a mere 48 hours. It's like a blind date with my mind. I think I'll learn a lot.

On another note, if you've read Eat Pray Love, you'll understand why I'm starting to feel like a spitting image to that story. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

Thai Massage

One of my favorite things here. I'm finding that I enjoy a quiet weekend night just as much as going out. Tonight is a quiet night. On these nights I usually go out for a walk, grab some food from a market, and indulge in a massage. I've had a handful of massages since being in Chiang Mai and I have to work my willpower to limit myself to one per week. Someone like myself could easily spend more on massages than on rent. Tonight I got an hour long foot massage. The idea of a foot massage in Thailand is somewhat contradictory because the feet are considered the lowest, most potentially insulting part of the body. You must never use your foot to point at anything, you must never sit with your feet pointing toward people, especially a Buddha statue in temple. It is always appropriate to take your shoes off when entering temples, homes and some places of business. The foot is a taboo thing here, so it's odd that foot massages are so incredibly popular. I wonder if the Thai women masseuses feel any secret resentment that they work with feet all day. Either way, they are incredibly talented at their jobs. For a foot massage, you can find a row of reclining chairs at most outdoor markets and eager Thai ladies to have you sit down. They wash your feet and use acupressure, lotions, voodoo magic because every time it's better than you anticipate it to be, I swear. Sometimes I'll read a book, sometimes just close my eyes and doze. Some people eat their dinners, or even yak away on the cell phones. Each time for the last 15 minutes I seriously contemplate asking if she can continue for another hour and I'd pay her appropriately. It's probably good that I don't know this phrase in Thai, because I could quite well get stuck using that line for the rest of the night.

Traditional Thai massages are a little different. You can still get these done in public, on mats on the ground, but most places offer traditional massages inside storefronts or huts. The massage I got last week tore me to shreds. It was fantastic. I went with the two hour massage, and I was surprised to have a male masseuse. First one I've seen here. Traditional Thai massage is not like your typical massage listening to sounds of the rain forest smelling lavender laying down and relaxing for an hour. You do lay down and it is relaxing, but your body is continuously contorted into positions you didn't think were possible or even healthy. You get stretched in every possible way, and rather than a lot of rubbing, they just push on pressure points. It's really interesting to see how your body reacts to this. There were a couple of times when I thought my hip was going to pop out of its socket and the survival instinct in me wanted to kick the guy and run away, but I stuck it out. It was worth it. After two hours in the hot little tiki hut made entirely out of bamboo and walking away in a numb stupor out into the heat, I'm lucky if I can find my way home.

How can I afford these one or two hour massages, you ask? Typically a one hour massage costs about $4, maybe $5 after tip. The magical tiki hut charges about $7 for a two hour massage/muscle annihilation. There is no question why the Thai people are so laid back all the time. By the time I'm done in Thailand, I hope to have seen most of the masseuses in Chiang Mai. Wish me luck.

Quote of the Day

I have a quote of the day on my google homepage. Today it says, "I am kind of jealous of the life I'm supposedly leading." This sums it up nicely. Better to realize it now than when it's all over. I hope you can be jealous of your own life too.

Sunset

I just happened to step out onto my balcony tonight to see the best sunset I've seen here yet. It got more intense in a matter of minutes and the shadow of the mountain created streaks across the sky. Since there is a 12 hour difference between here and the states, I like to think a beautiful sunrise would be happening back home just as a beautiful sunset is happening here. A special hour when my friends and family on the other side of the planet get to see the same sun as I do in the same few moments. Kind of a cool thought. The pictures do no justice, but should be shared anyhow. I like it here more and more everyday. I sometimes think about the steady increase of how much more I like this place each day I'm here, and after calculating about another 300 days of being here, by the end I just might explode from adoring this place so bad. So bad.





So so bad.

Buffet Madness

I went with some new friends to a restaurant that is just steps away from my apartment but I would have never found it unless I happened to wander down the sketchy looking alley that seems to lead to nowhere interesting. But this place is definitely interesting. There is really no way to describe it. It's completely outdoors, you walk past a few coin operated kiddie rides, the eating area is under a huge tin roof with about 150 picnic tables and a stage with musicians on one side and an endless buffet in the middle. The place oddly reminds me of a state fair or a place where they would clear the tables and have a square dancing contest.

The tables each had a contraption that boils water and grills food at the same time. The buffet had raw meat and seafood galore. You choose what you want to eat, and cook it yourself at the table. Did I mention that it was all you can eat? It wasn't all raw food, there was sushi, prepared salads, somtum, fruits and veggies, desserts... So the deal is you pay about 4 dollars to eat as much as you want/can. You pay an extra fee for any food that you take from the buffet but don't eat. This is both a treat and a challenge. Everything looks good, and therefore you will eat everything that looks good enough to grab, else you will pay. I tried a few new foods, new fruits, and ended with a nice piece of chocolate cake. I am stuffed and content. It's one of those places that is so odd but so perfect. I wish everyone could experience this place.

Coolidge in Chiang Mai

C.M. Coolidge's most famous painting - the one with the dogs playing poker, I guess the Thai are big fans of it because I found a series of these paintings on a walkway to Wat U Mong. I remember hearing about these, and they are quite possibly the most head tilting, eyebrow raising thing I've seen in Chiang Mai. At temples there are usually signs posted to the trees with inspirational quotes or sayings. Sometimes they are lost in translation when posted in English. So on this walkway to Wat U Mong, there are these dog paintings with the inspirational quotes below. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the relation between the photo and the quotes below, sometimes just pondering what the quote actually means. I'll share some of my favorites.
This is a picture of the dogs engaging in illegal activities. If you look closely, you can see some doggy drug use, a poodle prostitute in the background, and a dog playing a guitar (sex, drugs, and rock and roll). This is the sign below the naughty dogs:

"If you cannot have what you like, you must learn to like whatever you have." Think about it. So when life gives you marijuana and a whore, you better enjoy it.

This one is of the dogs playing a game of pool and the quote says, "Physical beauty is the dew drops on the leaves." I thought about it for quite awhile. The dogs do look handsome in this one though, as handsome as dew drops on leaves...? Perhaps.

Other quotes were:
He who borrows interest pays back in tears; Until death there is nothing enough; Money and time are the heaviest burdens in life. These were all actually related to the picture of the dogs playing poker similar to Coolidge's famous work.

My all-time favorite quote was below a picture of dogs playing a game of chess:
"It is easier to chain an elephant with lotus leaves than to teach a crazy person." I am welcome to suggestions on what this means. Maybe it's supposed to make you ponder it so hard that you start to feel like the crazy person who can't be taught anything about these so-called Buddhist teachings.

Sweet Voicemail

If you're in Minneapolis, you probably know about Rock the Garden at the Walker, which just commenced hours ago. I know a couple of crazy kids who went and saw the show without tickets, they ran into a "good friend of mine" after the show who left a nice message on my voicemail. He said his name is Justin and talked about how I'm far away, and we miss you, and come home soon... I thought of all the Justins I know and then it hit me. It was the lead singer of Bon Iver. Thanks Ilya, that made my day. Although, I'm convinced that Justin remembers me from the last two shows I talked to him at and he's been wanting to call me, he just didn't know my phone number.

Monk Chat

After a long day of teaching, I went to a temple near the back gate of campus called Wat Suan Dok. They have a program in the evenings during the week called 'Monk Chat.' I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew it was basically a small group conversation between 'laypeople' and monks in English. Non-monks get to ask questions about monk life, Buddhism, etc. and the monks get to practice their English skills. It was such a fabulous experience, I can't wait to go back. I already know a little bit about Buddhism, not enough to ask in-depth questions, but I learned a lot. A monk's typical day is to wake up at 4:30am, practice morning meditation, chanting, then go out for alms. They walk the streets early in the morning with silver bowls, and people give their offerings of food. Whatever they are offered, they get to eat for the day. It is my understanding that this is their only source of food. They eat only twice a day. Once in the morning, and again in the afternoon. The rest of their day is spent studying, in class, in meditation, chanting, or having free time. Only boys can become monks after age 20; the youngsters are called novices.

The first group of monks I spoke to were all from Cambodia. It is common for boys to come from other countries to study in Thailand. It was interesting to know that they were learning to speak Thai just as I am, as well as English, and their English skills were phenomenal. They explained the differences (and similarities) between Buddhism and Christianity. They were eager to ask questions about America, about the places I've traveled, and they kept telling me how lucky I am to have the opportunity to see all these different countries and be a native English speaker. That is something I've always taken for granted. Many of the people here, if they could have one wish, it would be that English is their first language.

The second group of monks I talked to were Thai natives, and their English skills were just as good. One of them had disrobed, which means he was a monk, no longer is. This is common. In fact, it is expected that all men are monks for at least a short period in their life, typically for about three months. However, many keep their vows for life. So this boy had street clothes on and a full head of hair and eyebrows. I tried to imagine him bald and in an orange robe like the others. None of the other monks said they were ready to disrobe yet, but would like to someday so they could be English teachers, tour guides, or news reporters.

One of the spit fire monks caught me off guard when he asked me if I knew some examples of idioms. I was thrown off by this question and couldn't think of any examples off the top of my head. He then quickly said "a piece of cake; easy come easy go; when pigs fly; don't put all of your eggs in one basket; grass is greener on the other side; what do these all mean?" I laughed and tried my best to explain. It was especially neat to see these shy boys open up and crack jokes and smile from ear to ear. I shouldn't call them boys, they were all my age or even older. They just seem so young and eager (maybe it's because they don't ever get to interact with females their age?). So then this spit fire monk was testing my Thai. He said, "Repeat after me: gaw gaw gaw gaw gaw." He insisted that each gaw had a different tone (and therefore a different meaning) but I didn't hear it, so I tried to repeat and they all just laugh. Then I said, "Well try this one: She sells sea shells by the sea shore." Their eyes lit up. "Say it again! Again!" I thought of other tongue twisters for them (Peter Piper, wood chuck chuck, unique New York...) They asked me to write them down for them, so I spent the next 20 minutes writing down tongue twisters on three different pieces of paper for these monks to practice. They were so excited, it was hysterical. While I was writing and laughing and helping them practice she sells sea shells, they were making more jokes about my name. People get such a kick out of it. When I first said that my name is Mia, they all smile a little smirk and slowly tell me as if they are sharing some bad but funny news, "ummm, your name means wife in Thai." Yeah. I know. They said they were going to tell their friends they chatted with the wife, which is completely ironic for a monk. They loved this.

I told them that I will be back again with more tongue twisters, and they will have more questions about idioms. I think in a couple weeks I will do a 2-day meditation retreat at this temple, and perhaps even volunteer to help with their English classes. Such a beautiful group of people, these monks are. That's all I kept thinking throughout the evening.

Helpdesk in Thailand

I had my first encounter with an IT technician team today. My internet has been down, so they brought in their IT team to investigate. Working in office settings, you definitely have your share of interacting with helpdesk. At my last job, they were called helplessdesk, sometimes flat out nohelpdesk. Turns out the rules of helpdesk in America are not bounded by borders.

Rule #1: Assume it's the user's fault. They figured the problem was the fact that I have a Macintosh. A few minutes later they said the problem was that it's because I have a laptop. The laptops are always the ones that have the problems connecting to the internet, apparently. Hey, they're the experts.

Rule #2: Don't listen to the user. I told them that I'd been able to connect to the internet before without any problem. I know how to connect to the internet, and I can tell when it's not working. Unfortunately they didn't hear me.

Rule #3: Check the least likely source of the problem first. They thought the problem might be a faulty ethernet cord. They did a test on my cord to check that it was still functioning properly. Astonishingly, there was nothing wrong with my cord. (See rule #2).

Rule #4: Waste the user's time. They had me go in to other people's apartments with my laptop to check the internet connection in there. Why do I care if I can connect in room 820? I live in 808, buddy. Then they take me to the server room to try to connect in there. Then they take me to the basement server room so I can see if there is a connection from the dungeon. Not sure why anyone would want to spend time down there. Period.

Rule #5: User gets frustrated over language barrier. If you work at a big company, or have ever had to call a helpdesk hotline, you know when you're talking to someone in a different time zone. It was hard for me to complain, because I was the foreigner, but if only I knew the phrase: "I think you need to restart the server" in Thai it would have saved us all a couple hours of our afternoon.

Internet is working again, everyone is happy, and I learned that helpdesk is helpful in the same ways anywhere in the world. Good helpdesk workers are few and far between. Give yours a high five if they really do live up to their name.

Food

It turns out that adjusting to the climate has affected my metabolism. It's hot, humid, sticky, and I walk everywhere. So I'm hungry pretty much all the time. Which works out well for the most part, because I get to eat delicious food every few hours. The portion sizes are much smaller than in the states, which is nice because then you don't have to be rolled home in a wheel barrel after a meal. My typical day usually consists of three (or four) meals and a couple of snacks. I eat breakfast at home, and I have my 50 cent lunch on campus if I'm working, and I'll find dinner somewhere close to home.

Lately my breakfasts have been a hard boiled egg and a bowl of oats or bran cereal with this tasty strawberry yogurt drink that's pretty popular here. Milk is a little more expensive, so I've been trying these yogurt drinks and soy milk.

My favorite rice dish to order for lunch has been a plate of rice with a mish mash of egg, veggies, and I think there is some seafood in the mix. My favorite soup for lunch is called kow soy, and it's a dark broth with thick rice noodles, cilantro, crunchy fried onions, and they throw in a boiled egg, a chicken drumstick, and a small piece of liver. You eat it with chopsticks and a spoon. I admit I leave the liver.

My favorite snack this week has been green mangoes with salt. Try this at home if you can: peel and cut up a green mango. Don't use yellow mango; yellow mango is much much sweeter you're better off saving the yellow ones for sticky rice (another good dish for dessert). Green mango is more like the texture of a crunchy pear or apple. Mix some table salt or sea salt with some red pepper flakes. Just dip the mango pieces in the salt and enjoy your little piece of Thailand. Yum. It's spicy, salty and sour. I buy a mango and a bag of salt every other day from my 10 baht fruit stand lady down the street (about 30 cents).

Another popular dish here is called som tum. It's a papaya salad and veggies mixed with a mortar and pestle. You are defined my how many peppers you put in your som tum. None, you're a wuss. One is for beginners, two is when you want a good kick, and three is authentic Thai. Som tum is a pretty big deal here. They are just releasing an action movie here about a white guy who is fed spicy som tum by a young Thai girl and he turns mean and red and strong like the Hulk. It looks so entertaining, I think I'll go see it and report back: http://www.somtum-movie.com/

Watch the preview. You'll want to see it too.

They have sushi here too - lots of seafood and caviar. Those have been my dinners lately. Cost me about $1.25 for a roll. I didn't expect to find a lot of sushi in Thailand, but I've been pleasantly surprised. Many of you know this about me and my eating habits: I don't do well with spicy. That has definitely changed. In the last week I'm finding myself adding more spices and peppers and hot sauces to my meals, more wasabi to my sushi, and no longer saying "mai ped ka" (not spicy please). It's funny how you adjust to things like that.

All this talk about food is making me hungry, so it's time for me to go find my way to the tastiest looking street vendor and get some grub!

Shoe Searching

I packed light for Thailand. Really light. I brought a large backpack and canvas tote for the year. You can imagine how many outfits one can fit in a backpack. You can imagine how many pairs of shoes you can fit that same backpack (miraculously, a pair of running shoes, casual tennis shoes, a pair of sandals, dress shoes, and a pair of flip flops). The most important pair of those shoes, my dress shoes, the only shoes I have to go to work in, got a nice big crack in the sole. I've been wearing them anyway for the time being, but I set out today to go find a new pair. Looking back on the experience, I would have rather had the task to go and find the horn of a unicorn or a jar of peanut butter for less than 150 baht. Impossible.

Don't get me wrong. Shoes are everywhere. When the school systems require uniforms, the girls go crazy over fancy shoes in every color and every size heel with or without glitter. Problem is I'm not Asian, and I don't have Asian feet. I've got (what feels like) big honkin' American feet. Size 9 to be exact. This is equal to a 41 or 42 in European sizes. I go to the mall to find all the shoe stores have their biggest size to be a 40. A small 40. I walk around admiring all the teeny tiny little shoes everywhere wishing at least one place would have the rare pair of a 41 or 42. I even asked a few places and they just laugh. Thanks.

But lo and behold I see on the far back wall large stacks upon stacks of shoeboxes marked 40, 41, 42, 43, 44?? I was in luck. I tip toe over and take a peek in one hoping for a black flat. It was a black flat alright. For a man. Damn. I've got man feet.

I took a big sigh and gave in to my last resort. I went to the taxi and asked for the night bazaar. As I've said before, this is not my favorite place in the world. Vendors upon vendors crawling with farang looking for souvenirs to take home. I arrived, greeted by a screaming young British girl who was like, totally, freaking out because there was, like, a Starbucks in Chiang Mai - oh my gaw! So I went on my way in search for shoes in a farang size 42. I found endless stands with ripoff Tevas and Birkenstocks sandals. Nothing that I could wear to work. I stopped by a shoe store and asked if they had sizes in si sip song (42) and the young Thai clerk made a face and went no....so sorry. Only 40. Then she looked down and my feet and if they could have blushed, they would've. She then smiled a fake smile and walked me over to the men's shoes. The same way a person would take the the circus freak bearded lady over to the mustache comb section with a look on her face, like "it's ok..." I said, honey I've already been there, but thanks.

So I walked away in defeat. I bought a chocolate roti pancake and got an hour massage to heal my pride (it worked). Moral of the story, if you're a lady planning on coming to Asia and you don't have Asian feet, bring an extra pair of shoes. Or at least prepare yourself for a handful of embarrassing encounters.

Totally Inappropriate

I had a student approach me after class today with a piece of paper with a few words scribbled on it in both Thai and English. He sort of looked embarrassed, and I didn't know what to expect. He said, "Ajaan Mia, I have to tell you something." Ok..... He said something in broken English very quickly, and I asked him to slow down and tell me again. He explained that his surname "might make me offend." Turns out his last name is the same as what we like to call the f'enheimer. He then quickly explained that in Thai it actually means "to hatch" or something like that. That is what his diagram was for. As if the diagram made it a more serious discussion and would keep me from wanting to laugh. So I just smiled and said with strange liberation, "So I can call you Mr. Fahk, then." "Yes. I'm Mr. Fahk." I won't call him that in class, as much as I want to, I can't do it. Totally inappropriate. Fahk.

After class I was able to make some extra cash by doing a voice recording for an advanced English class activity. Why they would want me and my Minnesotan accent? I don't know. (Although I chatted with some Canadian guys who live in my building today and decided my accent is not as bad as theirs dontchya know.) So this voice recording gig, they put the three of us in this tiny little recording studio with foam walls and fancy microphones and a glass window where the sound guy could look in and give us little signals on when to start, stop, etc. I don't know if I'm cut out for this type of job. I can't stand the sound of my voice being recorded. I laugh at inappropriate times. I make little changes to the script without thinking. Although after recording, I had to explain why what I said was grammatically correct as opposed to what was written on the page. I should get paid extra for that... The best part were the names of the characters that they chose for these activities. They take celebrity names and switch them around a little bit. Britney Sprays. Celine Dizzy. The best: Gloria Estacy. I about died when Amy read from her script in her breathy voice, "Ms. Gloria Estacy is the director of human resources..." I'm shaking uncontrollably, and Amy read through it like a champ. She had to re-record it though because my sniffling, wheezy little laugh could be heard in the background. Oops. Not like it's even that funny, but of course when you're not supposed to be laughing, it takes all the will power in the world not to. I've got a whole list of moments like that under my belt. Either I'm especially prone to those circumstances, or I'm just really immature.

Black and White

A new photo album has been added to the Photo Archive on the left. Chiang Mai in B&W. I love black and white photographs. As colorful as this town is, it's just as enchanting to see it through a black and white lens. I plan on adding new photos to this album throughout the year. My favorite photograph so far is the one below.

Reverse Effects of Friday the 13th

I'm not a superstitious person. But when in my lesson plan, there is a passage that the students had to read about 'Superstition', I thought that was a little odd. The passage defined superstition and gave examples like when a black cat walks in front of you you'll have bad luck and if you drop a piece of silverware company is coming over. (The example about the company coming over I thought was an invented superstition by my Great Grandma Z. Either her little invented superstition traveled trans-pacific waters, or it's more well-known than I thought.) Point being, Friday the 13th was not mentioned in the passage. I went ahead and asked them, "Has anyone heard of Friday the 13th, and how it's known to be a little freaky?" Some of them nodded. I quickly asked as if changing the topic, "What's the date today?" They gasped. I heard mutters of "sip saam, sip saam" as they look at their high-tech watches. Sip saam means 13; they were translating to the not-so-well-versed-English-students.

I started thinking about how this Friday the 13th has been a little bit backwards. First of all, the first red truck taxi that stopped on the side of the road didn't shake his head and peel off like the first four usually do. And he motioned for me to enter the passenger door of the truck so I got to sit in the VIP passenger seat rather than in the back of the truck. This has never happened to me before, especially in the busy morning commute. He dropped me off right in front of my building, too! Usually they kick me out at the front gate where another 10 minute walk awaits. He was even teaching me some Thai words like lohn which means hot, temperature-wise. Apparently I was already looking sweaty at only 7am?

Second of all, my students were all on time today. I don't know if any of you have heard of "Thai-time" but it generally represents anywhere from 15 to 90 minutes later than the actual time. You'd use this phrase something like, "Oh Greg? Yeah he'll be here, he just goes by Thai-time." Or if you're the one who walks in late, just give a big Thai-smile and a wink and say "Thai-time." A perfect example of this is in the CMU cafeteria. The large clock on the wall is set 15 minutes ahead of the real time. I just figured this out today. The administration must do this to try to fool the students into leaving the dining hall 15 minutes earlier than they normally would so they get to their next class on time. Unfortunately, I'm the only person who actually falls for this. I was so confused why my half hour lunch break seemed to fly by.

Also, it didn't rain a drop today. It's rained at least once everyday for the last few weeks. My (new) umbrella broke yesterday. Isn't it supposed to rain when your umbrella is broken? I guess the superstition gods are on my side today.

Finally, none of the Thai Ajaans seemed to judge my outfit today. This is really odd. They usually look me over to the point where it's almost assaulting. Imagine someone is undressing you with their eyes. Only they're not undressing you to see you naked, they're undressing you and simultaneously putting a different and more fashionable outfit on you. I honestly can't tell you anymore which scenario would be more uncomfortable.

So it's been a pretty good day, lucky perhaps?

Best Hair

I met the person last night with the greatest haircut in probably the whole world. In fact, I think I met all five people with the top five haircuts in the world. The Asians really know how to make their hair look awesome, especially the boys. If I had sleek straight black hair I would walk over to the salon right now and get an Asian mullet. Yes, Asians make mullets look so cool. The singer of a band I saw last night had his hair dyed a shimmering Ken-doll blond and his bangs made a perfect arch over his forehead, with his sideburns poking down his jawline, kind of like a yellow rainbow over his eyes. His short little mullet was spiked away from the back of his head and as much as he moved around on stage, his hair did not.

There is something about Thai hair that is so spikable. I love it. I can't tell if they use gel, but getting your hair to spike in the right direction is like an art form. The person with the greatest haircut in the world - I can't even describe how perfect it was. It was asymmetrical in the front, with one side longer than the other, and it somehow swooshed so gracefully in a perfect shiny swirl around his face. The back of his hair had that same swoosh, but little spiky tufts poking out. It was almost like his head was a cupcake, his hair was the icing, and he got the most elegant swirl to make his head look extra delicious. I wanted to take a picture of it, but didn't get the opportunity to because I was in a trance as gravity was defied on his head. I'm sure I'll see him again soon and his hair will look exactly the same.

I so wish I could be a Thai guy for one day so I could have a go at styling my hair and wearing skin tight jeans with chains and hipster tennis shoes and funky t-shirts and have a fancy cell phone that matches the color of my tricked out motorbike. Some people have stranger wishes, I guess.

Three Photos

Three photos for three little reasons why I love where I live. Photo #1 (above) is the treat for the eyes when you reach the end of the Sunday Walking Street. Since being here, I have been to the Walking Street every Sunday. It includes the three necessities for a pleasant Sunday afternoon: people watching, a dinner that starts on block 1 and ends at block 14, and a massage in a reclining chair on the side of the street. This photo was taken at the edge of the Walking Street, overlooking Wat Phra Singh. It was raining about 20 minutes before snapping this shot. I did buy an umbrella, by the way.

This next photo is of my latest splurge at the flower market. I'm having a weekly affair with the flower market. I know there are a few in Chiang Mai, but I'm sure I found the best. It goes on for blocks along the Ping River and there are little huts where the vendors sit in the back and watch Thai soap operas. I've never seen flowers like the ones here, and the colors are so vivid that they almost look fake. I'm getting into a cyclical habit of purchasing local pottery at a little market near my place and making trips to the east side of town for flowers to fill them. I am such a happy girl when I'm surrounded by fresh flowers. These lovely purple beauties set me back about a dollar.

This final photo was taken right outside my apartment. There is a large lawn right next door, and I walked by the other day and saw cows! Keep in mind, I live in the heart of the city so to the right of this photo is my large apartment building, to the left are some large billboards, and behind me is one of the busiest streets in Chiang Mai. These cows are completely out of place, and yet they make themselves right at home, along with the elderly farmer who was herding them around with a large stick. Makes me feel like I'm in bfe.

There are so many other reasons why I love this place, and the photos and stories will never be enough to fully describe how or why. I've been here for almost a month, and someone the other day asked if I was still in that honeymoon period. People really fall in love with this place like they fall in love with a person, and much less complicated.

Dear Thailand,

Dear ladies who work at the front desk in my apartment,
Thank you for being so kind to me. Every time I walk in and out of the building, you smile and wave like we've been best friends since middle school. I can't wait to learn more Thai so I can small talk with you. Can you tell the security guard that he really doesn't need to salute me when I come home late? It makes me feel weird. Should I salute him back? Let me know.

Dear older Thai ajaan who works in the English Department,
I know you're kind of important around here, so I would never say this to your face, but do you really have to judge my outfit every time you see me? I would almost feel better if you just said something rather than looking me up and down for what feels like 30 seconds. I was warned about you doing this to me before I started working here and even with the forewarning, I still feel incredibly awkward. I like all of your outfits by the way.

Dear woman who sits out on the sidewalk,
I see you everyday. I wish I could give you all the money in the world. I hope a smile and a prayer will do for now.

Dear guy with the furry motorbike,
I saw you drive off from the coffee shop by my apartment the other day. I miss seeing your furry bike parked out front. Since I haven't seen you or your bike for awhile, why don't you come back so I can at least take a picture of you and your sweet ride. How does that work with all the rainfall by the way?

Dear Ajaans from the UK,
I still love your accent. Sometimes I don't even hear what you're actually saying because I'm too busy liking what I hear.

Dear student who gave me the decorative chopstick to wear in my hair,
Um, thank you? I didn't really know what to say. I appreciate you thinking of me the last time you went to the market. You really didn't have to and you probably shouldn't have at all. Even though the little silver cupid charm dangling from the top is really cute, I'm afraid to wear it to class because you might think we're going steady. On the other hand, if you're trying to bribe me for a good grade...try a bean and cheese burrito next time. A for effort though.

Dear 7/11 cashier,
I'm sorry to do this to you all the time. You must think I'm absolutely loaded. I come in to buy a little yogurt for 12 Baht and pay with a 1,000 Baht bill every other week. I'm not loaded and I really don't need those yogurts. You're just the only place in the city that will break my 1,000 Baht bills.

Dear King,
I see you everywhere. You're quite handsome in those photographs from 30 years ago. Especially that life size cut out of you standing on the balcony above the used car dealership. I really thought it was you up there; so realistic. I know I was laughing at your video montage at the movie theater and I'm sorry for that. Something about being here makes me really like you. I don't know anything about you and I really like you. I almost bought a yellow polo shirt to wear on Mondays in your honor like everyone else. I guess if you can keep this whole country happy and stress-free and laid back, you're my kind of king.

Dear all of you other citizens of Thailand,
Seriously, what is your deal with corn for dessert? I don't get it. Corn is for dinner. Ice cream is for dessert. Instead you put corn in your ice cream. Why? Not just ice cream, but yogurt, smoothies, waffles and other dessert foods. I'm sorry, but this is something I will never understand. So please don't look at me weird if I'm spoiling my dinner by eating my dessert sprinkled on top of a taco.

Oh Ernie

I woke up this morning with a little twinge of homesickness. So I ate a bowl of cereal and watched this classic clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeNO56xNlZo

Who would have thought I could relate to a muppet? Miss you all.

Enjoy Your Weekend As Much As You Earned It

I got to hang out with most of the guys I went out with last weekend, and I'm grateful to have a fun group of locals who will let a farang girl join them for long nights of dancing and practicing Thai. Someone said, "Hey Mia, I think you're the only farang in this room." He was right. The photo is kind of like where's Waldo, but instead of Waldo, it's where's the white girl? This is a pretty popular place to be on a Friday night, and I don't doubt that some of the people there may be my students. I'll find out on Monday. If any one of my students mentions that they saw me at the bar, I'll say I have a twin sister and her name is Mia too. (If the Fat twins can pull it off, why can't I?)

The best thing about this particular place is the music. Peppered in with the Thai hip hop songs and Thai boy band love song remixes are some old classics that the crowd goes crazy over. Aqua, Barbie Girl. I admit I had fun dancing to this one, because I didn't have to worry about being too cool to enjoy it. Yep, it's socially acceptable to get excited when an Aqua track comes on. Another one: Pretty Fly for a White Guy, by a band I don't remember the name of. Even the boys love singing "give it to me baby uh huh uh huh." And they love love love reggatone. (Adam...)

I love talking to these guys; they crack me up. One of them said I look like Sandra Bullock so they would yell Sandla! Sandla! instead of my name for the rest of the night. They are lots of fun, but it's tough to keep up with them. I thought I liked to stay out late...they put me to shame.

Saturday night I went to a party at a fellow Ajaan's home. Her home is beautiful and has more space than she knows what to do with. Aj. Wongpet picked me up early and I made garlic bread and helped prepare some other snacks. She had so. much. food. Then when the others showed up, everyone brought a dish to share. The table was about 20 feet long and silly me, thinking that we would sit at this table to eat dinner. No. There was not enough room to eat because it was completely covered with Thai dishes and salads and (a bucket of KFC?). We sat on bamboo mats on the floor, only to get up for more food. There were even a group of women sitting in a corner with mortars and pestals grinding up veggies and peanuts to make fresh som tom. There were baskets of exotic fruits, and I now have two new favorites that I will be picking up on my next market trip.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the head honcho dean at CMU is a St. Olaf alum. He is a Thai native, and was telling me things about Northfield that even I didn't know. (You can see the bullet hole on the side of the Northfield Bank where the Jesse James Gang was caught.) It was like a little taste of home all the way on the other side of the world. He is a great person to know around campus, and I will be a part of the ceremony this fall to celebrate a 40 year partnership between CMU and St. Olaf. I am very excited.

The food was delicious, and the company was fantastic. There was even a new teacher who showed up tonight who just arrived from New York. As in he graduated college two days ago, caught a flight and was picked up from the Chiang Mai airport and brought straight to this party where the poor guy was given too much food and countless new faces to learn when all he wanted was a shower and a bed. He starts on Monday.

The last neat thing of the night was on the drive home I saw these bright lights that seemed to trail up to the sky. I thought they may have been lights on the mountain, but once I realized they were nowhere near the mountain, I asked my friend and she explained that they are floating lanterns. They were bright gold and almost looked like an eerie constellation. To get an idea of what these are, check out these photos: http://www.chiangmainews.com/gallery/?scid=7

I only saw a few dozen of these, but it was so exciting that I can't wait for the festival when there are thousands. They just let these lanterns float into the sky any time they have something to celebrate. I'm living in a beautiful place.

Textbook Excerpt

I've already shared this gem with a couple of you, and the rest I hope get a laugh out of it. I got many many laughs out of it. To the point of tears. Last night I was reading through the student's textbook to prepare for class the next day and I came across an article they had to read for an in-class activity. I am going to share my favorite portion of this article with you:

Alli has some very entertaining side effects. The drug can cause explosive oily stools to involuntarily eject from your bowels. While that may sound like fun if you're at a frat party, it's certainly not an enjoyable experience when commuting, driving, or hanging out at the office. The manufacturer of Alli actually recommends that consumers "carry an extra pair of pants" with them at all times, just in case the side effects kick in. Why not just wear diapers?

Yes. This is the type of material my students read in class. How is this helpful to their language skills, you ask? Well, I think it's important to learn vital vocabulary like 'explosive' and 'enjoyable' and what it means to 'carry an extra pair of pants.' The reference about a frat party? I have nothing to say about that, and yet I have so many questions for the author of this masterpiece. What kind of frat parties he went to, for example.

I was going to title this blog "Explosive Oily Stools" but I got the feeling that you wouldn't even begin to read this because you might think that I ate some bad curry and decided to write about it.

The absolute best part is that when the students read it aloud in class today (I had to do this activity with three different classes, back to back), I was biting my lip to the point of bleeding trying my very best to keep my laughter tumbling in my lower belly and not let it escape to my throat and it didn't phase them a bit. Not one bit. It was magical.

Fat and Fat

Today in class I had about twice as many students than the first day. Maybe it's not cool to show up on the first day of class? I think it's cool, especially when I have to review everything I already went over on the first day. It's ok. The students who were there probably didn't understand me the first time around anyway. Now that I had a full class of mostly new students, I asked them to go around again and tell me their nicknames. (This was mostly for my own amusement. Not like I'd remember them all.)

So about half-way through, one of the young ladies stands and says "My name is Fat." I smile and say ok. The next young lady stands up and says "My name is Fat too!" I think to myself, oh my goodness, they are playing a sick joke on me. I look back and forth between these girls and I realize that they look extremely similar. They then confirm my worst nightmare. "We are twins!" Twin sisters. Fat and Fat. First of all they're not even fat. How they came up with these names is a question I'll have to ask at another time. My main concern is how in this crazy ironic world am I going to tell these two apart? My next question is why, why do they both have to have the same name? I'm thinking to myself, maybe I should give them slightly different nicknames for class so I can distinguish between the two. Fatty and Fatso? I am laughing out loud as I write this. "Fatty, please be quiet and let Fatso speak." Oh man. I would bust a gut.

The remainder of class went by fairly quickly. Maybe because I was stressing about the Fat sisters. In any case, I paced myself well throughout the remainder of class and walked across campus to my office. I always get a little kick from the students wai-ing me in passing. A wai is a special kind of bow that you do to show respect. You put your hands in a prayer pose under your nose and bow your head. Random students do this to me as I walk along the sidewalk. I have to admit, I kind of like it. I give some friendly wai's to my fellow Ajaans, especially the older Thai ones. They appreciate it.

Speaking of the other Thai ajaans, I was stopped the other day by an Ajaan in my department and she just invited me to a party at her house on Saturday. Her daughter Weerin also works in the English department, and I had coffee with Weerin the day prior. We started talking for a bit and she explained how her house is very big and empty and she wants to have a party for the teachers in the department, especially the new ones. She then said she can pick me up since she lives farther away from the campus. She would need to pick me up early so she has time to prepare. I offered to help her make pizzas and salad and garlic bread for the party, and she was delighted. She invited me to stay over for the night if I wanted to. It's amazing how the Thai open up their homes to new friends. We exchanged cell phone numbers and I agreed to be ready at 4pm on Saturday to catch a ride from her and help her make food. My favorite part of the whole conversation was her final question: "So, what's your name?"

Rainy Season

Yes, it's the rainy season. It may sound dreary and dull, but it's not. I had the day off today and you could feel a storm a brewin'. I got out for my morning run before the rain hit and because it felt much cooler, I actually made it all the way to campus and back. Still humid enough to choke someone. It's so nice to have an entire day with no agenda. Nothing that needs to be done, no plans to keep with anyone, just a day to relax with the rain. I've definitely unbusied myself lately. In the states I was always go go go. Work here, errands there, out for nights with friends in spare moments. With all the traveling in the first couple weeks here I was in hyperspeed. I've slowed down. I've forced myself to be happy doing nothing. I used to not be able to sit still; antsy in the pantsy.

Since I don't own an umbrella yet (which is absurd the amount of rain that's fallen, why? I don't know), I decided to stay in and enjoy. You can definitely learn a lot about yourself on a day like today. Having nothing to do, what do you do? I like chores. (Mom is going to flip a lid when she reads this). Yeah, that's right. I love cleaning. I cleaned all my clothes, cleaned my dishes and vases, cleaned my bathroom, cleaned my floors, the windows, the sinks. Years ago in the age of chores, I would kick and scream. I hated when someone told me to do them. Now no one is telling me anything (and frankly, it's not even that dirty, so it wasn't like anything had to be done). I encourage you to have a day to do nothing and see what happens, especially while traveling. We're so trained to go! do! experience! while traveling, so we try to cram everything into a tiny morsel of time. The whole idea of travel is to remove yourself from the familiar. So do that. Remove yourself from the familiar hustle and bustle. Even if you are not traveling. See what happens. If you're at all like me, you'll feel like a lunatic at first, but peace will come later - I promise.

Besides doing all the chores that according to my mom were 10 years too late, I was able to read a good book. This is why I love my apartment: there is a portion of the lobby that is an elevated hard wood floor, so it's appropriate to take your shoes off before stepping up. On this special space are chaise lounges surrounded by ceiling to floor windows that open like door hinges. They are all open and a hot breeze circulates around, a garden right outside. It was hard to focus on the book itself because the rest of my surroundings were so enjoyable. My friendly apartment staff wanted me to feel extra comfortable so they winked at me from the front desk and started playing music throughout the lobby's sound system. This was really kind of them. Why Kenny G, though? Really. They must have been able to sense my upper lip curling up because a few moments later they started a Toni Braxton track. It's the thought that counts I guess. I tried to block out the pop music and just listen to the rain.

The rain here is different, I swear. It can rain with the sun still shining, and it's such a welcome change from the heat. Pouring unexpectedly, and sometimes exactly right on cue. Sultry and sexy rain. Two stolen adjectives, yet still adequately descriptive. It's the kind of rain that needs no soundtrack.

More Classes, More Humor

This is so awesome. I am officially in love with my life. I know people say they love their life, but has anyone you met said they are 'in love' with their life? If it's possible, I am. A big big reason is my job. I wish that I could blog throughout the day about all the funny things that happen, but frankly, that would be rude to the students. I want to laugh too, but that would be even more rude. So yesterday was just a teeny dose. I taught one class yesterday. Today I taught four. One in the morning, then I hold office hours for awhile, then I teach another class. I have about a half hour to eat lunch, then I teach two more classes back to back. I'm done by 4pm.

By the end of the day my voice is just about gone and my hands are so caked in chalk and I've sweat out a tenth of my body weight and my cheeks hurt from smiling and it's absolutely awesome. To start from the beginning, I had a hard time again finding a red truck taxi to agree to drive me to CMU. The third one that stopped I recognized from yesterday and he shook his head again. I know he remembered me. Here is the best part - there was a sign on the window that said CMU. What's that about? If I see him tomorrow I'll ask him about it.

I love the part of class where the students come in and they haven't heard me speak yet. They get to class early and I just do my thing getting ready for class and just as it's the top of the hour I can tell they are anxious to hear me say something as they stare in silence. It's a little bit of a rush to have their undivided attention. I say good morning and they repeat it. I say, "My name is Ajaarn Mia" and they repeat my name in unison. I say, "You can call me Ajaarn Mia" and they repeat that again. I have a choir! Or a classroom full of robots!

I then ask them to introduce themselves to me. Let's talk about nicknames, because the Thai are absolutely brilliant in choosing their nicknames. They have names like Surangkhana and Narongchai and Kanockran. There is no way I'd be able to learn them all. They choose nicknames that they go by from a very young age. They choose English words for their nicknames. Not English names. Regular words. Words like Eye, or Nice, or Cloud. I have a Batman in one of my classes. I have a Pooh in another class. It's amazing. When the first student said her name is Nice, I almost stopped her and asked her what her 'nice name' was.

I speak too fast in class. I try to slow down and I try to repeat the same phrase in different ways so they are able to (maybe) understand the second or third time around. A couple of times I spoke at my normal pace on purpose just to see their faces. That's mean, I know. When I ask them questions I get no response. Thai students are very very shy. I even pulled a Bueller. You know how it goes, "Anyone, anyone, Bueller, anyone?" I giggled on the inside at that one.

Not only do I teach Thai students, but apparently I teach stray animals and birds too. They sure like to show up to class anyway. The windows are open, so sometimes a bird will fly in and do a lap around the room then exit through the door. When I was passing out papers to the students I almost stepped on a dog. Yeah. A dog. I tried not to look surprised that there was a dog sleeping on the floor in my classroom! Talk about a zoo. The day an elephant comes in I'll have to put in a complaint.

There were too many funny things that the students said - I can't remember them all now. I'll try to keep a notebook in class and discreetly write them down as they happen. They are all really sweet though. I love their matching uniforms and how they try to individualize themselves with fancy shoes or shorter skirts or shiny belt buckles or spiked hair. I had the students ask me questions and when someone asked if I was married, I said "No. Are you married?" They laughed for about five minutes. I think the joke was on me though. The whole 'Mia is the Thai word for wife' thing. Those little stinkers. I just thought of that now.

This is going to be fun, I just know it.

First Day of School

When I was a kid, every year my mom would take a picture of me on my first day of school right before the bus picked me up. Man, I used to be a fashion icon. Flower dresses, white socks with lace and black dress shoes, teased bangs and headbands, the works. Well mom, I took a picture before heading to my first class. Just for you. It is that same excitement for the first day of school. I love it. Even though it's not autumn and the trees aren't turning colors and I haven't seen a "back-to-school" sale at any of the markets, I was still excited. I may not have the same getup, but I did take a red bus to school. It made me nervous because at least 5 red truck taxis stopped for me but vigorously shook their head and drove away when I said Mor Chor (local lingo for CMU). I didn't know getting a cab to the University at 7am would be such an ordeal. I don't know why they drive off, so I just wait for the next one....then the next one....

The campus is beautiful. It's so green and filled with trees that you can't even see half the buildings. You might as well be walking through a forest. I love it. Here's something that I just noticed today. They let the trees grow in the parking lots. I should say they don't cut the trees down when paving the parking lots. What's that? You found a killer parking spot right next to the entrance? Oh sorry, the tree's already got it. Also, there is a great little patio area outside of the English Department building, and if you look closely in the photo, there is a tree swing! You know I'll hit that up later.

I only teach one class on Mondays and Thursdays. I teach four classes on Tuesdays and Fridays. There is no class on Wednesdays. I don't know how I'm going to handle being in front of students for 5 or more hours two days of the week. Should be interesting. I'll either need to bring a change of clothes or just stop sweating altogether. Oh yeah, there is no air conditioning in the classrooms. I think I'll have to get one of those personal fans that you hold in front of your face and it sprays a gentle mist to cool you down. "Class, does anyone know what a 'soccer mom' is?"

Speaking of class, the classroom is old school. Overhead projector. Chalk board. Tape player. Wooden desks. Did I say no air conditioning? I got there early this morning to scope it out. Seeing all the desks crammed together made me a little nervous when I imagined 40 sets of eyes on me. When class started, the students came inside the classroom huddled in a little cluster, as if their hands and legs were tied together and they had to move as one. Before they actually entered the room, they stopped outside the door until I looked up at them. They all bowed and smiled and stood there. I gave them a nod and a smile and I said 'come in.' They shuffled into the first two rows of desks. In America, students like to waltz in and take a seat at the back of the room like they own the place. It's so different here. They just stare and smile. They were so nervous. The thing that I was nervous about: would they understand a word I was about to say?

I started class right at 8am, and I only had about 11 students. I was expecting 30 or more. For these freshman, it was their very first class of their college career and here they had this girl with a Minnesotan accent who talks too fast. I tried my very hardest to speak slowly and clearly. You try speaking to a group for an hour or more while articulating every letter you speak and only saying two words per second. It's difficult to keep that slow pace. I went through the course syllabus quickly, as well as general classroom expectations, how they can get a hold of me, and other housekeeping things in the first 30 minutes. This was supposed to take most of the class. What was I going to do now? I had 45 minutes to fill. So I had them introduce themselves to me, and after doing so I had a better idea of their skill levels. I then told them a little bit about myself and about America and Minnesota. When I said the temperature can get around -5 degrees Celsius, they just about pissed themselves. (This is a modest 23 degrees F). None of them have ever seen snow, and none of them have ever owned a pair of mittens.

I had the students ask me questions if they had any. The first one was my age. This is what I was afraid of. I'm not much older than them and I want them to take me seriously even though I may only be 3 years their senior. I told them anyway. They all gasped. "22? Did she say 22?!" They thought I was nearly 30. Nice.

The next question was interesting: "Who are you going to vote for in the upcoming election? Democratic or Republican?" I have a feeling he's going to be an advanced student. This was the same student when we did a class exercise about what their favorite subject is, answered, "Studying English with Ajaan Mia!" Oh boy.

At the end of class, I had a young woman approach me and ask me what she needed to do to get an A in the class. It was very sweet and that's when I realized I'm going to have a great group of students who really want to do well. I'm so excited, I can't even tell you. I was exhausted after just one class, so tomorrow I'll be treating myself to some ice cream and a massage at the end of the day. 4 classes.....I'll let you know how they go.

Arabic Dancing and Other Exercise

I had a good workout routine going in the states. Here it's a little different. I hear there is a fitness center on campus with a pool, etc., but I have yet to find it. In Minnesota it's so great to see people out and about on a nice day walking, running, biking, rollerblading, or playing outdoor sports. I haven't seen any outdoor activities like that here. Since I don't have a bicycle yet, I've been going out for a run every morning. It's a good excuse to get up early to beat the heat. Imagine going for a run in mid-August at about noon on a hot and humid sunny day. There you have my 6am run. It's that hot. I slept in this morning and went out at 10am and I had to cut short because it was too much. I've had to cut my run distance in half because it's so intense. Thankfully the weather will only get cooler from here, and the hot season was two months ago.

Maybe there is a reason why the Thai don't run or do other outdoor exercise besides the heat. The city isn't really set up for it. Minneapolis is so lucky to have those lakes and trails everywhere, so please take advantage of it if you don't already. Here is my routine: I turn on the air conditioning full blast before I head out and I run in a straight line down Huay Kaew road for about a mile or so, then turn around and run back in a straight line. It's actually a pretty good spot to run because I don't have to cross too many intersections on that side. I do have to stay alert though. There are potholes, loose bricks in the sidewalk, stray dogs napping under the bus stop shelters, motorbikes using the sidewalks, and manhole coverings that may or may not shift if you step on them. It's like super mario brothers and I'm mario. (I was a hell of a Mario for Halloween, and Lisa was a hell of a Luigi.) I then come home and climb the flights of stairs to my apartment on the top floor and air conditioning, guzzling water and a cold shower never felt so good.

I get a lot of funny looks while I'm running. Turning heads from motorbike riders and tuk-tuk drivers, all probably thinking, "what in the world is that farang girl running from?" I even get some comments from locals hanging out at restaurants when they see me run by, then they see me running by again a few minutes later in the other direction. "Running girl!" they say. I would run on campus where there are more trails and a small lake, but I hear the dogs chase after you, so I'd rather not risk it.

I've heard about this amazing thing they call Arabic Dancing, but I have yet to witness it with my own eyes. I hear it's all the rage here. Apparently they dress up in neon colored spandex/polyester blend outfits and dance their little hearts out. When I do see it, I will hopefully have my camera. Actually scratch that. I hope I have a neon leotard to put on and join them in the fun. It's not the Arabic dancing that you probably imagine, and that's because it has nothing to do with belly dancing originating from the middle east. They just don't pronounce 'aerobic' like we do.