Mia in Asia

Upturned Girl

2009-06-29T23:23:00.002+07:00

The beautiful thing about being friends with teachers is that you have so many more great student stories to share. I can't take full pride or credit for this gem of a student, but Charles just told me about one of his more advanced students. She came to him after class asking, "What does the word upturned mean? Someone called me an 'upturned girl,' is that...something sexual?" Charles wrote the word on the board to confirm he was hearing the word correctly. The girl said, "What does upturned mean exactly?" He replies, "Well...sort of lifted up and flipped over...like this," and makes a flip of the hand and a bend at the wrist, realizing that this wasn't what she wanted to hear. I'm sure she was convinced that someone had utterly insulted her with some sort of clever sexual phrase, "upturned girl."

She walked out of the classroom and Charles' head was reeling with other possible phrases sounding like upturned girl in order for her to save face. "Wait! Uptown girl??" he says.

"Yes! Uptown girl! That's it! What does this mean?"

"Uh, that you like to party a lot?"

She says, "So...same meaning?"

My Apologies

2009-06-21T16:52:00.002+07:00

It's been way too long. I've unfortunately let go of trying to pick up the pieces of the last few months and put them in some sort of order, so this is my way of saying sorry for being away from the blog for so long. A few things have happened since I wrote last, and one of the more noticeable things is that life here has become normal. No longer exotic, and therefore I feel like there is not as much motivation to tell the stories about the things that are to me mundane. Here are a few tidbits from the last months that are certainly not mundane.

Hong Kong. The trip that I couldn't finish all the lovely stories about, and for which I will be eternally grateful. One of the highlights of the last day of the trip that I still tell people about on a regular basis is.....pink dolphins. They exist and I saw them in the wild. It was awesome. They were as pink as cotton candy! I was tearing up that night at the airport saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle, and Doug met Mare and I at the airport and she says, "Tell Doug what we saw today..." As the subway whistle blew, I burst out in tears yelling, "We saw pink dolphins!" Then I cried all the way home. Such a lovely trip.

Kuala Lumpur. Took a solo trip to KL at the first weekend of May or so. It was a while since I've traveled completely on my own so it was a great experience. Photos are up. Not a whole lot to say about the trip except for great food, great public transportation, and men who aren't afraid to try and pick up an American gal. My favorite incident: a middle eastern man comes up to me while I'm walking through a food market and says, "Hello. Where are you from?" "America."
"Come with me," he says.
"Huh??"
"Come with me. "
"No thank you."
"Oh, I'm sorry for you," and walks away. Baffling.

Charles' arrival. My lovely friend Charles has decided to embark on a Thailand adventure. He arrived at the beginning of May and may make a future appearance or two on the blog. He is also working in Chiang Mai and his company has definitely been worth the wait.

So I've been keeping busy with 'normal' life, but hopefully won't get too caught up in the old 'mundane' and will continue to share good stories. Pictures are up on Picasa, so browse as you may.

Easter in Hong Kong

2009-05-04T10:47:00.005+07:00

Easter Sunday was perfect. We got up for mass and the church was beautiful. The funniest thing about a Catholic mass in China was during the offering of bread and wine at the end of service, what I've seen in the past was an orderly procession of one row of pews at a time. All of a sudden, everyone in the church stood up and bottle-necked into the aisles. Mare whispered, "Here comes the Chinese fire-drill" and I almost cracked up. Afterwards it was fun to see some of the faces I recognized during my first trip.

After the service we went back for a lovely traditional Easter brunch. Mare did an excellent job with the meal and the setting; all the delicious foods that I had been missing since last Easter. Afterwards, I went on a search in the apartment for my Easter basket! Of course I looked everywhere and couldn't find it, so we had to resort to playing 'hot and cold.' It was in the dishwasher and I felt like a kid again. It was great.

That afternoon we went to the Space Museum (my request, of course) and even though the museum itself was a little outdated, it was still fun. I was surprised (but not really) that the majority of the first part of the museum was about rockets and the Chinese innovations with gun powder. I even got rigged up to a harness that was supposed to feel similar to what walking on the moon was like. The reality is they hook you up to this harness in a glass box and hold you just above the ground so your feet can't touch the ground. Not really what I imagine the moon to be, more just a sick joke in which the people running the harness get to hover helpless folks over the ground and laugh to themselves. Either way, we had a good time even though nothing in the museum had been updated for a decade or so.

That evening sums up exactly what I was hoping for in my trip to Hong Kong. We hung out in the living room eating cheese and fruit, drinking wine, and ended the night with a game of Scrabble. Couldn't ask for a better night, even though Mare beat us pretty bad a Scrabble because of the word 'ox.'

Jack & Rose

2009-04-21T20:45:00.002+07:00

Before I continue the sequence of events in Hong Kong, I do have to tell a quick story from work today. I'm teaching 13 and 14 year-olds who are as rambunctious as they are adorable. For a game to end the lesson, I divided the class into two teams to play charades. I asked the first team what they want their 'team name' to be. "jsdfkhs" is what I heard, so often times when I can't understand them, I say, "Ok. Can you spell that for me please?" I hold the marker up to the board and wait. "J-a-c-k-a-double-s," one student says. When I look up at what I wrote, I start to laugh and realize that I should have let them spell it first rather than write as they spell a naughty word to me. I let it slide because I do know it's (unfortunately) the name of a popular singing group in Thailand. I ask the other team what their team name is. "Roses!" They say. Great!, I write it on the board. "No, no! R-o-s-e-a-double-s." The two teams were Jackass and Roseass. Super. I do have some control over my classroom, I swear. This is certainly funny at first glance, but I really lost control when I realized this was a play on the main characters of Titanic. I was nearly in tears and then these cute little kids start screaming, "I never let go, Jackass, I never let go!!"

Hong Kong Arrival and Lamma Island

2009-04-19T20:26:00.006+07:00

I just happen to be the lucky girl who went to Hong Kong last week. I've been awful at keeping up with my life via the internet, so here is my big chance to catch up.

The flight to Hong Kong was pretty straightforward - I stepped on the plane with my hearing in tact, and stepped off the plane deaf. At immigration they check and stamp the ol' passport and since the identification photo gods were on my side one day, my passport picture is halfway attractive (ironically I was hungover the day it was taken, another story) but anyhow I was not looking so attractive when I stepped off the plane. So the immigration officer took a look at the photo and took a long hard look at me. 'I know I know, you think it's not the same person right?,' I thought. "What's your full name?," he says in an authoritative tone. "Huh?!!" (mind you I'm still deaf). He let me through. I couldn't even blame it on the jet lag.

Mare was on the other side of baggage claim to greet me smiling. We went back to the apartment, and since this was my second trip to the city, everything felt familiar. It was a good feeling. That first night I arrived pretty late and it was great to hang out with Mare and Doug, eat some of Mare's specialty soup and catch up a bit. I took a glorious bubble bath that I'd been dreaming about for days, maybe weeks, prior. Bathtubs are few and far between in Chiang Mai so before I left I told my friends that I was going to Hong Kong to spend Easter week with my aunt and uncle AND I was going to take bubble baths. "Wow! Lucky!," they'd say.

The next morning we took a ferry out to Lamma island, which is about a half hour away by boat. You better believe I slept the whole way. Before getting on the ferry Mare asked if I get seasick. Remembering my long ferry ride out to Koh Phi Phi island in Thailand last year, I said I don't get sick at all. As soon as we got on the upper deck of the ferry, we were nowhere near any windows, the boat was a rockin' and I started to feel queasy immediately. Boy did I feel dumb. I honestly thought for most of the initial ride that we were propelling backwards and going in circles like a car trying to parallel park. To cope, I pictured myself in a baby's crib rocking to sleep and all of a sudden I was out. I wasn't sick at all, just confused.

Lamma island was great! It feels like a small town with lots of Hong Kong tourists marching through. For some reason I thought it would be a quiet desolate island, but I should have known from the line that snaked around the block to get on the ferry that we wouldn't be the only ones there. It's a very cute place, with a scenic beach and an even more scenic factory beside the beach. One of my favorite moments was coming around a corner in a small residential part where there was a shack of a house with two huge speakers bigger than my TV that were blaring music. The irony of it killed me but Doug beat me to it: "Ya think those speakers are worth more than the house?" We hiked up and over the mountain to the other side where all the seafood restaurants are. We ate at a place called Rainbow Seafood and they have a Rainbow painted ferry that took us home after our meal. We were stuffed and out of commission for the rest of the night.

We watched The Dark Knight before bed and I just have to emphasize how cool it was to watch the scene when Batman jumps off the tall IFC tower and crashes into the small IFC tower. The real IFC towers were glowing through the living room window out of the corner of my eye, along with the rest of the skyline. Did I mention their view is amazing?

I will update with more from Easter weekend, the rest of the week, and more photos soon!

Don't Let the Jaws of Life Get You Down

2009-03-31T21:46:00.004+07:00

Today I had lunch at a cafe that has an outdoor area that resembles a small jungle with wood lounge chairs and picnic tables. I was alone except for a stray kitten sitting in the chair next to me. Just as I was about to take the first bite of my lunch, another kitten trots past proudly. It had a limp pigeon hanging from it's mouth. The pigeon was bigger than the kitten. It was too disturbing to start my lunch, but intriguing enough not to look away. I guess I've never seen a kitten with quite the catch in real life. The sleeping kitten next to me jumped out of the chair and joined the other, both ready to tear the poor thing apart. I really wanted to not see this and eat my lunch, but it was like rubbernecking a car wreck. The kitten dropped the bird on the ground and started licking it's paws in preparation like a Tom and Jerry cartoon. It might as well twisted it's evil whisker mustache. Then the bird flew away. The biggest 'booya' I've ever seen in my life. I laughed alone at these two kittens who watched their lunch fly away, left with nothing but a few stray feathers floating around them like they just had a pillow fight.

The lesson: some may feel like they are clamped within the unforgiving jaws of life. Don't worry. Just when you think it can't get any worse, you'll be spit on the ground. That's your chance to turn the tables. Do it! Don't let the seemingly sweet kitty of life devour you like some sad diseased pigeon. Be the surprise! Some unsuspecting onlooker will really appreciate it and may even say, "What the...."

*There is no Thai translation for 'booya' - it's a universal language in itself.

Cheeky Kid

2009-03-23T23:06:00.002+07:00

I have a student in my upper level class who is just too cool for school. He doesn't bring his text books, and he sits way too relaxed in the chair. He's a bit older and has the bad boy charm with the tats and the converse high tops and perfectly spiked hair (when he's not wearing his white ship captain's cap.. I kid you not on that one). The problem is, he's really sharp. Best vocabulary and fluency in the class. Not really a problem to have a bright student, only he uses his language skills in questionable ways. First of all, his confidence and charm causes all the girls to giggle like little school girls, which they are, I guess, but still. One gal who is normally quite good turns into mush if they have to practice speaking together, and he knows it. Her hand goes over her mouth and she can't get a word out over silent giggles. It looks like a disease...or choking. Speaking of these conversation exercises, he seems to turn any conversation topic (from travel to types of transportation to food preferences) into a way to practice pick up lines. No matter what, by the end of the conversation he is saying, "So you will come home with me tonight? We can get a room?" I think I might be the only other one who knows what he's saying. Today the students had to write a one page travel blog and post it on the wall for all to read. His was about spending time at the beach sharing coconut flavored drinks with a former political leader, picking up women, and contracting HIV by the end of the trip. Completely out of bounds. It upsets me more that his writing has near perfect grammar. I say 'near perfect' because during a group activity, he was sitting aside drawing a tattoo on his wrist in black ink with skulls and hearts with a banner: "Love Suck." I didn't have the heart to correct him.

Karaoke

2009-03-19T10:42:00.002+07:00

Never gets old. There are a few karaoke places near my apartment, and we shopped around a bit for the one we like. The one we went to last time mysteriously went out of business, so it was just a big glass window with an empty space inside, with nothing left but a dusty table with a huge (gallon) empty bottle of Jack Daniels. It was a sad sight. So we went to the one next door and we were led to a small room with race car wallpaper and red couches. We thought we'd get our motorbike helmets to really get into character. Then the waiter said it was a two dish minimum. We came to sing! Not to eat! Who wants to do karaoke while eating anyway? We left. One last chance, and we found a good, but plain little place. They had decent (farang) music. We belted straight for two hours. My voice was shattered. We danced the whole time too, and our feet were sore. The servers kept walking by our little booth to peek in at what nonsense we were up to every few minutes. We'd wave through the little window and they'd duck away. Walking out, exhausted, we peeked in other rooms and everyone else was sitting looking half conscious, how boring. They were probably having a crappy time because they were stuck next to our obnoxious booth.

It's a Constant Game

2009-03-09T19:09:00.003+07:00

I explained to someone today that teaching English is like a constant game called "Let's Understand Each Other!" The winner is the one who can use their words to best describe what they mean. Sounds simple, right? Extra points are for the person who can explain what they mean to say without using hand gestures. I lose at that part. I use my hands when I don't need to, waving them around as if that will make the student understand the meaning of the phrase "pretty much" (which, by the way, is more difficult to explain than you'd think).

I played an extreme game of that today with a student. She is the ultimate sweetheart. I asked her to express her opinion on motorbikes in Chiang Mai. I asked her to talk about the advantages and disadvantages. After talking about the advantages she said, "They will be to steal you." I said, "Do you mean they could steal the bike? They could steal your bag out of the basket?" She said, "They will be to steal you." I explained that if the object is 'you,' it means that the person is stolen, not the object. With the shake of her head... let the games begin. Through a series of short phrases, and gestures and sound effects, she won the game. Her intended meaning was starting to surface from the depths of my deductive sentences. "So you mean a man is driving a motorbike with a woman on the back.. then a bad guy comes up behind them and hits the man and then grabs the woman off the back of the bike and kidnaps her?!" She nods with glee and says "Kidnap! Kidnap her!" She writes 'kidnap' in her vocabulary book. Then she says, "What is the word for the bad man does some bad things with the woman?" I hesitate to say it.."Rape?" She nods and writes it down. I said, "Does that really happen?!" But I think what I really meant was 'did this whole conversation just happen?'

I played the same game with another student last week but he definitely lost because when he couldn't think of a proper word to use he would randomly throw in the word 'dominated.' As in 'My friend was so confused and... dominated.' This just made me laugh to myself and let him carry on. So I guess I lost that one too.

Sightseeing, by Lapcharoensap

2009-03-06T20:19:00.005+07:00

This young Thai-American author gets it right, and I think it's noteworthy enough to recommend to anyone who is interested in short stories about Thailand life. The short stories cover topics like military drafting, gambling, farang-Thai relationships, work, family and globalization. I very much enjoyed it and even though I haven't had first hand accounts of what these characters experience throughout the five plots, I can still see the details that the author points out that I do experience everyday. Language barriers. Old men carrying their chickens like beloved souls. Thais' distaste for McDonald's hamburgers. The rifts between westerners and Thais. This book keeps a delicate balance between an English-reading audience and Thai 'inside jokes.' It's simple, funny, thought provoking and eye-opening. Very much like an American girl's perspective on life in Thailand. I dig it.

Exam Exaltation

2009-02-24T18:50:00.003+07:00

Lost in the land of grading exams. After a week, I've finally found my way out. It's a lonely world in the land of poorly constructed sentences, verb conjugations and plagiarism. I started to fear that my own English skills were being degraded with each exam I corrected. Never mind the paper cuts and adding skills I've accumulated over the last week. (I'm a human calculator slash Edward Band-Aid Hands.) I had to document my efforts; notice the pens to show the scale. I am starting the 'Mia Raises Funds for CMU to Purchase a Freaking Scantron Machine Foundation.' I've started it using my own salary. For those who don't know Scantron, it's a beautiful machine in which you feed bubbled-in answer sheets into it and it will count the correct answers in less than a second. I will even provide all the #2 pencils the school would need for the next 10 years. And sharpen them.

Not to mention that the teachers are provided with sets of blank printed Excel grids that we must record our students' grades by hand. Then we submit these grade sheets to a person who will enter them (by typing every last number and decimal point) into an Excel file. I had actually made a suggestion to the department on how to make this process more efficient, but the department said that chiseling the grades onto a slab of stone would be too expensive. Oh and don't let me forget, when I submitted my grade sheet, I explained that I switched two of the columns by accident, but made a note on the paper. I was handed a bottle of white-out and told that it would 'confuse the typist' if I didn't fix it. Holy archaic system, sometimes I wonder if this is a sick joke.

Taxes

2009-02-17T20:01:00.002+07:00

Yes, I did my taxes like a good girl. It was actually an enjoyable experience. A couple of other ajarns and myself went over to city hall with our paperwork (which consisted of a piece of paper from the university, our passports and our work permits.) We showed up at city hall, where there are several buildings and everything is in Thai. We just happened to walk into the right building and directly to the right office. I don't know how it happened but we stood outside the office door when all of a sudden a parade of pink came out with gifts and food and smiling office workers. No, the parade was not for us, but we worried that because the party was leaving the office, that no one would be there to help us. A few people stayed behind and explained that the party was for their boss who was being promoted, yet they helped us anyway. They took care of us and sent us on our way. Now that we had our official documents and tax card, we had one of two options to actually pay our taxes. We could go into the city to another office where we could wait in a short line and pay cash (which is what we ultimately ended up doing), or the more hilarious option: filing our taxes online, waiting 5 days, and then bringing our papers into....you'll never guess....7-11. In Thailand you can pay your taxes at 7-11! I love it. I can get some hot dogs, big gulps, and pay my taxes all in 5 minutes. How much were taxes you ask? Under $15 for the year; they would have been less if I went to 7-11 and used all of my 7-11 sticker coupons. Ha.

Busy tonight?

2009-02-15T07:31:00.003+07:00

This was my highlight of the day: I was treating myself to an early dinner at a nice Italian restaurant after I finished class. I say 'nice' because they actually had heavy silverware and cloth napkins. I come in the restaurant and smile and nod when the young animated host says, "Just one?" He gave a quick pity frown, then put a big smile back on. He was overly helpful and friendly, perhaps because I was the only one in the restaurant at 4:30. He kept coming back to check on me, gave me a free dessert, and brought me the check. Then he says to me, "Happy Valentine's Day." I said, "Thank you. You too. Will you be busy tonight?" He replies, "Oh... you are very beautiful but I must work tonight." I almost said, "No, no, I meant will the restaurant be busy tonight?" but I didn't want the sweet kid to be embarrassed for turning down a (seemingly desperate) American girl when he's clearly not into women so I simply handed him the bill and said, "Ok. The meal was delicious, thank you."

One Academic Year Down

2009-02-13T19:49:00.004+07:00

Today was the last day of class for my second semester at Chiang Mai University. I can't believe I have a whole academic year under my belt already. I thought I just got here. A day like today makes me think about my first day teaching here. What is different now? It doesn't seem like a lot until I think about the fact that I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I got here. Now I still don't know what I'm doing, but at least I'm used to it. I didn't like spicy food, now I have it for breakfast. I couldn't speak Thai when I got here, now I still can't speak Thai, but I certainly know how to repeat phrases I hear just to get a laugh. Upon arrival I was simply a part-time lecturer at the university, now I have a bunch of fun jobs. I teach at an American University Language Center. I teach one-on-one private students, preparing three different Thais for their post-grad English studies in Australia, UK, and Bangkok. I write travel articles. I do consulting for a woman writing and preparing to defend her post-doctorate dissertation about a care program for premature infants. And that's just what I am up to this week. I am taking education to nerdy heights. I never knew I had it in me.

What makes the teaching gig worth every grammar correction, every explanatory charade, every chalk dust sneeze? I would say the class evaluation that says, "You calm. I love you, my teacher, Mia. See you next term."

For those who don't know, I am on board for another year in Chiang Mai. That's the plan for now. By the way, the weekend forecast looks pretty solid:
Can you blame me for sticking around?

Chiang Mai Flower Festival

2009-02-09T14:20:00.009+07:00

We felt pretty dumb when we showed up a day late to the festival, but it actually worked out better that we went the day after it was over for two reasons: no crowds and flower giveaways. So maybe we were actually the smart ones. Granted, it was heartbreaking to see these beautiful displays being torn down and taken apart like a bitter early morning cleanup after a party. Except they weren't chucking empty beer bottles into bags on the back of a truck, but orchids! and roses! At least we could appreciate them before they were tossed away. Some of the good ones were salvaged, including our small purchases. I got two orchid plants for about $3. I explained to my Thai friend how expensive orchid plants can be in the states and her jaw hit the floor when I said 2500 baht (or around $75). A nice man clipped a couple of giant roses for us. Turns out those roses were the biggest darn things I've ever seen in my life. It was a lovely morning and we drove out of Chiang Mai to a wood carving village and a ceramics village and she showed me where she gets her favorite wonton soup. She actually drives a half hour out of the city for this soup. It was so good I had two bowls. I am very pleased with how my pictures turned out. You can see more in the link on the left.

Eating:1, Work:0

2009-02-06T22:51:00.003+07:00

Hands down best way to spend a Friday night is getting a phone call while getting changed to go to the gym and dropping the workout for a foot massage and all-you-can-eat sushi. I came home and realized that I ate all three meals today (plus coffee) with the same person. We have similar tastes in activities (like eating and getting our feet rubbed). Now that I think about it, we spent more time enjoying food than we spent at work. Not bad. I've also reaffirmed my love for ahi tuna. Any day you reaffirm a love is a productive day if you ask me.

My Dic

2009-02-03T16:46:00.003+07:00

I was having coffee with my good Thai friend before our 1pm class today. Actually we were having coffee and sharing a Belgian waffle, because we felt like some sugar for lunch. We also had spicy noodle soup together for breakfast. (There is no such thing as 'breakfast food' and 'lunch food' here.) That is neither here nor there. Now, she teaches me something new everyday and today's lesson I found pretty unbelievable.

"Oh! My dic!" she says.
"Your what?"
"I forgot my dic back in the office, but, it's ok. I don't need it today."
"What are you talking about?"
"My talking dic."

At this point I am laughing because I think I know what she's talking about, but I seriously can't believe it yet. But it is true. Thai people abbreviate the word dictionary. So Thai teachers will ask their students, "Do you have a dic? Uh oh. You forgot your dic? You left your dic at home? No one has a dic today? That's too bad."

Unreal.

Hmm, what do I miss?

2009-02-01T11:38:00.004+07:00

Feeling under the weather this last weekend, and I've been fortunate to not have been sick hardly at all while in Asia. A solid immune system is something to be proud of. Anyway, being sick makes me miss certain comforts from home and the fact that I can't curl up with the dog on the couch with a good movie and a box of wheat thins gets me a little down. The best solution I could come up with yesterday was making a little trip to the farang grocery store and picking up a few items that I didn't realize I missed so much. I filled my basket with the following: a little bottle of olive oil, pepper, a few ounces of powdery Parmesan cheese, a small loaf of ciabatta, and a bag of sour gummy candy. Granted this cost a fortune for Thai standards, but oh let me tell you it was worth it. The only downside to it was that I realized when I got home that the fresh pepper I bought did not come with a grinder in the cap. I looked a little closer at the label and there was a picture of a mortar and pestle. I didn't anticipate having to grind my own spices by hand, but I can live without a few modern conveniences I suppose.

Back home on an under-the-weather-day like this, I would make it an M.I.A. day (not a self-centered ego day, not the hip hop band, and not like I would go missing-in-action or anything)... I mean the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Unfortunately there is not a lot of art to see in Chiang Mai unless you are in the market for a painting with either an elephant or a Buddha image. I really miss having that quiet open space to wander around in, and I especially miss the paintings. So as a lame attempt, I browsed internet collections of paintings and it nowhere near does any justice, but it kept me satisfied for now. Don't you love when you find a painting that makes you sit back and say, "Yes. That is exactly it." And you feel like it was painted only for you in that exact moment, and you'd probably feel differently on any other day. Here's mine.

Quirks I'm almost used to by now

2009-01-29T20:10:00.003+07:00

1. A roll of toilet paper on each table to use as napkins
2. Stray dogs wearing t-shirts
3. Men shamelessly checking their flawless hairstyles in the mirrors on their motorbikes
4. Is that the ice cream truck I hear? No, it's the ice cream man ringing a silver bell pushing a vat of ice cream on wheels down the side of the road.
5. Whitening deodorant. Yes, it will make your armpit skin white as snow.
6. Cell phone dangle jewelry that is actually bigger than the cell phone
7. Don't bother picking up your heels when you walk (my least favorite sound)
8. Taking that drink to go? I hope you like your ice tea poured in a plastic bag with handles and a straw. You'll have to drink it before you put it down though.
9. No one escapes from Hello Kitty
10. The waiter will stand right next to you and stare with pencil in hand until you take a full 4 minutes to browse the 20 page menu and order something.
Honorable mention: Toast, Jew, and Big Bang (names of my students)

My perception of normalcy is now warped, but I don't mind.

Year of the Ox

2009-01-28T20:39:00.006+07:00

This is my big year according to the Chinese. I'm an ox and this is the year of the ox in the Chinese New Year. (Thai people don't really celebrate the Chinese New Year because they have their own new year to celebrate in early April: the much-anticipated Songkran Festival.) Sources say the upcoming year doesn't look extremely favorable for the almighty oxes, but I think I'll have to be an exception to that rule.

They also say about oxes:
People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are physically and mentally alert. Generally easy going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster and Rat people.

I would say that there are only a few parts to that description that my personality matches up with. For example, I lost my temper last week because someone told me I was a bigot because I said to them, " I have never been wrong in my entire life." I wouldn't budge. I guess you could say I was remarkably stubborn. Just the fact that they argued with me pissed me off so I beat them up with my bare hands. I absolutely hate to be opposed because clearly, I am always right. Then I got angry with myself because I failed to be physically and mentally alert enough to give them a roundhouse kick to the face when I had the chance.

I'm So Pumped

2009-01-27T19:30:00.003+07:00

I joined a new gym and I secretly miss the wall decorations of sweaty scantily clad 80's beefcakes at my old gym. To make up for that loss, tomorrow I am going to a group fitness class. I am going solely because of the name, and I am being completely honest about that.

Name of the class: Body Pump
Name of the trainer: Magnum

You would do it too. Who wouldn't want their body pumped by a guy named Magnum? Seriously.

Elevator Etiquette

2009-01-18T10:12:00.002+07:00

Americans and other westerners face the elevator door, while looking at the floor or at the changing floor numbers. Thai people will face the side walls of the elevator, seemingly staring at the other passengers. A mixed group of people in an elevator will all be facing different directions. Just something interesting I've noticed. Also, when Thai people exit the elevator, they give a little duck of their head as to excuse themselves from everyone else's presence.

Acupressure and What?!

2009-01-13T22:55:00.003+07:00

My favorite part of the semester: presentation week. The unit was on health, and my students had to perform a role play about any kind of alternative medicine of their choice. The highlight of the lot was the last group in my last class today. My last presentation of the week was a group of three that performed a role play about acupressure. Interesting enough, right? But wait. Before they perform, they hand their script to me so I can follow along. (Otherwise it's tough to grasp their pronunciation sometimes.) Now as a side note, many many students tend to copy work. They copy from their friends, they copy from the older sisters and brothers who took the class last year, and fortunately for my entertainment (and yours, for that matter) they copy things from the internet that they don't understand. This group copied a few paragraphs from a website about acupressure and scripted it as something the doctor will say to a patient in the role play. The skit was going along just fine: "Doctor, what do you recommend for my problem?" "Well if you're not interested in traditional medicine, I have an alternative treatment that you might be interested in. Acupressure is the use of pressure points to...." The conversation took a turn for the unexpected shortly after. "And you can incorporate acupressure into foreplay and intercourse. Try acupressure along with kissing, rubbing and caressing...Be careful not to apply too much pressure on sensitive areas like the groin...If you get too excited, don't be afraid to slow down and relax for awhile, then return to foreplay again when you're ready."

I am not even kidding you. These kids had no idea what they were saying, and no one in the class got it either. I was sitting in the front row with my grading notebook with my breath held and tears welling up in my eyes. So difficult not to laugh out loud. I almost thought about asking them to stop, but I let it carry on because this was one of life's moments that is just too good to interrupt. I was in the presence of comedic brilliance, and I was the only one laughing.

Moonrise

2009-01-12T19:08:00.003+07:00

Spent Sunday in San Kamphang, a small village outside of Chiang Mai to visit a friend at his (fairly) new and (extremely) beautiful property. His place is basically a Thai style house, right next to an identical house owned by his friends. They agreed to build a massive deck connecting the two and it is surrounded by mountains, a pond and tree orchards. We spent the day cooking skewers, grilling fish, making smoothies, eating eating eating. He's got the right idea. A perfect getaway in the mountains to escape to year round, just near the hot springs, not too far from the city. He's nice enough to share it with friends, and I'm grateful I finally got to see it.

The best part of the evening was anticipating the moon. It was full and scheduled to rise at 6:31pm, and the sun sets about 30 minutes prior. We huddled on the deck under blankets and watched the tip of the mountain start to glow from the light of the moon. All of a sudden it looked like a flashlight was shining through the trees at the top of the mountain, but the light got bigger and bigger. Here it was, the moonrise. Painfully exciting in a quiet way. We sat in silence, listening to Hebrew music that was appropriately about the moon guiding a person to their love. I've seen some incredible sunrises in my life, but I can't say I ever sat and watched a moonrise. Other-worldly, I tell you. One of those moments where you sit quietly and don't pay attention to the time until you notice how much the moon has moved above the horizon. We finally broke the silence, drank coffee and ate cookies making quiet comments about how beautiful this is. Reminded me how much I loved studying astronomy. As a child I remember riding in the car and watching the moon, wondering how it knew exactly where to go to follow us all the way home. It raced along the side of the car with us, not moving from that spot outside the window. Almost like it was a little plea to say, "don't forget about me!" and the moonrise was no different. It's so easy to get caught up in what is only in front of you and forget to look up once in awhile.

Things Work in Weird Ways

2009-01-12T18:36:00.002+07:00

Last week I went around to a couple language schools in my neighborhood to drop off my resume and see if I can pick up some private students or some extra teaching hours. I walked a few blocks to a school that specializes in tutoring and small classes. I dropped my resume with a short application form that took a couple minutes to fill out. The woman said she'd call me for an interview and I thanked her and headed off to the next school down the street. By the time I walked no more than 3 minutes from the school I received a phone call from the woman I just spoke with. "Can you come in for an interview?" As if we went warp speed to three days from now when any normal place would call for an interview. I laughed and said, "Sure, I'll be there in...2 minutes." So I wanted to joke and say something smart like, "Nice to see you again...so soon." She had me sit and wait for the principal; apparently she was on her way. The five minute wait I was anticipated went severely into Thai time, about 40 minutes. Then the woman comes out and asked me to walk with her down the street to where the principal was. This was so weird. So I walked with this woman as she told me about her life growing up in Chiang Mai, how her English wasn't good (but why she works at an English language school I didn't quite catch), and other little tidbits about her life. We reached another school and walked in where I met the principal and proceeded with the impromptu interview in the middle of the lobby where preschool kids were running a muck around us while parents were picking them up. Weirdest interview of my life. She offered me a full time job on the spot but I couldn't take it because of my commitment to the university. I told her I was interested in part-time work so hopefully they will have something for me, but the interview kind of ended on that.

Gets weirder. A little deflated (and hungry) after all that waiting for an interview leading to nowhere, I headed home. I walked by the school that I work at on and off when they have a class for me. Just the week prior I had a call from them and when I returned the call, excited for what they had for me, their reply was, "Oh, since I couldn't get a hold of you, I already called the other teacher, so I don't need anything from you. Thank you!" I peeked into the window of the school and waved hello, and they motioned me to come in. "Oh!! Perfect timing. Here we have a student for you. She needs a tutor for the IELTS exam. Do you know IELTS exam?" "No." "That's ok! You can teach her speaking, listening, and reading. You can start on Monday."

See how things fall into place in strange ways? If it weren't for the impromptu interview, I wouldn't have walked by at the exact moment to get my new student. I met with her today and she's an angel. Lucky me.

New Year's Eve

2009-01-07T15:20:00.004+07:00

I usually don't go buck wild over New Year's but this one was lots of fun. I can't say what was specifically so great about it, just a blur of good music, good company, lots of dancing with a dash of Thai drama on the side. Since I don't do drama, I stuck to dancing.

One of the highlights of the night was when a Thai friend that I ran into during the eve came to me toward the end of the night and he said, "I didn't even recognize you, Mia. You were so charming tonight." I like to think that these are two compliments completely independent of each other. Although on those rare occasions when I exude a little bit of charm, I can see how it's hard to put my name to that face.

More pictures of NYE and Christmas in the photo archive links on the left. The next morning I felt like garbage, naturally, and I found myself wondering how late we stayed out. Thank goodness for the clock appearing in some of those photos to remind me of the joys and of staying out waaay after my bedtime.

Last but not least, I hope all had a very happy new year and here's to this one being better than the last. We all have something to celebrate. Maybe next new year it will be the booming economy... As the Thais always say, maybe next time. Cheers.

Haircut

2009-01-07T15:05:00.002+07:00

For only 180 baht a person can walk into a hair salon, point to shampoo and haircut on the menu, get escorted into the back, shampooed and head massaged for a long long time, then sit and sweat in a chair where a Thai man cuts off more hair than what he was asked via hand gestures. It's too late to say anything (as if anything said would actually be understood) so you just sit and pray to the Buddha statue on the shelf nearby that everything will be fine while your knees shake under the plastic tarp. It turned out just fine.

My Thai friends (and some farang friends) were pissed. I, on the other hand, don't get overly attached to my hair, and it obviously isn't very attached to me given the ungodly amounts of it that were appearing on my floors and sheets and shower tiles.

At least I didn't end up with an Asian Mullet. Maybe next time.

Detox

2009-01-07T11:14:00.002+07:00

Please skip this post if you can't stand to read about the normal workings of the colon or the rest of the digestive system.

You had your chance. I went and got a colonic, or colon cleansing, or colon detox, what ever you want to call it. I don't know what made me compelled to go and do it that Saturday morning, but I have a feeling it was the food from Charlie's Christmas party plus the fact that a Thai friend told me about it, on top of the unfortunate sluggishness that I've been feeling.

So how does this work you ask? Or maybe you don't ask but are kind of curious to know. Or maybe you don't want to know at all to which I reply: Read the first line of the post again. The place that I went to was walking distance from my apartment. I am continuously discovering all the lovelies that are so close to home; maybe I will compile a list someday and you will understand why I never want to leave my apartment. Anyway, I showed up without an appointment and on the walk over, I called my Thai friend to say I was going, I was nervous, should I tip them?, was I going to be ok? She replied: that's good, don't be nervous, don't tip, and maybe.

I walked in and told them what I wanted and the two Thai women sat me down at a big marble reception desk, I filled out a questionnaire, they took my blood pressure and said ok looks good. She walked me into a private room and there was a giant scary looking chair. Apart from the chair, it was like a normal spa room. She had me get undressed and put on a robe and explained what was going to happen, but it was happening before I knew it. All of a sudden I was in the chair (still in the robe but with bare bottom against the plastic seat). She adjusted me a bit and put a pencil sized tube "up there." I had a flash of "I shouldn't be doing this, I want to go home" but I overreacted. It wasn't bad at all...but I didn't know at that point that I would have this flash again shortly.

She explained that through the tube, purified water would start to flow into my colon and beyond. Then she said when you have to go...just go. I didn't really get it but once the water started filling, I knew what she meant. I had that sudden flash again, only this time it was just like those terror filled moments when you're somewhere in public and need to get to a toilet ASAP. She was in the room for the first part and waited for me to "go" the first time. She was on the other side of a curtain and kept saying, "Don't be afraid, just relax, don't worry, you can make a noise if you need to..." This of course made me more nervous and embarrassed. She said that I can watch the water level and when it gets down to the last 5 liters, to press the call button for her. Then she left. I had only gotten through 1 liter and I had 24 to go. So the idea is that one or two liters of water goes through you, then you push it out with other stuff. Then you do it again until all 25 liters of water is gone.

I should mention that there is a mirror above the clear tube that sends all the water and other stuff down the drain, so that you can see what passes through. I won't go there, and I did not take pictures. Although I know one or two people who might wish I did photo-document the process. Sorry. However, it would have been more telling if I took pictures of my facial expressions in reaction to what I was seeing. All of the captions to those photos would be: "really?" or "are you kidding?" or for a really bad pun, "are you shitting me?"

So when it got down to the last few liters I hit the call button and in came the Thai nurse (I think she's a nurse...) and she came in to push on my belly for the last part of the colonic. Talk about strange. My Thai friend put it nicely. She said by the end of it you feel like you should get her name and number, take her out to dinner, take her home for the night because you get a little intimate while she's pushing your stomach while you're in the chair doing your 'wish-it-was...but-not-so-private' business.

After the whole thing was over, I was free to take a shower and get cleaned up. I admit I didn't feel a whole lot different. The rest of the day was fine and to be honest, I felt the benefits of everything in the next two days. Hard to explain, without using the cliche "cleaner." I was happier, had more energy, and felt like I could break into song and dance down the sidewalk. Kidding about the last one. I definitely recommend it. If you want more of the gruesome details, I'm not afraid to share, but you need to ask.

Christmas Party for the Adults

2009-01-07T10:49:00.003+07:00

The days leading up to Christmas were strange. No snow, no family gatherings, no bitter cold. Christmas Day was also strange. I started the day by spoiling myself with a big breakfast that didn't come close to Grandma's. I had class on Christmas and my students wished me a Merry Christmas when I walked in the door, which was very sweet, but class went on as usual. The only other sign of Christmas was when I left my apartment that morning and an old white man in red with a white beard and santa hat rode by in a bicycle. I waved and shouted "Merry Christmas!" We only need a little bit of Christmas cheer to be content for the day.

That evening my friend Charlie hosted a Christmas party at her place for all of us farangs (and some Thai too!) who were away from home on the holiday. We had a potluck dinner and lots of drinks and even more desserts. It was an international gathering. I've never had sticky rice with chicken and whiskey for Christmas dinner before, but we make the most of it all. It was really nice to be around friends and to make it somewhat of a family gathering.

By the time I got home, it was only Christmas morning back in Minnesota, so I got to see the family via webcam and we opened gifts together. Awwww. I miss them like crazy.

Christmas Party for the Kids

2009-01-07T09:35:00.007+07:00

First of all, apologies for neglecting the updates over the last few weeks. Time to play catch up. Before Christmas, I volunteered to help throw a little Christmas party for underprivileged and handicapped children at a Thai elementary school. We were to entertain three age groups in three shifts for a couple hours each. We had three activities prepared for the party. The first was telling "The Night Before Christmas" story to the children in Thai. I wonder if this was their first introduction to Santa or Christmas, and as odd as it is to thrust a Christian holiday onto a group of Buddhist children, no one seemed to have a problem with it. The story was complimented by none other than a powerpoint presentation of pictures somewhat relating to the story as it was told. The westerners in the room could have pointed out the disconnect between the pictures and the story, but the kids loved it. Worthy to note: the first activity for all the kids in the morning is their anthem to the King (in which they sing and play xylophone-like instruments) followed by their daily exercise aerobics to a hip hop song with explicit lyrics that the kids don't understand but are happy to dance to. Only here.

Oh before I forget, I absolutely need to mention the behavior of these kids. Do me a favor and picture an assembly hall of 70 children ages 7-10, anticipating a super fun party they've been looking forward to for weeks. Don't do it for too long because you might get a headache from all the screaming and chaos in your head. The kids at this school were nothing like what you just pictured. I promise you. They were angels. Little Buddha loving angels. For example, before they were allowed into the hall where we were still setting up that morning, the teachers lined up their students and had them sit in rows on the steps outside. Observation number 1, they actually sat down in rows. Observation number 2, they stayed there. Observation number 3, they lined their shoes up against the wall in neat rows. Observation number 4, and this is the one that blows me away, they meditated. Meditated! Now I can hardly sit still without talking, and I know a whole lot of people who are the same, but these kids! I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until I realized there was nothing but silence coming from outside the door and all the noise was from the adults who were still setting up. I peeked outside and there sat little bodies in rows with an eerie wisdom and calmness. Luckily I knew right then that if I told someone about this they wouldn't believe me so I snapped a photo.

The second game we played after the story (which they obviously sat through with good behavior), we played "Pass the Parcel," which is obviously a British name of the game and I can only think those words with a British accent now. Basically it's a game where we prepared little gifts wrapped several times with layers and layers of newspaper, and between each layer is a little treat or candy. The kids sit in a circle and pass the gifts around while Christmas music plays (as it turns out, Feliz Navidad was the first track on the CD I made and the kids loved it- thanks Adam.) and when the music stops the person holding the gift gets to remove a layer and keep the treat. Observation number 5, they weren't greedy little monsters. When the music stopped and last child holding the gift, he usually looked confused and handed it over to the person next to him. Another group of girls did something extraordinary. They passed the gift around exactly to the beat of the music so there was no discrepancy of who ended with the gift. Then they agreed that instead of keeping the prize for themselves, they put each little treat in the middle of the circle, into a community pot, if you will. They would cheer for the person each time the gift was opened and the girl would graciously add it to the middle pile. At the end of the game, they agreed to divide the prizes equally among the whole group so no one was left out. Based on this alone, I think the world would be a more peaceful place if women ruled it.

The last activity was letting the kids make Christmas cards. This was my favorite part of the party where we got to get on the floor with the kids and really interact with them. Coloring, cutting, gluing...made me want to be a kid again. It was an interesting experience because the kids don't speak any English and I used a few little encouraging phrases in Thai but for the most part I spoke in easy English because their teachers wanted them to hear the rare native tongue. So we were speaking different languages but we still got along and had a great time.

On top of it all, the kids were incredibly beautiful. I've got loads of pictures and you will probably agree. I became instantly attached and enamored. We entertained three large groups in all, about 170 children total. I think they had a great time and it was quite humbling to see how thrilled they got over little bits of candy or pencil case prizes or their pride in their Christmas cards. Love it. I meant for this to be posted closer to Christmas to try and encourage some to volunteer for a holiday event for underprivileged kids but the truth is, there is never a bad time to volunteer for something or someone you care about.

When a person has too much time to think...

2008-12-22T17:15:00.005+07:00

For the sake of writing about something other than Asia, Thailand or Chiang Mai... maybe this is something just about everyone can relate to. Do you ever think about the story your hands could tell? Some of us use our hands to flap around all over the place to tell a story, sure, but I mean the life your hands have lived. They're pretty amazing little things. Think about all the places they've been. From spending most of their time in your infant gummy mouth to all the squishy and plastic toys they've grabbed at. All the different floors they've crawled on, all the dirt they've dug pudgy dirty fingers in. All the words they've written, pages they've turned, high fives they've given, monkey bars they've grabbed and clung onto. All the doors they've opened, buttons they've pushed, hands they've shook. Think of all the information your hands have gathered, the fact that you can look at just about anything and know what it will feel like before your hands get to it. Your hands will know what food will feel like before you know what it tastes like. All chores they've done, the music they've made, or balls, bats, clubs and rackets they've played with. All the trees and rocks and handrails they've climbed. All the emails they've written and keys they've typed! All the 'hello' and 'goodbye' waves from afar, all the flirty little gestures, the hugs they've made a little tighter. Think of all the places your hands will go; how much you will count on them. How little credit you give them. You know what they look like, front and back, left and right - you see them everyday, but maybe you haven't been grateful enough to say, "Thanks, you two." Look at those handsome little things and be amazed at the story they could tell.

Sushi and a Fortune Teller

2008-12-17T22:41:00.002+07:00

First of all, I would like to confidently say that I've just had the best sushi of my life. Holy wow. Maybe it was the fact that it was unlimited, as in all-you-can-eat. Yes, all you can eat sushi, made to order. Not just sushi, but high quality sashimi, tempura, and endless other Japanese dishes. I can't stop thinking about it. It's borderline love affair. For under $10 we kept plates coming faster than we could eat them, and probably consumed hundreds of dollars worth of food. Maybe it's not healthy to eat a few kilos of raw fish. I don't care because it tastes better when you know you can get another plate of these delicacies at the nod and a signal to the waitress, who by the way was staring at us the whole time. She was probably in awe at our superb garbage-disposal-like wolfing abilities. This kind of meal is sort of a splurge on the Thai wallet, but I am willing to get a second job to keep eating here (and probably an extension on my gym membership will be in order as well).

After dinner we went to the 39 baht fortune teller lady in the middle of the market. I don't know if I've ever been to a fortune teller before, but I thought I'd give it a go. The woman is Thai so I had two of my Thai friends taking notes and translating for me. It was Tarot card style and I had to choose 10 cards with my left hand and then she flipped them over one by one and told me about, well, me. Here's what I gathered from the translation: I am easy going, sociable, and charming. I like to talk to people and make new friends easily. I will see my family soon. However, I am lonely at times because a "soul mate" is very far away. So, that's that.

Then I get to ask 5 questions. After each question I choose three cards with my left hand. My first question was, "What will I be doing for work over the next year?" She said my work may include some travel and it will be very hard and tiring. Second question was if I will ever have children (which is oddly the answer I was most afraid of hearing), and she said very clearly, "Of course." The cards I picked showed a happy couple on one and a happy family on the other, and the last card signified 2. Two kids. I also asked if my family will have good fortune over the next year. She said everything with my family will continue as normal, that they are very loving and are good at helping people. The last two questions I asked were followed by answers that freaked me out a little too much to share here. For something like that, translated into another language, mind you, to hit so close to home made my jaw drop a little. It's all in the cards, I guess.

Monday Thoughts

2008-12-15T15:23:00.003+07:00

Not much to report about, and not much to complain about either. I realized that it's a weekday but I don't work this week. These week long vacations kind of sneak up on me. In any other situation I'd probably be anxious for a week-long vacation, but the truth is, I don't think very far in advance anymore. The last few days have been the same for the most part and it's been a nice routine. Although I feel like I'm retired, it's nice to slow down and take time to think about what you enjoy doing when you don't have to do anything.

I eat long breakfasts, read books, work out, sit in the sun by the pool (and getting a little too tan for my liking), eat picnic lunches and go out with friends at night. Tough life. I've also been enjoying all the goodies in the package from home (thank you!).

That being said, I have more time to listen to and observe the people around me. One theme that seems to come up in several places these days is Thai-Western relationships. Or just how Thai people and Westerners view relationship expectations so differently. Now I may touch more on this later when I can organize my thoughts, but I've heard some very interesting stories in the last weeks about how Thais and Westerners react differently to things like flirting, language barriers, expectations in a partner, communication, "duties and roles", money, infidelity, honesty, and regular relationship management techniques. I don't want to go into too much detail, since I don't want to offend anyone at the moment (such a peaceful Monday). However, maybe I need to have collect some first hand data and date a Thai guy as an experiment. Hmmm, probably not the most ethical thing to toy with a young, sensitive Thai heart for the sake of a social experiment on a blog. Ha. Maybe next time.

For Best Result

2008-12-10T09:09:00.004+07:00

Read the sign carefully. I don't care who you are. I don't care where you are. Dropping your pants is not always the best result, especially in public. Although, it might be a judgment call. A buddy of mine puts it nicely: whenever he sees something so odd that you can't help but cock your head, scrunch your eyebrows and give one belly grunt of a laugh he says, "Oh but that would make too much sense..." Happens daily.

Mia and Adam Do Chiang Mai (Part 3: The Unexpected Week)

2008-12-06T22:57:00.011+07:00

Due to the situation in Bangkok, Adam was unable to leave the country, so a quick bus ride back to Chiang Mai led to another week of hanging out. More highlights:

Thanksgiving. Being in Chiang Mai on Thanksgiving is an odd experience because even when you try to relate to other westerners wishing for mashed potatoes and stuffing, they might not get it. I forget that Thanksgiving is strictly American. My British friends ask me what Thanksgiving is and I was incredibly surprised that it was something foreign to them. Then once I explained the origin of Thanksgiving, it was like well, duh, of course only Americans celebrate. Regardless of the handful of people in this town actually celebrating, we found a nice restaurant that served a real Thanksgiving dinner. It was actually great food. Our group of six (some American, some Thai) enjoyed the meal, each others company, and going around the table saying what we are thankful for. It doesn't quite beat being in chilly Minnesota with the fam, but it was warm in more ways than just the weather. Earlier that day I explained what Thanksgiving was to my students and I asked them to go around the room and say what they are thankful for. Many of them said their family and friends, but the mischievous group of boys in the back were all thankful for their beautiful English teacher who has such a nice smile and makes them so happy to come to class. I said, 'Nice try, A for effort.'

More Climbing. Over the week we took a couple more climbing trips and I actually learned quite a bit in a couple of days. One of the days out at the crag was especially nice because afterwards we had a gorgeous dinner out at a ranch near the mountains overlooking the sunset. There were horses and ponies nearby and the food and company was good as ever. For some reason it felt a little foreign. It was a scenery that belonged in a dream, not actually in real life, Thailand or otherwise. But it was. The ride home into the Asian red sunset was just as dreamlike.

More Motorbiking. Speaking of riding into the sunset, there was a lot of motorbiking happening throughout the week. Adam likes to drive different motorbikes and I'm willing to ride whatever and wherever. Rides out to Mae On, Doi Suthep, and around town are always fun. I even rented my own for a day. Empowering to ride the highways on my own, even more so in the crowded and river-like-flow of the moat traffic. Although there is nothing like speeding through between the mountains with badassness pumping in your blood and the ipod cranked. Especially when you slow down and realize how loud your music actually is and you're probably making yourself deaf. I'm young and invincible though!

Poolside. I'm going to take a moment and turn you as green as curry with envy, especially if you're in Minnesota or any other cold climate. Sorry in advance. I spent several days during the week near the pool. Either at the outdoor pool at my fitness center or at the lovely garden pool at the fancy hotel that Adam got for free, thanks to the Tourism Authority of Thailand compensating him for his stranded days in Thailand. I am getting into the habit of laying poolside before, between and after classes. Nothing like feeling July in December. My climate clock is out of whack in the very best way. I tell myself with each dip in the pool to cool off...this is what December should be like. No matter what. I am so lucky. I see more of my mom in me every day, because she would be doing and thinking the same thing. Don't you worry, I will not take the sun and the warmth for granted. Not a chance. Each day of sun is worth its weight in gold to this Minnesota girl.

Take Your Friend to Work Day. Adam was not going to get away with spending weeks with me in Thailand and not seeing what I actually "do" here. He needed an English lesson anyway. (Kidding.) He came to my class as a special native speaker guest. After taking care of the normal housekeeping issues at the beginning of class, I introduced our special guest and explained that we were to practice "Q&A." Each student wrote some questions for this new American face and I collected them and had an interview-style session with Adam. Almost like I was James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio, only less awesome. The students seemed really attentive and I think it was great for them to hear a different style of speaking and they practiced listening about topics they might not be familiar with. They asked both appropriate and personal questions, which didn't surprise me, but Adam answered them well. Then I had the students give mini presentations about Thai holidays for Adam and they did really well with that also. It was fun to have Adam come and see what a dream job I have.

King's Birthday. December 5th, His Majesty the King turned 81 years old. There were banners and posters and large billboards of the King going up all around town. It just so happened that Chiang Mai's celebration of the King was right outside Adam's hotel room. We listened to the masses singing anthems from his balcony at 7:09pm (9 is a lucky number...it's the 9th dynasty) and fireworks followed. The fireworks were so incredibly loud that I jumped backward into the room and we ran to the fire escape to get to the roof of the hotel for a better view. The fireworks were going off right across the street so the explosions were directly overhead and were so close that I could feel the wind from the blasts push against my body. The ashes were falling like rain and I'm pretty sure we had the best best view of the fireworks in the whole city. We walked around the bustling streets that night and scoped out the art fair and the fashion shows going on in the trendy part of town. Early early the following morning went outside to see the biggest offering to the monks all year. They closed off Nimmanhaemin Road and Thai people dressed in white lined the streets with big bags of offerings for the monks. They lined up in rows on the street and the monks walk through and collect their offerings of food, drinks, and other little necessities. 11,250 monks total. That is three times the size of my college's entire population. More than half the population of my hometown. A lot of orange, and even more white. A very neat sight. Too bad we got too cold and hungry to stick around so we watched everyone else in Thailand build merit from the windows of the hotel while we drank coffee and ate breakfast in warmth. True Americans, ha. We didn't have anything to offer besides an opened bottle of whiskey anyway, so it was maybe better off. Still an unforgettable sight to see.

The Last Supper. Finally made it to the waterfall restaurant that we talked about going to over and over, so why not wait until the last possible meal? It was a nice dinner with friends - a lot of laughing and eating. Story of my life and I like that. Thailand is truly a culture of food and most of my memories are in relation to meals...I track time not by a watch, but by when some sort of eating will occur next...I remember evenings with friends based on what dishes we tried; how delicious, sweet, spicy, filling they were. Some people are surprised at the idea of eating every meal out, and never cooking at home. I prefer it and Thailand is one of the few places where it's just as economical as it is delicious and socially rewarding. We gave Adam a proper send-off and I'm really thankful that he got to experience so much of my new home. Chiang Mai has a special way of getting under your skin and feeling like home faster and more comfortably than most people expect. I'm sure Adam would concur. Ah, I'm so lucky to be here.

What's Going On Here?

2008-12-01T09:20:00.002+07:00

If you're following the Thai or international news, you probably know there is some drama going on in Bangkok. Here's the story from my perspective. On Tuesday night last week I said goodbye to Robin and Adam as I put them in a cab on their way to the Chiang Mai airport. They had a short flight to Bangkok and then Robin's flight to the US was scheduled for 1am and Adam's for 6am. Adam got his mom on the plane and called me in the middle of the night saying she's on her way and jokingly saying he was going to head to the beaches instead. I told him to have a good flight home and call me when he's back. The next morning I had a strange feeling and called his cell phone, knowing that if the phone was off he was on his way, but he answered. "My flight is delayed until 7pm tonight," he said. I sympathized with him because I had been stuck in the Bangkok airport for 12 hours before. He explained what was going on in the airport and nothing really sunk in until I started reading the news. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had taken over the airport. The PAD people are protesting the Prime Minister (this is different from the beloved King, mind you). There was no resistance and the airport was literally shut down. Robin's flight was the last one out, and technically took off when the airport was closed. So Adam spent the day in Bangkok and took a bus back to Chiang Mai that night. Although the news states that four bombs went off in the airport, Adam didn't hear a thing. He said the PAD people were actually quite helpful in guiding the tourists to better waiting areas in the airport, bringing them water and sandwiches. The airport is still closed now (almost a week later) and there is no foreseeing when it will be open again. There is more than enough information out there in news articles, etc. But if it weren't for Adam's story and the media, there would be absolutely no way to tell what is going on. It's very peaceful in the north and the biggest concern for people in Chiang Mai is the hit the tourist industry will take. We'll see what happens over the next week. There were fighter jets flying over Chiang Mai... there was a coup a couple years ago... definitely an interesting time to be in Thailand.

Mia and Adam do Chiang Mai (Part 2, with Robin!)

2008-11-30T21:51:00.008+07:00

Adam returned to Chiang Mai with his mom, Robin. We spent another week doing fun stuff. A few highlights:

Karaoke. Asian Karaoke is much more sensible. Instead of having one annoying person sing a bad early 90's song in front of an entire bar of people, you can have just a few select people singing in a small room, bothering only those who choose to join in on the fun. We rented a room and had a few brave souls come and meet us for some singing. The room was like a colorful cell with a TV, keyboard, and a couple of microphones. Two large books of song choices, most of them Thai, we browsed throughout the night, finding a few gems. I would never never perform karaoke in front of a room full of strangers, but I clearly had no problem singing to my friends when they didn't know the words. The next day they said I hogged the microphone, but don't believe them. They refused to take it when I passed it on. They must have loved my voice. My favorite song was Adam's choice: Beauty and the Beast. We sang the appropriate verses for each gender, ending with a nice duet.

More Rock Climbing. Spent a few days at the rocks and it never fails to be a nice day. I am impressed with Robin because she climbed a route like a champ. Not many moms can say they've climbed rocks in Thailand. I'm still learning, but being out there with great climbers is the best way to do it. I am continually impressed with my friends. I am completely spoiled to have this amazing climbing spot not far from home. Such a beautiful place, and it's that much more motivation to get to the top and look around at some incredible views. The views are always better when you have to work for it.

Cooking Class. I tagged along with Adam and Robin at a cooking class here in Chiang Mai. We started by going to a market in town where our teacher taught us about all the different ingredients we'd be using and what to look for to make these dishes at home. Then we went to the Thai style house where everything was set up for us. We were the only three students in the class that night, which made it that much more fun. We sat in a classroom that was set up like a cooking show. We watched our instructors prepare the dish first, and then we got to go outside to our own cooking stations and give it a try on our own. The beautiful part was eating our own dishes right after we made them. It was a five course meal. First we made Tom Yum Kun, which is a hot and sour soup with shrimp. Then we made hand made sping rolls, followed by green curry with chicken, pad thai, and a Thai pancake for desert. The instructors were great and everything was set up very nicely. We spent a lot of time eating, laughing and making messes. There are lots of good cooking pictures, including photos of each dish. Check them out and then go out for Thai food, because you'll be hungry.

Photo Shoot. There is not a whole lot to say about this, because the pictures speak volumes. Adam and I spotted a few of these Glamour Shots-style photography shops around town and based on their sample photos, knew that it was an opportunity not to pass up. We went to the one in the night bazaar, and Adam sprang the idea at his mom at the last minute, and then when I caught up with them, they coaxed me to be a part of the photo shoot too. We got to pick out our outfits from a big book, and then they did our makeup and hair for a good half hour. The photo shoot took all of about 10 minutes and I had to use my meditation practice to keep from laughing out loud at the absurdity of what we were doing. Thai people do this for weddings and other special occasions and here come in three foreigners dressing up like we're Thai royalty. They must have thought we were crazy, but at 10pm at night, their service was quite excellent. After the photo shoot, we had the pleasure of walking around the market in our makeup. Adam and Robin have a poster sized print of them that will likely be hung above their fireplace. Or made into Christmas cards. Or both. I've already blown up my photo and hung it above my headboard. Who wouldn't?

I want to be a traffic cop when I grow up.

2008-11-20T20:27:00.003+07:00

Because that means I can do nothing but sit in the seats under the over-sized police helmet on the corner and smoke cigs and blow my whistle whenever I feel like it. That's what the real ones do. I'm in training. Someone get me my whistle and everyone pretend that I'm more important than you.

He Has Two Wives!

2008-11-20T19:37:00.004+07:00

I met a rad gal with an equally rad name. We have odd things in common and I can only hope that I will be half as cool as her someday. Mia #2 appreciates funny t-shirts, large wild cats, street food, House of Male, and crappy cell phones (we have the same model). She knows Nye's and Bryant Lake Bowl. Enough said.

Adam was lucky enough to have his company graced by a couple of wives last night. The name thing never is less than entertaining, especially with meeting new Thai people. I got in trouble once when my American friend introduced me to his Thai girlfriend and to her Thai ears it sounded like, "This is my wife" and I smile and say, "Nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you!" A couple minutes later she was whispering to him angrily and punching him in the shoulder. I knew exactly what was going on and I had to clear things up. I said, "No my name is really Mia. I'm not his wife, don't worry." Now we're all friends and I don't look like the polygamist wife and she doesn't look like the mistress.

For the Princess

2008-11-20T18:49:00.005+07:00

Princess Galyani Vadhana, the older sister of the King, died and Thailand paid respects to her for 15 days, 6 of which is the length of her funeral. She was 84 years old. The teachers at CMU had to wear black and white for the week, and many others around Thailand did the same. The photo above is a large billboard near Tae Pae Gate and hundreds if not thousands of yellow lanterns hung across the plaza. Quite the sight. Normally this plaza is packed with vendors on a Sunday night, so it was a little eerie standing in the open space with just a handful of people .

The photo above is from the inner walls inside a temple along the Sunday walking street. One of the most magical and mystical sights I've seen. Colorful lanterns were hung in the trees, and the entire temple was decorated with candles and incense. Makes your dessert from the market taste a little sweeter when you stumble upon something like this.

Loy Krathong

2008-11-17T07:37:00.005+07:00

Loy means "to float" and Krathong is the name for a little boat made out of folded banana leaves, flowers and candles. Each year, this festival is held for a few days during the full moon. This is the time of year when fireworks fill the air with color and light, floating lanterns are puffing up into the sky over your head, and people are gathering near the river to let their Krathongs float away. Sounds peaceful? Not so much. Enter the battlefield of Loy Krathong. I have never in my life heard fireworks so loud. Just walking down the street where one would think to be moderately safe from harm, makes you think twice about what safety means to you. These unexpected explosions made me jump, yelp and grab my friends. If you know me well, I'm the kind of girl that leaps (with. out. fail.) when the toaster is done. I don't do well with jack-in-the-boxes. Imagine me. Luckily, the brain works in mysterious ways to make a person adapt to surroundings, so surprisingly I was getting more used to it as the night went on. Besides the loud fireworks, let me say something about where these fireworks were being let off. The answer? Anywhere there is a match to light it. Anywhere and everywhere. Especially where there are buildings, trees and people. My Thai friend says each year in the newspaper there is a list of people who lose fingers, limbs... I also heard that people make homemade fireworks by filling ping pong balls with gunpowder, sometimes coconuts too..? Scary. This is not to even mention the smaller fireworks. I saw a girl light a sparkler in a crowded place and held onto a string and whipped it around behind her, without even looking of course. You learn to duck or jump at times like these. Whipping tether balls of fire in crowded places looks like a good time until someone gets hurt. A friend of mine bought a large tube and lit it, pointed it to the sky like a good, safe citizen. A beautiful blast of color shot out. He thought there was only one explosion in the tube so he started to walk away (wishing he didn't spend so much on one little firework) but it kept shooting out quiet thumps of fire. It took him until #4 to realize he was blasting people. Admittedly hilarious to witness from a safe distance. My pictures didn't turn out so clear because of all the smoke in the air (see other photos on the Loy Krathong link under photo archive).

The floating lanterns are just as popular and a bit less dangerous. These giant bubbles made out of paper fabric can be bought anywhere and everywhere. Light the big piece of charcoal that sits in the center of the lower ring, and wait. The lantern collects the hot air and expands. It takes a few minutes until the air gets hot enough to rise, and it's fun to watch people discuss whether they are ready to let it go or not. Some let go of the ring and it just sits still in space, sometimes it drops. You have to be patient and hold it until just the right moment. Thousands of these lanterns getting ready to launch in the street along with the ones floating just overhead and the ones that are high in the sky definitely makes for a magical sight. Walking around with my eyes to the sky in awe doesn't help my chances for avoiding those darn fireworks going off everywhere. What a sight though, honestly. It really seemed like a child's painting of a night sky with 5,000 extra golden stars. Besides the magic, I had a motherly concern for the lanterns that got caught in the trees, or the ones stuck on the power lines, still aflame. Not a firetruck or a police car in sight. I did see one ambulance the whole night...almost comforting.

The Loy Krathongs was probably the safest activity you could partake in, which we did. We bought our favorite krathongs from vendors on the street. The vendors were frantically trying to make more for the growing demand of buyers. We lit small sparklers, the candles, and the incense sticks and walked to the river's edge. I was told to make a wish and say thank you to the river goddess for providing us with water. I couldn't think of anything that I would wish for, so I just said thanks over and over again. I guess that's a good sign. Hundreds of krathongs were floating along the river and ironically, these krathongs are also a way to say sorry for contributing to the pollution of the water over the last year. Hmmm. Irony is nothing new here.

Mia and Adam do Chiang Mai (Part 1)

2008-11-16T17:34:00.011+07:00

Some highlights of Adam's first week in Chiang Mai...

Halloween. We spent two days thinking about and searching for costumes. Thai people don't celebrate Halloween so it was difficult to find anything good. In between my classes we motorbiked around the city trying to find a "Thai costume rental shop" on one of his maps. Turns out we found the place but it wasn't what we were hoping for. They were traditional Thai dresses and suits for rent. Damn. Off to the giant mall with more disappointment. I thought our best bet would be the giant department store called Robinsons. We were ascending the escalator to find some orange and black decorations. We're in luck! We come to the Halloween section which consisted of a white table the size of a small desk which had a couple of over-priced Halloween themed stuffed animals. We looked at each other and said, "Really? This is it?" I was discouraged and ready to resort to finding some 80's apparel (which is in style for Thai people, so it really wouldn't be a costume. It would be a lame attempt of a farang girl trying to look Asian-trendy). Luckily, Adam is good at making executive decisions in times like these. We stopped into a children's store and started discussing how well these polyester costumes could stretch (not sure if they were even costumes, they could have been kid's pajamas). When we were browsing through some princess dresses, the woman running the store asked "For a child how old?" I knew Adam wanted to say "mid-twenties." He picked out two outfits and said he could wear one and I could wear the other. Superman and a Disney Princess. There was really no discussion on which outfit was for whom. Needless to say, we were a hit at the party, especially the pretty pretty princess. We rode around on a motorbike in these outfits; I had to hold his skirt down while my cape was flying in the wind. We got some stares. The security guard at my apartment got a kick out of it.

German Micro-Brewery. I don't have photos of this place, and I wish I did. Video would be better. This giant micro-brewery in the outskirts of Chiang Mai can house around 1,000 people. They brew their own beer and provide live entertainment. We sat staring at the stage with our big beers in awe. Speechless. Could only look at each other and laugh. Young Thai women dancing in different outfits for their different song/dance numbers. One performance was of the ladies in traditional Northern Thai outfits with mortars and pestles acting out making somtam, a Thai food. We could tell who the coordinated dancers were and who the unfortunate awkward ones were. My personal favorite part of the performance was...and you will not believe me, nor will you ever know how funny and bizarre this is to see in person, especially when everyone sitting around you thinks it's normal and entertaining...but a guy was singing a song about being in the Thai military and he and he and his performance sidekick were in military uniforms acting out a battle. Then a medic comes out on stage wearing a white lab coat holding a giant (5 feet long) cardboard cut out of a syringe and sticks it into the injured soldier's ass. All during an upbeat pop song. Life can't get better than witnessing something like this. We went back the next night to enjoy the same performance for a second time.

Motorbiking day trip. We did a loop around the outside of Doi Suthep and through Mae Sa. We stopped and hiked the 10 waterfalls, motorbiked through the mountains on Adam's huge bike he rented for the week. He enjoyed driving and I enjoyed riding, so it worked out. Except when he popped a wheelie. I could have gone without that part. The drive was beautiful; it's supposedly one of the best motorbike loops to do in SE Asia. The views were unbelievable. We cruised through rice paddies and got lost in a village, drove through other little towns. So nice to get out of the city and see the different lifestyles that live just on the other side of the mountain from me. Luckily, we could see rain in every direction throughout the day but never got caught in it the whole day. Came back to scrape the bugs off Adam's shirt and face.

Rock climbing. Went out to Crazy Horse to do some climbing. This place is huge; people spend months going to these rocks and never do the same climb twice. We spent the morning outside in one quiet climbing wall corner. I'm a new climber so I learned a lot and I'm excited about doing more. Adam and Charlie are more seasoned climbers so it was fun to watch them. Pictures speak louder than words in this case, but I must add two things. The Superman outfit made an encore performance on the rocks (naturally, next time we will bring the princess dress). Also, we hiked into a giant cave to find more climbing areas that were lit by holes in the ceiling. The photo to the left is inside the cave. There was actually a lot of light coming in from above, but it was much cooler inside. Kind of a magical place.

Cannonballing to America

2008-11-12T16:43:00.004+07:00

My last glimpse of Asia was a sweet one. During my layover, preparing to leave Taipei for LA, I stumbled upon a gate that would only make sense in Asia. Hello Kitty. This was even more hysterical when I was sleep deprived and couldn't decide which time zone I was supposed to be in. I thought I was dreaming or hallucinating. I imagine business class travelers in the pink seats listening to teeny bop music. What a trip.

The week in America was nonstop fun. The wedding was beautiful, and I got to see my whole family in one place. My family is so good-looking. I look through all the wedding pictures and everyone is beautiful, handsome. Must be because everyone couldn't stop smiling. I got to meet the in-law family as well, some of whom have more dancing endurance than anyone I know. Believe it or not, the happy couple postponed their honeymoon so they could hang out with me while I was in town. They were the best hosts a crazy old sister crashing their post-wedding romance could ask for!

I got to surprise two good friends in one afternoon. Neither of them knew I was in the States, and in their disbelief or confusion, they were almost rude. One of them walked away and the other pushed me when I was going in for a hug. After everything was cleared up, I was enamored with good company, wine, and Lisa's couch that I'd been missing all those Friday nights when I just wanted to sit around and chat. (Lisa I just got your card today - thank you!!)

I also got to see friends that joined me for everything from El Loro margs, Punch pizza, hot tubbing, late-night tea parties, sunny lunches, chili contests, haunted hay rides, Russian dinner with vodka toasts, zombie pub crawling...

The strangest thing was that it felt like I never left in the first place. At the same time, I was dreading another round of goodbyes. Of course the question comes up, where am I happiest? I can't say I'm happier in one place or the other; they are like oranges and apples. I'm just the lucky one who gets to have an orange and an apple to call "home." My goal is to make a whole fruit basket of home.

I love the analogy my uncle Doug told me. Moving to Asia is like standing on a dock overlooking a cold lake in northern Minnesota. You try to look beyond the surface of the water, but you can't see anything below. The only way you can find out what it's like is to just jump in. So you do. It's cold, uncomfortable, and it shocks you to the bone. Your first instinct is to get out of there - back to the dock where it's warm. But wait a second...or two...it's not so bad, not so scary. In fact it's actually kind of pleasant and becomes more comfortable with each passing moment. Now the reality is, the lake is where you want to be to stay warm. Getting back on the dock will be colder than before you left it. So in terms of my week of excitement and emotional hellos and goodbyes, I just like to think I had the opportunity to get back on the dock a few times and do a couple of flips and cannon balls off the edge. What are the heart strings there for if not to be tugged every once in awhile?

Mrs. Torres Parisian, I'd go 'round the world for you.

2008-11-11T17:37:00.005+07:00

If there is ever a thing closer to maternal instinct than sisterly instinct, I'd be darned. If there was ever a better opportunity to surprise her sister on her wedding day, I'd be double darned. I arrived in the States the day before her wedding and it was the best impulse decision I ever made. It's the kind of story that was meant to be told over a home cooked meal or before a lazy afternoon nap, so I will reserve the tale for special times like those. Love you, beaner.

Hong Kong Revisited

2008-11-09T16:02:00.007+07:00

Since I'm really good at time travel, I am going back to (over) a month ago to when I was in Hong Kong. I need to tell things in order and get caught up in the blogging world.

My last full day in Hong Kong was a full one. Mare and I got up early to do some Tai Chi on the boardwalk. It was a small group that gets together in the morning and they do an instructional class. I was excited about this because I completed my Tai Chi class in Thailand not too long ago. The instructor was a perfect cross between an oompa loompa and the wizard of Oz. He did some demonstrations with a woman twice his size and by the end of it, I was convinced that they were a couple and she was the dominant figure in the relationship. The best part about Tai Chi was the view. Who gets to do Tai Chi overlooking the most awesome, busiest, bustling skyline in the world? Kind of a paradox, but a great way to start the day.

After Tai Chi I got my haircut by Edward Scissorhands, or at least the Asian version of him. He was a cute and skinny Chinese boy who was extremely polite and extra gentle, just like Edward. He also had amazing hair. I love getting my haircut and washed. I almost opted for the Asian mullet, maybe next time.

We walked around the markets and art galleries in Soho. I loved seeing the HK markets and how they resemble something like NYC or San Francisco Chinatown. The fruit is extra colorful and the fish are huge. The most exciting thing that I saw was a "China-man with his shirt tucked above his belly." This was one of the items on my Hong Kong Scavenger Hunt. I needed to spot all sorts of fun things during my time there, and Mare and Doug made a Bingo card for me to complete. I don't think I made a Bingo, but it was a personal mission to see this t-shirt tuckage. It was awesome. These old men on the back of a truck pull up their shirts and roll them up above their big bellies to keep cool. I was satisfied. I wanted to give them high fives. Or rub their Buddha bellies.

We then went to afternoon tea at The Peninsula Hotel, which is the place to have a proper tea. Really lovely. There was a live orchestra in the balcony above and they serve you your own silver tea pot as well as a three-tiered array of deserts and snacks. Afterwards we went upstairs to look at the diamond shops - not really something that I've ever done before, but I must say, the things were huge. Probably some of the biggest diamonds I've ever seen in my life. We laughed at the glass casings that had previous gawkers' greasy nose and chin prints blotched all over. Gross.

That evening we went to dinner at a really nice and trendy restaurant on the top floor of a building overlooking the island. It had an incredible view and food that will make you be happy to be alive. The light show went off right after dinner. I took endless pictures trying to get the best lasers in the shot. One of the best dinners I've had in a long time.

The next morning it was hard to believe it was already time to go. I felt so at home and spending just a few days with my aunt and uncle helped me realize that I've got the best family in the world. Traveling on your own can be tough and lonely, but weeks like this are like steady rocks to hold on to in your crazy life storm.

My Life is a Comedy

2008-10-23T08:07:00.002+07:00

I feel like Will Ferrell's character in Stranger than Fiction when he's making tally marks in his little book trying to figure out whether he's in a tragedy or a comedy. Here are the tally marks that I've made in the Comedy column in my little book:

This morning I got up extra early to get to campus because since I was out of the country and out of touch, I had no idea what classes I was teaching or when. I took some extra time to get ready and tried to pull myself together to look like the on-top-of-everything, organized teacher that I was trying to pretend to be. I needed to get to campus and check my mailbox to see my schedule early in case I had to teach at 8am. I am waiting outside of the office for someone to open the padlock on the door so I could get in to my mailbox. (Are you catching the drift of how old school this is?... Paper mail in mailboxes, padlocks on doors...) It's 10 minutes to 8am and I'm wondering why it seems so quiet. I know Thai people are usually late, but this was weird. I come to find out that there is no class because it's a holiday. Go figure. This now explains why no one was driving into the campus gates but rather just beyond them to where all the monks are. People were going to give alms to the monks while I was the only person wandering around campus and not even noticing until the text message from my fellow teacher confirmed. I sometimes feel like this city has its own quirky personality and it knew that I left for awhile, and it gives me this booya of a welcome back. I can hear it's chuckling voice saying to me, "You bail on me for America...you come back and want things to be normal? Take that. Random Buddhist holiday in your face. Booya."

Tally mark number 2 which happened yesterday: My travel arrangements for returning to Chiang Mai from the US were all set up through Bangkok. I still needed to get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I booked this flight after a night of no sleep, packing, fretting, etc. Oh and I booked it about 10 minutes before my ride to the airport. This is my disclaimer for what was about to follow. After flights through time zones and across the world, I realized as I was boarding the flight to Bangkok in Taipei that I was going to arrive in Bangkok at 1:00 in the morning. 1am...in the morning. When booked my Chiang Mai flight according to my travel itinerary, I mistakingly read "Arrive in Bangkok at 01:05" to mean 1:00 in the afternoon. 1pm...in the afternoon. Now if I knew how to read the 24 hour clock, if it was arriving in the afternoon, it would have read 13:05. I am an idiot and booked my flight for after this non-existent afternoon flight for 3:30pm. So if you're following this...I arrive in Bangkok about 12 hours before I expected at 1am. I now need to wait 14 hours for my 3:30pm flight to Chiang Mai. I gave myself a 14 hour layover because I can't tell time. "But Mia, this sounds more like a tragedy," you say? One would think, but it turns out I couldn't stop laughing about it after trying to get on an earlier flight and being told no. It gets funnier: I didn't have enough Thai Baht on me to even take the bus out of the airport for awhile. Funnier yet: that afternoon flight was delayed. It's a comedy, I swear.

So, Funny Story...

2008-10-23T04:49:00.002+07:00

I spent the last 10 days in America...on a whim. A very important whim, that I'll never ever forget. My sister got married and I got to surprise her because we both knew that before I left for Thailand that there would be no way for me to fly home for her wedding. The stars aligned and the story has already been told to many, but to be brief:

Cath called me and told me that she kept having these feelings that I was in America, so she called me in Thailand just to be sure. I wasn't. I wasn't planning on being in America at all. This was three days before her wedding. This call put a little fire in my belly and a little crazy in my head. I jumped through countless hoops in an inconceivably short amount of time (with the help of some amazing people). The next morning I was walking out of my favorite travel agency that only employs angels holding a travel itinerary for a total of 9 flights to get to and from America. I cleared my schedule for the week and went straight to the airport. I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief and excitement.

Five flights and 36 hours of airplanes and airports later I made it home and the next day got to surprise my sister (well, kind of) on the morning of her wedding. I say "kind of" surprise because her husband spotted me walking in Minneapolis the night before and told her he saw my twin. With her detective skills, and some question and answering with her husband, she was able to confirm that the twin was indeed me. The chances of this happening are so rare that I can only think that Cathleen was meant to find out early as to avoid the imminent heart attack she would suffer during the planned surprise the next day. That would ruin a wedding.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and the rest of the week was surreal and wonderful. I am back home in Chiang Mai now with my head still buzzing and a noticeable amount of blogging to catch up on. I like to tell things in order, so I will go back to mid-Hong Kong and try to get caught up soon.

Meanwhile, Mia's life in real-time is going to be interesting as well. I start semester two in a few hours. (I missed my first class due to travel and this morning I have to go to campus to get my teaching materials, schedule, get my head on straight as fast as possible and teach...or improvise, at least for today.) Mr. Adam Brookins, my friend from Minnesota, is currently in Laos somewhere but is coming to visit soon. I had to call him hours before I left for the States that I wasn't going to be here when he arrives in Thailand. We flew over opposite directions of the Pacific on the same day, but we waved at each other in passing. I'm excited to finally see him.

China Knows Fireworks

2008-10-07T20:02:00.005+07:00

We stormed the mall and stormed the parking ramp and finally got our spots on the pier sporting our peace-in-Asia-signs for the camera. Since it's National Day, everyone gathers together to see fireworks. Much like 4th of July in the states. It was a beautiful night and not only did we get to be on this pier in the middle of the city anticipating the fireworks, we got to see the light show. The light show is one of those things that makes you feel like you're in a movie. Or a music video. All the buildings along the skyline coordinate these bright beams and laser lights, as well as the lights they use just to illuminate the building. All of this is done coordinated perfectly to music. I saw the light show I think each night I was there (they do this nightly, even cooler). In the picture to the left you can see the crowd on the pier as well as the lights shining off the buildings. So I watched the light show with the music that was booming on the pier. I thought this was the official light show music; turns out they only play the official light show music a few piers away. I was watching it thinking, "Wow, look how coordinated it all is!" Not the right music. Too much wine I guess. Still fun.

Then the fireworks. These fireworks were by far the greatest I've ever seen. China knows fireworks. They invented the things. I heard rumors that these were leftover from the Olympics. They were incredible. They were coordinated with music too. Each different shape and color had a meaning according to the newspaper the next day. I'm sorry but when I watch gold and red fireworks burst into the shape of hearts I don't think to myself, "Gosh, those must signify the color of 'Chinese skin and their bursting red hearts.'" (Actually quoted from the newspaper.) I'm not that deep. I think I said out loud, "Holy moly how do they do that? Hearts!" Mare caught my 5 year old reaction on camera. The photo is pretty telling. I like fireworks.I was proud to be Chinese, that's how good they were.

'National Day' is Chinese for Party Time

2008-10-06T20:55:00.004+07:00

Mare and Doug threw a party for National Day and it was the perfect excuse to get together and eat and drink and meet all their friends. Firstly, they know how to throw a great party. Mare made pasta (another one of my requests prior to arriving in HK) and everyone brought all the appetizers I've been craving for months. Olives, cheese, artichoke dip, bruschetta, red wine (ok, not an appetizer), and homemade chocolate chip cookies! I was in heaven.

Mare put her lovely ikebana skills to work. See the flower arrangement centerpiece that symbolizes fireworks. She used those same ikebana skills to model for a calendar. Both Mare and Jeanne are Calendar Girls! They did a benefit for breast cancer while living in Tokyo and Jeanne (her now next door neighbor in HK, believe it or not) went over to her place and brought back the famous calendar.

It was really great to talk to these people who have spent so much time living in Asia. A few of them have been to Chiang Mai, telling me how beautiful it is. (I couldn't agree with them more.) It was a delight to hear about their travels, their work, their experiences living all around Asia. The seemed impressed that I was doing something similar on my own at my age. I say, "Yeah. Some days I ask myself if I'm out of my mind. Then I snap out of it and assure myself, 'This is exactly where I should be.'" It was nice to have a little something in common with all of them.

After the delicious dinner that I ate way too much of, it was time to take the party outdoors. Oh yes! We stormed through the mall. (Remember they live above a shopping mall.) This was fun! We were a sight to see, I'm sure. You know that hootin' and hollerin' in a shopping mall is just the beginning of the party...

The Peak

2008-10-06T18:42:00.006+07:00

After volunteering, we took a trolley to the top of the peak on HK island. The view was spectacular. You could see both skylines on each side of the water. It was a popular place to go that day because it was a holiday. Mare taught me how to use my elbows in a crowd. She's a pro. There is truly no sense of waiting in line or politely letting someone step ahead of you on the train. No sir. We were packed on that tram like sardines and the ride was nearly a 45 degree angle up the steep hill at some parts. They put huge ridges in the floor of the trolley so people don't slide into each other while riding up.

We ate dim sum for lunch, which is a type of Chinese food that resembles stuffed steamed dumplings. Very tasty. We hung out at the peak for awhile. We were lucky to have nice weather all week, given the typhoon that came through the day after I left. The reason why the view looks a little hazy is from pollution. Interesting to note that the view was clear as can be during the Olympics, because all the factories in China were shut down for those weeks. Pollution or not, it's still fun to look at the little buildings and toy boats below. It was cool to recognize the tall IFC building (the tall thin building just left of center in the top photo) was where they filmed The Dark Knight. It looks a little spooky at night, and I can't imagine a better building for batman to fly off of.

I love this picture of Doug and the maids on their day off. One of them is not interested in being in the picture. Must be an important phone call... That's another difference between China and Japan. In Japan they have signs everywhere asking you to kindly stay off your cell phone on the trains or in other crowded places, because it might annoy your neighbor. No such signs in China. There signs in China ask them not to spit or push their way through crowds...(more on that later).

Volunteering

2008-10-06T08:06:00.005+07:00

Early morning on Day 3 I got to meet two of Mare's friends: Jeanne and Mary. The four of us went over to the Sisters of Charity to volunteer for the morning. This was one of the highlights of the trip. First of all, Mare and her friends are just a riot. They kept me smiling all morning. We arrived at the kitchen and we helped prepare vegetables and meat for the soup. This was a delight for me because I don't get to cook and I don't have a kitchen at home. I cut up hot dogs and loads of garlic. It was really fun to sit around on the stools and just chit chat while we worked. It was especially fun to work with the Filipina women who took their day off to come and volunteer at this center. They are all maids working for families in the city. I wasn't aware that everyone has a maid. They talked about their experiences and some of them were quite sad. Since it was a holiday, all the maids had the day off. Every maid takes her vacation day to roam around the city; they were everywhere! And so many of them! I wouldn't be exaggerating to say thousands of Filipina maids were out and about that day, all of them smiling and enjoying their day off.

Anyway, it was very interesting to hear their stories, and I enjoyed listening to them sing as they work. After we helped prepare the food for the kitchen, we moved into another area to help serve a meal. The coordinators of this place are nuns dressed like Mother Theresa, and the nuns guided the men into the eating area. I guess only men were eating at this meal. Some of the men came in with big smiles and others were quiet. Once everyone was seated, the nuns led a prayer and then we started dishing up tin plates of rice, meat, gravy, and greens. I was in charge of greens and I was told not to give big servings because they don't like cabbage. "Sometimes they gag at it," she said. There's a certain saying I think is appropriate, but I won't go there. Mare was the Soup Lady (or Nazi, if you're a Seinfeld fan...No soup for you! She didn't say that though).

After everyone was fed and happy, Mare had a couple of bags of clothes and shoes to donate to the women. When we got back to the kitchen, we couldn't find the bags. They were gone. She said, "That's ok, they're for whoever needs them." We left the kitchen and I heard women giggling and chatting away. I also hear the clickity clack of high heel shoes. We go back in the kitchen and the women were already trying on the clothes and shoes Mare left. They were so excited. It was a really sweet moment.

Soho and Lan Kwai Fong

2008-10-05T17:34:00.006+07:00

We had a great Mexican dinner in Soho (South of Hollywood Blvd, similar to the South of Houston concept in Soho, NYC) at a restaurant called i-Caramba!. I just thought of this now, and they will probably laugh, but I think the restaurant is just called Caramba with the upside down ! before and after it... i-Caramba has a better ring to it anyway.

We each had massive plates of delicioso Mexican food and margaritas. So so good. I cannot emphasize how good Mexican food and margaritas are when you can't have them all the time (like my weekly El Loro trips back home). Also, after experiencing Thai spicy food, I am no longer afraid of spicy Mexican.

After dinner we went to the hot spot Lan Kwai Fong for beers. More great people watching. Even on a Tuesday night it was pretty wild. People leave work and make their way up the Lan Kwai Fong hill stopping at endless bars and restaurants for happy hour, because let's face it, it's better than getting on that crowded train. Before you know it, happy hour drinks can easily turn into an all-night affair in this neighborhood. We took the ferry home and I took another bath and was a happy girl at the end of Day 2.

Stanley Market

2008-10-05T16:57:00.005+07:00

Mare and I were up and at it early the next morning. We worked out at their uber nice fitness center (much nicer than the bad 80's flashback that is my gym). We took the ferry and then the double decker city bus out to the other side of HK island to Stanley Market. This is a cute little sunny area with shops and a boardwalk. The drive over was beautiful. We shopped around and stopped at a little stand where a man was selling name stamps, like something you'd use to sign a document. He said the characters for "Mia" are something that translates to "pretty Asian." I was amused by that, but not enough to buy it.

We had lunch at this great pizza place. I can't get over how much I love cheese, so this lunch was perfect. They even had Hoegaarden beer! We sat on the waterfront for awhile just enjoying this other kind of great view. The whole area reminded me more of Europe than Asia. Really a beautiful part of town. There are beaches to lay out in the sun, and I'm sure it's a nice getaway from all the people and chaos of the city, only a short bus ride away. We took the bus back to Central and walked around the city. Once again, I cannot get over how many people there are. Just incredibly dense and Mare and Doug pointed out that no one knows how to walk in an orderly fashion. Boy were they right. I noticed that right away. You never run out of places to do some serious people watching. The people watching was so intense my brain couldn't take it all; too many people...too much to see.

The View

2008-10-05T16:24:00.003+07:00

Let's start from the very beginning... a very good place to start. (Kudos to you if you sang those last two lines a la Julie Andrews.) I arrived in Hong Kong, greeted by my aunt Mare. We took the train and bus back to her apartment. Their apartment is above this gorgeous shopping mall. Hong Kong really knows how to shop. When I told my friends in Thailand that I was going to HK, they replied, "Oh you're going shopping?" Anyway the apartment is absolutely beautiful. I was beside myself. Then I saw the floor to ceiling windows. Then I looked out the big windows. I started laughing it was so cool. The picture above is from ground level, but their view is exactly the same only 30 floors up. I'd need a pan-a-panoramic photo to get it all in; this is just a small part of the skyline that goes on and on.

I must be becoming more Thai because I remember events in terms of meals. We went down to their pier and had dinner at an English Pub-style restaurant. We sat outside and enjoyed the light show (more on that later) and the skyline and the water. I was finally able to catch up with Doug and Mare and they gave me a quick run down on their experience living in HK versus Japan and the differences between mainland China and Hong Kong (more on that later, too).

It was a lovely welcome and we went back to the apartment where a big bathtub was waiting for me! Mare had asked if I had any requests for when I arrived, and the big one was a bath. It was better than I expected! She even set me up with a basket of shampoos and soaps along with a candle. Not to mention the other goody basket on my nightstand filled with edible treats... What a welcome!

Back Home From Hong Kong

2008-10-03T19:45:00.002+07:00

I heard a joke someone told about how great digital cameras are because you get to reminisce instantly. Take a picture, look at the screen and say "Awww! Look at us!"

I am going to instantly reminisce about Hong Kong. I just got home and once I get my bearings back I will be able to attempt to describe how fantastic my trip was and how wonderful my aunt and uncle are for hosting me. Words and pictures won't do it justice, but I will still give it a shot. There is too much to tell, but I will likely take the next few days to get all up to speed.

It was an amazing week. My first impressions of Hong Kong were:
"Wow, look at all the skyscrapers!"
"Wow, look at all the people!"
and the view from their apartment made me giggle from disbelief. It was the view.

Rainy Market

2008-09-28T20:20:00.003+07:00

I was at the Sunday walking street tonight and it was more fun than usual. A few reasons why: I got there before 6pm and got to see everyone freeze in silence for the national anthem. Probably my favorite 30 seconds of the whole week. I could hear myself breathing. A moment after it ends a bomb of chaos goes off and everything is back to as it was. It's such a surreal moment no matter how many times I see it. Then I get a call from a friend and I happen to look east while talking to him and I can see him about 20 yards away so we say goodbye on the phone and then hello in person a few seconds later. After a meal with him, I kept on a-walkin the walking street. I stopped and chatted with a vendor and she told me my Thai was good! I have no idea why she said that because I only said a few things to her, but she made my night just by saying that. Her vendor friend even concurred. They were too nice. Here's where the fun comes in. As I'm walking along I feel a couple of rain drops on my face. Suddenly I notice a new kind of chaos. Immediately the vendors go into hyper speed and whip out these huge pieces of plastic out of nowhere and they cover their merchandise like they've done it a thousand times. It's a ripple effect and once one vendor sees their neighbor rainproofing their stand, then they take the hint and go into hyper speed too. It was a line of waterproof dominoes that collapsed at a faster pace than I could watch. Then the girls on the street do this odd thing where they start taking all of their personal belongings out of their purses and hold all their stuff in their hands. They take their now empty patent leather purses and put them on their heads like waterproof hats. I was laughing out loud as I walked behind this fashionable group of women with their big purse hats and makeup, keys, wallets in hand.

Off to Hong Kong in the morning!

Lucky Me

2008-09-28T13:50:00.003+07:00

I am finished with semester one, and I have learned more about Thai culture in the last few days with regards to their grading system than I have since being here. I don't agree with the way they evaluate their students, and after biting knuckles and lips and gritting my teeth, I've come to understand that I can't change the system just because it doesn't align with my beliefs on how an education system should work. I come from a different culture. I am a guest here. I will follow by their rules. My impression is that the grading system is based on looking for flaws in student's work rather than finding accomplishments. They see it as being objective. If a student's written work doesn't match a particular formula, they are given a score based on what the single person who made the answer key thinks the correct response should be. My question is since when is there an answer key for an exam that asks students to write an essay? In any case, I got sliced at the knees for my approach in grading my students, so I held my tongue and did it their way. I only wish they would have more faith in their teachers to evaluate their students. It's the first major cultural difference I've been directly involved in. Even though I'm not happy with the final exam and grading process, it makes me that much more motivated to really give my students a great experience in the classroom next semester.

I am now officially on holiday from CMU. I still teach my SAT students which is a joy, and I don't even consider it 'work.' I am incredibly lucky because not only do I love what I do to pay the bills, I love having lots of time to do whatever suits my fancy. My life is a big vacation, and I even get a vacation in Hong Kong on top of it. I am so excited to get to Hong Kong tomorrow to see my family. When I initially arrived in Chiang Mai, every new day felt as if I was a 'traveler'. I've crossed that threshold and now that I truly feel like I live here, that this is my home for the time being, it's such a treat to become the 'traveler' again. I love airports and big backpacks.

Names

2008-09-25T18:07:00.002+07:00

Thai nicknames are fun, but so are regular Thai names. During a coffee house grading party, we started to talk about our students, naturally. This led into talking about their names, and the prize for best named students goes to the teacher with a boy named Buchit (pronounced with an oo and sh) and a girl named Tittiporn. Nothing can top that.

Grading Exams Makes Me Laugh

2008-09-24T16:51:00.002+07:00

You know the types of exam questions that pose a sentence with a blank, and you have to fill in the blank using one of the vocabulary words from a list? I'm faced with some tough choices because the answer key states the "correct" answer, but after grading countless exams, I've found that the students have come up with some creative possibilities on their own:

Pete: Can I do my online assignment at home?
Paul: Definitely, as long as you can abuse the internet.

Vegetarian food not only looks like regular food, but it's just as insufficient.

Athletes from all over the world dominated in this year's Olympic Games in Beijing. (I did give credit for this one, because I think it's more exciting to read than "competed").

People who live near the river bank are facing a nightmare because it's been raining poverty for almost a week! (Sad...)

What should we do to solve the drug insufficient problem in Thailand? (I'm sure some of my students feel that there are insufficient drugs in Thailand, but unless they tell me that with proper grammar, no credit.)

Final Exams

2008-09-23T20:16:00.002+07:00

It's finals week and you could smell the stress around the English Department buildings. The students were nervous, the course coordinators were running about getting organized. I don't really know what goes into planning a week of exams, but over 6,000 students had to take the Freshman English exam Monday morning at 8am. I don't know how or where they fit everyone on campus. I walked upstairs to proctor my students and all 50 of my freshman students were huddled outside the door of the classroom, chatting and studying their textbooks up until the last minute. The same thing happened that afternoon with my older students, only there were 100 of them. I had way too much fun walking around and wishing them luck. It made me really sad that I wouldn't be seeing them every other day. I was overwhelmed when I saw the sheer number of students I had all in one place. They were like my little families. My 8am Monday/Thursday family, my 1:00 Tuesday/Friday family, they were all there with big nervous smiles. All wanting my attention. I was the mother hen of all my chickadees. Too bad I had a dummy moment right before the afternoon exam. I had a lovely relaxing lunch, and wandered up to the exam to greet my students. I told all my afternoon students that their exam is in room 607. All 100 of them were in the hallway outside of 607. I moseyed around with my cup of coffee and stepped into the exam room to only find 30 chairs and exams for one section. Where were my other two sections supposed to go? The Thai Ajarn who was helping me proctor my exam didn't speak English, and he didn't have a clue what I was so worried about. I ran down 6 flights of stairs to find a coordinator in a panic. They told me that my students were in rooms 607/1 (what kind of room number is that, anyway?) and 608. I ran up 6 flights of stairs to quick tell my students where they should go so they didn't lose any time on their exam but by the time I made it to the top, no one was there. My 100 students disappeared and it was silent. I was sweaty and alone in the hallway. Turns out everyone knew exactly where they were supposed to be but me. Ironic. Story of my life.

This whole week I am locking myself in coffee shops in my neighborhood and getting 150 3 hour exams graded in the next 3 days. I will only take breaks for food, water, going to the gym, naps, massages, and maybe some ice cream. I'm not too worried about it.

Email:

2008-09-21T22:30:00.004+07:00

Hello! teacher Mia ^^
I am Juthathip. Remember me?
O.K. ! O.K.!!
I know you remember me sure!!
I want to know your section teaching in term two.
Do you know?
Yes,you know.
Please tell me ....
Please....teacher T^T

I love you so much!

Please give me and my friends grade "A"
Please.....
Thank you very much .
I hope to learn with you in term two.
See you again next term.

Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho !!

Beep Beep Beep Beep

Jub Jub ^3^~

(There is nothing I can say about this, except that it made my night.)

Sunday Afternoon Lounging

2008-09-21T21:07:00.002+07:00

I would normally spend a Sunday afternoon this time of year watching football and eating popcorn, but I could get used to spending further Sunday afternoons like this. We drove out of the city to the reservoir, spent the entire afternoon lounging around in a bamboo hut while ordering dishes of food and sticky rice. I got to try a couple of new dishes and the most delicious barbecued grilled chicken I've had in a long time. It smelled like a summer outing. This place is beautiful. I've been there before, but I forgot how cool it is to be near a lake and a mountain at the same time. They have cute little paddle boats, but I heard from a fellow teacher that they didn't let him take out the paddle boat because he was a farang (non-Thai) and was too big and would sink the boat. I didn't even ask to save myself some embarrassment. We ate for hours, sat for hours, swam for a little while and lounged for awhile longer. On the way back Brandon let me give his motorbike a spin. I've never driven a motorbike before and it was pretty fun. Except when it started to rain. Hard. So we lounged under a shelter for another hour until the rain let up a bit and then made our way home. That's what Sunday afternoons are all about. I think I'm on my way to becoming a professional lounger. If there's ever a perfect time and place to fulfill this dream, it's got to be Thailand on a Sunday afternoon.
A few other lounging pictures posted under the photo archive link "Huay Teun Tao Reservoir."

More Teacher Evaluations

2008-09-19T19:29:00.003+07:00

"Plz give me in a god grade. I'm proud with you, thank you very much!" (I don't know what a god grade is but it sounds important.)
"Miss U and Love U" (They didn't learn to say U instead of you from this English teacher.)
"Good job for a first teach"
"Mia...I love you." (This one made me laugh the hardest)
"If possible please speak louder it will be very well" (Ah! Finally some criticism!)
"Thank you very much. Teach speak noisy" (Damn)
"Aj. Mia is a good teacher. I like Aj. Mia. I want to learn English with Aj. Mia in term II" (They love saying my name because to them, they are calling me wife.)
"I want grade B. code 5006102XX" (He actually crossed out the last two numbers when he realized that the English Dept would see this and could potentially track him down.)
"Ajarn Mai is the best teacher in my opinion." (I think there is an Ajarn Mai in the department, and she probably is the best teacher. I wasn't offended.)
"Thank you very much for this section Aj Mia, you are perfectly teacher. Thank you :) FIGHTING!!!" (Their word for fighting is like the equivalent of "you go girl!" It sounds so aggressive and threatening when translated.)

I'm going to miss all these boogers!

End of the Semester

2008-09-18T10:11:00.003+07:00

It was a strange feeling in class today knowing that I had to tie up all loose ends, that I wouldn't be able to say "next time." I had to get everything done today in their last class, including prepare them for the final exam. I was a little sad letting them all go at the end of the hour. I had several students stick around just to say thank you. Other students asked for my phone number, which I didn't give out. I've heard of other teachers giving out their number to students, only to get strange calls at odd hours. No thanks. Email is better for that kind of thing. I did appreciate all the thanks and goodbyes and I'll miss you's. Some of them wanted to know what classes I'll be teaching next semester, and when I said I probably won't have my schedule for another two weeks, they looked utterly disappointed. I'm going to go ahead and assume it's because they want to enroll in my class, not avoid it.

Teacher evaluations. When I taught a course in undergrad, I took all of the comments and criticisms to heart. My students here didn't really give me anything to work with. Half of them rated me highest on every single item on the survey. Some of the comments include the following:
"LOVE LOVE LOVE teacher"
"I love you teacher"
"Teacher I love you a lot"
"Very very very good teacher"
and the somewhat creepy, "We'll never learn alone."

So to summarize my performance review: I'm awesome and adored and we'll never learn alone. I can live with that. I can't wait to see what my other classes will come up with tomorrow.

Mai Pen Rai

2008-09-17T17:54:00.003+07:00

The all important "mai pen rai" attitude means that you don't worry about things that don't matter. Some people take it to the extreme and pull a mai pen rai after they get in a motorbike accident that was someone else's fault and drive away without yelling at the person or even getting their information. Mai pen rai. You hear it all the time and it really makes the world a better place. It's also a way to say you're welcome, no problem, don't worry, my pleasure, etc. Pretty handy.

My mai pen rai moment of today:
I got a massage this morning at Wat Suan Dok, which is the best temple for a few reasons, three of which include Pun Pun restaurant, the best view of Doi Suthep, and the greatest (and most inexpensive) massage place in Chiang Mai. 100 Baht per hour is about $3. Go ahead, hate me for a few minutes, then say mai pen rai. You'll feel better. Anyway, I've been to the place quite a few times and I'm lucky enough to have the same masseuse. I think we made a connection on my first visit because ever since then it's like I walk in and there's an unspoken agreement that she's my gal. Our relationship is blossoming to the point where we don't need to talk during it, I like her style, she knows my needs, she doesn't have to tell me when to flip over, she doesn't kick me out right after and she gives me a cup of tea before hitting the road. Best relationship I've ever had.

I digress. Most Thai massages start at the feet, then move to the legs and arms, then back and neck and head. Some fancy places wash your feet before the massage; this and most other places in the price range do not. I'd been walking around in sandals so I don't know what condition my feet were in.

She massages my dirty feet with her hands. She says mai pen rai.

She massages my dirty feet with her hands and 45 minutes later massages my face with those same hands. I say mai pen rai.

It works out in the end.

Spirit Houses

2008-09-17T17:14:00.002+07:00

For just about every building, there is a mini building. These are spirit houses, and their purpose is to keep away bad spirits from the buildings. This one in front of my apartment keeps me safe while I sleep. My landlady makes an offering to the spirit house each morning. So when I step outside to go to work, I see a new array of gifts for the spirit gods. Candles, incense, fruit, pre-packaged baked goods from 7-11, even drinks. The nicest part is that she opens the bottle of orange soda or whatever and puts a straw in it. The spirit gods must appreciate convenience. They might be thirsty after warding off some evil and need a drink stat! I walked by a new restaurant that opened recently near my apartment, and they had a monk come out and bless the place and shoo any evil spirits. Spirits are a big deal, and asking a Thai person if they believe in spirits or not may confuse them because it's not a question at all. Of course they do. Land for sale or apartments for rent will go untouched if there are bad spirits, and the Thai people have a special way of asking to be sure. I don't know all the secrets about it, but my biggest question is where do all the fruit and offerings and orange soda go at the end of the day?? Does someone take it? Do the animals get to it? I've asked around and haven't found an answer. Until someone tells me, I'm going to assume that's where my security guard gets his caffeine kick to stay up all night. Although, I haven't had any bad spirits come my way...

Love My Gym

2008-09-16T14:04:00.007+07:00

There are lots of reasons why I love my gym. First of all, they don't open until 10am, like most places in Chiang Mai. The mentality around here is, "If it's before 10, what the heck are you doing out of bed already?" When I became a member a few months ago, they had me sign the paperwork and once I was all set, I went to work out. When I was leaving that same day, they said they needed to take my picture for my ID card. Super. They couldn't do that before I got all sweaty and red in the face? My ID photo is really attractive by the way.

Look closely at this photo (click to enlarge). Please notice the "Determination" poster. There are dozens of these around the gym. This particular one is of three women circa 1982 in spandex and strategically ripped terrycloth outfits. One of the ladies' shirts says WEAT - I'm assuming it's supposed to say SWEAT, you just can't see the S behind her chest. If you look in the background, you can see another poster of a giant white man body builder. I'm sorry, but don't you think it's a little condescending to put a giant muscle man poster in a room full of little Thai people who usually spend their workout time playing ping pong? (See also the ping pong table in the mirror.) It's like a slap in the face saying, "You will never look like this guy."

Here is a better example of these posters. The caption is "Body Heat." This is what hangs two feet in front of your face while you're on the treadmill. Is this supposed to be like the hang the carrot on a string in front of the donkey trick? I so wanted to take a picture of every single poster so you could laugh with me but I needed to be inconspicuous in taking these photos. No one wants to look like the farang pervert who's obsessed with motivational/erotic posters. Ironically, this gym is not the House of Male (see previous post), although I'm sure they have similar decor. My favorite poster this week is one that was in a crowded spot so I didn't get a photo, but it's of a ripped muscle dude wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, which are sliding half way down his buns as to suggest he's about to get naked with a caption that says "Built in the USA." Please take my word for it.

And of course, the tribute to the King on your way out, complete with what seems to be a frame of foil yogurt lids. Nothing makes me want to pump some iron like some greased-up people from the 80's and the King of this great country.

Gender Segregation

2008-09-14T18:44:00.002+07:00

I wonder if women can join this gym? I also wonder if the translation they were going for was something more macho like Man's House.

My Breakfast Lady and Rapping Students

2008-09-12T18:28:00.003+07:00

The two things that made my day:
1. My breakfast lady. She sells pork skewers and sticky rice on the street across from my apartment, and I usually stop over and buy some from her before going to work. She is out there cooking as early as 7am. Don't knock pork and rice for breakfast until you try it. Anyway, I stopped by and our encounters are usually awkward because she asks me questions in Thai and it takes me forever to answer. We try to small talk and I use some English words that she doesn't understand, so there's a lot of hand gesturing and laughing and smiling going on between us. Today she was out of sticky rice. I said that's ok and I ordered some pork from her. Then she said she was going to get some more and it would take 5 minutes. I figured since she was going to get a new batch, I'd wait around. I said ok. (All of this is in Thai, and was a much longer conversation than needed due to my inadequate Thai skills.) So she hops on her motorbike and rides down the street wearing her hat and apron. I stand and wait, wondering where she goes to buy sticky rice at 7:30 in the morning. She comes back seemingly empty handed. I was a little disappointed but she hopped off the bike and hands me one serving of sticky rice in a bag. She went all out of her way just so I could have sticky rice! I thought she was stocking up, but she made a special trip just for me; I couldn't believe it. There was another Thai woman standing right there and my breakfast lady said under her breath to the woman, "pen ajaan...maw chaw." ("She's a professor at CMU.") Talk about special treatment! Tomorrow I'm bringing her chocolate for her nice gesture.

2. Two of my young female students did a presentation on "How to become a rapper." It was so funny watching these two tiny, perky young ladies give advice to the class on how to throw down mad hip hop rhymes. I loved it. At the end of the presentation, they wanted to give a rapping demonstration, so they turned their backs to the audience, put on obnoxious diamond bling necklaces, and turned around and started shouting "yo yo yo! man! yeah! check! check it!" Then they rapped something like "gimme gimme....teacher....gimme gimme...A! A!" I did give them an A. It was spectacular.

Tigers

2008-09-10T18:47:00.003+07:00

On our day off from teaching, we went to Mae Rim, a town outside of Chiang Mai to play with tigers. This is a touristy place where you get to eat at a nice little restaurant overlooking a park full of tigers of all sizes. Then we got to get into the cages and play along with them. It only cost me 300 baht and two fingers. Just kidding. The four tigers we played with were about 5 months old and were pretty massive for infant kitties. Their eyes were haunting and their fur was rough and their paws were squishy but strong. That's what I remember for the most part. It was a pretty short play date, but I bonded with one of the tigers. Not something I normally do on a first date, but I whispered nice things into his ear:
See pictures on the link under photo archive and video uploading soon.

More Goofballs

2008-09-09T22:05:00.002+07:00

Some of my students think they are pretty funny. Today they had to give presentations on a topic related to health, and one group of guys did an informational presentation on prostate cancer. One of the requirements for the presentation was a visual aid. (You can see where this is going). They had printed out a few handouts for the class to pass around which included anatomy of the male genitalia as they talked about the risks and prevention strategies of prostate cancer in men. It didn't really phase the class at all, no one was being immature and giggling, which was actually pretty surprising. Here is the best part: they gave me my own handout for the presentation and after they finished, they went back to their seats. As they passed me, I returned the handout back to them and they all had big smiles on their faces and said, "You can keep it, teacher." I said with an eyebrow raised, "No thanks. I don't really think I need to keep it." That's when the class busted out laughing. I laugh about it now too. I am really going to miss those goofballs when the semester is over.

Don't Judge Me On My Ads

2008-09-08T18:11:00.003+07:00

Perhaps you noticed I have ads on my blog now. I hope they're not too annoying, but I just noticed a big ad at the bottom for the Scientology Channel....? I do not choose the ads. They are random. I swear. Don't judge.

SAT's

2008-09-08T17:46:00.002+07:00

I'm spending three days a week tutoring two or three high school girls on taking the SAT's so they can go to college in America or Europe. It's a nice change to teach something that actually stimulates my brain a little bit. It was kind of crazy how I got the job. A Thai woman who works in the English Department with me (though I hadn't met her yet at that point) called my cell phone and just started talking away and I said "yes" like I knew what she was saying, but she was really asking me if I can commit to this job. (I would have said yes anyway, she didn't con me into anything). So on my first day I show up to the international tutoring school right after teaching a full day at the university. I spent the day speaking slow and charading everything out to help the beginner English students understand what the hell is going on in class. I had to yank myself out of that mode with these students. I walk in the little classroom and they are sitting there waiting for me to start. I have no idea what their skill level is, so I talk slowly and clearly and ask them to tell me about themselves. They started talking and they are nearly fluent! I was so happy! Like a breath of fresh air. I felt like they were my instant friends. It's really funny how a language barrier can put such a distance between people.

I started the class, but here's the catch. I took the SAT's about 8 years ago. The test is different now. They've added extra sections and the scoring system is different. When the coordinator woman called me she said that one of the students got a 1500 the last time she took the test and wanted a better score. I about pissed myself until I realized that the test is out of 2400 now, not 1600. Am I qualified to be teaching them this? Not sure, but I do enjoy putting the extra time in to learn the teaching material and doing the endless practice questions on my own. My Thai nickname should be Nerd.

After the two hour class, the coordinator woman who called me and gave me the job was there in the office and she asked me how things went, paid me, and had me work on some paperwork. As I was leaving, this coordinator woman was talking with one of my students and her mom. I politely interrupted and asked if there was anything else she needed. She said, "No, I'm just going to ask this student here what she thought of you and your teaching and then I will call you and let you know." Yep. I looked back at her and then at the student and her mom and smiled and said, "Ok, then. Have a nice night!"

Very blunt = Very Thai = Very awkward for me

HK or Bust

2008-09-06T16:59:00.002+07:00

P&P travel is really the best travel agency in Chiang Mai. I found out about it through word of mouth; others have nice things to say and I wholeheartedly concur. They were friendly and patient with my endless phone calls checking flights and seats and dates, and when I stopped in today they had my whole itinerary ready for me and left me saying, "That's it? That was way too easy...easy as pie...mmm pie." I went across the street for coffee and apple pie. If you seek a travel agency while in Chiang Mai, use P&P. And go to JJ's Cafe for pie. Yum.

Point being, I am so excited to be all set to go to Hong Kong to visit Doug and Mare in a few weeks. Can't wait!

On Grades

2008-09-05T20:47:00.002+07:00

It's grade season for Thai students and I try to think of appropriate ways to let students know what their progress is as the semester comes to an end. The first time I handed back an assignment I put their scores and comments on individual slips of paper and handed them back to the students. Doing this was a total waste of time. Here I thought I was doing them a favor by keeping their scores private. Privacy is nothing here. They spent more time exchanging slips of paper with their grades than they did contemplating their own score. It was like we were all eating together at a Chinese restaurant and we were all looking at each other's fortune cookies. Oohh! What does yours say?? I don't understand it. My teachers and professors came up with ways to keep my grades completely discreet using ID number codes, cover sheets, online passwords. Today I had the spreadsheet with grades for the students for them to see at the end of class. They truly don't care that their name and grades are in plain sight for everyone. It was on a single piece of paper and by the end of class I had 35 kids crowded around me trying to see the page, each copying down their own scores and then the scores of all their friends. One of the students said, "Maybe you can put this on the overhead?" My goodness I would be mortified to have my grades posted on an overhead projector.

They just think about grades differently. They are all in each other's business and they think of it more like winning lottery numbers than anything that's actually correlated with their skill or work put in. I had two students ask me after class, "So you give me?" "Give you what?," I asked. "Grade A for semester?" "If you do well on your presentation and your final, your score might be high enough for an A..." "Give me A!" "If you practice your presentation this weekend and then study hard for the final exam and you should be fine." "You will be really nice to give me A, maybe a little bit nice and you give me B. Anything C or better is good for me." Yes, because it all depends on how nice I am. I sometimes forget these are college students. If I went to a professor and asked them to be nice and give me an A... it's just too absurd to even think of what would happen. I shooed these two students out of the classroom as they shuffled backward into the hallway smiling and saying, "A! A! Ok? Ok? A for me!"

Never a dull moment.

Child Performers

2008-09-03T18:07:00.002+07:00

There are a couple of kids who perform at the markets and a part of me admires their talent, and another part of me gets angry at their parents standing by watching their kid make an extra buck or two for them. Motives aside, they are fun to watch. My favorite is this boy who plays a large canvas covered drum in an ensemble of other percussionists and by the initial look of it, it really seems like he does not want to be there. He looks bored and irritated like he's saying in his mind, "but daaaaad, I want to go home and watch pokemon!" The bizarre thing is, he looks so nonchalant about what he's doing, but he's got an amazing talent with the drums. He swings around these drumsticks with his gangly limbs without a care in the world, like he could accidentally lose his grip and send one flying into the crowd, but he never ever loses his rhythm. Some parts he looks like he could have fallen over tripping on his own feet, but he didn't miss a beat. They were complicated rhythms too! It was a sight to see. It made me giggle uncontrollably.

The other girl is gorgeous and she does traditional dance. She is surrounded by flower petals on the ground as people pass by. Her makeup and hair is done like a little pageant girl, and her mom has got her finger on the CD player behind her. She's really talented and holds a smile and dances with the maturity of a person five times her age. I did see a little diva in her when I walked by and she shot her mom a piercing look and said something in Thai and her mom quickly obeyed and turned the music up. She turned back to the crowd with a lovely smile. Cute as a button, demanding as a child star.

Mini Pork Balls

2008-09-02T19:01:00.003+07:00

...or in other words, the most bizarre moment of my weekend. After a night out, there are vehicles pulled over on the side of the road that are waiting to feed the bar goers after close. They have all those post beer snacks you crave like dried squid, noodles and sauce, or black bean filled pastries. Not the typical food I go after at the end of the night, but since there were no burritos or greasy hash browns and pancakes in sight, I went for the black bean pastries. As we're ordering our food from this man in the back of his pick up truck, a van pulls up right next to me standing there and I can feel the heat of the engine on my back. At the same moment, I'm bombarded by the blasting pop sensation Madonna, singing "Like a Virgin" over the van's top notch stereo system. I turn around and my eyes were assaulted by this bubble of pink:
I wish you could see the driver. You can hardly see the side of her face in the photo. She was in a hot pink wig, in a hot pink dress, and a big rosy smile and glitter everywhere. She was singing along with Madonna and she stopped to order some black bean pastries as well. I wish I could see my own face doing a double-triple take, trying to follow the conversation between the guy in the back of the truck and her bubbly self. This didn't really phase me so much until I got home and looked at my pictures. I now just noticed the "mini pork balls" on the van. This honestly didn't seem so weird at the time, but the more I think about it, the stranger the whole situation was. That's what seems to happen here, when you take these goofy moments and put them into context with what you're used to, it gets really bizarre really quick. I like it.

Oh and remember that thing that happens here when you want something, ask a silent wish to yourself, and your wish is instantly granted? I was walking home after the mini pork balls van incident thinking to myself how it's kind of a bummer to walk a mile home at the end of the night and (like magic) a friend appears on his motorbike and gives me a lift home. Same thing happened again yesterday while walking home with a carton of melting ice cream and I think to myself, wow if I don't get home soon this is going to be a mess! I hear a "hey!" that more resembles a bark and it's another friend pulled over ready to give me a ride home. I run into someone I know every time I go out in public; it's getting to be ridiculous, especially with over 175,000 people living in this city. I don't understand it, but I enjoy it.

I Have a Magic Cell Phone

2008-08-30T16:05:00.002+07:00

Every time it rings it brings me good things. For example in the last two hours:
Private tutoring job, helping 4 students prep for SATs, pays very well, one block from my apartment...confirmed.
"Would you like a cello student at the music school two blocks away from your apartment?" "Uh...yes please!"
Text message: 'Wine and cheese party tonight?' Sweet Dionysus, someone is reading my mind. (See previous post on being a cheese pervert.)

Back to Life

2008-08-29T18:28:00.002+07:00

After a rough week, I'm glad to be back in the normal swing of things for the most part. If I was a doctor, my self-diagnosis would be a case of Dengue with a side of rash and a rigorous treatment schedule of water, word puzzles and my bed. A word on Dengue: don't ever get it. Really. Wear bug spray like a shield that protects you from eye-socket headaches and muscle aches and endless sleepless nights and exhausting days. I'm one of the lucky ones too; some people take weeks to recover. My consolation prize? A nice rash that is still lingering today to remind me of those itchy chicken pox willpower days. I catch myself itching like a 5 year old in a whiny laughter.

I had to cancel some classes and my students were concerned and sweet. They didn't mind missing a class and they asked how I was feeling today. I consolidated two days worth of lessons into one class period today and realized I only have about three more days of lecturing before they take over with their final presentations and then it's the end of the semester. I can't believe I'm already on the last leg of semester one. I just got here. I swear.

Not much else has happened over the last week besides watching crappy made-for-TV movies in English and Thai soap operas. I did manage to somehow run into someone I know while on every single rare trip out to get food. How is it that I felt too weak to go out and buy food, but not too sick to feel hungry? And how is it that you are always found by people you know when you are sick and don't want to be seen? It's the magic of Chiang Mai. In the course of these run-ins with friends I have an invitation to play tango music for the King's birthday celebration, another possible mountain biking trip, and a new tutoring job that starts next week. Actually kind of productive for doing nothing but sitting around all week.

After being cooped up for so long I am more anxious than ever for a trip out of the city. I might just hop on a bus this weekend and go.... maybe I have an internal clock for American holidays - Happy Labor Day, that bittersweet last weekend of summer. My summer is only getting nicer from here.

Not Funny Anymore

2008-08-24T18:07:00.002+07:00

Sometimes I would joke about all the mosquito bites on my legs and ask the little buggers, "Which one of you is going to give me Dengue?"

It's not funny anymore because I just might have Dengue Fever. Perhaps some hospital bed blogging is in my near future? Hopefully not. Cross your fingers for me.

Weird Things

2008-08-22T19:43:00.003+07:00

...That aren't weird to me anymore:
1. Drinking cold coffee
2. Eating sticky rice out of a plastic bag with your hands
3. Using a spoon more than a fork, and I haven't used a knife in months
4. Corn for dessert (I have yet to have it with sprinkles and gummy bears, though)
5. Rice or noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
6. Men wearing headbands and carrying man-purses (I adore this, actually)
7. Thai Elvis impersonator performing weekly at the mall cafeteria
8. Drinks and shakes served in plastic bags with a straw
9. Stray dogs, getting to know the mean ones vs. the nice ones in my neighborhood
10. Extra intestines: 5 baht
11. Monks chatting on cell phones
12. Thai girls blocking the sun's rays so they don't get tan
13. Vespa gangs, a rainbow of different colored Vespas speeding by with their sputtering motors
14. Mystery meatballs
15. Motorbikers holding umbrellas while driving in the rain
16. Walking, driving, everything on the left side
17. Badminton and ping pong are America's baseball and football
18. Mullets
19. Inappropriate t-shirts in English
20. No stress, no worries...about anything. Ever.

Some Days You Just Want Your Dog

2008-08-20T21:12:00.003+07:00

I found an old memory card in the bottom of a bag and popped in the old camera and there was my dog Willie. This is him mid-doggy-shake. I do wish I could chill out with him on the couch eating crackers and good cheese watching Price is Right (with Bob Barker, of course). Yes, that would be nice. Speaking of cheese, it's hard to find here, and when you do find it, the good stuff costs you an arm and a leg. I caught myself (again, not the first time) staring at the small cheese selection at the grocery store longingly, picking up a few wedges, giving them a good squeeze and sometimes even a sniff. Call me a cheese pervert, I don't care who knows it. I'd have Trader Joe's baby right now for a good chunk of brie.

Reunited

2008-08-18T13:52:00.002+07:00

...and it feels so good. One of the hardest goodbyes I had to say when I left the states was to my cello. I braced myself for a long period of time not being able to play. Turns out the stars aligned just right because the wait is over. People living in Chiang Mai tend to agree that this whole "coincidences" or "things happening for a reason" seems to occur at a strangely high rate here. It's almost as if you make a wish to yourself and then the next day someone comes up to you and grants you your wish. Happens all the time. It almost doesn't surprise me anymore.

I was walking to work one morning last week after a long night of listening to cello music and wishing I could play. (You think I'm making that last part up when you hear the rest of the story, but I swear to you I was in the midst of a cello withdrawal). My coworker (whom I've talked to for maybe 30 seconds three weeks prior) honks his motorbike at me and waves me over for a ride. I take a moment to even recognize him and accept the offer. We start talking and grab a coffee on campus and then he tells me the other schools he teaches at. I don't recognize any of them, and I assume he teaches English, but I ask what he teaches anyway. "Guitar and cello," he says. I stopped dead in my tracks and say "I play the cello!" He stops dead in his tracks and says, "I'm just a beginner teaching other beginners and I need a teacher!" The conversation continued as we kept topping each other with excitement and other good news. I say I've taught lessons before and I could teach him, but I don't have a cello. "I just bought a cello and you can use it anytime you want! AND I can introduce you to the music schools who are in desperate need of a cello teacher." I kid you not, it just gets better and better. Turns out his roommate plays the piano and has also been looking for a cellist to play with. All of my wishes were just handed to me on a silver platter. Moral of the story: all good things will come when you hop on the back of a stranger's motorbike. Ok maybe not something that you'd write a children's book about, but it's pretty neat how things like this happen.

What makes this so extraordinary is the sheer lack of cellists and orchestras in Chiang Mai. I feel like I won the lottery. So today I went to his house, got to play his cello (it was a load off my shoulders the instant I had it in my arms) and gave him his first lesson. I also met his roommate and we just hung out on the floor listening to pieces in his extensive music library. Classical music has not been a conversation piece of mine for what feels like an eternity, so in a strange way I felt like I was home.

We (the pianist and I) have our first concert date set, I have my first private student, a practice space and cello to use whenever I want, I am meeting the director of a music school for lunch this week, and I will hopefully have more students soon. Does it get any better? Probably not.

Blog Updates (Part Deux)

2008-08-17T16:27:00.002+07:00

Speaking of technology, I've added a search bar that will not only search my blog, but also my favorite Chiang Mai websites. So if you're planning on traveling through Chiang Mai, living in Chiang Mai, or just want to learn something new today, have a go. The whole purpose of this blog is to not only share my crazy adventures, but hopefully be a resource for those who are interested in visiting, living, or teaching in Thailand. At best, I hope it's a place that might inspire or awaken the traveler and explorer in you, whether it's half-way across the world or in your own backyard.

Techonology

2008-08-17T16:19:00.002+07:00

There are too many things that I love about this computer store. The missing letter? The bundle of power lines? Or the array of technology (circa 1980) connected across the globe? Can't decide, but I bet the helpdesk people that came to fix my internet a couple of months ago work at this place. Without a doubt.

Tai Chi

2008-08-16T17:46:00.004+07:00

I just completed a Tai Chi class here in Chiang Mai, and according to my calculations, I'm now a ninja. It was a series of one-hour lessons, just about every day for two weeks. I learned the 24 form, and I plan on continuing to practice. I'm finding that all these different activities I've been getting into really seem to compliment each other: yoga, meditation, tai chi...

The three other people in the class didn't get through all 24 forms, so I think we're going to meet to practice a couple times per week and the instructor appointed me to teach them the rest. Kind of a cool feeling. They were all really encouraging and supportive, and the instructor was amazing. Her name is "gai" which is the same word for chicken, and she would always remind us of that. "Gai, like chicken," she'd say. She has an incredible presence and balance about her, and her eyes will peer directly into your soul. Even in the picture she manages to have a perfect halo around her...? That's just how she works. To watch her practice Tai Chi is probably the closest that I've ever been to being hypnotized. Some of my favorite moments in Chiang Mai have been in her studio over the last two weeks. The area where we practice is outdoors under a tin roof on a concrete floor surrounded by a small garden and fountains. The first class was at night and there was an incredible storm and the floor ended up flooding, so we were practicing barefoot in a pool of water under the rain crashing on the roof. The last class was this morning and it was the most beautiful morning in weeks; the temperature was cool and the sun was out. Kind of symbolic, I guess. When she asked me to go through the full 24 forms right next to her, it was a feeling of synchrony like I've never felt before. We were all a bit sad to leave our last class, but I'm definitely taking everything I've learned to heart, ninja style.

Favorite Student Award

2008-08-15T19:02:00.003+07:00

I could never choose a favorite student, just like a mother could never choose her favorite child. Right. My mom told me I was her favorite and she doesn't care who knows it. It was in a dream I had last week but it's probably true. I have about 130 students total, and I do have it narrowed down to a top five, just based on silly mannerisms they have in class.

Fifth place award: Ok, so it's not just one student, but a group of them. Today I was so fed up with the boring curriculum so I came up with an activity where they get to map out notes on a big piece of poster paper as a group. I gave each of the groups a poster and a marker to go to town. As I should have expected, about half of the students were already armed with their own pouch of markers in every color imaginable. Thai students will never hesitate to make homework more colorful. So this award goes to them and their hello kitty pouches and markers. Honorable mention to the student who drew two zit-faced cartoon characters on the poster (the article topic was 'acne treatment').

Fourth place award: I have a freshman dentistry student in my sophomore/junior English class. He is more advanced than the rest by far. The older kids use him by saying their question to him in Thai and then he asks me in English. He translates my answer back in to Thai for them. It's a nice system we have going. Anyway, he is the only one who laughs at my jokes, and this catches me off-guard because every once in awhile I say stupid things just to amuse myself and assume no one will catch my sarcasm. In my afternoon class, the last class of the day, no one was responding and I'm basically talking to myself up there and as I'm writing on the board I half sing to myself, "I would kill for a nap right now..." and I hear, "me too" from behind me. Whoops.

Third place award: I like to make eye contact with as many students as possible when talking. I sometimes play a game to see how long I can hold someone's gaze and then move to the next person. I would think it would hold their attention because it seems like I'm talking to each individual with actual intention. Maybe it just freaks them out; either way I don't care. This female student smiles a big braces smile and nods furiously when I make eye contact with her. I will look away and she stops, I look back and nodding. She wants me to see that she's listening. I love it. I try and keep my eyes on her and the nodding keeps going in intervals, nodding, nodding, then it almost seems like she nods harder as if to say, "I get it! Stop staring at me!" It's sweet, really.

Second place award: A boy that sits in the back corner of the class everyday would come off as a student who couldn't care less to be there, but he does this odd thing where he sits on the edge of his seat and stares at me with big eyes and a big smile. I wonder if he's playing my game with the third place winner. I wonder if he's making fun of me or if he's genuinely interested in the lectures. I will not let it freak me out... (it does a little). If he's really interested, then he gets the award for most enthusiastic. If he's mocking me, then he gets the award for beating me at my own game. A winner, nonetheless.

First place award: I love this student for one reason, and he keeps enforcing this every class. Any and every time I explain the next activity or the next in-class assignment, he does the same thing. He gives a big groan from the gut and it turns into a sigh that rivals a Napoleon Dynamite while shaking his head, and sometimes for extra dramatic effect lets his head fall into his hands in despair. If I didn't know any better, I would think that a voice in his head told him the world was about to end. Now it's not that these activities and assignments are awful. I used to get annoyed by his reaction, but now I just see that he's doing this to let everyone in the class and myself know that he understands the words I am saying, while my words go over the heads of most others. This once-irritating-response is now a source of some sick sort of joy I get out of assigning work. I even catch myself giving instructions to the class and then looking over to him, anxious for his reaction. Love it.

Chiang Mai Restaurants, Too Clever

2008-08-14T23:47:00.003+07:00

Restaurants and bars in Chiang Mai just seem to have the best names: Not sure which one gets first place so far, Thaitanic or this one:

Moat

2008-08-14T22:28:00.004+07:00

Possibly the one word I get my chops busted the most for because of my Minnesotan accent: Moat. The moat and Doi Suthep are the two things that have given me my geographical bearings in Chiang Mai since I arrived here. You can see Doi Suthep mountain from just about anywhere in the city, and it helps me know where West is. The moat circles, or squares rather, the old city. It has four walls, making a nice square mile of a city. There are five gates around the moat. The gates tend to be great meeting places, or good locations to use for taxi destinations. Each gate is in it's own distinct neighborhood, and usually has a market nearby. The moat itself is really quite beautiful. Especially at night. During the day, the water is pretty murky brown, but all the trees around make up for that. A note about the trees: someone has stapled little orchid plants to just about every tree surrounding the moat, and they all seem to be surviving just fine. It's always nice to be walking along and have orchids staring back at you at eye-level. Inside the moat are endless guest houses, temples, restaurants, bars, shops, etc. All jam packed with little soi's (alleys connected to a main road).

The moat is interesting because of the way traffic works around it. There is a road on the outer moat and a road on the inner moat; both of these roads are one way traffic. There are no stoplights. The outer moat traffic runs clockwise, and the inner moat runs counterclockwise. There are only a handful of places where you can bridge between the inner and outer moat, including the five gates. So depending where you are, you might have to drive around a corner of the moat away from your destination just to be able to turn around and go in your desired direction. I'd love to see it from a birds eye view, but you can probably imagine how traffic runs like a river. It seems to work quite nicely, except when you want to cross the street.

The moat is going to be a key reason why Songkran will be such a riot in April. Songkran is the water festival, celebrating the coming of the hot season. Basically it's a week-long water fight. People splash each other with buckets of water, people get splashed. Kids on the back of motorbikes spray waterguns at other traffic or pedestrians. Chiang Mai is the perfect place for this festival because of the moat. Other places you have to find a source of water, but here, people literally jump in to get their ammo. Can't wait to see that.

I have a little moat that I get to enjoy right outside my apartment. The thing I love most about it is that the chubby girl statue actually has water shooting out of her rear end. Not sure what that's about, but it makes me smile when they have the fountain running, that's for sure.

Blog Updates

2008-08-13T14:48:00.005+07:00

I wanted to let you know about a few little changes and updates to the blog. First of all, the video of my students is posted and you can view that in the video archive below. The video is pretty poor quality, especially the sound, so sorry about that. I hope you can see what I meant in my post about my student's presentations when I said they are pretty hard to understand, but still entertaining. Please notice the second half of the video; the students are dancing to a cell phone ring tone and how the music stops and they stop dancing and it is oh-so-awkward. Personally, my favorite part of the video.

I've shortened the list of links in the Photo Archive, just to the six most recent. I continuously update the "Out with Friends" and the "Chiang Mai in B&W" albums, which is why they are still on the list. The rest of the albums are not gone forever, you can still view the older ones by clicking on the "All Photo Albums" link. Hey, I understand if you want to spend your workday looking at hundreds of photos because you miss my pretty face. I don't judge.

Finally, I've added a list of blogs that I enjoy, and I think you will too. Gaelle's blog is in French, so if you want to brush up on your francais, or just look at some great pictures, have a look. She is living in Chiang Mai as well, and we are now friends because she found my blog a couple months ago and then we went on a blind date for lunch and it's been magical ever since. The Brigg is a blog by my friend Brigham who is basically traveling the world, living in India at the moment, and sharing his adventures with only the humor and charm that he can. Finally, Eli Ratner is a good friend and local (Twin Cities) band you should definitely check out. You could spend your workday listening to good music and browsing my photos. What a deal!

Last note of today, I walked by a restaurant this morning called.... Thaitanic. It even had a giant poster of the ship (pre-iceberg) out front. How brilliant.

Mother's Day

2008-08-12T17:05:00.002+07:00

Today is Mother's Day in Thailand. It's a national holiday so there is no school, the banks are closed, (most places are closed) and mothers with their children are running around the city together. They have tributes to mother's on TV (for hours and hours) and there are restaurants and retailers all over the place that have specials for moms. I even saw a fancy restaurant where moms get to eat for free today.

It was kind of like being Jewish on Christmas (not that I don't celebrate mother's day, just that I can't right now), so I went to go see a movie with all the other Jewish people (just kidding). Last time I went to the movie I was totally blown away because first of all, you have assigned seats. When you buy your ticket, you choose on a screen where you want to sit. Now I was one of a dozen people who went to see this movie, so she shows me a screen of hundreds of empty seats and asked me where I would like to sit...? Uh, anywhere is fine...and she asks me to point to one. Ok. So I go in and sit down at my seat and just as a couple of women are trotting through my row (I thought I chose an empty row), I start to gather my things so they can scoot past me. Nope. They sit down in the seat right next to me. This boggles my mind. There are a million empty seats and you want the one that shares my armrest? Why? I kid you not, there were 12 people in the theater, and there we were, an awkward group of three sitting together. I will never understand this.

Needless to say, I learned my lesson and today I bought my ticket right as the movie was starting and chose an empty row toward the front. Hey, I'm an American and I need space to enjoy my movie. Ha.

Happy second Mother's Day, mom. I truly wish you were here to celebrate. Seeing all these moms and daughters around makes me miss you even more than I already do. Two Mother's Days in a year isn't enough.

Cops in Thailand

2008-08-08T16:56:00.002+07:00

They don't do much. That's in no way an insult to their character, it's just the nature of their job. They don't need to do much. I have never seen a situation where a police officer had to intervene. I have seen no violence here, and the only people who are raising their voices and creating a scene and getting angry are tourists, sadly. I think the cops are pretty bored. I also think that they think that they are kind of a big deal. I can tell that because they drive wicked motorcycles. These motorcycles are so bitchin' that the cops could be wearing pink lace uniforms and still look like badasses. Speaking of uniforms, they wear tight dark green pants and a military top with pins and buttons (pins and buttons make you a big deal, naturally) and knee-high combat boots with their pants tucked in.

I was walking home from work today and I was crossing an intersection that I've crossed a hundred times, I know when and how the lights change. A cop rides his bike over to where I'm waiting on the curb, parks it, and says something to me in Thai. Then he walks into the street and holds his hand up for traffic to stop. I can't believe he's going to stop traffic so I can cross the street! How nice, but I'm a patient person. I can wait another half a minute. I then had to try and not laugh because it was nothing more than a sad attempt to try and control traffic. He held his hand out to stop them. No one stopped. They whizzed by like a herd of bats out of hell. The cop realized no one was obeying him, so he changed his hand gesture to say "ok...you can pass, and you, and you..." Then when the light changed and I was able to cross, the cop graciously gave me permission to go. Thanks, guy. He had good intentions either way.

I heard that traffic cops go home at 7pm. I am starting to notice a difference in traffic at 6:55pm and 7:05pm. Traffic in general is very different from the states. Red lights are a suggestion, "No U-turn" signs are just a joke, pedestrians have no right-of-way. Ever. The white lines separating the lanes might as well not exist. 90 percent of the time, a vehicle with 4 wheels will have two wheels on either side of the white dashes. They say traffic runs like a river here, and you can definitely see that. You can't think about it too much, never get aggravated, just go with the flow.

Back to the cops. The only beef I have with this one in particular is the guy who works at the weekend market near my apartment. I noticed him a few weeks ago, and he now literally drives me crazy. One day I was minding my own business, strolling around the market, sitting down to eat some food. I keep hearing this screaming whistle. It was blown every 5 seconds, and 5 consecutive screams. Wait 5 seconds, whistle again. It never stopped. Then I looked at the source of this awful noise and saw a cop in uniform, just strolling around like I was. Only he had a whistle. He was blowing it for no apparent reason. I think he just wanted people to know he was there. He was not directing traffic. He was not addressing any problems. Look at me! I'm a big deal and I'm here to let you know it! Why. Why. Why. Every night, the same thing. I should buy a whistle and blow it like a madwoman and pretending like it's just a normal thing to do at the market and see if he thinks I'm a big deal too.

Why I Love My Students

2008-08-07T20:00:00.005+07:00

They absolutely crack me up. The last couple of days the students had to do role-plays of their own TV show. They had to choose real characters (most students were either Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, or Brittany Spears) and perform a six-minute skit. I loved every second of it. I was completely surprised at how outspoken they became in these performances. Thai students are known to be incredibly shy.

Granted, I could not understand most of what was being said, but I didn't care. They were totally into it and I can tell they spent a lot of time practicing and preparing. I think my students were a little nervous for me when I was laughing to the point of wheezing and tears. I was even sweating from laughing so hard. I took pictures of my class this morning and they were positively delightful even at 8am.

Most groups incorporated some sort of song or dance into their skit. They had someone in the audience call a cell phone just so the hip hop ring tone could blast and they would lip sync and dance to the cell phone ring as part of their performance. Brilliant. I also accumulated lots of gifts yesterday once they were done with the props for their performances, including a bouquet of flowers, a tuna sandwich, and a small carton of warm milk. I felt utterly special.

I also took video of a few performances, just so you can see how difficult it can be to decipher some of the things they say, and also see how entertaining they are nonetheless. I will try to get those posted soon. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures on the link to the left. You might notice in some of the pictures, the students wear signs around their neck. Now some of these signs are for the performance, noting what character they are playing, but the other signs they actually wear all year-round. The freshman wear these signs to signify what major they are, as well as their dorm and first and last name, I believe. The last time I wore a sign around my neck for school was when I was about 5 years old and it had my pre-school teacher's name and bus number on it, and that was only for the first week of school. It's amazing that all of these freshmen comply with the signage. They even wear their signs out in public at night and on the weekends...something I will never understand.

Immigration Office

2008-08-06T19:43:00.003+07:00

The most ironic thing I saw today was the sign in front of the Immigration Office that said, "One Stop Shop." I arrived at the office at about 10 am, not sure what to expect. I know I needed to renew my visa and get a re-entry permit, not sure what the process was but I was expecting something about as fun as the DMV. It was oh-so-much worse. First of all, you don't even take a number. You wait in a line to write your name in a book. This is the queue. Then I waited. Waited. Waaaited. Keep in mind the waiting "room" is a series of chairs outside and it's about 95 degrees. Fun, I know.

Now it's 11:30 and the queue had moved forward about 5 people. I had 5 more people in front of me. Then this is where the humor kicks in, as it always seems to do without fail in this beautiful country. There is an announcement over the loudspeaker that the staff is breaking for lunch, so please come back at 1:00pm. Really? An hour and a half for lunch and you brilliant folks didn't come up with a schedule where maybe some people could continue working while some people go eat lunch? Such a Thai thing to do, I love it to death. So I grab some food and return to wait some more at 1:00pm. My name is called about a half hour later and I bring my papers to the counter. The woman then tells me to fill out (another) form and then take a seat. I very easily could have done this over the three and a half hours, but what can you do? I return the completed form and she takes my paperwork and has me take a seat. They are so good at saying that phrase...take a seat.

I wait another hour and they call my name to come into the office. I literally sit down at a desk and watch a woman in a uniform sift through my papers. I don't sign anything and she doesn't say anything to me. Then she collects my money and hands my papers to someone else behind her. Now I'm not sure where to go or what to do, so I stand there and she says, of course, "take a seat." At least this time the seat was in the indoor waiting room. Movin' on up. So I'm taking my seat and these two girls who work in the office are CMU students (I can tell by the school uniform they are wearing.) They were just handed my paperwork by the third person who checked it and one of them is copying my information in a giant book. I kid you not. I did not see a single computer in this place. The other girl was writing doodles on a napkin and blotting her lipstick. Nice.

Then the girl hands my papers to another man in a uniform at a different desk. He calls me over and I sit down while he sifts through my papers. Once again I don't sign anything and he doesn't say anything to me but he was the manly man who put that all-important stamp in my passport. I ask him about the re-entry visa (because everyone I've asked about that at this point kept saying "after, after") and he directs me to a window where I went through the process again. I filled out a new form, waited some more, and finally got that other all-important stamp. I was home by 4pm.

One-stop shop.

Fun With Middle-Schoolers

2008-08-06T19:01:00.006+07:00

Last weekend I was asked to come and help out with a project that one of the Thai Ajaans at CMU put together for young students from marginal schools around Chiang Mai. This was by far one of my favorite experiences as a teacher thus far. The project was a two-day seminar for English students learning the language through poetry and story-telling. It was such a fabulous idea and the students were incredibly enthusiastic. I was the only non-Thai native English speaker in the room. I was there to offer my input on grammar and pronunciation, help with activities, and just talk to the students. I loved talking to them and they loved talking to me. One girl wanted my help with something she was writing but she couldn't spit out her question because she was giggling so hard. A Thai teacher came up behind her and told me that she was very nervous to be talking to me and then told her, "Ask her nicely, 'Can you please help me?'" She did and just kept giggling. It was infectious, actually.

The first activity was interpreting a poem. First of all, I was amazed at the poem of choice. Keep in mind these are middle school students and the poem was called "Homage to my Hips." I think I was the only one who realized how funny this was. The last lines of the poem were "These hips are magic hips. I have known them to put a spell on a man and spin him like a top." So what do you think this means, children? I had to bite my lip so I wouldn't laugh. I then worked with a small group of girls on pronunciation and reading with emphasis and expression. It felt a little uncomfortable to tell these girls to really put gusto into the lines "these hips are big hips, they need space to move around in..." They loved it. All the small groups eventually read the poem for the rest of the class, and I admit, the group that I worked with sounded the most Minnesotan. They said "arrrre" and "top" like a Minnesotan would, while the other groups say "ah" and "tup." I was impressed and proud of my girls.

I felt a little strange being singled out when asked to correct grammar for the students' (and teachers') poetry in front of the group. I was sitting in the back of the room of about 50 people and the lecturer would stop several times to ask me, "this phrase is ok, no?" Well, for one thing, who am I to correct student's poetry? If a student wants to write a poem that says "dreams boil rainbows and freedom," then I say give the kid a beret and snap my fingers in applause.

Plastic Doll Man

2008-07-31T19:18:00.002+07:00

I had a very strange experience today. I've mentioned before that Chiang Mai is starting to feel smaller and smaller, but when you have a day like today, you start to feel like you're in a twilight zone or a land filled with hourly deja vu's. I was sitting in a cafe enjoying the morning with an iced coffee and a book when I see a bundle of colors bobbing out of the corner of my eye. I look up and there is an old man carrying two large baskets balancing on a long flexible pole like a scale with his shoulder the fulcrum. You see folks like this strolling around here and there selling fruits or other goods, but usually near a market. There isn't a market nearby, I thought to myself. Then I look in his baskets. They are filled with plastic dolls and shiny colorful cartoony animal figures. How odd, I think.

Later that day I see him again hanging around near the mall, still with his colorful toy-filled baskets that seems to keep bobbing even when he's standing still. Who is going to buy plastic dolls from this guy, honestly?

I pass him again in the afternoon. I walk right by him and step a couple feet out of way so I don't knock over his mobile Toys 'R' Us. This is starting to get weird. I look at his face and if there was a Thai version of Home Alone and they needed to cast the old creepy guy with a beard, I have the perfect man right in front of me.

Here is the last straw. I see him again hanging around another part of town. In a school yard. For Pete's sake, what is going on? I want so desperately to see a sweet little girl come up and buy a plastic doll from this plastic doll man, for the sole purpose to see him smile and pat her on the head and not look like the total creeper he has appeared to me all day. No such luck.

Really, what are the odds of running into a man selling plastic toys out of baskets on his shoulder in four different times in four different parts of the city in one day? These are the moments that horror films are made of.

Max and Pia: A Tribute

2008-07-30T09:17:00.006+07:00

These two ridiculously cool kids are leaving Chiang Mai to go on an amazing trip around SE Asia and then head back to the states. Time flies, and I feel like I just met these two, but at the same time it feels like I've known them for a long time. Chiang Dao, Doi Inthanon, Sudsanan, Dancing Tigers... All good times. You guys will be missed! I hope you have an amazing trip and a good start with school and new job adventures in the states. Count me in on some Thai cooking lessons and beer cap collecting when we reunite again. I will be eating lots and lots of Turkish kebab sandwiches. If Max isn't around, then someone has to keep the guy in business.

Suburbia?

2008-07-29T17:47:00.003+07:00

This might be the most disturbing image on this blog. Even more disturbing than the t-shirt with obscenities below. (No, this is not a stock photo of Maple Grove, MN. Don't be fooled.) Americana-Suburbia is spreading like a virus. If it's appearing in Chiang Mai, there is no stopping where it may spread next. There are dozens and dozens of these identical homes in this area. Whyyyyy?? Next thing you know, there will be neighborhood competitions of who has the fanciest lawn mower or the biggest Hummer. Makes me want to sing the "Little Boxes" song.

Chan roo seuk chohk dee mahk mahk.

2008-07-28T15:19:00.003+07:00

Means: "I feel very lucky." I have the greatest amigos in the world. Ah! What a great surprise, you guys! I got a package today filled with mix cd's, peanut butter, an amazing card and an ipod shuffle loaded with more great songs. Too much! I am going to be enjoying all of this great music for a long long time. Lisa, you are the absolute best. I love your mix, we really are the same person. Ilya, Adam, Grace, Paul... you guys are awesome. Thank you for all the good tunes. I'm a happy girl. The card and all the pictures cracked me up. Miss you all and I'll talk to you soon. Kahp kuhn kaaaaaaa!

Mountain Biker Babe

2008-07-27T18:25:00.001+07:00

I met a guy who is trying to start up a mountain biking tour company and he needed some people to ride the trails with him as the guide so he could get feedback before he starts taking on real customers. I was able to give him some feedback and I got a free day of mountain biking. Not a bad deal.

It was pretty intense. I've done some "Minnesota" mountain biking before, but never on an actual mountain and never changing altitude so quickly. Let's be honest. I'm used to flat paved roads in the Twin Cities area. Rarely have I done any off-roading. This was the most fantastic way to start. We drove to the peak of Doi Suthep and descended nearly 3000 feet. Strangely, I would have felt 110% more comfortable biking up the mountain rather than down. I'm not afraid of the physical endurance; it's about being mentally ready for some tricky trails. Going downhill means you're going fast, and you have to keep momentum so your front tire doesn't stick in the rocks or roots or mud.

I got my first fall out of the way right away in the first two kilometers. The top of the mountain was wet since we were in a cloud and I took a turn too fast. I was a little shaken up, but nothing more than a scratch. When I caught up with Jess he pulled some pine needles out of my neck. Now it just looks like I have a hickey. That's what happens when you fall throat-first. I did have some other bad luck with my bike. My chain broke and Jess (the guide) didn't have the proper tool to fix it (better he learns this now). Amazingly, he offered me his bike and said he would ride mine without a chain the rest of the way. Think about that... Luckily we were near a village and there were some off-road motor bikers who had a shop with some tools and offered to help us fix it. They repaired the chain using nothing but a pliers and the blunt end of an ax. And they offered us food while we waited.

The views were amazing. It was hard to focus on the trail when you've got mountains, rice fields, the view of the city, all on a clear day. We'd come around a bend and in a clearing I caught myself gasping more than once. The really cool thing about the work Jess has done is that he has been on all the trails on this mountain, and knows them like the back of his hand. These trails are 400 years old and the Hmong villagers originally paved them for trading. Here's the cool part: He is the first person ever to map these trails using his GPS. Talk about having an edge on the competition. Very few people know about the advanced trails he's been on. He tried to get more information from the villagers, but they just say "You want to know where to go? You must go figure it out." So he did.

My second fall was pretty gnarly. I wish I could have seen it from a different angle than I already did. I do know my tire caught something and I went over the handle bars into the rocks. Pretty sweet, eh? I got a nice battle wound from it too. (Everyone's got to show off a wound once in awhile). The back wheel was completely disconnected from the bike after the fall. Even Jess and the other riders were impressed with that. I guess when I fall, I only go hardcore. No broken bones thank goodness, but I'm looking forward to seeing the sizes and colors from the bruises I'll have. Despite the falls, it was such a fun time, and I learned so much in just one 4 hour ride. He invited me back to do the same thing next Sunday. I'm looking forward to it. Julie, does this count for doing something brave like you said? I've added more pictures to the link on the left.