Friday we arrived in Chiang Mai right after lunch. Thanks to go-go-go mindset, we hadn't showered or really rested (other than the sleep on the train, which wasn't too bad!), so we went to Payap to shower/change before we went shopping for what we needed.
Of course, after I unlocked my backpack I dropped my keys in my purse and couldn't find them again. As such, after a fruitless search, I was forced to go to Carrefour in the same clothes I had been wearing for about 2 days, after sweating more than a rice paddy farmer! As was my luck, we met a group of fellow American's studying here while we were at Carrefour, a group from St. Lawrence College in New York. After running around Carrefour (the non-Western version of Walmart), Tim and I got everything we had put on our list, and came back to Payap. I had found my keys on the way to Carrefour, of course, so when I came back I jumped in the shower only after pulling out CLEAN clothes! When I got out I unpacked, and my second roommate, Noona, came back. I had met Mem earlier that day when I stopped in. She doesn't speak much English, so she doesn't really ever talk to me. Noona is an English major, and is very sweet! She always smiles and makes sure I have everything or know when things happen.
I wasn't too hungry for dinner, and had gotten fruit at Carrefour, so I just ate that. I spent the rest of the evening reading in my room and relaxing.
(8/14/10) Saturday more people arrived! I helped them get their bags up to their rooms (the elevator is out of order) before going down to the computer lab. My computer doesn't really pick up internet in my room, and the computer lab is air conditioned..win-win!). Some of the other girls were in there, so I got to talk to them a little more. Later in the afternoon we went to Carrefour to get anything we had forgotten, and about 10 of us got Thai phones. It was a madhouse, but sooo much easier! It's only about 3 baht per minute to call the United States…which is about 10 cents. It also makes it easier for us to communicate for meals, outings, questions, etc. After we had dinner at the International Dorm (PIH), which cost about 30 baht ($1 per meal), then planned to go out for the evening.
We went to a bar that the others had discovered the night before, called the Rooftop Bar. It was a really chill bar that you could sit on the bamboo-woven floors at little tables and look out over the city. It was a nice change from Pegs-always sweaty, loud, and crazy. Here we were introduced to a new concept-bowls. Let me re-phrase that; bowls of booze. You could get your drinks in bowls, usually sharing with others. It was pretty cool! KK and I split a Mai Tai bowl, and then we shared another with Nate and Gina. All in all a great night getting to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
(8/15/10). Sunday brought a lovely morning of sleeping in! We had nothing scheduled until 2pm, when we had a dorm orientation and then a tour of Chiang Mai. Our tour included visiting the water market (super cool!) and the Sunday Walking Street-a huge Sunday night market that had more cool things than I can explain! We had dinner in a nifty little area, which is actually a Wat (temple). Every Sunday night they open it up so that all the food vendors can come in, and the courtyard turns into a feasting frenzy. Myself, I had a chicken kebab…yummers! For dessert a cup of watermelon-delish! And then we headed back to the school. Its a bit of a bummer that girls can't go in the guys' dorms and vice versa, it really eliminates group hang-outs anywhere except outside. Which involves mosquitos! :(
(8/16/10) First day of orientation! We were all required to be in the President's Office in full uniform at 9:30am sharp! After an introduction to the school, we met our Ajans, or professors, and they each gave us an introduction to themselves and their courses. My ajan for our Thai gender & sexuality class is actually a well-known author, Stephen Whitehead. So cool, nothing like learning from the best!! We saw the dances we will be learning in our Thai dance class, and basically got really pumped! There were games with the Thai students, tours, we had our pictures taken for IDs, and then there was a buffet welcome lunch before our first ever Thai class. Ajan Ray, my linguistics prof, is a really sweet and funny lady, who actually wrote our book! I have a feeling she's going to really help us out! The rest of our day was spent with orientation activities and such. The highlight of the day was a full day without getting food all over my uniform! For those who know me, that's a BIG deal!
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