This week kicked off the start of our actual classes. We had only had Thai language and Culture classes before, but now in addition I had Buddhism, Gender and Sexuality, Thai Dance, and Economics in Southeast Asia; Thailand and Cambodia. Since I am doing a slightly different program, I’m no longer in the culture class, and no one from just Thai Studies is in our Economics class (which isn’t even economics, its more a review of Southeast Asia where we focus primarily on Cambodia and Thailand). The classes all went really well. Our Buddhism class has already taught us a lot, and our Gender class is taught by Dr. Stephen Whitehead, a well-known author and a fellow at Keele University in the UK. We had a hard week for readings, and I was the first to present in our Gender class, along with another girl. Luckily all went smoothly and I was able to pull together a great presentation very quickly. Thai dance is amazing, but a lot harder than it looks. I’m no amateur to dancing, and have practiced several different styles, but this is kicking my butt! Unfortunately, between all my classes and homework, there isn’t much time left over for cultural experiences; making it really hard to balance the two. After a full week I’ve decided to stop Thai dancing in favor of a more well-rounded opportunity in my core classes. I console myself thinking that I can still attend dance classes, and read while I watch the other students learn. I also already have the reading material so I can still learn about the history of the two dances.
My roommate, Nuna, and her friends are so great! I came back from Mae Chaem and Biew had bought me a little flower pot with a wire sticking up to put a picture in, its so cute! And then Friday she came over and she had bought me this cute little bag to put my cell phone in (I use it for my ipod), with an elephant on the front that says “I heart Chiang Mai”—its the cutest thing! They’re so friendly, and always share food with me and ask if I’ve eaten, etc. In fact the other night after they gave me the last of their snack I found out from another girl who speaks more English that the last one is supposed to be good luck, and whoever eats it will have good luck in finding a cute boyfriend! The friend also communicated the other unspoken things from Nuna and her friends, such as did I like them/living in Alpha? They are shy about their English and worried I don’t like living there. I assured them quite the contrary, I love coming back to my room and everyone smiles and waves! They posted on my wall that I have a beautiful smile, which contributed to the design of my Thai nickname, Fa Sai (clear skies, beautiful weather). My roommate decided that’s what it should be because I’m always smiling . They are the sweetest girls and I’m so glad that I got to meet them!
Friday night Burgundy and I decided to stay in, and we watched movies on KK’s computer (mine’s broken ). She has a huge collection, so we got to watch two of my favorites- Mulan and Anastasia! Of course no matter where I go, my love of Disney comes along! It was a really good chance to bond with her (and Skylar who joined us for Mulan), and we got to bed at a decent time, which was good because Saturday we were up early to go on our International Camp Retreat! It was about 30 minutes from school at a 4 star resort. It was beautiful! Our rooms were like little bungalows, we had a room with 3 beds, AIR CONDITIONING! A wardrobe, desk with mirror, table, and bathroom (with hot water!). As soon as we got there we ditched our bags and ran for the pool – I cannot even describe the intense pleasure we got out of that pool! The water temperature was just right, there was a deep end, shallow end, and a connected baby pool (similar to Egyptian resort pools). We were in the pool for hours, although after 3 hours Bupe and I went for a killer nap on soft beds). There were balls to toss, Marco Polo, there was a hula hoop that was used to dive through and other such shenanigans. I tried napping outside too…but it was too hot! After a while we showered and went to Marika’s room for a dance party (woot woot!) while we waited for dinner. In the meantime, we made 3 trips to 7/11 to supplement the trip we made on the way to the resort in order to satisfy the tolerance levels of the Thai kids and more experienced drinkers in the party. It was a lot of fun, and quite out of control – probably a good thing dinner was really late! Totally worth it though! Gai yang! (grilled chicken!) There was also CORN! And carrots and sweet potatoes and sausages, etc. Quite a feast if you ask me! Later there were s’mores, but we were too busy dancing to go out, so by the time we got back to the bonfire…all gone . We did play some fun games, though, one of which required a girl, sitting on the shoulders of a guy, to crack eggs on his forehead and drop the inside yolk/whites into a cup….which was held in the mouth of some unfortunate soul laying on the ground. Whoever got the most of their 6 eggs in won…Gina won! Poor Awa, though, was covered in egg, and Dan had egg yolk on his forehead, despite Gina’s efforts to hold back his hair while she cracked.
The next day we went on a boat ride around the lake, and that was really fun until someone pointed out the HUGE spider in a web right near my head. It was still okay until it started moving, at which time we booked it to the front of the boat for pictures! (which will be uploaded as soon as I have a computer again…). The rest of the boat ride was beautiful but uneventful, and I enjoyed putting my feet in the water to cool down. It reminded me a bit of cruising up the Nile in a felucca, I was even in a dress this time as well! Minus several close Drake friends, plus several new other friends! After we headed back, and after a shower and unpacking Bupe and I got Reggie’s (a local sandwich shop) before I went out to see more of Chiang Mai at night with Champ.
I’ve come to notice that the best way to see Chiang Mai is hanging off the back of a Song-tao (red pick-up). It isn’t an actual pick-up (again, I’ll post a picture as soon as I can), there are seats in the back and it’s the most efficient means of transportation for farang (foreigners). There are two ladders on the back and a ledge, where two people can stand. You’re not seeing through a window-it’s a full-view scene, with the cool mountain breeze caressing your skin and mussing your hair, allowing you to smile at Thai people, and at farang, and everyone in between. Its an experience that can’t be read about –its one of the many things that have to be experienced first-hand to grasp the beauty. Put that on your list of things to do!
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