Just the beginning...

Today's Thoughts...

Now the past two weeks have literally flown by in a whirlwind of sweltering classrooms, chatty students, papaya treats, crowded bars, bouncing tuk tuks, and elephants. But with a roof finally and permanently over my head (fingers crossed), I have sat down to pen the first in a series of hopefully exciting, enthusiastic, and incredibly extraordinary musings on life in southeast Asia :) My first day here, after three days without sleeping in a bed (passing out in airport lobbies, on the Tube in London, at doughnut stands, and in the waiting room of a child’s nursery [it seemed like a good place for a quick nap]), I crawled out of the Chiang Mai airport and with the generous aid of one of my soon-to-be Thai co-workers, fell into a hard, but comfy bed in guest house #1. Approximately 6 hours later, I woke up, dressed, and headed for my first day of work teaching university students English and what I thought was Modern American Drama. Instead I get there, my office a cozy bare desk, with a lovely note and book on it stating that I would be teaching English, as planned, and… Ancient Greek Myths and Mythology and the Bible. WHAT?! Panicking, and realizing that I needed a brand new 16 week syllabus by TOMORROW, I went into hyper gear, pulling everything from my 5th grade obsession with Greek gods to the Greek theater course I’d taken to 18 years of Catholic education and viola! I walked into class the next morning babbled for an hour entirely from 5th grade memory about gods and last year’s memory on playwrights and before I knew it, class was over, the kids had furiously copied every note I’d written, and the next week, I had eight new students join and not a single one drop. Success.

Not every class was like that. My other three classes (two subjects) were more trying than anything I’d ever imagined. Now I understand a teacher's pains. Drenched in sweat and frustrated beyond words, it can get impossible, but that’s when you take it one day at a time. Like everything here. Take finding a place to live for example. After working 7 hours a day in school for a 35 hour week, we’d spend anywhere from 5-7 hours in the evening scouring places for rent— apartments, condos, houses, you name it. During this time, I moved approximately 6x from guest house to guest house (small hotels) and room to room. It was beyond taxing. But at long last, we have a place to call home. For now at least. And it’s thrilling. The rest of these two weeks has been ridiculous past anything I could have dreamt up so that’s why I thought it best to sum up some first encounters...

Ten things I now know about Thailand:
1) Meat on a stick is delicious. Almost unequivocally delicious except when it turns out to be some sort of fried fat on a stick rather than meat. But otherwise, meat on a stick (whether or not you can properly identify it), is almost always tasty and a must-have delectable (so long as it smells and tastes like meat). Think NYC hot dog stands with uber Asian flavor. Mmmmm.

2) Dainty girls riding motos in skirts always ride side saddle sort of like something out of a Jane Austen novel with modern adaptation. And it is cool. In fact it is so cool I have yet to do it possibly out of fear, humiliation when my skirt inevitably flies up, or a combination of both. But for other people, it is tre chic. And no need to hold on either. You lose major cool points for that ;)

3) Speaking of cool, all cool guys wear...interesting haircuts. We’re talking layers, bangs, side drifts, the works. Your cool coif, whether female or male must always resemble something art deco-esque. The greater lengths for girls the better. The more layers the better. And the more highlights and colors (again whether guy or girl), yes oh yes the better. And if you’re an ultra cool dude you wear some shade of blonde tending towards strawberry or auburn and you change your dye at least once a month or so. My students have taught me this.

4) Monks dressed in orange abound. Everywhere. So just know that. They might be 50 years old, 500, or 5, but they abound. And they wear bright orange robes that make them easy to spot. Since women are not permitted to touch them, we typically steer clear whenever we can, but when we hopped in a songtaew (red truck with an open air back that acts like a taxi) with a monk in the passenger seat, that was a special case. Not to mention awesome. I mean we rode in a red pick up truck with a monk dressed in neon orange for goodness sake! It was a moment to be remembered.

5) Best moment ever was having a student wai to me (meaning, press her hands together palm to palm as if in prayer and bow slightly) from the back of a motorbike as she rode past in a sign of respect. I was so blown away by the gesture not because I didn’t recognize it (students wai their teachers in greeting, in departing, in handing in homework, or asking to use the toilet), but because she did it from the back of a moving vehicle! I was terrified she would fall off and die, but utterly flattered that at approximately 30 feet distance, she felt the need to honor me.

6) By the end of this trip, I will be a one square wonder. Toilet tissue that is I may or may not also have permanently bleached armpits, legs, arms, and chest because most all the toiletry products I have encountered have whitening agents in them. Whitening powder, paste, liquid, you name it—in lotion, powder, deodorant, everything. Non-whitening products are around, they just take careful examination to track down. So if the pictures of me start looking a little gray… well, then, you know why.

7) Chiang Mai is beautiful. Perfectly splendid and wonderful place to live in. The year promises to be an adventure, what with elephants parading down the streets and all.

8) Time is fluid and being on time is optional. Those of you who know me well know that is nothing short of a miracle for me ;)

9) Best hang outs are bars and clubs like Moisture and Warm Up. Name says everything.

10) Finally, fried chicken can and does not only exist but thrives in a country full of rice and noodles. And I found it within three days. This blog serves to testify.

More to come! (Though not so long!) Comment! Email! Talk to you soon!