Friday Night in Chiang Mai

Today's Thoughts...

Most of our Friday nights seem to be and seem that they will continue to be low-key, chill events, given the hectic pace of the week and utter lack of sleeping time Monday through Thursday. This Friday, however proved to be quite different. Having met Jessica, a friend from a yoga studio Elena and Becca scoped out, we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of several varying groups of people and friends the whole night through. We started the night primping, standard fare for any night out in Thailand. Becca and I agree, we came here expecting to need to cover up, keep our shoulders hidden, and our knees kindly tucked from sight, loosening up only a little once classes let out for the day/week. Yet, looking at the transformations (yes, no other word properly describes the morphing ritual of young Thai ladies at night) of our native fellows, we quickly learned that our idea of dressing up for a night on the town was scarcely equivalent to the scandalous nightly parades we witnessed. Mind you, most girls are very thin so it is not at all impossible to get away with short skirts or low cut tops as long legs and small chests leave much room to do so. Hmmm…not so much for most American girls unfortunately, though there are many of those who will try. So, the average Thai girl dresses modestly during the day for the most part—short sleeved blouse (shoulders concealed), skirt or possibly jeans (not too revealing), and outrageously high and colored heels (standard fare any time of the day). At night, sleeves are torn away from blouses, necklines plunge far below sea level, hair grows magical inches, and skirts hike up so high you wonder where the shirt ends and the skirt begins. Heels, already bright and tottering, shoot up and come decked out with fancy, often shiny, garb. Really, it’s a sight to behold. It’s almost impossible to recognize people. It sure beats traipsing down to the Street in jeans and a ratty T-shirt any day (or Tower attire: whatever you wore to class that day with an awkward grin and beer cup).

So we “dress up” by our American standards (a little make-up, some nicer shoes, a more flattering hairstyle) and take to the streets. We start off at a rooftop bar. Very swank, very posh, extremely chic. About eight or nine floors up, we can see all of this side of the city from the bar top and it is gorgeous. After meeting up with several friends from CMU (Chiang Mai University) (fellow foreign teachers of English), we down some expensive cocktails (by which I mean less than $3) and take off once more. But not before swaying, bopping, and generally expressing great interest in our own personal live band playing hits from James Brown’s “I feel good” to Latin ballads and classics like “I will survive.” Considering that we were virtually the only customers in the bar, we got their full and undivided attention and crooning tunes. Despite being in a near empty bar/restaurant, in adequate Thai time, it still somehow managed to take almost 30 minutes for much of our order to arrive. I swear, I think they go out, hunt down whatever fowl or beast you’re planning to consume, kill it, shorn it, and proceed to cook it while you wait. In the case of our cocktails, who knows? I think the lime tree had to finish growing out back  But came they did and great they were! Off to the streets!

Next stop—house party! Jessica introduced us to two friends she met, also through yoga (sensing something I need to latch onto here…) and we crashed their glorious little shindig complete with lots of peoples, many Brits and Americans, two (yes two!) Black-esque-probably girls, adorable puppies, and all the mixed drinks we can handle. After some raspberry Smirnoff (so so tasty!) and strangely smelling Thai rum in a flask (mixed with ample bits of Coke and soda water which is a huge sensation here and adds loads of great bubbles to everything), I was set. Mmmm. Then of course, I made a beeline for the restroom and an unidentifiably wet floor. Ahh, alas, a commode is a commode after all  Outside the restroom, we met Corey, who decided to plop down and live in Chiang Mai as of February. After a long chat, we dashed off again to head to Warm-Up bar. To get there, we couldn’t find any songtaews to carry us so we opted to plod our way down the short stretch of highway until we got there. Note to self: fast trucks on highways at night. Walk slow and faaaaaar to the side.

We arrived at Warm-Up and instantly I had to go to the restroom, but not before running into a very chatty and very intoxicated student of mine. Cue awkward turtle dance. Or rather awkward hug, kiss on cheek, and five minute conversation in which she reminded me six times that she had been drinking and was “very, very drunk”, but hello teacher Lauren, and has Becca met me before because I teach her class at school? Never mind that I had introduced her to Becca myself a second before. After that somewhat awkward and adorable interaction, we met another of Jessica’s friends and her friends, found another restroom, and headed out once more as the bar closed for the night. Rather than dash off down town for the next club/bar scene, Elena and Jason and I opted to make out way back home, but not before a quick stop at our favorite ubiquitous convenience store, 7-11. Hungry and craving anything but noodles, we settled for sketchy heated chicken and cheese patty sandwich (75 cents), sketchy chicken and black pepper patty sandwich (75 cents), and sketchy bologna, mayo, and tuna sandwich (34 cents), respectively. Now whatever made me think it’d be a good idea to down an unrefrigerated bologna, tuna, and sweet mayo sandwich is beyond me. When I wake up, assuming I remember everything divulged herein (considering my sheer exhaustion and waning traces of a liquidated and lovely night), I am sure I will regret that foolish choice. Enough for now. Many good nights to all!

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!