Sticky Waterfall and Sticky Rice

Both last weekend and the weekend before some friends and I did some fun things in and around Chiang Mai. The first of these was a trip out to the Buatong Waterfall, or Sticky Waterfall, as it’s more commonly known.  We packed up our backpacks, stopped at a local market for some fruit, fried chicken, and sticky rice, and then hopped on our motorbikes and drove to the falls. It was about an hour and 15-minute long drive, and the scenery on the way was beautiful. We drove through rice fields, trees with blooming flowers, and the mountains of northern Thailand surrounding us. It always amazes me how you can be in a very natural, rural setting by just driving 15-30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. Once we arrived at the waterfall we found a nice spot to sit and enjoy our picnic lunch. After eating we went to see why these falls were called the Sticky Falls, as I’m sure some of you are wondering. The minute we stepped into the water, Matt, a friend from CMU, quickly ran/climbed directly up the waterfall. The reason he could do this was because there is something in the water or rocks (not sure which) that prevents algae from growing on the rocks. Therefore, it is really easy to climb right up the waterfall! The water isn’t moving very fast so it almost feels like your climbing up this huge, natural water slide. The rocks aren’t necessarily sticky; they feel more like sand paper, and it’s pretty easy to get a good grip on them. So, once we got our courage up, myself, Jenny and Hilary (friends I met in Chiang Mai) scurried up the falls as well. The sticky falls have 3 ‘floors,’ and you start at the top on the 1st floor and go down to the third floor. We all spent a few hours climbing up and down these falls. Some parts were honestly a bit scary to climb up and down – about 30 foot verticals at spots- but we all got the hang of it and had a lot of fun. After climbing, we found a spot that was a bit more flat and we actually just laid down on the waterfall. We had no idea that we were going to get as wet as we did so none of us wore bathing suits. If I go a second time, though, I definitely will! The Sticky Falls are so unique because it’s one of the few waterfalls that you can actually interact with instead of just looking at it! There are some pictures at the end of the post (didn’t take many because I was too busy playing )

The second fun thing I did was take a cooking class with Aoife and Chris. We signed up with a company called the Thai Farm Cooking School. We got picked up at our apartments in the morning with 9 other people and we were first brought to a local market. Here our guide taught us about the different ingredients we were going to be cooking with, including fish sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar and coconut milk. Then we drove out to the company’s organic farm, about 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. There we were given a tour of the farm and we learned about how other ingredients, such as thai ginseng, galangal, thai eggplants, lemongrass, thai parsley and sweet basil, are grown. After our tour we donned our aprons and got cooking! First we were taught how to make jasmine rice and sticky rice in a bamboo cooker. For those of you who don’t know, sticky rice is very similar to jasmine rice except it is incredibly sticky and a bit drier than jasmine rice. After the rice lesson we got to choose which dishes to prepare, so I choose to make red curry (soup), chicken with basil, chicken in coconut milk soup, pad thai and mango with sticky rice. We learned how to make our own curry paste out of dried chilies, lemongrass and a few other herbs and spices using a mortar and pestle. Once we made our curry, we added it to our soup. This was probably the freshest curry soup I’ve ever eaten. Thai food involves a lot of stir-frying and boiling ingredients together, so it honestly wasn’t hard to make my other dishes like stir-fried chicken and basil and pad thai. That being said, the cooking company made the cooking very easy for us because they had already pre-chopped a lot of the vegetables, herbs and meats. Therefore, I felt like a chef on the Food Network who just dumps the small bowls of pre-measured ingredients into a big dish. It sure makes cooking much easier! After cooking the first few dishes we sat down and enjoyed them for lunch. I ate so much food! It was soooo good if I do say so myself! Then we made our dessert of mango and sticky rice, and I ate that too. We took our last dish (pad thai) home because we were all too full to eat any more. At the end of the class we were each given a recipe book with clear instructions for how to prepare these dishes, so now I can make thai food for myself (and anyone else ) whenever I want! Here are some pictures. Sorry you can’t taste the food but I can guarantee that they are all delicious!

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Teaching Update

Believe it or not, Thursday Feb 23 was my last official day of teaching at CMU! I still remember arriving in Chiang Mai and thinking that the last of class seemed so far away, but now it’s already gone! Looking back, this semester was good, but not quite as good as my first semester, in terms of my students. I had a harder time connecting with some of my students this semester, and I had a couple of really difficult classes with very unmotivated students. I was certainly challenged teaching them, but I think it just got to a point where I had to recognize that there was only so much I could do to help these students. Also, I agreed to teach 7 classes at CMU (in addition to Thai lessons and teaching at Language Corner) and while the workload wasn’t too much to handle, I realized I didn’t have free time for my students. For example, I had numerous classes back-to-back so I didn’t have much time to stay in class and talk to students one-on-one after class. Also last semester I used to meet students outside of class for coffee to practice their conversation skills, but this semester I simply didn’t have time to do it. I guess this was a good learning experience for me because it’s shown me how much I value one-on-one time with my students.

All things considered, though, I did make some good connections with some of my students.  Surprisingly, one class I connected with the most was a night class. (Night classes are notoriously hard to teach because the students’ English skills are incredibly low and they are often not the nicest students.) This class, despite being incredibly low, was great to work with! Many of them put effort into my class and opened up as the semester went on. On the last day of class, one of my students from this class came up to me and said, “Aj Leslie: I wanted to thank you for being my teacher and helping me. Before I took this class I hated English and was afraid to use it. Now, I love English!” It’s always comments like these that make me forget about all the bad stuff. Other nice comments were: “Aj. Leslie. You good teacher! You good teacher!” (maybe not so good if that’s what they’re saying) and “Teacher! I love you!” Saying goodbye to my students is always a bit difficult because I honestly don’t know when I’m going to be able to see them again. However, I have decided to teach another semester at CMU starting in June 2012, so there’s a chance that I’ll have some of my students again or that I will see them around campus. I was able to see a lot of my students from last semester around campus, so I hope this will be true next term as well.

I’ve also had some good students at Language Corner. One in particular is a 24-year-old Korean girl named Yeri. During her winter break in South Korea she came to Thailand to practice her English conversation skills. I worked with her frequently and really enjoyed getting to know her. Because she wanted to practice her conversation skills, we would just sit and talk to each other. Because we are the same age it sometimes felt like I was just talking to a friend. It was crazy to think that we were the same age and really got along well, but that we had two completely different lives. I learned much about Korea from her, including a lot about the education system. I won’t go into details, but their education system is very intense. They are essentially in school or studying from 8am until midnight or 1am! Yeri took me out to a nice dinner right before she left to thank me for working with her. It was completely unnecessary, though, because I enjoyed working with her! It felt like we were 2 friends sharing dinner together, even if one of them could only speak basic English.

I’ll continue to work at Language Corner for a few more weeks before I leave for my trips. My CMU students just took their exams so I have over 200 exams to grade, so this will also keep me busy. I’ve found some nice coffee shops to sit at and my friend Aoife and I have made plans to sit together and grade so that we don’t lose our minds! Once I’m done with this, I’m traveling with a friend to Malaysia, Singapore and Bali! I’m super excited for this! Then, I’ll come back to Chiang Mai for Songkran, the big water festival here, and then I’ll fly home for about 6 weeks! I can’t even express how excited I am to go home for a bit! I love Thailand, but living here has made me appreciate how much I like living in the U.S. I really miss my family, too! My sister and I are already planning on how we’re all going to live in the same place “when we grow up” so that we can see each other whenever we want, rather than making skype dates. Once I’ve gotten a good dose of family and America time, I’ll fly back to Chiang Mai and teach again at CMU from June 2012 – October 2012. After that, who knows?

Here are some pictures of my students!

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A Beach Vacation

I’ve just returned, tanned and well-rested, from Phuket! Phuket is Thailand’s largest island located in the Upper Andaman Coast. I took at 5-day trip there to have a beach holiday with my friend Sarah Bosch. (I visited Sarah in South Korea.) Sarah and I stayed at a wonderful condo near Surin Beach, one of Phuket’s nicest beaches. While we weren’t there for super long, we certainly packed our days full of adventures. Here’s a day-by-day recap:

Wednesday: I arrived in Phuket in the early evening and met Sarah at our wonderful and incredibly comfortable condo in Surin. Sarah and I decided to go big and stay at a fancy resort while we were at the beach, so we booked a condo complete with 2 bedrooms, one kitchen, one living room/dining room, and a balcony. Being in such a nice condo was a wonderful break from my crowded one bedroom apartment in Chiang Mai. The condo was owned by a family and had Bed & Breakfast type-vibe, except with a bit more privacy. The service there was amazing and it was in a great location. Upon my arrival, I quickly unpacked and then Sarah and I ventured down to Surin Beach. We took lots of pictures, walked the beach, and played in the waves. Surin Beach is gorgeous! It boasts crystal clear, turquoise water with soft, fine sand. I now understand why everyone raves about the beaches in Thailand. Once the sun had set Sarah and I enjoyed a delicious Thai dinner at a restaurant situated on the beach then got a good night’s rest in our large, luxurious beds!

Thursday – Sarah and I had a lazy morning, ate a nice breakfast at the condo and then returned to Surin Beach. Most of our time at the beach was spent playing and floating in the water. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful the water was.  Despite being in water that was over 30 feet deep, I still had a clear view all the way down to the ocean floor. The sun pierced through the turquoise water and illuminated the wave-tossed, nearly white sand that gently sloped down into the ocean. The waves at this beach were also fun to play in! We did our fair share of body surfing, and jumped over and under the waves as they rolled toward the shore. I think I probably swallowed at least a liter of salt water from being tossed around by the waves, but it was totally worth it! After spending a full-day at the beach, we had another nice Thai dinner at Bang Tao Beach, which was just a 10 minute walk from our condo. After dinner we came back to our condo to relax, ate ice cream and watched Jane Eyre.

Friday – Phuket has an abundance of tour-packages, which take you all over the islands of the Upper Andaman Coast, so Sarah and I booked 2 tours, the first of which was on Friday.  We woke up early Friday morning, ate a quick breakfast (which the condo graciously served early for us) and got picked up by the tour company’s van. The van then drove us to the pier where we boarded a ferry which carried us to the islands of Ao Nang, part of Krabi. The boat ride was a bit long, but Sarah and I sat on the side of the boat and enjoyed the dramatic scenery as we traversed the Andaman Sea.  This Sea and Phangnga Bay are full of small and large islands, made of towering limestone stacks that jut out of the ocean and remarkable cliff landscapes that line the shores. Once we arrived in Krabi (which is on the eastern Andaman coast (Phuket is on the western coast)) we got off the ferry and boarded a large speedboat. We then spent the morning and afternoon island hopping around Krabi. Our first stop was Talay Waek. This was a narrow, white sandy beach that, when the tide was low (it wasn’t low when we were there), connected Tap Island to Chicken Island. We spent some time exploring the small island, wading in the turquoise water and enjoying the scenery. We then got back on the boat and traveled to Chicken Island, called by this name because the cliffs on the island actually look like a chicken. The boat stopped near the shore and we jumped off the boat into some stunning, bright blue-green water. Here we snorkeled and saw tons of yellow and blue-striped fish. I am not a huge fan of fish and snorkeling, so it took me a while to get the nerve to jump into the ocean. The tour guides on the boat were tossing pieces of bread into the water so that the fish surrounded you as you jumped in. I spoke in Thai to some of the bread-throwers and asked them to hold off on the bread until I jumped in. They consented to my request, but unfortunately, once I jumped in I heard two plops on either side of me. Before I knew it, I was swimming through swarms of fish that were nibbling at the bread that had landed on either side of me! I guess I learned my lesson. After snorkeling we went to Poda Island where we relaxed on the beach, played in the water and marveled at the sheer limestone cliffs. After Poda we went to Railay Beach where we ate a nice Thai lunch that came with the tour. We walked along the beach and waded in the emerald-colored water which surround the beaches of Krabi. After lunch we made one more stop at Phra Nang Cave (translates to outer princess cave because inside there is “a shrine dedicated to the lost spirit of princess Phra Nang, whose ship allegedly sank near the beach in the 4th century BC,” according to my guidebook.) We had some time to explore the cave (it wasn’t a completely enclosed cave) and climb on the slippery rocks.  After this we boarded our speedboat which took us to the ferry, which carried us back to pier on Phuket where we were picked up by a van which then returned us to our condo. Once we were home we ordered dinner via room service (which was free!) and lounged in our condo.

Saturday: Reflecting on our previous day of touring, I realized that it was a ton of fun but we spent a fair amount of time traveling to our destinations. It was also a very crowded tour with at least 35 people on it, and not much personal attention (with the exception of my terrifying bread and fish incident). Therefore, our second tour day was phenomenal in comparison with our first. We were again picked up in the morning and were brought to the pier. This tour was around Phuket and Phangnga Bay so our travel time was much smaller. Also, our group only had 13 people in it, and had 7 tour guides, so the guide to guest ratio was much better. Therefore, we ended up having an excellent adventure! We boarded a large speedboat which took us to Tam Talu. This huge limestone stack was filled with narrow tunnels and sea caves accessible by canoe. So, from our boat we climbed into sea canoes and were paddled through Bat Cave (a cave full of stalagmites and stalactites as well as lots of sleeping bats). Our tour guide, who spoke very little English, paddled our canoe into this incredibly narrow  passageway in which we had to lay on our backs in the canoe so that we could squeeze under the ceiling. When the tide was low, you could paddle all the way through and reach a lagoon. However, the tide was too high so we couldn’t go all the way. We could tell we were close, though, because the sun illuminated the water in the lagoon, which traveled through the water and gave the cave an eerie lime-green hue. After the Bat Cave we got back on the boat and traveled to Hong Island. This island was a vast network of lagoons and tunnels running underneath the limestone cliffs of the island. Once you got into the lagoons, each place was called a certain room (honeymoon room, for example) because it was like you were traveling through rooms as you moved from room to room (hong means room in Thai). The lagoons were accessible only via canoe, so we were again paddled through these tunnels and lagoons. This was an amazing experience because you couldn’t tell where you were going in the tunnels, but once you made it through the tunnel you all of a sudden found yourself in this gorgeous lagoon with vegetation clad walls. It was stunning. We then returned to our boat and swam in the ocean around our boat. Sarah and I had fun jumping off our boat into the water numerous times. After this we ate lunch on the boat and were entertained and waited on by the tour guides. After lunch we got into longtailed boats and were brought to Panyi Fishing Village. About 120 Muslim families live in this village, which is built on stilts over the water complete with many markets, restaurants and a school for the villagers. You can tell this place exists only for tourists now, but it was still interesting to walk along the pathways above the water and mud and wonder what it was like pre-tourists. After the village the longtailed boats took us to Ko Khao Phing Kan, more popularly known as James Bond Island. The James Bond movie “Man with the Golden Gun” was filmed on this island, making it a huge tourist attraction. We walked around the island and took turns posing like James Bond in front of the famous limestone stack that rises from the shallow waters around it. After James Bond Island we made one final stop at Panak Island. We took our canoes to the shore and then walked through a cave and ended up in a lagoon filled with mangroves. The mangroves were beautiful and the roots were fun to walk through and even sit on. (See my picture below.) After Panak Island we were brought back to the pier via speedboat. On the way back we played Jenga (difficult to play on a moving boat) and Sarah and I took turns standing at the front of the boat and living out our dreams of flying, inspired by Titanic, of course. Once we arrived at the pier we were driven back to our hotel where we got room service again and watched what else but Titanic!

Sunday: I woke up and went for a morning swim at Surin Beach. I decided to swim all the way out to the end of the roped off area to see where the ocean sloped down (staying close to the rope, of course). I swam slowly and looked down through the water at the ocean floor as I went further out and was surprised again at how clear the water was. I reached the end of the roped off area and was surprised to see that the floor just kept sloping gently out. After my swim I returned to the condo, got packed up, and then Sarah and I took at taxi to Phukettown. Here we did some shopping and bought some lovely pearl earrings (Phuket is famous for their pearls). After this we had a nice lunch on the beach and then had to bid adieu to Phuket, and boarded a plane back to Chiang Mai. (Sarah came back to Chiang Mai with me for about a week. We had a ton of fun, but I think I’ll have to save that for another post.)

Our beach trip was so much fun, and was a much-needed break from my normal routine. This trip has definitely made me want to return to the south of Thailand and explore more of the beautiful islands in the Andaman Sea. Below are some pictures from my trip. (There’s more on facebook if you’re interested).

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Happy Holidays!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My holidays here were great! While it was definitely a challenge to be away from home and family over the holidays, I still found nice ways to celebrate. Here’s a recap:

CHRISTMAS- Christmas exists in Chiang Mai, but I’d say only in the western or touristy areas of the city. The big shopping mall had a beautiful tree set up, Starbucks sold their delicious holiday lattes, and Christmas music could be heard from stores where mostly farangs shop. It was strange but there were many times when I completely forgot that it was Christmas! Stores weren’t closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; everyone just went about their business like it was any other day. My friends and I tried to make it special, though. Unfortunately I had to work all day on Christmas Eve. CMU had their midterm exams on that day and I had to proctor for about 6 hours. Christmas Day was wonderful, though! On Christmas morning my friend Aoife and I went to church. This is a church that I attend pretty regularly and I also sing in the choir there. Aoife (a friend from CMU who started teaching during the second term) sang in the choir as well on Christmas Day; singing Christmas songs definitely put us in the Christmas spirit! After church there was a delicious brunch for the parishioners, which Aiofe and I enjoyed with the choir ladies. After church I met my friend Hilary and we indulged in a 5 hour spa treatment together!! It was amazing, and one of the best ways I can think of spending Christmas afternoon. Hilary and I got the “Lover’s Package,” but had to explain many times that we were not lovers, just friends. In this package we got a foot massage, body scrub, 30 minutes in a steam room, had an oil massage, a milk bath (this was a bit strange but they put plenty of oils and flower petals in to make it smell good),  a 6-step facial treatment, got our hair braided and then finally were treated to tea, yogurt and thai desserts. The two women who did everything were so friendly and very professional. Believe it or not, this spa treatment only cost us $60! Many people come to Thailand to visit the spas, and now I see why! It was so relaxing; I even fell asleep at one point. After the spa Hilary and I as well as Aiofe and her boyfriend Chris, Ted and Thomas went to Bake N Bite for Christmas dinner. This was the same place I had the Thanksgiving buffet, and the Christmas buffet was equally delicious! I’d say the highlight was the same one as Thanksgiving: sweet potato dish with a cinnamon and brown sugar crumble on top – so good! It was nice to share the holiday with a big group of people and I think it helped us all not be so homesick. After dinner we went home and I skyped with my family. It was wonderful seeing them on Christmas and made my holiday complete. Being away from my family over Christmas was much harder than I thought it would be, but having lots of good friends and good experiences here made it nice!

NEW YEARS EVE – Thailand loves the New Year holiday, even though the Thai New Year isn’t actually until April. New Years is the big holiday where friends and family exchange gifts, so I guess it’s kind of like our Christmas. The biggest part of the holiday is the Count Down. There are signs all over the city advertising the best place to do the countdown. It’s really funny to hear Thais say ‘countdown.’ They often drop the last letter of the word (they do this in the Thai language so it often transfers to English as well), so the word ends up being Cow Dow. So, for the Cow Dow Thomas, Audrey (she works at another university here), Audrey’s sister, and Ted and I went to Tha Phae Gate. This area is in the old city and is essentially like the Chiang Mai version of Times Square. There was a huge concert going on in the square and there were lights and decorations (Christmas decorations, oddly enough) everywhere. People were shooting off fireworks sporadically throughout the night and the gorgeous lanterns from Loy Krathong were back! We set off a lantern, or balloon as I learned they call it, and took lots of pictures. We walked around the square for a while, but it was insanely crowded. So we ducked into a bar and had some drinks while watching the excitement from afar. Then, right before the Countdown, we walked back to Tha Phae Gate and got our countdown spot in the crowd. There were huge screens broadcasting the time and when it got to 10 seconds left, everyone started counting down. I did my best to countdown in Thai, but I sometimes struggle with counting normally in Thai, let alone counting backwards so I had to concentrate pretty hard. Right as the clock struck midnight (or 24:00 here) a huge display of fireworks was shot off right above us. It was beautiful and everyone was yelling Sawadee Bi Mai (Happy New Year) to everyone around them. After the countdown we walked around for a while, I got one of my favorite desserts here – coconut ice cream with sticky rice and peanuts – and then we went home. The next 2 days following the New Year were public holidays so most shops were closed and the city seemed to shutdown. I didn’t have to work at CMU on those days which was a nice break, although I ended up working at Language Corner instead.

And the most important holiday of all: MY BIRTHDAY: My birthday is on January 5, and it can sometimes be a bit anti-climatic after Christmas and New Years. This year, though, it was definitely a highlight of the holiday season! I’d say my birthday in Thailand was one of the best I’ve had in my 24 years of life! My birthday was on a Thursday this year and I unfortunately have to teach 5 classes on Thursday which always wears me out. However, all of my friends here remembered it was my birthday so I got lots of birthday greetings and texts which was really nice. I actually share a birthday with one of my students and we discovered this a few weeks ago. So, on my birthday as soon as I walked in the door he wished me a Happy Birthday. Then, as I ended class, my students surprised me by singing Happy Birthday to me! (The Birthday song here is pretty similar to the one in the US except it’s a bit faster and includes hand-clapping.) Then I was serenaded in another class who I think I mentioned once that it was my birthday to, which again was a really nice surprise. After class some of my students brought me some Thai bean cakes for my birthday. These sound strange but are actually pretty good. I’ve tried them once, but unfortunately they are made with flour (I’m allergic to gluten) so I ended up sharing the cakes with my friends. After my night class, CC treated me to an ice cream sundae at an ice cream shop called Swenson’s. It was absolutely delicious and almost the same as having a birthday cake at home! On Friday night, I had a big celebration with all of my friends. Matt (he teaches at CMU) and I share the same birthday so we decided to celebrate together. We invited all of our friends out to dinner at a delicious northern Thai restaurant called Sudsanan. This place has great live music, often a Thai singer with an acoustic guitar singing covers of The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Jack Johnson. To my delight, there were a ton of people that came to our party! Sometimes living in Thailand can be lonely, so it’s nice to be reminded that I have made some great friends here. I think we had about 30 people together at one point in the night, including CMU friends (farangs and Thais), other Thai friends, and new friends who I’ve met through CC who are in Thailand with the same program as her. To my surprise I received lots of presents! Aoife gave me a really cute pencil bag with white-out and red pens (mine had all run out after grading midterms) and chocolate, Jira, Janit, Air and Wa (Thai friends) gave me a nice tote bag, and two really cute vases made from wood, Richard and Weerin (friends/co-workers from CMU) gave me a really nice scarf and Jiw (Thai friend) gave Matt and I a bottle of Sake (rice wine). Then, the singer at the restaurant sang us Happy Birthday which led to the entire restaurant serenading us! After socializing for a number of hours at the restaurant, a group of us continued on and went to a nightclub called Warm-Up where we had lots of fun dancing. Most of us ended up seeing at least one of our students there which was a bit awkward, but funny. This club has three separate dance rooms including a live band singing covers of Top 40 songs and some oldies as well, a techno dance room, and a dance room with a DJ playing  mostly Top-40 songs. We danced til Warm-Up closed and then walked to a place called Mike’s Burgers where we enjoyed some milkshakes and cheese fries! As I said before, this was probably one of my most enjoyable birthday celebrations, and I’ll be sure to remember it forever!

In other news, life here is going well! I can’t believe it but I only have about 2 months left of the semester. Classes are going well, and I’m getting to know my students better which I always like doing. My schedule is still as busy as ever, but I think I’d prefer being busy to boring. I recently bought a bicycle using some Christmas money I got (thanks Mom and Dad!), so I’ve been having fun riding it around Chiang Mai. It’s great exercise and it’s been great to not have to fill up my gas tank in my “motocy” (Thai name for motorbike) every week. In just a few weeks I am going to Phuket for a short beach holiday where I am going to meet up with my friend Sarah Bosch. I am so excited to relax on the beach for a few days, and then Sarah is coming up to Chiang Mai with me for about a week. I’m continuing to practice my Thai speaking skills and while I still get pretty overwhelmed, I think I’m getting better. Ordering food at restaurants is a breeze now and I can now have short conversations with Thai people.

I’ve included some pictures from the holidays in Chiang Mai. I hope you enjoy them and I wish you all the best in 2012!! xoxo

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Loy Krathong

Hi Everyone!

It’s been a while since my last update so I’ll give you the highlights on what’s new with me.

1. Loy Krathong – Thailand’s festival of lights. This occurred toward the end of October and it was honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! Most of the ‘action’ happened around the old city and the Mae Ping River in Chiang Mai. For about one week people put Krathongs or small floats made of flowers, candles and banana leaves on the river symbolizing the release of the bad things that have happened throughout the past year. In addition to these Krathongs people release large white balloons or what we would call paper lanterns into the sky. This is absolutely stunning because the sky is filled with these gorgeous glowing lanterns. Like the krathongs, the release of the lanterns represents the release of the bad and negative things we may have in our lives. It was amazing to look up into the sky and see if filled with these lights! Over the years the festival has become more modern and people have begun incorporating fireworks into the festival. Often times people attach fireworks to the lanterns. I’m not sure exactly how they do this but they must light the lantern, let it fill with smoke (kind of the same way a hot air balloon works except with heat and smoke and a very small flame), light the firework and then release it, hoping it gets high enough off the ground before it goes off. There were numerous times when I saw fireworks go astray, land in trees, on buildings or even on top of cars. No one got hurt and I did not see any buildings catch on fire, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t happen. This festival is so lovely, but it can be quite dangerous. There are so many people walking around, lighting paper lanterns with large flames and releasing them into the air. It’s really quite absurd when you think about the way it is conducted these days, but the symbolic rituals behind it and seeing the sky glowing with lanterns makes it so worth the risk! In addition to the lanterns and krathongs there is a parade through the old city with fancy floats, numerous firework shows and lots of general merriment!

2. Thanksgiving – I enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving feast at a western restaurant called Bake & Bite. It was an all you can eat buffet and I definitely indulged in it! My favorite foods were the turkey, mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar and chocolate/caramel pudding. When asked by the server what kind of meat I wanted he asked, “Would you like turkey or bacon?” I was a bit confused but realized he meant turkey or ham. Turkey and ham are not very common here, and I had my doubts about how authentic my Thanksgiving feast was going to be, but it ended up being wonderful. I was full for literally 2 days after eating this delectable dinner. Thai portions are sooooo much smaller than they are in the US, and I think my stomach has reduced in size a bit, so this meal definitely stretched my stomach out.

3. I’ve started taking Thai lessons. I study with a fellow CMU teacher and Ole named Ted. We meet with our Thai teacher twice a week for 2 hours at a time. It’s really nice having such a small class size because then Ted and I can get all of the attention and practice we could want or need.  Our teacher, Aj. Pat, speaks very good English; he has a good understanding for how westerners think when we learn Thai which makes a big difference. We are learning how to speak Thai as well as how to read and write it. Speaking it is quite challenging because there are 5 tones which I have a difficult time hearing. Writing has also been an adventure; sometimes I feel like I am just drawing pictures or doodling and then I realize I’m actually writing letters in Thai. The Thai alphabet has about 44 letters in it and I’ve learned about half of them. I still can’t read the signs here but I can pick out many of the letters and I can sometimes manage to sound some short words out. My teacher said learning Thai takes a lot of patience and practice, which I have found to be quite true. Learning Thai has also been great because I’ve started using it when I’m teaching my Thai students. I now know how to ask “Are you confused?” in Thai and this has helped me reach my students better. I also have a better appreciation for what it’s like to learn a language. I’ve definitely become a bit more patient with my students as a result.

4. Teaching, Teaching and More Teaching! – I’ve taken on a lot more work during this semester. I am teaching 7 classes at CMU (3 different courses with multiple sections of each) which is actually over the limit for part-time teachers. However, they asked me to take on an additional night class because I was already teaching the same course during the day, and I agreed to do so. So far, it hasn’t overwhelmed me too much, but knock on wood! I have some tough groups of students again, but there is one class that I am already in love with, so I guess the good balances out the bad. I also feel like I’m challenging myself a bit more intellectually which is nice because sometimes it’s easy to slip into ‘mai bpen rai’ or ‘no worries’ Thai mode. In addition to CMU I am also working at Language Corner. I work about 10 to 15 hours per week there, and for the most part, it’s ‘easy’ work. I have some students now that I see regularly which makes it really fun. One student, Som, has been with me since I’ve started and I’ve built a good relationship with her. It’s amazing how much more she speaks and I can tell her conversation skills are starting to improve. It’s quite gratifying to see the progress of my students! I also just finished teaching a weekend conversation course. It was fun to teach, but I’m glad I have less work on the weekends.

5. Random Social Events – I went with some friends to the Chiang Mai Hot Air Balloon Festival. The highlight was when they did a sound and light show by tethering the balloons to the ground and then lighting them up in-sync with music such as Michael Jackson, Queen and Justin Bieber.  I also went to Ban Tawai, a wood-carving village, with 2 of my Thai friends, Jira and Janit. I spent far too much money there, but in comparison to what I would pay in the US for nice wooden vases and jewelry, it was a bargain! I’ve gone out to dinner and drinks with some other Thai teachers from the English Department. They are a fun group of 30ish year-old women who know how to have a good time. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know more Thai people and am learning more and more about Thai people and their culture.

Hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the Holiday Season!

Here are some pictures from Loy Krathong (although they just can’t do the actual sights justice). Enjoy!

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Trip to South Korea and Bangkok

Hello Everyone! I’ve just returned from my trip to Seoul and Gwangju, South Korea as well as a short visit to Bangkok. I had a wonderful time, but was surprised by how much I missed Chiang Mai while I was gone. I think being away from Thailand made me realize how much I enjoy living here. Everyday poses its own challenges, but generally speaking I am very happy here!

Here’s a less than brief account of some of the highlights of my trip:

On my first day in Seoul, South Korea I explored the downtown district of Seoul on my own. The owner of the hostel I stayed in gave me great instructions of how to navigate the city and told me some highlights to visit in downtown Seoul. As I was walking through the city, I was amazed at how modern it was. Chiang Mai is definitely a westernized city, but being in Seoul made me realize that it is still quite behind the western world in terms of modernization. Therefore, being in Seoul was like a breath of fresh western air (even though the air is incredibly polluted).  I did some shopping in Insadong, an outdoor market in downtown, not quite realizing how much money I was spending.  I’ve noticed that whenever I travel to a foreign county, the currency always feels like play money (like monopoly money) for the first few days; it takes a while for me to get the hang of the exchange rate and it’s hard to conceptualize how much money I’m spending. While exploring downtown Seoul I found a beautiful man-made stream that runs through the downtown district. At night there is a small waterfall at the start of it that is lit up with blue lights, a digital flower garden displayed on the wall, and a path where you can stroll up and down the stream accented with stepping-stones, trees and other small plants. It’s a nice break from the concrete jungle that has become Seoul. After doing a bit of exploring I dined at Outback Steakhouse on a delicious western meal. Then I met up with Sarah Bosch, a great friend from St. Olaf College. Sarah is teaching English in Gwangju, a city about 5 hours south of Seoul, and I decided to visit her over my semester break. Sarah and I walked around the backpacking area of Seoul and had some drinks with a variety of westerners we met along the way. I tried soju for the first time – the most popular alcoholic drink of South Korea – and was surprised by how easy it was to drink. They usually mix it with fruit juice and it ends up tasting like a juice box with a small kick. While out we met a number of American military men and women stationed in Seoul. Their perspective on the North and South Korea situation was very interesting. They explained that North Korea would never attack South Korea while the American military was stationed there, but they said they still felt quite useless; their purpose was basically just to be a military presence in Korea without actually doing anything.

The next day in Seoul Sarah and I went to Gyeongbokgung Palace which was filled with temples, government offices, gardens and the residence of the Korean King and Queen from the Joseon Dynasty (build in 1395). It was very interesting to compare Korean temples to Thai temples; they are equally beautiful but their architecture is very different; Thai temples are much more glamorous while Korean temples look more rustic. Unfortunately it rained most of the day so we spent some time at the palace and then went to a Korean Folk Museum to take shelter from the rain. On a side note, Korea was about 20-30 degrees cooler than Thailand; therefore I was freezing for most of my trip. I’m used to sweating everyday in Thailand so spending a week shivering was quite a change for me! After the museum Sarah and I ventured to Seoul Tower, which provides gorgeous views of the city. We got to the top at dusk and had some amazing views of Seoul at night. As I said, it rained most of the day so the low rain clouds gave us an interesting experience in the tower. At times the clouds would completely engulf the tower and all that could be seen from the windows was a white mist, making it very disorienting to be high in the tower. When the wind blew the clouds away we were left with breathtaking views of the Seoul night skyline. That evening the owner of the hostel invited Sarah and I out with his friends. We drank soju at a bar, played Korean drinking games, sampled some Korean food (which I’m not crazy about) and then ventured to a Karaoke bar. Koreans love to sing karaoke and it seems singing rooms can be found on nearly every corner. Korean pop music is incredibly popular so Sarah and I were serenaded by pop music the whole night. It was like traveling back in time to middle school. I do have to say, though, Korean pop music is quite catchy and fun to sing along to (some of the lyrics are in English, usually the refrain). Korean pop is quite popular in Thailand so I was actually familiar with some the songs that they sang. Sarah and I took a turn with the mics and belted out a less-than-spectacular version of Don’t Stop Believin’. For some strange reason there were 2 one-zies in the karaoke rooms – one of a zebra and one of a monkey. Some of the Koreans we were with raced to put them on when we came in, but then they gave us a turn wearing them when it was our turn to sing. (Enjoy the picture of this below.)

After our weekend in Seoul we took a bus to Gwangju, South Korea where Sarah teaches. Sarah had to teach during the day so I was on my own for the mornings and afternoons. One day I went to school with Sarah and shadowed her for the day. It was quite interesting to compare the Korean education system to the Thai education system. One noticeable difference was that the Korean students were not remotely shy and would readily answer any questions their teacher asked them; Thai students, on the other hand, are incredibly reluctant to answer even the simplest of questions.

On another day, I went on a beautiful hike on a mountain called Mount Mudeng, which is just outside of Gwangju. The hike was surprisingly strenuous, but the views at the top were worth it! The leaves were beginning to change and I was reminded that it was fall. (The fall season does not exist in Thailand.) Koreans are very active people, so I was surprised to be hiking alongside men and women who were 30+ years older than me. Other fun outings included the Kimchi Festival and a dinner of Korean BBQ. For those who don’t know kimchi is the national dish of Korea; it’s made from fermented cabbage, fish sauce, chili paste and a few other spices. Not gonna lie – I wasn’t crazy about it. Korean BBQ was good, though. Typically you order meat which is brought raw to your table and then you cook it on a small grill at your table. After it’s cooked you wrap it in lettuce leaves with onions and a variety of sauces. Another dish we ate was Bebimbop; this is a mix of rice, vegetables, fish and chili sauce, and a raw egg tossed together. It wasn’t bad, but eating Korean food made me realize how much I love Thai food. One great food that I ate every night was ice cream at Baskin Robbins! This chain is everywhere in Korea, and I needless to say, had to sample all of the western ice cream I could get (ice cream is a bit harder to find in Chiang Mai). While in Gwangju I indulged in some western shopping at stores such as Converse, Columbia, and The Body Shop. One night Sarah and some friends from her program took me to a karaoke room where we sand and danced to songs such as Summer Nights (from Grease), Bye Bye Bye, Sweet Caroline, Mr. Brightside and even A Whole New World (from Aladdin). Sarah also invited me to her Korean language class where I was impressed by her ability to read, write and speak some Korean. Korean is somewhat similar to Thai but it lacks the tonal aspect of the Thai language.

After saying a sad goodbye to Sarah I flew to Bangkok for a few days. While in Bangkok I visited the highlights of the older part of the city. I toured many of the famous wats including Wat Phra Kaeo, Wat Pho and Wat Arun. These temples were similar to the ones in Chiang Mai, but the complexes were much larger and much more grand. These wats house very famous buddha images including the Emerald Buddha (which is actually made of jade) and Reclining Buddha. On another day I toured around downtown Bangkok (on a Sunday morning/afternoon so it wasn’t very hectic) visiting Lumphini Park where countless people were practicing yoga and tai chi. I also had a relaxing breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel right on the Chao Phraya River. This hotel has been named World’s Best Hotel for a number of years, and after visiting it, I can see why; it’s a gorgeous hotel with impeccable service. I also visited the State Tower where some scenes from the Hangover Part II were filmed. Traveling by myself gave me a great opportunity to meet lots of nice people. While in downtown Bangkok I met the friendliest old woman from Bangkok who wanted to practice her English skills (which were quite good), a nice couple from Poland (I practiced using the few Polish words I know thanks to my Polish heritage, and a nice woman from Mexico who had been in Thailand learning Thai massage.

For those of you who don’t know, Bangkok is currently experiencing some awful flooding (the worst in 50 years), and I was lucky to leave the city right before it started. On my last day in Bangkok I used the Chao Phraya Express Ferry which is essentially a cheap taxi that brings you up and down the river. In the morning there was no problem with it, but by that evening, the docks were flooded and I had to walk through water that was 6 inches deep to get on and off the boat. They ended up stopping the ferry service the next day because the water was too high. When I got off the ferry and walked back to my hotel some of the roads just north of where I was staying were flooding. Cars and bikes were still driving through it, but some of the shops on the road were beginning to flood. Most businesses had sandbags lining the entrance to their shops, but some water was still managing to get in. I had no problem flying back to Chiang Mai the next day via Bangkok’s International Airport, but they have closed the domestic airport. They are saying that it will take about a month for the water levels to go down. Many people have evacuated the city and many have come to Chiang Mai during the past week.

Second semester at Chiang Mai University starts on Monday, and I am ready to start working again. My break has been nice and relaxing, but I’m excited to start a new semester, meet new students and continue my adventures in Chiang Mai.

Below are some pictures from Seoul, Gwangju and Bangkok. Enjoy!

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My CMU students

  

  Some of my favorite comments from the last day of class:

“Miss Leslie, please don’t forget me!”

“I so sad to say goodbye to you!”

“You best teacher!”

“Can you autograph my workbook for me?”

“Can you sign my book? Sign it Get A! From Leslie” (the student was trying to hint that I should give her an A)

“I’m sorry, but can I touch your hair? We don’t have hair like yours in Thailand and I’ve always wondered what your hair feels like.”