Adventures of a Foodie Continue

Today arrived with me asleep in my food coma. It was hard to get up and get motivated this morning as I was still feeling the sleepy after effects of ingesting more food than I had ever eaten in my life (but as I previously mentioned, food it was impossible to stop eating). We began another day of BABSEA Orientation, but today it soon became clear the honeymoon period of love and adoration was over for most of us. The best word to describe our group would probably be listless. While we have participated in endless energizers, group activities, and “learning sessions,” it soon became clear that all we wanted on day five was a break. That break was somewhat in sight (we had the entire afternoon after 4:30 off), which in some ways simply made it harder. Somehow having your goal so close at hand makes the suffering to achieve that goal so much worse, even if it is exactly the same as what had previously occurred. We struggled on, however, and managed to get through the majority of the events without incident and even conjured up some genuine enthusiasm for some of the events (when we finally got to talk about the law and draw out “definitions” of legal terms).

The real excitement for us all (me for having experienced it and you all for being jealous of me) is about the food I ate today. Lunch was somewhat of a bust. We went to a vegetarian buffet across the street from the first restaurant I ate at (what I call, The Noodle Bar). As many of you know, I am not a fan of the buffet system in general and I can now report that this has not changed in Asian countries. I still hate buffets. In any event, we ate our fill, returned for the afternoon lessons at Uniserv and gained our freedom! (At least until tomorrow morning at 10 am.) Zenia, Sam, and I decided that it would be a good idea and a fun time to go out shopping and exploring during our down time. Unfortunately, this is all that is really left open to us as 5 pm is too late for a touristy activity, too early to check out night life, and too early for more food. We set off in the opposite direction from our usual route to Uniserv or BABSEA house from our apartments. Heading toward the mall was not a useful trip, however, as the mall was closed and military personnel were stationed around the area to keep people away (not in a scary way though, mainly just standing in front of pylons used to keep people from the underground parking garage). We decided to try walking in the other direction and after about a ½ mile we came to a sign high on a signpost stating 500 meters to a museum of Insects and Natural Life. I got really excited and insisted we turn down that road, but nothing came of the supposed museum (I couldn’t even find it), but it turns out we turned onto a really nice shopping district of Chiang Mai, Neemanhemin. Since shopping was the entire point of the exercise that was a very good thing. It was fairly late at that point so many shops were closed, but we were able to find some still open and had a good time just walking around, going in to random shops.

At about 7 pm, however, we started to get pretty hungry and decided to look around for a restaurant in the area. As we were looking we spotted Chinda and Lamnleugn walking around too, also looking for a restaurant. We invited them to join us and found a place quickly. I’m so glad we ended up meeting up with them. We all looked at the menu and they helped decide what we would order, for the table instead of individually, and everything was amazing, items that we wouldn’t normally think to order, but really enjoyed. We had some Thai Laap, a Thai soup (that is supposed to be very similar to a soup in Laos), a red coconut curry with chicken, and a SUPER spicy beef stir fry dish that was good, but WAY too spicy for any of us (a three chile rating on the menu, which I will avoid from now on). So, dinner was delicious and I once again made a pig of myself. While we were eating I also experienced my first Thailand torrential downpour. It was so COOL! I have never seen it rain so hard and so much water come down so fast. However, Zenia assures me the rain last Sunday was even harder with more water, an interesting concept and something to look forward to (as long as I’m not out in it without a coat or umbrella!). It smelled so good as it rained and cooled down the air a substantial degree.

We got home in time for curfew and once again there was a lack of internet in our rooms (which I’m sure you all noticed over the last two days as my posts were delayed). For some reason the internet is not working in the rooms at the end of the hallway, but is fine in the rooms nearer the elevator and central corridor. I decided to sit in the hallway so I could update my blog and check emails and soon everyone in the surrounding rooms came out in the hallway too and we had a great internet party. We all sat on the floor of the hall with our computers, chatting, laughing, and surfing. We ended up hanging out for about 3 hours, until midnight. Our conversations ranged from Constitutional comparisons (Australia, the US, and Canada) to nude photo shoots, school loans to invasive species, etc. It was a great experience, talking with such a wide variety of people with so many perspectives on life and the law. If nothing else good comes of my time here, I am glad I came and had the opportunity to meet so many truly amazing people.

*Note: This was actually what happened yesterday, but I didn’t have a chance to post it until today. :)

Political Situation Update:
1. The curfew will be over tomorrow night
2. A cease to all violence and protest in Bangkok has been called and all protesters have returned home
3. Banks have reopened around Thailand and everything seems a lot calmer