My Internet is Back!

I know you were all worried about me (not mad at me for not posting as some may have suggested; worrieeeed about me because I didn’t write for so long). Well, the truth is that our internet did not work properly in our apartments for two days. For two days I was without the internet, which means no blog, no e-mail, and no connection to the world outside Thailand. It was a little sad, but mostly irritating. I still wrote blog entries (as you must have noticed since I posted them all at once and you had to read two or three in one day) and just managed to post them the other day. So, now we are back on track and I am blogging about my day at night before bed and am once again able to post my entry so that you get it first thing in the morning! (For all of you good readers out there willing to read my blog that early, Rae, Mom, and Jana.) It is Saturday night here and we were lucky enough to have half a day free. We had one morning activity (but it didn’t start until 10 am, so we got to sleep in a bit) regarding our travel arrangements to our countries in two weeks.

At 11:15 we were FREE! Zenia, Sam, and I went to lunch at a wonderful salad place near Unniserv (which was a welcome change from Asian food – not that I’m getting tired of it, but it is nice to have a small break every now and again). We went with Mike, so we could ask him a million questions about Vientiane (the capital of Laos where we will be working and living for eight weeks). Then us girls went out walking around Neemanhemin again, to see some of the shops and areas we missed out on last night. We came back to our apartment at around 2 pm and then headed back to our apartment for a brief rest (which turned out to be about 15 minutes). Then we headed over to BABSEA house to go to the market and then have a Thai food cooking lesson back at the house.

The market was a lot of fun again, although not quite as bustling or hot. A large group of us wandered around the market, looking at all the stalls and food offered. Most of us ended up buying a lot of fresh fruit (watermelon, pineapple, mango, etc.). It is so amazing buying food here as all the people are so polite and caring. For example, at one point I stopped at a stall and bought a bag of sticky rice. The woman behind the counter didn’t speak any English, so she called over her son to translate and make sure I knew that it should be eaten with mango as it was sweet rice for a dessert of Mango, sticky rice, and coconut milk. I don’t know of any other place where the people are so considerate; it was amazing that a woman who didn’t speak my language would take the time to ensure a foreigner understood the food completely. And a smile goes a long way here. There are often times when the few words of Thai I know and the few words of English the seller knows are not quite enough to get the whole message across, but with a smile, some pointing, and a little laughter we all figure it out. Although no one word could adequately describe the Thai people, I think the word Lovely is a good start. There is such a sense of graciousness, accommodation, friendliness, and general sweetness here that you can’t help but be happy in this wonderful country.

After the market we went back to BABSEA house where we were supposed to have a Thai cooking lesson, but there were so many people, that there wasn’t really a “lesson” per se. (I learned a LOT more the other night during the Laos dinner.) We did get to help prepare the vegetables a bit and I learned a few new techniques for shredding green papaya and carrots, but other than that, there simply wasn’t room in the kitchen for us to really observe. The food was delicious, but I suppose I will have to take some lessons at an actual cooking school to really learn. I’m planning to take some of those classes when I get back from Laos (to learn to make pad see ew please!). While working on the veggies I expressed an interest in learning in Laos as well and Lamnleugn said she would teach me if I wanted! I can’t wait to get there and learn to cook Laotian food!

Tomorrow is going to be a VERY exciting day. We start EARLY in the morning, at 6 am on a hike to the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple that overlooks the city of Chiang Mai and is one of the holiest sites in the city. It is a LONG hike up a steep hill to reach the temple at the top and so we start early in the morning in an effort to miss some of the heat. In addition, at night we will be visiting the Sunday Night Market, one of the largest outdoor stall markets around and a huge draw for the area. But more on that later…(this was just a teaser!)