Ending an Experience at the End of the Year

...and almost the end of the world! Happy Survival, everyone! And MERRY CHRISTMAS! slash HAPPY KWANZAA! slash HAPPY HANNUKAH! slash whatever else you may be celebrating right now!  Maybe it's your birthday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Having an anniversary? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Well, I'm gonna tell you in a short post how awesome my trip is.  Thank goodness you aren't with me in person because I just dined on the delicious garlic shrimp that my dad made for dinner. HAPPY DAY!

So, now that I have wrapped up just about every experience that I've had during this trip, I am not sad because Christmas is in two days.  I also don't remember all of what I did, and am having a really hard time discussing my adventures with others.  Thank goodness I kept this blog that I don't feel like reading at the moment.  All I know right now is that I left Thailand feeling all warm and golden inside.  I grew as a person in many ways while away for four months, I did things I never would have thought I'd do (singing in public, jumping off cliffs, leading a community art project, thinking that maybe sex workers should enjoy workers' rights, etc.), and I made friends that I hope to keep for a long time to come.

I definitely recommend going to Thailand- it's a beautiful, ugly, confusing, exhilirating place.  If you are just looking for a good bang...well, you'll find it there too, but I will mentally be kicking your ugly bootyhole into oblivion.  Go there for adventure! Go there to do good in the world! Go there to learn about a new culture! Just go.

As my last thought- I'm just really glad that I decided to choose Thailand.  Thanks, Land of Smiles, you were a hoot.

And zis... is the end of my blog.  But while it's the end of my blog, it's not the end of my adventures.  The time...is always...ADVENTURE TIIIIIIME!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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A Really Long Post About ART! PIH Community Mural Project 2012, y'all!

9:32 PM Posted by Jessica 0 comments

            There comes a time when the purity of the white wall becomes tainted by overabundance of white, and stains.  So, a brave hero must step in, mighty paintbrush in hand, and decimate the dull evil eating away at the moods of anyone who passes.  That hero…is me.

            Nah, nah, nah.  If I were a hero, I would have put an awesome theme song and 3D features of my face on this blog page, along with a fantastic logo.  I’m just a girl with a vision and a hankering for putting colors everywhere.

            I’ve mentioned this Community Mural at least twice in this blog, but have not yet elaborated. It is now time to do so!  It started much like the beginning of this blog- my own soul was being eaten away by the dullness of the back room in PIH that I walked through every day to get to the cafeteria, and by the classrooms which sported flaking chips of paint.  There was nothing I could do about the classrooms, but doing nothing about the back room was inexcusable- there is a ping pong table there! That’s supposed to be the fun room! But, it’s ridden with dusty broken chairs and blank, colorless walls.

            I thought back to my previous year at St. Mary’s, when someone amazing by the name of Koko, led community-based art projects.  She brought a bunch of people together to create a community quilt, in which each individual made their own square visually defining “family”, and the community mural that served to summarize what St. Mary’s is all about.  I love these ideas…so much… especially since community development has become very important to me.  So, I decided to bring a little St. Mary’s, color, and community development to Payap.

            First, I asked Adam about the mural, and he pointed me to Ozzie.  Then, I asked Ozzie, the Head of the International Campus Life, who told me that I needed to talk to Khun Prapai, the manager of PIH.  I figured that putting the mural in the back room of PIH would be a safe start- asking to put the mural in a much more public place would be hard to approve, and I honestly didn’t know how this would turn out- it was my first time leading a group art project.  Khun Prapai accepted the idea, and rather quickly! I wasn’t expecting to be able to get the idea approved of so quickly.  It had seemed that the Thais particularly enjoy their white walls, and just by seeing Payap, it seems that public art is not very popular in Thailand (all art geeks should go check out Chiang Mai University though).  But! I got lucky.  I slaved over a project proposal and budget proposal in order to give the objective, goals, timeline, and expected expenses of the project; both were approved of by Esther Wakeman, the Assistant to the President and Head of Spiritual and Community Life, and I was given 6000 baht to complete the project.

            The boring part of the project ended, and then the hard work began! With the help of Ajan Gai, I was able to make an instruction sheet for both English and Thai speakers: I wanted everyone to visually represent their idea of what community means.  It could be a terrible drawing because I was only going to use these ideas to combine them into a cohesive art piece that I would draw on the wall as an outline for everyone to paint.  I knew that drawing was intimidating; I just didn’t know how that drawing would be so intimidating as to only collect four visual definitions.  I was disheartened at this point- only four out of at least 80 sheets of paper were returned to me.  My project idea did not work.  Why?

            Well, I have a few theories.  Drawing is intimidating.  Defining ‘community’ is difficult with words because it is rather self-explanatory.  Combine the difficulty of these two, and the task becomes even MORE difficult.  I could not effectively further elaborate the task to the Thai students.  I was not pushy in asking for the sheets of paper back because the year was beginning to become busy with impending finals, and because I was still nervous and shy about it. 

            Despite my disappointment, though, I could not let the project die.  I used all four ideas within the drawing, and added some imagery of my own.  The tree was Owen’s idea- nature is part of our community too, and the beauty of nature often brings people together.  The guitar represents Emily’s idea for bringing people together through music.  Kristina defined communities as coming together to help people- this was shown with the ‘pillars of community’ (cheesy, I know); community is built by the warmth, togetherness, etc. of different people.  Maria said that food is a main factor in bringing people together, and she couldn’t be more right, so a picnic was added to the design.

            Now, for everything else.  Sports bring people together, duh.  There is the overused image of people holding hands around the globe- but the diversity is shown by the fact that each person on that globe is different, and they were painted by different people on campus.  There is the Payap logo- I have known the community of school since I was five years old.  There is the circle in which the word ‘community’ is written in several different languages- we are connected despite our diversity.  There is the circle of five people interlocked- that’s pretty self-explanatory. The circle of names- this made me the most proud because everyone who signed their names added their own bit of flare.  It was also a great outlet for people who felt uncomfortable picking up a paintbrush.

            The overriding design of the mural came from a motif that I’ve used in a couple of my previous works.  The series of overlapping and interlocking circles and lines is meant to represent the connectivity and diversity of a society- that every group of people is interdependent.  I figured it would be a great way to connect all of these random ideas into one cohesive and organized idea.  The first time I used this motif was for Koko’s community quilt.

            I must comment on the little dumpling faces on the left.  During the last few weeks of school, I became obsessed with the anime Clannad.  These dumpling things, which are called dango, appear in the show, and the main character draws them all over her posters advertising for events at school even though dango have nothing to do with the event.  I thought it would be hilarious to draw them all over the posters advertising for the mural painting event.  It became meaningful after I realized that these dango are very much related to the idea of the community mural.  Clannad features a fake anime called The Big Dango Family, and if you read the English subtitles for its theme song, it’s about these dango coming together to form a loving, happy COMMUNITY!

            Okay, now that the design has been explained…the project was advertised with my dango posters, and I watched as people started passing by my painting form and asking to join.  It was really funny because there would be a lot of people who would just pass by, looking on curiously, and they would not join the painting party for days.  I did my best to make people feel comfortable, but they would fear ‘messing it up.’ There’s no way anyone could mess it up because it’s a project meant to be made by the people for the people, and I wasn’t about to schold anyone for participating in a project meant for them.  Sure, some of the lines aren’t exactly straight- who cares if it was their work?

            There was one way that the mural was messed up though.  While I was away in Cambodia, something very disheartening happened. Someone vandalized the mural.  I cried when I found out, and then I spent the day dreaming about how I could take my revenge on this person.  I trusted the community with the materials for four days, and someone abused my trust.  After I calmed down, and regained my head, I realized that it didn’t matter who did it, and that this is just a small example of the larger idea of life situations.

            I knew that there would always be the possibility that someone would vandalize the mural- I just didn’t think it would be so soon. Reality just slapped me in the face with a big insult attached. Communities will always be built with goodness and fun, but there are always those who will try to destroy that.  We can’t attain peace in this world because of that.  But, it’s what we do about that delinquency that defines how our communities will move on.  I decided to cover up the mess because the images were small enough to be erased.  But Ozzie said something that was profound- we can choose to cover up the evil, or we can transform it.  Trying to ignore or erase the darkness in the world is not effective because it is something real and very present.  Trying to change it, or twist it into something conducive to the positivity of the world is better.  I could go write an entire flowery essay on this metaphor, but I have already written a butt ton. 

            So, it’s time to wrap this up.  First, I’d just like to ask that you watch the video about the mural at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23m-uv6eDlo. By not adding pictures to this post, I am forcing you to watch it (if you’ve even read this far) so that you can see what it looks like.  This entire project really warmed my heart- it was amazing to see how many people came out to participate in it, and to see how many people immensely enjoyed seeing it.  Every day, the staff lady who sits at the front of PIH would excitingly point out what progress had been made in the mural.  I met a lot of great people through the project (which was the point of the project- to bring people together), and made a few new friends!

I also got to view some really wonderful avenues for self-expression.  Katy drew two figures in matching green ponchos to commemorate the beginning of her friendship with Liz, Yuki drew a snowman next to her name because her name in Japanese means ‘snow’, and Jyotsna painted a woman in a saree to recognize her Indian heritage.  Even some of the graffiti-like ways that people wrote their names serve as a creative expression of self. 

To finally finalize this almost final post, the community mural is amazing- it was built and created by amazing people, and therefore it is beautiful.  I hope everyone enjoys it and that it inspires others in the future.  Now, watch the video!

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Silly Teachers, Finals Week Was Not Made for Studying


I apologize for my tardiness on posting.  It’s been hectic lately, especially since my time in Thailand has come to an end. As I post, I sit in the kitchen in one of my many homes, this one is in Hawaii!  I’m back in the States, y’all!   But, although my trip has ended, this will not be the end of my posts.  I have a few more things to catch up on, and I want to end my blog with some flowery last words summarizing my experience.

A couple of weeks ago, my Economics of the Sex Industry in Southeast Asia class went on a field trip to Empower, an NGO that aims to help improve rights for sex workers in Thailand.  Certainly, you’ve heard of people trying to rid of sex work, but this is not always the correct solution.  Some view prostitution as the oldest profession in history; there is then a certain degree of acceptance of the job, and so they believe that prostitutes should have the same amount of workers’ rights as any other worker.  Why shouldn’t they?  There could potentially be fewer issues if prostitutes had medical healthcare, some insurance, and other such rights. 
On the way inside
 

Empower does not abuse or exploit workers. They must fill out a resume and then become accepted for the job.  Empower offers many benefits such as classrooms/study rooms, sex education, clothing swaps, hangover rooms, and free internet.  The bar does not require a bar fee for someone to take a girl out, and they do not give into the practice of bribing the police.  There is a high degree of self-respect and good practice that happens at this establishment. Twelve of the women have actually written a book, Bad Girl’s Tales, about their personal views on sex work.  I would recommend the read- I only got to read one chapter, but it was a great introduction to an entirely different perspective on sex work.
The most interesting alphabet I've ever seen

Just a few useful phrases for sex workers to know

After the field trip, I headed out to Cambodia! Before arriving in Thailand, I was very keen on the idea of being able to travel to Angkor Wat, one of the Seven World Wonders, and a very beautiful temple complex.  There are also several other ancient temples surrounding this complex- and all of them are absolutely amazing.  I warn you, my vocabulary at the moment cannot describe how beautiful and wonderful that place is.  But first, I suppose I must describe the events leading up to the temple tour!

Much of the trip was spent trapped inside of vans and buses, travelling from Chiang Mai to the border, and then to Siem Reap.  We spent about fifteen hours on the road going one way.  Even though Cambodia is only one country away from Thailand, crossing the border into Cambodia felt like entering a completely different world.  Perhaps my mind was influenced by the stories of my friends who had recently returned from Chennai, India, but I felt as if that particular part of India was a mix between India and Thailand in terms of the things that I witnessed.  Everything involves manual labor, the roads are disorganized, everything was tinted with a dusting of dirt, and it was much more colorful than Chiang Mai.  I can’t make overgeneralizations about the country after seeing so little of it though.
At the Kingdom of Myanmar!

It's amazing how much stuff they can put on a cart

After dropping our bags off at a fancy hotel, we made our way to a fishing village.  That place was a total tourist trap, and basically pointless.  They sought to show us how people live at these fishing villages, but the funny point here is that they rely upon the tourists for money.  As we rode a boat through the gentle waters, two small children gave people unwanted massages while demanding $1, another small boy jumped onto the sailing vessel from a small motorboat with a basket of sodas and beer for sale, and several parents sailed their motorboats close to our boat gesturing to their children who were wearing snakes for the tourists to touch for a small fee.  The end of the village tour happened to be a small market, and a lady selling plates which had our faces printed on them.  We were wondering why a random lady was shoving a camera in our faces without warning at the beginning of the village tour.

amateurs at massage

about seven of these snake-laden boats approached us
 

Many markets were to be scouted that day because apparently all tourists want to do is buy stuff.  Cambodian markets have basically everything that a Thai market has, but the people are less pushy. 

But then! Many temples were to be explored the day after! Our first stop was Banteay Srey where I learned that the fortresses often had moats built around them.  The moat represents the cosmic waters that make up the universe, or made up the universe, and the temple or fortress within the moat is a sort of representation of heaven.  I am missing a lot of information in this description, but I couldn’t understand the guide’s accent.  (click on this link to listen to one of our tour guide's stories)
isn't this detail amazing?!



Next stop, Angkor Wat!  The world’s largest Hindu complex and religious monument!  I could have explored that place for at least three hours, but we only had less than one.  I was really disappointed in the fact that I was rushed a lot and could not marvel at what I went to Cambodia to see for as long as I wanted.  But, I will one day go back when the weather is a little cooler and the tourists are fewer; and then, I will sit my butt atop a fallen stone.  I will sit, and I will admire, observe, and examine.  My heart will burst with love and joy and admiration of a people I never knew, and gods I will never worship.  Look upon my quickly taken photographs and let your eyes rest upon the intricately made patterns. It almost convinces me that there really was something otherworldly present in this world.





On to Ta Prohm, where some scenes were filmed for the movie Tomb Raider! I’ve never seen the movie, but hot diggity dog is this place amazing.  Much of the building was reconstructed so that it was more convenient and safe for tourists.  It looks amazing! And the fallen ruins are fun to climb on.  The trees are unbelievably tall and they seem to glitter in the sun.  It looks like a dreamscape, except for all of the annoying tourists.



The last temple that we got to see for half an hour was…well, I don’t remember the name, but it was absolutely breahtakingl.  I should also mention that my friends were filming a video about Owen Atkin’s yo-yoing skills.  Check out the video! (and see if you can spot lil ol me!)
there were so many rock stacks- the stacks are my favorite because they are such a fragile way of forming a community and leaving one's mark. the pennies on my stack are...well it's a long story



 

The tour ended with a buffet dinner and a display of traditional Cambodian dance.  And then, the long drive back to campus and studying for finals.

Speaking of finals, Ajan Gai let Alex and I reschedule our final Thai exam so that we could go complete a basic mahout training course, learning how to direct elephants!  That day was one of the most magical days I’ve had in my life- I could not stop smiling.  For 1800 baht, or about $60, the people at the camp transported us to and from campus, gave us lunch, gave us a basic training course, let us wear mahout clothing, let us ride the elephants around the place, and had us bathe the elephants in the river.  They also filmed the entire experience so that we could have it on DVD for 500 baht.

Learning how to mount and dismount the elephants was the hardest and most grueling part.  One way is to grab the elephant by the ear, step atop the leg, and tell the elephant to raise its leg high enough to let you pull yourself onto the back.  Getting down is the reverse of this process. The second way we learned was to have the elephant lower its head and then you either jump over the head (if the elephant is not strong enough) or hug the trunk and have the elephant lift its head so you can scramble up.  I got to practice all of this atop the elephant Sangdee.  She was really sweet. 
Method 1, the leg scramble

I felt like a queen

Dismount 2, the head slide
 

Next, we were handed bamboo canes which were used to help us give directions to the elephants.  Say we wanted to turn left- we would scratch the right ear, and say “sai”.  To reverse, we’d scratch the nose and say “toy.”  To go straight, we’d lay the stick across the head and say “bai”.  It was very easy and the elephants are so well trained that half the time, you only need to use the stick.
Directions

It felt so natural and right for me to be doing this :)
 

            After that, we took an elephant stroll around the camp to end up in the cold river, bathing the elephants, and playing a good ol’ game of throw buckets of water at the person next to you.  AH! How many people can say they’ve bathed an elephant?! I don’t know, but Iiiiii can say it!  Also, in case you were wondering, elephant poo is very stinky, but it is quite dry and hard.
Better than a horse

They love the cold water!

My training certificate.  I shall have to put this on my resume.

            Well, that concludes two of the most exciting things that happened during my last week at Payap.  Please stay tuned for my blog post on the Community Mural Project that I led at Paradornparp International House. I know not exactly when this will be posted now that I’ve got family to chill with and a video project to finish before I can post.  But, Imma get to it within the month. 

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Coco’s Tips for Studying Abroad at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand


Do you like how professional and descriptive that title is? Sweet beans, because I put a lot of thought into it. Ard. So, for all you children who are very inquisitive or don’t feel like doing too much research, or want to be EXTRA prepared for what’s to come, read on.  All of my parents and friends reading this who have no intention of ever coming to Thailand, just don’t read this page.  It’ll be a waste of time unless you want to hear me complain.  Also, sorry that there are no pictures. I'm being lazy today.

Let’s get on with it!

1)      You probably got a packing list from your school.  It won’t be sufficient.  Especially if you come from St. Mary’s and you are not a minimalist.  Buy your own uniform shirts- they have shirts here, but they are not breathable and make you sweat ten times more than you would ever have to if you were wearing the right material.  To make the situation even more irritating, they tell you right off the bat that Thais don’t like you to be smelly or look disheveled.  While you are red-faced, sweating profusely through your pristine unwrinkled shirts, hair sticking to your forehead, while all of the Thais look like frickin perfect porcelain dolls.  Get your own uniform shirts.

Also, they tell you to pack like eight shirts and two pairs of shorts.  No.  You are allowed to pack more.  I wore more lounging clothing than anything.  You are in the city, so yes, you are allowed to pack a few tank tops.  At night, half the city is dressed in a slutty fashion, so if you wanna bring your tiny black dress, you can do it.

But, bringing conservative clothing is VERY important.  This means clothing that covers your shoulders and knees if you are a girl.  For guys, you are jerks and can pretty much get away with anything.  Just dress decently.  Girls, you will need these conservative clothes not only for temples, but for more traditional places.  Some places will also prefer that you wear white to the temples, such as in the village that you will visit sometime during the semester.

Speaking of the village- make sure you pack all conservative clothing and clothing that you will not mind getting dirty.  You will be doing some grimey work. We helped them build a dam in the middle of the jungle- you will want to be covered from mosquitos and mud and whatnot.

Now, don’t be too stingy when packing, but also don’t take too much.  If you think you are taking a lot, take some stuff out.  Either that, or take a bunch of stuff you don’t mind leaving behind in Thailand.  Also, Ozzie (super cool guy) and I set up a sort of Good Will thing where students in my group left behind a bunch of stuff like bedroom necessities, clothes, etc. for future students to buy things at a very cheap price.  The funds will go to Healing Family Foundation.  So, if you don’t want to pack too much, you can go shopping here at Payap!

2)      Make sure you know how to ride a bike.  Payap is a bit isolated, but there are some great things that are not too far away.  It’s sometimes a hassle to walk because of the heat and because Thailand has virtually no sidewalks, so it’s nice to have a bike.  You can rent a shitty one on campus or you can buy one in the city.  Trust me, it’ll be liberating, and you will save time and costs on songtaews (red taxis) which literally ate my wallet.

 

3)      Make friends with the Thai people.  It’ll give you a great chance to practice your Thai, and it’s a better way to learn more about the culture, society, and just things around Chiang Mai.  Some might even invite you to their homes!  In town, try speaking Thai when haggling with songtaew drivers and salespeople- they think it’s cute and it might be easier to get a lower price.  Also, SMILE! Thailand is the ‘Land of Smiles’ so get with the program.

 

4)      Explore.  There’s a lot of cool stuff to see in Thailand.  Just go through my links page on this blog and you can find out about a bunch of cool stuff to see.  Ask around, go online, walk around town.  You’ll find a lot of neat nooks. As far as food goes, if you get tired of the school cafeterias, there are some really great cheap restaurants right outside of campus near 7Eleven.  Speaking of 7Eleven- they are literally everywhere, and a great place to break your 1000 baht bills.  Explore the food in there too!  You never know if you’ll like that questionable orange liquid or those fishy strips, unless you put it in your mouth!

 

5)      TRY NEW THINGS! OR I’LL PUNCH YOU!

 

6)      Be friends with the Payap staff- they’re annoying sometimes, but they’re really sweet people.  It’s easy, just smile, wai, and say “sa wad dee kha (if you are a girl)/ sa wad dee kap (if you are a boy)”.

 

7)      Get involved.  You can do this on or off campus.  On campus, there is the International Community, and Ozzie Crocco is pretty much in charge of this.  I wish I could recommend a lot of the other great staff members, but many of them are leaving L Ozzie is really cool and he’ll get you in touch with a lot of people.  IC hosts a lot of really cool events like International Day and Community Outreach Days.  Play sports with the Thai kids outside of Alpha or Sigma.  Join the dance team, try out for the talent show, start a mural project (like I did!- see future blog post to find out how I did it), blah blah blah! 

 

Or, do service within the city.  There are a good many organizations to work with.  You just gotta find out what you are interested in!  Help children whose parents have AIDS, help people with disabilities, help abandoned animals, help sex workers, get an internship at an environmental law firm, help ethnic hill tribes, teach English or Chemistry to Burmese refugees so that they can pass the GED.  There’s so much here, and it’s a really rewarding experience.  You get to see an entirely different side of Thailand, and you leave knowing that you gave back to a little bit of the community.

 

8)      Take every opportunity to learn.  Being here is not only about the academics- you can learn in so many different ways.  You can’t grow, and you can’t really know about Thailand without taking hold of every opportunity.

 

9)      Oh! Definitely don’t forget to pack gifts from your hometown! You’ll need them for your roommate(s) and for your host family in the village.  It’s just a really nice gesture and they like things that they won’t really be able to get from Thailand.  It doesn’t have to be anything too intense- it can even be a weird ornament that says “Outer Banks” or maple candies or something. I didn’t know about this tidbit- and it was really embarrassing not having anything.

 

10)  Keep calm. Things get really frustrating here sometimes.  But try not to be too angry or complain too much.  It’s just different, and sometimes illogical, but really, being negative won’t get you anywhere.

 

11)  Oh! Pack things like soap, shampoo, makeup, and deodorant.  A lot of that stuff here has whitening chemicals in it. The Thais are trying to have white skin and facial structures like the Koreans, so that’s why you may see some ridiculously weird looking Thai people here.  Also, ladies- pack tampons.  They are virtually impossible to find in Thailand, and if you find them, they are ridiculously expensive.  I’m gonna invest in a Moon Cup or a Diva Cup- maybe that would suit you a little better.  Just look into it!

 

12)  Be prepared for grody toilets, lack of toilet paper, and soap.  Bring plenty of travel-sized hand sanitizer.

 

13)  TRAVEL! Take advantage of the fact that you are in a different country or continent or hemisphere!  I don’t mean see all the Southeast Asian countries for two days each- that’s just not enough to really KNOW a country.  Explore different parts of Thailand, go to another country that you’d really like to see during the longer breaks.

 

14)  Hmm, I don’t wanna give too much away.  You’ve gotta learn for yourself.  But these are just some things to keep in mind. You’re gonna have a wonderful time here- Chiang Mai is a really great city.  Remember how lucky you are to even have this opportunity in the first place.  THAILAND, BABY! If you have any other questions though, feel free to ask, and I’ll answer as best I can! Smiley face.

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Another Great Week


I have delayed writing this post for several reasons: 1) I have finished two 18-page papers in about three weeks, and do not desire to write any more. 2) I have created a new project for myself- the Community Mural! Which will be elaborated upon after it has been finished. And 3) All I want to do is watch anime- I am kind of obsessed with Clannad right now.  The timing of this isn’t exactly perfect, seeing as how I will be leaving Thailand soon, but the positive side of this is that it gives me something to do instead of Globalization readings, which I should probably be doing. Also, I wouldn’t be doing this post if I weren’t waiting for Clannad to load.


So! Let’s get you children caught up! Last week, I did a lot of work because I was tired of thinking about how I had to do work, and it was stressing me out.  So, I banged out the rest of my papers at four in the morning one night. Feeling like a superhero.  I also spent a lot of the time being very upset because one of our professors is a jerkface who changed the schedule on us and we had to find out through another person, not even him.  I shall complain about him no further.  Jai yen yen (keeping a calm heart).

Hmmm. Last week on Wednesday was Loy Krathong, a Buddhist holiday that is sometimes equated to Valentine’s Day- idk why.  But essentially, it’s a REALLY BIG celebration where everyone gets together, and does things like make krathong (boats made out of banana tree trunk, banana leaves, and flowers) which everyone floats down the river, sending their regrets for that year away.  It’s really neat! 

            We made krathong in Thai class on Wednesday. But, I had a headstart on learning how to make them the day before because I skipped Sex Industry class to go to a Loy Krathong party at Healing Family on Tuesday where I learned how to make them.  The atmosphere was so fun- everyone was doing something whether it was cooking food, folding leaves, cutting leaves, or putting together the actual krathong.  There were also impromptu Gangnam Style dance parties.
Ze banana tree stalk

someone more skilled making some krathong

they're SO FUN!
 
The one on the right is the one I made in Thai class- I gave that one to my roommates.  The one on the left I made at Healing Family and kept for myself to float down the river.

            Throughout the entire week, people were celebrating Loy Krathong- there were parades and fireworks and lanterns let off every night.  Wednesday night, I headed into the most terrifying traffic to go let my krathong and regrets float down the river.  It was the most horrifying time- people here are obsessed with fire.  Fireworks were going haywire, and almost hit some of my friends in the face, and people were not waiting long enough for their lanterns to fill up with hot air so sometimes the lanterns would sink instead of rise.  This was terrible because we were amidst a VERY large crowd of people.  Loy Krathong is definitely worth checking out, but be careful everyone. Also, Yi Peng is better.
Pushing my krathong into the river

It caught on fire and almost burned my hand off

Part of the parade! The floats were really elaborate.

I caught those perfect doll-like figures with their guard down! BAHAHAHAH

            Friday was SUPER exciting!  Payap hosted International Day, a festival that celebrates different cultures.  They had tons of foods and performances from all around the world.  My favorite food was the kebab made by the angry Turkish fellow.  But the supposedly French chocolate muffin was pretty bangin’ too.  I fell in love with that day for several reasons: 1) it really showcased a lot of the diversity and talent that exists in Chiang Mai.  We had Turkish men do a crazy dance, some Burmese students did a traditional dance that seemed to showcase Burmese games, traditional Thai dance, a lot of singers, some hotty Thai boy dance group, and my friend Owen.  Holy crap. I’ve never seen someone use a yo-yo like him.  It was like magic.  Like him and the yo-yo were one.  He placed 18th in the world for yo-yoing. What is this species of man that can do this?!?!!?! He also won the grand prize- 10,000 baht for winning the talent show aspect of the performances!
My roommates doing a Chinese fan dance

Repping the flags!

Owen, teh yo-yo master!

            The most fun for me was the Healing Family performance.  We showcased Healing Family products by modeling their random pieces of fabric as makeshift clothing, and danced to “Gangnam Style” with the artists.  Our makeshift clothing kinda came off, but it was really fun- the best was seeing how much fun all of the artists were having.  Their smiles were beautiful.  We also made a Chinese dragon that some other people operated through the crowd.  It was beauteous.

            On Saturday, Alex and I went to a day-long cooking class- we learned how to cook five different Thai dishes: pad Thai, mango and sticky rice, panaeng curry with pork, tom kaa gai (coconut soup with chicken), and papaya salad at Baan Thai Cooking School.  It was really nice because they picked us up and took us back to school. After arriving at the school, we got to choose from a list of fifteen dishes- for each of the five courses, we could choose one of three options. 
At the market

pad thai- so easy and so delicious!

panaeng curry- my favorite!

mango and sticky rice for dessert :)

ah yeah boy- cookin up a storm with my wok

papaya salad- the best kinda appetizer

tom kaa gai- i messed it up

            Then, they took us to the market to tell us about the ingredients that we would be using for the day, and how to shop for them at the market.  It was actually a really handy experience.  We had to wear aprons and handkerchiefs while we cooked, and they were persistently urging us to smile as we cooked while they took pictures of us.  The instructors were really entertaining- one kept insisting that the more hot chilies we used, the sexier we would be. Apparently, I’m not very sexy.  Mai chawb ped.  I highly recommend a cooking class to everyone- the food is the best if you can follow the directions correctly, because you can adjust everything to your tastes! Por ejemplo, my papaya salad was araawy maak because it didn’t burn my mouth to oblivion with spice.  And my pad thai was awesome because I could adjust the amount of oyster sauce that went in it.  I love cooking thai food! It’s so easy and quick!

            Time to watch anime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S. My next post will be late because I won't get back from Angkor Wat until Monday. 

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