Not Busy, Just Thai'd Up

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!

 

            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.

            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 18^th 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!

            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. 

            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.