Stiggy

I have been in Thailand for almost three weeks. I am finally settling into the rhythm and hum of everyday life. I got my first haircut! A harrowing experience it is, trying to explain to someone with a sharp object how much hair you wish to have shorn when there is no mutual language. Not to mention, this barbershop was tucked under a maze of concrete in a tight urban valley where foot traffic is at a minimum. Sketch McGetch. Thankfully, my host bro Karn (pronounced Gan) was my able guide on whom I could depend. Great experience! It cost two dollars, lasted along an hour of which half I received a shampooed head massage. I am pretty sure my hairdresser became fed up with the state of my hair as I had just finished crossfit but an hour ago. She said, “Stiggy” and pointed at my hair. This could have meant one of two things, “stinky or sticky,” Context provides no clear choice as my hair at that moment contained both attributes. Time to call in the Hardy Boys!

Well… so much has happened since I last left a blog post. I have ridden elephants, learned how to navigate Chiang Mai public transport (of which there is none) (taxis), help host a Thai party for my American friends, and retreat off into the Thai wilderness. I have also visited the hospital and done more crossfit. You win some, you lose some.

Elephants are amazing. There massive gray bodies holding the most muscular power in the terrestrial kingdom does not superficially complement the Elephant’s gentle herbivorous nature. I was able to travel to a world-renowned elephant camp (actually listed in the Guiness Book of World Records) where 72 happy elephants live. I was able to do this all on the kind dollar of my host family. I fed these gray giants, watched them play soccer and basketball, roll in the river bed, paint stunning landscapes all under a perfectly dry overcast Portland sky. It was an unforgettable experience. Please check out my pictures of this monumental event!

On Sunday, the day after, I took eight friends from ISDSI out to my host family’s farm where we had a Thai barbecue (Good Job D with all the meat! 11 years of vegetarianism can’t stop a determined person like you!) learned hwo to plant strawberries and traveled to an elephant camp where the staff least to say was markedly less professional that the one I had encountered previously in the weekend. It was almost enough to call PETA in, but at least we all got to ride elephants for cheap! And my host family bought pictures for all my friends. It was just another example of how kind and hospitable my Thai family is.

The next weekend after a grueling week of Thai language classes was a retreat to a national park. We stayed near a waterfall called Mork Fa. Check my pictures on facebook to see how beautiful this place is. It really reminded me of Oregon, except way more tropical. We learned leadership skills and wilderness rescues methods to prepare for our three week long field courses. We learned how to make a stretcher but as some of you may know (Walker, Josh Wright, Bryn…) been there, done that, not fun, don’t wanna do it again.

My soy allergy is becoming more of a problem that I hoped for, hence hospital visit. Please pray for that mess to clear up. I am armed with benedryl and an epipen, but good ‘ol prayer has no substitution.

Hope all is well wherever you may be. I am having a blast and pumped for what is to come this semester and beyond!

Dichotomy

Wow! I have been in Thailand for more than week and it feels like I have been here for a whole month!  I am speaking a little Thai, getting cold at night (only 75 degrees, which is cold in Thailand), and not getting ripped off like a farang. I bought a wallet for 25% of the listed price, of course, with the help with my Mae. It cost about a dollar.

Everything is much cheap in Thailand! A full meal to go costs about a dollar and a sit down restaurant meal costs about three dollars including wait service. Also, it is not customary to tip in Thailand. This past week, I went to the gas station bought a box of cookies and a Hershey’s bar for $1.25. But, buying things in Thailand has made me get really good at dividing everything by 30. All my math people out there (Mom, Jordan, Josh Green, Doeke, Alyssa, etc.) would be proud!

So, my food situation and general food life has been a strange dichotomy. I live on a farm and eat garden fresh food every night. I get to have garden strawberries, papaya, watermelons, coconuts, and bananas. I ate morning glory, which I know back in the states is a flower. I even eat garden lettuce, which the Thai simply refer to as salad. In the morning before school, I eat at 7-eleven- ham & cheese croissants, milk, and pastries. So, processed in the morning and farm fresh at night. I am really loving Thai food so I might come back the US fat but we will see what crossfit does to me. I enjoy it because it represents a larger theme in Thai culture where there is intense modernization and still strong ties to tradition. Thailand is considered a developing country but its development is fairly advanced. My family has two cars and two houses- farm truck, Toyota; country house, city house. I am in love with my host family! They are so kind, compassionate, and really a lot of sanuk- fun. Last night, I had a little bit of soy (typical me) and had a nasty allergic reaction. My mom and grandma were so concerned they were practically waiting outside my door the next day to see if I was ok.

So, Friday caps off my first week of classes. My day usually begins at 8 o’ clock with four hours of intensive Thai language. The classes are four people per instructor tailored to our learning styles, mine being visual. After lunch, there is three hours of Thai culture classes, thankfully taught in English. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have cross fit at four. That has been ripping me to shreds. On Friday they gave us a break and took us to Crazy Horse, which is apparently a big climbing spot for some R&R, which wasn’t really R&R for me because I apparently have a latent fear of heights. I am almost grease my pants when I had to rappel down a cavern that looked to me like it was almost 100 feet deep. Did I mention that we had to zipline across said cavern before changing ropes without any ledge to rappel mode? Exhilarating, yes. Again, never. Climbing was equally terrifying. It’s so much different than the wall at Wheaton College. It was the big leagues and my batting average was still minor league status. But, so cool to get to have my try Thailand caving, climbing, and rappelling. Not many people get to try that in their lifetime. I will post pictures on facebook! Here are some pictures that I have already taken http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2798363211293.130000.1624896654&type=1. Please enjoy!

I am having an indescribable time! This weekend I am visiting three night markets where I can continue testing my bartering skills in Thai, taking my American friends from ISDSI to the family farm, helping my dad sell produce at the market and going to an Elephant show & camp. I am pumped! 

Arrival

I made it to Chiang Mai all in one piece! Almost didn’t, almost blew chunks along the way. Let me just say this international travel sucks. It is downright awful. I stomached four airplane meals- the amount of which I could get past my gullet became less and less per meal. Stale air, infinitesimal space for my six foot frame, time zones, yuck, yuck, yuck!

My first travel companion was a man named James Moore who had quite a few decades under his belt. At first, I was hesitant to make conservation in the beginning. I didn’t necessarily want to start something that could last the full eleven hours. After a few observations I gathered that he too was traveling alone and that he had quite the travel itinerary. I later learned that he was going to be traveling to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and some other country I am now forgetting. Initially, it made me sad that he was doing this all alone. And, I think my sadness was compounded by the fact that I was going alone too. My mood changed when he poured out his love of travel to me. “It’s like a narcotic!” he told me. I became reinvigorated by this elderly gentleman and made it to Japan safely. My next two flight companions were not as emotionally supportive as they didn’t speak a lick of English.

Bam! I am now immersed in another country; a country from what I can tell from the first 48 hours is full of striking differences and startling similarities. I literally had little to no expectation of what living on the far side of the world would be like. I got off the airport into the back of a truck (the taxi of northern Thailand) and was careened through the fast and furious traffic that apparently Thailand is so famous for. I was able to meet some fellow students along the way, who like myself, had come alone. It was nice to meet up with some Americans again and explore some of Chiang Mai.

The next day we were taken to the institute and given to our host families. I have a Mae (mom) and Paw (dad), two little brothers, Guy and Kan, a grandson, Mark-noy, and grandmother, Yahyeh. They have two houses, a country one and city one, we are staying in the country house. It takes me about 45 minutes to get to school! Paw is a farmer and Mae is high school math teacher. Thankfully, Kan and Mae can speak basic English. I would have no idea what was going if that was not the case. I mean, I still am at a loss for most of the time. It seems Mae’s goal is to fatten me up since she gets me food every two hours like clock work. And I am really enjoying Thai food despite gobbling down some strange anomalies like fermented egg. Also, everthing is eaten with rice. This morning, I ate a fired egg atop of rice. It actually tasted good. I would have never in all my years expected that.

I am learning to appreciate another culture, and strangely enough, whenever I find myself appreciating another new thing about Thai culture, I appreciate my way of life in America too! I miss so many people back in the states already!

I will be posting about my first few days in school soon! I just had my first day in school today. J

Leaving

Packing is almost completed. I have gained several pounds to have some reserves to draw upon during the next seven months; I have not had much Thai food and I am sure many of you can attest to the fact that I am gastronomically impaired. I have checked exchange rates. I have said goodbye to many. But, I still feel as if nothing can quite reassure or prepare me for what is to come next and I find this inexorable feeling quite titillating.

I have been teasing my family that I am traveling as far as I possibly can away from my home. And longitudinally this is quite true. It is almost sad to me that I am reaching the farthest place from home at such a young age. It begs the question, how can I top this adventure afterword? Nonetheless, I am terribly excited.

I am writing this blog to keep in touch with those I wish to keep in touch: family, friends, etc. It seemed a gargantuan task to try to retain all my linkages stateside atop of my unknown and limited communication methods and atop the glaring absurdity of me being twelve hours different timewise. I find this will be the easiest way to tell my story. But, I am a communicator; I want feedback so please supply the comment section with ample love.

Additionally, I am not going to edit and make sure spelling and grammar is correct. So, all you who thrive on correcting me (I am talking to you, Doeke and Erik), know this blog is imperfect. But, I will love you irregardless of your personal choices ;). 

This will be difficult to restrict all my thoughts and feelings to the written word. But, I will be sure to add pictures! I have posted a picture of my current packing status. It’s insane! I don’t know if everything will fit. And I want room to bring stuff back!

Logistics. I will be out of the country from January 3 to July 22. The first sixteen weeks I will be taking sixteen credits and assuming the role of a student. A cracked-out student! First off, I received an e-mail recently stating that the first six weeks we will be doing crossfit. A simple google query will detail this workout in all its intensity. In the adventuring department I will be backpacking between remote villages, rafting down rivers, sea kayaking between islands, climbing, and cave snorkeling. The sixteen weeks are broken up into four units: Thai language & culture, Rivers, Forests, and Oceans. To sum up the last three classes in a simple sentence, I will be looking at how Thai people interact with their respective ecosystems. Resources use, anthropology etc. The following eight weeks I will be doing an internship, which is still TBD. After that, I fly to the Philippines to visit the lovely Ketch family for a week of fun. And then I will return to the good ol’ US of A. Whew! A paragraph that vaguely outlines my life for the next seven months! For more details, videos, and photos of what I am going to be doing, visit isdsi.org.

Thank you so much for checking up with me. I will try to be timely with my forthcoming posts. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I will need it as I am going alone. God Bless!