"Sabai, Sabai" ...aka Everything's Cool

Hello again! Suwana here! (According to my professor Suwana is my Thai name, which means “golden”. Obviously I was delighted to learn this and adopted my new name immediately.)  Another few weeks have elapsed since my arrival and I have now officially been in Chiang Mai for over a month.  While the blissful intoxication of being in Thailand has yet to wear off, a few sobering realities are beginning to sink in.  One has to do with the simple fact that I won’t be home for the holidays this year.  Of course I knew that going into this experience, but I only just recently pondered how strange it will be to not carve pumpkins, eat turkey, or get sick of “Feliz Navidad” in the coming months.  And most significantly, I won’t be able to enjoy the loving company of my family on my favorite day of the year.  I am actually a freak about Christmas and will miss our lil family traditions SO much. 

Some less sentimental realities are starting to surface as well.  For example, there ain’t no doubt a-baht it: it is deceivingly easy to spend a decent amount of money here.  Everything really is so cheap by American standards that somewhat-thoughtless consumption of goods and services does happen. Thais in Chiang Mai eat out for every meal too, but tend to eat street food for super cheap while so far my farang and I will more often spend a bit more baht to enjoy our meals in restaurants with servers and a nice atmosphere.  I don’t really think twice about buying a smoothie or coffee drink if I want one because they’re so cheap and it is easy to justify the little luxuries… I know these small transactions are adding up.  Still, I don’t think I’ve spent more than $5 USD on a meal which is amazing.  But as I am starting to plan weekend excursions and trips for my month break in the winter, I am realizing I need to be a little more Froogle.

Another frustration is learning the language.  It being a tonal language, a word may take on five different meanings dependent on how you say it.  I consistently make the mistake of using a rising tone when I am saying a word I am unsure of because I will say it how we would pronounce a word at the end of a question in English.  I also find myself wanting to use Spanish words to describe things when the Thai I know won’t suffice.  It’s loco.  Still, my Thai has gotten a little better these past few weeks.  I have had the opportunity to go to a few Thai language exchange meet-ups that are held at a café nearby.  They are very informal social gatherings, where Thai people come to practice their English and foreigners come to learn Thai.  It works out very nicely!  The guy who owns the café and hosts the meet-ups is an Australian who has been in Chiang Mai for the past four years teaching English.  He is just one of many farang I have met who came to Thailand a while ago and just never really left!  (Another guy I met was an ordained monk who initially just came to Thailand for travel!)  It really is a great place to be so I understand why these people have stayed for so long.

sahwatdeekaaaaaaa gin aa-haan! (hello eat food)

more like kitch-fun am I right?!

To me, even just the food is a legitimate reason to stay here.  I had a great experience in my Thai Cuisine class, which ended a couple weeks ago.  We got to cook around 30 different Thai dishes using ingredients that I had never heard of and when the class ended our teacher gave us her recipe book!! I am eager to try to replicate some of our masterpieces when I return to the States.

Spicy Pai, the awesome hostel we stayed in!

scootin' around

A couple weekends ago, I went with a group of friends to Pai, which is a little village town about 3 hours from Chiang Mai. Someone had compared it to the Humboldt of Thailand so I was very excited to see it!! It was absolutely beautiful, and the temperature was slightly cooler than the weather in Chiang Mai which was a definite plus. We had a fantastic weekend renting scooters, exploring the country side and generally just taking in the incredible views! Still, none of us anticipated it being such a touristy area.  While the countryside still seemed relatively unaffected by foreigners, the downtown area of Pai was quite evidently catered exclusively for tourists and backpackers passing through.  We had a first hand account of the backpacker culture staying in a hostel right outside of town.  The hostel was very cool, all made out of bamboo and in the middle of a fantastic view!  It was my first experience staying in a hostel and it was so interesting to see so many people meeting from all over the world, all with their own physical and metaphorical baggage.  Seeing so many young people so alive with adventure definitely further sparked my interest in traveling!

awesome waterfall w rock slide!

beautiful views all through the countryside

enjoyed breakfast in a former Coloradan's cafe´!

first Thai elephant sighting!

juss me bein cute

Last weekend, I was able to take part in the TedX event in Chiang Mai.  It took place in a beautiful hotel and completely exceeded my expectations!  We listened to some fascinating talks, had an unreal buffet for lunch, and enjoyed floating around different stands they had set up.  

 

my pal Lexis and I as intellectuals

There were a few talks in Thai but we were given headsets with a translator relaying the speakers’ messages for us.  As you would expect from a Ted event, I left the event feeling inspired and creative!  If you haven’t listened to Ted talks before, you must check them out!  Here is a personal favorite of mine (not from event): Ted Talk: Louie Schwartzberg

Some highlights from this past week:

1.  I bought a bicycle and my world has gotten so much bigger!! Now I can explore more of the city and get to class in 5 minutes!

my new ride

2. I met a very interesting man from Japan who grows organic coffee near Chiang Mai.  (One of his many occupations including biofuel engineer, humanitarian, and journalist)  He introduced me to a friend he has here who is putting together a beautiful space filled from floor to ceiling with intricate Hindu paintings that depict some of their mythology.  A friend and I got to visit the place, which will eventually host social events like weddings.  It has a very calming temple-like energy.  The Ganesh statue outside took about two years to carve from a tree.  Ganesh being the god of knowledge in Hinduism, Thai students apparently come to make offerings in order to pass their exams.  We happily took part in the ritual!

just one of the impressive murals 

Ganesh statue... so beautiful!

3.  Some friends and I went to a monk cave about an hour outside of Chiang Mai and it was amazing.  The cave was made naturally, not by human hands and was home to a huge reclining Buddha and many little shrines.  After visiting the cave, we hiked up to an amazing viewpoint and saw about 8 monkeys on the way up!!! Those were the first I had seen during my time here!

 

*there is a monkey in this photo*

lil shrine 

the reward at the top

I have an exciting weekend coming up exploring the capital of Thailand, followed by a weekend where I will spend the night in a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai.  I am so lucky and happy to be here!  Thanks for reading!

Getting by in Chiang Mai

Sah-wat-dee-kha!!!  Greetings from the Land of Smiles! I've been in Chiang Mai, Thailand for two weeks now and am happy (and relieved) to report that this strange and humid parallel universe I’m living in right now is an exceptional place to call home these next 9 months.  I am very lucky to be here!

view of chiang mai from plane

food carts on Suthep Road

Suthep Road

Adjusting to life in Thailand has been surprisingly easy, a consequence of the fortunate circumstances I have found myself in: I live in a comfortable, modern apartment complex among other American college students (who are also my classmates), it is relatively easy to get by with a small Thai vocabulary, the majority of people in Chiang Mai are incredibly friendly, and the culture here is so laid back and fun to participate in that I really can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.  Still, I know that I am only just skimming the surface of all that Chiang Mai has to offer.  I look forward to spending more time here, immersing more in the language and culture of Thailand, and feeling less like a clueless “farang”.

we slid off this rock into the pool below!

These last couple of weeks when I wasn’t in class, I was able to explore intricately detailed and beautiful temples, shop around local markets that sold handcrafted goods, jump into water off of a waterfall rock slide, stumble upon a gorgeous wat after a hike through the forest, play pick up games of soccer with Thai students, help teach young monks English, indulge in a Thai massage or two, and of course, chow down some incredible Thai food.  In future posts I will offer more detailed synopses of my adventures, but for now I will just let my pictures do the story telling.

stairs to Doi Suthep

Doi Suthep

view of Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep

monks swimming at Huay Kaew waterfall

police station in old town Chiang Mai

lil monks walking down the street... note the red truck,
or Songthaew- our main means of transportation here

As for the city itself, Chiang Mai is amazing – and immensely populated compared to what I’ve become used to.  The streets and sidewalks are flooded with food and drink stands, restaurants, shops, stray dogs, an insane amount of mopeds, and smiles.  I think of this city as a visual feast; there are a million different things to look at and I notice something new on my street every time I walk through it.  Other students at Chiang Mai University, locals, and tourists scurry up and down the streets on foot, in cars, in the back of a songthaew (a red pick up truck with two benches and a roof built onto it) or on aforementioned mopeds.  Traffic is typically quite dense and there aren’t really any enforced traffic laws so crossing the street is a daily struggle and source of adrenaline.

One of my first impressions of Chiang Mai was on my way to my apartment from the airport, when I was absolutely shocked by how close everyone drove next to each other and how often people seemed to cut each other off.  What was more shocking still, though, was how cool and relaxed the driver remained while other drivers committed traffic atrocities that would surely go un-forgiven in America.  And so my first day here I was introduced to one of the many paradoxes that Chiang Mai offers.  In a city bustling with life and apparent chaos, there is a slow, relaxedness to the people that is so refreshing. “Sabai sabai,” the Thais will tell you, which basically means that everything is fine, everything is happening as it should. 

This attitude stems from the prominence of Buddhism in Thai culture.  85% of the people in Chiang Mai are Buddhists and monks are highly revered.  In fact, the highest level of a “wai” is reserved for them.  A wai is a Thai greeting where you bow slightly with your palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion to whomever it is you are acknowledging.  You bring your hands higher and your bow deeper when greeting someone with higher status than you, like a monk.  Being a foreigner, people don’t really expect me to wai but I want to practice wai-ing to my teachers before class.

beautiful reservoir on campus

one meal we made in Thai Cuisine
(some of the best food I've had here!)

one of the streets on campus,
everyone rides scooters here!

I suppose I should mention a little bit about my classes since that is what has brought me to this magical city!  Chiang Mai University, host to about 40,000 students, has a huge, green and gorgeous campus complete with a breathtaking reservoir.  The campus has shuttles that take you around for free, but I typically prefer to walk to class and take in the beautiful scenery.  Everyone wears a uniform to school, which is a white button up shirt with a knee-length skirt for women and a purple tie with black slacks for men.  We all have a neat belt with the CMU logo on it and a couple elephant pins that go on our uniforms as well! I actually don’t mind wearing a uniform.  The skirt allows for a nice breeze and I feel like a polite and studious schoolgirl when I wear it, which I quite like.  My classes are taught in English by Thai professors and all of my classmates are other fellow USACers.  My classes this semester are about Buddhist Philosophy, Thai Society and Culture, Thai Language, ASEAN Tourism and Management, and my favorite, Thai Cousine.  I really love learning about Thailand in and out of the classroom and so far all of my professors seem fantastic. 

A few last things worth mentioning unique to Thai culture:

• Thais use a fork and spoon when eating.  Your fork is in your left hand and is used to grab food that is being shared with others and to help nudge your next bite onto your spoon, which is in your right hand.  You only put your spoon into your mouth!  Eating this way is so nice and makes so much more sense and I will continue to spoon feed myself long after I leave Thailand.
•  Another thing about food… Thais don’t really seem to distinguish breakfast from other meals.  You have basically the same choices for each meal!  You can get omelets here, but you can just as easily order them for dinner as for breakfast.  I am a huge breakfast fan so this was strange for me at first, but I gotta admit I don’t mind starting the day with some Pad Thai or curry.
• Whenever you hear the Thai national anthem, you stop what you are doing and stand still in respect.  I was confused during one of the pick up soccer games why everyone suddenly stopped playing!
•  Many of the toilets in Thailand are squat toilets and you actually step onto the toilet bowl, which has grooves so that you don’t slip.  Toilets all either have a handheld bidet or a bucket of water with a bowl that you use to pour over yourself.  Still haven’t had to use the bowl sort!!
• “Mai pen rai” means nevermind, or no worries.  Thai people don’t sweat the small stuff.  If something unlucky or annoying happens to them, they say mai pen rai and let it go.

It is difficult to summarize two weeks of exploration in this foreign new land and even more difficult to try and put Chiang Mai and the university into words.  I have so much more to learn and see and try but I would already strongly recommend anyone with an open mind and empty stomach to travel here!  The cheap food, massages and shopping are great but it is the people that make this place so remarkable.  I am determined to keep improving my Thai and connect more with the Thai students and locals around Chiang Mai. I have lots to look forward to!  Until next time… sah-wat-dee-kha!