The day I left Chiang Mai

I know, I know.. two posts in one week?! What has gotten into me?

Well, its almost midnight and I'm feeling a little bit sentimental. Its my last night with my host family, and my last night in Chiang Mai until I come back in the end of April for the TEFL course.

As I sit here and think, I realize I have definitely taken this city for granted. Its an AMAZING city. So much life, so much culture, the beauty is astounding, and I got to live right in the middle of it. I've gotten to live with an amazing family too- my host mom has done nothing but take care of me, and I love having rubber band wars or pillow fights with my brother. Even though I lost a huge chunk of my freedom and privacy, I am actually going to miss it here. It became my home away from home, as cliche as that sounds.We had a farewell party with all of the study abroad students, we exchanged gifts, went out to a nice dinner, and she even took me to volunteer at a dog shelter (random.. I know. but it was a lot of fun!) A good way to finish it up.

So, in order to be a true reminiscer, I am going to make a list of my favorite things in Chiang Mai (not in any order, and I'm not going to cap it at Top 10, because I'm doing this on the fly).

1. The wall and the moat.
The city was founded in 1296, which means its REALLY old. Designed as a northern fortress for Siam, the city's face is towards the river, and its back is to the largest mountains in Thailand. If that wasn't enough security for them, the king also built a huge moat and a wall around the city. The city has way outgrown its wall and moat stages, but there are an impressive amount of remnats of the wall still around. The moat is absolutely gorgeous, always decorated with flowers and fountains. Everytime I drive by Tai Pei gate (the opening gate into the old city) I always gasp at the beauty of the fountains, the lights, the flowers, the old brick in the wall, and the mountains.

Moat and wall

2. The markets 
I love the markets. It's where the people are, as well as the food and the stuff. There are daily markets.. like the one near my house..that sell food to the locals. Then there are the weekly "Walking Streets" every Sunday night, my absolute favorite. Vendors come from everywhere to sell their wares, and the streets are closed from one end of the old city to the other. Thai people and farang alike walk up and down the streets, hustling and bustling to find what the want/need. This is the only "souvenir" market that caters to both locals and tourists. There is a Night Bazaar..but seriously you never see any Thai people there unless they are working. Puts a bad taste in my mouth.

Walking Street- Sunday Nights

3. The food
Not only is the food SO good, its super cheap. Usually, I only have to pay around 25 Baht (75 cents) per meal. I am going to have a hard time going back to the states and having to pay over $5! That could buy me a meal at the fanciest restaurant here! Not only is the food delicious, but Northern Thailand has their own food culture, setting it a part from the rest of their country. Usually Northern Thai food is spicy, with lots of sauces and vegetables. It is a serious matter of pride for them, and mostly everything in the culture revolves around their food and their....

4. Sticky rice
The people of Chiang Mai are PROUD sticky rice eaters, and rightly so. Not only does it set them apart from their wicked half brother, Bangkok, who likes to steal all the fame and glory, but it is also delicious. Eating sticky rice is an art. Its usually eaten with every meal that is Northern in its substance. You pinch a wad of the rice and roll it between your fore finger and your thumb. Then you either dip it in sauce, or grab a piece of meat to go along with it. As soon as you bite into it, the flavors from the rice mix with the flavors of the dish, releasing an extravaganza in your mouth. Not only is it great for dinner, its AWESOME for dessert! Mixed with coconut milk and topped with fresh mangoes, its probably one of the best things I've ever eaten. I'm already working with my mom to help me make it when I return.

Sticky Rice

5. The People
Thailand is called the "Land of Smiles," and for good reason. People here are unbelievably friendly. They live in the moment, love to have fun, and, obviously, love to smile. They have a saying that it's all about the "suay,sanook, sabay," meaning that life should be full of the beautiful, full of fun, and full of things that make life run smoothly. (sabay literally means fine- not too good, not too bad, but just in the middle). They also have the attitude that you can learn from everyone, which is definitely apparent. One of my greatest Thai teachers is the vendor who sells me moo bing (grilled pork on a stick) and sticky rice every morning for breakfast. Before he gives me my set, he quizzes me on 5 Thai words.

6. Rod Dangs
I don't think I will ever be able to go back to being in a car without the wind in my hair. Rod dangs, the "public" taxis of Chiang Mai, are basically glorified pick up trucks. Its very freeing, sitting sideways in the back, and I feel very close to my surroundings. Traffic is crazy in Chiang Mai, so you really have to hold on to the handles sometimes, but it is just more thrilling that way!

Rod Dangs

7. Coffee Shops 
Chiang Mai is ALL about the coffee shops, something I absolutely love. It has become my Saturday tradition to find the most delicious latte at the cheapest price, at the cafe with the best atmosphere. After much deliberation, I found it. 30 baht for a latte..which is more than a meal but so totally worth it for me, and its only $1. Where in the US would you find a $1 latte. The cafe is tucked in with a bunch of tropical vegetation surrounding it, and there are tables on the ground floor and on the roof. They also put a lot of foam on the latte..which I absolutely love.. and I can sit and read my book there for hours. Perfection.

8. Chiang Mai University
Well.. even though they made me have a literal aversion to white shirts and black skirts (our uniform), and  they forced me to realize that I'm never going to be an artist and that Thai is the hardest language to speak in the world, I love this place. The professors are awesome, and care about us. The classes were SO interesting...learning about different aspects of Thai language, culture, Buddhism, art... my intellect was stretched in ways it had never been stretched before, because not only was I learning about it, I was living it! And it was the place where I could catch up with all of my friends and share host family stories. 7th floor..faculty of the humanities..that was home base for me. I'm going to miss it.

 9. The fruit
I know I already raved about the food in Thailand, but this one needs to be mentioned. The fruit here is UNBELIEVABLE. Pineapple, watermelon, and bananas have never tasted so good in my entire life. And there are so many fruits I never knew existed- rose apples, som oh, amazing tasting papaya- and for only 10 baht. Perfect treat on a hot day.

10. Transitioning from a tourist to a local
I'll always be a farang. I can't help it; I'm not Thai, and my skin is pasty white. But, I have worked my hardest to become a farang that could be respected as a local. I always keep my shoulders covered (its culturally unacceptable for women to show their shoulders, but farang tourists do it ALL the time). I try to always speak Thai, even if I have no idea how to say what I want to say.  That way I still gain respect, and there are always a few laughs too. I know to stand still when they play the national anthem on every street corner in the morning, and know to stand when they play the King's song before a movie at the movie theater. I know that there are 5 different tones in Thai (maa, maa, maa, maa, and maa all mean different things when said in different tones). I know which type of wai I need to give my different superiors, and to take off my shoes before I get in a house or some stores, to never touch someones head, and to never point the sole of my foot at someone.  I can get where I need to go in Chiang Mai, and I know how to bargain with a rod dang driver so he will give me a discount. I feel comfortable in the city, and I love it.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my list! None of the pictures are my own, so thanks google images! haha Tomorrow, I leave for my cross country trip through Thailand!

I also need to get to bed, and I have received 14 mosquito bites since I began this post (I just counted...NO FUN.)

Miss and love you all!

Kitty

The day I searched for 'Sanook'

Long time no see! I know it's been a while since my last blog post, but I've been waiting for the end for a certain time so I could write about the one thing that has been consuming my life lately: the show "Searching for Sanook."

In my last post, I talked about how I had just started a new internship, working with so called "disabled" actors- people with down syndrome, autism, etc, while they worked to complete their show called "Searching for Sanook." At first, I was recruited just to sing in the background so they would all be able to keep pitch, but my role became much more involved, and for that I am incredibly grateful and forever changed.

Every day after classes, Cecily, an acting major from Westmont, Diana from Messiah, Jackie from Messiah, and me would go to the rehearsals held at RICD- the leading child's mental health hospital in Thailand. RICD is hoping to open the first  real performing arts building in Chiang Mai where both disabled and so called "normal" people can work together. The plans are really cool- the building is supposed be in the shape of a piano, and the performances will be outside in the part where the opening is on top. "Searching for Sanook" is the pilot program for this organization- showing that drama therapy is effective, and that people with disabilities can be real artists.

The first day I got there I fell in love...with everyone. The Thai disabled people, the American disabled people that came to work on the show, and the Americans (Tod, Jeanne, and Natalie) who organized, produced, directed, and wrote everything (music, lyrics, and lines). I came in more than halfway after rehearsals had started, so I expected to be given  a small amount of work to do, just to fill in the loose holes. I was wrong. They had me singing a solo, acting, doing set changes, cuing everyone to their next spots (which is REALLY hard with the disabled population..they tend to move very slowly) and getting everyone into their costumes. At times, Cecily and I would literally be on stage, running backstage to the other side, going on stage to set up the next scene, running again backstage to cue everyone, throw a costume on someone, and then be on stage for the next scene. We seriously got our workout, and I loved every minute of it.

The show, "Searching for Sanook," was about Thai people teaching us "Farang" how to have "sanook" (fun). Everything in Thailand is about sanook. You have to incorporate sanook in everything you do, whether that means taking an extra long lunch break at work, or playing games in the middle of the school day. This play was also about following your dreams. At the beginning of the play, many of the actors tell the dreams they have, but have told that they were unable to do because of their disability. In the end, one of them accomplishes their dream and everyone bonds over that, all while having sanook along the way. There were scenes when the farang couldn't say Thai words correctly because of the difficult tones ..kee maa said in one tone could be ride a horse, but in another way could mean dog poop. There were scenes such as a farang ordering the wrong thing at a Thai restaurant, or getting a Thai massage ("ow" here means "I want more" but obviously in America it means "PAINFUL..". you can get how that could lead to a funny situation).

The actors, beyond anything, were my favorite part. I will never forget the bonds and relationships I made with these amazing people. There was Guitar (nicknamed because he loved music so much), a 15 year old "micro" (meaning his brain and body are really small) boy who, on the first day, could not get his dance moves down correctly so was told to watch me. He took that to mean that he had to watch me all the time, so in every scene, he is looking at me, and he followed me around everywhere, singing and playing his air guitar. He became my little shadow, and one of my favorite people on the planet. Seriously. We have our own handshake and he can play the down beats and hum the background of different songs while I sing the melody. He just warmed my heart up.



Guitar doing what he does best



Then there was Duan. When I first arrived, she was SO shy. She would not even look at me because she would be so embarrassed. And then I noticed she would get closer. And closer. Until she would poke me in my side and then run away. By the last show, she would wrap her arms around me from behind, rest her head on my shoulder, and we would move as one entity, me doing my work as she just clung onto my back, sometimes even for a whole hour. It was a little awkward, because she was like 6 inches taller than me, but the love she displayed to me is something I could never forget.

Duan and I <3

Phi Jaw is a girl with downs syndrome who could not sing for the life of her, and it would sound like she was barking from stage when she tried, making it that much more hilarious. I bought a t-shirt that she made at her job, and jumped up and down out of excitement when I showed her. She was the queen of Sanook in the play, because she is absolutely HILARIOUS and definitely knows how to have fun. Anybody around her always ends up laughing their heads off.

Phii Jaw on stage as the Queen of Sanook

Gavin is a boy from Burma who only speaks English, not Thai (which was really hard to remember..poor Gavin. I probably gave him so many stage cues in Thai just to remember that he wasn't Thai, and would just be staring at me confused.) He is SO shy, but when he smiles, watch out. You'll be blinded. He is a waiter in the restaurant scene, and at point Cecily told him to "go be funny on stage." So he put on a clown nose, and squeaked it as he walked across stage, smiling all the way. He got more laughs than anyone else with that simple action. He also burps a lot when he gets really nervous, and the apologizes over and over again, which is really cute.

Gavin and his wondeful smile

JJ is the most adorable person EVER. He's a 4 year old boy with downs syndrome, a reckless bundle of joy. He always had to do things his way, but he was SO cute you just had to let him. Everyone in the program fell in love with him.

JJ the hula hooping STAR

Mike and Matt are two guys from America that came over with Jeanne, Tod, and Natalie. They both have downs syndrome, but they became our close friends. Matt would always call us his "hot babes" and Mike wrote us poems. Very flattering to say the least. I loved hanging out with them, going out for smoothies with Mike or pretending to model in front of a fan with Matt, I was never bored.

Cecily, Mike, and I in the "Kee Maa" song

Matt modeling in front of the fan

And that was just a small tidbit of the cast. Every single performer was amazing in their own way, and each and everyone one of them changed my life.



Me and some of the cast



We had three shows: one on Friday, and two on Saturday. Friday was the VIP show- the Princess was supposed to come but she got sick and is in the hospital :(. But there were other various big shots there, and they are the people that need to support the program for it to continue. It was a huge success. I also had to pose in front of press cameras when I received a certificate from the Head of the Ministry of Health in Thailand, which I was not suspecting and a little nerve racking. Saturday was when all of our friends and family came, and it was great to see the smiling faces of those I know in the crowd. We were also featured in the Bangkok Post. You can see the article here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/arts-and-culture/music/224520/musical-play-aims-to-be-inclusive

I left part of my heart behind with this group after our last show. I was definitely an emotional wreck, and kind of still am. I've been humming the songs all day, anticipating going back for rehearsals, but I'm not. I loved teaching at Baan Ponsawan, but I think this experience has effected me more than anything else in the country of Thailand. God was really at work in this place, and continues to work through Jeanne, Tod, and Natalie as they continue similar programs at Interact in Minnesota, and around the world.

This week I also said good bye to the kids at Baan Ponsawan, whom I haven't seen in 3 weeks. They rushed up to me and gave me big hugs, and we face painted the whole day. I also had a lunch with President Kim Phipps from Messiah, which was really fun to see her all the way in Thailand!

I say farewell to my host family this week (SAD!) and we start our cross country tour across Thailand! Keep watching for updates, because I'm sure there will be many! I will also add all photos from "Searching for Sanook" in their own album on Facebook, so look out for those
<3 Kitty