The menu at the bakery! Those are different scoops of ice cream at the bottom.
More of the menu! You can choose what you want...waffles, pancakes, giant toast...then put ice cream or nutella or bananas or matcha on it etc.
The Spiderman Party Bus
Good morning U.S.A! It was nearly impossible to get WiFi at our Garden Resort for the past few days, but I just moved in to my dorm at KKU (Khon Kaen University) today, and finally have the resources/time to tell you all what has been going on!
We began our trip from Bangkok in a very unusual way. After a beautiful breakfast at the Great Residence Hotel, we gathered to meet our bus that would take us to Khon Kaen (my home city!). Little did we know what was in store... I like to refer to this bus as the Spiderman party bus that blasted Ludacris for 8 hours... But it was so much more than that. It had numerous shrines to the Michelin Man, and its interior was decorated with the following characters:
Pokemon, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Dalmatians, Santa Claus, Pandas, and even more shrines to the Michelin Man (not sure why...). It had a disco ball and strobe lights and subwoofers, and we blasted Thai hip hop and random American rap for 8 hours, I repeat...8 hours. But it was definitely worth the experience.
We arrived at the Garden Resort which was really something out of a dream. I described it as the background that is painted in the zoo behind the animals. It was unreal. We had to immediately drop our bags then leave for the 1000 step Mountain Temple, which was really beautiful. But after that, we were so exhausted that we ate dinner and went to bed in our slumber party style rooms with 8 bright pink beds. Everyone is so nice and interesting here; it's actually quite easy to get along.
And then began the Thai lessons... Thai class is 4 hours a day every day. From 8 AM to noon. We cannot speak any English in the classroom, so naturally I learned “Oi!!! Chaan pood pasaThai maidai!” (Ugh, I cannot speak Thai!). But actually it is so fun and I'm so glad that I will have communication ability. It was really hard on the first day feeling like some sort of weird, rude alien. I really love Thai numbers. We even played a game with refrigerator magnets where we had to quickly form whatever number was said in Thai. Needless to say, I took it as an intense competition and won. I love numbers! Also, in Thai texting we can use “5555” for “hahaha” because “haa”(rising tone) is the word for the number 5!
Something else about Thai language; Instead of “how are you?”, Thais ask “have you eaten yet?”. This country LOVES food. There is always food. All the time. And it really varies! There are so many different dishes and interesting foods to try. Today we learned all types of food words in Thai class... We then had a challenge to ask some of the staff (no English) the most complicated sentence we could think of... We had to speak it in Thai and they wrote what they heard for our Ajaan (teacher) to read. Mine was actually perfect! Bear with me while I tell you the sentence I used (they said be creative!!!): “I would like thick coffee with salty fish sauce and spicy peppers in it, yesss delicious!!”. Needless to say, the Thai woman responded with laughter and “Mai Arrroy!!” (not delicious!!!). The coffee here actually is quite delicious. It comes in packets called “3 in 1”s that are 51% sugar and 15% coffee. They basically taste like chocolate.
Anyways, we also had lectures on Thai Etiquette (body language, how to not freak out our roommates with our nasty American habits, etc) and Health & Safety in Thailand. I learned how to avoid the packs of wild dogs while out on a run, which came in handy the next day. Thai people are very friendly, and certainly find my white skin fascinating. It is because I am “farang” (foreign). When I growled at a wild dog, the Thais around me thought it was hilarious. But seriously, there were wild dogs chasing me. I also learned that in Thailand “the bigger vehicle has the right of way, because it can kill you.” Good to know.
We did lots of group bonding activities, and got to adjust to Thailand a little bit before entering KKU life. We met several monks who taught us about Buddhism and gave us many blessings. We also offered plenty of food to their community and thanked them with the traditional "wai" (bow). It was incredible to be around such inspiring people. In other news, our roommates are all really wonderful. My roommate is named June, a Chinese History major, and she is so sweet. She will help me learn Thai, and I will help her learn English! It's all very overwhelming, but I am trying to take it as it comes. Tomorrow after class we are going to a fair at the university, and I am meeting some of June's friends “who are also gin jay (vegetarian)”!
I apologize if my English seems a little broken. I've been trying to communicate for the past 3 days with lots of expressive gestures and smiling.
Today was one of my “interesting days”. I can confidently say that out of all the interesting days in my life, this one had to count as the beginning to a series of interesting days to come. I arrived in Bangkok this morning at 7:15 AM (Bangkok time), and actually met up with a group of CIEE students also arriving on the flight. How wonderful it was to arrive to hot sun and palm trees in the middle of January! We made our way to the Great Residence Hotel in Bangkok, where I then proceeded to have a very cold shower (because showers in Thailand do not seem to exceed mildly lukewarm, apparently). We will be spending one evening here before heading off (very early, mind you) to our Orientation site. In order to keep ourselves awake and avoid the suffering of jetlag, we decided to go into the city of Bangkok. Unfortunately, we ended up in the touristy area of the city, and I regret not digging deeper into Bangkok. However, as we had literally just arrived that morning, it served its purpose of keeping us awake and occupied throughout the afternoon. We toured the malls, and I was thrilled to see Hello Kitty at every turn. We got to know each other and enjoyed exploring what we could, while being exhausted and overstimulated by everything around us. It is important to note that Thailand air turns my hair into a site to behold... Tonight we begin Orientation, and meet everyone on the program. Tomorrow we set off to Khon Kaen, where we will also experience our first temple hike. I am overjoyed to be here right now, and while it is still somewhat surreal, it looks like Thailand is about to become home.
*Added when posting* Today we leave Bangkok at 6AM for a 5 hour drive to Khon Kaen, where we will then hike a mountain and visit a temple. I am very much looking forward to it. Though, considering jetlag has kept me awake since 1AM (Thailand time!), it should be very interesting.
Here I'll quote my own little journal (graciously given to me by Marta Belli): So far, the traveling has been more than bearable. On my first flight to NYC, I was enraptured by the book I am reading about the inner life of Autism. In the book, she describes her oversensitivity to sound or touch or other stimuli. The baby behind me wailed as we began to descend. Autism or not, flying in a plane heightens a child's nervous system! I wasn't particularly bothered by the screaming, but I knew the mother was somewhat mortified, and desperately trying to soothe her baby! Next to me sat my overly fluffy, overly cute, overly sized Bumble Bee Pillow Pet... and I had an idea. I staged an impromptu puppet show over the back of my seat, immediately capturing the infant's attention. She eventually reached out to pull the Bee into her lap, and I obliged. It was well worth it: for the next 15 minutes I heard raucous giggling and a mother whispering "Buzz Buzz Buzz... No we don't put the bee in our mouths!" Just a little distraction went a long way. I arrived in JFK airport and felt like I was lost in the middle of a city. I managed to find my way, but only after being dumbfounded at how stranded I was...and I wasn't even out of the country yet! I think it's true that when you set out on grand adventures, you meet very interesting people. While waiting to board my flight to Dubai, I met an American girl headed to her childhood friend's wedding in India. We happened to be standing next to an Indian man who politely asked the surname of her friend. He said that you can tell how many people will attend an Indian wedding by the surname. After hearing the name, he said to expect about 2000 guests and a 4 day event!! My second flight was to Dubai, and was 12 hours long, with all sorts of funky time shifts along the way. I was so lucky to meet Ava, a freshmen at Princeton going home to Dubai after her last Final in Organic Chemistry. We shared a nice big empty seat between us. She showed me the ropes of flying with Emirates airline... when they came around with hot towels I looked over at her pleadingly, and she whispered "for your hands or face!". She then went on to describe her favorite part of the flight: the food. "They come around between meals with pizza that is sooo good!" By the time the pizza rolled around Ava was asleep, so I saved mine for her. The meals and entertainment really are excellent on this airline! I watched Alice in Wonderland in Cantonese (to see if I could recognize sounds) and ate delicious cherry chocolate mousse. I was able to sleep for at least 6 hours, and had an enjoyable flight overall.
I was lucky enough to spend the past few days in Rochester, saying goodbye to everyone before I leave for Thailand. I am truly surrounded by the most wonderful people, and I couldn't have had a better send-off. Last night my glorious teammates staged an epic surprise party for me (I had NO idea), fit with an ice cream cake and all. I was enthralled to see everyone all in one place before I left, though it made me realize how little time I had left with my friends! I am the kind of person who can get wrapped up in the most tangential of conversations, and there just isn't enough time in a lifetime to discuss everything I'd like to discuss with each and every one of my friends. So for now I'll put the philosophical ramblings on hold, and I am wishing the most interesting, serendipitous, fulfilling, and RIDICULOUS semesters to everyone!
Meanwhile, I have been preparing for my departure. I am looking forward to meeting others who share a passion for a better world, and am excited to throw myself completely into new circumstance. There is SO MUCH to learn and experience. There is so much more room to grow, to laugh, and to do things I have never dreamed I would ever be doing.
So here I go, off to Khon Kaen in a few days' time!
P.S. I am hoping to approach my blogging with a much more lighthearted tone in the future... Goodbyes are hard! Thanks for bearing with me.