Chiang Mai

This morning our group woke up bright and early at four in the morning to make it to our seven o'clock flight. Before long we were on our way to the beautiful province of Chiang Mai! Once we arrived there we met up with a guide who taught us about the city's history while taking us up the mountainside. In the gardens at the mop of the mountain there were some people dressed in Thai costumes who some of us took pictures with. The funny thing is after we got our picture made they handed us their camera because they wanted pictures with us! There was even a little four year old girl dressed in costume who appeared to be targeting adult white males. After playing around with them and taking pictures she would stick out her hand and say what appeared to be the only word that she knew in English, money. Of course they happily handed her some and she would skip off to her next victim. I wonder who trained her to do this? How common is it? What kind of an effect does making money by manipulating people with your cuteness have on her psychosocial development?












Once we descended from the mountain we visited a temple. While there I found some really nice handmade postcards and local crafts. I am already spoiled by the cheap prices here and know that I will have a very hard time paying more than five dollars for clothes when I come home.








After the temple it was time to grab some lunch. We went to this amazing orchid farm that was also a restaurant. I wish that I could bring you all back an orchid! Sadly America does not allow such things.

After lunch we went to a silk and silver factory. It was really cool to see the whole process of making silk, and they had a really cute store full of things that were handmade at the factory. Real silk is so much more expensive than the fake stuff that they sell on the streets. Go figure huh?
Once we were done ogling over expensive we checked in at our hotel and rested up for a bit. Later that evening we had dinner at this amazing Thai restaurant that included a traditional dance/drums/martial arts show! While there we sat on seat cushions and ate endless platters of delicious food. Towards the end of the program one of then even pulled me up to dance with them! When everybody finished eating there were fireworks and we released some of those giant paper lanterns into the sky. This was by far my favorite activity of the day. Although I know it was different it made me remember when I was a kid who did karate and Chinese dance.












Don't they look so cool! I am about to go eat breakfast and hike a mountain with our group. I hope that everybody is having a nice day!

Location:ถนนลอยเคราะห์,Chang Khlan,Thailand

Muay Thai

     Today Tierra, Sean, and I decided to go find a Muay Thai club after classes were finished. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Muay Thai it is pretty much like boxing except more brutal, it is also Thailand's national sport. So we thought that it would be a cool thing to check out. Two hours of walking later we found a world renowned Muay Thai club! Apparently people come from all over the world to train there! Unfortunately they were all napping between training sessions by the time that we got there and they asked us to come back in an hour and a half. On the way there we ran into this really nice young italian couple! They used their house as an art exhibit/italian eatery. It is always a great feeling to run into another foreigner, especially when they speak English! They said that we should come back next week when they are having a party complete with a bunch of performances, food, and live music. Maybe if we can figure out how we got there the first time we will give it a shot!
     I have also recently received my official Thai nickname. This is a big deal in Thailand because once you are considered more than acquaintances with somebody it is improper to use their full name. Thai people are given their nickname by their parents at birth so it kind of makes sense that I got mine at the hospital. After all this build up I feel kind of bad telling you guys that my nickname isn't anything foreign or exciting, it's Rose, but hey it is what they picked. There is a physical therapist who's name is Jack and everybody got a good laugh out of posing us in scenes from the Titanic and attempting to sing the words to my heart will go on.
    While at the hospital a woman stopped me to inform me that I looked like Taylor Swift. I'm not sure how much I agree with that. Between Taylor Swift and the Kristen Stewart reference earlier I am starting to think that maybe they really do think all white people look alike. I have also discovered their Michael Buble, his name is Yannick Bovy and this is a clip of one of his music videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wfymwYFHuE

Yannick Bovy

As long as we are on the subject of pop culture I also took it upon myself to introduce my developmental psychology professor to Modern Family. He is now quite a fan and said that he was going to use a clip of it to start our next lesson. I haven't been able to watch it since I got here so hopefully this will be enough to act as a fix. This weekend I am going to be in Chiang Mai (a province of northern Thailand) for four days! I am super excited and can't wait to tell you guys all about!

I hope everybody is having a bananatastic day!

Ko Si Chang

We started off the day by meeting up with our Thai advisor View who took us to the zoo. It was fun to walk around and see all the animals, but the enclosures were much smaller and less authentic/natural than the ones in America and I felt really bad for them. We visited the giraffes and learned that one of their names was Bin Laden, which I thought was pretty funny.




After that we went over the the lions and tigers. I was astonished at how low the walls were that separated the animals from the visitors. This little fence thing definitely would not fly in America. This piece of wood was all there was, no wire, no plexi glass, nothing. If you look closely you can see the tiger in the cave thing.




At the reptile exhibit we were able to handle some snakes and birds.




After eating lunch at the zoo we took the bus to the sky train which we then took to the Ekami bus station. Once in this super cool Japanese district of Bangkok we took a two hour bus ride to Si Racha (a small Thai fishing town). Once there we took a tuktuk to the main pier where we caught a ferry to this perfect little island that greeted us with this beautiful lighthouse.




As you can tell it was quite the trip, but well worth it! While on the island our group of six students stayed in a gorgeous bungalow. Aside from the scorpion in the shower it was a fairly uneventful night of hanging out and exploring the island. In the morning we rented motor bikes and went to the beach! It was beautiful and the weather was gorgeous! When eating lunch our waitress asked where we were from. Upon saying America she shouted "WOOOO OBAMMMAAA!!" and gave us a discount on our meal. I thought it was pretty funny.
















After swimming and eating a few of us decided to get sea kyaks and explore the ocean, island and surrounding caverns. It was stunning, but unfortunately I did not bring my camera with me on that trip. With the rest of our afternoon we explored the island and found ourselves at some very cool sites including wild monkeys and this giant Buddha!








The monkey above found some leftover takeout by a temple and was not willing to share it with his hungry friend.




The whole trip cost around $35 and was an absolutely amazing first impression of rural Thailand!

Arts of the Kingdom

Here is a picture of a smaller monitor lizard that Sean and I found walking back from the hospital. I realize that they might seem boring to you guys but I thought that this was a nice shot of the path as well. I think it is really fascinating the way they move just like snakes that are assisted by legs, curving their body from side to side to move forward. Just like miniature dinosaurs. A Thai student told me that sometimes when the construction workers on campus find them they catch the lizards and eat them. This made me sad because they seem like such peaceful creatures, although I suppose that there are enough of them to go around.


On Friday I went to the arts of the kingdom exhibit with my Thai language and culture class. Here is a picture of the outside of the palace that the exhibit was inside.



It was filled with golden thrones, amazing carvings, and beautiful silk embroidery. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures inside (I wasn't even supposed to take this one). Usually I would have snuck a few more for you guys but we had to check our bags and were searched before we were able to enter. The silk embroidery was my favorite, a lot of the scenes depicted focused on nature. There were many Lillys, chickens, and mythical underwater displays. This trip definitely gave me a new appreciation for the intricate skill that embroidery requires!

     While at the hospital today I found myself in a somewhat awkward situation. These are pretty frequent occurrences in my life, so many times I don't even notice that it is an awkward moment until somebody else says something. This however was obviously awkward. I had just come back from the bathroom and a bunch of the therapists were sitting around talking. I approached them and one of the guys made a comment about me in Thai to the others. That same comment went around the whole circle until most of them were giggling at me. I asked them what it was, scared I had my skirt tucked into my underwear or toilet paper was on my shoe. Finally one of the therapists told me to come with her. I followed her tugging nervously on my clothes to make sure all the important parts were covered. Once far enough from the group she told me that the male therapist had said that when he saw me he felt no longer tired because I was just so refreshing to look at. I just kind of nodded awkwardly and looked down at my hands. She followed my gaze and noticed a ring on my left ring finger. Married? She asked gesturing to the offending ring. In a moment of slight panic combined with deep desire to leave the conversation about my refreshments I nodded. We then returned to the group where they immediately asked what she had told me. In another moment of panic I responded with that her hair is pretty. Later on they invited Sean and I to a new years party. They took us to this amazing Thai restaurant where we got to try the best food we had ate thus far in Thailand. The staff were so incredibly friendly! There was lots of karaoke (mostly in Thai) and dancing!  So yea that was my evening, I hope that yours is going well!

Location:บรมราชชนนี,Phutthamonthon,Thailand

Baby Elephant Alert

Sometimes when walking back through campus from the hospital I get caught up in the beauty of the wetland jungle atmosphere. Occasionally I will walk the long way and see how many monitor lizards I can find. It is actually a lot harder than it sounds because they are very scared of humans. What can I say it makes me feel kinda like the crocodile hunter, well before the unfortunate sting ray incident. Here is a picture of the one that I found yesterday!



Yesterday while walking home from dinner we stumbled upon a baby elephant! We even got to feed him pineapple! I was really excited to find him but now I feel really bad that he is separated from his family. I wish I could free all the elephants even if they are cute, and kick out all the poachers while I am at it.



Isn't he a cutie though! Also today I got an awesome care package from my parents for my birthday! It included Friends and Up, I am one happy girl! I hope that everybody's day is going well

Lunch Hobbit Style

Today I arrived at the rehab center to receive a disapproving look from one of the therapists. "Ohhhh Amanda...you taaan," she said in a tone that is similar to the one I would use when reacting to somebody's appearance who had the stomach flu for 3 days. I tried to explain to her that I just get red when I am in the heat for awhile and that it would go away in 15 mins. I don't think she believed me though. I should work harder to preserve my porcelain visage while in Thailand. I think it might be the only thing getting stuff done around here.
 I came to the hospital today right after eating lunch to find that my lunch had only just begun. A therapist from Chiang Mai made a bunch of food from scratch for everybody and they were quite insistent that I try every single thing. It was delicious so I didn't mind, but I do think there might be a plot to fatten me up floating around here somewhere.

Yesterday we went to the mall and found the Thai version of Abercrombie/Hollister. It was called CC Double O. Here are a few pictures to prove it.





While at the mall I also found a McDonalds that sold gourmet strawberry cheesecake. They had all sorts of fancy croissants and desserts there. Now I know that you probably don't believe me, but luckily for you I got a picture of that too!



That reminds me they also served real fried chicken and some rice dish. When I come back to America I think I am going to show them these pictures and demand some McBubble drink and strawberry cheesecake! It is time to raise our standards people!



On a more positive note my friend Quinn just got a package with all the seasons of Sex and the City. I haven't really seen it much before but it's in English so I'm down. I hope that everybody's day is going swimmingly!

Location:บรมราชชนนี,Phutthamonthon,Thailand

The Grand Palace

The view from outside the palace

     On Saturday the KEI group went to go visit the grand palace and some of the surrounding temples. We got up early and took a van into Bangkok. As you can see from the picture above it was quite a crowded scene. In order to enter the grounds of the palace one had to be dressed very conservatively. If you broke their dress code then they would allow for you to borrow some cloth to wrap around yourself until you left. We weren't able to go inside many of the buildings. Those that we could enter did not allow pictures to be taken. I think it is pretty clear from the outside though that the site was rather magnificent.

Outside the temple with Rebecca

The outside of The Emerald Buddha Temple

One of the more modern palaces

         Once we were finished at the palace we went to a beautiful riverside restaurant for lunch. When I sat down I almost went overboard because the leg of my chair slid between the planks and into the dock. Luckily Tierra saved me with her lightening fast reflexes. The food was amazing!

Table topper at the riverside restaurant.
You know just in case you get cold during this 95 degree winter.

      Once we finished lunch the group headed off to visit a few more temples. While there we learned that the monks were some of the first to open a medical school in Thailand. There are many monks seen throughout Thailand. They are only allowed to eat breakfast and lunch. There are also seats of the buses and the sky train that are permanently reserved for them.

The head of the reclining Buddha

The feet of the same statue

outside of the the temples

      The climb to the top of the pagodas below was a thrilling yet scary experience. The steps were so steep that you had to use the rope on the handrails to literally pull yourself up the side. After climbing the last temple we headed back to the van and went home. I was rather tired after the eventful day/week and cuddled up with "The Vow" while looking through pictures and working on the blog.

The view from one of the pagodas that we climbed

The very steep climb up the pagoda