it's the little things

The rainy season is upon us! It was never more apparent than the other day when I was leaving school. I could have waited until it passed, but I was anxious to get home because one of Meredith's students was coming to spend the afternoon with us. I figured the 30 baht umbrella I'd purchased from Big C in Lampang could finally have the chance to prove its worth on the trek home, but it didn't rise to the challenge. Very few motor-bikers passed me on my walk, but I know the ones that did were probably laughing to themselves about the silly "farang" (foreigner) who thought it better to face the storm than wait it out. Umbrella turned inside-out, I waded home, not caring about myself getting wet anymore, but only keeping the computer dry. What's that cliche quote about learning to dance in the rain? I didn't so much dance as I did swim, but either way, it was more fun than waiting it out. 

It was such a treat to have Nook (Meredith's student) with us for the afternoon. We went to our usual restaurant; it's the one we keep going back to because the man who runs it is so friendly, and the food he cooks can't be beat. Nook helped us with our Thai, and also with our order seeing as how most of the time we just take our chances when trying to tell the cook what we'd like to eat. Nook was able to describe what we'd be getting ahead of time. The man, seeing our trouble every night, grabbed the attention of a university student off the street and kindly had him translate his menu so that we'd know what we were ordering from now on. If that's not customer service, then I don't know what is. If he didn't have our business daily before, he assured it with that move from here on out. 

Speaking of food, I had my first encounter with some serious peppers last weekend. Our favorite little coffee shop is attached to a posh restaurant that hosts live music nightly. We decided to don our finest going out looks and give it a try. No sooner had we taken our seats than a cute little boy brought us a box of round little jelly type candy things. Great description, right? (We later came to the conclusion that the best way to describe them was by comparing them to the looks of bath beads) Anyway, the little boy went on to tell us, in Thai, that the candies were compliments of the table of gentlemen that was looking down on us from the upstairs seating. We looked up, and sure enough they were smiling and waving to us. We thanked them with a return wave, and tried one of the candies. The good news is that they weren't drugged or spiked, and delicious to boot! The men turned out to be really polite guys just doing something nice. The bath beads were the least of my worries that night, anyhow. We had the waiter order for us, asking her to pick out one of her favorites for us to try. They brought our food out, and being the genius I am, I took a huge bite of multiple red bell peppers (or at least what I thought to be so). I couldn't tell you what happened within the next few minutes, but Meredith tells me that I blacked out. I have never tasted something so spicy, and never experienced a taste that was so impossible to extinguish. Apparently I couldn't even respond to Meredith, and when she asked me if I remembered our conversation, I realized I had absolutely no recollection. So it just goes to show, kids: If you see some peppers on a plate in Thailand, go ahead and assume they aren't of the bell persuasion, but instead something more along the lines of the fiery depths of hell here to destroy you (should you absentmindedly have a mouthful). 

As you've seen from the pictures, it's no secret that I'm head over heels for the kids here at school. And they've been nothing but wonderful to me right back. However, there is a gap in our communication. A gorgeous little girl of about 8 or 9 stopped me before I left class last week and said "Teacha Cow-see, you ah so fat and beeee-you-tih-fooo (beautiful)!" Either I'm dropping the ball on teaching them what fat means, or I need to lay off the sticky rice and noodles. So to remedy this situation, I am assuming that these angels know exactly what fat means, and I'm going to take the latter option. However, without rice or noodles, I am not left with an abundance of meal choices. I am left with plenty of cardio choices, though, and with the help of the students and one of the faculty members here at the college, I am going to whip myself back into my marathon running shape. Aside from running at the track here on campus every night with Meredith, I will now be getting Muay Thai lessons from one of the boxers at the local gym. Also, since everyone has an hour break for lunch, I have decided to spend the 45 minutes that I am not eating playing badmitton (the second most popular sport I've seen) or soccer (the first) with the older kids, or chasing the younger ones around the playground and catching them when they come down the slide (which they have gotten quite a kick out of). By gosh, I am determined to teach that little girl the meaning of the word "skinny," and have her point to me when she says it. 

On our way to dinner the other night (yes, most everything we do is centered on food, and when we'll next eat it...hence the "fat" problem), we were mounting our bike, and low and behold, Meredith directs my attention to none other than a baby elephant walking down the street! We  blinked a few times just to make sure we weren't dreaming (since Mer had literally dreamt of just that only last night) before quickly chasing after him. The little (or giant) darling was being led by a man who was running quite a business for himself: 20 baht to pet and feed it. We jumped at the opportunity before it passed us by, and the baby elephant knew exactly what was going on. No sooner had we shelled out the money than was his trunk searching and sniffing for his treat. He wasted no time grabbing the food out of our hands, and was gone as quick as he came, on to the next customer. It was so surreal continuing our bike ride passing motorbikes, cars, dogs, and then being reminded that we're in Thailand by sharing the road with an elephant. 

Above all else, this country has taught me to enjoy the small pleasures in life, one of the most important being a standard mattress. It's not like I had the epitome of all mattresses before. It's that I have a slab of styrofoam now. We've come to the conclusion that what they've given us must've been display mattresses or something of the sort. Whatever the material, it has no give, no bounce, no nothing. We have 2 twin beds; besides the bad mattress, the other is a little more forgiving. Still not anything to write home about because of the springs poking you all over, and the fact that it sags toward the middle making you having to grab the sides for support; however, it is welcomed in comparison to the other nightmare. Meredith and I switch beds every other night, and on my nights with the “good” mattress, it feels like Christmas came early. I literally look forward to it throughout the day. Sleep is so important, and for the first time in years, I’m trying to get at least 7 hours (as opposed to my usual 4-5 I’ve been getting the past few years). Aaaaallllll that to say,   if I wasn’t before, I am now even more appreciative of the little things in life. Rides home on motorbikes, poking springy mattresses, internet connection, bath bead jello candies, elephant sightings, truth-telling kids, cardio activities, bell peppers in cognito--stop and smell the jasmine, people!

Things I’ve learned after a month in Thailand:

25. Fruits here are as aesthetically pleasing as they are tasty.

26. I’m rekindling my love for all things Harry Potter by rereading the series with first time (and still oblivious) reader, Meredith.

27. You can buy RayBan sunglasses here for less than 3 bucks a pop. I’ve splurged on 3 pairs so far. 

28. After cutting back on my coffee addiction (and only having iced mochas as a treat), I am no longer able to enjoy one in the evenings. I found this out the hard way (and the night I had to sleep on the nightmare bed), and after having one for dessert, I stayed up all. night. long. staring at the ceiling.

29. My favorite source of protein now comes from tiny baby eggs (they almost look like robin eggs) that have been fried sunny side up, and sprayed and sprinkled with some really great Thai spices.

30. I carried a basket of laundry, basically African woman style (on my head), for about a quarter of a mile to the nearest laundry mat (which is more like 3 washing machines in an outhouse). Very worth it not to have to handwash everything, though.

31. We escaped the lizards, but have new creatures haunting us. Swarms of bats live in the roof above us. We actually had to duck to avoid them riding to dinner tonight because of their flying so low. 

32. We’ve put our airplane neck pillow to good use, as it now serves as a seat pad for the passenger on the bike. Not the most ideal of situations (because it tends to slide, leaving the rider in awkward positions), but certainly better than the previous!