Chiang Mai Chronicles: Mama said there'd be days like this...

Some days are better than others...taken away from the familiar, the routines, the friends, the environment you're used to and placed into a new environment where everything is different...some days are better than others, didn't our Mama's teach us there'd be days like this?

This has been such a lengthy lesson for me. Who am I without Chicago?

Some days I love it here and other days I'm still absolutely overwhelmed and I'm starting to wonder...how long can I continue to say that I'm new here? We're at 7 months already! The school year is quickly approaching the 4th quarter and Spring Break is just around the corner, I've finally finished my 30 hours of Thai language class (thank goodness!) and yet there is still a part of me that is resisting...I think I'm actually making it harder on myself than I need to.

So let me focus on some of the things I'm grateful for these days...
*my students. Sometimes I look at their faces, so diverse and I feel so much love and gratitude. I've discovered that the world is not so big a place...here we are in Thailand and the kids are pretty much the same as in the U.S. only here, instead of feeling frustrated with the system and the environment and so many things that are beyond my control...I get to smile & laugh with these children, and teaching has become fun again.
Here's just a small sample from International Day

Philippines

Korean

Denmark

The cutest Thai dancers you'll ever see!

I'm also grateful...
*that for the first time in my adult life, I have a home with outdoor space. Our yard has become my refuge and I love coming home from work and fiddling around! It's become a passion really and I acknowledge that I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm giving it a try! Everyday I learn something new. I now believe that gardening is in my genes. I find myself thinking about my Mammie and the time I spent with her at her house on State Street in St. Joe, I think about her garden and the way she did things (I really didn't understand at the time). I've planted all kinds of new stuff in our yard, a few vines, a rose bush, some flower seeds (none of those have come up yet), I've started using our compost to make the soil healthier (it's mostly sand), I have tomatoes sprouting, snow peas coming up, a papaya tree seed growing (so exciting!), lemongrass thriving, orchids, poinsettias that are still going strong from November, 2 kinds of basil, mint, aloe and a hot pepper plant. This past weekend I had so much fun hunting for vintage items that could be used as planters at the antique market near my school.
After I work in the yard relaxing on the front patio in the hammock is even more enjoyable! (Which is where I sit and type this right now).
Here's a few pictures of our garden...