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...

Herb garden...aloe, lemongrass, basil, hot peppers 

Tomatoes, papaya, snow peas

Recycled hanging planter with cilantro seeds (idea found on pinterest!)

Experimental...tomatoes seeds coming up in egg carton & TP rolls!

Side of the house, this area is growing very well!

Mini rose bush

Climbing plant, it'll go up the fence and provide some privacy, this vine will also produce fragrant flowers.

Orchids attached to the tree with coconut husk.

I got these containers at the antique market near my school. Waiting for the flower seeds to come up.

Another climber...this one has beautiful  orange flowers that will bloom.

Grow seed, grow!

I love sitting out on our patio.

Dad's advice, to cut back these shrubs so they can fill in. The poinsettias are still going strong from November! 

I love these interesting flowers....

These yellow flowers seem to attract a lot of birds.

The Nest: Chiang Dao

We spent Saturday night at The Nest, a hotel comprised of a series of cabins and salas at the base of Doi Chiang Dao. The place was lovely, the cabins were immaculate, and the food at the restaurant was sublime. The restaurant at this place has picked up awards from Thailand's Tattler and has been recognized as one of the best restaurants in the country, and even though we came in with high hopes, we were somewhat surprised that the place lived up to the hype. I had one of the best meals I've had in the 7 months we've been here. If you're venturing out to Chiang Dao, the restaurant at the Nest 2 is well worth a visit. The chef offers dishes of impeccable quality, and the menu is interesting and changes daily. The chef apparently trained in Europe somewhere, and nothing on the menu feels formulaic - the restaurant has unique offerings and everything was prepared with clear love and attention to detail. You would not expect to find cuisine of this quality at a hotel far from a major city in northern Thailand, but lo and behold, the Nest 2 delivers. If you're venturing out to Chiang Dao, stop in for a bite.

A Dog Named Sangria

Last week we discovered a lovely Spanish Tapas bar called "Su Casa" off Nimmanhaimin road. It's a wonderful thing to know that there's a place in town selling good wine, sublime Spanish ham, fine Manchego cheese, and tasty small plates... Best of all, there's an adorable dog named Sangria wandering around the place. Although this place was pricey by Chiang Mai's standards, the food was great, the service was timely, and its location is perfect, on a quiet soi off the main strip in Nimmanhaimin. Well worth a visit.

Love at First Bite, a bakery

Some time ago, I came across this list on Lonely Planet of things to do in Chiang Mai, I thought it'd be fun to check off the things on the list... Love at First Bite is #2 and we checked it out this past weekend. Even though it's tucked away down a very small soi, Love at First Bite is simple to find and they have a parking lot, which is a bonus since there was so many people there. I was surprised since we went just before closing on a Sunday night but the cafe was buzzing with activity. I'll admit the ordering process was a little confusing...however, once we took a bite of our desserts, that was all forgotten! It really was Love at First Bite and we even contemplated returning once a week to sample all of the treats on the menu!

The sign...

The garden...

The Dessert! Volcano Cake!!! (this one was mine)

Carrot Cake! (this one was Fuad's)

Lemongrass Tea!

This weekend I decided to look into harvesting some of the lemongrass growing in our yard, in total we have 5 (3 of which are rather large) bunches growing strong! I knew I could make lemongrass tea, hot or cold (I fell in love with the cold lemongrass tea we were served on our honeymoon to Bali) so I googled "harvesting lemongrass" and came across this delightful blog, More than Salt & Pepper (which is worth checking out if you like cooking).
My steps are documented in the pictures below (which was an afterthought...I wish my pictures looked as good as my inspiration blog).
I had my first cup of hot lemongrass tea last night to soothe the sore throat I was developing and I'm happy to say it's delicious! I should also include that lemongrass is known for its many healing benefits, if you want to read more on that, click here. 
I hope to bring some of these lemongrass bunches to the US next summer!

Here's 3 of the Lemongrass bunches in a row.

The largest one...this was taken after I clipped the lemongrass for my tea, still plenty to harvest!

In the process, after I washed and dried the stems, I started wrapping them.

Close up of the wrapping...

Laying out to dry on the porch off of our bedroom. In total I made 23 bunches, which makes just as many pots of tea.

Chiang Mai Flower Festival

I hate to admit it, but these floats put my hometown Blossomtime Parade floats to shame...it's more like the Rose Bowl Parade, in that all the floats are totally covered in live flowers! The Chiang Mai Flower Festival, complete with parade and flower festival queen is taking place this weekend in Chiang Mai. After the parade (which we didn't attend, since it started at 8:00 am) the floats are put on display on one corner the historic moat which outlines the downtown Chiang Mai area. The amount of detail put into these creations is incredible and I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I was looking at them! On either side of the street where the floats are on display, flowers which have been judged and awarded are displayed by category. There were tons of all kinds of orchids, Bonsai trees of all sorts (including the very unusual "wind swept" look), roses & more. There were also vendors selling plants & flowers, we picked up some herbs & a few orchids for our yard.
Lastly, wherever there are people, there is food! I've included a few pictures of the food vendors as well.
Today, we plan to work in our own yard!

So much beauty...the Royal Flora International Horticulture Exposition

We hopped on a short shuttle bus ride last weekend & checked out the Royal Flora. It's a massive property that's open for a short time between December & March. It's a little bit botanic gardens meets Disney. Beautiful gardens and scenery all around...hordes of people everywhere, piped music coming from all directions & a giant ferris wheel. There are 30 mini gardens, each representing a different country. My favorite part was the orchid garden. We left the gardens feeling inspired to add more depth to our own and we may even head out there once more before it closes for the rest of the year!

January birthday in a warm-ish climate! That's a first!

Last Friday afternoon I had a half day at school to celebrate Wai Kru (teacher appreciation) so Fuad & hopped a minibus (15 people including the driver) and headed to the town of Pai, a lovely spot nestled in a valley.  We'd heard that this 3 hour ride can be miserable because of the 762 turns up & down & around the mountains and since I tend to suffer from motion sickness, we popped some pills and hoped for the best...it was awful. Without a doubt it was one of the worst rides I've ever experienced!  The nature of the road is one thing, but the driver of the van was taking the turns (some of them hairpin turns) at such high speeds, I actually thought to myself "We're going to die," and I turned to Fuad and said "I don't want to die like this." His response was "me neither!" We were on the same page...the last leg of the journey was the worst; it was dark, there was hardly a stretch of road that went straight and I felt like I was in some sort of torture experiment, but we arrived to our destination in one piece. I could hardly wrap my head around the fact that we were going to have to take the return journey in a few days.
We loved Pai! It's a small charming town jammed with both Thai tourists & backpackers alike. There's nature to be seen, nightlife with live music, a walking street market and good food! After sleeping in the morning of my birthday we grabbed some brunch (where we experienced the Passion Roll @Witching Well) Delicious!!! Mangoes wrapped in a pancake with passion fruit sauce on top! Then we got a short ride just out of town to soak in a mineral hot spring! Fabulous!!! After relaxing in the spring, we came back to town and got coconut oil massages! Incredible!!! By then, we were so relaxed, we needed a nap : ) Back in our room we rested & watched a few episodes of Lost (we're in the final season now). By the time we got showered up and headed out the door for dinner, the temperature had dropped significantly! It was freezing, like see-your-breath freezing!
I've always wanted to celebrate my birthday in warm weather, since I was born in the Winter and lived in the Mid-west my entire life...I finally got to do that (at least during the daytime). It was like the best of both worlds; a hot, sunny day, and a cool night.
Fuad & I plan to return to Pai next year, not for my birthday weekend but perhaps for the the weekend following, which is when they have their annual reggae festival.
Overall, a wonderful birthday weekend!

Wai Kru-Teacher Appreciation in Thailand

January 16th is designated as teacher appreciation day or Wai Kru (Wai means to bow and Kru means teacher) and throughout the week we were treated special! One day lunch was provided by the mothers of our Korean students, another day by the mothers of our Thai students. (Both lunches were delicious!) One day my Assistant Principal sent out an email stating what she appreciates about EVERY person on her elementary staff! Before we were dismissed on Friday for a half day in honor of this occasion, we had a school wide assembly where the tradition of the Wai Kru was explained and a special ceremony took place. I'm including some videos below...

For me, the most unique part of this entire process was the Wai Kru itself. All of the elementary teachers were asked to sit on the stage and 4th grade students crawled on their knees holding a bouquet as an offering for the teacher. The students offered the bouquet to the teachers, and in return the teacher was expected to place their hand on the child's head and offer a blessing. Some of my colleagues are not comfortable with this tradition, and I can see why but coming from a place where so often the teacher is not respected, I found this experience to be quite moving.

Here is a little more history from the Lead Thai Teacher at my school and some videos from the assembly...including when the 4th grade students entered to honor the high school teachers, the special Wai Kru dance, high school students speaking on the history of the day & the high school choir singing the anthem.

Eating Well.

Fuad & I did a juice fast 2 weeks ago and here's my confession, I've never fasted a day in my life. We did some research, borrowed a juicer & spent a Saturday drinking our meals. I will admit, it was extremely challenging for me...the hunger pangs, the headache, the drowsiness. We lasted a day & a half and we're now figuring out how this can become a habit in our lifestyle. I haven't analyzed & thought this much about my food in awhile...which meals to juice, which ones to eat, how it works into my teaching schedule and so on...I do know that you make time & space for the things that you care the most about, and what we put into our bodies is worth caring about.

Yesterday I encountered the video below (well worth watching by the way) and I felt the timing was perfect as I'm currently in this process of food reflection. What she says is true, in the States eating a wholesome diet is exorbitantly more expensive than eating fast food. Eating fresh fruits & vegetables takes time & effort, eating at McDonald's is fast & convenient. I'm willing to put in the time after seeing how this lady went from using a wheel chair to taking 18 mile bike rides from changing her diet! Lucky for me, in Thailand it's not expensive to eat fresh, wholesome foods and to demonstrate my point...

I went to the local market today (see picture at the top), which is open 7 days a week from early morning until about 10pm. As you can see I got a variety of mostly fruits and just a few veggies. 4 carrots, a portion of watermelon & pineapple, 1 kilo of clementine oranges, the smallest bananas I've ever seen, 1 kilo of passion fruit, a large piece of ginger, greens, broccoli & small potatoes (taste like sweet potatoes.) All of this was 200 baht, which is exactly $6.28. Not bad, not bad at all!

As I walked through campus today...

I walked through campus today and made a comparison between CMIS and all the other schools where I've worked...and I realized I haven't done that in awhile. I read on-line that making chronic comparisons is part of acculturation and it's early in the process, we're almost 6 months in and I think I've finally moved to the next phase. Since my classroom is at the farthest end of campus, I make one trip a day to the main building to sign in and check my mailbox, during my trip today I took note of how many backpacks are left unattended outside the classrooms while the kids are in class. No one bothers these bags and I've never heard a teacher or student report that their stuff has gone missing. "It's so amazing", I thought, this is something that would NEVER happen in Chicago. Then my mind gets rolling...all my students leave their shoes in the shoe cabinet outside my classroom before class. Some kids are barefoot, and some wear socks, the entire time I'm teaching I'm not wearing shoes and I rarely wear socks here. No one EVER makes nasty comments about the condition of your socks or your feet and no shoes ever go missing. Again, this would not fly in Chicago.

Then, I realized that I haven't blogged in awhile...I think I'm getting so used to things here that I think I don't have anything to report!

But really...I do.

So I'm gonna go ahead and say it, I love it here.

I love our house, which feels more & more like our home. We have a compost up in the yard now and I'm excited to see how it progresses. We have outdoor seating space on our front porch, complete with a hammock. We have candles & good things to eat! This weekend we made Nutella dipped frozen bananas! Yum!

I love the weather during this season! The sun is shining 99% of the time and at night when the sun goes down, it gets cool. We can sleep with our windows open (or closed when it's gets a little too chilly.)

I love my job. The children are a delightful pleasure to teach. They're respectful, they're curious, they're incredibly diverse, they're innocent...

To celebrate my birthday this weekend we're going 3 hours north to a small town called Pai. I hear that the joke about Pai is how many turns you make on the winding mountain road to get there. Here's an interesting travel blog which claims there's 762 bends, we won't be taking the scooter, we'll be riding in a van! I'm excited to see yet another small corner of this beautiful country.

We've decided to take a "media fast" while we're there. No computers...no iphone, no facebook...so I'll see you on the flip side with more stories to share.

In the spirit of Aloha

We've already arrived at our last day in this magical place of Hawaii and in the spirit of Aloha I write this post. Knowing that today is our last day, knowing that tomorrow is New Year's Eve, I woke with a sense of reflection.

The spirit of Aloha...

"Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!"

It was in June of this year that we all made the reservations for this trip, Fuad & I along with my parents. You see, we had decided to move to Chiang Mai, and we knew that my parents & I would need something to look forward to, a time and place where we knew we would see each other again. Hawaii being a mid-way point, Christmas break being the time, meant that it would be right around my parents 39th wedding anniversary and since they spent their honeymoon in Hawaii 39 years ago...Hawaii it was.

This has been a much anticipated trip. A few weeks ago I stated that really it could have been anywhere in the world, I was just so excited to see my parents...but I'm glad it was here. This island is magical and by far the best State in the US! One night at dinner we all listed the islands we have been to, (Roume, off the coast of Guinea, West Africa, Bali, Koh Samui, Mykonos...) and I find that they all have similarities...island life is laid back, island life usually involves lots of sunshine & shoreline views and contemplation while the sun sinks into a massive body of water. Islanders smile a lot and have a deeper connection to nature, there is a sense of respect for the natural beauty surrounding you and I am in love with all of that!

So, this morning I wake and I remember that it's our last day here in this magical place with my parents, I sit in the sun and remember that the end of 2011 draws near...I give thanks for the many blessings in my life and this amazing journey 2011 has been.

Chatuchak Bangkok Weekend Market

Looking for something?...How about some puppies, doggies, kittens, cats, rabbits, ducks, owls, pet squirrel ? Chinese fighting fish? How about a prize winning cock, snake, turtle, lizard? Need supplies to set up an entire aquarium, including maggots and larvae to feed the fish? They've got that too! Hungry from all your shopping? How about some deep fried frogs & insects? Fresh coconut, smoothies, any kind of Thai food, including a papaya salad made to order while you shop.
Can you say JEANS? Shoes, sandals, sneakers, hand made leather shoes. Leather goods, belts, wallets, purses, bags...knock off everything. Need some light bulbs? How about a zip drive? Rugs, sheets, furniture, antique Buddha relics? (I'm really only tipping the iceberg here.) Don't have enough scarves? Wraps, scarves, pashmina, sarongs...incense, essential oils, candles, art, handicrafts, wood carvings! Any garment you can think of made tie-dye (a personal favorite of mine) fishermen pants, Hill tribe crafts, silver, gems, BEADS & BEADS & piles of BEADS!
I'm exhausted just remembering everything that we saw!
Chatuchak, the weekend market in Bangkok is one of the worlds largest weekend markets! We saw the massiveness from the train, but I had no idea what I was in store for...within 27 acres of stalls & vendors is a city of narrow, winding paths and more than once we lost our bearing and ended up out on the sidewalk, once in the parking lot and a couple times we past stalls which we had already passed.
So we had a snack...and sat watching as women shopped for scarves...which was when I was able to articulate my new appreciation for the scarf. They are so much more functional than to simply keep your neck warm!
After stumbling upon a choir of Thai folks wearing Santa hats while singing Feliz Navidad in Spanish & English (in a predominately Buddhist country mind you...) we decided to head home.
Our haul for the day...
2 pairs of fisherman pants
1 small wind chime
7 pairs of earrings (gifts)
Citronella incense & ylang ylang essential oil (my favorite)
1 top & pants (for me)
It's confirmed once again, I love shopping!

These were some of the first puppies we stumbled on...just days old!

I think these are maggots? They were for sale near the fish & bird & reptile section, yuck!

I don't think I've ever seen such mature owls this close, it was sad because there was 3 of them tied up in a very small room which also had about 4 people in it watching television.

Mature lizard for sale.

Bags & bags & bags of all kinds of fish for sale.

I've never seen anyone with a pet squirrel, have you?

Prize winning Cock.

Stall-side papaya salad making, yum!

I think I forgot to mention live and silk plants/flowers for sale as well.

And of course... the clothes, beautiful & unique.

Hard to shop with so many shoes & people crammed into such a small space!

Exhausted from shopping & heat, we wait for the train after our adventure!

To everything there is a season...

We're quickly approaching the 5 month mark.

In the back of my mind, December has been kind of a milestone. I think this is because one of my colleagues, who was new to Thailand last year, told me that in December she started to feel normal, like settled in and I've been looking forward to that.

Living here where everyday is pretty much the same, I've become completely aware of how I have marked the passage of time throughout my life by the shift of seasons...

leaves change color, warmer clothes come out of the closet, snow falls, Holidays occur, snow melts, days get longer, flowers bloom, school gets out, swimsuits on at the beach, repeat...

But here, fall never came & neither has winter. (At least my idea of winter!) Don't get me wrong, there have been changes in the weather, but since I've never lived through an entire "rainy season" I don't have a feel for the context just yet. It has stopped raining and the evenings & night-time are cool, but it's still piping hot during the day (again, I don't have context, apparently piping hot will be relative when I experience my first hot season in the late spring.)

So maybe it's the "sameness" (each day with a little bit of cool & a little bit of hot & sunny)...and that's why it never really felt like Halloween, or Thanksgiving...and even though I just completed the Christmas Concert at school, it doesn't really feel like Christmas either (even with horrible recordings of Christmas music everywhere!) It's in December that winter usually starts to show itself, when I've always felt burdened down by the thought of having to endure another dark, cold, depressing season of snow. My yearning for that "settled in" feeling combined with the knowledge that snow will not be part of my winter experience this year made me turn over the calendar and welcome December!

I also welcomed December because I get to see my parents! We are meeting in Hawaii (where they had their honeymoon) just a few days after their 39th wedding anniversary, but really it could have been anywhere in the world...I'm more excited about seeing my parents then I am about seeing Hawaii, even though I've always wanted to go there!

And it's true, I am feeling here, now, present, settled in...but I still woke up the other day, opened my eyes and said to myself, "I live in Thailand now" and I smiled as I said it.

This tree in our yard was blooming on Thanksgiving Day.

Also on Thanksgiving Day, I discovered poinsettias for sale,

I have 2 planted in our flower box with another one on the way.

We bought a hammock and transformed our front porch space into a delightful seating area, Baxter & I hang out there often in the evenings now.

It's one of my new favorite things about our house here.

This guy burrowed himself into our yard, I only saw him because he was near the hose.

I became totally fascinated with him, he stayed there for almost a week!

I haven't seen him lately :(