Thai Holiday from Bangkok to Koh Samui

Fuad & I plan to do as much traveling as possible while we're here. We decided to travel domestic for our first trip and explore one of the many islands in Southern Thailand, Koh Samui...but first, a few days in Bangkok.

The view from Vertigo was awesome! Really expensive though, we only had 1 drink.

Our first day on Koh Samui it rained...

The beach at Kamalaya, the second resort where we stayed.

I was able to catch this incredible sunset from our room!

Fuad relaxing on one of our last days of vacation.

Up the Mountain...finally!

I don't think I could live in a place that doesn't hold some sort of natural beauty. I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we can make it our intention to seek beauty everywhere, like choosing to see the good in everyone we encounter... I've always felt that having a body of water or a mountain helps. We've all felt it in one place or another...standing in the midst of something magnificent and having that moment where time stands still and you are struck at the wonderment...of the existence of something greater than ourselves. The moment where "I am small" crosses your mind.

I just finished reading Siddhartha and I'm reminded where at the end of the book, Siddhartha explains to his lifelong friend, Govinda, that once you start to put these thoughts into words, they immediately begin to loose their meaning. "Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish...Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom..." Acknowledging that something greater than yourself exists in nature is the wisdom I'm attempting to convey.

It's how I feel right now, in this moment as I write this blog, sitting near the ocean on Koh Samui, the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shore, the horizon extends out before me, in the distance there are mountains covered in lush jungle, the gentle breeze caressing my skin, my love by my side.

Chiang Mai is surrounded by a ring of mountains, which is one of the reasons why I decided that I could live there. From almost everywhere in the valley, in all directions, you can see the mountain in the distance. I'm completely fascinated by it. It changes from day to day, sometimes it even changes mood throughout the day and in the evenings, the sun sinks down behind it.

Similar to Lake Michigan, having had the experience of living on both sides I know how it shifts moods, how it can be a place of serene reflection and also tumultuous & filled with anger, it can be cold & icy and warm & inviting.

Back to this mountain in Chiang Mai...the longer we were here and didn't make the journey up this mountain, the more distant and illusive it became. Truth is, I had a fear. Driving up the mountain, just Fuad & I required that we take it on Perry, our scooter. Now I'm comfortable riding the scooter around town, to & from work, which is basically flat land but riding the scooter up a mountain is another story. (Actually, there is another story...we rented a scooter while on our honeymoon in Bali and since I hadn't driven one since I was about 13 years old up & down Desmond Street, I did crash. Fuad on the back, I totally crashed with a group of Balinese men as spectators. Lucky for me, the only injury was my pride & a bloody elbow. I had no choice, I had to get back up on the scooter and get us to our destination, Dream Beach. I also had to get us back to the shop where we had rented the bike. We did have to pay a fee by the way, for damages done to the scooter.)

It took us 3 months to get there, we had a day with beautiful weather, we started the journey up the mountain and after a few minutes I shouted to Fuad on the back, "you know that quote by Eleanor Roosevelt? The one about doing something everyday that scares you?! Now I understand why!!! This is awesome! I'm so glad we decided to do this today!"

It was amazing, the view of Chiang Mai spectacular, the temple at the top was potent, the waterfalls along the way inspiring...and honestly, I can't wait to go back up there and see some more! No longer a fear but an experience of growth & a moment in time spent in wonder.

Here are a few of my pictures from the day and an interesting story about how the temple found it's home near the top of this mountain. Doi Suthep

Hair

When I was a little girl, I was in LOVE with a book called "The Hair Book." My Dad had it in the back room of his salon, Best Impressions, the place where I spent countless hours of my childhood. Yes, my Dad is a hairdresser, so is my Mom. Growing up in a salon made for an interesting childhood, an even more interesting adolescence and if I'm being perfectly honest, it still impacts my perceptions of beauty, vanity, style and goes even so far as to make conclusions about how you feel about yourself.

You may be able to tell that over the years I have spent a chunk of time analyzing this experience of growing up in a service industry which is based on how you look. Spending so much time in front of mirrors during your awkward stages of life is bound to have an impact! But let me share with you what I loved about this unique growing up experience.

My Dad had a crew of regular clients, these woman came weekly for their standing appointments and watched me grow up...they became like family. When I was younger, I brought them coffee made to order & I would walk around with a pad of paper and pen and ask for autographs. I always wanted to be up front, near the cash register where I could pretend to be the shop owner and take money, but when I got too loud & obnoxious, my Dad would come & get me and without saying a word he would pinch & twist my upper arm and lead me all the way to the back room where I would have my "timeout" (although my folks never called it that.) I always had a crew of folks to buy whatever I was selling for band and when I got a little older, (following in my cousin Corey's footsteps) my Dad hired me to work for pay. On Saturdays (his busiest day) I made $20, I emptied trash, cleaned brushes, answered the phone, took out rollers, brought coffee, picked up lunch, made appointments & took money. I know it's these experiences working at Best Impressions that helped give me a strong work ethic & to enjoy the company of people, people of all ages.

I also had the latest hair style! I was getting my hair permed and highlighted before I was out of elementary school! I had it all, asymmetrical hair, big hair, short hair, bangs, no bangs, blonde, brown, red, extensions, the list goes on, just like the characters in The Hair Book!

So I just had my first Thai salon experience with Franck at fan fan salon in Bangkok. (Thanks Nadia for the recommendation!) Franck is actually French and comes to Bangkok via Hong Kong via Sydney via Casablanca and he was amazing! After my consultation with him (I needed to fix my color because I had tried to do it myself and actually made my hair orangish, yuck!) where we discussed color & cut, a small army of Thai folks started the services. I had 3 people putting the color on! I kept thinking about how Dad has done this by himself for 40 plus years! One person held my hair in place, one person prepared the foils and the 3rd person painted the color on my hair. A different person washed my hair, then Franck made his entrance and in a flurry of activity he sculpted my hair, a different person blew it dry, Franck returned to style it & put the finishing touches on & I loved it! I couldn't wait to share this experience with my folks.

It's amazing how good you feel after getting a new do! New country, new job, new life, time for a new hair do!

Doing things Mammie's way

That's my Mammie, my paternal grandmother who grew up picking cotton in the hot sun of Tennessee. I knew her as mule-headed, because she insisted on doing things herself and in her own way. (In Mammie speak, that means stubborn, you know, like a mule, which I have also been accused of being) She lived to be 95 years old...

With the guidance and urging of my Aunt Hilda, I had the honor and privilege (although I will admit at times it felt like torture) of living with Mammie for about 6 weeks in the summer of 2007. Growing up I never completely understood why she did some of the things she did, but I came to appreciate these quirks and even now & here, away from the world that Mammie knew, I appreciate her some more. You see, Mammie grew up a child of the depression, she was born in 1914! She worked hard for everything she had, times where really tough back then. Kind of like now in some ways. People didn't know if they'd have work or where their food would come from, so they spent & saved wisely.

Several weeks ago, while washing dishes, Mammie came to mind...I think I did it because of the ants, I had a tub that fits into the kitchen sink, I would rinse the dishes, then put them in the tub with clean, soapy water for washing. Since ants can't swim, I was able to keep them away from the sink area. I washed the dishes and then rinsed them all at the same time. I saved water and since we pay for our water here (which we never had to do in Chicago) I'm also saving us money. Mammie would approve, especially since this is exactly how she did the dishes.

Mammie also had a green thumb and when she lived on State Street in St. Joe, she had a garden in her back yard, she grew tomatoes, cucumbers & green beans. (As far as I recall..)

So naturally Mammie came up again today when I collected our first, what I call farm share, but here they call community supported agriculture or CSA. There's a group of folks at CMIS (the school where I work) who participate and it couldn't be easier. I paid 200 baht (just under $10) for a box of locally grown produce. On a weekly basis, they drop it off at the front gate of the school, all I have to do is return the box for next week. This week our box had a huge bunch of bananas, several eggplant, a pumpkin, morning glory greens, 2 kinds of green beans and tons of leafy greens which I'm going to use for salad. I was thrilled to come home with my new treasures and while going through the meditative process of cleaning, cutting and preparing I was caught in thought once more about my Mammie and the way things used to be. This produce that I brought home today was probably picked yesterday and I prepared and ate some of it already today. Fresh from the earth at the farm into my belly the very next day. As I prepared the food, I was thinking how simple the meal was going to be, yet how excited I was to eat it. Yes, simple is ok, actually it's more than ok! This evening I ate...sauteed morning glories with garlic & soy sauce, steamed green beans, a hard boiled egg and white rice. It was simple, delicious and filling! I have already made my lunch for tomorrow and have enough lettuce for several more salads, that 200 baht is going to last a long way!

Now, I just need to convince my husband that composting won't attract roaches! Mammie did that too by the way, only she had a different name for it.

Let's all take this lesson from Mammie, take what you need and use it all.

Have I mentioned how much I love Thai massage?

Traditional Thai massage is found on practically every street corner here. I'm not kidding, there are massage places everywhere. Thai massage, foot massage & spa treatments which include aroma oil massages & herbal hot compress and then there's the seedy side as well, perhaps you've heard the phrase "happy ending?" Not that I know from experience, but I've heard they exist.

The setting is different than we think of in a Western style massage business, for Thai massage you wear very loose fitting & comfortable clothes and you may get rubbed in a large room along with several other people or you may have slightly more privacy with a curtain that draws around the bed.

There are foot massage places where you're just out in the open getting your feet rubbed. At the Sunday walking market in Chiang Mai there are practically 100 chairs lined up along one of the roads with the ladies ready to give you your massage. I've never been around a culture of people so open & willing to relax so freely in public, it still makes me smile. One of the best parts all this rubbing & relaxing...most of the services are the equivalent of $10 or less! Whoa!

The catch is this...I really think Thai massage is an acquired taste. Rather than rubbing along the length of your muscles, searching for knots & kinks, it's more like a pressing, sometimes painfully hard along the subtle energy lines of the body. In America, most people prefer to have their backs & shoulders worked on, but here they spend a large portion of the time on your legs and only spend a short amount of time working on the back.

I've found a place close to our mooban that I really like, the price is right, it's clean, you can walk right in...I've built a rapport with a lady there, her name Suenee. If Suenee is not available, I almost feel bad for the whoever gets me, I'm holding Suenee at the top, the standard to which all others are compared. Interestingly, part of what I love about her technique was her rhythm, (something I'm finely tuned into) her touch is so steady and does not vary for the entire process, it has an incredibly grounding effect on both my body & mind. I've been going once or twice a week for about a month. I wanted to see if I could tell a difference in my body. One thing I've learned is that it really depends on who is working on me and what I bring into the room with you from my day. Honestly, I've had a few massages where it feels like I'm pressing back against her as she presses into me, those are the painful ones. When I'm able to relax and breathe, the massage can be incredibly relaxing and I feel that it's a perfect compliment to a regular yoga practice. I'm working on some of the same things while getting a massage as I am during my yoga practice, breathing & whatever the sensations I'm feeling in my body, staying present.

I feel so blessed to be in a position to experience this healing art as a a regular part of my life here.

What's Goin' On?

Some of our readers have been commenting on the lack of posts...I try to let this process be organic, so I'm not sitting down to forcing myself to write, but rather letting a topic or idea come up. I've also noticed that a lot of my posts tend to communicate frustration, sadness and all the things I miss about America, so I'm trying to leave some space to let the joy of Thailand make its way into my heart.

Let me re-cap a few interesting things from this week (so far.) I got a flat front tire on Perry (our scooter) on Monday as I was driving home from school. As soon as I pulled out of the lot, I could feel it, so I pulled over to take a look and assessed that I could probably make it closer to home before stopping to see about getting it fixed. Well, pretty soon the handlebars where shaking quite a bit so I decided to go very slow and recalled that there is a shop that looks like they do bike repairs nearby (still on the way home) Remember, signs are not written in English and for places like this you kind of just have to know about them, I actually don't think this place had a sign at all. I turned the corner, pulled in and discovered I was correct, bike repair shop! It didn't matter that the guy & I couldn't communicate verbally, he knew why I was there. A head nod and a gesture to take a seat...a short wait while I watched the entire process, him tracing the numbers on the seat of my bike to tell me how much it was...and I was back on the road. It was 150 baht by the way ($4.83) In total, it took about 10 minutes. As I was sitting there I thought about this mom & pop tire place in Humboldt Park, Chicago, near Duprey School where I used to work. These are the types of places where you feel like you have to be kind of brave to even drive up, but they do quick work for really cheap. That tire place in Humboldt Park got me back on the road quickly more than once and you're not paying prices for the name, you're placing cash into the hand of the man who did the work and that feels good to me.

Second event of the week? Yesterday my school was evacuated due to flooding of the nearby Ping River. The river has been high for awhile, but Tuesday night it rained, I mean it really poured for hours, I think it was most of the night and into the morning on Wednesday. I'm not certain, but it may have been pouring for 8 hours...at 10:30ish Wednesday I was told the school was thinking about closing for the rest of the day, by 11:00 most of the kids where on their

way out the door, by noon I left with Sue (I got a ride to work yesterday because of the heavy rain.) First stop, the grocery store, I made it home by 1:00 and by 2:00 pictures were popping up on facebook, the river peaked and overflowed onto streets and middle of the night into houses. Having just gone through this, I don't envy those folks near the river who are now house-bound because of the water. It's nasty, it smells and it lingers. School was also canceled today and possibly tomorrow as well.

I'm feeling grateful that right now our neighborhood is safe and since the water hasn't made it's way into Suan Non Sri as of yet, we're probably in the clear this time.

Friends have been asking if this amount of flooding is normal. From what I've heard, it's not. The Ping River hasn't flooded in 6 years and this moobaan hadn't flooded in much longer than that. The major contributing factor is the unusually long rainy season they've had this year, I've heard that it started very early, in April.

It doesn't matter where you are...sometimes nature takes over. This past winter in Chicago, we experienced the heaviest snow fall in decades! We move half way across the world and experience the longest rainy season in years. I enjoyed those snow days! It felt like I had been given a free pass to do absolutely nothing and I loved it! I'm enjoying my flood days too (even though I don't actually have water at my house.) After doing some yoga, I plan to enjoy a flood day massage!

Baxter checking out the snow after the blizzard in Chicago...February 2011

Interesting documentation of the river rising...

And a rather dramatic version...

Home is where the heart is...or something like that

For those of you wondering, things are getting better here. Each week, I'm feeling more & more settled in, yes, there's the word; settled. My stomach is adjusting, I'm still not taking naps, but I sleep really well at night and I'm starting to find my way around the city. I challenge myself to drive somewhere new each time Fuad goes out of town for work (this week he's in Singapore and today I got myself to the Big C, which is kind of like Walmart.)

Before we left people asked loads of questions about our housing situation, and at the time I didn't know many of the answers, now I do. Our house is basically in a suburb...GASP! (Or at least that's how it feels to me.) Even though it's only a 10-15 minute drive from here to my school, which is in town. We live off a highway in the 2nd oldest mooban (neighborhood) in Chiang Mai, there are about 200 houses here. When you enter the mooban, you see many different kinds of housing structures, some are more traditional, there are some row-type homes, a few are quite large with guest quarters and gigantic yards. No matter the type of house, they all have a gate. One thing I noticed right away here is the number of dogs roaming around. You hear people refer to them as "soi dogs" (soi means street.) Some of them have owners who let them run free and some live outside within the confines of the gated yard, it seems like very few actually live inside, like Baxter! Sometimes the soi dogs spontaneously bark at the exact same time, from different yards and streets and end at precisely the same moment. It's creepy...

Our house is a 2 story with 3 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms. Fuad is using the 3rd bedroom as his home office since he's working from home 3 days a week. Our master bedroom has a patio and a king size bed. Downstairs is a large space where the living room and dining room connect. Some people back in the States wanted to know if the house was furnished and what kind of other things were included.

I would call this house partially furnished. It came with 2 beds, 2 wardrobes for the bedrooms, (usually there are no built in closets) a dining table that seats 6 and a set of rattan furniture (loveseat, 2 chairs and a table.) In the kitchen, a fridge (of course) and an oven/stove (which is not typical) The house does not have a dishwasher or a clothes washer. All the windows have curtains, they are all the same, off-white, the walls are also all off-white. No dishes, pots & pans or garbage cans came in the house.

In the time we have been here (2 months today) we have purchased...

2 sets of king-sized sheets

1 set of queen sheets (for guest bedroom)

plates, bowls, glassware, silverware, dish rack, knife set, blender, toaster, coffee maker, iron & ironing board, speakers

rugs & towels

cleaning tools & supplies

floor fan, lamps, hampers

a sofa, coffee table, shelf, floor cushions, desk & book shelf

storage for bathroom, rattan dresser for master bedroom

Ok, I think that's about it, wow! Wait...and a scooter with 2 helmets & a trunk! Setting up house has been exhausting! All of this new stuff and I keep thinking about what we left behind, what we don't have here with us, I find myself thinking about items that we packed away in storage, now in my Grandma's basement. There are items that Fuad & I currently own, that would be great to have in our new house, only thing is...they're half way across the world.

I just asked this question on facebook, "what makes your house a home?" and quite a few people have responded... Books, candles, wifi, something homemade, something baking, people you love, art & pictures hanging on the walls, music, plants & fresh flowers. I agree with all of you! I've been loving our new house and I've been enjoying setting up here & picking out new things. When everything feels too overwhelming, when I'm seeking solitude & comfort, I want this space to be our home, not just our house. I want it to feel safe & cozy, a place of refuge.

Last week, Fuad & I had dinner at the home of our new friend, Sara. As soon as I walked into her space I could feel the warmth, love & care she spent setting up her home, it was lovely. I looked around and sat in her space taking note of what it was that made it feel so nice. What did she have that we didn't have? Candles, a fluffy rug, and art & pictures hanging on the walls. Sara took me to a store that has these things and I'm happy to say that as of this evening, we have candles burning and some stuff on the walls!

(side note: I'd like to share that I packed some pictures in my suitcase, but not frames because they're too heavy and it turns out that frames are pretty expensive here. Also, that something as simple as hanging a picture on the wall seemed challenging because the walls are all concrete, not drywall, so I was thinking we needed drill in order to hang pictures, thanks to Sara, I discovered 3M Command strips, which basically work like velcro! Brilliant! Thanks Sara!)

Here are a few things I hung up this evening!

These posters were a going away gift from some of our favorite yoga students! They remind me of home because they're vintage ad posters for the South Shore Train, which I used to take home from Chicago to Michigan for many years. I hung them in the hallway by the bedrooms.

In our living room I hung these elephant paintings that Fuad & I picked out & purchased together. We loved seeing the elephants so much we wanted to have something to remember them!

CMIS Campus

Me! In my classroom.

(Notice the hair flip, that's what I'm talking about...it's from my scooter helmet, drives me crazy!)

The doorway to my classroom, I'm on a corner, so 2 walls with windows. The cabinet under the windows is where the kids take their shoes off before coming into the music room.

Around the corner from me is the secondary music room, really he has is own little building. It's cute, you can tell there are students inside learning because of the shoes lined up outside the door. He teaches band and choir.

This is the view of the other end of campus. My room is pretty much the farthest room away! When this field is dry, the kids play football (soccer) during recess there.

This is an example of the hallway, everything is open-air, but covered in case of rain. The elementary art room is here, along with a weight room and the cafeteria.

The cafeteria, I eat here everyday for breakfast and lunch. I can eat both meals with snacks and thai iced tea for about 65bht (that's about $2.10) per day! The food is made fresh and there's usually about 7 food choices for lunch.

On the way home I captured another expressive sky. Looks like a cloud fist pumping up out of the mountain.

A few of my favorite photos from Bangkok

This is one of my favorite pictures from the Royal Palace. The sky was so expressive the day we were there. This is one of the guardians of the Palace.

Interesting architecture and expressive skies made for beautiful photos...

The lovely lotus blossom on the Palace grounds.

Photos are not allowed inside with the Emerald Buddha, it was a humbling experience.

Just after sitting with the Emerald Buddha.

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Fuad & I dropped coins in the 108 brass bowls, it's said to be good luck.

The full view of the amazing Reclining Buddha.

Creatures of Habit...

As much as I love exploring new places and having new experiences I also love routine equally as much. Some of you know that Fuad & I had a crazy schedule during our last year in Chicago, but built within the insanity was routine. We found comfort in the regularity of Saturday morning brunch at 90 Miles Cafe in Logan Square after teaching yoga, and spent every Thursday night eating Mexican food in Lakeview after teaching candlelight yoga.

It wasn't just when Fuad & I were together...for many years, I had a routine, with yoga on specific days, Mexican food on another day, a movie to watch on another evening, and with Tuesday nights spent watching the Biggest Loser, etc... I suppose in one way or another we all do it, we're all creatures of habit. What are your habits?

It's been 7 weeks here and I think what I'm craving in order to feel more settled and more at home is some routine.

I'm recalling the people who said to us that we're so lucky because we get a chance to start fresh. We could re-invent ourselves, create new habits, and make new routines. Maybe I could be a runner here, perhaps I could become an early riser and enjoy getting up early morning (not likely.) It does make sense, the entire process of going through our stuff (which took months) was like shedding layers, since we were both so deeply rooted in Chicago. It's interesting what you find tucked away in the back of drawers, like the things hidden in the deepest part of your soul. Releasing material objects from our grasp...our character is not determined by these objects we posses. Our moral and ethical compass isn't tuned by obtaining more "things."

At one of our going away gatherings, I shared with friends that I felt extremely vulnerable. Just before leaving, about to step from everything beloved and familiar, into the unknown when everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, had been taken out and brought into the light. Each item analyzed according to its worth (store it, pack it, give it away) and what made it into the suitcases was deemed essential. I also felt the urge to clean up loose ends in my relationships too...

...and yet all along I kept thinking of the old saying "where ever you go, there you are!" It finally made sense.

Here I am, sitting here waiting for Fuad to get home from Bangkok. Sometimes I'm still taken aback by how different our lives are now! Everyday as I drive to school I pass monks on my scooter. We make decisions about venturing out on the scooter based on whether it looks like it's gonna rain anytime soon, and we plan around how long we think we could stay out before it starts pouring... We don't own a tv and we've decided not to get one. I watch free shows off of Sidereel.com on my computer. (We've started watching Madmen from the beginning of the series and I'm watching a show called White Collar on my own while he's gone.)

I read, I blog...I've never had so much free time. Our neighborhood gets so quiet at night it's freaky. We slept with the windows open for the first time since we've been here the other night because it's starting to get cool at night. I hadn't realized how conditioned we'd gotten to the noise of the city.

The culture shock is starting to subside and I'm starting to notice more subtle aspects of people here, like for health reasons, wearing masks (and I actually considered wearing one), I observed the Thai folks on the plane to Bangkok last week eat the snack without actually touching the food and I thought "how smart" since airplanes are full of germs! There is hardly any physical contact between people because the standard greeting is to wai, and besides Fuad I have only hugged one other person. How many people do you hug or shake hands with in a day?

Now, I need to remind myself to be patient, to let the routines and new, refreshed habits reveal themselves. (Some things will never change, though....I LOVE to shop here!) I need to remind myself to be patient as friendships develop, because meaningful, lasting ones are not built overnight. I need to remind myself that the places that feel like "us" will emerge as we continue to explore this new place. And a little bit of time to let things happen slowly...that's OK too...

Eat Me - Fine Dining in Bangkok

Shared a sublime meal in Bangkok at a restaurant recommended by a long lost cousin. Eat Me is an Australian-run enterprise, but the cuisine is a blend of flavors and cooking styles from all over the world. Best meal we've had so far in Thailand... We feasted on the following:
Starters:
ROCKET, PEAR & PARMESAN SALAD W/ BLACK TRUFFLE DRESSING
WARM GOAT CHEESE SALAD W/ CITRUS VINAIGRETTE & PISTACHIOS
GRILLED TIGER PRAWNS W/ TOM YUM SPICED OLIVE OIL
Main Dishes:
FIG & BLUE CHEESE RAVIOLI W/ WALNUTS, ROSEMARY & BROWN BUTTER
PAN SEARED THAI BARRAMUNDI W/ SPICY COCONUT BROTH
Dessert:
STICKY DATE PUDDING W/ HOT BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE & VANILLA ICE CREAM

Check out their website, and if you're ever in town, this spot is well worth a visit, and you'll probably need a reservation...
http://www.eatmerestaurant.com/

Temple Hopping in Bangkok

Ok, so this is a bit sheisty, but I'm going to go ahead and cut and paste a blog entry I wrote a couple years ago to cover what Becky and I did this past Saturday... Becky came to Bangkok this past weekend for the first time, and we chose to spend our Saturday doing what all tourists do, which is to visit the Grand Palace. It's an essential trip if you come to Bangkok, because there are few places on earth that are centers of both political and spiritual power, and the palace is replete with incredible imagery, stunning architecture, and temples drenched in the devotion of a nation... It's a pilgrimage site, and I come as a supplicant every few years with a little more life experience, and every time it totally delivers at least one completely overwhelming moment. It was delightful finally bringing Becky along to check it out, although she did get a little peeved at me when she tried to take my picture and I shrugged her off saying "i already have some pics." That didn't go over too well... But it's true - everyone takes pictures at the Palace, and since I take lame pictures, I've got several folders buried on a hard drive somewhere of the place, and me mugging next to ancient statues and colorful murals... The place is a photographer's dream... I'll let Becky post her pics later, when she has a chance...
In the meantime, below is a post taken from an old Thai travel blog I wrote, about the last time I visited this complex. It's cheating to just cut and paste, maybe, but my impressions of this place have not changed much, and I don't want to try and write all this anew... The pictures aren't mine either...

Next....we visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This temple completely blew my mind. I was expecting a Buddha statue lying horizontally on a podium, his head propped up with a hand, and with his body laid out like a man reading on the floor. I had seen pictures of the statue before but none of them offered any perspective as to its actual dimensions. What we found at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha was a gold Buddha about the size of a house. This statue was HUGE.

The temple was roughly the size of my high school gymnasium, and this statue took up a length about the size of a basketball court. As you filed into the temple, the human traffic guided you in a circuit around the statue, which you only see if you crane your neck upwards to view the Buddha looming above, gazing indirectly at the earth. It’s a surreal place. Surrounding the main statue were small altars erected all around his form, comprised of collection boxes, burning candles, incense sticks, and smaller figures, all gilded offerings paying homage to larger Buddha presence. You make your way towards his feet, which are the size of Queen size beds, and are then ushered around the other side, where you see the back of his legs and spine. Pillars along this temple wall are lined with a series of donation bowls. A money changer offers you coins for any bills you wish to break, and provides you with a bowl, filled to the brim with small-value coins. You deposit a few coins in each donation bowl as you make your way towards the Buddha’s head, and by the time you’ve arrived at the temple opening, you’ve offered up dozens of coins to this Buddha, who is said to bestow prosperity and peace upon devotees who honor him. I could use some prosperity and peace in my life, and I’m not beyond endorsing a little well-intended idolatry if it’ll bring such elusive blessings into my life. We all receive our karmic dues eventually, don’t we?

Gold-leaf Bodhisattvas in rooms of Mother-of Pearl
Transcendental Truths Sealed Inside A Samsara World
Encompassed in these statues exits a universe of historical wealth
The center of gravity of certain societies sits upon their spiritual health…


After Wat Po, we walked a few blocks northward to the sprawling complex of the Grand Palace. We must’ve walked a few hundred meters along the Palace’s high barrier walls before finding the lone entrance dedicated to the thousands of tourists intent on paying homage to the Thai kingdom’s most famous artifact, the legendary Emerald Buddha.



The story of this particular statue dates back to the year 1434, when a Buddhist abbot at a monastery in Chiang Rai discovered that one of the life-size Buddha statues had a few pieces of paint missing from its nose, which revealed a strange green glow from beneath it. After more paint flaked off, the statue was polished, to reveal not a plaster Buddha at all, as it had been thought to be, but an image carved from one solid block of green jade. The origin of this statue was a mystery, and over subsequent centuries, it became a priceless and powerful symbolic talisman of the Thai kingdom. As a consequence of several wars, the statue changed hands a few times, and for a little over 200 years was appropriated to Laos, until a victorious Thai army captured it and returned it to Bangkok in 1778. The Grand Palace was constructed in 1782, in part to create an adequate resting place, the Royal Monastery, to house this profound statue. There is sits today, on an elevated altar, at a central location in the palace complex. To see it you must remove your shoes, and enter into a hall filled with gilded statues and the most elaborate gold altar I’ve ever seen. The Emerald Buddha does not have the same overwhelming size as some of the other statues we saw today, but it does exert a definite gravitational pull, and it looms high above the hordes of people offering authentic prayers to this Buddha in the Royal Monastery. The scene at the temple was powerfully reminiscent of a visit to a religious building that houses a relic, as such articles of faith are often cornerstones of people’s belief systems. This statue and the complex it lies within are not to be missed when visiting Bangkok, and even though this was my second visit in 4 years, I was still overwhelmed by the grace, elegance, and the refined Theravada decadence of the Grand Palace.

A little bit about my new job

Heading off to work on Perry, our scooter.

Things are getting better, slowly but surely... This week is good because Fuad is back from London and I have something to look forward to; this weekend I'm making my first trip to Bangkok! Fuad will be going for work on Thursday morning, and I'll meet him there on Friday in the late afternoon, then we'll return together on Sunday evening. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to see where it is he's been going off to every week!

As I quickly approach the end of my third week at Chiang Mai International School, I thought I might share a little bit about my new job, now that I'm finding my feet on the ground.

CMIS has around 460 students in grades K-12 who come from 30 different countries! I'm teaching elementary music, so I have K-6th grades. Every child in these elementary grades, regardless of their background has Thai class twice a week, which makes my situation unique because the children are grouped by their level in Thai class (beginner, intermediate, advanced). So, for instance, while half of 3rd grade is in Thai, the other half is in music. They don't come to me as their homeroom grouping. (I hope that wasn't too confusing) Let's stick with 3rd grade as an example...my first period class has 11 students in it, which is a combination of two homerooms, and my 2nd period class has 15 kids. I see both groups of 3rd graders twice a week.

I've never had a schedule that made this much sense because I've only worked at schools where teachers are on their "prep" while students are at classes like music, PE, art, tech, and library.

In fact, in my previous school my team was referred to as "preps" or "prep teachers" (I don't teach "prep" but some things are so deeply ingrained in the vernacular it would take decades to change.) Usually (in Chicago) classroom teachers are required to meet, for planning purposes, during at least one of their preps which means I would never get two third grade classes back to back, one class would be in music, while the other was in PE. If I did see a group two times in one week (which hasn't happened for about 4 years) I would have them later in the week.

Here, from day one I have only heard my team referred to as specials, which is a lot more like it! This schedule totally works for me - I see both classes of every grade that I teach back to back (with passing time) twice a week. I have breaks built in since all the kids get am, pm and lunch recess. All teachers (not just the specials) take a turn on duty and because there are so many of us, I only have duty twice a week for 10 minutes each (a far cry from Chicago, where I was on duty 5 days a week for 30 minutes each).

Budgets in CPS had gotten whittled down so much that everyone was expected to do more with less. More kids in the classrooms, more classes per day, more duty since each year more folks were getting laid off, more meetings to analyze why the schools are failing and test scores are so low, more PD sessions to create better teachers so the test scores won't be so low...and on & on & on...

CMIS kids are awesome! I haven't encountered any disrespectful students, I haven't left work feeling like I needed to cry, I haven't had to raise my voice....Mostly, I've done a lot of smiling at work. It feels good!

Here is a picture of my classroom...

Synchronicity & Clarity

Synchronicity: uncanny coincidence, the unlikely conjunction of events, and/or a startling serendipity...

Clarity can be the result of synchronicity, giving you the feeling that what you've been looking for was already there...

I've had some time to myself this week with Fuad gone in London and I had a realization today that what I'm experiencing is culture shock, and for some reason, it feels reassuring to have a label or a name for how I feel. I guess it acknowledges that it's normal, and that I'm not alone, that others have gone through this. It seems like a most people who've traveled and spent long periods (or maybe even short periods) of time outside of their own culture have experienced culture shock. However, I feel isolated because I'm surrounded by people who have been here for long periods of time (I even work with some American teachers who have lived in Asia most of their lives) and even though Fuad I and moved here together, he has a separate process...he's actually more like a Third Culture Kid (he'll have to blog about that) so what he is feeling is not at all like what I'm feeling.

When I looked up the text book definition of what culture shock is...I was surprised by how much of it fits how I'm feeling. The homesickness is just a symptom of the bigger issue. I miss so many aspects of our life in Chicago, but mostly I miss feeling familiar with my environment. {Homesickness, Check}

This past weekend I was sick (my belly adapting to the "intestinal flora") so I stayed in bed most of the day with stomach issues, Fuad did his best to take care of me while at the same time preparing to leave for London. I was so weak and ill I was concerned that I wouldn't even be able to go to school on Monday.

{Digestive issues, Check}

Last night for no apparent reason, I couldn't sleep... After I did fall asleep, I woke up in the middle of the night with more stomach cramps, because of this change in my stomach stability and sleeping patterns I looked at the clock this evening and wanted to go to bed at 7:45! That's definitely not normal...I've hardly taken any naps here...for most of my adult life I've taken an afternoon nap, I LOVE my naps, but it just doesn't happen, even if I feel tired.

{Sleep pattern issues, Check}

The words "culture shock" never even crossed my mind prior to making this move. In contrast to the #1 question I was asked prior to moving "Aren't you excited?" I'm now constantly being asked "Are you getting settled?" Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment from my new colleagues, but what I really want to say is "no, not really."

So where does the synchronicity & clarity come in? Last weekend Fuad & I had one of our lengthy discussions about what I now know I can label as culture shock. We discussed how we could potentially change how we feel (our emotions) by adjusting our attitude towards them. We actually had a difference of opinions, which rarely happens between us. Fuad says we can control our emotions, I disagree. I say we can control how we react to our emotions.

Then I came across this passage from "A Life Worth Breathing" by Max Strom that addresses the very subject we were talking about...

The Storm in Your Mind

It is the storm in your mind-the mental stress, negativity, and endless inner monologue-that causes so much of your emotional suffering and ill health. It is by teaching your intellect to become quiet, and learning to be still, that you can become happier, healthier, and more emotionally stable. Constant lurching into the future or dwelling on past events robs you of the present. True joy is experienced only in the present, so you have to be present to experience it.

Have you ever wondered why you cannot remember most of your life? It is because you weren't really there. You were hallucinating about the past or future so your consciousness missed the present. Why would you remember what you didn't experience? We live in the "greatest hits"-or "darkest hits'- of memory consciousness, and although many of our memories are negative, we replay them again and again. Each time we replay negative memories, we relive the emotions, perhaps even reliving a trauma.

Because they do not truly understand these concepts, many teach the need for a positive outlook as the solution to this problem; however, positive thinking alone is not enough, as our minds are so easily affected by external negative stimuli. For example, you can be in a very positive state but then be triggered into an argument in a mere moment from one wrong word. You must learn to achieve inner stillness, regardless of the outer circumstances. It is only when you can still the storm in your mind that you can unify mind, body, and emotions.

Surrendering to stillness is an essential state of mind that the saints and mystics consider essential in order to know themselves, to develop consciousness, or to merge with God.

When the mind is still, the heart-our emotional center-is unencumbered, and when the heart is unencumbered, we feel joy, contentment, and peace. And then, instead of absorbing the world's chaos into us, more and more we can bring this stillness out into the world. Only after the storm is brought to stillness can we act from our highest Self, or soul, and not from the lower mind of craving, fearing, and so forth.

Be still, and know that I am God. -Psalm 46:10

The synchronicity of these events really left an impression: the tough conversation with Fuad, finding this passage, and having an informal conversation with a co-worker, all of which led me to the idea of culture shock... This process is helping me to find some much needed clarity about this new situation. There's a reason why we're here. I just need to make sure I'm not battling the storm in my mind and miss it....
Here's a video I found about culture shock...sort of... I thought it was worth sharing, for a quick laugh...

Simple Things

Folks have been asking questions after reading our blog posts and I realized that Fuad & I are so busy exploring our feelings that we sometimes forget to include the simple, most basic stuff about living here.

Today the weather was absolutely beautiful! At 5:45pm the temperature is 87 degrees F. It didn't rain today and the sky is so expressive right now. Big fluffy white clouds set against the contrast of perfectly blue sky. Doi Suthep (the big mountain seen in the distance from almost everywhere here) was so clear this afternoon as I drove home from work you could see the outlines of the trees that cover the mountain.

The sun starts to set fast around 6:00 pm which is precisely when you DON'T want to be outside, unless you enjoy being attacked by mosquitos.

After getting home from work today I had time to take some pictures which is emerging as a new hobby for me since we got a nice new camera. I stood for awhile attempting to capture the 3 different kinds of butterflies, along with a bee, feeding on the delicate flowers.

These are the things I enjoy about living here. The beauty of nature, the sense of gratitude at the end of the work day, the stillness of a quite afternoon, a cup of coffee in hand.

Variations on early evening clouds (see below) reminds me of one of my all time favorite songs...

"I've looked at clouds from both side now, from up & down and still somehow it's cloud illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds...at all"