Brave New Girl

I'm finally here! I arrived in Chiang Mai just yesterday morning, but it seems like it’s been a lot longer. Ryan and Kelly, the couple I will be working with here, have been showing me around. Last night we took a quick drive around the city in an attempt to get me oriented. The city of Chiang Mai is over 700 years old, but the name translates to “New City”. The original town was enclosed by city walls and a moat. The old city walls are still intact in many places, if only in bits and pieces. Chiang Mai is a popular tourist destination, as well as a major hub for missionaries. A large portion of the population is foreigners, which makes for a very unique environment.

I will be living in a house just south of the city. I am renting a room from a woman who has been teaching at Grace International School for 4 years. This is the school where many of the local missionaries send their children. Sarah has been busy with parent teacher conferences this week, so I met her for the first time just now. She won me over instantly by buying me oreos.

Student Volunteer Movement 2 has set up their office in a house in the neighborhood where I live. These first few days Ryan and Kelly are letting me take it easy with orientation meetings in the morning, time to rest and get organized in the afternoon and then exploration trips into the city. This afternoon Kelly and I ventured out and tried the most common form of public transportation: Songthaews. Songthaews are covered trucks with two benches in the back. They travel down set routes, designated by their color. Luckily there are plenty of songthaews which run up and down the main road near our neighborhood.

Our goal was to make it to the Big C, the nearest shopping market. This turned out to be an incredibly easy task. Kelly and I simply waved one over and hopped in the back. When we neared the market Kelly pushed a red button on the roof, just like you might do in a bus. We hopped off and I paid the driver 10 baht, which is the amount Kelly’s Thai housekeeper advised was normal. Kelly told me she asked Pinim first so we wouldn’t be “taken for a ride.” She meant taken advantage of, since we literally were paying to be taken for a ride!