The Return

Well the 14 months are over and I am headed back to the US, with a brief stop in Canada. It doesn't feel real that I left Thailand...I don't want to say "for good" but you know what I mean.  I feel like I will be back there next week. I had so much fun the last month I was in Thailand! I went back to the elephant camp, did the Flight of the Gibbon zipline course, broke my toe playing in Sticky Falls, got to ride in the back of the truck a few more times, and mostly laughed a whole lot with friends.

Now back to real life. I'll be settling down in Lake Forest soon and looking for a job. I'm hoping to really be able to reflect on the past year and grow through what I've learned. I don't know how much I've changed but  I know I must have and I want to be able to incorporate the "new me" into what I see as my old life.

When I was at the airport to leave, there was a group of other people I knew also heading home, and with them a huge group of people to say goodbye. I overheard one of their leaders talking about all the groups she's seen come and go and some of the advice they give their interns as they head back. One of the things she said was "don't dwell." We've just had an amazing, life changing experience in Thailand and it's hard to let go. We made a lot of friends and had some wonderful experiences. I can totally see myself living wondering what I would be doing if I were still in Thailand. Wondering if I should be going back. And who knows, maybe I will. But my job right now is to remember but not dwell. I need to be present wherever God takes me next. 

Awesome Thai Commercials

I haven't spent much time watching Thai television, but sometimes I encounter it all the same. On two occasions I was in a room with the TV on and there were commercials that really stood out to me. On both occasions I could understand what was happening in the commercials, but they left me mystified as to why.

In the first commercial we see a handsome young soldier in his dress uniform alighting from a train in a busy station. He carries a letter and a rose and is scanning faces, searching for someone. His eyes finally settle on a 30-something woman, not bad looking, but on the plain side and a little bigger than your average Thai woman. We get the impression that the soldier is looking for a woman he's been corresponding with romantically for some time but has never seen. The look on his face suggests a small amount of surprise and disappointment, but good-natured acceptance. But then the nice looking lady smiles and says...something in Thai. The handsome soldier looks to the side and walks towards a gorgeous, refined Thai woman and gives her the rose. Apparently the normal looking woman was just a decoy so the knock out could have a few more seconds to finish applying her lipstick? Or maybe the soldier had to go through the protective best friend before he got the go ahead to date the star? I guess I'll never know. I have no idea what this could have been a commercial for.

The next commercial that stuck with me was a little more obvious as to what it was selling, but had the same 'wait, was that offensive' feeling to it. A middle aged Thai businessman stands alone on the edge of a roof, apparently ready to end it all. The fire department arrives and scurries about down below. When they spread the big trampoline/net thing that they use to catch jumpers, it is actually a huge newspaper! The businessman looks down in shock and then interest as the rescue workers turn the pages of the giant newspaper so the man can read the apparently fascinating articles. The end shows the man walking away reading the newspaper, on to a brighter day.

In the US we make a big deal of our commercials, though I don't know anyone who actually watches them outside of the superbowl. I think maybe the language gap removes the in your face 'sell sell sell' feeling of these commercials and makes them so charming to me. 

The Copy Shop in Babel

Two months ago I took my Learning Thai book to the copy shop down the road to get a copy made for Josephine, my coworker. I went back in a couple of days to pick it up, but it wasn't ready yet. Actually, when I showed up the lady who works there started looking around like maybe she'd misplaced the book. After a couple of minutes she told me to come back later. But when I came back a few days later, she still didn't have it. At that point she took my phone number. I wondered later if I would even know when she called me. The women who work at this shop speak even less English than I speak Thai, which is very little.

A couple of days later I got a call from someone who could only speak Thai (a somewhat regular occurrence) and I optimistically thought it was the call from the copy shop. But when I showed up to see if they had my book ready it was obvious they weren't waiting for me. The woman was trying to explain something to me but I had no idea what. Finally she said to me something like "don't come back" which was shocking to hear, even though it wasn't said in anger. I had to assume that they had lost my book and the copy they'd made. But I really wanted to know what was going on! I also started to wonder if I should ask them to make it up to me in some way. I hate to be pushy or throw blame around, but they lost my Thai book! I'd found another copy of the book at the intern house and I was thinking I should ask them to make a copy for free to replace the one they'd lost. But how was I supposed to do that?

After a couple days I decided to ask my friend who has lived here for a few years for advice. She said that if I wanted we could go by with her Thai friend and she could ask the lady what was going on. When we got to the place and our Thai friend asked, the woman at the shop launched into an animated retelling of the "how the book got lost" story. When the story was done, our Thai friend said thanks and walked away without any of my suggestions of new copies being made. We got back into my friend's car and she asked us what had happened. I told her that my book was sitting out and suddenly a man on a motorbike drove by, swiped the book and drove off before anyone could do anything. At least that was my interpretation of the rushed Thai and hand movements.

Our Thai friend told us the real story. My book and the copy had been sitting on the counter when another customer came to collect a large job. He must have taken my books along with his. The woman assured us that he was a pretty regular customer and they would ask him to bring it back the next time they saw him. I waited and wondered how someone could pick up an unfamiliar Thai language book and never think to return it to where it obviously came from. He couldn't have been that regular of a customer because two months went by. Until....

This morning I got a call from a number I didn't have in my contacts. I don't like answering these calls because they're mostly wrong numbers (see second paragraph). But I did answer. The call went something like this:

"Hello?"
"Hello, ฎนากุถเขยรวล"
"...sorry?"
"Nakunruin copy shop"
"Oh, yes!"
"Okay, today?"
"Okay, yes."
"Okay."

It had been about a month since I'd completely given up on my Thai book, yet I knew right away what the call meant. I went in to the copy shop after work and there were hugs all around, confetti poppers and champagne (okay, just in my head) as they went under the counter and handed me my books. I was just so excited! Even though Josephine had long since decided to quit Thai lessons. And they didn't even give me a discount on the job.

Hurray!

100 days

Today marks 100 days until I leave Thailand. I know because I've been counting down on an ipod app for awhile. It's been really hard to focus on staying present here and getting everything I can out of the time I have left. I'm really excited about moving back to Southern California! Strangely, even before I came to Thailand I started having fantasies about what my life would look like when I came back. I know that this is just part of the "grass is always greener" mindset, so I try to remind myself that I'll still be basically the same person when I get back. I don't think I'll suddenly find a passion for working out or spontaneously develop new hobbies. Who's to say, maybe I will be inspired to take on something new, but I shouldn't count on it.

People love to insist that we live in the moment and get everything we can out of life. That's all good, but what does it really mean? Do I need to be walking the streets everyday, trying to scare up experiences? Is it a shameful waste of a day if I choose to come home after work and watch tv? There's only so much one girl can do! I like to think that living in a foreign city and interacting with people from all over the world, "life" will find me whether I'm looking for it or not. Phew, pressure off!

All that being said, I had a pretty good day. I slept in until 9:30. When I got up our housekeeper was downstairs cleaning the kitchen. It's been raining pretty constantly for the past few days, so she made a comment about how it's easy to sleep when it's cold out. At least I'm pretty sure this is what she said because she was speaking Thai. I feel so awkward having the housekeeper here on Saturday mornings. I feel like I can't just lie around in my pjs when someone is here cleaning our house. So I usually end up finding something to do outside the house.

I'd been looking at the website with the movie theater listings (http://www.majorcineplex.com/en/ if you're interested) but there weren't any English movies that interested me. So I started looking at the Thai movies. It took me many months to realize that many of the Thai movies have English subtitles, and I'd never seen any of the Thai movies until today.

Before the movie I ate lunch at the food court outside of the theater in the mall. Although it was noon, I hadn't eaten breakfast so I wasn't really in the mood for a rich greasy Thai meal. I looked at the different counters, some with signs in English and others without, until I saw a place with a picture of a dish that looked appealing to me. It happened to be another rich greasy Thai dish, but it still looked tasty. I went to order it, thinking I could just point to the picture, but the picture was facing towards me and away from the woman serving food, so I don't think she knew what I meant. I ran my eyes over the string of Thai letters labeling the dish, but there was no way I'd get past the first couple of syllables. Luckily there was a Thai woman next to me who saw I was struggling and she read the name of the dish to the woman working there. Hurray! Language barrier overcome, if just for a minute and if just for food. I gave the woman a kop kun ka (thank you) when my order was placed. It was only when the woman got her food and walked away that I noticed her shirt had a word bubble that said "Oops." I found that oddly appropriate for the situation.

The movie that interested me was called Shambala. It was about two brothers who had been estranged when they decide to go on a trip to Tibet together. It was the typical road trip bonding movie where the brothers with opposite personalities started off fighting and ended up closer than they ever had been. I don't know if it's because the movie was specifically set in Tibet or if it's an aspect of Thai movies in general, but Buddhism played a large role in the movie. I'll have to watch some more Thai movies to find out.

I took a songtaew home and it started pouring down rain right before we got to my stop. I started the 15 minute walk back to my house with my ineffective umbrella. My flip flops were so wet I was afraid I would slip out of them. Luckily I soon saw a familiar white van coming towards me. Kelly was on her way out of the neighborhood and when she stopped I hopped in and asked where we were going. We dropped the kids off for a play date and then stopped by the market before heading back home. I was happy to have a ride back to my front door.

When I got in, my roommate Laura was home. We went out after an hour and watched the international school's boys volleyball team play in a tournament. They lost by two points. Oh, I guess I should say they came in second in the tournament. Yay! When the game was over we walked down the road to have dinner at a restaurant, Coaches, which is run my a missionary family. On the way we were harassed by a literally ankle biting puppy. We narrowly escaped when his jaws were distracted by a discarded hat. The seating at the restaurant is in a tree house like loft and it was nice to sit and eat with the rain, which started pouring again as soon as we were under cover. It's the rainy season here and I am loving every minute of it, yes, even when people don't show up out of nowhere to give me a lift.

Flier found in my mailbox today (with added footnotes)

Dear Moobahn 1 Member,

    By World Club Land Juristic.2 Collaboration with the Organization Nongkawy. Will spray "Smoke"3. To prevent "Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever" 4 in our village on Monday, August 27, 2012 at 9:00am. Onwards. Without any cost.
     If you want to spray inside the house. Please give the landlord or a housewife5 waiting at home. To prepare for the open house. If you do not want to spray in the house. They will spray around. The homes of members.


1. Moobahn = neighborhood
2. There is no punctuation in Thai, so this can be a tricky concept for Thais writing in English.
3. Well what is it if it's not literally smoke?!
4. That sounds unpleasant.
5. They aren't being sexist, they mean housekeeper.

In conclusion, I'm glad I wasn't home for this.

Q: What do you call it when you throw your laptop into the ocean?

A: A dell (Adele) - rolling in the deep.

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! (Thanks Pam.) 

That joke strikes a sorrowful chord for me because I have a dell and it makes me imagine it falling in the sea. I would not be happy. A few months ago I suffered a blow I hope you will never know, but many of you will. My hard drive crashed. One minute I was happily running a dozen programs, nine tabs open in Google Chrome, when my baby froze and then gave me the blue screen of death. When I restarted her she gave me a page that led me through a loop of options that never led anywhere. Was this really happening? Would my computer live to show me her desktop again? 

My trusty Ryan and Kelly were on vacation at the time and I felt like I needed to be resourceful and solve this problem by myself. What does one do when one's computer goes haywire? I mean, after one emails one's father. One finds a trusted computer shop and takes it in. I was a little intimidated by this since I had no idea what computer shops in Thailand are like. Can I trust them? Do they know what they're doing? Will my computer end up in some back room for weeks while I wait for her return? Luckily I had the handy "Life in Chiang Mai" guide that many of us falong (foreigners) use when they're getting settled here. They had one entry about computer help, a ministry that helps other ministries with programs, hardware, and software. I pictured a bright clean room with smiling missionaries, waiting to sit with me and hold my hand while we boot up my computer and they pinpoint the exact problem. 

This is not what I got. First of all the place was way the heck on the other side of the city. I was getting pretty confident on my motorbike, Ruby, so I thought the drive would be worth it to take it to a place I felt I could trust. The ride took me about an hour, complete with a jaunt the wrong way out into the countryside and a stop at the local clinic for directions, where I got to introduce myself to Doctor Kriengsak. Doctor Kriengsak is the pastor of a large Thai church but he also runs a clinic for half the day. He later became part of some of my more infamous adventures. I got a pretty bad sun burn from this trip.

When I finally arrived at the place, the only person in was the Thai secretary. She had me fill out a form saying what my computer was (and wasn't) doing and then took my computer. That was it. She said something about Friday, but I wasn't sure if I would be getting it back then or hearing from them or what. The cluttered work space with multiple disassembled machines did not bode well. 

Friday came and I heard nothing. My call to the place didn't bring much information. A few days later I called again and confirmed that the hard drive was dead and they were calling Dell to get it replaced. They said that since it was still under warranty, it would be free. A few days later and they were still trying to reach Dell. By now Ryan and Kelly were back. They didn't have a lot of confidence in this group. Apparently Ryan had gone to them for help getting car insurance (huh?) and had to really hassle them before he got a response. He recommended I drop back in and talk to them in person. That's great but I'm still sun burnt from the last time! 

But my confusion about the progress was getting to me. I made the drive back, which was much shorter when you knew the way, and saw what they were up to with my baby. Unfortunately, seeing them in person renewed my confidence in them. I say unfortunately because the confidence was misplaced. The next thing I heard was that my warranty was no good outside of the US, so I had two choices. Pay to extend the warranty internationally (about $50) or just buy a new hard drive which would cost me more. I choose the first one, but then a few more days went by with no word. 

Since that first fateful day, I had realized there was a Dell store right in our local mall. Everyday since I saw it I was tempted to get my computer back and take it there, but I always felt like I should wait just a little longer, keep faith. Finally I called and got a hold of the one American who was connected to the group. Not to be racist, but it's really hard for two people who only know a little of the other's language to have a technical conversation about computers. The American said he wasn't sure why it was taking so long. I asked if it would be better if I just got it back and took it to the Dell store, since then at least it would be a more direct link to Dell. He said that they were also a Dell supplier, but they could continue to try and talk to Dell while I took it to other people. 

Luckily this guy lived in my neighborhood, so he could bring it home for me and I was saved a third trip. I took her directly up to the Dell store in the mall and wouldn't you know it...I found a bright clean store where the people started my computer up right away and figured out what was wrong with it. Though by then I already knew what was wrong, it was so great to have them give me such prompt attention. They said that I would have to buy a new hard drive and I could do that two stores down or at one of the many computer supply stores in the mall. I asked about the warranty and they said that it would be $100 to extend the warranty AND it would take about a month to get it in place and get me a new hard drive! If I just bought a new hard drive I could get one for $50. So the opposite of what the first people had told me. I went next door right away and they got me a hard drive and installed it in less than an hour. They even installed windows for free. 

Though I knew I'd wasted about two weeks on these other people, I was just relieved to have my baby up and running again, though with a bad case of amnesia. The Dell people said that they couldn't recover any data from the hard drive. I drove (all the way) back to the other people and asked if they would be able to do it, and no. I even put the hard drive in the freezer and tried recovering the data myself, but no. I had a bit of a religious crisis as I laid hands on the dead drive and attempted a resurrection. Most of what I lost, after all, was for my work at SVM2 and the personal stuff could be gotten other places. But God, in His mysterious will, wouldn't give me 10 minutes to pull my old emails and spreadsheets. I'm still hoping that one day I will be given a sign and when I plug in the hard drive it will work. Until then, I'm just grateful that I have a beautiful, working computer with a very new hard drive.

What is the moral of this story? Is there any lesson to be learned? I tried to find one. Don't trust your instincts maybe. Don't try to be resourceful and solve something by yourself? And always always always back up!

Our House in the Middle of Our Soi

From the beginning of my adventure in Thailand, I knew the time would come when I needed to find a new place to live. My roommate Sarah was only staying until the end of the school year in June. I figured by then I would know lots of people and know the city really well and it would be easy to find a new place. But as June got closer and closer I still wasn't sure what to do. No one seemed to know of anyone who needed a roommate.

There were one room bungalows for rent in our neighborhood that actually looked pretty nice. It's not a lot of space, but it would make things simple. I wasn't sure if not having roommates was a pro or a con. I liked the freedom of it and there were plenty of times when I just wanted to come home and be alone. But it was also good to have people to talk with and maybe plan activities with. Sarah had been a good roommate but she wasn't much company. We kept to ourselves. She was always ready to give me a ride if I needed one and there were times she was downright chatty, but I wouldn't say we were buddies.

The biggest drawback to the bungalows was that they didn't have kitchens. Just a hot plate and an electric kettle. They didn't even have a kitchen sink! The rent was also higher than I had been paying at the house and I hated the idea of paying more and getting less. But I felt like it was my best option and there were several times that I was so close to calling the landlord of the bungalows and reserving one. They also accommodated week long tenants, so I knew if I didn't act in time they would fill up. But something always stopped me. Then one time, around Easter, I checked back and saw  that the only empty bungalow had been booked for two weeks in July. I could still live there, if I didn't mind vacating for two weeks. 


Another hindrance in my search was that I'd promised Sarah I'd take her cat for a few months after she moved out, until she could get settled in her new home in Singapore. This was something I was excited to do since I'd become quite attached to Mr. Snuggles. After all, I'd spent more time with him than with his owner! But most of the places that had space to rent didn't share my feelings about cats. Also, since I would be leaving in the middle of the school year, it would be hard for most of the people I knew, who were teachers, to replace me as a renter when I left.


At some point I went over to someone's house for a birthday. This house was warmly decorated and comfortably furnished. There were paintings on the wall and plants. This was in stark contrast to my current living situation with the cold off-white walls and hard tile floors. In my house there was really no reason to be anywhere but my room or the kitchen unless the heat drove me downstairs. The girls who lived in this house even had pictures of the three of them framed on the entertainment center. When I saw all of this I realized that this is why I was so reluctant to rent the bungalow. This is what I wanted! In the short time I'd been in Thailand I'd forgotten what it was like to live with friends. But how was I supposed to find this? I'd already asked all the people I knew if anyone needed a roommate.


I was happy to realize, when I thought my time was running short, that Sarah's lease on the house ran until the end of June, when I thought I'd have to move out in the beginning of June. This let me relax a little bit. Then Sarah's plans changed with Mr. Snuggles and it was possible that she didn't need me to take him. 


Then one night Sarah mentioned that her friends Laura and Ginny might be needing a roommate. They're third roommate was returning to the states for the summer and was debating staying for the fall semester to visit family and raise support. If that were the case, they would want someone to take over the rent while she was gone. Since my remaining time in Thailand corresponded directly with the time she would be gone (Jeanie would leave at the end of June and come back early in January) I was the natural choice. I was probably the only choice! My big drawback about leaving in the middle of the school year had become an asset.


Sarah told me that they were considering asking me, but then I didn't hear from them. After a week I even texted Laura about it and didn't hear back. This was crushing to me as I thought I'd found the most ideal answer to the problem I'd been worried about for so long, only to be disappointed. Furthermore, I didn't feel like looking for other places while I had this choice on the line. But I knew that they were waiting on their roommate to make a decision so I couldn't pester them.


Finally I got a text from Ginny asking if we could meet to discuss the possibility of me moving in with them. This was almost comical to me. What was there to discuss??? Was there some test I had to pass? I'd been so excited about the idea that I couldn't think of a reason why I wouldn't move in with them. Ginny and Laura were two of the first people I'd met in Chiang Mai and they are both warm, fun, funny women. Laura was one of Sarah's closest friends so I'd seen more of her than the others. And Ginny is Canadian, which is pretty great.


When the three of us met up, it was pretty much an hour of casual conversation until the cafe was starting to close down, and then ten minutes of "so you wanna move in with us? okay, here's what you need to know." So the thing was decided and I was beyond happy about it. I went over that weekend so Laura could show me around and I remembered something. It had been her birthday when I decided I wanted more than a lonely one room bungalow. It had been her house that I'd seen and thought, this is what I want! And now that's what I was getting! 


I couldn't believe it. When I moved into my previous house I felt like it was the perfect place for me. And I held onto faith that whatever God had for me next, and I did believe that he had a place ready for me, it would be even better than the first place. So God gave me the exact home I had wanted.

Soi Dogs

This morning on my way to the intern house I stopped to buy a skewer of bbq chicken from a street vendor. Soon I looked down and realized I was being followed by an eager, fluffy white soi dog.

No, this isn't the name of a new line of vegan hot dogs. These are the dogs that inhabit the streets of Thailand, in abundance. The word soi (ซอย) means street or lane in Thai - the smaller streets of neighborhoods. Hence, the dogs that hang out in the street all day, some strays and some owned but allowed to roam, are referred to as soi dogs. I actually didn't hear this phrase until I'd been here a few months and had lunch with a backpacker girl I met. I think it has a nicer ring to it than "mangy mutt."

You might have an idea of how these soi dogs must look. Emaciated, flee bitten, ears missing from squabbles with the other doggies. This is definitely true for some, but for the most part these dogs are pretty healthy. These aren't the dogs you find in Tijuana that look like they're on their last leg (or last two legs?). In Thailand people take care of the strays. People leave food and water out for them. They aren't abused. This is because the people of Thailand love their king.

Huh? 'Is the king a dog?' you may be asking yourself now. I hope you're not asking that, because that would be ridiculous. No, but the king loves dogs. He has adopted numerous dogs and made them part of the royal household. One of these strays in particular, Tong Daeng (meaning copper), touched the King's heart so much that he wrote a book about the dog which became a bestseller in Thailand. When the King wore a shirt with a picture of Tong Daeng, it started a fashion craze as Thais rushed to buy a Tong Daeng shirt of their own.

"Most adopted stray dogs are usually humble and exceptionally faithful to their owners, as if they are grateful for the kindness they receive. Moreover, they are not inferior to imported dogs in intelligence. Some are attractive or have a distinctive smart look, like Tong Daeng," writes the king. When you add to this the cost of pet store dogs, the health problems they often inherit from inbreeding, and the infamous conditions of puppy mills, I think the king has the right idea. Sure there are good reasons to shop around for that perfect puppy that will match your purse and loafers. Maybe you want a purebred because you're looking for a certain characteristic. Or maybe you're fearful about bringing home a dog with a questionable past that might light the house on fire when you're not looking. Either way, take a look at your local shelter first and consider giving a stray a second chance.

More about the king and Tong Daeng: http://www.carefordogs.org/his-majesty-king-bhumibol-adulyadej-compassion-to-stray-dogs/

Japan Pt 2 - Muy Meiji

Tuesday

I spent that night cozily on Alyssa’s bed while she took a futon on the floor (very Japanese of her). From the Nagoya airport it had been easy to find the train into the main part of the city, but not as easy to find Alyssa in the huge station! Even though we turned out to be in the same section, we had to play a few rounds of “what do you see around you” before we saw each other’s faces. I’m so grateful that Alyssa had suggested that I rent a cell phone at the airport or else it would have been tough to find her without wifi. From Nagoya we took the train into Yokkaichi, the city where Alyssa lives and teaches English, and then to her apartment. Oh, first we stopped at Family Mart, a convenience store that seems to be on every corner, and bought some Japanese snack foods!

When Alyssa was moving to Yokkaichi, her employers told her that the apartment she was getting was one of the bigger ones. I’d hate to see one of the “small” ones! Most people know that on the small island nation of Japan, space is at a premium! Alyssa’s apartment is two rooms, a long skinny front room with a tiny sink/hot plate/pantry area and a place for her to stick a table suitable for one person. Off of this room there is a bathroom (toilet only) and a room with a bathroom sink, washing machine, and a door to the shower room which holds a deep bath and a floor with a drain in the corner. She told me that they don’t like to have a toilet and a shower in the same room. Why would you want your toilet in the room where you go to get clean?

The whole back wall of the front room is a two paneled sliding door to the back room. This is her bedroom with her single bed, low to the floor, a couple of book shelves, tv, desk and built in closet. It also has a sliding glass door out to a small patio mostly used for hanging her clothes to dry. I’ve found in most Asian countries they don’t have electrical clothes dryers. I can understand that in countries like Singapore and Thailand where the weather rarely drops below 60, but it was literally freezing in Japan and could take more than two days for a pair of Jeans to dry.

Though I’d had a full day of sightseeing in Seoul and traveling, and hadn’t slept more than 3 hours the night before, I was excited to see Alyssa and we stayed up pretty late talking. I was excited to see the Meiji-Mura museum the next day, but I was more excited to sleep in!

Back in Thailand I’d done some googling of phrases like “best things to do in Japan” and “best museums in Japan” and this museum had been highly recommended in the results. The website showed a young Japanese woman in a Victorian style dress. How could I pass that up? Meiji is the period of Japanese history between 1860 and 1912 that showed great advances in industry and modernization. The word mura means village. The museum is a “village” of houses and buildings from the Meiji period, transported from around the country and reconstructed in an out of the way area surrounded by tree covered hills and a lake.

Sunday morning Alyssa and I caught the train to Nagoya and then a bus to see the museum. Using busses in foreign countries makes me nervous because it’s hard to tell how much to pay and they often only accept exact change. When we boarded this bus, we saw that people were taking tickets from a ticket dispenser in the back. When it was time to get off, we saw that there was a slot to leave the ticket and then pay. Alyssa asked the driver how much we needed to pay and then started putting money in the slot. Soon however, it was spitting money back out, so she took the money and tried to get an explanation from the driver. I followed suit, putting in coins until the machine spat back change. Alyssa said she thought we got a discount because we had the ticket. This made no sense to me since we’d just gotten the ticket on bus as we boarded. Why would they give such a significant discount for having a ticket that only served to prove that yes, we’d boarded the bus? But never mind that.

The museum was huge. The websites had said to leave 4 hours to explore, but I think a full day would have been better. It was a fascinating look into how these people lived, in the generation that was just beginning to open itself up to western culture. I always love something that provokes the imagination as it teaches. There were old churches, houses of government officials and famous authors, and even one building that told all about the study of infectious diseases. And all around were breathtaking views of forest and lake. 

Throughout my trip I had to wonder if Japan is just a country exceptionally blessed by elegant natural scenery, or if their appreciation for nature has caused them to preserve and encourage it in a way you don’t see in America. You see old trees that are held up by ropes or even filled in with cement to keep them from falling. In shrines, where aesthetics are arranged to promote serenity, gardens and buildings are set up to take advantage of the surrounding landscape instead of subduing nature to fit their purposes.

The restrooms at the front of this museum were my first experience with the miracle of the Japanese toilet. I’m sure you’ve heard stories of toilets that play music and talk to you, but the true joy of the Japanese toilet is the heated seat. Since it hovered slightly above freezing throughout my trip, I was enormously grateful for this invention. However my worship of the Japanese ingenuity was soon dampened when I had to wash my hands in water that felt like it came from the frozen lake outside. They can have toilets with heated seats but can’t do anything about water temperature?

As beautiful and interesting as the museum is, the thing that I remember the most is the food. We arrived a little after lunch, so pretty soon we were checking out food options. We found a food stand that sold fried curry puffs. Crispy, golden dough encasing warm smooth curry? Yes please! Soon after, we found a place that made an interesting egg sandwich type snack. The man was working at a skillet where he scrambled eggs with loads of cheese, sprinkled with red ginger and then places between two large crackers with some sauce. Alyssa had to ask her Japanese friend later if you could get that snack anywhere with an unfortunate negative reply. Oh, it was perfect. The ginger was just strong enough to cut the buttery cheesy egg, but not overpowering at all. The crackers lent a satisfying crunch. I don’t remember what it was called and I don’t know if I’ll ever encounter the snack again, but I’ll remember it to my dying day. Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration.

We spent a few hours exploring the museum, only covering a small part before our feet felt like lead. Around that time museum staff began scurrying towards the front (one older woman looked like she was in a hurry to get to something much more exciting), and we took it as a sign that the place was closing soon. Having made our way into the center, we had to drag ourselves all the way back out to the front bus stop. At one point we saw one of the shuttles that take people from one area of the park to another, so we stood in front of the area where it was supposed to stop.  The shuttle immediately slowed down several yards away from us, and started inching forward, reluctant to pick us up. Alyssa insisted that it was intentionally stalling so it wouldn’t have to pick us up, which I wouldn’t have believed until we started back towards the front on foot and the shuttle picked up speed again. I couldn’t believe it! They couldn’t be bothered to pick us up! And they didn’t even have the nerve to just pass us by, they had to slow down until we gave up waiting, like a person who pretends to retrieve something they’ve dropped to pretend they hadn’t noticed an old acquaintance. So we made our way out, on foot, up a hill, and looked pointedly in the opposite direction when the shuttle passed by.

The bus ride home was restful. We enjoyed the scenery and talked about Japanese authors and what to have for dinner. When it was time to get off the bus, we dropped the ticket in the slot, inserted a few coins and collected the change that it spit back. I started to exit the bus when the driver started yelling at me. You must pay! I thought I had, and it gave me most of my money back! Alyssa instructed me that I still had to pay the 810 yen, even though it was giving me change back already. I couldn’t make sense of it, but oh well. Later I understood what Alyssa had tried to explain to me at the time. The place we’d put our coins for payment was actually the place to insert coins if you don’t have the proper change. You put in a coin or bill and the machine splits it into smaller coins so you can then pay with the exact change in the slot where we’d been putting our tickets. That means that on our trip out to Meiji-Mura, we’d inserted our payment and gotten change for it, collected all the money we’d paid, and gotten a free bus ride without the driver saying anything!

That night we had a not very authentic meal of fabulous gorgonzola pizza and risotto, with dessert from Family Mart, before snuggling up near the heater back at Alyssa’s apartment.

See the pictures from my Meiji-Mura adventure here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.557974693849.2039985.176800932&type=3&l=0a59fa058d

Japan Pt 1 - Gotta Have Seoul

Friday night, January 13th

I got to the airport around 10:15pm for the 11:35 flight. I’d tried to check in for the flight at home but it wasn’t letting me. I was about to find out why. When I handed the flight information to the man behind the Korean Airlines desk, he typed on his keyboard for a minute and then told me in a no nonsense voice ‘This flight is for the 16th. Today is the 13th.’ I stared at the page and didn’t know what to say. My mouth was literally hanging open. I couldn’t believe I’d booked my ticket for the wrong day. I’d spent so long considering what day to leave and what day to return, that when I finally made it official, I must have been thoroughly confused. The 16th was the day my visa for Thailand expired, the whole reason behind this trip, so the date stuck in my head.

The clerk only let me sink in my incredulousness for a moment before he pointed to a man at the end of the counter and asked him to help me. I brought my information to him and prayed furiously in my head that he could fix things. I really didn’t want to have to call Kelly and have her pick me up, so I could spend the weekend in Chiang Mai before taking the flight on Monday. Most of all, I didn’t want to miss spending the weekend in Japan, the only time my sister-in-law Alyssa had off. The young man checked his computer and said that I would be able to get a seat on the flight into Seoul that night, the same flight I’d meant to book to begin with.

Unfortunately, the next leg of the flight, from Seoul to Nagoya, Japan, was booked. I would have to take the next flight, which left at 7 and would lengthen my 6 hour layover in Seoul to a 12 hour layover. I asked if there were any other flights that I could take into Japan, reasoning that I could still get to Nagoya from Tokyo or wherever. Yes, there was a flight from Seoul to Tokyo that left from at 9am the next morning (giving me a 3 hour layover in Seoul), but changing my destination meant cancelling and rebooking, which meant extra fees. How much extra would it be, I enquired. 2000, he answered. 2000! Yes, 2000 baht. Oh, of course, baht not dollars. 2000 baht is around $60. But that still meant I would have to pay to get from Tokyo to Nagoya.

I stood at the counter, furiously considering the choices with my mind still clouded by shock. The clerk told me I could have 15 minutes to think, as he went on with his work. I’m notoriously bad at making decisions, especially under pressure. In the end I chose to take the long layover in Seoul and get into Nagoya at 9pm. While planning my trip I’d been talking to my friend Blake who teaches English in Korea. Part of the reason I was going to Japan in the first place was because we were planning to meet up. Unfortunately these plans fell through. I wasn’t sure how close he lived to Seoul and I knew it was after midnight in Korea, but I was hoping my layover would give us a second chance at hanging out. I wrote him a frantic email before I had to board the plane, prayed he would happen to see it, and then tried (and didn’t succeed) to get some rest on the plane.

When I got into the airport in Korea I was drowsy but excited. I’d read a little about the city on the plane, so I was looking forward to the day even if it didn’t work out to meet up with Blake. I checked my email on the airport’s free wifi as soon as I could and saw that I didn’t have an email from Blake yet. It wasn’t even 7am yet on a Saturday, and I wasn’t sure how soon I could expect a response. Not wanting to spend hours waiting in the airport, I decided to take the train into Seoul. There was a very helpful woman at the tourist information center who gave me a map and even circled three destinations she thought I could explore in 12 hours. I enjoyed my first views of Korea from the train and then had a refreshing half hour of sleep.

Seoul station, the train’s termination point, is huge and hectic. My excitement soon gave way to confusion as I tried to get some sense out of my tourist map. Where is exit 3?? Why isn’t that street name on my map?? Why is there no wifi here?? I was worried that without wifi I wouldn’t be able to hear from Blake if he replied to my email. I reasoned that it was still early and I could find wifi later, but after a half hour that felt like an hour in the underground passages and frigid streets, I admitted my defeat. I made my way back to the center part of the station where I’d started and my spirit rose when I spotted a Smoothie King that boasted free wifi. I checked my email as I drank my grainy banana protein smoothie and felt relieved when I saw Blake had responded to my emails and seemed excited to meet up. He had a mandatory work meeting until noon but told me to email him back and gave me his Korean phone number. He also gave me a few suggestions of places to visit in Seoul.

With that weight off my shoulders I ventured back into the subway system to find the stop he said had an old shrine. The subway tunnels in the station were complex and maze like, but the subway map was similar to every other subway I’ve traveled on, so I found my route pretty easily. After leaving the station and walking a little ways, I found some exciting museum buildings and an interesting “palace,” an ornate housing complex for some royal family. Later I looked at my map and saw that I’d walked in the wrong direction from the one I’d intended, but the sights had encouraged me about the day and my trip as a whole. I was impressed with Seoul, a city I hadn’t considered visiting. The buildings are clean and simple, and at least the part I saw has wide streets and views of the mountains that surround the city. I love big cities, like Denver or Vancouver, where the surrounding mountains still loom larger than the skyscrapers.

When I was satisfied that I’d seen everything there was to see of the “palace,” I headed back to the station. I was supposed to call Blake at noon when his meeting would be done, and I’d seen pay phones there. I laughed a little, looking around the area of the station. If he was looking for me and wanted to know what stores I was near, I could say a Baskin Robbins, a Coffee Bean and a KFC. I hadn’t used a payphone in years and these were Korean payphones, so it took me a couple tries to put the call through. It was weird to hear Blake’s voice on the phone, a familiar voice in such an unfamiliar place. We discussed where we should meet (he was on his way into the city on a bus) until the payphone ran out of money and ended the call. I had to pull out some more change and we finished making our plans, in double time.

We met up at the subway stop where his bus left him. From there we walked into a college area Blake had stayed once, trying to find a place to eat. We decided on a Korean BBQ place, where they give you raw meat and sides and you cook them on a little grill set into your table. One of the reasons we’d wanted to meet up was because we shared the link of being so far from home. It was good to talk to someone from home who could relate to the challenges of discovering a new country while trying to make it a home. We had a good time comparing experiences.

After lunch we made out way back to the subway to find the palace I’d tried to get to earlier. I found it funny that this palace looked identical to the one I’d seen earlier today, just much bigger. I loved the bright colors and intricate paint work on the roofs and walls. It was also fascinating to learn (or guess) about the way these people lived by the way they constructed their residence. In the back of the palace grounds is the “Secret Garden.” Well of course we had to give that a look. The garden had some amazing sights – the frozen pond, old trees preserved with cement cores, a huge green house – but we joked about it there not being anything incredibly secret about it. We had a map after all. But wait…where were we on the map? Blake started studying the map and was frustrated that none of the things we were seeing seemed to be on it. When we found a sign with a map, and discovered that it didn’t even match the map in the pamphlet, he practically started arguing with the garden. Why was it not doing what the map said?? Where were we?? I shrugged it off. I knew I was in Seoul, and that’s as far as I cared.

After walking a little ways farther, we were back at the front of the palace. Or that’s what we thought! When we stepped back into the modern city, it wasn’t where we’d entered. We stepped back into the palace grounds trying to figure out how we’d gotten there. After looking back at the accursed map, we realized we weren’t even at the same palace as we’d started in! This was Changgyeong Palace whereas out pamphlets announced that we’d entered through Changdeok Palace. With those names, no wonder we’d gotten lost. So I leave you with this question: is the secret of the garden that it transports you between the palaces of Seoul? Or are the palace grounds simply connected? "This highway leads to the shadowy tip of reality: you're on a through route to the land of the different, the bizarre, the unexplainable...Go as far as you like on this road. Its limits are only those of mind itself. Ladies and Gentlemen, you're entering the wondrous dimension of imagination. Next stop....The Twilight Zone."

By the time we’d made out way back to the original entrance, out on the city streets as we’d been informed the way out on the other side would be closed, it was time for me to head back to the airport. I took the route that was a little longer so Blake could take the same train to a stop where he could get on a bus home. The other choice was more direct to the airport, but we asked at the station and it would only save 7 minutes and cost more. It was nice to finish our visit on the train with the nice heated seats. Then Blake had to exit the train; I set my iPod to play all the songs that had "Soul" in the title and went back into solo travel mode. When I got back to the airport I saw it was barely 40 minutes before my flight left. I still had to go back through immigration and then hurried on my poor tired feet in their thin soled payless boots, realizing why someone would pay more for the extra 7 minutes. I made it to the gate right in time.

Look at the facebook album for this adventure: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.557788182619.2039963.176800932&type=3&l=6c0980045e

The Great Hunt!

(for used books)

Okay, my big news is that I’m leaving tonight for Japan! My 3 month visa runs out on Monday, and for some complicated reasons I’m not going to get my year visa yet. So I have to leave the country to get a new 3 month visa. It would have been easier to go to one of the neighboring countries, but if I have a chance to go somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit, why not?

While planning my Japan trip I decided to go to Tha Pae Gate, a part of Chiang Mai with lots of used book stores. I wanted to find a Japan Guidebook. Spoilers, I didn’t end up getting a guidebook, but I did have an adventure!

Used book stores are probably in the top ten list of my absolute favorite things in the world. Each time I turned a corner and saw a new one, I made an ecstatic little grin. I was one step away from clapping my hands with joy. I felt a little silly getting that excited about something I could do anywhere in the US, but there’s something about walking down rows of books reaching high over my head that makes me feel so at peace. It’s like getting a giant hug from literature.

I’ve talked a lot about songtows, the main mode of public transportation here. So far I’ve only taken them as far as the mall next to the airport, but they go all the way up to the moat that marks out the main part of the city. From the point where the songtow stops, I walked east and then north to Tha Pae gate. It was really great to be able to just walk and see everything. I love walking next to the old wall and the moat. I also wandered a little more inside the city away from the main streets and it was so peaceful! It’s crazy how you get barely half a block back from the noisy street and suddenly it’s like a different city. I saw a lot of hostels and pubs aimed at backpackers. It’s funny because I feel different from them, actually living here, but I still feel like a tourist. I guess because I don’t get into the city that much.

I went to three used bookstores before I bought anything. I bought two books, a novel about Japan in the tenth century and a book that’s part of a series I’ve been reading. But I knew there was a big used book store near the gate, so I kept looking until I found that one, Geeko Books. When I bought the two books they didn’t give me a bag or a receipt or anything, so I was afraid to go into this store lest they think I was stealing, or want me to pay for them there. I stood outside the store for a little bit wondering what to do (these are the kinds of things that really worry me) and then sort of hid the books under a jeep outside that looked like it hadn’t moved in awhile. But then I was nervous the whole time I was in there so I didn’t stay long. Anyway, I couldn’t find any travel books about Japan.

Getting home was a lot harder than getting there. I walked back to where the songtow had dropped me off, but I wasn’t certain it was the same place. It was around 5:30 and suddently there were a bunch of carts selling food. I stood around until I saw a yellow songtow stopped that was taking on passengers. I asked the driver if she went to Hang Dong Rd, but she didn’t know what I meant, so I said the airport and she said yes, and I went on. Then she said something to all the passengers and everyone got off except one woman, and then she was motioning for me to get off too. I stood around a little bit more and just got on the next yellow songtow and prayed that it was going the right way. And it was! I’m going to be here for awhile, so I know I’ll get another chance to go up there and find more used book stores.

Tha Pae Gate

The Water Bill Adventure

Today Kelly took me to pay my water bill. When my roommate left for Christmas I asked her if there was anything I could do while she was gone. After thinking about it a couple seconds, she asked if I could go pay the water bill, which was due in two days. I agreed, happy to be useful. (Living in a foreign country tends to make one feel like a child who is constantly depending on others.)

In Thailand there are a few ways to pay bills. The easiest way is to take them down to the closest 7-11 or grocery store, have a clerk scan the bar code on the bill, and give them the amount due plus a 5 baht (20 cents) service charge. This convenience is turned on its head, however, if you don’t pay on time. In that case you must take the bill to the public water authority office to pay.

I rode my (roommate’s) bike to 7-11 – just far enough to work up a healthy glow – and looked around the aisles for a minute before presenting the water bill to the clerk with an air of accomplishment. But when he scanned the bill, something was wrong! He took a look at the slip of paper (written COMPLETELY in Thai except for the address of their website, also completely in Thai) and explained that it was late. The bill wasn’t due on the 20^th as my roommate had said, but on the 14^th.

I rode my bike back, annoyed at the wasted trip. The next time I saw Ryan and Kelly I let them know I had to go to the water authority office at some point to pay the bill. When they first moved here they didn’t see their water bill and had to run to their neighbors when the water was shut off before their Sunday morning shower. So at least they knew where to take me to pay my bill! It was the week before Christmas, so I knew we’d be driving around a lot, and I wasn’t worried about the water being shut off any day soon.

Flash forward two weeks. With the excitement of Christmas and New Years, and then Ryan having to leave for a convention in Ghana, the bill was put on the back burner. But the Friday before my roommate returned, I started to get concerned. I was just sure the water would get cut off the day she got back. And then my greatest fear would be realized…I would look irresponsible! (I took a personality assessment for work a year ago and this was part of my two pages of results. Of everything it said I think this is the one thing that was the most true and I never understood about myself.)

There is a slowly growing section of the city that I am learning to navigate using my bike and public transportation. The water authority office is about ten miles beyond this area. So much for self-sufficiency. Of course I had to start thinking about this on the Friday afternoon before New Years, when it was too late to do anything until Tuesday. Kelly said she could take me on Tuesday or Thursday, but when Tuesday came she said she couldn’t until Thursday. I almost had an anxiety attack!

In Thailand we have huge water tanks from which the water supply for our house is pumped. The Shaws said that when their water was shut off, they probably didn’t know for awhile because they had to go through all the water saved up in the tank first. Our tank wasn’t quite as big, and I imagined that the water could already be off and every time I used water it was getting lower. I had taken a shower that morning pretty much because I felt safe that my roommate had already gotten her shower and I was going to pay the bill that afternoon. But could it hold out until Thursday?!?!

At that point I made myself stop and think rationally about my options. I had already done my best to figure out how to get to the water office by public transportation if I had to, but I could barely figure out where it was with the dang Thai website. First of all I had to let Kelly KNOW that I was this worried about it. This was hard because not only did I once again have to ask for help, but I was feeling stupid about letting the bill go for so long. Second, I decided I would ask my Thai teacher, who I’d see in a couple hours, if she could take me (bonus, no Thai lesson if she did!) or else if she could tell me how to get there myself. But when I talked to Kelly, of course she worked out that she could take me on Wednesday morning while Noah was in school and have a friend pick him up if we were late. I also asked my Thai teacher about it and she said they most likely would not shut off the water until it’d been a month and they had issued a second bill.

So that was my adventure for today! We drove to the water office, which was NOT as far as I imagined, I hopped out of the van while Kelly waited with Emma, walked in and went to the office on the left (the office on the right could just as well have been the right way and they looked exactly the same to me) and got that bill paid! They don’t even charge a late fee. On the way home Kelly joked that if you let it be late every month, you could just go to the office and pay it, and you wouldn’t even have to pay the 5 baht service fee that 7-11 charges! No thanks, I think I’m okay with paying the fee, to be able to shower without fear!