I think it's been about a week since my last post and oddly enough, I don't have much to report on. This week was sort of all business, but I did do a few fun and interesting things that I'm happy to report on :)
Since we have class during the day on Monday-Friday, we try to go out at night and find fun, new places to go and things to do. Tuesday night, I was feeling restless and spur of the moment decided to go out with a few friends to get piercings. I know that doesn't seem like the kind of thing one should decide to do "spur of the moment", but I've had my nose pierced before and had to take it out because of surgery on my nose. I've been wanting to put it back for some time now, so when a few friends voiced an interest in getting piercings, I was all for it. I went with 5 other friends to a tattoo parlor at a night market where they do piercings. I know that sounds very sketchy, but it looked just like tattoo parlors back in the states and I felt very safe. It was clean and professional and I wasn't concerned at all. However, of the 4 of us that wanted to get piercings I was the ONLY ONE that actually went through with it at first. A bit later my friend Hillary felt bad that everyone chickened out and got hers as well. After that, I enjoyed a nice night out with my friends Abel, Claire and Stephanie. We walked around the market and found our way into a great Pakistani restaurant and topped the night off with some delicious chocolate banana gelato! It was so nice to just relax and explore with people I truly love spending time with. We had some great conversation and just enjoyed each other's company. We usually travel in much larger groups and it was great just to be in the company of a handful of people I love so I could really talk to them.
Here is a picture of my new nose piercing :)
Wednesday around here so far has a reputation of being my worst day of the week. I have class from early in the morning to mid afternoon and I'm totally pooped by the end of it, but I try to make it to the gym anyway usually. Dinner is never any good on Wednesdays either. It's just sort of a blah day. So, my friends and I decided to go out for dinner and then to a bar to relax. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Miguel's. It. Was. AWESOME. The food was SOOOO good and it was great to taste guacamole again after a few months without it. Hillary and I shared a fried banana with ice cream for dessert. I overate, but it was so worth it. Then we made our way to this really cool bar down the street called the THC bar. It is on the roof of this old building in the middle of Chiang Mai. From the top, you can see one of the palaces and at night when it's lit up, it's absolutely gorgeous. The atmosphere was so relaxed and beautiful. There were lanterns everywhere and you sit on pillows on the ground at low tables japanese style, yet the vibe in the bar is very rasta and they play a lot of reggae music. AT some point, they push the roof back (I know, crazy!) and its just you and the open sky. We had a GREAT view of the moon over the city. It was such a little gem to find and we will definitely be going back.
Here's a picture of the inside (you can click on any of these photos for a larger view, by the way!)
Thursday and Friday were super ordinary. I went to classes as usual. I had my first quiz in my Thai language class and scored 100%. That was basically the highlight. Otherwise, I went to the gym and we all went out at night as usual and just enjoyed one another's company. Friday was a little unusual I suppose because when we arrived at Thai class our teacher told us that we would be walking over to one of the auditoriums to watch a traditional Thai drama that was being performed for some event. It was terrible. It was beyond strange. It was a retelling of the prodigal son essentially (but with a girl) and it was translated by an old American couple from the south. It was so strange I really can't even explain how odd it was. I enjoyed being immersed in the culture, but to be honest, it was painful to watch.
Saturday was sensational. It's Payap's Community Outreach Day where we have the opportunity to volunteer with local NGO's (non-profits) and other organizations. I volunteered with an organization called COSA. It's a shelter for girls who were involved in some way with human trafficking. We arrived early in the morning and were met by two young staff members named Laura and Roger. Laura is a Colorado native who attended Lewis and Clark for college and Roger was a recent high school grad from Germany doing is year of service. We were given an introduction to the organization and what they are about. We were able to ask any questions we had and get some very honest, insightful answers. Then we took a tour of the property. It was very small. It is composed of an average sized garden, two medium-sized, single-story buildings, and a larger house pretty typical of Thailand. There are 20 girls who live on the property ranging in age from 5 to 17. They attend school during the day and learn different farming skills in their spare time. The idea is to teach them skills of sustainable farming to help them gain different methods of earning money so that they can avoid going back into sex work to support their families. After our tour, we did a bit of farming ourselves until lunch time. After a delicious home-cooked meal we met the girls who had just gotten back from school and played a few games to learn each other's names. They were very shy at first and they don't speak much English, but we were still able to learn a few things about each other. Next, we broke the girls up into 3 groups and rotated them between stations where we taught English, Geography, and Math. The lessons lasted a few hours and after that we played all sorts of sports and games and exchanged contact information with the older girls so that they could add us on facebook. They were so sweet and it was such a pleasure getting to meet and know them. If you would like any information on the organization, you can read about it at: http://www.cosasia.org/
Here is a picture of the our group with a few of the girls:
All in all, I would say my week was good. I had a good balance between work, relaxing and playing. We made plans for next weekend and booked a trip to go on the world's longest, highest zip line (how freaking cool is that?) as well as appointments for a few different alternative healings at the Yoga Mala Festival here in Chiang Mai. The Chiang Mai Yoga Mala For Peace In Action will be held on September 17th and 18th, 2011 at the spa resort just outside of Chiang Mai. All Proceeds from this Yoga Outreach Festival will be donated to the Chiang Mai Children's Shelter Foundation. This two day event will include Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Dance, Meditation, various discussion circles, performances, healings, card readings and much more. Organic food, products and information tables will be available and we will have full access of the Spa pool, steam room, sauna and jacuzzi! It should be a lot of fun and I'm really excited for next weekend. I'll be sure to post about it all and get some great photos up on my flickr.
Personally, I've been having a hard week and have a lot to think about. I'm still struggling with body-image and self esteem issues, but this week a new consideration has come up. Through various conversations with my friends here I've realized that the people here view me entirely differently than I view myself. I'm still feeling very lost as a person and the fact that my friends here see me as a person that I have no connection to, makes me question further who I actually am. I also disappointed by the me that they are getting to know. I'm a bit of a transitional, emotional wreck since being here and they only know either this overly-emotional version of me when I'm down or my extremely loud, bubbly side when I'm out having fun. I don't like being perceived as this dichotomous emotional roller coaster. At the same time, I need to appreciate that I must be doing something right because I have so many wonderful friends here who really love me for exactly who I am. It has made me think a lot though about who I am and who I'm becoming. I just kind of have to accept that I'm changing and be comfortable being lost for now. It's VERY hard to do, but I don't have much of a choice. I can only be who I am at any given moment. I just wish I had a little more clarity. With time, I suppose.
Well, that's all for now friends. I love you all dearly and be sure to check back in with me during the week!
Love,
Zoey xo
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