Done so many things these past 3 days! Stepping right into a completely different culture is like stepping into a whole new world. I couldn't even begin to describe all the sights and feels and new understandings the last few days have brought. And it's only been 4 days - I will be a completely different person by the end of 11 months. Undoubtedly.
I've been learning more Thai! It's an amazing feeling when someone is speaking in Thai to someone else, and you can catch words and phrases. A scary moment though, was on Saturday when we were at a restaurant in Chiang Mai. Everyone had been speaking relatively good English with me before, but when we got to the restaurant they randomly started speaking only Thai to me! It was like host parent intervention or something, to help me learn faster. It didn't work though; my mind went completely blank when they gave me expectant looks. Then they seemed almost disappointed in me when I couldn't respond. I probably would have burst into tears if Ice hadn't texted me from across the table: "Do not be uncomfortable. Be only comfortable. Only want happy. Okay? :)". God bless Ice - saving my exchange from the moment I arrived. Yesterday my host father and his wife were talking and I understood the general gist of what they were saying - that was an incredible feeling!
Yesterday was Thai Mother's Day. In the evening, we went to Ice's family's restaurant, where we ate a very large meal. Her parents had many, many different kinds of delicious food like bacon, pork, shrimp, octopus, and things I don't know the name of all frying on a wok and we picked off what we wanted. I was full pretty quickly, but everyone seemed to take lots of pleasure in putting more food on my plate. When Ice's two little brothers saw that I had difficulty peeling the giant shrimp, they took care to peel the shrimp for me... and keep peeling shrimp for me... and more and more shrimp. I was going to explode with food, and only stopped eating when I actually did gag. Then there was the whole ordeal with the squat toilets that night. I asked where the washroom was, ended up in the shower room, thought it was the washroom but didn't know what to do, stood there for a few seconds, and walked out. Then Ice arrived and I asked her what to do. She showed me the real bathroom and even demonstrated how to use the squat toilet. Good lord the girl has no shame - I love it! On the way back, I finally managed to not hold on to her while riding the motorcycle. Whheeewwww so much fun!! :D
Today we bought my school uniform! :D Then we drove to Chiang Mai. I feel kind of bad because when they said "Now we go to temple", I kind treated it like nothing because that's pretty normal. I didn't realize they meant THE temple. As in, whenever we drive into Chiang Mai, I look up in awe at this temple on the top of Doi Sutape ( the mountain) and say "Wow! Can we go there sometime?" It was...incredible! It is really advantageous visiting it with Thai people because they know what to do so you can copy them (like when to wai, when to kneal, how many times to bow, where and how to offer the flower and candle to Buddha, etc.). I also made very good friends with another Thai girl somehow connect to Ice's family today! I really need ask Ice what her name is, because now we're far too good friends to ask her her name. Anyway, the temple was incredible - the giant gold monument in the middle holds one of the Buddha's bones. The monument is surrounded by giant, colourful walls and little rooms and lush mountain vegetation. It's just amazing!
The drive home was terrifying. You have not driven with an insane driver until you've driven with my host father. His usual speed is 140 km/hour (not exaggerating one bit because my eyes are glued to the speedometer). He doesn't need to speed up to pass because he's already going so fast, and won't hesitate to pass with oncoming traffic. If there isn't enough time, the oncoming car will pull over onto the other lane.
This doesn't change when driving down a very steep mountain road with sharp turns - he still passes cars when he can't see the other lane. I don't even think he sees the lines on the road. Also, this is Thailand; no one wears seatbelts. And he falls asleep while driving at night. His eyes will slowly close, then open again and sometimes he'll give his head a jerk to wake up a bit. He takes little naps at red lights (pretty much the only rule of the road he follows). And there's no such thing as speeding tickets here. Why? Because he's the freaking chief of police!
Anneke
