Markets

I've made it to quite a few markets so far, which isn't hard here because they're everywhere. 

It's always interesting to see what they have. My favorite is when they have things in English. Most of them don't know what it means which makes it even funnier. 

"Make Out With My Butt 5 cents"

Even better than the funny shirts is the food. We stopped at this little stand to get a crepe sort of thing. It was arroy mak (very delicious)

This guy was super nice and we made him run out of bananas.

The bananas are definitely smaller in Thailand but they taste amazing! So after he spread out the batter for  shell part he chopped up the banana.

Then he placed the banana slice by slice on the shell

I chose banana, sweetened condensed milk....

...and chocolate! It was too die for. I think the people thought I was a crazy farang because I was literally moaning it was so good. 

Another thing I saw was little adorable puppies for sale. Then there were seperate stands that sold shirts and sweaters for the little dogs. There was a man who was pretty tall and he had the tiniest dog. But the hilarious thing was that their shirts matched. They were both wearing red and white stripped shirts, kind of like sailors. Sadly, I was laughing too hard to snap a picture. 

There's so many markets here and I know I'll write again about them so keep an eye out!

The bathroom situation here

So the bathrooms here in Thailand are a little bit different than those in the U.S. So I'm going to share what a more modern bathroom has and doesn't have. Hopefully later on in my trip I'll share about the infamous "squat pot", which I have encountered quite a few times already.

But back to the "modern" Thai bathroom. At Payap University I'd say all the bathrooms that I've used have been decent but there have been a few surprises.

These are all pictures from my bathroom in my dorm.

Here we have the "flush" button. First off it's on the top of the toilet rather than on the side.

Rule of thumb is the small button is for "small" amount in toilet (number ones) and the larger button is for "large" trips to the toilet (number twos). Hope you all can understand what i'm saying.

Toilet paper....

This is a rare luxury for an American like me.

I've only seen toilet paper in my dorm bathroom and that's only because my roommate and me put it there. However, the other bathrooms on campus have no toilet paper.

This brings me to the "squirt gun" as I like to call it.

So, most people here don't wipe and instead they squirt. Apparently, it's more sanitary but for someone like me it's a bit intimidating.

I've been in Thailand for a week and I still have yet use it. Hopefully, I can work up the courage soon to try it. It is part of their culture and that is my goal to become as much a part of Thai culture as I can.

If you want toilet paper, like me, you have to carry a roll around with you. I have this little guy wrapped up in a plastic bag and I carry it in my school bag for when I'm over in another building that has the squirt gun instead of toilet paper.

So, if you ever come to Thailand and you're a fan of toilet paper remember to carry a roll around with you at all times.

Time to study, learn and become

 While I don't actually start all my classes until January 31 I've started a few already. The two required courses that I have to take are Thai language and Cultural Foundations of Thai society. We're going to stay with the Mae Chaem village next week so we're getting a crash course in Thai and Thai culture.

I think there's a lot to learn this semester and I'm actually pretty excited about the classes. Thai language is really quite interesting and I'm enjoying the teaching style of Ajan Boy. In Thailand students call their professors "Ajan" followed by usually their first name or their nickname. Speaking of nicknames, I've already been given a Thai nickname of my own. It's Fah which means "blue sky".

I've had three days of Thai and we just started Cultural Foundations of Thai society today. We learned some do's and don'ts of Thai culture.

-Don't point your feet at anyone. Your feet are seen as the lowest part of your body and it's considered very disrespectful to point at someone with your feet.

-Don't touch anyone's head. While your feet are the lowest part of your body your head is considered the center and most important part.

-Don't walk over someone when they are laying on the ground.

-Don't wear a graduation gown or wedding gown before the ceremony. If you do it is considered to prevent you from completing that ceremony.

-Don't write your name or anyone else's name in red ink. Red ink is for the dead.

-Don't step on the threshold of the doorway of a temple, step over it. A spirit is believed to be in the threshold of a temple.

-And one of the biggest don'ts...Don't talk bad about the King, ever. You could end up in jail, seriously.

-Do take your shoes off before entering a house, temple or even some rooms.

-Do "wai" to those higher to you. A wai is when you put your palms together, left palm first, at your chest or head. For an equal you wai at your chest. The greater someone's status is compared to your own the higher you wai.

-Do sit lower than someone of higher status. Even if you're walking by someone of higher status you should almost bow when you walk by so that your head is lower than theirs.

-Do come to a new culture with a blank slate. This way you can accept another culture easier instead of judging it. "Observing is the key to understanding".

-Do use terms like older brother/sister, younger brother/sister, mother and father when in Thai culture even if they're not related to you. It shows that you accept their culture and you're more one with them.

There's a lot to take in but at the same time it's amazing to experience a new culture. Trying to not be a "farang" is an exciting task that i'm really hoping I can accomplish in my time here.

Elephants

There aren't really any words to describe my experience with the Elephants so since a picture is worth a thousand words I though I'd put up a few of those instead. Enjoy!

Thai people are helpful

My camera stopped working yesterday and there's too many amazing things here to take pictures of so I needed to go get a new camera.

I decided to go to Carrefour and check out what kind of cameras they had. Not long after I started looking a worker came up to help me. He spoke little English and I only know a few things in Thai but we were able to communicate enough to the point where all my questions were answered.

I expected to just pay for it and walk out just like that. Here's where he surprised me. He started unwrapping it all and I figured it was just to show me that all the pieces were there. I was wrong. He proceeded to unpackaged everything and put it all together for me. And when I say all of it I mean all of it. Complete with batteries, SD card and neck strap.

By now I just assumed he was going to put it together for me and then I would walk out. Nope, not quite yet. He then showed me each button and switch and what it did. After he showed me what a button would do he would hand me the camera and make me do it so he knew I could. Then on top of that I got a bunch of coupons to the store.

I was quite shocked by this. I've never had anyone do something like that for me before. I couldn't stop saying thank you.

Random search, swollen ankles, sticky rice and a new roommate

I got on my plane Tuesday morning and while sitting in our hotel room, in Bangkok, I thought "Holy cow it's Friday...wasn't it just Tuesday?" It's amazing how fast time can fly when you're on a plane. I felt like I was just watching the little gold hands on my clock go around and around and around.

During our prep course we were all warned of swollen ankles and even blood clots from being on a plane for a long time. So, like a few others in my group, I went out and got myself a pair of T.E.D. socks. They're like the socks that hospital patients wear.

During my eleven hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo I could feel my legs cramping and hurting and I was terrified! During that eleven hour flight I only got up three times for no more than five minutes each. By the time we landed in Tokyo and I put my shoes back on I swear my feet were huge. In the airport I finally took off my socks and I could see my feet had swollen some but they didn't look bad at all. No cankles for me. Thank God!

Now, back to Tokyo. First off I saw a few people wearing masks (like dentists wear) and it freaked me out a little. Why were they wearing masks? Was I going to catch something? I was later told that some Japanese people were paranoid about catching something in an airport and on a plane. Because the air in an airplane is recirculated they were afraid if one person was sick on the plane then we'd all get sick. No worries though, I feel fine.

In Tokyo I was the last in my group to board the plane. Apparently, I was the lucky random that was picked to be searched. It wasn't too bad. She went through my backpack. Then I had to take my shoes off and she wand searched me (the metal wand). Thankfully, I left all my knives, guns and bombs at home.

On my flight from Tokyo from Bangkok I sat by the cutest old Thai lady. She was really sweet and I could actually understand her English. Well, understand it better than other Thai's English. When we were landing she told me to have a wonderful time and to eat sticky rice every morning, cold because it was better that way. I've come to realize how nice Thai people are.

I don't think any of this hit me until our bus ride from the Chiang Mai airport to Payap. It hit me in a good way then. It hit me in a not so good way when I got to my room and started unpacking. My mom (darn her) had hid Peach-O's and a note in my boots. I realized that I'm in Thailand and I'm going to be here for four and a half months. There's no turning back, no going home, it was all finally real to me. I met my roommate and realized my expectations were completely wrong. I came here with the assumption that all the students here would speak English really well. Now I realize how arrogant of an assumption that was. I'm out of America to their country and I'm the one expecting them to speak my language. I'm definitely mad at myself for thinking that.

So, I met my roommate the communication was not going well. Then some of her friends came in and they just started chattering in Thai. I just started thinking "What am I doing here? I can't even speak Thai!" Just imagine the awkwardness of first meeting your college roommate. Now imagine not even being able to talk to them. It was too much to handle for me so I had to go find a classmate that I could actually communicate with and fast, I was too close to a mental meltdown and it's only my first day!

Thankfully, I remembered where one of my friends room was. It's not like I could call any of them or text them. Not having a cellphone has been a bit of a struggle for me. I'm so used to texting or calling someone to see where they're at. I can't do that here. I have to know where they're at or just go looking. After this realization when we all met back up I was sure to write down everyone's room number.

Not until I met back up with some friends and explored campus a little did I start feeling better about the decision to come here. While exploring we ran into a group of students and I'm not sure who asked who where they were from but we found out that we're all from America. One girl is even from Iowa State. It was a relief to see so many people who were in the same shoes as me. I'm not alone here. I know I'm going to have a mental meltdown sooner or later but that's what my friends are for. I bet they'll be feeling the same exact thing.

I'd like to give a special thanks to my amazing mother. She's the one who supports my crazy decisions, like flying half way around the world. She's the one who's always there for advice, the one who wakes up before the crack of dawn (even though she has to work a full day of work) just so I can make it to the airport. She's the one who sneaks candy and little notes into my luggage for me to find. Thanks Mom.

Seven hours to go

Well everyone it's down to the wire. My countdown has gone from 70 days to seven days and now all the way down to seven hours until I get on my plane to Thailand.

Before this I didn't realize all the preparation that went into a semester abroad. There were dozens of forms to fill out for everything from my application to Payap to applying for my Thai visa. Thankfully, I've gotten all those filled out.

I've been asked so many times (that I've lost track) why I chose Thailand. Not really having a straight answer I've just been throwing thoughts at them.

I chose Thailand to experience a new culture and to be put in situations I would never face here in Iowa. I can't wait to meet different people and hear their stories. I want to travel the world in the future and this seems like a good start to me.

While I have more answers than those I hope to continue answering this question during my time in Thailand.

Tomorrow I'll be heading from Des Moines to Chicago. Then from Chicago to Tokyo. From Tokyo to Bangkok. And finally from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This will definitely be the longest time I've spent on a plane.