Saturday, January 31, 2009
Clean Clothes
When people smell like fresh clean clothes, I simply want to smell them. Yes, it's true. I love the smell of laundry detergent. In my hometown, I had a classmate whose house exuded the smell of clean clothes. If I were walking by their house, I could catch a whiff of the crisp freshness. His younger sister and brother also smelled like clean clothes. I have yet to know how their family and their house smelled so intoxicating.
Quote on travel
"I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfilment." Hilaire Belloc
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monks in Chiang Mai, Thailand
This morning, I left our hotel at 6:08 for a little jog. It was still dark outside, and people were cleaning the streets from the previous days' night market. There were also a large number of monks combing the streets. Monks are as pervasive here as curry. Apparently, most Thailand men spend some time in their lives serving as monks. Most of the monks I saw this morning were between the ages of 10 and 15. They were all dressed in bright orange skorts and and a shoulder sash. Their heads are clean shaven and for the most part, they go barefoot. They reminded me of zombies in their robotic actions and lifeless, silent faces. Some of the monks were accepting bags of rice from women. As one woman handed over the bag of rice, she was bowed down in front of the young monk with her hands folded as though she was praying. I couldn't help but wonder if some of these women were the young monks' mothers or sisters.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thailand Observations
I've been in Thailand for a little over 2 weeks now. Here are some of my observations:
Doors swing both ways here, you can push or pull.
Sidewalks double as extra storage spaces for both homes and businesses. I’m amazed at the number of businesses that overflow onto the sidewalk, from cement slabs from a manufacturing business to local restaurant tables; the sidewalk space is clearly up for grabs.
Bottled drinks always come with straws and also when you buy a drink from a local food stand, it frequently comes in a small bag instead of a cup...(perhaps it’s part of a going green campaign).
Dining thoughts—portions are smaller than they are in china, and they always come with rice, unless of course you order fried noodles. They also serve their meals with a half slice of lime. Before you eat the dish, you should squeeze the lime over the main dish. The chicken here is boneless, white, and baked as opposed to fried. It’s delicious. I cannot get enough of Thai cuisine, and I will be sad to leave it.
And of course, curry is a main ingredient in most of the cuisine here. I have learned there are three kinds of curry: green, yellow, and red. Green is apparently the spiciest with red a close second. I cannot get enough curry in my life.
Doors swing both ways here, you can push or pull.
Sidewalks double as extra storage spaces for both homes and businesses. I’m amazed at the number of businesses that overflow onto the sidewalk, from cement slabs from a manufacturing business to local restaurant tables; the sidewalk space is clearly up for grabs.
Bottled drinks always come with straws and also when you buy a drink from a local food stand, it frequently comes in a small bag instead of a cup...(perhaps it’s part of a going green campaign).
Dining thoughts—portions are smaller than they are in china, and they always come with rice, unless of course you order fried noodles. They also serve their meals with a half slice of lime. Before you eat the dish, you should squeeze the lime over the main dish. The chicken here is boneless, white, and baked as opposed to fried. It’s delicious. I cannot get enough of Thai cuisine, and I will be sad to leave it.
And of course, curry is a main ingredient in most of the cuisine here. I have learned there are three kinds of curry: green, yellow, and red. Green is apparently the spiciest with red a close second. I cannot get enough curry in my life.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tips for the international traveler...
Back by popular demand...
Tips for the international traveler..written from one unexperienced traveler who's no better for the experience
1. Wear a nice, preferably all black or brown outfit to travel. It shows less dirt and it looks classier. Plus, bright colors are loud, and you might often notice your clothes. For example, if you choose to wear bright pink you will frequently be distracted and reminded that you have been wearing this same outfit for a few days and you might also notice that the only other people wearing bright pink are small children under the age of 10.
2. Have dark and or neutral colored luggage so you blend in with the ultra fashionable Europeans at the international airport terminals. This might seem trivial but your luggage can either help you or label you as a bag lady when you travel.
3. If possible, try not to spend the night at the airport. You will feel hung over the next day and you will probably spend just as much money buying snacks and coffee with no sleep to show for it as you would have spent getting a taxi ride and a cheap hotel room.
4. Sometimes, it's okay to travel alone, especially if your friends think it's no problem to sleep at the airport and if they are also more liberal concerning punctuality. In fact, in this situation, you should just travel alone.
5. While you travel, it's okay to read mindless entertaining books that you might otherwise never read. Flying is a little stressful so the least you can do is give your mind a break.
6. Pack an empty Nalgene bottle that you can fill up with drinkeable water at airport terminals.
7. Just exchange small amounts of currency at the airport because the rates aren't usually very good.
8. Brush your teeth a few times and put on make-up. It will help you feel awake when you look in the mirror.
9. Bring extra plastic airport bags. You can never have enough of these.
10. Write down all booking and confirmation numbers from internet flights. These come in handy if you wish to change any flights or get reimbursed for any missed flights.
11. It's good to pack a little travel size deodarant and reapply once or so during the 2 days of travel. However, as I discovered on my recent flight, a lot of other people on your flight might not ever wear deodarant, so you have some flexibility with this tip.
12. If you start to feel bored while waiting at the airport, you can make up little games. For example, I watch people and try to guess which country they are from. I never know if I win the game, but I just assume I do, and that's also good for my self-esteem. Or, you can make yourself stay in different locations at the airport before relocating. I tried to stay in one spot and read for an hour or two, and then I would let myself relocate and buy a coffee. It's a perseverance game really.
13. If they're are places at the terminal to look over and watch people, try to sit there. It's better for playing games (see previous tip).
Tips for the international traveler..written from one unexperienced traveler who's no better for the experience
1. Wear a nice, preferably all black or brown outfit to travel. It shows less dirt and it looks classier. Plus, bright colors are loud, and you might often notice your clothes. For example, if you choose to wear bright pink you will frequently be distracted and reminded that you have been wearing this same outfit for a few days and you might also notice that the only other people wearing bright pink are small children under the age of 10.
2. Have dark and or neutral colored luggage so you blend in with the ultra fashionable Europeans at the international airport terminals. This might seem trivial but your luggage can either help you or label you as a bag lady when you travel.
3. If possible, try not to spend the night at the airport. You will feel hung over the next day and you will probably spend just as much money buying snacks and coffee with no sleep to show for it as you would have spent getting a taxi ride and a cheap hotel room.
4. Sometimes, it's okay to travel alone, especially if your friends think it's no problem to sleep at the airport and if they are also more liberal concerning punctuality. In fact, in this situation, you should just travel alone.
5. While you travel, it's okay to read mindless entertaining books that you might otherwise never read. Flying is a little stressful so the least you can do is give your mind a break.
6. Pack an empty Nalgene bottle that you can fill up with drinkeable water at airport terminals.
7. Just exchange small amounts of currency at the airport because the rates aren't usually very good.
8. Brush your teeth a few times and put on make-up. It will help you feel awake when you look in the mirror.
9. Bring extra plastic airport bags. You can never have enough of these.
10. Write down all booking and confirmation numbers from internet flights. These come in handy if you wish to change any flights or get reimbursed for any missed flights.
11. It's good to pack a little travel size deodarant and reapply once or so during the 2 days of travel. However, as I discovered on my recent flight, a lot of other people on your flight might not ever wear deodarant, so you have some flexibility with this tip.
12. If you start to feel bored while waiting at the airport, you can make up little games. For example, I watch people and try to guess which country they are from. I never know if I win the game, but I just assume I do, and that's also good for my self-esteem. Or, you can make yourself stay in different locations at the airport before relocating. I tried to stay in one spot and read for an hour or two, and then I would let myself relocate and buy a coffee. It's a perseverance game really.
13. If they're are places at the terminal to look over and watch people, try to sit there. It's better for playing games (see previous tip).
Thursday, January 08, 2009
gather round
Here are my room-mates and one of their classmates. My room-mate had taught a few of her classmates how to make cake, chilli, and corn-bread. My other room-mate and I were the lucky cup-bearers who got to enjoy it:)
(You might notice that I have not acclimated to the coldness yet.)
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Let's celebrate!
A few of my classmates and I at McDonald's. In this picture, we had just finished our test and we felt pretty relaxed and happy to be drinking strong coffee.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
comment from friend
My foreign friend (she's American) often makes this comment to people when they ask her about her week-end, “I have no life.” I wouldn’t pay much attention to this fleeting comment as I have also said it before. However, my friend says it a lot, and she often says it after I know that she has spent the week-end with friends, eating together, watching movies, or going shopping. And, on one particular occasion, she said it to someone about her previous week-end after she had hung out with me for a portion of the week-end. We had watched an enchanting movie and then gone out to supper afterward with some Chinese friends. In my opinion, it had been a rather enjoyable week-end for me, so I was surprised to hear my friend make this comment so flippantly. What did she mean that she had no life? Was my company or our activities not worthy of being considered “life” like? So this brings me back to my original question, what does she consider to be “a life.” Dear readers, what do you consider to be a "life?"
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Recent Ponderings
I have recently been ruminating over the following questions:
1. If you give someone advice after they ask for it, and they never say thank you, and you never hear from them again, ...what does that mean?
2. If you are a guest at someone's house, is it better to eat all your food and feel slightly sick or to kindly explain to the host that you simply can't eat anymore?
3. If you ask your Chinese teacher a question and she doesn't understand your question because your Chinese grammar is not correct, what should you do?
I'd love to hear your thoughts faithful readers and random blog surfers.
1. If you give someone advice after they ask for it, and they never say thank you, and you never hear from them again, ...what does that mean?
2. If you are a guest at someone's house, is it better to eat all your food and feel slightly sick or to kindly explain to the host that you simply can't eat anymore?
3. If you ask your Chinese teacher a question and she doesn't understand your question because your Chinese grammar is not correct, what should you do?
I'd love to hear your thoughts faithful readers and random blog surfers.
Jane Austen and Crepes
This entry has nothing to do with China...
Today was the first day of 2009. One of our leaders here in the city, invited us foreigners over to her house to watch Jane Austen movies and eat crepes. Wow, what a treat. It was pretty cozy to be in her apartment with 8 or so other women eating delectable crepes and watching the classic BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice. As we watched, we all took turns commenting on the characters’ dress, speech, and marriage matches. As people started to leave, they used sentences that were consistent with the old English from the novel such as, “I fear that you have desired my parting much earlier” or “I must make haste.” It was an enjoyable day, and I’m considering including more old English into my daily vocabulary. After all, a stale mind is quickly unveiled by one’s drabness of words.
Today was the first day of 2009. One of our leaders here in the city, invited us foreigners over to her house to watch Jane Austen movies and eat crepes. Wow, what a treat. It was pretty cozy to be in her apartment with 8 or so other women eating delectable crepes and watching the classic BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice. As we watched, we all took turns commenting on the characters’ dress, speech, and marriage matches. As people started to leave, they used sentences that were consistent with the old English from the novel such as, “I fear that you have desired my parting much earlier” or “I must make haste.” It was an enjoyable day, and I’m considering including more old English into my daily vocabulary. After all, a stale mind is quickly unveiled by one’s drabness of words.
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