So this past week has been a crazy whirlwind of experiences and I'm not even sure where to begin. I think this post will focus on orientation week (aka our time spent at Louis Tavern Hotel) and then I'll do the next one about my trip to Kanchanaburi and then I'll post one about my new home/school. I think for this one I'm going to do it in a cool format that I'm copying from a friend (BOOTY) which helps paint the full picture of what's been going on. It's only been a little over a week....
Sight:
I've seen some crazy things this past week. I spent a lot of time in a freezing hotel (louis tavern) doing various orientation activities. We looked at what it was like to be a teacher, how to teach, lessons on language, etc. While the days got to be pretty long it was definitely helpful in preparing us for our time at our schools, but I don't think anything can really prepare you until you get in the classroom that first day.
We went to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which were really awesome. They are in the oriental style of architecture with intricate details and big gaudy gold chedis and wats (temples). I'll put up pictures soon, but to give you an idea: the buildings in the compound are covered in small squares of glass which reflect the sunlight and is really beautiful. A huge temple looked like it was painted gold from afar, but then up close you could see each piece of gold glass placed in its perfect position. Another was designed by Chinese architects, as one of the emperors
loved Chinese culture, and is covered in Chinese porcelain.
Kao San Road is exactly how a person would view the craziness that are the Bangkok streets. It is covered in bars/clubs, "lady boys,'' prostitutes, vendors (of anything you want), 7/11's, music, etc. We went to a club called The Club (we had to go in...look at the name!) which turned out to be an amazing time. Not only was it air conditioned!!! but they served their drinks in huge buckets. There were a lot of locals that came in later and it definitely stayed open later than it was supposed to. Needless to say we had an awesome time.
Walking on the street by our hotel, Soi 64, were tons of vendors and small restaurants. One nite on our way to Bars 'R' Us (yes it did have a sign like Toys R Us) we saw an elephant just walking along the streets. What a crazy place this is!
Sound:
Downtown Bangkok is filled with honking horns, motorbikes cruising in and out of traffic, songteaws and tuk tuk drivers shouting to passersby, vendors screaming about their wears, longboats motoring up and down the Chao Praya (river in BKK) and countless other noises that I couldn't begin to explain.
One of my favorite sounds is that of the frogs that were somewhere outside our hotel. It made it seem like we weren't surrounded by foreign things (who'd have thought a ribbit would bring comfort!). Another favorite is that of Ajaan (Teacher) Gai--she is a wonderful older lady that helps teach our classes and is a replica of Miss Swan from MadTV. "okay crass okay today you learn your number okay? i tell you word and you say back okay?" Needless to say she made for a hilarious class period that everyone looked forward too.
Thai music: when we met our coordinators (which was extremely awkward as she didn't know English too well) we had a performance by some traditional Thai musicians and dancers. The music was really interesting with lots of drums and flute sounding instruments. It looked like it was straight out of a movie with how the dancers were dressed and how they moved. The music changed style a little bit based on the province/region of the country. What a cool thing to have during dinner. A bunch of us students even got dragged up to the front and learned how to do some steps--watch out So You Think You Can Dance! it's really hard though-very controlled hand and arm movements.
Smell:
Let's just say Bangkok isn't the most glorious smelling of places. At times you kind of gag a little and aren't really sure what the smell is, but I guess you can always blame the city when you forget to shower! There is definite air pollution and smog, so I looked forward to my new home a little outside the city limits. The Chao Praya is probably the filthiest river I've seen with murky brown water/garbage (aka there will be no jumping off the bridge into the water like we did in Spain--this river puts the Guadlquivir to shame in terms of pollution) still it is one of the main sources of transportation and despite its fishy odor, is really a cool thing.
The food smells that come from the vendors are amazing (well, besides the fish)--spices, grilled smells, curries, frying veggies/fruit, freshly chopped fruit, etc. It's hard to pass by a lot of places and not grab a bite. Another smell that rocks is that of the coconuts and the flowers--it's so crazy to think I just left cold, snowy MN and am now living in a tropical land.
Taste:
Going along with smell is obviously taste and man have I tasted some interesting things.
The weirdest I would have to say is the insect some of us ate on Kao San road (we think it was either a cricket, grasshopper or a grub) it's hard to tell really, but some asian girl gave it to us and said it was like "cheese bite." No. Not true lady. It was like it was stuffed with cream cheese, but that's just cuz we know that the guts were exploding in our mouths and then we had to continue chewing and picking out scales and antennae for the rest of the nite. So I guess I checked "eat bug" off my checklist (even though it wasn't there before) and don't have to eat another one!
The food has been pretty awesome so far. You definitely have to go to a meal with the mentality that you probably won't know 92.37% of what you are eating, but when you get past that the flavors are pretty great. We eat A LOT of rice (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and have come to discover that Thais don't really have the Western concept for breakfast food. We did have some omelettes and fried eggs at the hotel, but a typical Thai breakfast will be rice, fish or some kind of meat, more rice, stir fried veggies, rice and maybe a little bit of rice.
I wish I could tell you what I've eaten, but we were all talking and we really can't. We've had a lot of fish (served whole with the head and the tail and all the bones), chicken (both on and off the bone), pork, a little beef, tons of veggies, a lot of fresh fruit for dessert (pineapple, watermelon, green mango, green papaya --AWESOME) and a lot of things with coconut. Things tend to be seasoned with peppers or curries, but there is a lot of variety with their food. A favorite soup of mine is Tom Gom Gai (I think) which is a coconut and curry soup with chicken and asian style mushrooms (their mushrooms are crazy and look like mini jellyfish.)
I'll try to take pics of the food so you can get an idea....Josie took a picture of some seafood soup we ate complete with octopus tentacle, squid pieces, fish balls (they LOVE fish balls here which are literally what their name says: balls of fish), red curry, etc. Oh how I crave a cheeseburger sometimes.
Dessert as i said is usually some awesome freshly cut fruit, sticky rice (which I found out is a more gluten filled rice) and/or some sort of coconut jelly concoction. My favorite fruit thus far is definitely Dragonfruit which is this amazing fruit that has a hot pink rind with yellow and green dragon scale looking things and when you cut it open it is white with a ton of small black seeds resembling a kiwi.
Touch:
I guess touch is hard to describe, but I'll try. Hot, sticky, moist, damp sweaty skin is something I touch on a daily basis. Seriously this place is hotter than anything I've ever experienced, not to mention it's 1000 times more humid than a MN summer (which those of you who have experienced a real MN summer know what I mean). Still, I think the heat is just something we all get used to; it helps a lot too that Thai people sweat so we don't feel so much like the sweaty farang (foreigners)!
Thai people aren't actually big on touching. It is very very very impolite to touch an elder's head because of the the Buddhist belief that the soul leaves the body through the head. It is also impolite to point the bottoms of your feet at people as feet are very 'dirty' and the lowest part of the body.
Thais don't shake hands either they do what is called a Wai.
This is basically just putting your hands together as if you are praying and bowing your head. This is used to greet your elders and there are 3 levels of wai.
1) To the king/buddha: Place your hands where your nose meets your eye brows and bow low.
2) To parents, teachers, elders, etc: hands under your chin and bow low
3) To peers or those slightly older: hand on chest and bow (not too low)
4) To children, servants or lower class workers (I know it seems weird): just nod your head
So I guess in a way every wai I receive (yea I'm a teacher so I get wai'ed like whoa) is kind of like a handshake--so I'll count that as touch :) I think I may have to start a t-shirt slogan company with some of these phrases...would anyone buy a shirt that said 'I Get Wai'ed Like Whoa?'
Wow, so I didn't plan on a novel, but I guess it's hard to condense 1 week into a post. I'll try to check back soon--maybe even later today! and will hopefully have some pictures to show soon
Sight:
I've seen some crazy things this past week. I spent a lot of time in a freezing hotel (louis tavern) doing various orientation activities. We looked at what it was like to be a teacher, how to teach, lessons on language, etc. While the days got to be pretty long it was definitely helpful in preparing us for our time at our schools, but I don't think anything can really prepare you until you get in the classroom that first day.
We went to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which were really awesome. They are in the oriental style of architecture with intricate details and big gaudy gold chedis and wats (temples). I'll put up pictures soon, but to give you an idea: the buildings in the compound are covered in small squares of glass which reflect the sunlight and is really beautiful. A huge temple looked like it was painted gold from afar, but then up close you could see each piece of gold glass placed in its perfect position. Another was designed by Chinese architects, as one of the emperors
loved Chinese culture, and is covered in Chinese porcelain.Kao San Road is exactly how a person would view the craziness that are the Bangkok streets. It is covered in bars/clubs, "lady boys,'' prostitutes, vendors (of anything you want), 7/11's, music, etc. We went to a club called The Club (we had to go in...look at the name!) which turned out to be an amazing time. Not only was it air conditioned!!! but they served their drinks in huge buckets. There were a lot of locals that came in later and it definitely stayed open later than it was supposed to. Needless to say we had an awesome time.
Walking on the street by our hotel, Soi 64, were tons of vendors and small restaurants. One nite on our way to Bars 'R' Us (yes it did have a sign like Toys R Us) we saw an elephant just walking along the streets. What a crazy place this is!
Sound:
Downtown Bangkok is filled with honking horns, motorbikes cruising in and out of traffic, songteaws and tuk tuk drivers shouting to passersby, vendors screaming about their wears, longboats motoring up and down the Chao Praya (river in BKK) and countless other noises that I couldn't begin to explain.
One of my favorite sounds is that of the frogs that were somewhere outside our hotel. It made it seem like we weren't surrounded by foreign things (who'd have thought a ribbit would bring comfort!). Another favorite is that of Ajaan (Teacher) Gai--she is a wonderful older lady that helps teach our classes and is a replica of Miss Swan from MadTV. "okay crass okay today you learn your number okay? i tell you word and you say back okay?" Needless to say she made for a hilarious class period that everyone looked forward too.
Thai music: when we met our coordinators (which was extremely awkward as she didn't know English too well) we had a performance by some traditional Thai musicians and dancers. The music was really interesting with lots of drums and flute sounding instruments. It looked like it was straight out of a movie with how the dancers were dressed and how they moved. The music changed style a little bit based on the province/region of the country. What a cool thing to have during dinner. A bunch of us students even got dragged up to the front and learned how to do some steps--watch out So You Think You Can Dance! it's really hard though-very controlled hand and arm movements.
Smell:
Let's just say Bangkok isn't the most glorious smelling of places. At times you kind of gag a little and aren't really sure what the smell is, but I guess you can always blame the city when you forget to shower! There is definite air pollution and smog, so I looked forward to my new home a little outside the city limits. The Chao Praya is probably the filthiest river I've seen with murky brown water/garbage (aka there will be no jumping off the bridge into the water like we did in Spain--this river puts the Guadlquivir to shame in terms of pollution) still it is one of the main sources of transportation and despite its fishy odor, is really a cool thing.
The food smells that come from the vendors are amazing (well, besides the fish)--spices, grilled smells, curries, frying veggies/fruit, freshly chopped fruit, etc. It's hard to pass by a lot of places and not grab a bite. Another smell that rocks is that of the coconuts and the flowers--it's so crazy to think I just left cold, snowy MN and am now living in a tropical land.
Taste:
Going along with smell is obviously taste and man have I tasted some interesting things.
The weirdest I would have to say is the insect some of us ate on Kao San road (we think it was either a cricket, grasshopper or a grub) it's hard to tell really, but some asian girl gave it to us and said it was like "cheese bite." No. Not true lady. It was like it was stuffed with cream cheese, but that's just cuz we know that the guts were exploding in our mouths and then we had to continue chewing and picking out scales and antennae for the rest of the nite. So I guess I checked "eat bug" off my checklist (even though it wasn't there before) and don't have to eat another one!The food has been pretty awesome so far. You definitely have to go to a meal with the mentality that you probably won't know 92.37% of what you are eating, but when you get past that the flavors are pretty great. We eat A LOT of rice (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and have come to discover that Thais don't really have the Western concept for breakfast food. We did have some omelettes and fried eggs at the hotel, but a typical Thai breakfast will be rice, fish or some kind of meat, more rice, stir fried veggies, rice and maybe a little bit of rice.
I wish I could tell you what I've eaten, but we were all talking and we really can't. We've had a lot of fish (served whole with the head and the tail and all the bones), chicken (both on and off the bone), pork, a little beef, tons of veggies, a lot of fresh fruit for dessert (pineapple, watermelon, green mango, green papaya --AWESOME) and a lot of things with coconut. Things tend to be seasoned with peppers or curries, but there is a lot of variety with their food. A favorite soup of mine is Tom Gom Gai (I think) which is a coconut and curry soup with chicken and asian style mushrooms (their mushrooms are crazy and look like mini jellyfish.)
I'll try to take pics of the food so you can get an idea....Josie took a picture of some seafood soup we ate complete with octopus tentacle, squid pieces, fish balls (they LOVE fish balls here which are literally what their name says: balls of fish), red curry, etc. Oh how I crave a cheeseburger sometimes.
Dessert as i said is usually some awesome freshly cut fruit, sticky rice (which I found out is a more gluten filled rice) and/or some sort of coconut jelly concoction. My favorite fruit thus far is definitely Dragonfruit which is this amazing fruit that has a hot pink rind with yellow and green dragon scale looking things and when you cut it open it is white with a ton of small black seeds resembling a kiwi.
Touch:
I guess touch is hard to describe, but I'll try. Hot, sticky, moist, damp sweaty skin is something I touch on a daily basis. Seriously this place is hotter than anything I've ever experienced, not to mention it's 1000 times more humid than a MN summer (which those of you who have experienced a real MN summer know what I mean). Still, I think the heat is just something we all get used to; it helps a lot too that Thai people sweat so we don't feel so much like the sweaty farang (foreigners)!
Thai people aren't actually big on touching. It is very very very impolite to touch an elder's head because of the the Buddhist belief that the soul leaves the body through the head. It is also impolite to point the bottoms of your feet at people as feet are very 'dirty' and the lowest part of the body.
Thais don't shake hands either they do what is called a Wai.
This is basically just putting your hands together as if you are praying and bowing your head. This is used to greet your elders and there are 3 levels of wai.1) To the king/buddha: Place your hands where your nose meets your eye brows and bow low.
2) To parents, teachers, elders, etc: hands under your chin and bow low
3) To peers or those slightly older: hand on chest and bow (not too low)
4) To children, servants or lower class workers (I know it seems weird): just nod your head
So I guess in a way every wai I receive (yea I'm a teacher so I get wai'ed like whoa) is kind of like a handshake--so I'll count that as touch :) I think I may have to start a t-shirt slogan company with some of these phrases...would anyone buy a shirt that said 'I Get Wai'ed Like Whoa?'
Wow, so I didn't plan on a novel, but I guess it's hard to condense 1 week into a post. I'll try to check back soon--maybe even later today! and will hopefully have some pictures to show soon
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