Flied Lice

Yesterday was Sunday. There are two LDS branches in Chiang Mai, so we went, of course, because we're Mormon like that. It was really cool. The church is true everywhere!

Then we went out to eat. Don't judge. And then later that night we checked out the big "Sunday Night Walking Street"--which is a giant market with handmade goods. And when I say giant I mean I'm pretty sure it goes on for like, a mile. It was raining, but rain for us here is a godsend because it's so freaking hot. It was so cool to be standing in the rain listening to some guy play the guitar in the middle of a street market in Thailand! The stuff that was being sold was fascinating--I had to refrain myself from buying something at every booth.

"Walking Street" Market

When I got home, there was a GIANT spider chillin on the ceiling. I know that daddy-long-legs eat other bugs, but I was not willing to let that guy be my unintended midnight snack, so I smooshed him. 

This morning was the first morning of my internship. When we first drove up, it did not look very promising. They tried to have us help fix the roof of the building, but obviously we had no idea what was going on, so really our contribution to that project was carrying the wood from the truck and then laying it in the grass.
Just as I was about to lose all hope for my summer, a pharang couple drove up in another truck, and lo and behold, they spoke English! Yay for English! We learned that they were the people behind the whole organization, so we asked them what the heck was going on, and then they launched into a very interesting story about how the place came to be and what the objective is and stuff like that. Meredith and I were happy to listen if it meant getting out of roof-fixing.
Pam and Jerry (the couple behind the organization) have been in Thailand for 17 years (from what I can remember) and they have done amazing things with their lives, which I won't go into detail about, but trust me when I tell you they are COOL.
Once we had the run-down, we ate lunch (Thai style: in a circle with everyone reaching into every dish with their (dirty) hands. So long, germaphobia). Then Pam and Jerry left, and Meredith and I kind of fell asleep. When I got up I rubbed some ice over my arms and neck for a little respite from the heat, and then we started talking to Umpaa (a woman who works there) and Moi (somebody's daughter. She was maybe 12 or 13). When I say talking I mean, "English--bracelet, Thai?" and then one of them would give me the Thai word for bracelet. We did that for a couple hours, and it was really fun. At one point, we were on the word "beautiful," which is something like "soi" in Thai. Umpaa pointed to our skin and said "beautiful, soi," and then pointed to her own and said "no beautiful." Thai people really value fair skin. Meredith and I shook our heads and told her that her skin was beautiful too. I put my arm next to hers to show here that we were the same color (because I'm that tan, nbd). She smiled and said "same-same." It was so cute.

Back at home, my host mom uncovered their little keyboard and I started playing "Come Thou Font." She started humming along (because they're Christian) and then she got out hymn book, but I couldn't really figure it out because the notes were different and I can't really read music to begin with, but my host dad smiled and gave me a thumbs-up, so it wasn't that bad.

Then it was dinner time. I think my host mom has figured out that my stomach is not so into the foreign cuisine, so she made me fried rice with an egg. When she tries to say fried rice it sounds like, "flied lice." I find that hilarious. Anyway, that flied lice was really good.

After dinner I took a shower. The bathroom has taken a little getting-used-to. But I really don't have it that bad because my host family has a Western toilet. But there is no distinct shower or tub. It's just one room with a toilet and a shower head stuck to the wall. All of the water drains out through this little hole in the corner. It's a self-cleaning floor!