I decided to start this blog about a month ago, but me being the person that I am, I procrastinated. I want to keep a blog, not because I am an interesting or great writer, but because I want a place to document my experiences. The majority of my posts will most likely be photos with small descriptions, and intermittently interesting things that happen. This will not be a daily journal (mostly because I am inevitably going to forget about it), but simply a good way to keep family and friends updated and a place to display what I find beautiful about Thailand! That being said, my first week here was amazing. All the new foods, sites and experiences made for a whirlwind of seven days and I loved every minute of it (okay, except for the wifi. that sucked). The food was amazing. The first official night of orientation we had a welcome dinner where they served us a traditional Northern Thai family dinner. Each of us was given a packet of sticky rice, which we were told to dip into each dish (after we were caught doing it the wrong way). My favorite dish was the small bowl next to the chicken. It is a pork dip type of dish, that I now really regret not getting the name of. After dinner we floated lanterns, called Khom Loi, as a celebration of the beginning of our time in Thailand. Lanterns are typically floated at big ceremonies and holidays, like the Thai New Year, as a symbol of Buddhist merit. I plan to go to the New Years celebration in Chiang Mai, where they have the biggest lantern festival in Thailand. On one of our last days of orientation we were taken to a restaurant where they placed burning coals and what was basically a grill on the table. They had a buffet in which we could choose what to place on our barbeque and in our soup that was made around the barbeque. It was similar to Korean barbeque. I have to admit that I did not have any of the meat since I have yet to be able to bring myself to eat most of the meat in Thailand. My silly American pallet it so used to processed or hormone filled meat that I've basically become a pescatarian since arriving in Thailand. I did grill some shrimp, and the noodle soup that we made was absolutely delicious. I'm coming to the realization that all Thai food is served family style, and making this dish with my new TTC family was a real bonding experience. This wat was hands down the most intricately beautiful place that I have been to in Thailand. Almost everything was carved or painted by hand by Buddhists monks who devoted their lives to this temple. The grounds of this wat were immense, and the each temple on the grounds was amazing. We had to wear very modest clothes while in the wat as a sign of respect to the monks living there and their norms. And yes, that shrine is real gold behind me. We also went on a horse drawn buggy ride through Lampang (the city we were staying in). Of course, I loved it since there was a horse involved, but there were times where I forgot the horse was even there. The beauty of Lampang and the fact that I am actually in Thailand hit me during this ride, and I think that this is one experience I will not soon forget. Its a little blurry, but this was my first Thai street food. I think I might have actually inhaled it it was so good. At this market I also got a grilled corn cob on a stick (Thai people are absolutely obsessed with corn. They put sugar on it and eat it as a dessert), a Thai pancake, and ... wait for it..........
A FRIED GRASSHOPPER. It wasn't half bad until I got a leg stuck on my tongue. I might have embarrassed myself a little trying to get it off.
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AuthorGeorgia girl teaching English in Thailand Archives
January 2017
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