Mai Pen Rai: Jen's Adventures in Thailand

"EVERY TIME YOU HAVE MADE A THOUGHT, LAUGH AT IT." ~LAO TZU

Friday, September 28, 2007

Cohabitation in all its Glory

As of late, our little apartment in Lampang has become inhabitted with any number of species. We've put up with the geckos, mosquitos and small spiders but it's just getting out of control. One particularly enchanting experience which has happened to both Hilary and I is that we will take a shower and start drying off with the towel only to discover it's been taken over by a small army of tiny red ants which have a knack for finding sensitive regions on the body. Hilary has taken to dousing herself with tiger balm on a daily basis.

One night I came home to see the hugest spider ever scuttle behind the couch. I've never seen a spider crawl side-ways like a crab. This scared me more than the size of the spider. As Hilary was at Justin's house, I called Chan to come over and help me out. By then, the spider had moved to the stairs so there was no way I would be able to get to my room, much less sleep with the knowledge that this creature was somewhere in the house. When Chan came in she remarked, "Oh it's small!" and "It's not poisonous." Yet it seemed that it could take a significant chunk out of one's skin. She said that they were actually good to have in the house but I couldn't really agree with her there. She eded up using David's gnome hat (left over from the magical creatures party) to trap it and take it outside.

Then this week, I woke up and went to the bathroom. I hadn't put my glasses on and when i stood up from peeing, I noticed a dark "something" in the toilet. After I got my glasses, I was shocked to discover that it was a live mouse. Yes, indeed, I had peed on it. Not knowing what to do, I went and got the maid from our landlord's house. I thought she would take it out of the toilet, but instead she started to bludgeon it with a large stick. I couldn't stand listening to the squeaking and screamed in Thai, "Don't kill it!" She ended up taking it out of the toilet with a plastic bag and then promptly bludgeoned it outside the house. Great. So much for animal rights in this country.

We daily sweep up "gecko droppings" off our floor and cobwebs from the ceiling. Meanwhile, I wake up to a cacaphony of birds each morning in the mango tree outside my window. All of this I don't mind. I'm just hoping that the day will not come when I will find a scorpion or a snake in my toilet!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Goodbye Friends

It has been a sad week in Lampang. Our dear friends Ilona and Tony have returned home to Pittsburgh. They were such a cool couple and brought so much great energy to Lampang. They love food, art, dancing and being silly so they were super-fun to be around. Sadly, Justin will also be leaving in the next couple weeks so many things are in transition right now. Becky and Shawn just arrived from the states and are moving in with Karen today.

So last week we threw a going-away party for Tony, Ilona, Justin and Mark. We put up posters on the wall with each of their names so that people could write and draw pictures for them. We made a dance mix with songs about leaving, saying goodbye and going home. We bought them their favorite german beer and invited tons of people from chiang mai and lampang. Luckily, it turned out to be our best party yet. Exhibit A: the evidence...

Everyone was being very silly. Our friend Yui who owns our beloved coffeeshop (The Isle of Coffee/I Love Coffee) actually showed up. She's notorious for missing our parties. She ended up being the life of the party! She's here between me and Ilona.
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Chan! haven't seen her in a long time. We were very excited.
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More acting ridiculously silly
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A very surprised Mark...What? This party's for me?!
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Justin and Hilary definitely win the prize for "Couple with the Curliest/Poofiest Hair."
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Justin contemplates the reality of never eating real curry again
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Otto and I always get trapped in the hammock
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Look closely at this picture. Old man Joe has these mannequin legs that he puts in the strangest of places to freak people out. At Yonok, he puts them sticking out of desks and waits for students to notice. People were commenting on this all night. Where does one actually get a pair of mannequin legs?!
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Friday, September 14, 2007

Girls Night Out!

It was time for a wild night on the town in Chiang Mai. So we met up at the Salsa Kitchen for margueritas which was proceeded by a trip to the Drunken Flower and then we eventually ended up meeting up with the guys who were bored without us. We checked out a great jazz club and ended up at the Brasserie for more rockin' music. It was definitely a swell time!

At the Salsa Kitchen
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In the back of Sara's car. whoa we were smooshed! Hilary, Alisa, Jamie and me.
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Sara, her daughter Maggie, Hilary, Jamie, Alisa
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Hilary and Karen messing around
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me and mr. otto
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Silly Girls...
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More happy ladies
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