Day 1 in Thailand… I’m overwhelmed, I’m in the middle of a big city, I’m with a group of people I barely know… but I’m SO excited! The first day we got to Chiang Mai, we got settled into the hostel we were staying at and immediately left to explore the city! After being in airports and planes for (no joke) three days straight… we were ready to GET OUT. It was evening when we arrived which means the night market vendors were just beginning to set up their booths. These booths are crazy beautiful. They have everything from mugs, fanny packs, and dresses to fried crickets, squid, and sheep hearts on a stick! This culture is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
Day 2 in Thailand… jet lag got the best of me. I woke up around three in the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Once it was a normal hour to get out of bed I decided to get up and explore the hostel. My favorite thing about it is the showers that are on the roof! Later that day we decided to explore the city even more. Around lunch time me and a few friends were walking around after eating lunch and passed this adorable Thai restaurant. The girl working outside happened to be our age and was so excited to talk to some “nice girls” as she called us. We stopped to talk to her and learned that her name was pronounced “guy” which means “chicken” … yes her name means chicken… Anyway, after trying (and failing) to learn and pronounce our names I asked her to give me a Thai name. She said I remind her of “Malee” which means “jasmine flower” in Thai.
Day 3 in Thailand… hedgehogs are my new favorite animals. After a week of craziness, we were exhausted… our third day in Thailand consisted of lots of naps, coffee, and catching up with friends and family back home. Later in the day after we were well rested, me and a few friends went out to find some food. We happened to stumble upon a hedgehog café! We ordered a waffle and smoothies and while we waited for our food we got to play with Harry and Becky the most adorable hedgehogs ever!
Day 4 in Thailand… monks are pretty cool. Monday was the day that the whole squad walked about 2 miles to the monastery to participate in what they call a “monk chat”. This is a day that the monastery is open to the public and we are welcome to go and sit with the monks and ask them anything we want. We asked them about their life in the monastery, why they were monks, and how long they had been/were going to be in this commitment.
Day 5 in Thailand… I’ve gotten pretty good at painting. My team’s ministry for the month is women’s ministry. This means we will be serving the single women of the community by painting their new house. Their house is sort of like an apartment with 9 rooms and a living room. The house is for women who are single and getting back on their feet after having a rough past. We paint 4 days a week from 10am-4pm.
After being in Thailand for almost a week now, I have already fallen in love with it. The culture is beautiful and the language is hard to learn but so interesting. We’ve met and become friends with world race alumni and they are awesome people that I am pumped to get to know on a deeper level! I can’t wait to see what else the Lord has in store for me in these two months that I’m living in Chiang Mai, Thailand!
