Field Trips!

Hey everyone! I hope this Thursday finds you well - or "Friday Eve" and I started calling it in high school! Because I'm in a Buddhism class, I've had the opportunity to go out into Chiang Mai and really experience how religion influences Thai society. On Sunday, our class split into four groups to interview monks from four different wats all studying for a Bachelor's in English at a Buddhist university. We met them at nine in the morning at Wat Suan Dok. My monk group was from Wat Fai Hin, and what surprised me at first was that none of them were actually from Thailand! Two of them were from Burma/Myanmar, and the other three were from Lao, Vietnam, and Cambodia respectively. They were college age or maybe a little older, as two were novices and three were full monks.

Oftentimes, families from small agricultural communities will send their sons to be monks and further their educations. A couple of the monks I talked to planned on moving on to a Master's degree, and a couple others were planning on disrobing and returning to life as laypeople (this was also new to me, as in the Catholic tradition ordination is for life!). We mostly about our similarities and differences in culture, and the monks' daily routine, favorite classes, and the rules they have to follow (ten for novices, but two hundred twenty-seven for monks!). Then we made a plan to visit Wat Fai Hin in one week's time. I can't wait to go, I love seeing how different each wat is from another.

Yesterday, my friends and I made a trip to a local mall called Central. It was a fun excursion because it was interesting to see how things are similar to the States and how they are different. For example, we made a beeline to the Aunty Anne's pretzel shop (right next to a Pizza Hut), but something tells me it might be hard to find a shredded chicken pretzel in the shape of a sun in the United States!

This picture is me with my new stone lion friend at the mall entrance. I was mainly excited to go because my roommate Nikki and I were meaning to try the inexpensive Thai massages we had heard so much about from our peers! We were instructed to head to the lowest floor of the mall, and after wandering for about ten minutes we came across the small massage booth. After ordering two one-hour Thai massages from the lady at the front desk, we were led by two other ladies in green polo shirts past a bunch of people in recliners to a raised area with four or five stations equipped with thin mattresses, pillows, and towels.

We removed our shoes, purses, and glasses and laid down on our backs. Someone had told me that traditional Thai massages include a lot of stretching, but other than that I really didn't know what to expect! My massage lady toweled off my feet and then got to work kneading and stretching each of my legs for a really long time. It did feel great and was kind of like having someone do yoga for me! Then she moved on to my arms for a while before having me roll over onto my stomach to do my shoulders and back. I also think she stood up on the backs of my thighs at some point. The massage ended with me sitting up for more shoulders and neck, plus some intense arm stretching. Overall, I would recommend a Thai massage for anyone feeling a little adventurous and in need of some stress relief! It was affordable enough that it it certainly not my last massage here.

We ate dinner at a food court near this beautiful mall courtyard, then hopped a red truck back to Uniloft (our university housing) for another Buddhism field trip, this time in the evening. It was to observe a Wan Phra ritual at Wat Rampoeng. Basically, we sat on mats in the wat and listened to the abbot as he spoke to other monks and laypeople in Thai, then turned to us and spoke to us in English. He was very quiet so I didn't catch much, but I think he said the pagoda outside the wat was six hundred years old and housed special relics. We each had a candle and three sticks of incense in a holder, plus a long stemmed rose bud as offerings. We lit the candles and incense outside and then proceeded to walk slowly around the pagoda three times in meditation. It was such a beautiful and special moment - I took a picture afterwards of the pagoda illuminated by the candles and strings of lights.

We returned to the wat for a long seated meditation before being dismissed by the abbot. I have enjoyed all the Buddhist rituals I have had the privilege to take part in so far in Thailand, and definitely look forward to more to come! Until next time, sawat dee ka and have a great end to your week.