First Day of School

Today was my first day of classes! I only had two of the four today: Thai 1, which is speaking, and Thai 2, which is reading and writing. Although we are advised to “shop around” for classes until the add/drop deadline on the 30^th, I have pretty much made up my mind on the four classes I want to take. It will be a full course load with an online seminar component and the service learning discussion course in addition to 10-15 hours of service a week. I guess I should enjoy my down time while it lasts!

Last night, as our last hurrah before the school year started, Brooke, Nikki, Emily, and I took a red truck down to the Walking Street Market in the old city area of Chiang Mai. It happens every Sunday and is supposedly less tourist-y than other attractions in Chiang Mai, but it was still crowded with city dwellers and visitors alike! It is an overwhelming atmosphere of so many booths selling so many different things, musicians and other street entertainers, and the smell of street food cooking.

To celebrate, I got a crepe wrapped around a banana and topped with chocolate sauce for dinner. Ah, to be an independent college student and to make my own choices on what is a proper dinner (If my nutrition teacher mom is reading, I promise I won’t eat like that all the time!). I regretted filling my tummy with a yummy crepe when I came across these bad boys, though.

Squid on a stick: all the tastiness of squid with the convenience of a stick! Who could resist. I also had heard tell that Thailand is in a part of the world that dines on insects, and I finally spotted the truth for myself when I saw at least two booths selling 20-baht bags of fried crickets, water bugs, or bamboo worms. Maybe an adventure for another day!

One cool thing about the old city is that it is home to thirty-seven Buddhist temples, a couple of which we stumbled upon last night. I’m sure I’ll get my fill of temples once I start my Buddhism course, but I still think each one is unique and beautiful. Almost every other religion imaginable is present in Chiang Mai, with Buddhism being the most popular, so maybe that’s why I have yet to see any other kind of worship place. Maybe I need to look harder.

This morning I had plenty of time to get ready in my uniform and walk down to the political science building. All the courses are taught in the same classroom, which is really convenient for people like me who are just figuring out how to navigate campus! I like how each class only meets for 3 hours a week, and it worked out nicely that mine happen to be scheduled one after another so I only have to make the long trip to campus once a day.

We stopped for a cold morning drink before class, and I scored a green tea with milk that a friend didn’t like. It was also a good opportunity to take the obligatory first day of school picture!

So far I like taking both Thai classes because they complement each other and are both taught by Ajan Gai, who is both fun and effective as a teacher. I will let you know how my second day of school goes since it will be totally different classes, so sawat dee ka for now!