Mommy, Wow! I'm a Thai Girl Now!

There are four things that are required for Thai citizenship: 1. Driving a motorcycle with a bag the size of you strapped to the back 2. Making a U-turn on a super highway with said motorcycle 3. Surviving said U-turn and 4. Repeating the above steps with various sundry items hanging from your arms and wedged between your legs. I am very proud to say that, having spent two years studying motorcycle use in Thailand, I have finally done all four. Yesterday I moved into my new apartment. I had been renting a motorcycle for my first few days while I got settled, and because I didn’t know how to tell a Rot Dang (taxi) how to get to my new place, I just took multiple trips on the bike, with the help of a Thai friend to strap things down. Surprisingly, it really wasn’t that hard. I’ll admit I didn’t love the super highway, but they are designed for U-turns and crazy traffic and what-not so that was fine. And having things strapped to the back is about the same as having a person on the back. It’s actually easier because it doesn’t move around, although the limited space makes shifting interesting. So there you go, I can finally empathize with all these crazy people putting ridiculous amounts of stuff on their bikes. They’re dead useful, cheap, and unbelievably convenient.

Other than that craziness, things are going well here. I’m living in off-campus student housing by Chiang Mai University and really look forward to making Thai friends my age. I also stayed at a really cool hostel for my first few days here while I was looking for an apartment. The Thai guy that runs it (Nung) is awesome and I really like all the people living there right now so it’s been fun to hang out with them. The only downside to my trip so far (besides leaving part of my luggage at home and having my taxi driver from the airport attempt a lengthy discussion with me about the size of my breasts) is that the camera I use for my research is broken and I may have to buy a new one. So that’s a little stressful, but other than that it’s GREAT here. The food is amazing. I’ve had all my favorites but two so far (that’s on the to-do list today). Plus it’s flat-out gorgeous here. Hotter than Hades, but beautiful. I really wish you were all here so I could show you around and share the awesomeness that is Chiang Mai. For now though, this blog will have to do. TTYL!

PS. For those family members that are freaking out about my use of the motorcycle, I’m turning it back in today and going back to taxi’s so you can relax. That’s it, breath, breath, there you go….