Updated on August 2, 2011
Home.
This week I went from playing with baby elephants in shorts and a tank top
to long underwear and crusty old gray snow.
And yet, it is so good to be home. The seven weeks of travel were absolutely delightful and filled to the brim with people I love dearly and see rarely. However, having all of my belongings tucked away where they actually belong? Hiding the suitcases from sight? Waking up and having a hot cup of home brewed coffee in my reading chair? Wonderfully welcome after many weeks on the road.
Also welcome were a few changes that happened during my weeks away. Turns out in my two month absence, our city went from being a podunk train stop in between booming metropolises to the big time. Not only did the city welcome its first Watson*s (pharmacy/drug store with delightful amenities like razors and lotion that actually soothes dry skin), but it also welcomed Pizza Hut.
Yes, Pizza Hut. A real one. As in a beautiful shining oasis of cheese in the middle of a desert of Chinese cuisine. Before departing a few weeks ago, my teammate Mark mentioned seeing a sign advertising the coming of pizza hut. All of us doubted the validity of the report. We believed he had seen the advertisement, but figured some random Uncle Wang had borrowed the pizza hut logo to advertise for his new shop. Intellectual property rights and logos? Not respected so much in these parts.
But sure enough, it’s the real deal. Right smack downtown. And as if that’s not enough, there’s a shiny new grocery store directly below it. That sells previously unseen items like avocados and pasta, and–get this–real American ice cream. Our lives will never be the same, and the end of times is quite possibly coming.
The other great change to our city? The return of the Wus, complete with the newest member of the family. It’s shaping up to be a good semester round these parts.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Creative
On our last day of freedom before being locked in a windowless room for conference, Amanda and I took full advantage of the Thai sunshine at the zoo. It was a delightful (and slightly sweaty) afternoon of hiking the hills of the zoo and marveling at the creativeness of the one we serve. And I’m serious about the hiking. Set in the foothills of the mountains outside Chiang Mai, the zoo is not for the faint of heart or weak of foot.
One of the best parts of this zoo is the fact that you can get real close to the animals.
Really, really close.
Which means you get to appreciate in tiniest detail the creativeness (and let’s be honest, sometimes downright absurdity…have you seen an ostrich run?) of the various species.
Which animal does this belong to?
Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant getting a bath?
Sorry baby hippo, you’re just not nearly as cute. The size of your ears does fit in the absurd category, though.
There were two spots Amanda and I lingered in longer than others. First, the rose garden. I won’t bother you with the plentitude of rose pictures I have. But trust me, I have a fair number of pictures of roses of all color, size, and shape.
The second was the bird house. The bird house where exotic, colorful birds roamed around in perfect freedom.
Words cannot suffice.
All I can say is, it takes a whole heck of a lot of faith to believe this came together by chance and accident.
Also not happening by accident? A harmonica playing elephant. Seriously. Just before this picture was taken this elephant was literally trying to persuade this bus of people (the faint of heart who weren’t up for hiking the zoo) to buy food for him by belting out a tune on the harmonica.
I used to think monkeys were really cute. But I’m going to be honest with you, there’s something a bit creepy about them as well.
Also creepy? Christmas decorations. Still up in February. I don’t know which aspect takes it really over the top. The large panda? The presents? The plentitude of garland? All I know, is it screams Asia, where there never can be too much flare.
Updated on August 2, 2011
It’s all about the food
For those of us who live in small cities in China where the culinary options are Chinese food, Chinese food or Chinese food, Chiang Mai is a paradise for our taste buds. From Indian, to Italian, to Mexican, to Pizza (I realize that’s technically Italian, but I feel it deserves its own food group), the options are endless. Consequently, one of the first and most important decisions Amanda and I have made each morning on our free days before the start of conference is what we will eat that day. Like I said, I haven’t been too good about documenting this trip, but I did manage to capture some of the treats one day.
Can you see the eager and hungry anticipation in Amanda’s eyes?
It’s all about the El Jefe sandwich.
Tortillas? Grilled chicken? Sauteed onions? Cheese? Lettuce? Tomato? Salsa? Some mysterious amazing sauce? Perfection.
Only thing that can top that…dark chocolate ice cream.
Ice cream makes a girl happy.
Very, very happy.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Sunday Snapshot: Sunday Market {Chiangmai, Thailand}
Photography is a very introspective practice for me. With camera in hand, I tend to get a bit lost in seeing the world through my viewfinder. Others around me tend to disappear a bit. The past few weeks have been wonderfully full of people time. Late night cinnamon roll making sessions with my sister. A quick jaunt up to the pacific northwest to see a special someone. Countless hours in the classroom, over coffee, at meals, and strolling the streets of Thailand with classmates. All entirely and sadly undocumented by my camera. However, knowing this might be my last time in Thailand for awhile, I knew there were some things I wanted to be sure to capture. Among those things is one of the attractions Chiang Mai is most famous for–the Sunday Market. While the goods offered don’t change much year to year, and the crowds at times are overwhelming, I still find myself drawn to this market. The lights, colors, and textures are a myriad source of inspiration. Thankfully, since it was my birthday, Amanda quite patiently indulged me in my slow stroll through the market with camera in hand.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Peek into the journey
A small window into the classroom of the past week…can you guess what we were studying?
Updated on August 2, 2011
Annoying…help please!
In case you were wondering, I have not accepted a position as a drug representative. The annoying pharmaceutical links now sprinkled throughout all my posts? Not there by my choosing. Nor do I know by what devious devices they were added. And so I turn to the expertise of any who may drop by…is there a way, other than the very slow process of going post by post (which I’ve done for a few of the most recent), to clear the blog of all of these annoying little links? How can I ensure the blog remains free of them in the future?
Until a solution is found, I appreciate your grace in trying to ignore the glaring yellow little buggers. Hopefully a way will be devised to make them disappear quite soon.
Updated on August 2, 2011
From the land of silence
I’m alive and well under the sunny skies of Thailand, continuing what has at times seemed like the never-ending pursuit of my masters degree. This week and the next I have the amazing privilege of sitting in a room with ten other incredible individuals while we question, process, search, grow and learn. We are under the leadership and direction of a professor who knows that massive quantities of knowledge poured in is quickly lost, while smaller quantities of knowledge self-discovered is long retained. He’s also far more concerned with who we are becoming, than cramming in a set amount of content to be regurgitated. Within my masters program, I’ve probably learned as much or more sitting around the table for meals with classmates and professors, further elaborating on life and class, than in the classroom itself. And it is for that reason that four years into a program (that would take at most two years in the States), I’m still finding a great deal of joy in taking classes. The amount of rest we are able to find by simply being, and worshipping, and studying in community is simply astounding. Perhaps in the days to come I will share some of the nuggets of wisdom and challenge I’ve been collecting, but for now, I’m relishing the rest and space (funny that that would come in the midst of classes) of this time…not to mention sunshine and flip flops and tonight, falafel.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Back in China (momentarily)
I’ve spent the past two days tucked away in a friend’s apartment in Beijing. The sole purpose of this brief hibernation prior to heading to Thailand for classes and conference was jet lag recuperation. Way back when purchasing plane tickets, I made the very wise decision not to spend 30+ hours traveling across multiple time zones and then start two weeks of intensive classes at 8 AM the next day. It turns out that the few days have also been very useful for finishing up the lingering and substantial remnants of pre-work for those classes. Turns out I’m a mighty skilled procrastinator, especially when there’s someone like this around.
However, after two days of banging away at the keyboard, papers are printed, stapled and ready to be turned in. I’m quite certain that a jet lagged brain is not the key for profound and coherent writing, but alas, you do what you’ve got to do. Spending time with these folks is most definitely worth a lack of profundity (like how I’m sneaking in more pictures? I told you, expect to see these faces for awhile).
Turns out this time around I’ve discovered the key to overcoming jet lag. Be so sleep deprived and exhausted upon arrival in China that your body will sleep regardless of what time of day it thinks it is. And don’t be too proud to drug yourself–with entirely legal substances, of course. This time around tylenol pm has been my drug of choice, and coupled with exhaustion, has given me nights of eleven and nine hours of sleep. Two more happy blue little pills tonight, and I will certainly be racking up more sleep than I’ve seen in quite some time. You know who else is good at sleeping? Cute little babies.
Tomorrow afternoon I fly down to warm sunny Thailand, where I will quite contentedly don flip flops and tank tops. Before you get too jealous (I’ve heard many in the States are currently buried in snow), realize that I will be enjoying said attire sitting in class all day. I am looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues over good food and coffee, although, I will likely continue to miss these fine folks (ok, last picture for today, I promise).
Updated on August 2, 2011
My favorite little man
There’s been a lot of Sophie showing up around these parts, so I figured I’d better get some Ethan pictures up lest you think I’ve fallen out of love with the little boy who made me an aunt the first time.
The fact is, I’m still completely and utterly smitten with the guy.
So as we ate lunch together the other day, I pulled out the camera.
His grins and giggles still turn me to mush. {His two year old tantrums? Not so much, but we won’t talk about those. He looks way too sweet to throw a tantrum, right?}
The kid seriously has the most gorgeous eyes…in color, or in black and white.
And when he smiles? Who can blame him for thinking he should always get his way?
Tonight we attempted a family photo shoot. The light was horrible, we were a bit rushed, the scenery had been drenched by rain most of the day, and a certain boy was a bit uncooperative. However, I think we might have captured a few good ones–on a first flip through this is one of my favorites.
I’ve got one more day here stateside, but don’t be surprised if these faces keep showing up in the coming days!
Updated on August 2, 2011
Moments
Have you ever had those moments where you’ve desperately wanted to be able to hit a pause button and just linger in them a good deal longer?
This trip to the States? Has been replete with these moments.
But with no pause button in sight, these moments are slipping away far too rapidly.
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