Time Flies in Chiang Mai

Blogging is very difficult because so much happens here. So many experiances, all amazing, some very confusing, but ultimately you learn a lot pretty fast, and time flies here.

After three weeks of Thai class four hours a day and living in a Thai family my Thai has improved. This is something that is so rewarding as you begin to understand reading and writing more and more, and your speaking and comprehension of the language expands. This knowledge can be used immediately and enables you to communicate with your Thai family better and also understand the culture you are living in better. It is a great feeling to make progress especially against the challenges of the Tonal language with an alphabet that borrows from Sanskrit. I have a long way to go, but I am sure to get better with the 44 consonants, 32 vowels, and the 5 tones.

After Thai in the mornings we have class focusesing on sustainable development, Thai history, and society. Taught by Ajaan (Teacher/Professor) Mark and Ajaan Christina. Christina focusing on society, governmental topics and development, and Ajaan Mark focusing more on Sustainable Development and other topics.This week we will start learning research methods.

For our afternoon classes we have a good amount of readings to do considering the ammount of time spent with the host family and also commuting from home to school. One of the readings was written by Yvon Chouinard, who founded the company Patagonia. The article was very interesting as he struggled to manage a large and profitable company that was responsible to the environment and to the human race. One excerpt from the reading that really stuck out to me was:

"I have a little different definition of evil than most people. When you have the oppurtunity and ability to do good and you do nothing, that's evil. Evil doesn't always have to be an overt act, it can be merely the absence of good."

I do not know Chouinard's beliefs but this immediately made me think of sins of commision and ommision and challenged me to not live a life where I know about evil and do nothing about them.

One thing that amazes me is the love of my host family.
I am given so much and actually start to feel at home here. It is really cool to not only learn a lot about the language and culture but also give me family English lessons and sharing things from my own culture. I am especially blessed my young sister who spoils me with laughs and sweets.



The food is here is amazing!
I eat rice at everymeal (for the most part)
I have already encountered some favorites like Rotee, which can only be described as amazing, its like a flat crepe-ish thing that is sugar/sweet and you can have it plain or filled with things like chocolate and bannana really awesome.
I also have me krob, sweet noodles, multiple times a week which is really good.
and also cocnut pancakes called Kanom Krok

It also weird to fall in love with Thailand but missing home!

Peace,

Ben

A lot can happen in a week

So much has happened since I got to Thailand last Saturday. I have already learned and experienced so much. I do not know how to express the events that have happened and what to include. It will be impossible to let others know how amazing the program I am in really is and this is only the beginning, there is so much to come.

I guess this post I will recap some of the events that have happened in the last week but in the future I will probably share small specific stories.

I have lived in a Thai home and become part of the family in the past 6 days. We live in Doi Saket which is actually a ways out of Chiang Mai to the North West so it is more rural. The first two days proved to be quite difficult as my Thai language skills were limited to hello. It was very interesting weekend of being surrounded by people speaking a language you do not understand. My family is made of my Mae and my Paw who are very caring towards and then I have two younger siblings, a little brother Nong Nut who is 18 and a little sister Nong Natt who is 7. In addition to that the majority of the extended family lives all around, so there is always grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many cousins about. It is big family that has shown me much love already. I started school on monday which is actually a lot of fun. We have 4 hours of Thai every morning and then after lunch orientation. Thai is really difficult but I am learning more everyday and am starting to be able to communicate more and more, it is very exciting and rewarding.

I guess I will also share some fun facts with you all

The food is really good, and I have already tried crickets, squid tentacles with the suckers still on(really good), and a variety of other eats that are unknown to me.

My Thai nickname give to me by my family is fittingly Bao Nuah which translates as young man from the North.

The markets are amazing with a great selection of everything. Flowers, fruit, and many things I have never seen.

So much has happened and it still feels like a dream, one that is very challenging and also very rewarding. I suppose it will feel more real as time goes on.

I will do my best to stay in touch but will also not comprimise my time here. Pi Dana who works at ISDSI, says that every minute you spend on email, facebook ect. is a minute you are not in Thailand.
This is wise advice to keep in mind.

I will keep this in mind to check myself, I miss home and many people a lot more than expected even in the midst of the beauty of Thailand. So I will stay in touch but also make sure to take advantage of the time I have here. This oppurtunity is so amazing and will cause me to grow so much.

Much Love from Thailand,

Ben

A night in Seoul

I have arrived in Seoul, South Korea do not what to do, my body is recovering from a long flight an a 14 hour time change. I hope to explore the city a bit tonight. I leave for Bangkok tommorow night and then fly to Chiang Mai from there so I still have a long road ahead of me. I will get to there on Saturday and begin living with my host family. I will start classes on the Monday after that and will be very busy I am sure. I have not do this type of thing before so I thought I should try it out and also hope to keep loved ones at home kinda informed. This post is kinda a test run and a little boring but I thought I should start somewhere since I have the time and the internet. I will hopefully update this page every couple of weeks while I am in Thailand and share some of what I am experiancing. I appreciate all the prayers and support from home, they mean a lot. I will update this more when I get the chance in the next couple of weeks.
I am very excited for this experiance but will miss you all greatly.

Ben