Chiang Mai

Molly and I arrived in Bangkok Thursday afternoon and decided we wanted to get to Chiang Mai as soon as possible. We hopped on a bus and went to the train station where we bought ticket forthe overnight train...the only kicker was the sleeper train was sold out, so we had to sit for 13 hours! We were extremely giggly from lack of sleep and thought everything was funny, even the squat toilet, which was very hard to use while the train was moving....it ended up being quite an experience;)

We arrived in Chiang Mai on Friday morning (Halloween) and went to a guest house where we relaxed and laid out in the sun. We decided to take an Ambien for the first time that night, so we could have a good night sleep and WOW did that medication work! I fell asleep and didn't move for 8 hours...I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. We met up with our program coordinators, Mim and Andy for lunch on Saturday and they showed us around Chiang Mai and gave us our itinerary for the next month...which is very busy! We have yoga classes, language classes, meetings, cooking classes, hikes etc. Everynight we have something planned after work; however, we love it because we get to experience has much as possible in such a short time frame!

I will be working for an NGO called FOPDEV. It is an organization that has many different projects with the elderly people in Chiang Mai. One of my soon-to-be coworkers is an anthropology PhD student at Harvard doing her research on palliative care in the elderly population. I am really excited for this opportunity to work with her and do different kinds of nursing care and research. I believe that it will only help me with my future studies and interests. Plus, Laura (my sister-in-law) gave me a great suggestion and hopefully by helping Fecility with some of her research I can get my name in her publication:)


On Sunday, Molly and I went to Wat Doi Suthep (a huge temple on top of a mountain), also known as the "Jewel" of Chiang Mai. It was a really great experience. We went a bought three items that people give to the Buddha when praying; a lotus flower, incense, and candles. We proceeded to walk around the innermost part of the temple three times with our hands together in front of our face praying. We then lite the incense and candle (saying a pray while lighting the candle), then we placed the lotus flower in a basket in front of the temple. Afterwards, we went to where the monk was sitting and got a bracelet placed on our wrist for good luck. However, a monk is not allowed to touch women, so we went to his "helper" who placed it on us. We then walked around the rest of the temple, noticing all the amazing vibrate colors everywhere. Not just the temple and statues, but the flowers and drapery.

When we arrived back in the city we went to meet our "family." They were very welcoming and friendly, plus our room is HUGE with a great big bed that has western style pillows. The family that lives in this house is an uncle, a great uncle, three sisters, and two nephews (15 and 8 years old). The ladies are in charge of a noodle shop which is located on the first floor. We live on the second floor and the family lives on the third floor. Our first dinner was enormous, so Molly and I can only imagine what our meals are going to look like in the coming month....the weight might start piling on:)