Adventures in Epic Battles

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Janice Hillmer

I’ve just been watching a battle between the cat and the lizard. Usually, the lizard stays up near the ceiling, and the cat chills out on the floor, and all they do is eye each other. A few moments ago, the lizard descended, and poor sot chose to descend into the cat’s scratchin’n’relaxin’ corner. Some sniffing, scuffling and scurrying ensued, and resulted in the lizard climbing 1/2 way back up the wall, and the cat jumping up on the dresser to staunchly defend her assets.

I’ve also been waging my own battles with illiteracy in restaurants. I have no cooking facilities in my apartment, so breakfast is usually fresh fruit from a vendor on my way to school, and lunch is always at the same eatery whose proprietress is always bang-on with her suggestions. That leaves me to fend for myself for dinner. Since I have yet to meet a Thai dish I don’t like, it makes the random point-and-order method of choosing a meal relatively catastrophe free.

I have run into a few problems along the way though. A few nights ago, I tried to order from a restaurant I’ve had good success with so far. Unfortunately, I pointed to something on the menu that was just underneath what I’d previously ordered. The man must have thought I had mis-pointed, and brought me what I had ordered (and enjoyed) the last time. Although it tasted great, there really is only so much stir-fried kale and crackly pork rinds on rice a person can handle in a week.

My second mishap was this evening at a new restaurant. I thought I was just pointing to the menu and asking what things were…apparently the woman thought I was actually ordering more than one entree. I thought I was getting some sort of beef soup…which I did, along with a huge plate of curry fried rice, a chicken thigh, and some pickles. I ended up paying double what I expected to pay, but $1.80 for a dinner-for-two (even though it was just dinner for one), isn’t a bad deal at all. At least now I know that the chicken and rice there is really good, while the beef soup is just pretty good.

Oh, the cat now has her back turned, and the lizard has taken this opportunity to creep over to the doorway and make mocking faces. I do believe the little fella is actually sticking out his tongue at the ferocious feline.

Adventures in Night Bazaars

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Janice Hillmer

Before I talk about my day, I thought I’d include some pictures of my modes of transportation in Chiang Mai. If I’m not walking, I’m most often taking a Seong Taew (Red Cab), a tuk tuk, or catching a ride on the back of a friend’s motorbike (with a helmet, of course!)

Tonight, my friends and I took a Seong Taew to the Night Bazaar. We browsed through all the Thai touristy trinkets you can dream of, on a hot breezy night, surrounded by the sounds of chirping birds and geckos. In fact, I can hear a gecko now, but I’m not sure if s/he’s in my apartment or on the outside of my screen door. I don’t mind if s/he’s inside though, since they are lovely harmless little things that eat bugs. Hooray for lizards!

Ah, I wasn’t intending to type about lizards, I just got sidetracked. Back to the Bazaar: I was looking for some small table lamps to light up a dark corner of my apartment, and a skirt. (Students at the university here have to wear a uniform. Fortunately, grad students are exempt, but we are expected to wear skirts to class.) I found both…and spent a grand total of $12. I found a lot of other great things too, but I didn’t buy ’em. I’m learning to shop from a list!

I’m finding it a little strange living on my own. I know that sounds odd, since I haven’t had room mates for most of the last decade, but I’ve always had good friends close by. I spend a lot of time alone, but so far it hasn’t bothered me. In some ways, it’s good since it forces me to go out and do things in the community…and do my homework. I thought I would watch a lot of TV, especially before I got my computer, but the only English channels I get are Fox News and Aljazeera. So, I watch Fox for entertainment (it kind of gives me horror-movie chills), Aljazeera for news, and the French channel for documentaries (and a sitcom from Quebec that has French subtitles, so the rest of the francophone world can understand what they’re saying!)

Bon Soir!

Adventures on My First Night in Chiang Mai

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Janice Hillmer

For all those who have been wondering about my first night in Chiang Mai…here are the details!

Catticus did very well on the trains and flight – I was really impressed with her. She was pretty scared, but handled herself well.

It’s funny – my biggest stresses came from worrying about what problems I could face before getting to Chiang Mai (Cat freaking out, cat being too heavy to take onboard, cat not having the right vaccines) and spent the entire, turbulent, unpleasant flight telling myself, “by 1am, you’ll be tucked in bed and can start fresh tomorrow”. HA!!! I really don’t know if you want to know what I was doing at 1am!!

Our flight was late, Catticus had to clear customs, and then the customs officer and I had to run around the airport looking for change for 1000 bhat (the import fee was 100 bhat – about $3). By this time, it was 12:45, the airport officially closes at 11:30, and there was nobody from the guest house there to meet me. Since I was so much later than the other passengers, I guessed they had figured I wasn’t on the plane and left. I called and called the number for the guest house, and there was no answer, so there I was with the customs officer and 4 immigration officers trying to figure out what to do with me. We tried calling taxis, and even tried the possibility of sharing a ride with the woman from the information desk. In the end (close your eyes for this part Mom, and thank you for praying hard!) one of the immigration officers dropped me off at the guest house…on his motorbike. There I was, exactly when I told myself I’d be safely tucked into bed, with one arm around an immigraion officer, trying to keep my luggage tag from flapping in his face, the other arm clinging to the cat carrier, as he got me safely (with 2 stops at police boxes to ask for directions) to my guest house. … which, despite the e-mail confirmations, had forgotten I was coming. So, the security guard at the guest house stood outside the managers bedroom window calling softly and repeatedly until the manager woke up and let me into a room.

Today, I was thinking about the only people who go out in the mid-day sun: mad dogs, Englishmen…and people with no toilet paper. I went for a short walk around the neighbourhood looking for necessities, and since it’s Songkran, young people and children constantly approached me with buckets of water, said, “I’m sorry,” then poured the water all over me, smiled broadly, and wished me a Happy Songkran. It was actually very refreshing, and lots of fun. 🙂 However, after that, it was the heatesty heat of the afternoon, so I went back to my room, stuck a cold cloth on my head and slept for a few hours.

I’m meeting my faculty advisor’s wife tomorrow morning, and she’s going to show me around the university and the surrounding area.