Loy Krathong Festival

Happy Loy Krathong! This past weekend was an incongruous mix of serene candlelight and deafening fireworks. Yes, my friends, the night of the full moon was here, and candlelight and fireworks go together like peanut butter and jelly. Only in Thailand.

Loy Krathong ("Floating boats") has a variety of meanings, but it originally started as a Buddhist celebration and is now a part of Thai culture, kind of like Christmas in the US. During Loy Krathong, people make small boats out of bamboo, banana leaves, flowers, incense and candles, and float them on the river to give thanks to the river gods.

Here is me making my own krathong boat:



And here is a picture of my new friend, Pong, who saw that I was having trouble making my boat and was kind enough to help me. He was also kind enough to call my dilapadated boat "impressionistic."



A parade started at Thae Pae Gate in the Old City and made its way down to the Ping River, where all the major celebration was taking place. I (along with a few friends) marched in (well, next to) the parade carrying my krathong boat, all the while trying not to get a bottle rocket in the face. Let me now mention that fireworks were going off everywhere. I mean, EVERYWHERE. And these were not professional fireworks being set off in a controlled setting. These were fireworks being set off by junior high boys and drunk people.

Once we got to the river, we made our way through the masses of people to the steps leading down to the water. Here is Nawrarat Bridge:



And here is me trying not to fall into the river while launching my krathong:



Another part of the festival is setting off lanterns into the night sky. The lanterns are called "yee ping," and are released for good luck and to absolve one of one's sins. They work kind of like a hot air balloon; a piece of bamboo is lit at the bottom and the lantern fills up with hot air and eventually rises. At least, that is what is supposed to happen. I saw a good many lanterns refuse to cooperate and subsequently saw many trees catch on fire. Very exciting.



I felt lucky to be able to participate in Loy Krathong, especially because the last time I was in Thailand I missed it. And I still have all my fingers, which many firecracker enthusiasts now in the hospital, cannot say.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It doesn't feel much like Thanksgiving when it is 85 degrees out, but I went and had turkey and all the trimmings with some friends. We ate at a restaurant that had a special Thanksgiving buffet; I ate so much I felt like I could barely walk. It was delicious, but my only regret is that they didn't have homemade cranberry sauce like my mom makes. And I did miss watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But you can't have everything!

I gave each of my classes a little lecture about this classic American holiday, the Pilgrims, and the celebration of the harvest. They weren't very interested, but they did know all about pumpkin pie.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I'm reminded of how thankful I am for each of you, my family and friends.

Wednesday evening, approximately 9:04 PM

A recent phone conversation with my Thai tutor:

Megan: Hello?
Neng: Hello Megan, this is Neng.
Megan: Hi Neng, what's up?
Neng: I have a question. Is it "Johnsons is" or Johnsons are?"
Megan: ... I'm sorry?
Neng: Which is it? "Johnsons is" or "Johnsons are?"

At this moment, I realized that Neng was asking me a question about English grammar. This took me aback, as most of my phone conversations with Neng relate to my Thai lessons and when we are going to meet. Here is how the conversation ended:

Megan: Um... it would be "Johnsons are." The name is plural.
Neng: Ok. Bye!

I'm still wondering who the Johnsons are and what they are... doing.

A movie marathon.

For the past week, I've been enjoying the European Union Foreign Film Festival here in Chiang Mai. Last Saturday, my friend Andi and I saw three in a row. At about $2 USD apiece, movies in Thailand are a real bargain. They were all in their original language with subtitles in English, so most of the moviegoers were "farang" (foreigners).

So far, I've seen films from Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, France and the UK. Some have been hits and other were misses. My favorites were the films from the Netherlands ("Antonia's Line" - won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1996), Sweden ("The Queen of Sheba's Pearls - wonderful), and the UK ("The Last King of Scotland" - Academy Award for Best Actor in 2006).

I especially enjoyed seeing "The Last King of Scotland" again. It tells the story of Idi Amin, a former president of Uganda. It is horrifying, disturbing and frightening, but I think the movie, especially the ending, says something beautiful and true about undeserved grace. Looking at it from a Christian perspective, I was very moved. Watch it and you'll see what I mean!

So I have sufficiently "cultured" myself this week. Horray.

Hello friends...

It has been quite a while! The lag between posts is not because I don't want to write, but because there hasn't been a whole lot of news besides the usual routine of teaching class, grading papers and working on graduate school applications (which is occupying a lot of my free time and energy).

I can't deny that it is nice to feel like I know what I'm doing. I have memories of me wandering around the campus in a bewildered daze during my first two weeks. Now I know faces, textbooks, and proper etiquette (I hope!). My students generally show up and show up on time, which is delightful. I'm used to standing in front of a classroom and have gotten the hang of grading.

Random people I meet often ask me what my experience has been like. I hardly know to to answer: usually I say, "Challenging yet rewarding." I'm the type of person that processes a lot after the fact. When I go home to California in early March, I expect that a lot of time will be spent thinking about what the heck happened this year.

But in the meantime, I am enjoying feeling like I fit at CMU and like I fit in Chiang Mai. I've been here for almost six months now, and this city does feel like home. I still miss my family and my friends and fall weather, but I feel content as I prepare and look forward to the next chapter in my life.

Doi Suthep

This is me being blessed by a monk...



... people making offerings to Buddha to gain merit...



... the famous golden chedi...



... and me negotiating for our cab fare.



Note: credit goes to Katie S. Welsh for these marvelous pictures.