Thai Cooking, the Umbrella Factory, Hot Springs, and Shopping!

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A day to sleep in a little, which prepared for a marathon of a day! We started the day with a delicious breakfast and were off to a Thai cooking class with an older woman. What I thought was a casual time with a great Thai cook turned into a legit thing! We went with her to the market and this was nothing like the food sellers we had seen in the Walking Street or like area. Dozens upon dozens of vendors were set up with delicious, vibrant, fresh ingredients in all varieties. She took us to her favorites and showed us what to pick out for the dishes we were to prepare. This experience reminded me of a farmers market, yet tenfold in size. We were whisked back to her house where we were surprised to see cook stations for about 20 people with a large prep and eating areas. The area was a beautiful garden with flowers and plants galore. We made four dishes: green curry, pad thai, papaya salad, and mango sticky rice with coconut cream and each person prepared them to their liking. I was in food heaven, as I am not much of a cook but am eager to learn and prepare dishes I enjoy eating here in Thailand or at Pahka’s at home. This woman was easy to understand and follow and our dishes turned out amazing, though I added too much spice for what I could handle today and was consequently burning on the tongue. I was thrilled to receive a cook book and want to try new recipes at home.

Next on our schedule was the umbrella factory and this time exceeded my expectations and I was in awe of the beautiful paintings and elegance. We walked through the steps and saw umbrellas being made at each step in the process. This seemed like a new experience for most of the buddies as well! Yet my heart was in love when we reach the hand painted section and I wished I had brought most items for the vendors to paint! I selected my elephant bag as the canvas and I chose a beautiful flower cascade the vendor painted gorgeously. I asked her to add my Thai name to the design, Pi Goon. The Thai characters are so intricate and I think that may be my favorite souvenir of the trip, it is so personal. I added a white paper lantern to the souvenir list and I was in heaven! We took funny pictures with our buddies at different figures with the cutout heads you can stick you head in. My buddy made me laugh, he was hilarious. He bought an iPhone case for the vendors to paint, and he choose a flower design with two butterflies added in pink, purple, and blue colors. When he showed me, I was surprised at his choice as I haven’t really seen too much of a feminine side in him. We talked before back at Messiah about how many of the male nursing students can be feminine and gay relationships are not as frowned upon here. My internal reaction to his choice showed me more about a bias I have and unpreparedness to interact. I doubt he noticed my surprise but I definitely was. This encounter gave me a lot to think about in self-reflection after. After, we were surprised with another adventure we didn’t know about, a visit to the hot spring. Mary and I discussed later how our buddies don’t seem to have a similar idea to the distance between locations, as many of them said the hot springs was close yet the ride was at least 30 minutes, no traffic. Here we purchased eggs, to my great surprise, and we entered the very crowded park to find a spot. Today was Children’s day in Thailand and children’s admission to the hot spring was free; therefore it was packed. Upon arriving, the air smelled like eggs or sulfur gas, now I am not sure which the culprit was. We placed our little frond baskets of eggs into the hot springs and waited for 10-15 minutes for our eggs to boil based on the sign that described the “doneness” of the eggs. We boiled them and took many pictures, and finally found a spot to sit and eat with our feet in the springs, at a spot downstream from the egg boiling water. The area was crowded and everyone had their feet in, but, it was unbearable there! The temperature said 50-55 degrees Celsius and all these Thai people had their feet fully submerged! This was a surprise and we quickly moved to a spot wear the water could be tolerated by us weaklings  I sat there with the buddies and realized we had been in Thailand for a week and have gotten to know them so well and have been instantly comfortable with the buddies.

To top off our busy day, we went to a new Walking Street in a different location, which was much more casual and not as crowded. We walked and got dinner there while we shopped. My buddy Meji and I hung out just the two of us and he would disappear occasionally, giving me a heart attack, and coming back within a minute or so with a new food or drink for me to try. Most things he brought were delicious, but spicy. I thought I could tolerate spicy food until coming here! I bought souvenirs for my parents and we had a great time looking around. After everyone got back to the bus, we made a stop at a McDonalds for anyone who still needed dinner. I just got French fries but I couldn’t believe how much we missed American fast food, many students got burgers, soda, and chicken sandwiches and ate in relish. I arrived back here at BCNC, exhausted and in need of immediate sleep. I couldn’t believe we had been out since breakfast! They are keeping us very busy.

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