Thank God for Massages!

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Another day in sunny Thailand and a beautiful one too! I woke up later than I was planning today, which gave me another rough start to today . . . I was so tired! We drove to downtown Chiang Mai and got to see the intricate walls of the old city as we entered our location for the day . . . an elderly center for Thai individuals over 60 year old and meet the qualifications. Some background, I worked at a retirement community all through high school and over the past few summers as a CNA. I love the elderly and find the fascinating, endearing, and a source of great wisdom, even when they are not cooperative. I love being around them, asking them questions, hearing about their lives, and making their day. Therefore, I was so excited today and tomorrow allow us to spend time with some of Chiang Mai’s elderly population. We arrived and received a presentation and video about the organization; I could see I wasn’t the only one who felt and look sleepy, everyone was very much struggling! I find that when the speaker requires an interpreter, I have a much harder time paying attention and it requires effort, which I was not able to give today. It wasn’t our most attentive day, let’s say that. I was impressed with their multimedia presentation and their main conference room, they were nice. We toured the facility and got to see their resources, yet also what they couldn’t provide. I would say they are doing very well, each residential person had a bed and was dressed and the facility did not smell. Yet they seem understaffed and many residents under engaged and away from the activity. The grounds are pretty large and I was trying to imagine working there and having to transport residents building to building, even when they need a bathroom or for meals. They did have a nice PT room and the staff there seemed attentive and kind. Some of their daily policies didn’t make sense, like the men’s ward peeing on the ground instead of giving urinals. I am not sure if we understood that correctly! I was amazed at the elderly residents there and how they greeted us. I tried to wai each one for respect and many of them responded with a wai, nod, smile, or a conversation, showing me that culture is still engrained in them to wai even in their older age. They come from an even more traditional Thailand then I am learning from and I wish we could have discussed this more with them. A few of them knew good English and we found out they were tour guides or commonly around foreigners. This seems to be a common trend in the Thai culture: if they are not school age or a doctor, their good English is probably from their occupation and interaction with Americans or other westerners. Even the group from Montana I felt we had to talk to, as they were white and spoke English. It is a commonality among many here who learn someone speaks English and can understand. The relief I get when someone, like a café owner, responds in English!
Off that tangent, we spend some time walking around and left before noon. We ate lunch today at a restaurant which only had a few options, much easier to order! It was delicious and I enjoyed the peanut spicy sauce for my meat. A coconut ice cream topped off my lunch and I was very satisfied. It helps to be open and ready for anything to eat, since we never know what the next meal will entail! It is a good thing to be an adventurous eater I realized. A group of us left for Thai massage, a much looked for opportunity and it showed. We signed in and put on their clothes and were each guided to our own massage bed. The woman who gave me my massage spoke very little English but we communicated well through gestures and “turn over” and “you like?” This was fine with me and I was very relaxed. I gained knowledge of muscles and, definitely, pressure points I never knew I had, ouch! I never had to say” “jip jip” but I wanted to many times, I was uncomfortable at times yet though I should endure the pain, as I needed it! She realized ways my body does not bend and we laugh about it. In the end, I couldn’t imagine sleeping with all the moving and painful digging into my muscle with every part of her body, but I did feel relaxed. This says a lot amidst the snoring of my massage neighbor two beds down! I enjoyed the hot compress at the end and loved the feeling on my back. Score, I have one of those now to use at home! I enjoyed the experience and looked forward to my next Thai massage!
Sleepily returning to the BCNC, a few of us rejuvenated with a snack from the café and coffee stand. I have to drink as much Thai iced tea as I can now before I go back and wish to drink it at the Union café! Emily, Brie, and I worked on our student presentation for next week. We choose the topic of obesity and have been working diligently on it. Our goal is to finish everything but the finish-touches before Koh Chang, the beach this weekend. Our time in Thailand is going superfast and I am trying to embrace every moment, regardless of it is going or how I feel, mostly tired J We worked until dinner and the MC students all played games tonight together, as there wasn’t much to do and we had hoped to go out. We played double tap, signs, and mafia in the 302 apartment and ended the night with journaling. I normally love journaling and writing out my thoughts and ideas yet this daily journaling here seems a little difficult sometimes, probably since it feels like a requirement and I am focused on more of the requirements. I was expecting it to be therapeutic and easy but it is therapeutic and difficult to get into most nights. I’ll be glad to have it in the future, to look back and remember thoughts and feelings!

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