Money Goes A Long Way

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January 5^th

Today was our first full day in Thailand, and boy was it FULL. The day began by meeting up with our Thai buddies after breakfast. My Thai buddies are named Thanchanok Boonjanta and Dajchanee Laomoo, but to my benefit they go by the English names Kate and Meow. They are the sweetest girls who are so loving and thoughtful. Gift-giving is a big thing in Thai culture, and Kate and Meow have been sure to remind me of that cultural tradition. They buy me little things everywhere we go and make sure to pay attention to things that I almost bought or said I liked.



After breakfast, we headed to a market full of people, shopping, and plenty of questionable smells. I bought a pair of elephant pants for 120 baht, which comes out to a whopping $4.00 in the United States. Moral of the story, a US dollar can go a long way in Thailand (and it can go even further with bargaining). We also got a true taste of what it is like to go to the bathroom is Thailand. At the market, a hole in the ground substituted as the toilet. However, we did have the option to pay 3 baht to pass through a gate and use a regular toilet. We decided to just hold it.

Dinner time! Because I was diagnosed with Celiac disease a little over two years ago, eating out can be difficult sometimes—especially in a different country. Fortunately, our hosts have been AMAZING at cooking all of our meals that we eat on campus gluten free! It has been so fun to try all the different traditional Thai dishes (consisting of lots of rice and chicken)! Eating off campus, though, has proven to be a little difficult. Most Thai dishes are prepared with soy sauce, so I stuck to eating plain sushi at a Japanese stand in the food court.

More shopping!! As if we hadn’t done enough yet, we went to “Walking Street” to do more shopping in the evening. (Let me tell you, there were A LOT of people walking that street). Along the street, venders were lining every inch, with people walking shoulder-to-shoulder in between. If you know me at all, good prices plus shopping is a dangerous combination… but hey, how many times do you get to be in Thailand!

Today, I realized to depend on my Thai buddies for almost everything. I would be walking in circles without them. They are my GPS, personal bargainer, and translator. I can’t even order a meal without their help. Kate and Meow are always sure to stay by my side and lead me in the right direction. One thing I noticed about them is that they are very physically affectionate. I’m not sure if this is common throughout all Thai people, but my buddies in particular give me hugs all the time and grab my arm/hand when then are guiding me.

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