Five Months in Chiang Mai: Unpredictability

Hello, it’s been a while!

The month of September was a grind in Chiang Mai. I found myself working super duper hard every single day. I picked up some tutoring hours after school, and I also got the amazing opportunity to be a freelance writer for a language-learning start-up based in Chiang Mai. I am so grateful for the opporutnity, but it means that I am constantly working, even on the weekends! I’m trying to manage my time better.

I felt like the queen of multi-tasking. My mind was in a constant swirl of deadlines, meetings, and assignments. To be honest, I feel a bit burnt out.

Fortunately for me, our midterm holiday begins this week and I bascially have the whole month of October off. My mom is visiting from the States, and I’m taking her on a tour of Thailand. Excited is an understatement. I am LIVING for this break. I really really need to rest, both physically and mentally. And I am so excited to see my mom – it feels like forever. I cannot fathom that she will physically be here so soon!

Thai Cultural Tidbits This Month:

Sports Day

We had Sports Day at my school and it was an EVENT. The Thai teachers got to the stadium at 2 am (yes you read that correctly) to get the students in costume and set up the parade. There were 4 teams (orange, purple, blue green) and the competition was fierce. The whole thing was a spectacle. Bigger than the Olympics!

There was a 30 minute parade with cultural dance performance, fireworks, passing of the torch, and mass singing. The students were dressed in traditional Thai Lanna, princess ballgowns, and intricately desinged dance costumes. It was extrememly entertaining and was a beautiful showcase of the Thai culture. I cheered on my students as they proudly sang and danced for their color team. The energy was infectious.

My friends and I participated in the English Teacher Tug of War and relay race around the ginormous track. Hundreds of students were screaming my name and cheering. I felt like a celebrity. That was a day to remember – the Thai people REALLY know how to put on an event.

Rainy Season

Oh my god. The rainy season is never ending. It has rained basically every single day for the past 2 months. My Thai friends have told me that this is the worst rainy season in 10 years! The storms are on another level. The sky opens up and wreeks havoc for an hour or two, then becomes sunny again like nothing even happened. And repeat. The cycle continues all day.

There were recently really bad floods in the southern part of Chiang Mai. Water up to your waist in the streets. Thankfully, I wasn’t affected too bad where I live, but some of my friends were. So scary!

Solo Trip to Chiang Rai

I very spontaneously decided to do a little solo trip to a neighboring provence called Chiang Rai, near the Laos border in northern Thailand. It was around 4 hours by bus, and I stayed one night in a hostel. The first 5 minutes I was at the hostel I met this cool Dutch girl named Leonie who became my travel buddy for the weekend.

We rented motorbikes and drove to this gorgeous tea farm in the middle of the mountains. We also saw the famous Blue & White Temples in Chiang Rai (absolutely out-of-this-world stunning … probably my favorite temples in Thailand). It was a lovely weekend and sparked my love of travel again. It’s only been 6 weeks since I last traveled but I really missed it lol! I’m definietly a travel junkie.

Unpredictability

My friend Robin and I were speaking about how there are so many highs and lows of living abroad. It is such a constant cycle, and since she’s lived in Thailand for 1.5 years, she’s learned how to manage them better and not have them affect her as drastically. I am still learning how to manage the highs and lows. Again, I was really sick for a week and a half in early September (bad cold that I couldn’t shake) and I felt so alone and helpless. But then the weekend after I was having the time of my life. It is so unpredictable how life goes. Especially living abroad.

I am meeting the most interesting people every week. It is so cool how many creatives come to Chiang Mai. It is a hub for artists and nomads. I also fall in love with Chiang Mai more and more every day. It is the perfect city for me.

I’m going to keep this month’s update short and sweet because I’m sure the one next month will be long. If you’re reading this, I appreciate you and miss you. Happy fall to everyone in the states – it’s my favorite season and I miss the changing of the leaves with all my might. See you next month when the rain clears and I’m fully relaxed after an incredible holiday with my mom.

xx Gracie