A Few Things I Love About/Marvel At in Thailand:

(to start)

- The cows here are the best definition of ‘bag of bones” I have ever seen. We can’t figure out exactly what they use them for, except to eat the grass along the road and moo loudly at night time.

-That little lizards run around your house and, after awhile, you don’t notice them anymore as they dart up and down the walls.

- Khao Soi- a delicious Northern Thai dish you can purchase for 20 baht- which is 60 cents.

Khao-soi

- Learning a  new language. I have the level of a preschooler but I love listening to Thais talk and go “Oh! I understood three words!”

- How remarkably kind Thais are as you attempt to speak to them in Thai.

- Thai massages. Two hour Thai massages for $6. These are the loves of my life.

- Open showers- where the shower is separated from the bathroom by a small wall about as tall as you.

- Being greeted with the question “Where are you going?” instead of “what do you do?”

-Prickly Heat powder. It has menthol- I tend to put it on the back of my neck to keep me cool.

- If you go out to eat and would like an alcoholic drink they can only sell you a bottle.

-These people.

-The unbelievable amount of different smells here. Smells that can stop you in your tracks. Fish Sauce, Oyster Sauce, curries, heat, exhaust, chicken…

-How people successfully use an Eastern bathroom.

-It doesn’t matter if you order an appetizer at dinner. It comes when it comes.

-Riding a motorbike. And seeing people ride three astride a motorbike. And the fact there isn’t a right of way here.

-Riding a motorbike through the Thai countryside under a full moon.

-That I walk around sans make up, really impressive humidity inspired hair and in Thai pants and they tell me I am beautiful.

- My Thai Name: Dara

-Hanging out on the porch just enjoying friends company while listening to the sounds of lizards, birds, bugs.

-That I get to do this with my life.