Food Class

We went to this organic farm where we took a cooking class. It was really good for me because I could I see how to make traditional Lanna dishes. We started at the market, I've already loaded the pictures of the market. The teacher we had was quite...well...as Ryan put it "What did she smoke before this?" She would say "Harder, HARDer, HARDER, FASTER FASTER FASTER" telling us how to crush our curry in the pastel, we were having a little trouble since we were laughing so hard. When we were putting sauces together she would pass around the ingredients and yell "2 small!" in this really high pitched voice. When we made the third course (out of 5) she yelled "massage your big noodle" we were all fine until our teacher started laughing! Erica posed while grabbing and releasing her noodles. At dessert, Trevor made bananas with milk and she looked at him "SHAKE YOUR BANANA!" Afterwards in the sung taaw we questioned whether she knew she was spitting sexual innuendos at us? We decided yes. It was a great experience and the food was really. Food babies were conceived all around and we left happy students. Here are some shots from the kitchen, which was all outside by the way. I am not going to post them all, I feel like that's food porn and that's unfair, so enjoy the ones I do. Let me know if there are any questions!

Minds Open, Hearts Close, Bellies Full...
-The Foodie and Nature Enthusiast!

Organic Farm Pictures

So we had our cooking class here...I like food. I got to eat everything you see. So I took pictures of it. The end.

The First Big Market I've Been Too!!!

I was just jaw-dropping surprised at this market. The prices are really cheap. Remember that 32 baht = $1 (U.S.) the oat means that I can get a really big bundle of garlic for about $1.15. HOLY CRAP! Anyways just look at all these glorious pictures. It's a foodies heaven. The meat market was great, saw some bull penis, and meat chopped right in front of me. They kill the fish right in front of you or you can buy them alive and throw them on ice. Either way it's cheap and easy. Seriously if you are a foodie look at these if not...move on...
Minds open, hearts close, bellies full.
-The Foodie and Nature Enthusiast

P.S. yes that's pigskin, and pig head, and intestines, and bugs..sorry squeamish people (nope I am not)

Dhamma Center, Novices, and Tears

THIS IS LONG! 

Today I returned from the Dharma center at the top of a beautiful mountain. When we arrived we were given lunch right away, fresh organic vegetables and rice filled our bellies. The air was non-toxic. The cars did not exist and the homes were made of mud. It was so peaceful.

We settled in for about an hour then hopped back in the van for temple running and border talk. The first thing we did was go to Burma/Thailand border. I stood at the top of the ditch and listened to Laurie (Bob’s good friend and our guide) while staring down at the green, bamboo filled ditch. The whole time wondering how many dead bodies, blown to pieces rested below me? How many animals stumbled into this ditch and hit the landmines? My eyes wondered up where 5 soldiers stood at a hut guarding the border. Right over this ditch was one of the worst countries in the world. A war that has been going on for 60 years stared at me in the face taunting me. The soldiers stared at us through their binoculars and waved, smiling. At first I was just angry. I wanted to run over there yelling “Murders! Rapists!”. But I didn’t I just stood there. How many times have I just stood there? How many times did I let things happen when I could have done something? Could I have done something? The soldiers continued to wave and at last I waved back and smiled. WHY? Why did I do that? Were these guys any less human than I was, or my brother? My brother, a marine, fighting for his family, killing, following orders. Isn’t that what these guys were doing? Alas I turned my back and walked to the tables where the Shan runaways (Shan people live in Burma) were giving away food at the temple to celebrate the King of Thailand. These people lived at this ditch and stared into their homeland knowing they may never go back. My heart broke.

We left and visited another temple where I gave my respects to Buddha. Laurie explained the murals around the temple walls and had the artist there to ask questions. This guy is amazing. He has never studied art. He originally was a monk but he was disrobed by the abbot so he could paint the temples. Now he paints the story of the Buddha for everyone to see. He shares his knowledge. He does not just stand there staring into a ditch, he does something. (for pictures please look at Buddha: A Story soon to be uploaded).

When we returned we were again fed a wonderful dinner. The puppies and cats begged us for attention as we devoured our meals. Then we waited patiently for the monk chant to start. The novices (young Shan runaways for the most part who had fled to the center and were allowed to stay, but they had to be ordained into novicehood) gathered around and began chanting. I sat in the subduing position and bowed my head listening to their words, which I could not understand. The night grew colder but my mind became clearer. After the chant we saw a presentation of the lives of these teenagers (14-18). They’ve done more in the past few years than I have in my 20. They've won an humanitarian award for their work in AIDS  awareness. They won 1st place out of 800 and went to Austria to receive their award. They've built homes and today we helped them build a bridge walkway! They asked us questions, we asked them. The knowledge floated around us, friendship, content, love, harmony.

I woke up at 4:30 AM and chanted with them again. I was the only one there besides the novices and I smiled and thanked the universe for blessing me with everything it had. I thanked nature for nourishing me. The stars were beautiful, the air was still and crisp. I meditated alone after that and learned how to walking meditate from the abbot. After lunch I again went down to meditate but instead I found a Trevor sitting by the pond. I joined him and we talked about how we felt being here. 

I’ve never felt so calm, collected, and troubled in my life. This place, this country, the people here, they are changing me. No, not changing, they are bringing the part of me out that has been wanting to bloom since the first time I was touched inappropriately as a young girl. It is bringing out the part of me that can be happy. The part that is okay not being perfect, having a perfect planned out life. For a long time now I have been thinking about leaving Coe. Being here, helps me clear my head and really think about who I am and what I can be. I’m not sure what I’ll do yet. But I’ve finally fully realized that’s okay.

I’m really sorry this is so long but I needed to get this out. I needed to share my experiences with all of you. My feelings. My thoughts. My hopes, dreams, and realizations. Thank you for reading and may your days be blessed, filled with happiness, and relieved of suffering.

Always and forever yours,

-The Foodie and Nature Enthusiast

DRAGON

Ladies and gentlemen I give you the…..DRAGONFRUIT!!! I told you guys about eating some in Bangkok at the guesthouse and being totally mesmerized by it. Here, in Chiang Mai, I found some for 45 baht! Check that out! I couldn’t pass that up! It has the consistency of a kiwi therefore it was extremely easy to cut open. You can peel it like a kiwi too. All I had to do was pull back the peel and off came the fruit. We used Peter’s plate to put the fruit on and we caught some hot sauce in the process…that was an interesting taste to say the least. It’s a beautiful color. If you’ve only had dragonfruit already prepared I suggest spending the extra money to get it whole. It’s a thrilling experience.

The other fruit here is called Jackfruit. I haven’t tried it yet but it was growing at the Phra That temple. I just thought it was so interesting because it grows right on the trunk. I had never seen a fruit do that before. As always let me know if you have any questions.

Minds open, hearts close, bellies full.

-The Foodie and Nature Enthusiast

Orchids from at the Jade Factory

 
                                 
                        

On a mountain, with Chinese and Merit

Today we went up to the top of the mountain, Doi Suthep, to visit a very beautiful temple, Phra That. The ride up was not that bad, thank goodness for Dramamine. It was great to feel the air suddenly shift from a warm breeze to a cold wind.

The temple itself was completely plated in gold. The outside had murals depicting the life of the Buddha. It was a very old temple and the gold was quite shiny but the view from the mountain of Chiang Mai was probably the best part of the entire trip. At one point Bob looked at me and said "Are you feeling alright? You look rather serious." I said "I'm fine. It's just this trip is very spiritual to me since I studied Buddhism for a while. I'm just frustrated because of all the tourists and noise. It's very hard to concentrate with all the noise." He looked at me rather sincere and said "I understand. It doesn't help that it's the Saturday of Chinese New Year. Maybe you should find a temple near by where you can go and just sit. It'd be more quiet." I think it's a rather good idea. In Buddhism you can be Christian and still pay respects to Buddha. I liked Buddhism when I practiced it but I was afraid of my family's thoughts of me if I continued. I think I'll pick it up again. I would have enjoyed the trip more if I was able to sit and meditate with barely anybody around. It's okay though I got some good shots and I got to make merit. I walked around the temple 3 times holding a lotus and a candle and then I offered them to the Buddha and felt the positive energy just swell inside of me. After we were done with the temple we went to the Orchid and Jade Factory on the mountain. Make sure to check out the pictures of the orchids! Minds open, hearts close, bellies full.

-The Foodie and Nature Enthusiast