Thighland: Thai Food 101

There is one thing after being in Thailand Thighland for 16 months that is still a huge mystery to me.. how the heck are Thai people so freakin thin?! Literally, stick thin.  When I first came to Asia, I obnoxiously thought I would magically obtain a slim slender Thai figure.  Maybe the miracle slenderizing substance in the air or in the white rice!  Its true that when I came from America and stepped off the plane into this new Asia world, I was an extremely picky eater and was so overwhelmed with all these new unfamiliar foods that I only ate plain white rice and pineapple my first few weeks, which may have given me the slimming affect I thought would be easy to obtain here.  The truth is, I had never had Thai food before I moved to Thailand.. The most Asian food I'd had before Thailand was Panda Express and PF Changs.  To be even more embarrassingly honest, I wouldn't have been able to tell you where Thailand was on a map until the flight navigation screen on my flight over flashed a map of the world and I zeroed in on the dotted line to where our flight was going to be landing.  Pathetic, I know.  After my first few months here, slowly I discovered that I loved fried rice and pad thai and ate ONLY rice and noodles for every single meal every day for the following few months.  It quickly became apparent that this new "diet" was becoming quite a problem.  Luckily I was able to able to nip this issue in the bud with the help of a strict gym schedule, running with the goal of the half marathon, and limiting my 30 cent Dairy Queen ice cream cones as well as limiting rice and noodle intake to only once or twice a week.  I now look exactly the same, if not better, than I did when I left America, PHEW!  Its sometimes a challenge though, imagine living in Asia, the rice continent of the world and surrounded by rice fields, and trying to eat your way around eating rice!  16 months later, I still love fried rice and pad thai but I've discovered SO. MUCH. MORE. Thai food that I absolutely LOVE! I'm going to miss Thai food SO much, nothing will ever beat the cheap price (1 dollar for dinner every night!),  the amazing taste and flavors (the cheaper the better and straight off the street cart is the ultimate best), and the uncertainty of if the lady understood my awful Thai correctly and the anticipation if she'll hand me the dinner I thought I ordered.. okay, I wont miss that last one, but I'll miss REAL THAI FOOD!  I'm eating ALOT more Thai as I'm at my 48 day countdown, trying to OD on it now so I won't crave it for a few months after I leave, I've heard Thai in America is nothing like Thai food on the streets of Thailand.  Anyways, I expect to eat every single food item on the Mexican menu starting the day I arrive in California so that'll keep me occupied for a while.. But I sure have come a long way from white rice, pineapple, and fried rice with ketchup.   

Thailand and traveling Asia has introduced me to: every type of Thai food, curry, noodles that arn't chow mein fast cheap Americanized Chinese, sushi, plain white rice (I grew up eating white rice with butter and salt.. such an American thing to do), new fruits including oranges, tofu, fish not in a fish taco, soy milk, duck, Indian food, jellies and custard desserts, coconut milk/water, crab meat, spice and chili that's spicier than mild salsa, green tea (any type of tea actually), bugs (okay, the bugs are a half joke).. thats right, these were all new food experiences within the last 16 months!  Deprived as a child? Nope, I was darn picky. I honestly have no idea what I used to eat on a regular basis back home, probably bagels, cheese, and honey nut cheerios.  I'm still picky about certain things like meat and the temperature of milk (it has to be ICE cold), but I sure have come a long way!  I've only scratched the surface when it comes to Thai food and I still have so much more to learn!

This is Thailand Thighland!

Khao Chi: these are my ultimate favorite quick breakfast for days I need to get up early.. 2 for 10 baht.  They are basically cakes of sticky rice in patty shapes dipped in a beaten egg and grilled over a charcoal fire giving it a crunchy crust.  Haven't tried it but I bet it would go great with ketchup.

Khao Niaow Sang Khaya (Sticky Rice and Thai Custard): Sticky rice, egg custard, coconut milk.. AMAZING! I think its traditionally a dessert but if I'm walking to school and see the guy who sells them on his mobile cart, I nab one for breakfast! Its neatly packaged in a banana leaf and comes in white or purple wild sticky rice.

Khao Phat: Fried rice is one of the most common dishes in Thailand. Usually with chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, crab or coconut or pineapple, or vegetarian. Fried rice used to be one of two of my main dishes and I'd only eat it with ketchup.. then I ate it so much that I overdosed and havent had it since, its been months and my fried rice ladies give me an evil eye when I walk by their stall to the curry one instead!

Khao Soi: This is a Burmese influenced dish and is widely served in northern Thailand.  The dish combines the richness and spiciness of a coconut milk curry with hearty yellow and crispy fried noodles and a diversity of tart, crunchy and spicy condiments. I've only had this dish once in Chiang Mai but it was DELICIOUS! I'm tempted to go back just for the Khao Soi... and for the shopping.

 Som Tam (Papaya Salad): I LOVE som tam! This tasty dish combines the four main tastes of Thai cuisine: sour lime, hot chili, salty fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar mixed with green beans, tomatoes, and unripe shredded papaya. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a motar, the Thai name som tam means 'sour pounded'. Som tam is of Laos origin so there are two types of the salad, som tam Thai (which I order), or som tam Laos/Isaan which contains raw crabs that are found in the rice fields. Rumor is farang bellies can not handle the raw crab so I can't be talked into trying that one.  I special order my som tam and stress "NO SPICY KA" and often there is just enough spice left over in the motor from the Thai person who ordered ahead of me for it to the perfect amount of spice. No dried prawns and extra peanuts of course, and it goes amazingly with sticky rice. I'm going to miss this dish the most, I've heard unripe papaya is impossible to find in America!

Pad Thai: Pad thai is very popular with farangs and travelers (I hardly ever see Thai people eating it) and was listed at number 5 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.  The dish is rice noodles pan fried with fish sauce, sugar, lime juice or tamarind pulp, chopped peanuts, and egg combined with chicken, seafood, or tofu. Again, I overdosed on pad thai nearly a year ago and literally made myself sick and can only eat half a plate about once a month now. I put extra sugar, peanuts, a little chili, and a ton of sprouts.. nummy num! My pad thai lady giggles when I show up once a month and she always makes it just how I like it, no meat or seafood, no dried up baby shrimp, and just enough tofu and eggs.

Meat on a stick: Cheap, easy, quick mystery meats on a stick. I never got too into this one but a few months ago I had a strange obsession with fish balls on a stick. They tasted like a fishy tofu and I LOVED them! That was until an overnight bus I took stopped at 2am at a sketch market area where I was in such a daze and made the decision to get fish balls as my snack.  Really, I should have gone with the oreos. As I think back now I should have assessed the situation and seen that they weren't even on ice and could have been sitting out for DAYS but my hungry tired self wasn't thinking straight. Needless to say, I was sick for days and probably lost a pound or two as I was unable to keep food in my stomach the rest of the week. I will never touch fish balls EVER AGAIN!

Massaman Curry: My very favorite curry! I've picked up a few packages of massaman curry paste in BKK and have already sent them home in a box to my family. Unfortunately, massaman is impossible to find in Khon Kaen unless my Thai teacher has her aunt make it just for me after a trip to Bangkok as its a southern Thai dish that is Muslim in origin. It usually contains coconut milk, roasted peanuts or cashews, potatoes, bay leaves, caradomom pods, cinnamon, star anise, palm sugar, fish sauce, chili and tamarind sauce. When I'm on the islands, Massaman is my main dinner item. CnnGo ranked massaman as number one in World's 50 most deilcious foods in 2011! Boy, they got that one right!

Red and Green Curry:  Both of these curries taste pretty similar to me but green curry uses green chili peppers and red curry is made with red chili peppers.  Both are served in a soup bowl and with steamed rice.


Yellow Curry: After massaman, yellow curry is my favorite.  Its more similar to Indian curry at times as turmeric is added. My favorite is when its in stir fry form rather than soup and yes, I again have someone who makes it EXACTLY how I like it without me needing to say a word.. Yellow Curry Vegetable! 

Roti: Roti's are much more popular amongst tourists and seem to line the backpacker trail.  I'd come across one stand in Khon Kaen but they are more popular down south where there is more of a Muslim community.  Its always intriguing to watch a roti being made as the pastry is rolled, spread and gently fried before adding the filling and this vender on Ko Tao even dances and sings while he's cooking up your treat.  The pancake is then topped with condensed milk and sugar.  Roti flavor choices vary from egg, mango, chicken and vegetable, to my favorite nutella with banana and coconut!

Khao Niaow Mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice): Lucky for me, its just the start of mango season again! I went all through rainy and cold season without getting mango sticky rice because I knew the mangos wouldn't be good and I'm SO glad they are back in season right before I go!  I've been putting mango in my yogurt, oatmeal, and of course getting Khao Niaow Mamuang at the night market every week or so.  Its simply sweet coconut milk sticky rice with a fresh juicy mango on top. I can't stress how amazing it is! Heaven. in. my. mouth.

Thai Fruit: I eat SO much fruit, its crazy! Its so cheap and easy to get with fruit stands and fruit carts everywhere I go.  Apples, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, papaya, guava, lychees, mangosteens, rambutans, Chinese oranges.. I LOVE them all!

And there are always cheap bug snacks! I've given them a try once or twice.. okay, three times.


Who ever thought that this girl would go from mac and cheese to fried rice and pad thai to curries and sushi to eating SCORPIONS!!!

**Okay, I don't normally eat scorpions.. only after a few birthday changs and samsongs on Khao San and being talked into it by CA friends and cheers-ing to Thailand**

Love You Long Time

One thing about Valentines Day in Thailand... Thai people LOVE it.  The week before February 14th, 7/11 stocks its shelves with an assortment of candy, cards, plastic flowers, and heart stickers featuring phrases like "stuck for you" and other sayings that can be categorized into the awkward translation category.  Central changed the lights on the outside of its enormous mall to feature pink and red and shack shops decorated with hearts and balloons in honor of the day of love.


How did Teacher Chelsea celebrate Valentines Day?!

• Played Barney's "I Love You" song..  on repeat.. until all my kids agreed to sing along
• Handed out hundreds of stickers and instructed my kids to run around campus in search of parents, teachers, faculty, and other students to give the stickers to and enthusiastically say "Happy Valentine's Day! I love you!"
• Had a party in class featuring dried prawn crackers and seaweed snacks as well as Thai pop love songs to dance to
• Instructed my after school special class to make Valentines Day cards featuring either an elephant or a giraffe.. up to students
• Canceled out all my hard work at the gym that evening by having a ice cream banana dessert for dinner.. nothing says Valentines Day like dessert, especially an ice cream sundae!
• Embarrassed to admit it but Emily and I spent the evening after the gym and dessert for dinner watching "The Bachelor".  Yelling and getting frustrated with bachelor Ben and how lame he is (I'm sorry but he's just plain boring!) seemed to make me feel better about my v-day evening
• Best part of the day: I had 26 amazing little valentines that showered me with plastic flowers, cheap chocolate, homemade paper cards, hugs, kisses,  "I love you TEECHA"s, and "Teecha Chelsea beeaautiful!". What can I say, I'm either easy to please or they sure know how to win over their farang Teacher Chelsea's heart! Take notes, guys!   

Earlier this week, one of my student's moms spotted me standing on the side of the road waiting for the songtell to catch a ride home.  She pulled over and instructed me to hop in and said she'd give me a ride. Mom's English is pretty good and it was obvious she wanted to practice, as well as figure out my life and play the "20 questions with Teacher Chelsea" game.

"Excuse me, Teacher. Where you go?"

"I go to the Pullman, go to exercise."

*Mom leans over to translate to the nanny. They both think its hilarious that I exercise.**

"Teacher, are you married?"
**I have been asked this question numerous times by parents and I nearly choke and die every time I'm asked and have to take a few seconds to pull myself together**

"No no, Teacher Chelsea not married."

"Excuse me, Teacher. How old are you?"
"I am 24."

"OH! Teacher, I have one baby at 24!"

**Mom is a mother of three now, a 11, 6, and 2 year old. But she's flattered by the fact she looks much younger and could possibly still look my age**

"Excuse me, Teacher Chelsea. You have boyfriend?"

"No, no boyfriend"

"But teacher, you are so beautiful!"

**It seems that Thai people think only ugly girls are single***

  

I often find myself in awkward conversations with Thai people where I'm not sure what to say so I either just smile or laugh and just let them ask all the questions

"Teacher Chelsea, you like Thai boy?"

"Ummmm, **awkward silence** Teacher Chelsea like farang boys."

"Hahahaha." *says to nanny in Thai that Teacher Chelsea not like Thai boys and finds it hilarious*

"Teacher Chelsea stay one more year in Khon Kaen?"

"No, Teacher Chelsea leave Khon Kaen in March."

"Teacher Chelsea go home to America?"
"Teacher Chelsea move to Australia!"

"WOOOOOW! Teacher Chelsea go find farang boyfriend in Australia!"

Thank you Thai Mama for the advice.

Heart rice and red curry getting us ready for vday

Card for T. Chelsea

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Song See.. Happy Birthday to MEEEE!

Song see.. 24. I am now officially 24 years old. It sounds so old to me now, and to think I came to Thailand fresh out of college at 22 and I'll be leaving at 24. Okay okay, now is not the time to get all sentimental and reflective.

I woke up on February 2nd just like I did any other Thursday morning, but this special morning I had a whole ton of Facebook notifications! I can always tell which one of my friends remember my birthday  before they receive the facebook notification as well as who can remember that Thailand is 15 hours ahead of the US.  After skyping with two of my best friends, opening a birthday package from my roomie (Thanks Alicia!), and opening a gift from Emily (Lonely Planet Australia!  Now that I have my bible, I'm for my next adventure! Thank you, Emily!), off to school I went!

My kids often surprise me and blow me away with how smart they are and sometimes I can't believe that they are actually learning and remembering what I teach them! A few of my kiddos had remembered that it was my birthday after I had mentioned it only once earlier in the week. I was greeted in the morning with screams and squeals of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEECHA CHELSEA!!!" Little Lydia presented me with a brownie and Aiko handed me a bag with a handmade birthday note from her 6 year old self and a toy kaleidoscope from Japan. Lucky for me Thursdays are my super easy days teaching-wise and this Thursday I only had to teach one hour and our theme for these two weeks is "Broadcasting and Communication" so today I was teaching about internet. While I was teaching the theme vocabulary "computer", "radio", "writing", "letter", T. Nim urgently interrupted and said that T. Nooch, the head Kindergarten teacher, needed to speak to me and she didn't know what about.  It seemed urgent and T. Nim told me to leave mid teaching and go immediately.  I went to T. Nooch's class and asked her what she needed and I realized what was up.. I went back to my classroom with all the lights off and spotted a candle on top of a cakeroll from 7/11 just as my kids started yell-singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEECHA CHEEELSEAAA!" They were so excited and they sure surprised me!  After singing happy birthday, the kids took turns giving Teacher Chelsea good wishes (in English!) for this new year of age. "I wish Teacher Chelsea not sick!" "I wish Teacher Chelsea very happy!" "I wish teacher Chelsea love students and love KG 3!" "I wish Teacher Chelsea lots of money!" Yes, yes, yes! Excellent English! After surprising Teacher Chelsea, I went back to teaching internet which basically means I did a ton of google and youtube searches of whatever the kids wanted to look up which was mostly cartoons and planets.  We also had the opportunity for Teacher Chelsea to show KG3 how teacher talks to my family in America. We played with skype and had a video chat with my bestfriend Lauren as well as my mama! My kids LOVED chatting with my mom, they basically went bonkers and were SO excited to meet the famous Milo Boo!  I've shown so many pictures of Milo.. Milo at Christmas in his jacket, Milo in his Charger jersey, Milo in the swimming pool, at the beach. My kids LOVE Milo and its only a coincidence that Milo is a chocolate brand here.  "Good morning Teacher Chelsea Mommy! MILO!!! Today Teacher Chelsea birthday!"  Skype was all they talked about the rest of the day, they absolutely LOVED meeting my family in America!  At snack time, the kids expected birthday cake as normally birthday means birthday cake, but Teacher Chelsea is on a budget so I brought in popcorn instead. They LOVE when I pop popcorn so they were so happy that it was Teacher Chelsea's birthday. My kiddos made my birthday extra special and they sure put a smile on my face!


And the celebrations were NOT over! Early the next morning, Emily and I went down to Bangkok for the weekend. I had plans to meet up with not one, not two, but THREE friends from California and two of them being fellow Gauchos!!  It was so awesome to see friends from home and it really made me SO happy that they were all able to meet me in Bangkok for the weekend.  I also had some other English teacher friends meet us on Khao San that evening (backpacker capital of Asia) where we caught up over drinks and dinner.  No need to get too into detail on this weekend as it was mostly a drinking/party trip, but there was a some shopping involved as well as a new special souvenir for myself (will explain in a future post).  Of course I went to the bagel bakery all three days in town and got a Subway sandwich for the bus ride back to Khon Kaen. Overall GREAT WEEKEND! I'm SO lucky I have AMAZING friends and thank you to EVERYONE that helped me to celebrate :)

Kat and I on Khao San early morning!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Maybe not so "breaking" as many of you probably know my plans already.. in all honesty I've been lazy busy lately and haven't had much time to update. But heres the dealio!

School is out in 36 days from today and as of last week, I still had no flights or anything booked to leave Thailand. Before the holidays, I was playing with SO many different ideas including staying in Thailand but moving to a new city, moving home to California (which seemed to be the done deal before my holiday traveling), traveling to some other far-off land and was getting a little frustrated with myself.. my problem is there are SO many places I want to go and SO many things I want to see and do, I have a serious issue deciding which one to do first!  When I made the decision back in June to extend my contract, I did so in hopes of buying myself more time to figure out a plan. And here I was.. months later.. plan-less.  I was getting anxious, restless, and overwhelmed with figuring out a plan as well as the pressure from American culture to settle down and get a "real job". My school wanted me to stay.. DUH, I'm the best teacher ever!  Kidding.. kind of.  Finally while I was traveling at Christmas and after talking to friends and other travelers, a light bulb went off in my blonde head.  It was like I had just been slapped in the face with the most perfect idea ever and it was under my nose the entire time.. Australia!

AUSTRALIA! Its first world, it has beautiful beaches and cities, international cuisine, its real life and from what I've heard its a lot like America only BETTER! There are plenty of jobs and the wages are high (as is the cost of living but I'm not worrying about it yet). Shoot, sounds like its exactly where I want to be!  As of now, I'm planning to move to Sydney for my first few months and I'm SO excited! Finding Nemo.. I'm coming to you! What I'll do and where I'll live are still big question marks (anyone have Australia/Sydney connections?!) but I feel SO confidant about this decision and I know Australia is for me.  Plus I'm in that mindset that if I can live in Thailand for this long, Australia will be a piece of cake.. I hope. I'm still young, no obligations, and want to see more of the world. Australia is my ticket to do it all!

After debating if it made financial sense to fly home for a visit then all the way across the world again a few weeks later, I decided to go for it.  I can't go another year or two without good Mexican food, seeing the Pacific Ocean, and getting an amazing grilled cheese from In n Out, and seeing friends and family of course! After running between the travel agency and my computer, I landed a great deal with EVA air and booked my flight for the second week of April!  I'll be home in California for a good 8 weeks and plan to do every Taco Tuesday, visit UCSB for alumni weekend, have some friends come visit me in San Diego, and run the Rock n Roll half marathon early June! Vegas could be thrown in there (who's down?!) but I'll be on a strict budget and getting used to America prices will be a challenge. I can see it now.. "WHAT! 7 bucks for a burrito?! In Thailand, I had dinner for a dollar every night!". Yep, when I start complaining about prices please pinch me and remind me that I'm back in America.

So this brings me to another point.. my visit in California may be short but I'm hoping to be able to find some gigs to help me fund my need to buy new clothes and Australia gear (I've been wearing the. same. thing. for a year and a half) as well as help me fund my Mexican binge I'll be unhealthily taking part of. I'll be living in San Diego those 8 weeks and will be prowling Craigslist for any babysitting jobs and any other part time work that I'd qualify for. Friends and family, if you know of anything or have any leads/connections of any way I could make a little money while I'm home between April and early June, please please let me know!  I'd greatly appreciate it!!!

WOOOWIE America, see you in 59 days!

My thai-ffic journey is coming to an end.. but I'm ready to begin another AUS-SOME adventure!!!  :)

I LOVE Dr. Suess and this story inspires me to keep on keepin on.

21.1 km = 13.1 miles?! Half Marathon!!

Last year, I participated in the "Fun Run" for Khon Kaen's biggest event of the year.. the Khon Kaen International Marathon!  This year, I wanted to go bigger and give myself more of a challenge. 4.5K is easy peasy for me now.. whats tougher than a half marathon?! Well, only the marathon of course but I knew I wasn't ready for that much of a challenge yet. Better tackle the half first..

9th Annual Khon Kaen International Marathon!

The week leading up to the half marathon, I was a little nervous. I'll be honest, I hadn't take my training TOO seriously and the longest I had ran in the few months prior was 7.5 miles. I was running 4 - 5 miles everyday on the treadmill no problem but 13.1 miles was an entirely different ballgame.  Also, I had been training on a treadmill and the last time I ran outside was at the last race a year ago!  AND Thailand is HOT and HUMID and even though its currently "cold" season, its definitely NOT cold.  Well, this should be interesting.  The weekend of the marathon snuck up on me quickly as time and events have been doing that a lot to me lately and before I knew it, it was marathon weekend! The day before, I shared a cab to the University with some Thai peeps from Bangkok I met in front of the Pullman to pick up our packets and bid numbers.  Once checking in at KKU, I opened up my packet and found my medium sized racing tank and held it up to myself.. now, I am the size I was when I left America and this tank wouldn't even fit a 10 year old child.. better swap it in for the large.. make that, an XL. Thai sizes.. Boy oh boy. I spent the rest of the day mentally preparing for the grueling challenge my body was about to endure and also made a new music playlist to help take my mind off the pain during the race. Then I spent the evening watching numerous episodes of "Jersey Shore", nothing like Snookie drama and watching a house of meat-head guidos living drunken lives to turn off my brain and fill it with trash so I can't think of anything else while watching.

Sunday morning was here.. half marathon day!

2:48 am: Woke up frantically after having a dream that I missed my alarm and knew I was late for the marathon because the sun was up. I was only upset I missed it because I paid 800 baht to run the thing!

3:00 am: Time to get up and get into racing gear!  I had my hair in braids from the night before, threw on my shirt, shorts, running shoes, and put together a quick banana peanut butter toast for breakfast to go.  Couldn't forget my ipod and 90 baht, just in case of an emergency.. like having to stop mid-race and hail a cab home.

3:30 am: Met Jay and Caitlin, two other teachers my age from my school who were running also, downstairs at my apartment lobby to attempt something that has never been attempted by us.  3 tall farangs on one motor bike.

3:40 am: After taking a few minutes to get situated, we were sailing through the empty streets of Khon Kaen and were on our way to the race!  With me crouching in front holding onto the front of the bike and the basket, Jay driving, and Caitlin on the back. Thai people on their way home from their Saturday night out sure had a funny sight to see.  It helped get the adrenaline going quick as all three of us were getting pumped and yelling "YEEEEAH MARATHON" while zooming down the dark quite streets towards KKU.

4:00 am: Arrived in one piece, parked the motor bike, and found the starting line. Scoped out the scene and found some free good smelling muscle lotion stuff.

4:15 am: Jay was signed up to for the full marathon so it was time for him to get to the starting line.  Caitlin and I stood on the sidelines to cheer him on at the start, he was super easy to spot as he was not only farang, but the tallest in the crowd.

5:15 am: Caitlin and I wondered around the area in search for a restroom, which was more of a challenge to find than you'd think, then did a small warm up and stretches.  We saw huge signs and tables for "Food for Marathon/Half Marathon" being set up so I was stoked to have something to look forward to at the finish.  Time to go to the starting line.

5:25 am: AHHH! Countdown of ha, see, sam, song, neung.. GOOO!!! We were off and I started my new playlist. I figured "I Gotta Feeling" and "Don't Stop Believing" were two good songs to start the race off with.

The race was clearly marked with how far we've gone so far and the police/security did a great job with shutting down the roads.  The entire race, I tried to preoccupy my thoughts so I wouldn't think about running.  But of course when you're trying not to think about a certain something, that thing you're trying so hard not to think about ends up being the only thing on your mind.. This is kind of how my race went.

1 km: "Hey, this isn't so bad. Phew, so far so good!"

2 km: "2 kilometers in, 19 to go! Put your hands in the air, say yeah yeah yeah.."

3 km: "Are you kidding me?! I didn't know that there were hills on this course!"

4 km: "I bet that was the one and only hill and at least that means it'll be a downhill on the way back. Feeling good, stick with the Thai chick with the pink shoes."

5 km: "What the heck is this woman doing? Not only is she stopping mid-half marathon to get her photo taken in front of marathon signs but she is wearing a purple feather dress. I can't let her beat me. Just gotta do what I just ran, 3 more times!"

6 km: "NOOO Why does that look like another hill up ahead?!"

7 km: Feeling good, singing to myself and dancing in my mind to "Teenage Dream" and "I'm Sexy and I Know It". "Hey, am I actually having fun running? Lets see, 7 km is how many miles? Hope my hair looks okay."

8 km: "WHAT the marathon Kenyans are on their way back already?! Damn, they're fast. What the heck, they have to run marathons as a living.  Marathon chasers and they win them ALL. What's this, the immigration office? Man, we're in the middle of no where! Hey, theres a new Tesco Lotus here?!"

9 km: There were a few minutes around this time that I totally had a "Aha! I LOVE Thailand and I love my life" moment.. It really inspired me to keep going and I felt really good mentally.  It was a cool feeling to have while I was doing something so challenging.  Then I tuned back into my surroundings, I think I look around too much. "Wow, its getting lighter.. half marathon sun rise over Khon Kaen! I'm gonna high five that old Thai man. Grrr people, stop taking pictures of me!"

10 km: Half way done and at the turn around point in the course!! "WAHOO! Better grab that cold water and dump it on my head in celebration.. AHH water in my ear! Cold, cold water!" "HAHAH look at that silly person in the dog costume dancing"

11 - 15 km: This part of the race was tough for me, think there was a lot of cursing in my mind to try to motivate me to keep on going. Think the heat and humidity was getting to me.

16 km: "What would I do if that huge stray dog right there eating trash on the sidelines started chasing me? What if he bit my leg? What would I do? I'd get my money back, thats for sure. PHEW past him."

17 km: "MAAAN my legs and booty are sore.. Oh sweet, a fruit stand! I CAN'T stop! Better grab a banana and watermelon on the go.. mmmm juicy watermelon." After sticking half the piece of banana in my mouth "**cough cough cough** Ahh, piece of banana stuck in my throat! **cough cough cough** *finally cough up the banana and spit it out* Lesson learned, no eating and running during marathon!"

18 - 19 km: "Survive, survive survive! Remember what Coach McCarthy said in high school cross-country.. 'Pain is temporary, glory is forever!' Just suuuuurvive! How is that 60 year old man so quick?! Why is this Thai guy running with me and asking where I'm from? Can't he see I'm not in a chatty mood right now?"

20 km: "One more KM! Less than a mile! Pick up your feet and go!"

Last 500m: "500m! The faster you run, the faster your done! I see the finish line! 400! 300! I'm getting ice cream for dinner! 200! French fries too if I want them! So close! 100! Pass that chick and GO GO GO GO GOOOOO YEEEES!"

I did it!! I crossed the finish line faster than my goal time by 4 minutes and received a finishing medal!  After wobbling for a few minutes, I realized how much pain my legs were in. Some woman clearly saw that I could barely stand and took me to this little stretching hut with her "new innovation" ..a huge stick thing with a rope used for stretching out your legs. After sitting for a few minutes, I felt okay enough to hobble around to watch the finish line for my friends.  Not long after, Caitlin ran in and not long after her came in Jay! We all finished the race and were alive!!! All three of us were so happy and felt so good (minus the physical pain), runners high! Our friends Emily and Michelle came to show their support and were so surprised to see me finished early and with a smile on my face. Not too long after, I scoped out the free food which was mostly fish ball soup, deep fried meats, white rice with egg, and 7/11 bread. Ehh, not my thing so I had plenty of the free water and sports drinks. After chatting some more at the finish line and taking a few pics with the multiple groups of Thais who requested to take photos with us, Jay, Caitlin, Michelle, Emily and I all headed home for some much needed rest.. and this time, all five of us squeezed on the motorbike! Haha, just kidding.. but maybe we should try it.

WAHOOOO half marathon! Cross that off my life bucket list!

Ps. I've already done some internet searches and have begun planning for my next big race!

WINNING! Medal winners!

You Know You've Been in Thailand Too Long When...

I've been living in Thailand for over 15 months now.  I've realized that I'll probably have more of a culture shock leaving here than I did moving here.

Welcome to my Thai life.. 

You know you've been in Thailand too long when.. (Chelsea edition)

• A bug is in my rice or noodles and I pick it out and continue eating my meal
• I no longer flinch in fear of getting rabies when passing by a barking wild stray dog
• I carry a supply of TP everywhere I go
• I keep a small baby powder with me everywhere I go during hot season
• When I skype with my friends, I'm most excited to hear what they had for dinner that night
• When a Thai person tells me to be somewhere a certain time, I follow a simple equation.  Time told to arrive + 20 to 30 minutes = actual needed arrival time AKA Thai time
• Mosquitoes no longer find me tasty
• I don't remember the last time I buckled my seat belt while in a car (thats a lie, I frantically fastened my belt when in the back of a cab when our drunk cab driver in Malaysia began angrily ranting about the Malay mafia and speeding through police checkpoints after accepting a time challenge from himself to see how quick he could get us to our hostel). Correction: I don't remember the last time I buckled my seat belt while in a car while in Thailand.. I think the answer is I never have.
• Whats a knife? I cut up my food with a spoon and eat my meal with spoon in right hand, fork in left.. its more of a shoveling action
• I don't think twice about need to pay to use a public restroom and I'm thrilled to find one that isn't a squatter
• I have begun doing the hand gesture of having my right arm out, palm down, and waving my fingers back and forth which is used to hail cabs and as a way to say "come here" (I use this often with my kids) to my western friends 
• I no longer even think about my wardrobe options, what I wear to school depends on what day of the week it is. Monday - yellow, Tuesday - pink, Wednesday - green, Thursday - orange, Friday - blue.
• I stand in the shadow of the telephone pole while waiting for the songtell in the morning
• Ice in a glass of beer is 100% completely normal, and so it drinking a large strong drink out of a plastic beach bucket
• Crazy bugs like the green praying mantis are everyday occurrences. Hey, I've even eaten bugs at the night market! Thai crunchy snack
• No longer find strange that the entire country stops what they are doing at 6pm everyday for 2 minutes while the Kings Anthem is played, as well as paying tribute to the King by standing to his song before seeing a movie at the cinema
• I find myself tapping my toes and start dancing to Thai and Korean pop music.. and I like it
• Its all about Thai baht. Even though I can quickly convert Thai baht to American dollar if needed to, my mind strictly functions on the baht
• I get freezing cold when it drops below 70 degrees, my body has adjusted to constant heat and humidity
• I hop on the back of a motor bike with no second thoughts of "I need a helmet"
• "Are they a lady? A boy? A ladyboy!"  Thailand is one of the most inexpensive places places in the world to get cosmetic surgery ladyboys are quite prominent in Thailand. I've seen hundreds (hand size and adams apple are harder things to disguise) and I'm sure I've come across dozens that look so good I was fooled.  But I don't see it as some phenomenon, they are just another person at the mall or songtell and they are seemingly accepted by Thai society.
• I have spent HOURS saving and bookmarking recipes to whip up for when I finally make a move to a "real world"
• I've got people all over town that know my favorite meals and can make them exactly how I like it.  No need to say a word other than mutter "Same Same Ka" and my fried rice lady, som tom lady, pad thai lady, fruit market lady, yellow curry guy, and watermelon lady know exactly what I want and will whip it up just how I like it.
• If my Thai dinner costs more than 30 baht (a dollar), I know I'm being ripped off
• While walking through/by a group of parents, teachers, elderly people, monks, or government workers, its now very natural to duck/bow my head as a sign of respect
• It wouldn't be an everyday songtell ride to school if the driver didn't speed down the opposite lanes with his horn blaring to cut traffic then slam on his breaks when a passenger rings the bell to get off. Then someone else rings the bell 5 seconds later as they didn't want to walk 30 feet
• I expect to hear "Farang! Farang!" as well as "TEEEECHA" amongst the crowd everywhere I go. I'm used to my blonde hair making me stick out
• I'm not weirded out when the old lady next to me on the songtell begins stroking my arm while saying "SoooIi! SooooIi!"
• I can cross the street of a highway of traffic in five seconds flat by dodging all cars and motorbikes and using the dotted lane lines
• Everything is "same same but different"
• Seeing my kid speed off after school with both parents on the motor bike along with a baby and family dog and not a single one hearing a helmet doesn't make me think my kid lives in an unsafe home or is brought up by an unfit family
• When I tell Thai people in Bangkok or in the south that I live in Khon Kaen, they respond in uncontrollable laughter. I now know why. Khon Kaen / Isaan is the Iowa or Nebraska (BOONDOCKS) of Thailand.
• When staying in a guesthouse or hostel, I consider the geckos just extra weekend roommates and its lonely and too quite without their constant lurking and chirping
• When traveling, I accidentally start conversing to other travelers in broken English forgetting that they are fluent English speakers
• I spy an elephant walking down the busy street while I'm enjoying my noodle soup dinner and it approaches my table. Nothing new. 
• "Hurry and clean up! Teacher Chelsea is hungry and ready for lunch!"  "Teacher Chelsea says you need to share the legos." "Teacher Chelsea thinks today we will dance to the hokey pokey!"  Speaking in third person has become more comfortable than first person talk.

• And I do things like riding elephants, Full Moon beach partying, zip lining, eating mystery Thai market snacks, teaching 50 five year olds English, scuba diving, and pulling the tails of two tigers with no fear.. I find myself to be invincible.  Thanks Thailand, I now have the mindset that if I can survive and conquer you, I can survive, conquer, and thrive doing anything anywhere!

Sidenote: I may be a bit strange and awkward when first moving back into a first world country where I'm not the only farang, so friends be ready to re-culture me! Its almost time for me to leave Thailand (sometime within the next three months) and have a new adventure! But for now, as crazy as it is.. I still love my thai-rrific life!

(I can't get enough of the word "thai-rrific".. I just think I'm so clever) 

Weekend in Chiang Mai chillin with some big cats

Sawatdeepiimai and Happy 2555!

Thats right, its year 2555 (song ha ha ha) here in Thailand. As if using military time, kilometers, and kilos didn't confuse me enough.. its a different year too?!

I have been getting resettled into the school routine of teaching and tutoring, and a three day weekend up in Chiang Mai thrown in there, and I'm finally getting around to blogging!  Heres a short recap of my holiday on the islands!

A few days before Christmas, I made my way down to Bangkok to take an overnight bus to Ko Tao, turtle island in Thai and is most well known for being the most inexpensive place in Thailand to get PADI certified! After I went to Bali last year, I decided that getting diving certified was something I HAD to do before leaving Thailand. My plan was to head down there solo for Christmas then zip over to the other coast to meet friends for New Years.  I was excited to do some traveling on my own, I find its easier and more fun to meet people that way.  On the bus ride down south, I was sitting next to Bergen, a girl from New Zealand who has been traveling solo for five months. We got along well, as well as we could after an overnight bus ride and being stranded at some strange travel agency as well as a very rocky boat ride (tired and no food and sketchy boat rides = cranky/on edge Chelsea), and decided to split a room as our schedules travel lined up nicely.  After a day or two, I felt like I had been traveling with Bergen for weeks and that she had been one of my long lost friends.  We spent our evenings together swapping stories, grabbing dinner, drinks, watching fire shows, and dancing until the clubs closed.  It was also nice to have a friend to spend Christmas with, we got good Indian for Christmas dinner then headed out to the beach bar "Lotus" for some fireshows and buckets. Not your traditional Christmas dinner but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I decided to get PADI open water certified on Ko Tao and was SO excited!  It was a four day course with sections in the classroom with videos and quizzes and a written final exam, skills exercises in the swimming pool, and four open water dives in the sea.  There was six of us in our group and even though the visibility and weather were definitely not in our favor, Ko Tao was a great place to learn.  Along with my 9800 baht course fee, I got free accommodation for three days and my certification is recognized around the world.  I did two dives when I went over to Ko Phi Phi where the visibility was AMAZING and the coral and fish variety was breathe taking, because the visibility was so bad on Ko Tao and I was so focused on learning the diving skills, I felt like Ko Phi Phi was the first place I'd dived!  There, I saw deadly sea snakes, nemo clown fish, angel fish, barracudas, a sea turtle, and so much more. I LOVE diving and will extend my certification to the advanced open water in March, meaning I can do deeper dives and take specialty courses. Diving is basically amazing and is my new obsession, I'd love to do it everyday for the rest of my life! I even have a favorite fish, the box fish.

Diving Christmas Eve

 After Ko Tao, Bergen and I parted ways and I headed to Ko Phi Phi for my fourth time! I love this little island, great party scene, fun people, and nice beaches.. whats not to love?!  Emily, the new teacher at my school who took Jess' spot, met me down there for her first Thai island extravaganza! I went down to Phi Phi last New Years with Jess and Jenna so I was a little nostalgic this trip and missed my thai-rrific friends, but I'm glad Emily was able to meet me and we showed the island that Khon Kaen teachers know how to celebrate New Years.  I also got to meet up with my friend, John Johnsen! We went to Santa Barbara City College together years ago then he moved to Sweden.  He was traveling Thailand for the holiday with his girlfriend and we were able to coordinate New Years plans to be in the same place.  It was nice to see a face from home and New Years was thai-rrific.


Back in Khon Kaen, nothing has changed other than there is a new dinner hut right by my apartment building and it serves GREAT curry.  I'm at the last leg of the race now, only 58 more days in Khon Kaen (but who's counting?!).  I met some amazing people this holiday break which really inspired me to look into some new adventure possibilities for life after Thailand.. I haven't booked anything yet but my wheels are spinning and great plans are in the works.  I need to get all my ducks in a row as time is flying, and I'll post once my plans are official!

Happy New Year!