It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting

And what an interesting life I have! I am living my dream...Each morning I wake up and pinch myself to see if I am still living in Thailand, that I am still somehow making it every day in this wild and crazy universe. Time goes by so fast here; partially due to me having no concept of time. I get ready for school and walk to my little office and get greeted by the students with hugs, high-fives, and "good morning Teacher Dao." With my head in the clouds, it's hard to keep grounded. With a broken iPhone screen (yup it happened), keeping track of time/dates just seems to be a struggle with me. I get so involved with my life here in Thailand I forget that life is going on in other parts of the world. When I saw my parents, it finally hit me how long I have been without seeing them. Although back in California I would see them a couple times a year, we were always connected via text messages, phone calls, and emails. Now that I live across the world the time zones have been a bit difficult to make times to talk. I was so excited to show them my school - to show them what inspires my passion for life.

My parents fell in love with my students and my students couldn't get enough of my parents. A million photos were taken (including selfies) and I am sure all of the Thai women wanted to marry my father. My mom found it rather amusing that when I would introduce them to the class one of the students would instantly point to her nose (Thai people have very small noses and like "big" noses). Some of my Mattyhom students sang songs for them and I had the entire class sing "Wai Kru" for them as well. My dad had tears in his eyes, even if he won't admit to it. We took trips to Mae Sai (border town), Doi Tung (Queen's Botanical Garden), the Tea Plantation, and they went into Myanmar for the morning just to get a stamp :) Our days have been quite busy and did our best to capture some of our moments on camera. They also met my teacher friends and my Filipino family :) Has been a perfect visit to Chiang Rai! We had our last breakfast together on Friday and they headed to Chiang Rai (the city- Chiang Rai is also a province - which is the province I live in) so they could do the white temple, black house, etc. I went back to teaching for the afternoon and then opted to stay another night before heading to Chiang Mai (where I would meet up with them for dinner). I got a couple massages with my friend and had a mellow evening of dinner and a full nights sleep. First I got in awhile, I have been going without my afternoon naps due to fieldtrips with my parents so lots of sleep was welcomed! Oh and my mom brought the bridesmaid dress out with her and we took it to the tailor together...only had one typical mother-daughter fight over lengths and whatnot...has been awhile since we had a bicker, it was overdue haha. So I headed to Chiang Mai in the morning (Saturday) and was poolside by noon. Enjoyed the sunrays with my friends and then met up with Bethel to go shopping and found a dress perfect for the rehearsal dinner! Then we relaxed a bit at the hostel before meeting my parents for one last dinner in Thailand with them. They went back to Chiang Mai because I wanted them to do the Elephant Nature Park, but it was fully booked the weekend before - I insisted it was worth the wait so they came down the next weekend to do it. So we met them at their villa then went to dinner on the river. Perfect evening. We took a red truck (son tao?) to the Night Bazaar and parted ways. I will see them in California next week! They flew to Krabi Monday morning and then took a ferry to Koh Lanta to spend the last week there before flying back to California. Has been a perfect visit. They are still sending me pictures of the islands so I will upload those on another blog...

However I probably won't be writing anything until I am in California! I fly out in three days! I have two dresses packed! And nothing else...haha. I got my visa sorted today (finally), still need to figure out a time to do laundry, maybe a dentist visit, maybe clean my room a little...somehow organize my desk so I don't come back to a complete mess...Lots of things to do, but mai bpen rai. Oh and book a hotel for Friday night...I'm flying to Bangkok on Friday and my flight is Saturday. Have a 4 hour layover in Manila so I am going to explore a little bit and get another stamp in my passport! :) My amazing friend will be picking me up in SF and then meeting up with so many of my friends! I have friends driving to the bay to see me, ah I can't wait! More importantly, I CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE A BURRITO! Seriously...I...just...can't...wait...I love Thai food and all, but I mean...Mexican food...is probably the love of my life. Okay I should get going on my night. Yoga, my journal, and my book are calling my name. So long for now! Next stop - CALIFORNIA!!!! <3

Chiang Mai (1/7-5/7)

What an insanely busy but fun filled month! I'm starting to float back down to earth after so many amazing and breathtaking events happening in my life. I am blessed and live a blessed life. I have been incredibly lucky to be adopted by two of the most extraordinary people to ever walk this Earth. Needless to say when I got off the bus in Chiang Mai and took a Tuk Tuk to my parents villa and saw my parents waiting for me...waterworks happened (surprise surprise!) After we all embraced and tried to lower the shock factor that we were together in Thailand, I took them to The Swan. A delicious Burmese restaurant by Thapae Gate. After a million photos and trying to teach my parents the basic Thai greetings, we devoured our delicious meal and then headed back to the villa, but stopped at an adorable cafe on the river that just so happened to have a million cats. Oh Thailand! Dad and I had a couple smoothies and we just enjoyed the cool evening before we all headed to sleep. The next day was met with a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and anything you wanted haha. Perks of staying with parents, villas provide food! No hostel life at all here! The villa they got is adorable and it's so quiet, which is much needed because Chiang Mai can be a bit loud for my taste. So after breakfast we set off for Wat Phra Singh (my temple - year of the dragon) because it's my favorite temple and I wanted to pay a devotion to it this year. Did it last year, might have to make this a tradition! We listened to the monks chant and paid respects to the Buddha. Then we se out to get massages from the women's prison...now it's not exactly what you think, but it kinda is? This correctional facility is designed to train women prisoners the art of massage so they have a skill to make money once they are released. Now these women weren't in here for murder (I hope at least...) but for small crimes with a short sentence. If I'm wrong, please don't tell me, let me live in my little bubble about this ;) so we walk and find the center and book foot massages for the three of us. We had some time to kill so we explored a museum and tried to learn Chiang Mai's history in 40 minutes. We wandered back to the center and had some cold drinks and this is where my dad's life has changed for forever. What happened? Kiwi soda happened. Soda water and a very concentrated "kiwi juice" aka bright green sugar - served over ice. My dad's new favorite drink in Thailand. So finally our numbers get called and we get our feet cleaned and then assisted us to our massage chairs. Well this isn't my first rodeo so I knew the drill, I was ready in seconds. My dad on the other hand...well I am sure he will come around to massages...in another life. Well I zone out and before I know it I'm asleep and I'm waking up to the end of my massage. My dad said he didn't know how I could sleep through that especially since the women kept making comments (in Thai) about his feet. Farang. Anyhow so mom and I are relaxed and my dad just wants food so we explore a bit and I introduce them to khao soi gai. Quite delicious and not too spicy for them - and watching them eat with chopsticks - priceless. I'm getting so Asian now, who needs cutlery (silverware). It's around 3:30pm so After this my parents want a rest because the heat was getting a bit much so I found a place to get a Swedish oil massage (I have an addiction) and my parents utilized the pool at the villa and the ac. Later in the evening we ventured out to a place to get some curry which just so happened to be by our place. Love how everything just works out. We have a nice little walk through a temple and found the delicious Indian restaurant. Now I know it sounds like I'm not feeding them Thai food, but they ate Thai food the day before and that's all my town has to offer and they would be in Mae chan for five days with no other options. So Indian food it was. Shrimp and chicken masala were ordered and nan (bread doesn't exist in my town) and my dad got some beef dish...which turned out to be really spicy even though they said it wasn't. I thought it was spicy and I can handle spice. Well because my dad is stubborn he ate most of it and finished his beer quite quickly. My mom and I took photos of the stages because that's what family is for. And then sent them to elliott (my brother) so he could enjoy the ridiculousness of dad's stubbornness. So after the color started to return to my dad's face, we leave and head home. I decide that I want to head out for a little bit so I take a taxi towards a pub I normally go to but then stumbled upon this pretty fun bar/restaurant on the river so decided to try a new place out instead. What a fun place! Not many tourists so just a bunch of ex-pats and Thai people that live in Chiang Mai. I found a small table in the ac lounge and had a couple drinks and just enjoyed the ambience of being out of my small town. I love Mae Chan, but I also love socializing so weekends are my time to not be in teacher mode. I head home around midnight because we have an early morning planned for an all day Thai cooking class. Walked home and got ready for bed and crawled into bed...and woke up to feeling like I was a child again. "Cailin! Do you want breakfast? Are you going to shower? We are leaving in 20 minutes!" Wait what? After coming to and realizing my parents are in Thailand and it's not a dream I mumble "yes I'm hopping in the shower and will be down in a few minutes." So worlds quickest showered ensued and threw on some clothes and raced to breakfast. Thankfully our ride was on Thai time so I had plenty of time and was able to finish my green tea. We get picked up in a private van and get greeted by a beautiful Thai woman that tells us (in perfect English) that we will be cooking with her at her house today and she's sorry for the delay. We exchange names and pile into the ac van and head off to pick up two other people before heading to the market. The two young women are from England and are teachers too so we instantly get along. Exchange funny travel stories and of course gush about our students. So we head to a small market outside the city and she introduces us all to thailands produce and some history. She let's us roam and take photos and then we climb back into the van and head to her house. What a beautiful property! And an amazing kitchen setup. Her business must be doing well because this place was super nice. She gives us the recipe book and tells us what we will be making and I instantly get nervous because my track record in the kitchen is well...exactly. I make salads in California - enough said. She would demonstrate at her counter and then we would scatter to our little kitchens to begin. They had everything precut and portioned out for us so I think that's why my dishes came out okay. And I learned how to make a rose out of a tomato. You're welcome. Anyhow, it was aaratjon of cooking and eating and learning about Thai cuisine. Definitely would recommend her class, quite informative and the food amazing! Tom yom, green chicken curry, chicken stir fried, spring rolls, and sticky rice won mangos. Aroi mak! Delicious! So after that we head home and I check my messages and came across a 2.5 yoga workshop that late afternoon. Despite wanting to nap I figured yoga Should happen so I changed into yoga clothes and took a Tuk Tuk to the yoga studio and had the best 2.5 hours of my week. Was exactly what I needed. Meditation and devotion exercises. I didn't know anyone there yet I created a bond with them that I will cherish for a very long time. I won't bore you with all the details (as if this blog isn't long enough) but it Was amazing and when I left and met up with my mom she said she hadn't seen me look so zen bed out before. Was amazing and can't wait to go back! So back at the villa I help my mom book tickets for the islands and decide to he's out because it was my last night in cm. thought maybe the place the night before but ended up at a blues bar to listen to some live music at the night bazaar. So good! Had a pretty good night and got a good nights sleep. My parents let me sleep in a little and my mom and I went to get pedicures before our bus departure to my town at 11:30am. Since everything is on Thai time we didn't get to finish, but it was still a good time. Once we got on the bus and were on our way I quickly fell asleep and woke up as we were arriving in Chiang Rai...

<no photos in this entry - see previous entry for some Chiang Mai photos)

They Made It!

Yahoo! My parents have arrived in beautiful Thailand! It already has been a whirlwind...I met them in Chiang Mai last week and we have been templing, getting massages, shopping, and taking a lot of tuk tuk rides (my dad's new favorite mode of transportation). We all took a thai cooking class and it was amazing! And I successfully cooked everything perfectly...which is saying a lot because my history with the kitchen has been worse than my relationship with my iPhones...After that I went to a 2.5 hour yoga meditation workshop which was much needed and then made some new friends and had a really fun last night in Chiang Mai. We are now up in Chiang Rai and my parents have met my friends and had dinner at one of my favorite places. Tomorrow they will make their debut at the school so more to come...Way too much to write, need to write in my journal and make sense of everything before I type up some more. Just know that I am so so happy that they are finally here and they love Thailand! Operation: Elliott and Jody Retire in Thailand is in full force! Here are some silly pictures :) 

Beautiful Mama <3

 Daddy's Girl <3

Waiting for our massages

Wat Prah Singh - Year of the Dragon

View in Villa

Yup, fresh ginger ale...selfie - guilty as charged

Thailand