First Day in Thailand

Lohith, Garrett, and Reid have documented the group's experiences and first impressions of our first day in Thailand

ISDSI Headquarters

After about 20 hours of nonstop travel, we finally arrived at Eastin Tan hotel, Chiang Mai. After refreshing ourselves and getting a good night sleep, at 7:45am we met  members of ISDSI and embarked to their headquarters. Once we arrived we interacted with many local Thai residents and explored the Campus, which was anything but ordinary. The main office was built of repurposed shipping containers. There was a library, CrossFit gym, coffee shop, and volleyball net. An hour after our arrival at the Campus we met with our ISDSI instructor and learned more about the organization. ISDSI stands for International Sustainable Developmental Studies. They have more than 30 schools, more than 600 students, and is based in Chiang Mai, however, is represented throughout South East Asia. The goal of the organization is to "[Connect] communities to make a more sustainable world." In other words, they want to promote cultural competency and awareness. People who come to ISDSI get to interact and listen to local community members that have unique themes/ experiences. For example, they may bring in speakers from the tribal regions of Thailand, from the Mountains, to speak on their lives and culture. Today we learned primarily basic facts about Thailand, such as how natives believe that there are "Two Thailands". This refers to the experience tourists get in the country, of happiness and pleasure, while the other refers to a more realistic state, experienced by Natives. Thailand is also under Military rule and has a Royal Family, which is highly regarded in the country. In fact, it is illegal, and punishable by imprisonment, to say anything negative about the royal family. Also during our lesson, we learned some of the Thai language. An important thing to keep in mind is that woman and men have to say certain phrases slightly different. For example, we learned how to greet someone: SAWADEE - KAH (for girls) and SAWADEE- CRAP (for guys). We also learned how to thank someone: (SOU-DI-KAH / SOU-DI-CRAP).

Salak, also known as Snake Fruit

Dr. Muehlenbein enjoying some Durian

After our lesson, we went to a local 711, picked up some goodies, and headed to the Currency Exchange Center to exchange our money. We then headed back to ISDSI for lunch, then to a local Thai market, in which locals primarily shop. Here, we started off by tasting a variety of foods, both in and out of our comfort zone. Majority of us had never heard of many/ any of the fruits that we tried, however, through sheer curiosity we were all still eager to try! We had Lychee, Longan, Sala, Mangosteen, Rambutan, and Durian - infamous for its pungent odor. We walked a little bit more around the market and stumbled upon a stand selling worms. Of course, we had to try some! They were very salty and crunchy. After the market, we went to a mall, across the street from our hotel, and were able to visualize the side of Thailand that is heavily influenced by western culture. They had stores such as Abercrombie, American Eagle, etc. They even had a movie theatre airing western films, including Toy Story.

The boys at the mall

After exploring around the mall, we headed back to the hotel, freshened up, and at 6:00pm headed out to dinner. Before we got on the buses, right outside of our hotel was a man selling scorpion. Some of the brave members in our gang ate it. He prepared the dish by cutting the Stinger off, grilling the body,  then applying Chilli oil. It tastes like Charred barbeque meat and had the texture of fish. We went to a somewhat formal restaurant overlooking the beautiful Ping River. We ate all sorts of traditional Thai dishes here. As an appetizer, we started off with Papaya Salad and The Morning Glory. The papaya salad had all sorts of vegetables in it and shrimp, and it was soaked in a sauce so spicy it left us all sweating. The shrimp was extremely tangy as well, for it was cooked in lemon, like Ceviche. The Morning Glory was essentially a famous green in Thailand soaked in a tangy fish sauce. Along with this, we had spring rolls for the vegetarians in our group. For our main course, we all ordered a variety of foods. This included Pad See Eww, Green Curry, and Panang Curry. A lot of the people who ordered the curry also got sticky rice, which was served differently than in the United States. It was served in a basket. To eat it, you had to make it into a little ball and soak it in the curry.

Grilled Scorpion with Chilli Oil

Dried Worms

Overall, today we learned a lot more about Thai Culture, stepped out of our comfort zones, by trying new things, and got to know more about our group and staff more.