Orientation, and temples, and food- Oh my!

The last few days have been exciting but very exhausting. Thursday we had orientation for most of the day. We learned a little bit about Thai culture, some dos and don'ts etc. Later on, we went to the mall to do some shopping. I bought some elephant pants for about $4 and it might be one of the best purchases of my life. They are so comfy, I'm in love! Later we went and bought our uniforms
When we returned from orientation for the day we went and grabbed some food. The main street is full of food vendors with a variety of food and drinks. Food is so cheap here it blows my mind. I got my first real pad Thai with shrimp for 45 baht~ $1.40. The shrimp still had the heads on them, so my friend Mya took them off for me! It was delicious!

My first pad Thai!

A few of my classmates

We also stopped at a smoothie place near our apartments on the way home. The shop is called Healthy Konta. Konta is the woman who owns the shop; she also cuts hair. She is a very sweet lady who makes a killer smoothie for just a dollar! She cuts up the fruit and blends it right in front of you while she makes you practice saying the fruits names in Thai. She calls herself mommy Thailand.

Mommy Thailands stand

After the smoothie, I came back to my room and went to bed. Jet lag was hitting me hard and I was ready for some sleep!

Friday we had more orientation. We started with a tour of Chaing Mai Universities campus. It is much bigger and more spread out than SVSU. They have about 40,000 students! I'm hoping I don't get too lost during the first week. After that, we got our class schedules. I will be taking Thai language for daily communication, Thai society and culture, social entrepreneurship, International logistics and supply chain management, international relations and a cooking class. I never thought I would say this but I am very excited for classes to start.
Later on, we went on a city and temple tour in Chiang Mai. I can't believe how beautiful the temples are. They are incredible. First, we went to the Lanna Architecture Center. ( Warning lots of pictures ahead) Next, we went to Wat Phan Tao.

Right next to it is Wat Phra Sing.

This is an ordination temple- only men are allowed inside because in Thailand only men are allowed to be ordained as monks. Monks are highly respected in Thailand.

A few blocks away is the Wat Chedi Luang Varavihara. It is home to the largest Buddha in Chiang Mai.

And that completes our City Tour! After the city tour, we came back to our apartment and were free for the night! We got dinner (I got some really good fried rice) and I finally got to try mango sticky rice! It was pretty good but not as sweet as I was expecting. And that's all for Friday!

My roommate Hailey and I and our sticky rice

Saturday we went to a traditional Thai dinner that had dancers from some of the tribes of Thailand. The food was good and the entertainment was even better!

Sunday, we visited the Bhubing Palace. This is where the royal family stays when they are in Chiang Mai or when important visitors come they stay at this palace or guesthouses on the property as well.

The palace

The reservoir

Next stop, Doi Suthep Temple! This is the most famous of the temples in Chiang Mai. It is located at the top of Doi Suthep which is the mountain in Chiang Mai. In 1383 it was built as a Buddhist monastery. First, you must walk up more than 300 steps guarded by a Naga serpent.

Once you reach the top it is nothing but gold and beauty!

My friend Tara and I

It is believed that if you walk around the main pagoda 3 times and make a wish it will come true! So, of course, we walked around the pagoda!

Just outside the pagoda is a beautiful view of Chiang Mai

A dog running around the temple

Pictured above is a stray dog who was wandering around the temple. There are hundreds of stray dogs and cats running around everywhere!

Later on, we went to the big night market downtown Chaing Mai. It was a very cool experience but also very overwhelming. There were thousands of people there and hundreds of booths, it seemed like it went on for miles! I got a couple pairs of elephant pants which are the comfy crazy patterned pants that everyone wears here. They are great and so cheap!

elephant pants

Wow long post I know, it has been a crazy weekend! Congrats if you made it this far! So far I am loving Thailand and the people I am with. I will probably have another post this weekend about my first week of classes!
Aubrey :)

I Made It!

Hello everyone,
Long time no blog, I know! But I am back and I will probably be full of blog posts over the next few months! I have finally made it the Chaing Mai to begin my semester of studying abroad at Chaing Mai University! I must say, I am very happy to have arrived all in one piece! It was quite a process to get here!

I flew out of Detroit on Sunday, Jan 7th at 8pm. I arrived at La Guardia airport in NYC where I had to transfer to JFK for my flight that would leave the next morning. You would think this would be simple...this was not the case. When I finally arrived at JFK, I found out I couldn't actually enter the airport until the next morning because I had to check my bags again and the China Southern counter wouldn't be open until the next morning. Nonetheless, I survived the night and got all checked in and on my flight to Guangzhou, China successfully. However, the flight was delayed by about an hour and a half.. which was more than my layover time so needless to say, I did not catch my connecting flight to Chaing Mai from China. So unexpectedly I spent the night in Guangzhou, China- just another stamp in the passport right? Thankfully, China Southern put me up in a hotel for the night! And I got to eat my first real Chinese food! Not really sure what it was...some sort of chicken and rice. They spoke 0 English, so I just pointed to something on the menu that looked yummy! The chicken was not great it had lots of weird bones in it so I pretty much just ate the rice.
This morning I headed back to the airport and hopped on my flight to Chaing Mai! All of my luggage was there thankfully, I was pretty nervous about that! I met a few people who are in my same study abroad program in line to board the plane, so I was very glad to know I wasn't all by myself anymore. The 2.5-hour flight seemed like a breeze compared to the 15-hour flight from JFK to Guangzhou!
We arrived at our apartments and got all checked in. I am all unpacked and settled in! Here are a few pictures!

My room

My room and part of the living room

living room

my closet

A group of us went out this afternoon and wandered a little bit and got a bite to eat. My lunch of chicken and noodles only cost 45 baht (about $1.5) I can get used to that!

the restaurant where we had lunch

Tomorrow and Friday we have orientation all day and classes start on Monday!
I'm super excited to see more of Chiang Mia and get started with classes!

Habitat For Humanity Trip: Asheville, NC

Hello everyone,
Long time no post.... college life is busy!
I survived my first semester at SVSU and it was a great semester! I have met some amazing people and had lots of fun times and made many memories! I'm looking forward to heading back to Saginaw to start my next semester. 
Anyway, onto the point of the post! Last week, I was fortunate enough to go on a Habitat for Humanity trip to Asheville, NC. And I must say it was incredible! Asheville is absolutely beautiful, and the people there are so kind- must be that southern hospitality! 
We took off for our trip on Sunday morning. We had planned to leave Saturday morning, but because of the big snowstorm that was supposed to hit that day, we decided to postpone the trip until the next day. We left at about 6 am headed for Asheville! After a few pit stops, we arrived in Asheville around 7:30, did some grocery shopping for the week and made spaghetti for dinner! It was a late night by the time we ate and got settled in!
Monday was our first real day. We headed to the Asheville Habitat offices for breakfast a little bit of orientation and got to check things out a little bit. After that, we got to go to the job site. At the location we worked at, for the most part, there were 6 different houses that were being worked on

3 houses in progress

More houses in progress.

We worked primarily with one contractor named John, who our group leaders raved about the entire ride to Asheville. Soon we all understood why. John was AWESOME! He was so patient and kind. He would explain anything to you until you understood how to get the job done!


On Monday, most of us worked on the house pictured above. Literally 30 seconds after we started working. Kaitlyn and I were moving some long 2x4s to a different part of the house and I tripped on the pile of wood and landed on my side. I ended up with a pretty nice lump which has turned into quite an impressive bruise. After that happened, I was a little timid to do anything, especially go on the roof!

First, we helped to bring shingles up to the roof. Later we built walls and even put one up, which was a really cool feeling. A couple other girls got to help shingle the roof. 

From the roof!

That night, we went downtown to find someplace yummy to eat! After getting recommendations from other people we were working with we decided to check out Tupelo Honey. It was delicious southern food. Most of us got fried chicken with sides and biscuits! I got chicken and the best mac-n-cheese I have ever had in my life!

Tuesday, we were at a different location where the houses were almost finished. We had to add some finishing touches such as adding stucco to the house and painting and also encapsulating the crawl space, which is what I was lucky enough to do! I know this sounds scary, but I promise it's not! Basically, all encapsulating it does is create a moisture barrier. So first, we had to spread a layer of this black stuff that reminded me of felt. Next, we had to add a layer of white plastic! It seems very simple but it was very time-consuming because we had to go around the various pipes in the crawl space! It was a very interesting job and something I never thought I would do! 

The Crawlspace Crew

That night after we were done at the job site, we went to Blue Ridge Parkway to check out some the Asheville's stellar mountain views! We even got to watch the sunset over the mountains!

Wednesday we had to move lots of cinder blocks and rocks to other sites for them to use. The morning was very cold but by the afternoon it had warmed up to almost 60! That day I helped to put up scaffolding which is very tricky on ground that is not level. Later we built more parts for the walls that would be put up later



Rebecca, Autumn, and I making sure the wood was "flush" in other words lined up!




That night, we had dinner with one of the families who would be living in one of the houses we would be working on the next day, which was really cool to hear their story. Most people think that Habitat for Humanity just gives away houses. But this could not be farther from the truth. The families go through an extensive application and many meetings with the Habitat board to make sure they are a good fit for the program. Once selected, the family has to put in at least 200 "sweat equity" hours for each adult 18+. Out of these hours, at least 50 of them have to be spent working on their house. The other hours can be spent working at the local Restore or on other projects.

Thursday was our final day. We spent the first half of the day leveling out the crawl space of the house for the family we had dinner with the night before. So it was pretty motivating knowing the people whose house you were working on made moving dirt for 3 hours a little bit better because you knew they would have a better life because of it. After lunch, we trimmed some windows and cleaned up the job site because no one would be there for about a week because of the upcoming holidays!

It was really hard to leave the job site and all the amazing people we had met that week! But hopefully, it was a see ya later not a goodbye!

Overall, it was an incredible week. Our whole group became so close over just a few days which was a really cool thing. I got to see some beautiful mountains and do so many things I didn't think I could do- such as encapsulate a crawl space. So if you need any home repairs you know who to ask..... kidding I'm not that good!

But I definitely enjoyed my time in Asheville and would recommend a Habitat for Humanity trip to anyone! I think my favorite things about this trip were making 9 new friends and being able to physically see the difference we had made in Asheville!


Happy Holidays!
Aubrey :)