Category: Blog
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Where I Live Chiang Mai: Photo essay
Waffle and Muffin like chicken I live in an apartment whose owners have two dogs: Waffle and Muffin. Both males; Waffle is seven years old, and Muffin is one year old. Hence, he is the hyper one, and sprints to the front door whenever I come in, while Waffle sniffs in his elder-status aloofness. They…
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Muzak in the Mall: The Greatest Love of All
Omelette-on-rice-with-green-curry-combo I take my lunch in the food court of an outdated mall. They only have one track that loops “The Greatest Love of All”—nonstop—muzak-style. The food court serves mainly the employees of the mall, each represented by their respective color coordinated polo shirts; other local Thais, students, and on the weekends—families. There are a…
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No More Punching Penises
This dog is in a heat-induced coma in front of 7-11. This article states that the Royal Rain unit has been dousing the up-country regions in water to alleviate the extreme haze and dangerous levels of pollution. Personally, I don’t think it made a dent. The pm2.5 AQI (air quality index) was 251! Acceptable AQI…
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Teaching A, B, C: Volunteer in Phrao
Beautiful Lanna style house: Warm Heart offices and orphanage The Thais call the north “up-country”. This is a region dotted with cozy villages, red-dirt roads, roosters, and unfortunately—a lot of smoke. Every year for three-to-four months, farmers to clear their fields by burning everything. Although hazy, it is beautiful here. Many evenings as I sit…
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Don’t Have Syphilis, Get a Thai Work Permit! Phrao, Thailand
Warm Heart dog. Warm Heart Volunteer I arrived at Warm Heart Worldwide to volunteer as a TEFL teacher. Located 70km north of Chiang Mai, this nonprofit is tucked in the village of Phrao. My students—the orphans—would depend on me to teach them and deliver fun, engaging lessons. I felt nervous, but thankfully had my TEFL…
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Chiang Mai the Polluted, Chiang Mai the Hipster Art Scene
I think every post has to start with a dog. Chiang Mai has the illustrious honor of being in the news for being such a pretty and charming city with a small town vibe. Now it has the ignominious honor for being the world’s most polluted! More polluted than India, Bangladesh, and China! This past…
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Luxury, Kawaii, and Too Many Chocolate Cakes: Vientiane, Laos
I flew to Vientiane, Laos to make my volunteer visa for Thailand. Unfortunately, I had failed to consult the Thai Embassy calendar and didn’t realize that Friday, May 8 was a national holiday—”International Women’s Day”. I had assumed I could pick up my passport that day, and fly out that same evening. But after having…
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Devotees at Ramana Ashram
Upon successfully completing my TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) course, I had to leave Thailand in order to apply for my volunteer visa. I would submit my application in Laos, but I took a detour to Tiruvannamalai, India in order to visit Arunachala and Ramana Ashram again. This devotee couldn’t help but wilt…
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Techno Club in a Songthaew
In order to prepare for my upcoming English teaching volunteer service, I enrolled in a TEFL (teach English as a foreign language) course in Chiang Mai. For four weeks, 8am-5pm, I brushed up on grammar rules, learned how to make lesson plans, and taught classes as a teacher-in-training. At the end of one day, I…
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Lessons Learned: Never Put Your Hand in an Indian Toilet
Having spent a year and three months abroad, I have not come away unscathed. Although the majority of my experiences have been filled with the kindness of strangers, adorable dogs, inspiring art, and otherwise drama-free days of applying balm to my mosquito bites, I did have to learn some lessons the hard way. Case in…