24 hrs in Chiang Mai

So I've had a day in Chiang Mai! I woke up this morning thinking "What the hell am I doing here?" but as the day wore on I felt more relaxed about it. I think it was that I'm here on my own, away from the familiar. Its funny, I haven't been overseas since Chile 2.5 years ago, and now that I'm in another foreign country, the spanish phrases I knew are coming right back to me. I think "Gracias" rather than "Khorp kun kar", or "Hola" instead of "So wa ti kar". I really need to pick up some Thai! Its been great so far, riding around in Tuk tuks (built in bikes) and Sawngthaew (sitting in the back of utes with a canopy), pushbikes and on the back of a motorbike. We pay about 25 Baht per trip from one side of the city to another which is A$1. We usually eat a meal for about 30 Baht if its thai (western meals cost more, but who wants to eat western when you're in Thailand?). The guesthouse is basic but comfortable, and I'm staying here with a few Christians from other parts of the world (the UK, America, Nicaragua & Thailand). Its used mostly to accomodate people who are visiting Thailand or staying longer term to do mission work, like working with youth, sharing Jesus with the "lady-boys" or helping in an orphanage.

Today I dropped into the office of Create International (who make movies about Gods story for unreached people groups), my friend Jaz works there. And this evening we spent some time at "Won Generation" a youth hang out place near the uni (where they hope to start up the cafe). After that, we saw the movie "Angels and Demons", which was alright (I haven't actually seen Da Vinci code yet though) The thai are apparently pretty proud of their royal family, and at the movies we all had to stand while they played the Kings song, which was like a little mini slideshow tribute to the King! Pretty funny, but I best not say derogatory things about royalty if I value my life!

It's the start of the wet season, so its interesting to be in singlet and shorts in the rain, I'm not sad about this at all! I'm hoping for some sunshine over the weekend to allow for some rock climbing and hoping to do some shopping at the Sunday markets and meet up to chat with some people in business and community development. Looking forward to getting hold of a motorbike to get around. While I haven't been in peak hour traffic yet, the way the thais do it cracks me up. I think I could fit in alright over here. They just push their way through. Apparently, if you don't make any sudden movements, just go with the flow, people just drive along anticipating each other! Mo-peds and motorbikes are everywhere, without helmets (don't worry Dad, I was wearing one!) and often 2 or more people on each.

While at Create International, we watched a couple of dvds they'd made, to make people aware of social justice issues and what people are doing in unreached countries in the world. I was inspired by a canadian girl my age who is a midwife in the middle east, and a Perth boy whos been to Thailand and is part of a team trying to raise money and awareness to save children from being sold into sex slavery. The thing that both of them echoed was that "to live is Christ and to die is gain", which is out of chapter 1 of Philippians. Not meaning that we're better to be dead, but to allow God to have his way in our lives, instead of us concentrating on building our own personal success. Figuring out the things that matter most, that really matter most, the things that are close to Gods heart.