I just had my first day of school in Chiang Mai. There are six people
in my class, the same number as my class in Seattle, though there are
half as many Americans this time. This class will teach some theory of
Thai massage and a basic Thai massage routine. I don't imagine using
the whole routine as a treatment, but hope to learn some effective
techniques to integrate. This class is a prerequisite for classes that
will more directly address what i am looking to learn here and a
necessary introduction to a methodology of bodywork which is totally
different from the western clinical methods I have learned. I really
enjoy pretending that i am an elephant walking upon a humans' body and
think its wonderful that Thais do too. I have read that a mature
orangutan is capable of ripping a limb off of a human- i wonder if
maybe there is a traction technique relevant to this astonishing
factoid.
I've been travelling for a little over six weeks now and it is beginning to feel much more natural. I
don't think much of squating over toilets or the BYOTP ethic anymore.
I am more prepared than ever to grin at my own stupidity- which is
saying something- but i've had more practice than ever. I now buy my
food from places with chairs only because i am willing to pay to sit
down, not because i believe that the food will taste better or be more
sanitary. I react to honking as i do to sneezing- i ignore it unless i
am directly in the line of fire.
I am proud to say that i still haven't eaten at McDonalds and
that i now avoid bars (excepting those with good live music) and
tourist restaraunts. Yesterday I was caught in a torrential rain, the
like of which i have only ever seen in the tropics and could not have
imagined even after 20 years in Seattle. In less then a minute i was
absolutely drenched and I ducked into the first place i could stay a
while, which was a bar with a rock and roll band. I sat down and
listened to a Thai bassist and guitarist (and their electronic drum
machine) crank out the hits of acts as diverse as Muddy Waters, Santana
and Counting Crows. Though i only stayed until the rain stopped, i
decided: this is a bar with good music!.
I find it astonishing how singing eliminates the problems of botched nuances of inflection and pronunciation of a foreign language. This
Thai rockstar sang totally comprehensable english- he was able to sound
just like a black man from the 30's AND THEN a modern californian white
guy- he also sang what sounded to me like perfect spanish. He would
say something like, 'hunqx lijkuyt banmbedrdy, gritiv radger' before
starting another song, 'She came in through the bathroom window!' in
the voice of John Lennon. Astonishing that I don't understand a single
word this man says, then appreciate his mimicry of the subtle nuances
of such a range of western pop singers.
It makes me think that maybe while i forsake the western bars i
should take up karaoke with the locals. I am really happy not to go
out drinking these days, though, and i should keep it up. I haven't
had more than a beer or two a night, if that, for a few weeks now.
Maybe i'm growing up.... it used to be a terrible thought, but i guess
that i see that, for me, maturity can involve picking and choosing. As
it turns out, the wonder and openness of kids that i cherish isn't
actually about drinking. If i have it my way, i won't stop living like
a child. Rather, I'll harbor the (quiet) voice of a wise parent. If i
have it my way, i will live like less of an idiot and every bit as much of a child.
For
better or worse, I haven't found much nightlife in Chiang Mai (or Asia
for that matter) outside of the bars and outdoor markets. There are more than a few decent bookstores and a couple of jazz venues for which i am thankful.
The
days here are sublime. I've eaten a different curry every afternoon
for the past five days. I ride my scooter up Chiang Mai's mountain-
Doi Suthep- quite often. There are a bunch of really great places to
stop on the winding road to the top. There are parks with trails which
follow a(depending on rainfall and location) stream/river/waterfall .
There are a few viewpoints which look over Chiang Mai, there is an old
temple (which i've already written about here) and an old palace. Best
of all, there is fresh air. At night, I work on my newest pursuit,
ukulele covers of the hits of Motown.
I realize both that ukulele
was not the intended accompaniment to songs like 'Sittin on the Dock of
the Bay' or 'A Natural Woman' and that my voice is a different
instrument than that of Aretha or Otis Redding. It definately sounds a
little wrong but its really fun to work on this music and strangely, i
think that it may help me to fit into my community at Veerachai Court.
My
community is a population of retirees and more often than not, their
prostitutes. There are some married couples, but most residents are
single men- though that may be an assumption, i can say that they are
men who do not travel with their wedding rings or partners should they
have them. These men fill the five tables which front the lobby, each
table speaking a different language. Veerachai Court is located in an
alley between two nice streets in Chaing Mai- there are restaraunts,
cafes, markets, galleries, bookstores, jewellers and a variety of craft
shops at either side- but the alley is another world. My neighbors
don't travel 3000 miles for Thai culture- the alley is home to
cheeseburgers, cheap beer, a laudrymat and small dark rooms that offer
what for reasons of legality is called 'massage'. My neighbors don't
leave the alley.
I don't want to sound too judgemental. I am sure that many have lived lives harder than i can imagine, and they really seem comfortable, if not overjoyed by their circumstance.
I
now wear sunglasses in and out of Veerachai- mostly because i want to
be able to really look at these people- they interest me. They share
so much- it really is a community. They seem to have been brought
together in their search of the same comforts- cheap food and beer and
the (possibly illusory) feeling of being loved. Nobody clears the
tables they sit at and i can watch the empty cans and bottles
accumulate throughout the day; though many of these men drink for most
of the day, they do so slowly. They may pay for companionship, but
more often than not the women seem to get long term contracts.... In a
funny way the illusion of love that these men pay for brings them
together. There lives appear self-destructive and, of course, the sex
trade cannot be harmless, but i'm glad that they have each other.
I
understand i may appear to them to be the crazy one. I am the one who
travelled 3000 miles to sing (badly), 'You make me feel like a natural
woman', alone and often.
Even still, a hundred bucks a month for an apartment with a big bed, patio, hot shower and HBO is a really great deal.
