Welcome to Payap University!

Last week, my first night here, I got to participate in an amazing Thai ceremony to welcome the 'freshy' nursing students to their new home at Payap.

As any good ceremony does, it started with the students crawling under the arms of all the Ajang (teachers).

Their teachers would tease them by pushing down on their backs so that they had to crawl on their bellies. They had great attitudes, though. All in good fun.

Next there were some speaches in Thai. I was hanging out with Jew (next to me), who is the Nursing dorm chaplain, and P' Thang. In Thailand, P' is a prefix that means 'big sister.' P' Thang is my first P' in Thailand. Although I only just met her, her mother, Ajang Rujira, insist that she is my P'. P' Thang is studying to get her doctorate in nursing from Chiang Mai University.

After the speech all of the students came up to us Ajang and we tied pieces of string on their wrists and said a welcome and blessing for them. By the end some of them had strings all up their arms!

The ceremony is very traditional. The students are wearing traditional northern Thai clothing, and the color of their pants signifies what year in school they are. Next we had a traditional northern Thai meal.

I don't know the names of any of this except chicken and sticky rice, but it's all very spicy and delicious.

I sat with the Dean of the faculty of nursing (far right), Ajang Rujira (she used to be the Dean, but 'retired' to the position of Residential Life Supervisor, i.e. my boss), and P' Thang.

Next some of the students did fire dancing (that's right, they're awesome!) and traditional Thai dance. They are a very talented group of students and I'm thrilled to work with them.

I was so honored to participate in such an important Thai tradition. I was the only non-Thai there and definitely the object of some young childrens' gawking. Nevertheless I was firmly enveloped in the warmth, hospitality and generosity of my Thai co-workers.

One Week In

Amazing how little difference a week makes.

I sat with new friends today at Salad Conception, a nice little joint in touristy Chiang Mai. It was my first time seeing the tourist spots, I live in a VERY Thai neighborhood. I am, in fact, the only farang (white person) in the nursing complex of 500 students and a plethora of staff.

We were served by a waiter of the Thai Hipster type, the hipster sandals, tight pants, the whole thing. The most basic salad (a real treat, salad!) was THB 50 (about $1.50) and on up to THB 100. I panicked at how expensive it was. An entire meal, with drinks and desserts, would easily have cost us THB 150-200. Even our simple salad was a price that could only be afforded on special occasions. I'm on a Thai salary now, with no room for such luxuries.

Although Chiang Mai has been home for less than a week, I found myself annoyed at the backpackers and tourists and shocked at the number of farang. I was possibly gawking as much as the children in my neighborhood do at me.

While walking around a wat (Buddhist temple) in Old City I almost told two tourists women that their attire was completely inappropriate for the temple, with spaghetti straps and mini-skirts. But they were speaking Russian. Plus it didn't seem like it was my battle.

One week in...I appreciate toilet paper, water bottles, umbrellas, nuts and dried fruit and fresh ground coffee. I appreciate my family and friends back home and my amazing new community here. One week in...I think I'll stick around for a while.

Thailand 101

My strategy to thriving in Land of Smiles is just that; smile. The language, the culture and the customs are all different. But smiling is an instant connection to the Thai heart.

Lesson 2, after you've mastered the 'smile and look dazed' phase, is the wai. Remember that slight bow with hands together, that you've seen in Asian films? Alive and thriving!

Basics of wai form:

1. Elbows at sides, not out like a chicken.

2. Palms together, prayer like, with the tips of your fingers somewhere around your chin.

3. Bow slightly (sometimes)

Etiquette for wai:

The person of social inferiority always wais first. Basically, I wai everyone but students. If someone doesn't immediately wai me, it's my social cue to wai them. The depth of bow depends on just how superior they are. You wai someone the first time you greet them in the day, then need not wai again. A monk will never wai you back, so don't be offended.

Smiling and wai-ing are about the only things I have down, although I did order my lunch today in Thai. The Thais are a gentle and forgiving people. If my undoubtable American faux pas is accompanied by smiles, they will graciously forgive my awkwardness.