Living Social

I probably wouldn’t have much conversation with others if I let my inner introvert control me.  In fact, my first day in Thailand was pretty quiet other than the few words I spoke to order food and ask for directions.  That could be the norm for me, except I decided to get out of my comfort zone, be more social, and have conversations with the people around me.  I have people in my life who never meet strangers.  They easily strike up conversations with others and make friends with little effort.  That does not come naturally to me.  I usually require some time to warm up to new people, and I am rarely the person to initiate an exchange.   Therefore, I am challenging myself to have at least 1 real conversation per day with the people around me beyond logistics.  To that end, I am proud to say that I have been exceeding my conversation quota.

Doi Suthep with Shea

Before leaving Houston, I made arrangements to meet a few people in Chiang Mai.  I learned that a young lady who formerly attended my church would be in Chiang Mai for a few days while I was there.  We only knew each other through mutual friends.  We exchanged contact information and decided to meet up in Thailand.  I contacted her upon my arrival, and we met for dinner followed by a trip to the Night Bazaar.  We hung out a few more times before her mission group headed back to the States.  She invited me to join her group on a trip up the mountain to Doi Suthep where we visited a temple and saw a very foggy view of the city below.  I also took her to “my” massage place for 120B.  It was great hanging out with someone new in a place that was new to both of us.  I also found that there was a Toastmasters International Club in Chiang Mai, and I made plans to visit one of their Sunday meetings while I was in town.  They warmly welcomed me and allowed me to participate in their meeting as General Evaluator.  The club has members from different parts of the world, which makes it interesting and fun to learn from each other’s cultures.  I met people from The Philippines, England, Scotland, Thailand, and there was even an American who retired to Chiang Mai.  

Chiang Mai Toastmasters

I continued my social streak on Sunday, and I met with a friend of a friend for early dinner.  My friend who lived in Chiang Mai for a few months a couple of years ago, still had contacts in the city, and introduced me to them online.  I met one of the guys at Rustic and Blue for amazing food.  He told me about a Black American expat group that meets for dinner every Sunday and gave me details on where to meet them.  I walked to Food 4 Thought and met about 10 other travelers there.  They told me that they usually had more people come on Sundays, but there were a few other events happening that same weekend that split the group.  I was full from dinner, so I only had a smoothie.  I made a mental note to go back, because the food looked amazing.  It was interesting to see this table full of Black people in Thailand, and to hear about everyone’s experiences and what brought them to the magical borders of Chiang Mai.  Some of them were just passing though and others decided to make it home.  I could totally understand why they loved it so much.  Rents around the table ranged from $100 to $350 each month, and the cost of living was very low.  They felt free to be themselves without the oppressive discrimination faced in the US.  In addition to meeting this awesome group at another amazing restaurant, I learned that the organizer and I share the same birthdate (same year too).  She told me there are at least 2 other people, who were not present that day, who have the same birthday.  Twins!  She’s a kindred natural spirit and told me about places to go for meditation and healthy food options too.  The magic of the internet is that it brings total strangers together online with an interest in exploring the world and allows travelers to meet and share resources, such as the Facebook group for Sunday Dinner and Blackpackers. 

Sunday Dinner

My Birthday Twin