The Simple Things

Jason and I have been walking everywhere lately. It’s been great exercise but the intense heat makes our bodies sluggish and causes our legs to move at a snail’s pace. So we have decided we will invest in bicycles to get around faster. My dear friend has recently given up on teaching here in Kalasin, she was facing outrageous class sizes and insufficient support and decided to throw in the towel. The only good thing that came out of it is that she sold her brand new bike to me for a bargain price. Jason and I took it for a spin the other night and rode down to the 711. He peddled while I stood on the pegs. It had to be quite a scene. The bike is barely my size so the sight of Jason on the front and me hanging off the back gave locals something to hoot and holler at as they flew by us on mopeds and in cars. We will now search high and low for a bike Jason’s size for a decent price. Once we acquire one, the transport will be a great way for us to break through boundary lines and explore outside the town. When we asked if there’s a need for bike locks, the other foreigners assured us there wasn’t. They explained that the locals will once in a while ‘borrow’ your bikes if they are left out in the open, but you can always guarantee that they will be returned the very next day unharmed.

On a much less pleasant note, the amount of stray dogs in Thailand is saddening. It seems as though even the dogs belonging to human owners are not taken care of. They are not bathed, nurtured, properly fed or vaccinated. The sight of it all is taking a toll on me. I wish I could help. In the States, people spend thousands on treatments, remedies, and surgeries just to make their pets more comfortable and while I thought that behavior was typically a bit overboard, I see myself siding with those types of actions tenfold.

I’ll end this post with an amusing story. As we made our way back to the apartment from the grocery store last night, it began to drizzle. Well the drizzle quickly turned into rain and before we could take cover, the rain morphed into torrential downpour. Our brisk walk was no longer acceptable; we were forced to sprint the rest of way home, 5 bags in hand. When we reached the doorstep, we laughed hysterically. It really was one of the most enlivening events we had experienced all week! We changed out of our drenched clothes, wiped down all the groceries, started dinner on the wok and took pleasure in the sight and sound of the brightest and loudest storm either of us have ever witnessed. It ended up lasting all night and rocking us to sleep.
Let the rainy season begin!

After the rain comes sun:)