Burning season is here!

We first learned about the burning season a few months ago. Apparently, every year around March, the plantations in Southeast Asia use controlled fires to clear the land of vegetation and make space for crops.

This results in the "Southeast Asian haze," an air pollution problem that affects much of Asia.  I have read that "slash-and-burn" agriculture is heavily regulated, but this doesn't seem to deter farmers from doing it in mass amounts.

Unfortunately, Chiang Mai sits in a bowl-like valley surrounded by mountains, which traps the polluted air. Dan and I have recently started to notice the effects. Due to decreased visibility, we can no longer see the mountains that surround the city, nor can we completely see stretches of road that were once visible to us.  Walking along the streets has become much less enjoyable, and working out a little more labored (or perhaps this is just a reverse placebo effect, or nocebo effect (yes, that phrase actually exists)).

The past few days, Chiang Mai has been in the "Moderate" zone, but today it has made it to the "Unhealthy" zone, which according to http://aqicn.org/ means that "Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects."

Where is Chiang Mai?

I guess it's good timing that we're leaving Thailand on March 30th. I'm definitely going to miss Chiang Mai, but I don't even want to imagine what the "Hazardous" zone is like...

Miracle Fruit

While browsing the Internet, Dan came across something called the Miracle fruit. The miracle fruit is a berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods to taste sweet.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum)

Quite intrigued upon learning about this (and surprised that I hadn't known about it before), I began searching for where this fruit is found. I soon learned that the miracle plant could be found in Chiang Mai at one of the local flower markets.

After a couple of hours spent wandering around the market, hopelessly trying to communicate with a lot of mimicking of sour and sweet faces, I finally found the plant.

We read online that the most effective way to do it is to put the berry in your mouth for one minute and move it around your tongue. For the next hour, lemons, limes, grapefruits and sour candies tasted amazing!

Coaching CMIS

Coaching soccer has been something that I've always wanted to try.  I started training young girls when I was 16 years old, but had never coached before.  So, when I was offered the opportunity to coach the Chiang Mai International School U14 girls team, I jumped at the opportunity.

Showing up at practice the first day, I was unsure what to expect.  But, I know what I definitely wasn't expecting-- girls to show up for practice with their hair down, jeans and normal tennis shoes.

"Are you on the soccer team?" I asked a girl dressed in jeans who hopped into the songtaew headed to the field.
"Yes," she responded.
"Do you want to change before we go to the field?" I asked.
"Change?" she replied confused.

The team consisted of girls aged 11-13, some of whom had never before touched a soccer ball, and others who were quite good.  A good portion of the girls were from Thailand, and the rest from the US, South Korea, the UK, and South Africa.  There were 15 girls on the team, more than double what we needed for their 7v7 games.

In the beginning, practices were difficult, as better players would become frustrated with some of the girls who had never played before.  It was tough to find drills that were simple enough for beginners, challenging for the better players, yet fun for everyone.  And what was even tougher was trying to fit 15 girls into a 40-minute game.

But, I made it through the season, with an undefeated record, far surpassing my initial expectations, and even won the final conference tournament.

I have a feeling that this won't be my last time coaching...

Hong Kong

I pride myself in my flight searching abilities, so when I found a round-trip flight for $250 directly to Hong Kong from Chiang Mai for the Chinese New Year, I gave myself a hefty pat on the back.  One of my good friends is currently living in Hong Kong, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to visit.  Only later did I learn that my flight was actually during the New Year celebrations, and that it arrived at 12:50am, just two minutes after the Express train stopped running for the night.  Luckily, I was able to easily find a cab from the airport.

Arriving to Steph's apartment at 1:30am, I felt fully awake, and full of excitement.  But, my actions might tell otherwise.  I paid the driver and subconsciously swung the door open...right as a bus was driving by.

"No, no, no, no, no..." the driver yelled, wincing in his seat.  For what might be the longest three seconds of my life, the taxi door skidded along the bus, until the bus came to a halt.

Amused passengers on the bus made sure to document the incident with their iPhones, as I stammered to find some words that might make the situation any better.  As traffic piled up behind the bus, I apologized profusely to the cab driver, while waiting to see what would happen next.  Police officers arrived at the scene a few minutes later chattering away in Cantonese as I stood there awkwardly.  To make a long story short, my first night in Hong Kong was a memorable one.



*In case you're wondering, the taxi had insurance to cover its repair, but I had to partially cover the damage to the bus.  Well, technically I'm sure I could have easily gotten out of it since they really had no way to contact me, but $250 wasn't such a terrible price to pay.

Hong Kong was basically as expected: an overcrowded international city with small apartments, the longest skyline I've ever seen, delicious pork buns and egg custard buns...and really nice beaches!