Maybe it's the fact that I just got here and everything intrigues me, but I have yet to encounter a place that I can't find beauty in somehow. Be that a dusty market street, a crowded trafficky highway, or a intricately decorated home. The flora here are big, bright and overwhelming, typically growing all over the roads, homes and sometimes abandoned cars. Spirit houses draped with wreaths and floral garlands are everywhere, greeting guests at houses, malls and any other place where crowds frequent. Though lovely, they have a haunting darkness about them, since locals tend to believe the spirits in the empty structures provide protection or bring good luck. Like churches in the states, wats (temples) are on every corner in some areas of town. They are insanely bright and beautiful, bringing tourists from all corners of the world.
The people here are equally if not more beautiful. I have walked directly into a store and after ten minutes of chatting in a Thai-English mixture have been invited back to practice language or ask questions about Thai culture and answer ones about America in return. Markets are full of happy, smiling faces, crazy smells and helpful voices. I know I'll be buying vegetables from the same girl who taught me to how to identify each veggie in Thai. I attended a Thai birthday party that pulled me out of my corner and got me dancing to songs I didn't know any of the words to (because they were in Thai), taught English to adorable kids who wouldn't otherwise get to learn. I taught some Thai school girls to bake cookies (yes, those cookies) for the first time, and a translator friend helped them to understand. I'm falling more and more in love with this country, it's people, and their easy, laid-back culture. Not to forget the food. [Left: Fried pumpkin with egg, chicken and wild rice; Right: Penang curry with chicken.]
