I have LOTS AND LOTS to catch you up on, starting with a recap of the past two weeks. Right now I'm coming to you live from my new favorite café in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Let's start with my unconventional finals week!
On Wednesday, October 13, we had our final dance performance for my SE Asian Dance class. I have lots of pictures and some videos too!
It was such a fun and rewarding experience, and I really enjoyed connecting with Thai culture in such a unique way:
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| Lotus and Chrysanthemum petals are traditional Thai decoration |
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| All dressed up in traditional Balinese costumes for the "Rejang Dewa" dance |
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| Me and my fingernails for the Lanna Fingernail Dance |
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| My professor, Waewdao, performing a solo piece |
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| Her husband, Michael Sakamoto, also performing solo. |
Check back for videos...it's taking so long to upload them!
Finals week was jam-packed with papers, tests, and sit-down examinations -- the busiest finals week I've ever had! It was tough because we had to cram so much into such a short amount of time, while still going to class.
On Thursday, for our final Buddhism class, Ajan Alan took us to a few different Wat sites around Chiang Mai. The first was called Wat Chedi Yod, located in the middle of town. I fell in love with this dog:
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| Triple Buddhas! |
We also went to Wat U Mong, which is in the forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. This 'sect' focuses on solo meditation far away from urban areas, and it highly values connections with nature. Its in a way other-worldly. This temple was SO cool because it was in a forest that was also in the middle of the city -- but it was so peaceful and serene that it felt as if we were a million miles away from Chiang Mai.
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| Tunnels with shrines built into forest caves |
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| A "Buddha Graveyard" for broken or old Buddha images and figures. Thousands littered the forest floor! |
More posts more posts more posts coming soon I PROMISE.
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