7/25 – Wednesday. House Hunting International – Knechtel Edition
actually happened. It was a craaaaaazy
day. We probably saw 10 houses in 1 day.
It was unbelievable. None of them were
the perfect house for us but it definitely gave us a LOT to think about. Moe has detailed pictures on his facebook. I have tagged myself in them
so you should be able to see them through my facebok as well. If not please let
me know.
Anyway, I was quite overwhelmed after the day. We saw so much and learned so much about our
new home, Chiang Mai. First I was
challenged yet again to let go. We were
completely trusting two local Thai people who knew little English to take us
around to these places and make sure that we did not get scammed. They both work at CMIS and were super, super
nice people so that always helps. One of
the ladies is an office worker and we bonded right away. She was so cute and fun.
We also learned that there is quite a variety when it comes to
housing here and we saw it all! We saw average housing. We saw expensive
housing with its own pool and top of the line everything! We saw a traditional
Thai style house with open air rooms with everything made from wood. We saw
dirty and grimy places as well as new and clean places. It was interesting for sure.
 |
| the pool :) |
Moe and I have been battling over a lot of things with housing so
please pray for us. We are trying to
decide on a budget as things are so cheap here we are not real sure where to
start. The people we have talked to have
different opinions on what is expensive and what is not, so it can be
challenging to figure that out. Plus, we
are struggling to decide if we want a furnished or unfurnished place. We do know that where we are is uncomfortable
and not where we want to be. But that is about the only thing we know for
sure!!
 |
| Getting a lesson |
7/26 – Thursday. Thursday
was another learning day. We started the day by learning how to ride/use a
motorbike. Principal has graciously let
us use his extra motorbike for a few days so we can get our bearings. He explained how everything worked and the
major functions. It might be important to note that neither Moe nor I had ever
ridden or driven a motorbike. We were
both fairly worried about it, but I was definitely more worried. I had no intention
of getting on or driving today. Moe was
ready though and itching to get out. He
got the hang of it quite quickly too. We
have a parking lot that goes 3/4ths the way around our building so Moe was
practicing going around the building and
 |
| in our parking lot |
getting used to driving. Then we decided he was ready to try some open
roads. We went to the side and back
streets of our building where the school is and practiced there. While he got the hang of the back roads,
Principal took me on a quick tour so I experience motorbike driving and flow of
traffic. It was very scary at first. I was
holding on tight through each acceleration and turn. After a few minutes I realized that it was
actually quite fun! It was so much fun
that I even released my grip and relaxed…except for a few scary moments J
I did learn however that my goal as a passenger is to resemble a sack of
potatoes in that I want to move as little as possible. I definitely think I can handle this as the
fear of God and everything else is quite imbedded in me after all the stories
we have heard about driving here!
Anyway, we had a great time learning that. It surprisingly did not take long
either. After that I took a nap. I was
tired! Then we had lunch and I began a few teacher things….it’s getting so
close! We made plans with the principal and his wife to go furniture shop (just
so we could get an idea of prices…don’t worry!) and then have dinner at their
house. We were longing for a home cooked
meal! Furniture shopping was quite revealing. Again there are lots of options.
Rattan furniture is very popular here but surprisingly expensive. We saw cheap sets of furniture as well as
mattresses that could get us by. We then went to expensive furniture places. It
was crazy how expensive some things were, like office chairs were like 300 dollars
and a leather sofa for $9000dollars….crazy. It was fun to see all of the
different styles and what was available though.
Most of the furniture is expensive for Thailand but somewhat reasonable
compared to America. There were things
that Principal said were expensive but when comparing to American prices were
still cheap. So again we have a lot to learn about pricing and what is what
here!
 |
| lots of wonderful furniture |
And finally dinner: it was WONDERFUL! It wasn’t really home cooked
but it was so nice to sit a table at a house and relax. We had what was basically rotisserie chicken,
sticky rice, breaded pork chop, some noodle thing that was spicy, and something
else I cant remember. It was all finger
food which is something Moe and I have to get used to. Eating with our hands is
not something we enjoy. For dessert we had home made chocolate chip cookies
that were to die for! Best thing we have had since being here. J
Moe also had some coconut ice cream which I think he enjoyed.
We also went to the grocery but nothing important to share there. We
got crackers, chips, Gatorade and few apples. Nothing fancy, but in case you
want to know every detail. We love
sharing and are having a wonderful time.
We are ready to be settled and explore more easily and comfortably!
No comments:
Post a Comment