100 Days in Thailand :: Day 16 - A Biscuet & A Dragon

Since we're getting settled into life in Chiang Mai (we moved into our apartment yesterday! YAY!) I'm going to start skipping some "blogging days" - meaning my blog might go from day 13 to day 16, or I might blog about a specific topic in Thailand, instead of about my day. The main reason for that is, simply put, some of my days here are kind of boring! And I don't think you want to read a blog about me sitting at home hand washing my laundry, now do you? (nope, I didn't think so ;)

So, anyway.... today we're moving on to Day 16 in Thailand! (which was February 3rd in case you were wondering.)

Today was a day I've been looking forward to for at least a couple of months. A while back I commented on my friend Biscuet's blog (who lives and works in China) something along the lines of, "hey - if you're in Thailand any the next few months let me know!" I was half-joking, because, as I said before - Biscuet lives in China! So imagine my surprise when I got an email a few hours later that said, "I'll actually be in Chiang Mai, Thailand for 6 weeks in Jan/Feb for a work conference! Let's get together!"

Talk about a God of detail, right? My friend from America that went to school with me at Auburn, who lives in China was going to be in Thailand - in the same city I would be living in - at the exact same time as me! I love it when tons of crazy details come together like that!

And so, my friend Biscuet and I got together for a cup of coffee (or for me, a mango smoothie ;) at Starbucks in Thailand!

 

It was great to introduce him to Rusty and to catch up with him and hear his heart! I loved hearing about his work with ELIC (if any of you are interested in teaching English overseas you should totally get in touch with him! They work in other countries too (not just China). His email address is here.) and his desire to see Kingdom come to the nations he works with. I also loved getting an update about my friends from Grace Campus Ministries (who've been living in Hong Kong for several years). But most of all, it was just fun to get to hang out with someone familiar, someone from "home" (Auburn) so far away! Thanks for a fun afternoon Biscuet!

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After our coffee date, Rusty and I headed out with our friend Mark to grab some dinner and do a little shopping at the night bazaar! (because seriously, how could I resist shopping when the streets are lined with carts full of beautiful things for miles?!)

I was looking through some gorgeous silk robes when Mark ran up and said - "Ericka, you're going to want to see this! Come with me!" Intrigued I followed....

When I emerged from the carts and looked down the street, THIS is what I saw!

Talk about an incredible sight! Biscuet and I had JUST been talking about how it is the Chinese New Year this weekend, and I was thinking to myself how neat it would be to see a real Chinese Dragon. Well, apparently, God read my mind!

It was so cool! The detail was amazing, and the teamwork it took to make the Dragon move was really impressive. Though - I have to admit - even as an adult I thought it was pretty scary. It just looked so INTIMIDATING with its chomping jaws! This does NOT look like a friendly Dragon people. It actually looks way too much like a giant snake for my comfort! And on top of the way it looked and moved - there were TONS of firecrackers going off and smoke everywhere.

If I were a little kid I would've been TERRIFIED! But apparently this (adorable) little girl was unfazed... (bottom right corner)

Here's a little (30 sec) video so you can see what I mean....

Chinese Dragon in Chiang Mai from Ericka Bennett Jackson on Vimeo.

You just never know who, or WHAT, you'll run into on the streets of Thailand! It's an adventure every day! :)