Week two is about everything you would expect of a pretty rigorous massage school, including sore knees sore wrists sore backs from so much you and too much massage. We started learning teir two, which included another 100 or so positions to the near 200 we already had. On the plus side, our class laughs and jokes regularly and the Thai teachers who cycle through our class say we are there favorites, though they may secretly hate us it's hard to tell because they are so gosh darn polite. Needless to say the education is top knotch and we are learning so much, and eating about the best food on earth. Eating vegetarian or vegan in Thailand is so easy compared to most of the world, with curries and soups and noodles all based out of veggies, coconut milk, non gluten noodles and all the spices you could ask for.
Across the street from our school there is a marked where we can get an incredible vegetarian meal, with rice for two dollars, I'm in heaven. Post class after I've had a solid nap to recover from a strenuous day of learning, kneeling and lying down in repetition, by the way this is harder than you think as every time you lie down to get a massage and then have to get up after and be a human being, your whipped. Most evenings I find myself with the massage crew or a few other teacher friends I met in my wanderings at a sweet Jazz club called Northgate Jazz, or one of the sweet little restaurant, many of which are vegetarian as well. Nights seem to fly by and along with the help of an old Australian friend from my time in Oz and her Canadian boyfriend, I discover all the hip spots in town populated by a mix of lovely Thai folks and an international hodgepodge of digital nomads and teachers.
Every Friday night we head to my friend Binky's house, aka the healing house. This is where there is one of the best weekly open mic nights I've ever experienced. I say this not because I have not been to incredible talent open mic nights and many terrible ones, but because of the heart of the place. Healing house is indeed a healing house, a place where people come to share, play, grieve and perform. Poetry, music, story telling, classically trained musicians to people that only played in there bed rooms, poets to story tellers and even a roadside philosopher. Everyone comes with an open mind and a heart to support whoever gets up to do whatever. This is the kind of place every community needs, a place to come and share. As week two spills into week three, i have my smoothie stand with a lovely woman who already knows my orders and laughs and she makes them, a collection of awesome teachers, artists, coders and digital nomads with which to paint the town red with, and my massage crew, who daily join me on our rigorous adventure down Thai massage lane. I am blessed to be here, blessed to fall in love with this sweet little city, and the beautiful nomads and locals that call it home.
No comments:
Post a Comment