Finally Starting to Train...

Well today marked the first time that I got to do what I came to Thailand to do. I went and trained at Lanna Muay Thai. It was just what I needed. The training was great and I got a great workout in. The set up of the training is very similar but the way they hold pads is a lot different and I like it a lot better. Rather than just standing there and calling out combinations, the trainer moves around a lot and makes you really work to hit the pads. He also was throwing lots of kicks and punches at me from all kinds of different angles so it really made me work my defense. I will post a video of the gym. I won't be in it but you will be able to get an idea of what I'm doing. Later today I am going with a professor to another muay Thai gym to check it out. Hopefully it is as good as Lanna is so I will have a few different options.

Yesterday another guy and myself went to Carrefour (It's originally from France but it is basically a Wal-Mart) and I saw something that I would never see in a Wal-Mart in America. There is constantly wacky ass music playing over the PA and since Carrefour is within a mall, you can hear it everywhere. Well, as we were walking through the store, all of a sudden the Carrefour theme song comes on and all of the employees stopped whatever they were doing and all started doing this goofy ass dance. It was hilarious. It took every bit of me not to laugh hysterically. The guys had no clue what they were doing because they were watching the girls do it the whole time and were always a step behind. The guy I was with said the time before when he was there they played the Thai national anthem and everyone in the entire mall (it is always unbelievably busy) just stopped. He said that him and the people he was with didn't know what was going on at first because they just kept walking. Anyways, I also saw this lady about wipe out on a wet spot on the floor. As she stepped on it she like skidded out. I tried to conceal my laughter but I couldn't do it. I laughed so unbelievably hard.

I also had McDonalds the other day as a bit of a break from Thai food. I was just hoping I didn't get sick but surprisingly, Thai McDonalds is much better than American McDonalds. The food was not a bit greasy and it was really fresh. Ronald McDonald also looks even more like a pedophile here than he does in America. I have a picture of him that I will post.

Next week we are going to Mae Chaem village for a week long homestay so I will not be able to update this until next Saturday. It should be a good time though. There is a massage place in the village and apparently typically the students go every night. I think that will probably be my plan as well. Massages are ridiculously cheap here along with everything else. Its like 200 baht for an hour. That's equivalent to about $6.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well and I'll talk to you soon. Sawaddee.