"How do you say open heart?"

Phom and Neu-Inh at "Morning Coffee"
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Chiang Mai.  Consumerism at it's best.  Buy.  Buy.  Buy.  I can't even begin to tell you the amount of markets that there are in this northern city.  A great little city, but a bit overrun by tourists.

The positive side is that unlike Bangkok, you aren't being hounded by the tuk tuk drivers or street vendors every five minutes.  It's a bit more laid back in that sense.  With the exception of one comical experience at the night market, I'd say everyone that we've met has just been complete smiles.  As one thai man told us, "your first time here, you are very welcome in our country.  Your second time here, thank you very much now you can go."  I'd say that's as good a greeting as any!

She takes the shirt out of his hand, slams it down, grabs a broom, smacks the shirts and swats at us.

Oh, and by the way, Laureen shaved her head.
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The night market experience... well, I thought it would be a good idea to continue practicing the thai that I had learned earlier in the afternoon.  Chris, Justine and I approached a t-shirt booth and inquired the price of these lovly tee's.  The woman replied the obscene price of 250 baht for a cotton t-shirt.  I replied in my politest thai, "phaeng ma... paet sip baht?" ("too expensive...  80 baht?").  She then proceeded to push me and yell "GO... GO... Let's Go!"  At that point, Chis decides to stay and look at the t-shirts (always has to push the limits).  She takes the shirt out of his hand, slams it down, grabs a broom, smacks the shirts and swats at us.  I'm not quite sure what went wrong, but I can surely say that it left us baffled for quite a while afterwards.  The rest of the vendors were much more willing to bargain than our dear broomstick buddy.

As stated earlier, I have been practicing many thai words and sentences.  It's been so surprising to me how quickly one can learn a completely foreign dialect just by  being thrown into the masses.  It's also been very shocking for me to see how quickly people jump at the opportunity to help you learn the language. Impeccable patience. The majority of meals that I've sat down and eaten have been educational bc the persons working are more than willing to teach us as much as we are willing to learn.  This morning Laureen and I sat with the owner of this little breakfast joint and had a wonderful conversation that went much further than the usual hellos, where are you froms and where are you headed next.  It began with her friend, Phom, sitting with us and teaching us many key conversational words.  He also looked at my language log that I've been working on (which is about seven pages in length and quickly growing) and he had me pronounce every word that I had written down.  He then helped me distinguish the correct tones and pitches that are assigned to each letter/word.  It's incredible to hear the slight differences in pitch and then realize that you can change the complete meaning of a word all by the throat tones you choose to use.  After my thai lesson, we sat with Neu-Inh and helped her with her love life.  (I know, I know, I AM the authority on healthy relationships).  It was interesting to listen to her speak about the difficulty she has been having dating an american man.  The cultural differences are astounding and I found myself thinking about my words far more carefully than I ever have before.  Typically, I'm used to just saying whatever the heck I'm thinking at that exact moment.  Lately, I've found myself actually taking the time to think before I speak because a lot can go wrong when something gets lost in translation. She kept insisting that Laureen and I translate what it means to have an open, honest and trusting heart.  It seems that when she used these kind english words on her american love he informed her that she was "crazy."  It was hard for her to save face, while the tears whelled up in her eyes.  We will surely be meeting up with her and Phom later this aftenoon or tomorrow morning.