My "Me" Day: Pancakes and Flowers of Course.

Today was a day just for me. I am beginning to see the importance of having these days from time to time while I am here. I am able to reflect to myself what I have been feeling, and it gives me a better appreciation for the time I spend with other people when I can be alone for a while. Otherwise my energy gets split up too much and I get exhausted.

I started the day with a few new mosquito bites (what's new?) and a papaya that I bought at the market yesterday. I have a little pocket knife and mini spoon I bought a couple of weeks ago and I am really enjoying being able to buy fruit whole and eating it when I want to. I washed some clothes in the sink and hung them about my room to dry for the day, and then headed to a little cafe down the street called Blue Diamond that I have been frequenting ever since Caroline showed it to me. It's not the cheapest place to eat, but they sell natural and organic baked goods and food at the cafe and I am absolutely never disappointed. Today I decided to just go all-out since I know I won't be able to eat much at the monastery, and I started with a cookie thing that is made from cocoa, oats and is sweetened with dates. I may be already familiar with this cookie because I had two of them on Wednesday... I then ordered a rice flour cashew cinnamon raisin carrot pancake with a fried egg on top. Don't believe that all those things can coexist on one plate? Don't worry, I took a picture...

I spent the rest of the morning sipping an Americano, writing in my journal, and reading a good book in the cafe. Good morning indeed :)

I hopped on my bike and came back to my room just in time to Skype Dave for his birthday evening. He was at a bar in Tigard and I was able to video chat with him, Robin, Kim, and Brandon! Alcohol had been consumed by all, so it was quite an amusing call ;)

I decided that I wanted to bike to a big market they have outside the old city square and try to find a mosquito net. Having a bike makes me feel SO much more free here! I can't believe that I took so long to rent one, at 50 baht a day, it's a really easy and cheap form of transportation. Earlier this week I was able to bike to the park in the morning and do yoga with Caroline for a few hours- the world is my oyster when I have wheels!

Anyway, the ride to Warrot market was a hot one, but you should have seen me maneuver the traffic on my bike. I was pro. I decided it was an aromatherapy kind of trip I guess, because I ended up treating myself to a little bottle of lotus-scented essential oil (instead of perfume, I have switched to oils), a tiny bouquet of purple flowers, and a necklace strewn of fresh jasmine flowers. OH the smells!

My jasmine necklace and little bundle of flowers.

Which brings me to a new favorite place that I have found in Chiang Mai- the flower market! . My nose has taken some serious abuse here in the city streets, but the flower market really made me a happy girl. 

The smells were wonderful.

The flowers are wonderful. 

My jasmine necklace is absolutely wonderful.

And at 15 cents per strand, I should really be buying one every day, right?? I love buying myself flowers!

I like to call these Pooh-bear heads.

I wanted to add a picture from the farm that my English friend Rick took with his shmancy camera on our last day!

What a great group of people we had last week. I am really glad I met them all :) I had a good talk once I got back to the city with my friend Caroline, and also my mom, about why I had a hard time with my energy at the farm. Caroline is very into zodiac signs and astrology and hit the nail on the head when she observed something Libras tend to do. They are always scanning a situation to see where they can sync up with other people's energys. Whether it's a group of 20, 4, or just 1 person, they are always reading people's moods and energys to see where theirs fits in. I have always known that I am an energy sponge. I absorb what other people are feeling very very easily, and I can get lost in what other people are feeling. Often times I end up having a hard time knowing how I feel about something because of this. Especially if it's new people, because I hate conflict and always want to come off as being likable. It can be really exhausting, and more importantly, it's not who I really am. I think with all the new people, me going alone, and people coming and going throughout the week at the farm, I subconsciously struggled with myself without understanding what was going on. But ahhh, how much clarity one can have in hindsight!

I am feeling better about my emotional distress now, and I am feeling much more ready to do meditation for a week. I believe it will be another week without internet and communication. It is just so nice to talk to you all after not talking for a week! Like dessert for my week :) Hope you all have a great weekend, smell some jasmine if you get a chance, ok?

Love, H