Second Week

23.08. - 30.8.

This week we started to settle into this new environment. We had university almost every day, but also still a lot of free time to explore our surroundings. 

I always knew that Thai is a difficult language to learn, but after a few classes I can now fully grasp how hard it is to study the differences and characteristics of the language. Nontheless II'm trying my best to keep up with the vocabulary and if I can order food correctly or engage in a bit of smalltalk after these 2 months, I'm totally content with my language skills.

Our language teacher was also so kind to show us where we can find her favourite place to eat beef noodles. Needless to say, I know now what restaurant I have to visit more often in the future.

On Friday we started with a tour to the golden Mountain, whose 318 steps were actually easier to climb, than we initially thought. They lead us through a few arranged gardens with small waterfalls and statues. Every now and then, we run across big metal bells who were lined up on our path. It is said that if you wish for good luck and ring the bell afterwards, some higher beeing will grant you that wish. We tried it, just in case.

I discovered, that fortune telling is something that is deeply ingrained into Thai culture. Normally I would say that I am a sceptic, but I also wanted to know what all the fuss is about. So when we passed Wat Pho on our trip, I decidet that it would be a great idea to get my palm read. It was a rather strange experience, filled with a lot of laughter, eye contact and personal talk. To be honest, it was kind of creepy and even though I got a good reading, I rather live not thinking too much about my possible futures. I don't know what I will take with me from that experience, but as I am a firm believer of self fulfilling prophecies, I will only take the good aspects of what he said. 

Another highlight of my week, was the chance to meet some friends from Austria. They were travelling across Thailand for seven weeks and had some awesome tipps (and apps) for me. It was nice to see how much energie they still had left, after such a long time of travelling. This motivated me a lot for my own trips that I'm planning to do.