Dream BIG, & Live LARGE: Day 1: Arrival Day and "Chilln' in the Common Room"

I Have Arrived!! I am finally in Chiang Mai. As I type this I am sitting in the common area in the hostel. (SpicyThai Backpackers) It’s hot here but not unbearable. Upon landing we picked up our luggage and we met Addam and "Aum". "Aum" was super excited to see Maddi. He knew Maddi from last years trip. Addam gave us the rundown of the plane. SpicyThai, Pool, Night Market. He told us we were going to ride to SpicyThai in TukTuks. I had no idea what these were. I thought they were bikes at first. Much to my surprise they were like little golf carts. It was 3 to a Tuk Tuk. I rode with Kat and Jite. IT WAS SO COOL! A great first impression of Thailand!
When we first got to the hostel we had about an hour to chill, shower, and chat. Before getting some downtime, Jane or Emily (I'm not sure who it was), talked to us. She seemed pretty cool. She gave us the rundown of the rules, and a mini tour of the hostel. She also told us what rooms we'd be in. Each group was separated into the program they were in. We each got a little "welcome bag". They include: a welcome card, an itinerary, shirt notebook, and thai candy. Maddi and I then had a conversation with Emily or Jane (not sure who it was) before she left with the EE1 group. She seemed really amazing. She lives in OZ! or at least that's where she has been living the past few months and where she is going back to after bring the EE1 kids back to the states. (Maybe I'll be near her when I'm in OZ) I really hoped I would get to talk to her again and get to know her before she left. I thought she would be coming swimming with us, but she wasn't....Anyways I then spend that downtime getting settled in our room. Hannah, the Vet was in our room too! We got to pick our own beds. Each Time I would "call" a bed someone would snatch it from me. I ended up on a bottom bunk under Maddi. and Jite was in the bed that was at the foot of my bed with Houston Katie on top. Hailey was on the bed on the other side of the "locker cabinets". I used those to put everything but my clothes in. They were super long, probably so you can lock you backpack up. Back to my point, Florida Kat was on the bottom bunk under Hailey. And Hannah had the bottom of the last bunk to her self. We used the one on top of her to throw all our stuff. (Well, FL Kat and Hailey did.)

Around noon we headed out to get lunch with the other groups of Loopers are already here. We went to an all vegetarian buffet. I was obsessed the fried carrots. So far that’s been my favorite. It was nice to meet and chat with the other Loopers who have been here a while. However, they were all a little crazy and hyper.

Following lunch we went swimming at a hotel pool. The water was cold but so darn refreshing. I was exhausted after about a half hour and got out to sit on the side of the pool. I sat and chatted with Morgan, Maddi, Hailey, & Katie (from Maine). I protested on lying down for a while because I knew I would fall asleep. I finally gave in and moved from the ground to a chair and tried to rest, however I was unable to rest. And then Hailey wanted her spot back. Eventually it reached 3pm and we were waiting to hear from “Aum” (a worker from SpicyThai, staff member of Loop, and one of our tour guides) for when he would be back to pick us up. During the wait I decided to just lie down on the tile near the pool. And what would you know? I feel asleep, right there, right on the hot tlie ground. Texas Katie was using my back as her pillow and fell asleep on me. We were both dry upon falling asleep however when Maddi woke us up, we were both pretty wet. Turns out we slept through a rainstorm.

On the way back to the hostel we stopped at a 7-eleven. I was to tired to get or even look around. So was Fl Katie, Texas, and Maddi. We found a place to sit outside a faught our sleep. Everyone else got ice cream and snacks.

Once reaching Spicy Thai, myself and the other Vet girls, and Hannah headed to our beds to take a snooze until it was time to go to the Night Market. I think I was sleeping before my head even hit the pillow. It was the shortest 3 hour nap I have ever taken. Addam- Waking us up wasn't very nice of you!!

I was so not in the mood to be going to a night market, but I sucked it up and hauled my ass through the tiredness. (I was looking forwards to going, and I was excited, but I just did not want to go at that time) The Night market was AMAZING! And a tad overwhelming. There were so many people there. We broke up into groups of 5 and went shopping. Maddi, Kat, Hailey, Scott, and I were in one group. I was still super tired upon arriving at the market, however while walking around the food area it rained. That really really woke me up. We walked and looked at as many things as possible! It was so cool. I tried a few different foods but was weary of trying food that I was sure if it would have nuts or not. I also got these AMAZING pants! No like really they are so comfy, so not my style, but they are now! I LOVE them!! So comfy. I'm actually wearing a pair right now. The ones I’m wearing are actually Maddi’s however, I did buy 2 of my own pairs. I also bought a really nice elephant bag, a scarf, a headband, and Ancient ice cream. I had a blast! I have been growing closer to Maddi and Kat as well as Hailey. Love them!!

When I got back I jumped in the shower. It was SUPER refreshing! Now, I’m chillin’ with Kat and “Num” in the common room. I hope to finally get pictures on here tonight too, however I'm thinking I should leave that till tomorrow.

(UPDATE 8/5: Jane was the one that welcomed us Emily was the one who lives in OZ)