More Chiang Mai (email from Amy)

Well, not much to tell right now,
Chiang Mai is pretty great. I've been eating Pad Thai for most meals (you can get a plate for about 60 American cents and, as you must know if you've ever tried Thai food, it's delicious.) Lots of shopping, sitting in coffee shops, and reading. So far on this trip I've finished a book called "Lucky," The Chosen by Chaim Potok, a book about biscuits and tea, and I've just started That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (There are a bunch of used book stores here, but right now I'm just mooching books off Miah.) Miah has a bunch of friends who are in town, so it all works out pretty well. It's a lot slower than Egypt was, not as much running around. It's nice, but I'm also excited to get back to the States.

It's nice to not have to worry about whether my arms are showing and who is looking at me and why. I talked to a girl here who spent some time in Pakistan and she hit the nail on the head. She said "The fact that I am a girl was always at the front of my mind." Anyway, although Egypt was awesome, it's nice to not have to think about these things all the time.

Later in the week we're going to take a cooking class and learn to make spring rolls and Pad Thai and other delicious foods, so there's that to look forward to. Hope everyone that side is doing well. I miss you all and will see some of you in the not so distant future.