Adjusting to my 1st Night in Chiang Rai

The first night in a foreign place is always the worst night, because we are left on our own to adjust to the vast differences in living conditions. I have mentally prepared myself for the worst and that helped. When we arrived at Chiang Rai International Airport, we were all brimming with energy. But as the night sinks in, we slowly adjusted to the new norm of having to live without comfort.

The first difference we experienced was the sleeping conditions. The base of our house comprised of wooden planks, thus making the floor creek whenever we walk around. A thin comforter was provided as the base, and that was why we prepared our personal sleeping bag. Many of my students were restless for the first night and I wondered if it was due to the lack of sleeping comfort.

The second difference was our toilet conditions. 14 people to 2 toilets was one of the issues we have to grapple with, though having to bathe at night in cold water was a bigger issue that we struggled to adjust to. I remembered taking my bath at approximately 8pm. Making my way in the dark to the toilet seemed easy, but having to scoop water and then pour it over myself was my biggest challenge of the night.

The third difference was the drastic change in weather. It was hot and dry when we arrived at 4pm. My guess of the temperature would be 33 degrees Celsius. And when the night came, the temperature reads 16 degrees Celsius on a cool breezy night. Whilst students love this, it should be noted with caution that our bodies need time to adjust to the drastic change in temperature between day and night.

One last difference was the food. Having gotten used to the diverse range of fast food in Singapore, one must now be contented with porridge filled with chicken and mushroom as a sumptous breakfast to start the day. As I thanked them for preparing meat in the morning, I wondered if I have taken the simple things in life for granted.