The rain season was coming to an end...

...and my stay in Thailand too...


Dears, dears, dears. Your post were too kind balm . Here is a little summary. There is quite to catch up, but you might have heard some parts of it. This is really factual as a summary.




Chiang Mai Here I am... Dance was awaiting there for me...and the rain too...and new culture too...

I moved to Chiang Mai in May. Many of my activities in Mae Sot finished with the end of schools and I took a volunteer research supervisor position there, .... but this was to lead me to some great dance opportunities and others.

Looking for a studio to continue to teach contact-improvisation workshops as I had started to replace Laura who left for the US, I ended up being hired by the Chiang Mai Royal Ballet Academy to train their students that were to compete in couple months in Singapore to the 12th Asia dance competition. Full time research and teaching 12 hours of dance a week for almost two months was a heavy but great time...before I got sick and could not attend the competition.

Sickness trip: ready for the list? Typhoid, food poising, tonsil infection, bronchitis. over 2 months sick... so not much to report on that side....

But my little dancers and their great efforts paid off. They placed first and seconds in their two choreographies we had worked on. I remember the little Maya (9) so tired to practice everyday with me and just trying to do her best to keep dancing. Ans Chan (17), exhausted but still pushing through.


Living in Chiang Mai
Totally different culture, and there also a mix however of the Thai traditional culture and the Lana culture (tribes that inhabited the land when the Thai King took Chiang Mai) . The last 6 months, I discovered the Burmese culture, and now another one: the Thai culture! Chiang Mai though is like an amusement park for foreigners: the city offers a plethora of well-being activities and alternative approaches to health. Although I did not like this foerigners focus, it revealed to be a really nice playground for me!!

But yes, mhmh, very different feel to be in real Thailand. I actually will leave that to another time where I'll gather my impressions about Thailand and that of other people so you'll have a representative spectrum!

But a fun event was to wake up and discover the water in front of my house: like in Venice. The rain season!! Also, one evening, the roads were inundated and I had to call a friend to find a bed for the night! The roads were non accessible. But rains are FABULOUS here. Just rainfalls falling from the sky with an intensity that is just beautiful.


Occupations in Chiang Mai

Research- About the research: our team is looking at the education situation for adult migrant workers in Chiang Mai. Some want to get a high school diploma, some want to continue to university in Thailand in international programs.
(top: The person who initiated the research. Bottom: teachers at the BEAM foundation)





Modern Dance- After the competition, I continued training a 17 year old Japanese girl for the America Youth competition. Beautiful dancer with a lot of potential.

There are no dance companies in Chiang Mai, however I ran into couple dancers wanting to start a company. I gave a workshop the day before leaving after meeting Yupin, dancer who was teaching at the Chiang mai Ballet academy and who is eager to see more modern dance in CM. Chiang Mai is a bit behind. Bangkok has modern dance companies, but CM is still on the jazz era, which has been long left a bit aside.




Contact-Improvisation- Contact-improvisation practice with Jay: yeay someone who wants to practice as often as possible. Very good match, many beautiful hours of dance and sweat in this country!! We were invited by a gallery to do a little presentation. "Bridges was the theme, and we tried to portray the process of building bridges between the different cultures living in Thailand. I left Thailand for Singapore where I was asked to come teach also during a contact weekend workshop.


NEW. I have been studying Thai massage since June and also oil massages. Studying, practicing, getting a lot of massages to learn also from locals. Finished level IV (last level). It is a really complementary approach to somatic therapy which I had studied in the US and very interesting because encompassing Chinese and Indian philosophies also. Let me know if you want a massage; you'll get a good deal since I will charge a little less the first few months.

Other occupations in CM: while I was sick: reading a lot and watching Asian movies, which helps me learn more about Asian wars, history, legends, beliefs.


And of course I made a lot of fabulous friends:
Among the locals:
KK: my boss whom after him all boss will look bad

The fruit vendor: teaching me the names of the fruits in Thai

LEK the indian social King: who makes stats on how many people he knows out of the people he crosses in the streets in front of his restaurant.

The market vendor-or my local grand-mother and personal CM information (she gave me fruits before I left that were given to the God so as to bring good luck to me). She would tell me where I can find things in CM for cheap, where Chinese doctors are, where the best doctors for feet are, she knew it all.

Meak: university teacher who studied in the US. Big thanks for the insight into Thai culture and Buddhism and for philosophical discussions.

The French cooking lady: such a warm and genuine kindness. At her Thai restaurant I could find mash potatoe!!

Yupin: such a strong revolutionary women who does not let undesirable cultural traits to persist, even at the price of judgments. A women with will and determination, who thinks and expresses herself and makes things happens. A women who does not the world walk on her feet although in a culture where women ought to be so gentle. I hope we can collaborate more on modern dance in the future.

Khay: vegetarian friend who made me discover vegetarian places in CM and with whom we shared meals over conversations about Thai culture.

Among the "falang"

Laura: who started the contact group in Chiang MAi and has been a incredible promoter of dance in the city and linking all types of dancers together.

Jay: many good hours of dance crowned by a little show together. Beautiful meaningful conversations.

Nick: has been a real volunteer facilitator although he worked for another volunteer organization.

Jonas: Pianist at the CM Royal Ballet Academy. From Belgium. I miss the laughters, gosh impossible to stop laughing when around him.

William: from France: there again: so much laughter, and a good pool teacher! But also like a father, telling me about life, having always good advices in a non-moralistic way. He also lent me fabulous books when I was sick about WWII in China, about women in China, about women in Japan, about WWII.

Paul: Thai massage teacher who was so ready to help me with little injuriesand who supervised my good learning of Thai massage closely.

Evan: very young new volunteer from the US who helped me do the shopping and decide what to buy. There again, so much good laughter mixed with philosophical conversations!

Guillo: Ah! Guillo is the listener and open heart gentle man from Mexico. His restaurant was a second home. The couch of the restaurant was the best in Chiang Mai!

The Sangdee Gallery: what a team!! I will remember the laughter, good group feel, evenings together. I wish I could have spent more time with the group. Really good artists among them.



Love to all of you my dear friends from Thailand, Europe or the US.

Atali