Stepping Off the Sidewalk: A New Adventure in SE Asia

 Dear Friends and Family,  Today was my last day at Chiang Mai University. I met with the community faculty team to discuss ways of incorporating clinical judgment activities into community activities. CMU requires135 hours of community clinical in their curriculum (which is impressive) and due to the number of students are able to assign students to primary care settings in a way that we have not be able to do.  It was a great discussion with much sharing back and forth and we promised to meet as a group via zoom over the summer.  In anticipation of departing for Hanoi, Vietnam on Saturday, I wanted to go ahead and convert some of my USD into Vietnamese Dong. Money exchange shops can sometimes feel like those pay day loan shark places with a huge interest rate due to the fees charged.  I was hoping to get some money exchanged before I landed at the Hanoi airport as I knew I would need it for the phone shop in the airport, but also knew that the fee schedule for...

 Dear Family and Friends,  I am seriously dating not only myself but anyone who connects with the title of this blog entry. The song Born to be Wild  by Steppenwolf created probably one of the most iconic opening scenes in a movie, Easy Rider, in 1969.  I provided you with a You Tube video link.  If you are going to play the music, crank up the volume and roll down the car window!      https://youtu.be/egMWlD3fLJ8?si=Nd_d-zHutK1MB3a5  So what in the world is this about?  Well, the only time that I ride a motorcycle is over here in SE Asia and (with only a small amount of chargin), I sometimes do so without a helmet.  IN MY DEFENSE, when you pick a motorcycle through Grab (their version of Uber), you can pick a car, sub-car (looks like a tomato soup can it's so small) or a motorcycle.  And they do not provide you with a helmet.   Now, when Lee and I are over here together- we either rent or purchase a motorcycle a...

 April 26, 2026 This is a super short eJournal entry (I've never been fond of the word "blog".). I'd rather say eDiary or eJournal.  ANYWAY- I hit the jackpot this morning.  Probably good that it was today and not 3 weeks ago as I'm really watching the pennies to make a special purchase tonight.  Just down from the 7-11 store is a very large store called DRAGON.  I thought, based upon what was in the window, a kids store with pool floats, games, etc.  Nope.  It is a $1 Store--- well, more like an $0.62 store!!  So much in there for just 20 Baht ($.62 cents).   One of the things I love about Asia are their love for whimsical creatures such as Hello Kitty which they put on just about everything and in particular, hair clips!!  I have a 7 yo and 1 yo granddaughter, so I began putting hair gadgets in my basket for them.  The 3 hairbands in the picture are for other folks. Another item that you frequently see are rather whimsical g...

 April 25, 2026 I like rhythms and routines.  There is a peace that comes from slipping into a stream and knowing the direction you are going.  Now, it rare that any two days in my life at UF are the same; however, there are certain action steps that I typically take about the same time within any given day or week of the semester. I've had roles where I felt like a pinball machine- ping, ping, ping- being bounced about and my schedule smacked with levers in someone else's control. Not my cup o' tea.     https://media.tenor.com/Js7zPtta3HgAAAAM/pinball-bounce.gif   When I am abroad, I typically fall into a routine based upon the week day and my teaching/ activity schedule.  For reasons that I still ponder, I've struggled to get into a rhythm here in Chiang Mai.  As some would say, it has kept me one bubble off plum. Here I am starting my final week here (fly out in 7 days for Hanoi) and I finally feel like I have a grasp on my neighborhood a...

 April 23, 2026 Good morning Friends and Family,  This morning I went to the farmers market about 3 blocks from my apartment.  Of course, the 7-11, the farmers market and Tops are ALL on the other side of a busy 4-lane city street and there is a divider so I have to walk along the street (no sidewalk) until I can cross it and then loop back down to go to the desired location.  I've mentioned that you must have your head on a swivel when walking here and I do; however, I was not expecting someone to back into me.   Quickly said- I'm fine, not even a bruise.  I was passing the front of a bank and walked past a car with a driver parked parallel to the bank on the street.  I edged around the car and was walking behind it, when HE PUT IT IN REVERSE!!  Fortunately,  he did not gun it.  Now, I probably scared the dickens out of him as I hit the trunk of his car with a hard slap of my hand and hollered "Hey".  I briefly saw his face and ...

 April 23, 2025 Good evening Friends and Family,  I have just over a week left in Chiang Mai.  While the first two weeks seemed to go by slowly, this week flew by so quickly- it was difficult to even breakdown the day into hours.  This afternoon I went grocery shopping at Tops (think Winn Dixie) and to the large open air food market to get some things that should take me through until I leave- for the most part.  Thought I would share what it is like grocery shopping over here.  First, I went to Tops, which is about 0.4 miles away, but walking along a busy 4-lane road with no sidewalk means that you have to keep your head on a swivel. Among the items I needed was some more laundry soap but I didn't wish to purchase a large quantity. It took me a bit of time to identify what was laundry soap versus stain removal/ color booster versus fabric softener as well as starch for ironing (It comes out of a squirt bag, not a can!). I thought this one was a bit funny a...