Totally awesome

I am on Cloud 9 today. The vibe in this town is just amazing. I have another Tibetan "student" now, a waiter at a different cafe where I had breakfast this morning, who asked me if I would help him with a book he is reading. I went back this afternoon and we read a little bit of a terrible book, some novel that I believe takes place in the southern U.S., given the characters' names (Althea and Beulah). It was awful, and next to impossible to understand, especially as an English language learner. So I asked him if he had any other books and he disappeared for a moment, returning with First Blood. That's right, the Rambo story. Pretty awful as well, but actually much easier to understand. So for the remainder of my stay here I will be returning to this cafe most afternoons to read Rambo with a Tibetan refugee. Gotta love it.

The other cool thing is that because I've been here for a few days now I kind of know people. The greetings every morning - namaste with the Indians and tashi delek with the Tibetans - are friendlier and the conversations more meaningful.

And finally, the coolest thing of the day is that I did something I have been wanting to do for a long time. Some of my friends and family know that I was planning to shave my head when I got to Thailand. However, I decided to do it here. Given the fact that it's a common hairstyle in these parts due to the many monks, I thought it would be easy. It took me a few days to find a place where I liked the vibe, though, and today I found a great little shop up some steps with a hip young hairdresser who did it for me, after many times of asking me, "Are you sure? Are you sure?" Right after the first snip (he cut before he shaved) I had a brief moment of panic, but after a while I was feeling psyched. And I have to say, I absolutely love it!! It feels awesome and, in my opinion, looks awesome, once you get over the intial shock. :) I promise I will post a picture, but for now, enjoy the sunset...



(By the way, if you're familiar with electric shavers, I did it on a 3 setting, not 0, so I'm not totally bald!!!)