New Friends in Mae Sot

My confinement in Mae Sot turned out to be a good thing, for two reasons.

First, I got sick. Nothing too serious, just bad enough that I didn't want to get out of bed Saturday and most of Sunday. Good thing it was "my own" bed and not a strange hotel bed in Chang Mai. Better to be trapped in bed here, where I'm not missing any exciting sightseeing. And it helps to have your own "kitchen" to go to when you're not feeling well.

My family has a joke about "Grandpa's Kitchen." Grandpa's Kitchen is actually the King's Plaza Diner in Brooklyn, NY, located pretty far from his actual kitchen. But since he eats there several times each week and knows all the staff members so well, it's appropriate. For those who don't know Brooklyn, it's a great restaurant to have that relationship with. Everytime we go, there's a line out the door and Grandpa gets right in. Tables and waiters appear out of nowhere. It's like a scene from Goodfellas.

My "kitchen" in Mae Sot is Kruha Canadian, also known as "Canadian Dave's." It's owned by a friendly Canadian guy and his charming Thai wife. He has English-language newspapers and BBC News on TV. The menu is long and in English. It's cozy and comfortable. It's 2 blocks from my hotel and it's open all day. When you're so far from home and your surroundings are so unfamiliar you can't read the street signs, it's reassuring to have somewhere you can depend on. Dave's has been that place for me.

It's one of the main farang hangouts in Mae Sot, and I'm sure many people feel this way about Dave's. And I'm not sure Dave would ever make a table materialize for me if he had a waiting list 20 minutes long, but we know each other by name. They know my favorite dish, and chuckle every time I order it. They bring my favorite drink to the table as soon as I sit down, without being asked. He held onto my abandoned/lost umbrella and gave it to Eric to give to me.

And this weekend, when I couldn't stomach the thought of spicy Thai food, they brought me Diet Coke and plain white rice. With only mild amusement. Which is more than any other restaurant in town would have done. And it was just perfect.

Second, I got to go to a good-bye party for some volunteers I recently met -- at Canadian Dave's. It was a GREAT time. Good music, courtesy of Geoff, our mighty new BLC intern. Great food, courtesy of our hosts, including sliced mango and pineapple. Amazing people, courtesy of Mae Sot's many relief organizations.

Here is Geoff, the BLC intern, talking to Angelie, a med student from UMich who came to work for Dr. Cynthia's Clinic (providing free, quality health care to migrant workers and refugees).

Left to Right: Manju, a Canadian public health grad student, and Jess, an Australian. They're both working with Dr. Cynthia's clinic.

And there's Jess and Sheila, a public health grad student from UMich. Also with Dr. Cynthia's clinic.

These are the people I've been hanging out with most, but there are tons of others. Kayla, a Rhodes Scholar from Trinidad. Meredith, who did the Peace Corps in the Phillipines. Stuart, from Northern Ireland, who is teaching English to children of former Burmese Political Prisoners.