Chiang Mai is a stark difference to the dirty, bustling lifestyle of Bangkok. It feels much more cultural and " the real Thailand" experience compared to the mixed city life. I knew immediately once we got out in Chiang Mai that I would love this city.

The city is surrounded by a river, creating a literal square of commerce on the inside and homes, hotels, and Thai culture on the outside. Temples and Thai culture is apparent everywhere - and the pace is much slower.

We spent the week here in Chiang Mai exploring the city and learning more about Thai culture, and also preparing for our service project at the YMCA branch of Chiang Mai meeting with the other groups of individuals. This project is comprised of members from Japan, Laos, Thailand and us from the USA - all chapters of the YMCA.

What's been great beyond taking in Thai culture and learning directly from locals, is also learning about Japanese and Laotian cultures from the other groups. Everyone brought culturally significant pieces, symbols, came prepared with songs, gifts and presentations to teach everyone about where we come from. It was a great, diverse experience.

We are all split into small groups based on who will be staying with what host family. Each family group has a member of each - one Thai, one Japanese and one American for the most part. My group is Yoshi - an incredibly sweet and smiley girl from Japan, Jenn from Colorado, and Pat from Thailand - a college student with understated beauty and someone I would learn many things about the Thai culture. She was integral to being able to interact with our host family.

In Chiang Mai we climbed the beautiful dragon steps up to Doi Suthep - a Buddhist temple set high in the mountains overlooking Chiang Mai, and it would also be my first encounter with Buddhist monks. In Thailand, they are not allowed in interact with women so I would have to gain permission to receive a blessing from the monks. I was instructed to stay out of their way and not to make contact with them. But it was the first time seeing them walking around in bright orange robes with their shaved heads and calm demeanor. With my parents being Buddhists and having little to no knowledge of the religion, I found this whole experience to be both fascinating and deeply spiritual. I loved the adornments of Doi Suthep and the way this place made me feel.

The week preparing with the other groups at YMCA was an interesting experience - mostly a fun one. We stayed in dorms and it was definitely not the first time surrounded by other Asian cultures like mine and feeling very fish out of water. College had brought that experience on me poignantly.

The first night where we all got to meet each other and start forging bonds, it was a little strange. I was the only Asian from the USA group, and I felt like the groups from the other Asian countries were just staring at me constantly. It was a bit uneasy, but I would learn over time the implications of not just being Asian but Asian-American, and also the foreign concept of being Vietnamese but not from Vietnam. I also learned that the reason they were staring and standoff-ish, is they hadn't ever "seen" anyone that looked like me - Asian, but different. Through translators, I learned however they weren't being rude or negative - it was actually quite the opposite. They had actually adopted the nickname "Supermodel" for me and constantly asked to take my photo and giggled in my presence of being "the beautiful girl". They would all sit around and just stare at me in awe and ask if it was OK if they just looked at me. That somehow became my reputation in the group, and one I would soon thoughtfully mill about the rest of the trip.

Chiang Mai was a great experience and I loved our time there - but now it was time to head out to the Karen villages, meet our host families and get to work and learn the real traditions of the Thai people.