Life on a muban includes earthquakes!

By some reports it was centered in Myanmar and measured 7.7 there. Here in Chiang Mai it somewhere between 4.6 and 7.7. All I can tell you is I had a difficult time standing in my house as it started, and it got worse and worse and I started trying to figure out where to go, or the best way to run out of the house, to increase my chances of survival when the house collapses. Then, it stopped.

I shot some video while it was happening. Of course, you can't really see it, but almost the entire I was being rocked on my feet back and forth. The house felt like it was one mud, or ice, just shifting around. What awesome power.

In other earthshaking news, Liberty turned 18 recently a few weeks ago. Her aunt, Melissa, came over for a visit, too, from Myanmar. It was a great time, and we celebrated at a Korean BBQ. Hard to believe our little girl is now an adult. She's had to renew her Canadian passport, and it was her first ADULT passport. She had to fill out the forms... and had her first taste of the hassles/responsibilities of being an adult.

Two things have ended up being WAAYYY more expensive here than we expected. One is furniture. It's crazy pricey. We really can't believe it. And it's not because it's all beautiful teakwood... no, even the cheap stuff is terrible expensive. The kids' mattresses are still on the floor because a bedframe is like 400 bucks! We just got our first couch set, and don't ask how much. It was still a discounted-from-sale-price, and hurt to buy it, but we had to. Without a central living place to sit, we as a family would end up just going to our bedrooms after eating. It was seriously having an impact on our family life. The other surprisingly expensive item - vehicles. In the past we've spent up to 5K CAD to buy a car in Canada if we were going to be there beyond a few months. But here, 5K gets you a rust bucket that won't even run. A new car, or pickup truck, costs almost as much as our yearly salary. It's unbelievable. We look at the other expats who are salaried with a touch of envy.. their budget covers that. For us, well, I guess we haven't been praying enough for funds for a car. BUT, would we even want to spend that much money for a car or truck that will see us stuck in traffic anyway. Traffic is actually quite bad in Chiang Mai, and it really takes forever to get anywhere. If you want to work on your patience, drive in Chiang Mai. What is nice is that everyone is quite laid back, so you don't get road rage freakouts. There is the odd small honk, but overall people are chill. You know what doesn't take forever? Motorbikes!

It's funny, we aren't diehard motorbike lovers, but you can't beat the feeling of freedom and fun on a scooter. The traffic here is usually disparaged by other expats as crazy, uncontrolled, dangerous, wild, etc. For us, having spent all those years in China, it just sort of makes sense. If there is a gap in traffic, it's going to get filled. That's one rule, and if you accept it then you don't get upset if someone "cuts you off" or a motorbike squeezes in. The other rule is worldwide, but is more active here - don't hit anyone. Simple. 2 rules. Still, there are many rule breakers here. In fact, just yesterday while riding home with Van from his basketball game, I watched someone on a motorbike decide to pass another rider whose passenger was carrying a bicycle! Sure, pass on the right (is the norm), but this person decided to pass on the left (traffic here is UK style, on the other side of the road), with parked cars in the left lane. Yes, they were going to try to squeeze between the motorbike on the right, in front, and parked cars on the left. The problem was they evidently didn't see the bicycle, and drove right into, which caused them to lose control and drive straight into the back of a car at 60km/h. I watched it all (carefully). It was their fault, but my heart still went out to them, as they now face expensive fees to pay for the damages, not including their own.