Put a fork in me, I'm done

I am so full. As I write this I am digesting my way through the full course of the cooking class I just took. Chicken coconut and lemon grass soup, yellow curry, Pad See-eww, spring rolls, mango sticky rice, bananas in coconut milk, and a great cookbook with many more recipes. And fruit, amazing fruit, no cooking required! It started with a tour of the local market, where our teacher explained all the local ingredients, letting us smell and touch and really experience the market. Then we cooked and ate for seven and half hours! The teacher was so so funny and the other students were sweet and the food was the best thai I have ever had. The class was easily the most enjoyable day that we had in Chiang Mai, despite rubbing my eye with a chili oil soaked finger (which milk cures! I have never washed my eyes with milk before). Last night was also out most enjoyable night in Thailand so far. We kept to the spirit of Halloween (without costumes) and went out to a rooftop bar. There we met a group of really fun people, most notably Pintoo and Baboo, (AKA "Indian Nathaniel" even though he is really Nepalese). We chatted about traveling, American and Indian politics, karma, etc. These boys are great, they have a terrific way of putting things. They speak in similes constantly, which I am convinced is the best way to breach cultural and language barriers. Plus it sounds downright poetic. They invited us to indian dinner tonight, but our bloated bellies might demand a change in plans.
The people we have met really make our travels special. Yeah, of course there is the chance that we will never again meet, but we share our experiences in a brief moment in time and space and become a small part of each other's lives. They will be carried in memories, like characters in a book you read again and again. I'm grateful to the dimension and human connection they add to my story. Wow, I don't appear to have the same aptitude for simile usage. Don't hold it against me!