Meet Mona, My Roommate

This is Mona, my new roommate, enjoying a bowl of Tom Yam soup at Cashew Nut. She is 24 and from Japan and an absolute gem. She is here for two weeks and has never done Muay Thai before. I especially admire her independence: at 17 she moved to Norway as an "au'pair" (or foreign nanny) and completed her schooling there. Even for her to be here, doing this, as a 24 yr. old chick from Japan, is highly rare and very uncommon.

She's a tough chick, really mature, super-friendly, and a natural muay thai fighter. She is also very curious and a great conversationalist; we ask each other a lot of questions about our countries and their cultures, so I'm learning a lot about Japan which is pretty cool since I've been to Japan before. Although I like sooooo many of the people here, I know I'm lucky to have her as a roommate. I know I'm not alone in thinking that I wish she could stay longer, but she's going to visit her Norwegian friend who is in Bangkok for 10 days after her trip here, and then she's off home to Japan. Hopefully she'll come back soon. Isn't she a doll, though? What a cute picture!

This is interesting, and it's happening more and more frequently:

When Mona met me, she said, "Oh! YOU'RE Mary! I read your blog and it's why I decided to come!" Wow. That is soooo cool, and other chicks have told that to me too. I'm thrilled because I think this is SUCH a wonderful thing to do for yourself, and I know something like this can be kind of intimidating, for guys and girls. I know it was for me! I also think I could do a much better job on this blog, so it's really nice feedback, honestly. I am so flattered, though. What a compliment! A lot of the new students recognize my name (not all) when I introduce myself, which is pretty awesome, though. Keep it coming, guys!

Anyways, as an aside, this is probably a good time to mention that if you have any areas of Thai culture you want me to explore or comment on, please feel free to send any ideas or suggestions and I'll do my best! I'm totally open to suggestion.

Overall, the international aspect of Rawai Gym is just amazing. Here you have the cozyness of the laid-back and friendly, easy Thai culture to immerse yourself in, and yet strong connections with people from all over the entire world who are all here at the same time and for similar reasons. It's truly a magical experience!