The Odyssey (to the farm)

Three continents. Three farms. Three very different experiences.

Before there was the farm, there was the journey. I woke early after a glorious night's rest in Chiang Mai. Tuk Tuk to the bus station, two hour bus to Chiang Dao, and here are the directions as follows: Stay on the bus past the city of Chiang Dao, get off 3-4 km later at the first traffic light at the intersection of road number 1178. This can also mean stare out the window cursing your country for not teaching you the metric system and trying to remember the mile to kilometer conversion. look for the first traffic light. wonder what happens if you miss the traffic light. Get out of the bus. Walk 50 m to the left on the road to 1178 and catch a yellow sangteuw to Ban Lo Pahan. Sit in the sickeningly hot sangathew for a long while waiting for it to fill up. Also, must pronounce Ban lo PA HAn though or they have no idea what you're talking about. Sit in the sangathew and get stared at cause your a gringa, answer the general questions. Where you come from, where you are going. The usual frown and uncomfortable confusion at the "I'm going to work on a farm" comment. Stare out the window. Watch for a motorcycle shop on the left, get off. Get out and cross the road 1178 to the only street on the right. Hope this is the right street. That didn't really look like a motorcycle shop, but oh well, this is the only road around. Start trekkin.
Walk down this road, past the last house on the left (about 1 km, like i know what 1 km should feel like!) 100m further, there is the first and only dirt road on the left. Follow this lane and the power lines to the house at the end about 600 m. Walk down a road way too early that is dirt and almost get attacked by dogs. Wait for them to calm down. Realize your mistake. Slowly back away.Walk what feels like an eternity through what feels like people's backyards. Roosters and crazy dogs are everywhere. How are you to know which house is the last house on the left, couldn't you just walk forever?But finally it looks promising, a long dirt path up a massive hill past the last house on the left. It's dirt. You take it. You think to yourself, if anyone from my real life saw me know they would be pissing themselves laughing. Sweating, dirty, hauling her life on her back, maybe starting to panic but trying to be strong, Liz, hiking up some random dirt path past corn fields and rice paddies and banana trees all alone in Thailand looking for some farm where she will work for free? Oh yeah, and to think at this time last year I was blow drying my hair and painting my nails and dusting Aveda products on shelves and answering phones and making licorice tea.
Reach what you thought was the top of the hill only to realize it goes on further. You go further. Reach a fork in the road. Get slightly more nervous. Nothing in the directions mentioned a fork, almost get the phone out. Decide to persevere and take the right path. You see a woman in the garden, she waves! You approach, it's real! Not a mirage! You have arrived! Thank god, because you were this close to losing faith in yourself. But no fear. If you can find the farm, the hard part is over.