People in Maesalong－Mrs. Wu

        On a rainy day, we went on our little journey to explore Maesalong. However, owing to the rain, most of the shops were closed. We were really disappointed. Fortunately, a kind voice caught our attention. A woman with a big smile on her face invited us to her shop for a cup of tea. This was how we meet Mrs. Wu. We went into the shop, there were lots of preserved fruits and different kinds of tea. Mrs. Wu welcomed us warmly and prepared tea for us.

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        After drinking some tea, we started to talk with Mrs. Wu and we then understood more about her. Mrs. Wu full name is called 吳紹蓮 (Wu Shau Lian) and she wasn’t born in Maesalong; in fact, she was Burmese. She married to her husband who was born in Maesalong then she immigrated to Maesalon. Mrs. Wu told us that she didn’t like Maesalong when she first moved to the place. The biggest reason was that she didn’t have any friends over here, so she felt lonely and bored. Secondly, the language was a big obstacle. Third, the flavor of the food was really different from her home town. Last but not least, the sanitary environment took Mrs. Wu lots of time to get used to it. In Maesalong, there is no flush toilets; we have to flush the toilet by bailing out the water from a bucket. When it comes to electricity, it is often to hear that the power went out. All of the above made Mrs. Wu wanted to escape from Maesalong.

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        Although the living in Maesalong was hard at first, it gradually became better and better. As time went by, Mrs. Wu had used to the food, the weather, and the life style here. She also learned Thai by herself and eventually made some friends. Mrs. Wu even said she now loved this place so much that she would never ever wanted to live in other places. I totally agree to what Mrs. Wu said. Maesalong is a really beautiful town which is surrounded by mountains. The air in here is so fresh and the sky is very clear, too. The most impressive thing is the people here are extremely friendly and warm. They always like to help others even if they are not familiar with the people who they help with.

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        After talking about Mrs. Wu’s personal stories, we then asked some questions about her shop. Mrs. Wu’s shop was called 盛茂茶坊. It was located near cemetery of general Duan. There was also a street that sell many fruits, traditional crafts, and tea near the cemetery. The reason why Mrs. Wu opened the shop was that she decided to do something different in Maesalong instead of just being a full time mother. Therefore, she came up the mind of opening a shop. Mrs. Wu’s shop sold many things such as all kinds of preserved fruits; however, tea is the main product and most of the it was grown by herself. Mrs. Wu mentioned that it was tuff to operate the shop at first but she didn’t give up. She learned from mistakes and persisted her dream. Eventually, the shop went well and the local or tourists liked to buy things from Mrs. Wu’s shop.

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        It is my pleasure to meet Mrs. Wu because I feel the warm of the people in Maesalong and know more about the place. Maesalong is a place I will always remember in my mind.