I'm a monkey!

I am terrified of heights. I've tried indoor rock climbing with minimal success. I have never had a desire to jump out of an airplane or bungee jump. Scenic glass floors in high buildings? No thank you. But when I saw this: http://treetopasia.com/index.php, I knew I was going to have to get over it and get out there. Krisi assured me that this would be safe...but really, it hardly matters. I know I am not going to fall off a balcony, but put me more than 10 floors up and I won't go near the edge. No matter how much I try to calm myself and do positive self-talk, I shake, my heart races, and I have been known to burst into tears or yell at others in an effort to not burst into tears.

We got out to the first platform at about 10 am...they told us it would take about 3 hours, and there would be 15 zip lines, 2 shakey bridges, and 3 times they wouldhave to lower us down. The proudy proclaimed that they might soon make it into the Guiness book of world records for having the longest zipline (150m) and the highest drop to lower down (50m). Umm. Awesome.

But I had no choice. I was not going to let the rest of my group go on without me. Also, there was a retired couple in the bus with us on the way up, and if they were going to do it, so was I. So, I got clipped on, sat down in my harness, and reluctantly let myself zip to the next tree.

I am not going to lie. It was really scary. It wasn't until the third time that I started to enjoy myself. I had some excellent no-fall strategies. I never looked down. I hugged trees as much as possible. And I always went last.

Krisi held the camera, and a review of the various pictures and videos shows the many different smiles of Jenn. Smiling to prevent crying. Pure fear smiling. Worried smiling. Smiling to stop from screaming. And finally, happy, proud smiling. I did it! A wise and good-looking man (Ben Afflek) in a bad movie (Bounce) once said, "if you're not afraid, it's not brave." Today I was brave.

I still have no intention of ever bungee jumping or freefalling out of an airplane. I will always choose the bottom bunk over the top. And I was never so happy to feel solid ground under my feet. I wouldn't even go so far as to say that i conquered my fear of heights. But I tool a good swat at it, and I feel very proud of myself for doing it.

Tomorrow Krisi and I are off to Bangkok for the Songkran festival. Songkran is the Thai new year which is celebrated through ritual cleansings and, basically, a massive street water fight. Chiang Mai is famous for their Songkran festival, and the teenagers in this town take it very seriously. So seriously, that they began tonight, about 2 days early, taking to the streets with hoses, pails, and super soaker guns. We got hit quite a feew times on the way to the night bazaar. Luckily, neither of us were wearing white t-shirts.

I think we're getting out just in time.