Mark and I had been walking in one of the many alleys of Chiang Mai’s old city near our Manee Guesthouse one morning when we stopped to look at and comment about the coffee options at Borijinda Cafe. Jan-Peter’s voice called to us, “It’s really good coffee.” And he was a customer. We were persuaded to stop and since there were few seating options, we joined Jan-Peter at his table.
Jan-Peter was a German in his mid-thirties with a wonderful command of English. We later learned that he had spent his sophomore or junior year of high school outside of San Francisco in an exchange program and whenever he returns, it feels like home. He had a relaxed, easy going manner. I wasn’t surprised when he said it was his fourth time in Chiang Mai. On his first trip he was so moved by the monks at Wat Doi- Suthep that he keeps coming back.
Last year he had burnt out working too many hours as a software engineer for a difficult client. From my vantage point it appeared that he had done a good job of self-care since. He had grown up in a medieval town in northern Germany and recommended that when visiting Germany to stay at places like his home town. Because they weren’t bombed in WWII like the big cities, we would have a more authentic experience.
Jan-Peter has been living in Stuttgart where he sees many U.S. military people undergoing physical rehabilitation and it pains him to compare their struggles with his own relatively free life.
