I am now a "Certified" Foot Massage Therapist

I couldn't write this before the class ended because I had approximately 785 steps to memorize for each side the foot in just four days.

Class began every day with a prayer. Everyone but me sits on their ankles on the low cots used for Thai  massage.  There is chanting, call and response, and finally a silent meditation.

Although a serious school,  it seems to be designed to meet the demands of capricious tourists. All you need to do is show up on a Monday to Saturday, present passport, credit card, and photos, and you can start day 1 of any of their programs. Sometimes you are in a class with others, sometimes it is just you and the instructor. I am the lucky only student of Net.

Net is from the Karen tribe, whose population is primarily in Myanmar and secondarily in Thailand. His village is right on the border. As a Karen, his only path to upward mobility, to education, was to join a monastery. If I understand correctly, he "escaped" from his family at the tender age of seven to join a monastery so that he could receive an education. The backstory here is a stepfather. At the monastery he learned Thai and eventually English. I also learned that Net is married and is the sole support of his wife, soon-to-be-born baby, and his elderly in-laws. He is 30.

The first two days of training were overwhelming. There was a tiny introduction to the manual and then I got a massage. So far so good. We went over portions of the steps. But then I was expected to remember the steps. In one day?

The manual: red annotations by instructor, the rest by me.

My version of the manual with notations.

On day 2 we started with an exercise where Net did the right foot of another instructor and I did the left. Again the expectation was that I would remember something. Next, my turn for massage, but I was asked to predict the next move. My mind was empty, I could remember nothing about foot massage. There was no hook for me to hang my memories...just blankness and an admonishments from Net that I'd better pull myself together because I would be expected to pass an exam. What?

So, I asked Net if he could help me organize my manual into bite-size steps. He had mentioned the bites, but not emphasized them. I then re-wrote the steps in my own words using my own notation system.

I started getting up at 4:00 am woke to work on memorization. It took me weeks to learn the basic salsa step, which is technically only three steps. Now I have to learn 785 x 2?

As a break from the pressure of attempting to activate my geriatric brain, I received a head and neck massage one afternoon, which hurt quite a bit, but eased my neck pain for a day. I got to be the demonstration student for a Thai massage by another instructor, who gave me a bonus massage. And of course I received at least one foot massage, sometimes two, every day.  So aside from the stress and lack of sleep, I felt great. Perhaps the course is not even doable without all the massages!

I was able, by trying very hard, to pass the practical exam, so I am therefore certified in Chiang Mai and can theoretically get a job paying less than $5.00/hour!

I am hoping my newfound abilities will make me popular on the upcoming pilgrimage, but who knows? I can't  carry a massage chair, towels, cream, and stick in my backpack!

Would I do it again? Probably not. It was a great cultural experience hanging out with real Thai people and I learned a bit about massage. However, I could have used more theory to understand why the order of the steps and the effect on the body. I guess that would be a two-week course.