I can't say I had ever talked to a monk.  We see them a lot in Thailand, with their orange robes, shaved heads and quant smiles.  I have been curious about monks and buddhism for a while and this was my chance to learn about their daily life. 

The MCU Buddhist University in Chiang Mai has a program called Monk Chat, where laypeople such as myself can go and talk to monks for a bit in a relaxed environment. The monks are all students at the University, which has the longest name evar: Mahachulalongkornrajvidalaya Buddhist University.

I had the pleasure of meeting Souk (above), who is from Loas and in his 4th year at the university.  His English as very good (the program is, in part, meant to help their English) and he was no different that the nice guy you'd meet in the street.  In fact, he takes great pride in presenting himself with humor and laughter as it enables people (like me) to feel more comfortable in his presence.  I talked for about an hour with Souk and his friends and got a feel for their student life, which involves a lot of early mornings and meditation.  He knows more about the World Cup than me and seems to be more of a typical college student than I would have thought.  He imparted some of his philosophy in saying that as a monk, there a number of rules, but the most important thing is to do good and serve as a positive example. I consider Souk a friend and I hope he is reading this. Hi Souk!

Monk Chat occurs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5-7 pm. The University is beside Wat Suan Dok, which is nice for a visit as well. I recommend it wholeheartedly.