Dear Starbucks

It’s official, I have sought refuge in the Chiang Mai Starbucks. Now first I will give you a moment to get over the shock that there actually exists a Starbucks in Chiang Mai. OK.

I had promised myself I wouldn’t come here, but the weather sucks (apparently monsoon season came early this year, lucky me!), I was in a bad mood, and I couldn’t get Ashley’s words from a recent email out of my head, “don’t forget to treat yourself to a Starbucks (she has been here).” I must admit, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief and joy sweep over me along with the cool heavily air-conditioned air as I stepped through the door. The building is strikingly modern, resembling nothing like the semi-third world scene of chaos just outside. As the all too familiar smell of Starbucks espresso hit my nose, a tear of joy ran down my face. I looked up at the menue wide eyed and drolling. What was I going to get?! Would it be the mocha frappuccino? The cinnemon dolce late? Or maybe old faithful, the caramel macchiato…oh the choices! This sadly, was one of the most exciting moments of my miserably rainy day so far.

The amazing thing about being inside the Starbucks is that stepping through the door is just like stepping through a porthole to the Western world. If I didn’t look out the window, there’s no way I wouldn’t think that I were anywhere but an average American Starbucks. After being in Chiang Mai for a week, where the third world has sort of collided with the modern world, it is a relief to escape the noise and never ending strange smells to this quiet, calm coffee sanctuary. I feel more like I am in Seattle than Thailand.

It’s quite funny, and I guess evidence to the fact that we live in a very globalized world, but I can recal a few other moments in cities around the world where I have sought refuge in a Starbucks (or maybe this is just a strange thing I do). Dunedin, New Zealand is my most memorable. The scene was remarkably similar, only I was four years younger and stressed out over an economics final I should have been studying for. I was sick of the rain and sick of the town, and yet somehow being in Starbucks drinking coffee and writing in my journal made me feel better. Maybe Starbucks isn’t the sworn enemy afterall……..

Part of the reason I had avoided Starbucks so far, aside from the obvious fact that it isn’t really a part of Thai culture, is because I have “quit” drinking coffee. I had my last and most delicious cappuccino in Italy the morning I left for Thailand. There were two reasons why this was to be my last. First, why even bother consuming coffee outside of Italy, there’s simply no comparison. Second, I am supposed to eliminate caffine, along with a few of my other favorite things, from my diet starting one month before the yoga retreat I am doing in Bali, now two weeks away. Oooopps! However I think that if it was a choice between no coffee or my sanity, the Balianese yogis would let this one slide, just this once. I mean I’m only having a tripple venti carmel macchiato (extra caramel please)!

So just what is it that makes Starbucks so comforting? Well for one, if you are a coffee lover, it’s basically your gas station. I believe however, there’s something more to it than just feeding the addiction. No matter where you are in the world, they always have that same calm mix of music playing. It’s similar to elevator music in the sense that it serves as background noise, but it’s a few steps above in the sense that it’s not so bad it ends up pissing you off. It’s always that same blend of jazzy, happy, calm, uplifting stuff that never fails to soothe the soul. Second to the music is the layout. Every Starbucks in the world has the same furnature, the same procedure – order/pay here, they write on the cup with a black sharpie, shout something to the person behind the espresso machine, then pick up over there. The same groups of people are in every Starbucks ’round the globe, holding their cute little (or in my case enormous) white plastic cups, sipping their various caffinated delights, and chatting about this and that. It’s the sameness that makes Starbucks so comforting (and so freaky all at the same time). If I ever find myself in a Russian Starbucks where the man behind the counter wears one of those tall fury hats and asks me if I would like a shot of Shmirnoff along with my extra shot of espresso, I will totally freak out!

So thank you Starbucks, thank you (you massive evil coorporation you!), for bringing me back to familiarity even if only for a moment. And please, don’t ever change. Except maybe tell the Thai Starbucks to get with the times and print those cheesy little inspirational quotes on the back of their cups. I really dig those.

(Can you tell I have a lot of time on my hands? I am now writing short stories about Starbucks…..this could get ugly.)