Things that I’ve learned about/from Thailand so far: 1. The boba milk tea is really good and it’s going to take a lot to restrain myself. 2. I don’t like durian all that much. It’s good, and it’s actually kinda sweet, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over the creamier-than-avocado texture or the weird aftertaste that it leaves 3. High humidity is to be expected! Yes, this is kind of well known. But I’d like to mention it anyways. 4. Bugs and small animals are not uncommon. There was a gecko just kinda chilling by my face this morning, which was terrifying. Also, on Saturday I reached up to touch some leaves on a tree and ended up grabbing a gigantic beetle or bug of some sort that flew into my face. It wasn’t pleasant, but I wasn’t hurt. Still though, I will be more wary of suspicious trees. 5. Rain is also to be expected! Again, this is well known, but I’d just like to point out that there is a lot of rain. It has rained every single day that I’ve been here. It’s not constant, and it’s not always torrential, but it’s definitely always there. There has been a total of two (2) days here that I have actually seen the sun. This isn’t a complaint, by the way, I’m just saying so. Also, when the sky does decide to crack open and unleash its watery demons instead of giving us a gentle drizzle, it really comes down hard. If you’re inside, you just hear this roaring outside from the water hitting the metal ceilings. Everything outside gets wet, nothing is safe, and the noise drowns out the teachers who, by the way, are using microphones in the classroom. If you’re outside… good luck to your poor soul. I happened to be outside under a bridge today when it started really coming down, and even though the bridge was about ten feet wide and I was in the middle of it, I was still sprayed head to toe with the mist that was created when the water hit the ground. It really rains here. And finally… 6. Mosquitoes. Are. Everywhere. You know those horror movies where there’s this creepy thing following the main characters wherever they go? Yeah, that’s what mosquitoes are like here. Everywhere you go- bam, there it is. Outside? Definitely. In the classroom? Still there. In the living room or dining room? Right there with you. In your own private room with the windows and doors shut? They’ll be there. In the shower or on the toilet? You bet they’re gonna go for the places that’ll be the most embarrassing to scratch. I’m not joking in the slightest. Mosquito repellent is my best friend right now.
Anyways. I’ve actually done some really cool stuff in the past week or two, and I wanted to acknowledge those as well.
Last week (I think it was Tuesday but I’m not sure) I went to visit my second host mom again. Not sure if I mentioned her before, but she’s fluent in several languages and is actually an English teacher, and she lives alone near the school. She was really sweet and helped me learn several new words before my current host mom came to pick me up.
On Thursday, my host brother (His name is Pattarapon but he goes by Stamp, don’t ask me how he got from one to the other because I don’t know) and I went to a group tutor. The tutor has been teaching Stamp for several years now, and while she helped several students with their homework, I worked on my speech for the school that was to be recited the next day. After everyone was done, Stamp and I went with the tutor to go see a movie. The movie was “Fast and Furious,” and I understood absolutely nothing from what they said. I could kind of make out the plot based on English signs in the movie and from the characters’ actions, but in all honesty I was still confused throughout the whole thing. Also, we rode a motorcycle to get there and back, and it was honestly really fun. I was terrified at first, not to mention I didn’t keep my feet up high enough and scraped one of my shoes on the asphalt. But once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it.
In all honesty, that’s how most things seem to be for me right now. It’s intimidating, but there are people to help me along the way and then I enjoy it. For example, in class, there are so many classmates of mine who are more than willing to help me. They’re usually a little nervous because they don’t want to butcher the English language, but they all speak it really well. Actually, they speak English a little too well, which makes it hard for me to learn Thai, but they also help me by giving me direct translations, which I write down in my notebook. As of now I have about four pages of translated words. My level of speaking right now is basically the equivalent of a toddler (and people kind of treat me like one which is fair), and I can’t imagine how I sound to anyone passing by. I mean, imagine passing by some confused teenager on the street in America and hearing them say, “Cloak? Clack? Click?… Oh! Clock! Clock!” and pointing excitedly at their wristwatch. Because that’s probably how I look. When my friends aren’t there, I just have to tell people I don’t speak Thai, and a lot of them kind of give me this look of “oh, pity the poor monolingual American” before giving me hand motions or speaking in English.
The only time I’m really confused is during class lectures. All of them except for Biology and English are just really, really long segments of time where there’s just a bunch of Thai going over my head and I can pick out maybe a dozen words. Physics and Chemistry are actually the worst right now, because the classes are above what I’ve learned so far and also because they’re in Thai. They’re the most frustrating, because I can interpret the numbers and equations but can’t make the connections between those and the solutions given. I’ve been looking into finding old lessons on those subjects in English in hopes that I can help myself understand, but it hasn’t worked yet.
Luckily, I’m not going to those classes tomorrow. (Actually, it’s not a good thing because school is where I learn Thai the most but that’s not my point.) Instead, I get to enjoy an eight hour car ride to Khon Kaen, where the first Rotary orientation is being held. The orientation starts the day after tomorrow, and I’ll be meeting a bunch of other inbounds from several different countries while also reuniting with my travel buddy, Josie, whom I flew here with. The orientation will last two days, and then I’ll get to enjoy another eight hours back to Chanthaburi.
I’ll write all about that in a week or two, but it’ll be on https://alisonthailand.blogspot.com/ because people have been having trouble seeing the pictures I’m posting here. As for the orientation, I’m looking forward to it!
Alison S. Thailand Blog 