Today marks 100 days until I leave Thailand. I know because I've been counting down on an ipod app for awhile. It's been really hard to focus on staying present here and getting everything I can out of the time I have left. I'm really excited about moving back to Southern California! Strangely, even before I came to Thailand I started having fantasies about what my life would look like when I came back. I know that this is just part of the "grass is always greener" mindset, so I try to remind myself that I'll still be basically the same person when I get back. I don't think I'll suddenly find a passion for working out or spontaneously develop new hobbies. Who's to say, maybe I will be inspired to take on something new, but I shouldn't count on it.
People love to insist that we live in the moment and get everything we can out of life. That's all good, but what does it really mean? Do I need to be walking the streets everyday, trying to scare up experiences? Is it a shameful waste of a day if I choose to come home after work and watch tv? There's only so much one girl can do! I like to think that living in a foreign city and interacting with people from all over the world, "life" will find me whether I'm looking for it or not. Phew, pressure off!
All that being said, I had a pretty good day. I slept in until 9:30. When I got up our housekeeper was downstairs cleaning the kitchen. It's been raining pretty constantly for the past few days, so she made a comment about how it's easy to sleep when it's cold out. At least I'm pretty sure this is what she said because she was speaking Thai. I feel so awkward having the housekeeper here on Saturday mornings. I feel like I can't just lie around in my pjs when someone is here cleaning our house. So I usually end up finding something to do outside the house.
I'd been looking at the website with the movie theater listings (http://www.majorcineplex.com/en/ if you're interested) but there weren't any English movies that interested me. So I started looking at the Thai movies. It took me many months to realize that many of the Thai movies have English subtitles, and I'd never seen any of the Thai movies until today.
Before the movie I ate lunch at the food court outside of the theater in the mall. Although it was noon, I hadn't eaten breakfast so I wasn't really in the mood for a rich greasy Thai meal. I looked at the different counters, some with signs in English and others without, until I saw a place with a picture of a dish that looked appealing to me. It happened to be another rich greasy Thai dish, but it still looked tasty. I went to order it, thinking I could just point to the picture, but the picture was facing towards me and away from the woman serving food, so I don't think she knew what I meant. I ran my eyes over the string of Thai letters labeling the dish, but there was no way I'd get past the first couple of syllables. Luckily there was a Thai woman next to me who saw I was struggling and she read the name of the dish to the woman working there. Hurray! Language barrier overcome, if just for a minute and if just for food. I gave the woman a kop kun ka (thank you) when my order was placed. It was only when the woman got her food and walked away that I noticed her shirt had a word bubble that said "Oops." I found that oddly appropriate for the situation.
The movie that interested me was called Shambala. It was about two brothers who had been estranged when they decide to go on a trip to Tibet together. It was the typical road trip bonding movie where the brothers with opposite personalities started off fighting and ended up closer than they ever had been. I don't know if it's because the movie was specifically set in Tibet or if it's an aspect of Thai movies in general, but Buddhism played a large role in the movie. I'll have to watch some more Thai movies to find out.
I took a songtaew home and it started pouring down rain right before we got to my stop. I started the 15 minute walk back to my house with my ineffective umbrella. My flip flops were so wet I was afraid I would slip out of them. Luckily I soon saw a familiar white van coming towards me. Kelly was on her way out of the neighborhood and when she stopped I hopped in and asked where we were going. We dropped the kids off for a play date and then stopped by the market before heading back home. I was happy to have a ride back to my front door.
When I got in, my roommate Laura was home. We went out after an hour and watched the international school's boys volleyball team play in a tournament. They lost by two points. Oh, I guess I should say they came in second in the tournament. Yay! When the game was over we walked down the road to have dinner at a restaurant, Coaches, which is run my a missionary family. On the way we were harassed by a literally ankle biting puppy. We narrowly escaped when his jaws were distracted by a discarded hat. The seating at the restaurant is in a tree house like loft and it was nice to sit and eat with the rain, which started pouring again as soon as we were under cover. It's the rainy season here and I am loving every minute of it, yes, even when people don't show up out of nowhere to give me a lift.
People love to insist that we live in the moment and get everything we can out of life. That's all good, but what does it really mean? Do I need to be walking the streets everyday, trying to scare up experiences? Is it a shameful waste of a day if I choose to come home after work and watch tv? There's only so much one girl can do! I like to think that living in a foreign city and interacting with people from all over the world, "life" will find me whether I'm looking for it or not. Phew, pressure off!
All that being said, I had a pretty good day. I slept in until 9:30. When I got up our housekeeper was downstairs cleaning the kitchen. It's been raining pretty constantly for the past few days, so she made a comment about how it's easy to sleep when it's cold out. At least I'm pretty sure this is what she said because she was speaking Thai. I feel so awkward having the housekeeper here on Saturday mornings. I feel like I can't just lie around in my pjs when someone is here cleaning our house. So I usually end up finding something to do outside the house.
I'd been looking at the website with the movie theater listings (http://www.majorcineplex.com/en/ if you're interested) but there weren't any English movies that interested me. So I started looking at the Thai movies. It took me many months to realize that many of the Thai movies have English subtitles, and I'd never seen any of the Thai movies until today.
Before the movie I ate lunch at the food court outside of the theater in the mall. Although it was noon, I hadn't eaten breakfast so I wasn't really in the mood for a rich greasy Thai meal. I looked at the different counters, some with signs in English and others without, until I saw a place with a picture of a dish that looked appealing to me. It happened to be another rich greasy Thai dish, but it still looked tasty. I went to order it, thinking I could just point to the picture, but the picture was facing towards me and away from the woman serving food, so I don't think she knew what I meant. I ran my eyes over the string of Thai letters labeling the dish, but there was no way I'd get past the first couple of syllables. Luckily there was a Thai woman next to me who saw I was struggling and she read the name of the dish to the woman working there. Hurray! Language barrier overcome, if just for a minute and if just for food. I gave the woman a kop kun ka (thank you) when my order was placed. It was only when the woman got her food and walked away that I noticed her shirt had a word bubble that said "Oops." I found that oddly appropriate for the situation.
The movie that interested me was called Shambala. It was about two brothers who had been estranged when they decide to go on a trip to Tibet together. It was the typical road trip bonding movie where the brothers with opposite personalities started off fighting and ended up closer than they ever had been. I don't know if it's because the movie was specifically set in Tibet or if it's an aspect of Thai movies in general, but Buddhism played a large role in the movie. I'll have to watch some more Thai movies to find out.
I took a songtaew home and it started pouring down rain right before we got to my stop. I started the 15 minute walk back to my house with my ineffective umbrella. My flip flops were so wet I was afraid I would slip out of them. Luckily I soon saw a familiar white van coming towards me. Kelly was on her way out of the neighborhood and when she stopped I hopped in and asked where we were going. We dropped the kids off for a play date and then stopped by the market before heading back home. I was happy to have a ride back to my front door.
When I got in, my roommate Laura was home. We went out after an hour and watched the international school's boys volleyball team play in a tournament. They lost by two points. Oh, I guess I should say they came in second in the tournament. Yay! When the game was over we walked down the road to have dinner at a restaurant, Coaches, which is run my a missionary family. On the way we were harassed by a literally ankle biting puppy. We narrowly escaped when his jaws were distracted by a discarded hat. The seating at the restaurant is in a tree house like loft and it was nice to sit and eat with the rain, which started pouring again as soon as we were under cover. It's the rainy season here and I am loving every minute of it, yes, even when people don't show up out of nowhere to give me a lift.
I love your writing style.. it's so playful! Anyways.. I'm glad you are having fun and experiencing new things while you are there but excited to have you home in the states in 100...possibly 99 days! :)
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