Thailand
Sometimes when I go for a walk near my house, I will catch a scent on the air that reminds me of a street in Bangkok, where I lived for three weeks in October 2002. Specifically, it reminds me of the four-block walk down to the laundromat we hauled our clothes to when we just couldn't deal with handwashing anymore. I couldn't possibly tell you why I should be reminded so strongly of that place, but some things can't be explained. That is the case more often than not.
A Thai man once said to me, "There are three seasons in Thailand: hot, very hot, and very very hot." We were there when it was hot. It was the rainy season, so it was almost unbearably humid as well. Every day felt like we were walking in a giant, inescapable sauna, yet somehow some of us would get up the energy to go jogging around the nearby university in the evenings, before teaching our English classes. Lots of people would be out at that time, jogging, doing aerobics, or playing a game that was kind of like hackey-sack, only instead of a hackey-sack, they used a hollow plastic woven ball. I played a couple times; it was fun.
Often we heard rumblings of thunder in the air during the day, though the rain didn't always come. When it did, it was tragic. One day it rained so hard, it flooded the church where we were staying, and we spent the day sloshing around in water well past our ankles, and trying to unclog one of the drains. It was a mess.
The people in Thailand smile all the time; in fact, the country is known as the land of smiles. This has a downside: you never know if a Thai person is upset with you, because they won't show it. It would be impolite, and at all costs they will be polite to you.
I liked Thailand. My favorite aspect of the country was the people, but a strong runner-up was the food. I remember one time I found a giant ant in my pad see yu (which I'm sure I've spelled frightfully wrong)--but it was still really good. I also think the Thai omelette is quite excellent. I do admit that I never sampled anything truly exotic, such as the crunchy fried grasshoppers that street vendors would often have available, and which I would see children actually clamoring for, just like kids here might jump up and down and beg mom and dad for candy.
We would eat lunch at Ramkhamhaeng University, at the canteen. We got a lot of attention, being farang (foreigners). Students liked to sit with us and practice their English. They were very friendly.
A meal in the canteen would cost about 15 baht, which was roughly equivalent to about 50 cents. The exchange rate was shocking. When we went to the markets, I didn't really have the heart to bargain, because, even though vendors were certainly ramping up their prices, it was still so very cheap. A skirt for 250 baht was something like $5.00. Was I really going to try and quibble it down a few more? Would Jesus do that? Well, I am a bad bargainer anyway.
The best haircut I ever had was in a salon at the mall in Bangkok. The girl who cut my hair didn't even speak English, but her hair was pretty cool, so I just indicated that I wanted her to do mine the same way. She did a great job. I felt beautiful for the rest of the day.
A Thai man once said to me, "There are three seasons in Thailand: hot, very hot, and very very hot." We were there when it was hot. It was the rainy season, so it was almost unbearably humid as well. Every day felt like we were walking in a giant, inescapable sauna, yet somehow some of us would get up the energy to go jogging around the nearby university in the evenings, before teaching our English classes. Lots of people would be out at that time, jogging, doing aerobics, or playing a game that was kind of like hackey-sack, only instead of a hackey-sack, they used a hollow plastic woven ball. I played a couple times; it was fun.
Often we heard rumblings of thunder in the air during the day, though the rain didn't always come. When it did, it was tragic. One day it rained so hard, it flooded the church where we were staying, and we spent the day sloshing around in water well past our ankles, and trying to unclog one of the drains. It was a mess.
The people in Thailand smile all the time; in fact, the country is known as the land of smiles. This has a downside: you never know if a Thai person is upset with you, because they won't show it. It would be impolite, and at all costs they will be polite to you.
I liked Thailand. My favorite aspect of the country was the people, but a strong runner-up was the food. I remember one time I found a giant ant in my pad see yu (which I'm sure I've spelled frightfully wrong)--but it was still really good. I also think the Thai omelette is quite excellent. I do admit that I never sampled anything truly exotic, such as the crunchy fried grasshoppers that street vendors would often have available, and which I would see children actually clamoring for, just like kids here might jump up and down and beg mom and dad for candy.
We would eat lunch at Ramkhamhaeng University, at the canteen. We got a lot of attention, being farang (foreigners). Students liked to sit with us and practice their English. They were very friendly.
A meal in the canteen would cost about 15 baht, which was roughly equivalent to about 50 cents. The exchange rate was shocking. When we went to the markets, I didn't really have the heart to bargain, because, even though vendors were certainly ramping up their prices, it was still so very cheap. A skirt for 250 baht was something like $5.00. Was I really going to try and quibble it down a few more? Would Jesus do that? Well, I am a bad bargainer anyway.
The best haircut I ever had was in a salon at the mall in Bangkok. The girl who cut my hair didn't even speak English, but her hair was pretty cool, so I just indicated that I wanted her to do mine the same way. She did a great job. I felt beautiful for the rest of the day.
posted by grackyfrogg @ 10:44 PM
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