Life As I Know It

Summer classes are coming to an end and I'm gearing up for Megh's big arrival, so I am just a wee bit excited this week. I am about to take on Southeast Asia for the next two months, so I have to say a temporary goodbye to my "normal" life. After 5 months, I've made some major life adjustments and to commemorate, I'd thought I'd make a list. But then I got inspired to do some 'Highs and Lows', so you're going to get a double whammy- a list of highs and lows. It doesn't get more exciting than that, now does it?

Top Ten Life Adjustments Since Coming to Thailand

10. Walking: Seems silly, right? Well...walking isn't a normal activity here. Back in Boston, I walked everywhere. I love to walk/wander/get lost. Thailand doesn't share that love. 

Highs: I've become very good at dodging tuk-tuks, cars, bikes, motorbikes, restaurants on wheels while walking along the road. 

Lows: Sidewalks are non-existent. Seriously- it's like an obstacle course to walk down the street. Signs, trees, street vendors, stray dogs, cement slabs, poles- they take over the entire sidewalk. So I have no choice but to walk with or against the traffic (hence my Frogger skills). 

9. Beds: More like wooden slabs. 

Highs: My scoliosis is loving the rock solid beds. And it makes for an excellent table. I literally have breakfast in bed every morning.

Lows: There is no such thing as cozying up in your bed here. Between the lack of cushion and fighting off all the critters lurking in the sheets, bedtime is no longer the highlight of the day.

8. Exercise: Yeaaa, about that....

Highs: I think I sweat more walking down the street than I ever did during an intense workout back home. So really, is exercising necessary?

Lows: I haven't stepped foot in a gym since being here because there aren't any. I've attempted a few runs, but I'd rather not worry about hurdling chickens/stray dogs. Also- it's brutally hot here. Walking around the block is physically draining. Hooray for laziness!

7. Farang: White people represent.

Highs: Being a farang gives you automatic celebrity status. It's a real ego-booster to walk down the street while people yell out "Hello!" and "Beauuuutiful!" on any given day. 

Lows: At the same time, being stared at while you walk, eat, talk, sit, breathe can be a little overwhelming. Hearing the word 'farang, farang, farang' as you pass by anyone and everyone is funny...but I'm also kind of over it. 

6. Sweating: I'm so attractive, it's not even funny.

Highs: I maintain a natural glow. And I'm never cold.

Lows: I am a hot mess.... all of the time. As much as I'd like to convince myself that my beauty is causing all those triple takes as I wander the streets of Suphan, I've come to terms with the fact that the sweaty, red-headed farang is quite the spectacle. 

5. Entertainment: Karaoke just isn't my cup of tea.

Highs: Travel is my entertainment. And that defeats all. If that doesn't win you over, then this will. 

Lows: I really miss American TV and music. Suphan isn't the most exciting of places, and sometimes, I just really want to curl up in my wooden slate of a bed, cuddle with the ants and watch some good ole American TV. I can only self-dub Thai soap operas for so long. 

4. Fashion: Fisherman pants are so in right now.

Highs: I wear elastic-waisted clothes everyday. My wardrobe is chock-full of comfy clothes. My rice baby belly really appreciates that. 

Lows: Basically- I am just a frump now. Trying to be culturally appropriate while not over-heating is actually really difficult. And to top it off- we are surrounded by adorable Thai women and their super trendy clothes that are so inexpensive...but made only for tiny, adorable Thai women. Meh. And I knew my life without pretty shoes could only go for so long. Let the withdrawals begin...

3. Showers: Yes, I am still being a pansy about this. 

Highs: With summer here and temperatures reaching 100 degrees, the water in the pipes heats up during the day and allows me to have a bearable shower. 

Lows: Cold showers are just not something you can adjust to. I hate them. 

2. Language: Jing Jing!

Highs: I'm learning. I've made a lot of progress but I still 'Mai Kow Jai' (don't understand) a lot...most...of what is being said. I know most of the key phrases and I can pick up a few words per conversation. And 'Jing jing' has changed my life. It just means 'Really?!' but I use it as much as I possibly can in everyday conversation. Probably too much...

Lows: I'm learning, but I am still so far away from knowing a decent amount.  It's hard stuff to learn a new language, and without it-it is so much more difficult to delve into the culture as much as I would like to. 

1. Food: Just call me Fatty.

Highs: It really doesn't get more delicious than this. Settling in at our favorite "restaurant' (and by restaurant, I mean an area with chairs and tables where I am constantly swatting mosquitoes away and pushing a cat off of the table while a man on a motorcycle skims my leg with his bike), and devouring a dish of freshly made Thai food is heaven on earth. The spices, the flavors, the veggies, the tropical fruit, the banana shakes- MMM!

Lows: Don't get me wrong- Thai food rocks my world- but my diet still has its random American cravings. For instance, right now, all I want to do is destroy a wedge of cheese. But, that is not happening here. Delicious sugary, chocolaty, glorious baked goods do not exist (womp womp)...which is probably a good thing, but it doesn't do anything for those intense cravings.

So there you have it- a little peek into my life changes. And even if the lows were lower and the highs not so high, my life here is awesome. I'm sure I've missed some essentials- but I'm just too giddy because on Saturday, I embark on an epic journey:

Suphan- Bangkok- Koh Chang- Sihanoukville- Phnom Penh- Ho Chi Minh City- Hong Kong- Suphan- Chiang Mai- Chiang Rai- Pai- Suphan - Bali- Langkawi. 

 

5 countries in 2 months.... Let's do this thang.

That being said- my updates will be far and few, but hopefully I return (safely) and with good stories to tell.