Reflection

I can’t believe it has only been two weeks. I have done so many amazing things and seen so many amazing places already. And I get to be here for five months? It is time to take a step back and breathe. The past two weeks have been jam packed; a week of orientation in Bangkok (where I learned a mind-numbing amount of information about teaching and Thai culture), visited the Grand Palace, took a day trip to ride elephants and bamboo rafts, started teaching, and had an amazing weekend getaway. How is it possible that I accomplished all of that in such a short amount of time? I am so grateful that I am here and able to experience all that Thailand has to offer. I can’t imagine what the next 5 months are going to hold for me!

Things I have learned about Thailand so far:

-Thai people are exceptionally friendly. They will go out of their way to help you in any situation.

-Thai people will also laugh at you. A LOT. Everything I do seems to get stares, giggles and out right laughs from the locals.

-Hearing the term “farang” (foreigner) is extremely common. It’s one of the only words I can pick out of a Thai conversation and it generally means they are talking about you. (Interesting fact: farang also means guava. Let’s hope Thai people like to talk a lot about guava.)

-Thai kids have their own form of “LOL”. When texting or chatting they type “555”.   5 in Thai is “ha” therefore they are literally typing ha ha ha.

-Stray dogs are everywhere. Some of them look pretty mean….I am working on making friends with the ones in my neighborhood

-The language barrier is becoming increasingly difficult. Especially when trying to order food. When in doubt always point. Or use words like kaew (rice) and gai (chicken) and see what comes out.

-Even when you try to speak in Thai, most people still can’t understand you.

-Thai students are really cute. When you walk by they will shout random English words that they know.  

-In Thailand, most buildings and homes have spirit houses. Thai’s believe that all things have spirits so they build these little houses and make offerings to keep the spirits happy. Even the most run down buildings and areas of the city you will see beautiful, elaborate spirit houses outside.

-Nobody in Thailand walks. Anywhere. You will get strange looks if you are walking down the street. Maybe I should get a scooter??

-Transportation is surprisingly easy. (Unless you are attempting to get a van from Victory Monument…anyone else have this problem??)

-Food stalls are amazing. You can get a great meal for about $1