Embracing Life's Waterfalls

Well shoot. Time has gotten away from me!

This feels exactly like my first few weeks of freshman year at SUU. I've only been gone 3 weeks, but it feels like I just got here yesterday. At the same time though, so much happens that my days are starting to mix together and it feels like I've been here forever. It's hard to explain, but it has just reinforced the need for me to consistently write in my journal.

Let's do a quick recap, shall we?

Cooking lessons with Tang. If you ever travel abroad take cooking classes. Unless you loathe the food... then it might not be a good idea :P

Tang taught us how to make Sweet and Sour, Green Curry, and a chicken and green bean dish. As a group those have been our favorite meals, so she taught us how to make them! Personally, I'm a huge fan of the green curry and the sweet and sour. Definite keepers.

And who woulda thunk?! Ice cream trucks aren't just an American thing.. besides the obvious I mean :) 

Rice is huge here. Not only have I had rice twice a day every day since arriving, but rice supposedly makes a great topping on ice cream as well. Not that I would know... He had chocolate, so I passed on that one. 

One of my favorite things about traveling is soaking everything in. There is so much in this world that we have never experienced and traveling to a foreign place is, in my opinion, the best thing anyone could ever do.

 You learn to laugh at the mistakes,

 Try all sorts of crazy food, 

--Best fresh fruit smoothie I've ever had! And for only a dollar!--

And watch out for the creepy crawlies.

--We found a baby scorpion by the Pre-Kindergarten classroom over the weekend when all the kids were gone. Needless to say we all freaked out. The handyman, George, laughed at our attempts to catch it and then proceeded to guide the probably poisonous critter back outside with a cup. Walking barefoot in the school (it's a Thailand thing) just got so much less appealing.-- 

But I think my favorite thing about living abroad is learning to embrace a new way of life. Suddenly many of the staples of life - such as shaking hands, wearing shoes, driving on the right side of the road, and heck, even understanding conversations and the written word - have vanished. 

Last semester in one of my Psychology classes I learned about paradigms and how everyone lives in their own little world, but unless they're challenged, nothing ever changes. Growth comes from change. If this isn't change then I don't know what is.

Perspective is everything. 

On Saturday my group and I decided to join the local LDS ward for an activity. (This seems like a random jump, but I promise it ties in.) Due to bike complications only 4 out of the 7 of us were able to make it to the train station on time. From there we traveled about an hour's journey to meet the ward at the closest church. The members squished us in their car and drove us to the 'waterfalls'. This was our chance to travel to and explore a new part of Thailand so, of course, I was stoked, as were the girls in my group. Now, I'm not sure if there was a mistranslation or the dear Thais honestly believe this was a waterfall... but what we drove up to turned out to be little more than a stream.

Waterfall or not, it was gorgeous country and I realized something.

Everything about the way of life here is different. If I try to live in the same paradigm, or with the same perspective, that I've grown up with, then I won't be able to make the most out of this experience. I need to start by stepping out of my comfort zone, and enjoying every single moment of the time I've got. I can't let my perspective of how I think the world should be cloud out the reality of what's happening. Sure, it wasn't the waterfall I was expecting, but I was able to leave Phichit (it sounds like I've been forced to stay :P Haha, no, I love it, but I also love exploring new areas.) and be guided around by natives to see more of this beautiful land. I loved it.

I loved swimming in my clothes, playing with some of the kids in the water, and watching a lot of the families look at me like I was crazy for 1) swimming during the cold season -- the lows are mid 60's while the highs are low 80's -- and 2) laying out on a rock to dry while simultaneously tanning. Thais avoid the sun in an effort to turn whiter and think us Americans are insane for wanting to be dark. 

Life is all about perspective.

Finding Our Way

I've never really thought about what it's like to be on the teaching side of the education system. All my life I've been the student, but here, in this foreign land where the people drive on the left side of the road, I'm suddenly the teacher.

We arrived at the Imperial Phichit Bilingual School Thursday morning after about 40 hours of travel and were greeted by a mass of young kids running outside asking our names. It was so dang cute and such a great welcome.

 And yes, this school is Hogwarts. It even has a Hogwarts logo. Awesome, right??
While I'm on the subject, I've just got to add that my group is the best. We sorted personalities by the 4 Hogwarts houses. We've got:
3 Hufflepuffs (me included)
1 Ravenclaw
2 Gryffindors
and 1 Slytherin
See? Talk about a well-rounded group :)



Saturday was our first day biking to Phichit and let me tell you, it was scary. Traffic operates on the left side of the road, which  has definitely taken some getting used to, and there are so many bikes! I'm getting the hang of it though. I only rode on the wrong side twice yesterday. Progress!!

 

 Dinner with Mom and Dad!

Swensen's with Kelbi and Jes.

Kelbi tried to buy one of their spoons, because they're shaped so oddly, like eights almost. The servers all thought we were insane. It was fantastic :D

Oh, and don't worry, it only took us 3 days of cold showers to figure out how to flip the switch for hot water...

Thailand is like a dream that I still haven't woken up from. I thought adjusting to everything would be hard, but honestly I'm surprised at how smoothly the transition has been. I love my group, I love playing with the kids after school, and I absolutely love exploring!

I know I'll have my challenges, but this really is a once in a lifetime experience. But who knows, I could see myself coming back one day :D

A New Beginning

Well folks, the time has finally come.

A few months ago, in September, I made the decision to go on a volunteer abroad to Thailand through the International Language Programs to teach young school kids English. I'll be living behind the school with the rest of my group for the next 4 months. 

During the past few months as I've been anticipating this adventure I've often wondered what compelled me to sign up with this program. Little kids scare me and, though I love to travel, I have a really hard time dealing with change. So why volunteer my time to spend my days with kids in a foreign land? Simple. I want to help change lives.

I want to lose myself in service because I know that not only can I be the change, but I want to be changed as well. This travel abroad will change my life. I'm going to learn so much more than I could ever anticipate and you know what? I eagerly await this change. I love who I am, but I know that an experience like this can only mold me into the person I have the potential to be.

Thus far I've had two flights totalling in about 12 hours of flight time. I'm sitting in the Tokyo, Japan airport awaiting my delayed flight to Bangkok. It's funny, most of the people waiting for the Bangkok flight are complaining about the 4 hour delay... but I honestly couldn't be happier. I'm in Japan. True, it's just the airport and it's dark outside, but still. It's not everyday one finds themselves in Japan. The airport employees here are extremely friendly and helpful, so that's a plus :)

You'd think that it would have set in by now that the next 4 months of my life are about to be drastically different than anything I've ever experienced before, but it still feels like a dream. Despite the flights and the currency exchange nothing has truly changed yet. It's crazy to think how much my perceptions will change in the next 24 hours. My future holds many twists, turns and surprises, and I am ever so eager for them all to begin :)