Reverse Reverse

I know a lot of you are curious as to how i'm handling the change back to Thai life. Wondering if there's some sort of reverse-reverse-culture shock after being in back in the states for so long. There's not. There are cultural differences for sure, but they are far from shocking this time around. Bowing to people, taking off shoes before entering rooms, even the foreign language is very unforeign to me. The big difference i'm getting used to isn't USA -> Thailand, it's Chatham -> Bangkok. Now there's subways and skytrains and events and concerts and noise and pollution and stores that stay open past 9pm and 6.3 billion people. It takes a litle getting used to but, like i said, i've done this before.

One thing I'm taking advantage of and loving is the use of the Bangkok bus system. I never had much use for it before since I only lived 5 minutes from work, but now I'm doing part-time stuff at I Can Read centers all over town and have started to really dig it. Unless there's a lot of people getting on or off, the bus doesn't stop it just slows down. You hop aboard a rusty, smelly bus with wooden floorboards. All the windows are open and there's several fans rotating around above you. You try to find a seat quickly since the bus has pulled into traffic while you were still climbing the stairs and then someone staggers over to collect your fare (8฿) and hand you a small ticket stub. I'm not totally familiar with the areas where i've been working but there's always huge crowds getting off where i'm going so I don't need to pay too much attention. I can just enjoy the ride. I think I enjoy it so much because it's one of the things in Bangkok that seems genuinely foreign. Bangkok is a cosmopolitan city and in a lot of ways not so different from New York or Madrid or any major city. It's refreshing when I can experience something new that's really, truely different here. Just a little culturally shocking.

Much Love
J

Peaceful Protest

I'm sure you all know about the violent protests here last spring. There's no need to get into that again, nor is there cause for concern now. Some of you may have read about the large red-shirt protests in Bangkok over the weekend. The supporters of former PM Thaksin all gathered together this weekend, mainly Saturday, to reassert their claim of a need for new government. There weren't any attempts to foment a major revolution this time. In fact, they mostly gathered to remember those who died during the protests in April and May. It was more of a vigil this time than a protest.

I had heard earlier in the week that there was gonna be some red-shirt activity but only that I should prepare for traffic. There was nothing to worry about. There is nothing to worry about.

Here's the article: Protesters Return to Streets of Bangkok

Much love,
j

The Return!

Sawasdee Krap! I’ve returned to Thailand and that means it’s time to get the ol’ blog running again. Where to begin? My trip over here wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t have any issues with boarding or luggage. The guy at the ticket counter gave me a choice of seating for the extra-long D.C. to Seoul flight. He gave me the option of taking a middle seat somewhere or getting an aisle seat next to a baby. Not an easy decision. I gambled and went with the baby. An excellent choice since the seat was at the front of the section (extra leg room) and the baby didn’t make a peep the whole trip.

I left the airport around 10pm. The balmy night air carried that smell. The smell of South-East Asia. It’s not good or bad, just different. I really can’t describe it and I have since gotten used to it again, but for the first 24 hours I breathed deep, breathing it all back in. I took a taxi to the apartment building where I lived before. Dead tired. My plan to stay up the entire trip was moderately successful and I haven’t suffered any serious jetlag except I’ve woken up at 8am the past three days. Does it count as jetlag if my sleep schedule is now in tune with most people? So far I’ve been spending my time getting my life in order. I’ve been offered my old job back so there’s a good place to start. It’ll be part-time stuff for a while until the position is vacated. Traffic in Bangkok is always bad so I started looking for apartments within walking distance of the school. I searched high and low, rich and poor. After a long hot day of checking apartments and dredging up my Thai conversation skills I decided to get another room at Villa Suan Phlu. It had the best balance between a life of luxury and a Spartan existence and is situated near dozens of delicious dining options. Oh man, the food. I’ve been cruising around seeing who’s still here, who’s not. Which of my favorite places are still in business. The food court across from my apartment is still intact and Mama’s kitchen is now twice as big. Jamie’s, where I ate everyday, is under new management but still seems to have great food. There are a few more places I have to check out but so far, so great.

Well, I gotta go! Today’s my first day as a replacement teacher at Sathorn and I gotta get ready. I’m looking forward to updating you on my new adventures. It’s good to be back!

Much love
j

Video - Fruits

When I got to Thailand, I was amazed at how many new and different fruits there were. Ones that you wouldn't really encounter that often in the US were all of a sudden everywhere. A lot of which I had never even heard! Here's a little video introduction to the new world of weird fruits. Sorry for the windy intro. It goes away after a bit.

Video - Tour

At long last, I have started uploading my Thailand videos! The first one's just a tour of my apartment where I was for the scond half of my stay. This video was taken sometime in June, I think, so the apt isn't fully decorated yet. I eventually got a couch and hung up my flag..

Home Again, Home Again

Well I made it home safe and sound. Margy's wedding was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my short time in Hong Kong. The actual wedding was great with the ceremony taking place on a boat in Hong Kong Harbor and then making it over to a delicious restaurant on the island. An excellent time was had by all. I wish I could've stayed longer but my flight home was the next day. I had no major problems during my trip although there were a few close calls. I thought Hong Kong was chilly but it wasn't close to the Logan parking garage at midnight. Yikes. Plus, my dad parked in Row Z so there was a fair bit exposure to the elements.

Since I've been back I've been able to see a bunch of my favorite people with many more still to come. This blizzard I wished for is certainly rad and I got in some sledding the other day(!) I've been asked this question a whole lot since I've been back so I'll address it here. My future plans are: Enjoy the holiday season with friends and family. I really haven't thought too far beyond that. I need to find a job. I would love to put my Intl. Relations degree to work and ideally I would like to land a job that would send me back to Thailand.

There really isn't a whole lot of culture shock coming back. I mean, I've lived here before. Things aren't that weird. I think a bigger shock is the transition from Bangkok to Chatham where there's only 2 traffic lights and places actually close at night.

I'd be lying if i said I didn't miss Thailand a lot already. It was an awesome experience and I know I'll go back someday. With that said, It sure feels good to be home.

much love
j

ps. my first meal back was a Steak Bomb and a coke from D'Angelo! I've also had a burger, pizza, wings, and all kinds of other tasty treats. I'm dreading the day I get a craving for some Thai food and have to shell out $7.00 for some Pad Thai that most definitely won't compare.

pps. Now that I'm back and have a fast internet connection, I can finally upload those videos I took so long ago. I didn't forget. I just need to find an adapter for my laptop and I'll get them up here asap. Stay tuned!

Phuket, dude

My recent trip down south was another success. My first stop was in Kao Lak where I met up with Ryan, Fern, and Kat. Ryan had been in the area for several days on a scuba trip so he knew the best places to go. After we rented the always necessary motorbikes, we zoomed down to a great little beach with a bungalow restaurant. There was a laxy river that emptied out into the ocean near us and Ryan and I took an opportunity to go exploring. There wasn't a whole lot going on except we saw some workers clearing land for a new resort. Part of their project was what looked like excavation of an old swimming pool. Ryan said he went down a washed-out, overgrown road the day before and got to the ruins of an old resort. It's been nearly 5 years since the Tsunami wrecked this part of the world and they're still not fully recovered. The restaurant where we were sitting held a staff vs guests volleyball game in the afternoon which was a lot of fun. They also had a giant soccer game later and the two of those really wore me out.

The next day we decided to go down to Phuket. It's the biggest tourist attraction so we figured we should check it out. Needless to say but it was very touristy. There were Farangs everywhere and the part where we stayed was pretty busy. We were right on the beach so the next day we went for a stroll. The bay where we were offered every kind of extreme water sport. Jet skis, windsurfing, parasailing, banana-boating, etc. A couple of us were feeling under the weather so we opted for a trip to what i could best describe as an aquatic playground. For 300฿ we could spend the day climbing on inflatable mountains, jumping on sea trampolines, and riding the "water-totter". It was a lot of fun and it was probably the nicest salt water i've swam in since i've been here. After that, we went to Fern's favorite place "monkey beach" which is a little beach restaurant that has a little gibbon. He would swing around and wrestle with his best friend, a pug. I loved it. After that we went down to the walking street where all the different bars were. It was pretty sleazy and a lot like Pattaya. Fern told us that it wasn't like this before the Tsunami, and that foreign investors rebuilt the area in a totally different image. We had a good time though and wound up at a bar that looked like a space station and had weird dancers in full body black and white spandex suits. Strange. The next day we went back to Kao Lak to return our bikes and catch a bus back. Aside from a small fever, a very successful trip.

much love
j

ps. my favorite band from Blues Bar is performing a concert at the Thailand Cultural Center tonight and guess who has a ticket!