Two Months

It's been two months since I have made the move to Chantaburi, Thailand.

Here are some realizations/lessons learned/random thoughts living in a completely different culture:

-Moped Rides = Guaranteed joy ride. Mine just started working again and I couldn't be happier. It has a mind of its own.  If you belt a song while riding/driving you multiply that joy times 2.

- I've learned that you are only responsible for yourself  and how you react to a situation.

- I've learned that you are not responsible for other peoples happiness. (this is a big one in my book)*

- My feet are black by the end of the day. I go the entire day walking barefoot at school and I like it that way. We don't wear shoes inside. It's just a given in the Thai culture.

- I suck at disciplining myself to go to bed at a decent hour even when I am exhausted.

- My eyes are way bigger than my stomach.

- It's okay to make a mistake, it's okay to make a mistake, it's okay to make a mistake.

- No matter how hard I try to fit in, I am still a farang (thai way of saying foreigner)

- My three year olds teach me something new every day. Core teaching- to not take life so seriously.

- Body Language IS 90-something% of communication. Go to a foreign country where you don't speak the language (or a little), travel alone and test this fact out for yourself.

- It can only get better from here.

- I have just recently discovered when I identify why I am feeling a certain emotion, it goes away.  name it/claim it/and move on. When I can do so, my current situation and state of mind becomes less of a clouded mess.

- I love to sing with my kids. Love LOVE LOVE IT. They learn english by singing and then we move on to other activities to reinforce words.

- I can play two songs on my uke. "stand by me" and "you and I"

- When it rains, it pours. I feel most alive when it intentionally rains cats and dogs, mid-day.

- When people honk at you, 9 times out of 10 it is to let you know they are coming up behind you. It's more of an awareness gesture than an aggressive one.

- Picking up on thai tones is a work in progress and unlike any other language; certainly unlike English. Just because they are forcefully talking to you doesn't mean they are mad at you.

- Getting lost is how you find your way.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

To: Adam and Allie

Uke Time is Time Well Spent

The Universal Language