Keeping My Eyes Open

I saw some things today that I found very interesting.

First thing in the morning, and by this I mean around 11, I went out to 7/11 in order to top up my cell phone.  One thing I really enjoy about other countries... prepaid cell phones.  That's besides the point.  On the way home, I bought myself a nice fresh coconut for 20 baht, a whopping 62 cents.  It was delicious and I enjoyed the healthy and sweet snack.  This, too, is not the point.

As I was walking back, a motodop driver asked me if I needed a ride.  This would normally not be any sort of abnormal event.  In fact, being hailed by a moto and communicating the need for a ride and/or the possibility that you could get one from that person was an extremely common part of my life in Cambodia.  The men of the motodop business that lived near my old house were so valuable to me and took me all sorts of places.  In Thailand, they wear green vests to identify the fact that they are certified moto drivers and not just people driving motos.  This is very appreciated.  This person asked me if I needed a ride, and I said no, thank you, with a smile, and I watched her turn the moto around.  Her long hair was in a braid, and I was incredibly surprised, almost to the point of hiring her to take me the 200 meters to my destination.  Never in my life in Asia have I seen a driver who was also a female.  I fully acknowledge that this person could also have been a man with long hair, though that is something I see extremely infrequently, and the clothing beneath the vest led me to believe that the long hair belonged to a woman.

I'm sure I seem very surprised to you, and it is because I absolutely am.  It is incredibly uncommon to see a female in this industry, and I read it to be a boon to Thailand's infrastructure and success.  This city is very successful.  The way I see people buying and moving around shows me that Bangkok is going places.... quickly.

Along with this female motodop, I saw something a bit later.  I was riding around on the Skytrain scoping out some places to live and just getting a feel for it, and I ended up coming back to the end of the line around rush hour.  It was very busy, lots of people moving around, and I enjoyed watching the people move about.  I was walking back to where the car would pick me up and walked past a moto stand.  Again, not uncommon.  The men that used to drive me in Cambodia all stayed on the same corner waiting for fares.  Here, though, I saw considerably more organization.  One man was running the stand, and the various passengers were waiting in a queue to be picked up by the drivers that returned from their last fare.  I think I'll need to delve more deeply into this, because this infrastructure seems incredibly valuable to the success of the city and the health and wealth of the citizens.

Other notable mentions from the day...
I was on an English online chat to solve the problems of my cell phone and my apparent inability to make internet appear.  While it took about 40 minutes, the person on the other end was able to suggest two ways for me to maximize my money and internet use, which I have because I want to talk to Aaron on WhatsApp, as well as give me the codes necessary for me to enable internet on my phone.  I was incredibly impressed with it.  And she (or he) was so patient with the dumb falang.

I found my way to the Tesco Lotus Superstore on the On Nut station.  It is Thai Wal-Mart, and it was packed with shoppers and everyone, buying all sorts of things.  I looked at housewares, for my microwave, possibly a stove, oven, iron, etc, etc, etc, and was quite pleased with all the selections.  I saw a great number of falangs there as well, buying all manner of things.  It was a massive building.  Huge.  HUGE.  Big screen TVs, fish in buckets, aisles of shampoo and laundry detergent.

The one thing I noticed?  A great manner of consideration goes into purchases.  Every person I saw in the shampoo aisle was reading the back of the bottle, looking and sampling and smelling each thing. There seemed to be lots of thought being made before money was exchanged.  I appreciated this, especially since I was just taking pictures of things in order to compare their price to that of Ikea, which I plan to see on Saturday.  Ikea.  At a place called MEGA Bangna.

It's interesting, this city.

A Day Out On The Town

Today was a very positive day.

Iced coffee and a mangosteen from a grocery store.

I remembered that I'm a damn fine traveller.

I found a good deal on a cell phone and got it set up.  

I saw the gorgeous school that I'm going to be working for.

I drank iced coffee.

I'm grateful for lots of competent people.

It's been quite a long time since I've been unable to communicate with the majority of people.  This happened today for sure.  From the start, I tried talking with the lady at the front desk of the hotel, with only moderate success.  Both my taxis were arranged for me considering my grasp of the Thai language is beyond useless.  I pointed to the foods that I wished to consume since I wasn't communicating clearly enough.  The grocery store.... I'm the hopeless falang doing all of the things wrong.  I even had the front desk help me order a pizza because I was far too drained to try myself.  

However, even with all of these examples, I still remembered to smile, to sompea (hands in front of the chest), and say the one phrase I do know in Thai: thank you.  It's one of the things that I think makes my travels less stressful.  I was thinking as I rode in the taxi today that I should be more stressed.  I have so many things to do and very little idea how to get them all accomplished.  But, even without the knowledge of the Thai language, I'm still able to get the information I'm looking for by being polite and adding an extra smile to the end of my sentences.  

It could be easy to forget to laugh in this wild world.  Bangkok is a crazy city.  There is traffic all the time, lots of stray creatures roaming about, lots of noises to fill up the ears... and yet, it is sometimes just insanely entertaining. I saw a sign in the taxi today with pictograms identifying what was not allowed.

No... farting (?)

Water Buffalo (?)

Weapons

Sex

Dogs

Drinking

Durian (to be fair, it's really stinky)

Smoking

I find it difficult to think that there would be sex in the back of a taxi.  And I wonder about the buffalo image, but perhaps I'm more reserved than others.  It's a fun city, and it is going to be so fun to discover some hidden gems and see the new side of Asia again.  

Towards the end of my time in Cambodia, I really felt like the things I saw on a daily basis were completely normal, because to me they were.  Here I think I will see the unusual things once again and be that much happier for it.

In Transit

The past couple days have been rough.  It is veritably impossible to think that moving across the world would not have some stresses involved, and I’m feeling some stresses indeed.

The biggest struggle I’ve been encountering is the thought of “what if?”  I’m in this limbo right now, not fully in Bangkok and not in Pittsburgh and not in Iowa and not anywhere.  I have some things planned, some ideas, but I also am considering and worrying over what I’m leaving in Pittsburgh.  I have a sneaking suspicion that there was a job lined up for me, a good job, a job that would have been fun.  I even got an email today reminding me of this job that still hasn’t been filled for whatever reason.  I’m leaving Aaron, leaving a few great friends, leaving things that I was really enjoying, for a possibility.  I’ll miss a wedding in November that I was so thrilled about.  I’ll miss Christmas, possibly more.  All these thoughts are hard right now considering my lack of housing, lack of space, lack of a solid foundation. 

And yet, I’m reminding myself of a few key points.

This school in Bangkok will be a challenge.  It will be hard, challenging work, and it will make me a better librarian, a better teacher, and hopefully a better human.  I may have encountered some challenges in Pittsburgh, at this school I’m thinking about, but they wouldn’t have been anything like this.  After my work the last semester of school in Pittsburgh, my subbing work, I am more than ready for a challenge. 

While I’m tired of moving, I’m not tired of travel.  Living in Bangkok with the resources and the access will grant me more opportunities to see the world.  I’m thinking of visiting India, Egypt, maybe New Zealand.  Grandpa recommended that I see Japan, so I may go there as well.  I have a nice selection of short holidays throughout the year that should be conducive to travelling, and a wide variety of friends in various locations to go visit.  The guy who helped me get this job, Kim, is Belgian, and his wife is Italian, and perhaps those would be on the agenda as well. 

I am reminding myself that this job falls in line with the majority of the other jobs that I’ve had; it’s fallen into my lap as if by magic.  From college this has happened, and I’m learning to listen to the way that life is directing me.  The job I had in college…. fell in my lap after a chance meeting.  Peace Corps…. one professor’s story became my goal, and I was fortunate enough to be the second group of volunteers in Cambodia.  This, incidentally, gave me the work at JPA, which helped me discover the work that I loved so much.  I met my Pittsburgh friend, and that connection gave me the springboard to work from as I attended graduate school.  Falk, then USC, all of these were a combination of my hard work and connections and blessed chance. 

This job fell into my lap in a similar way.  I have to wonder at the timing, at the fact that my friend from JPA was working in Bangkok, in a school he loved, and that they were looking for a librarian at the exact same time that I was looking for a job.  I believe they had already hired someone, but that plans and life changed in a certain way and the job became available.  What are the chances?  It could have happened for a very specific reason that has yet to avail itself to me.  Perhaps it is the money that I will save, the experiences that I’ll accrue.  Perhaps it is the impact on Aaron, which I already have seen.  Perhaps it is the change to our relationship and the improvement that we will both feel as a result. 

So here I am, contemplating in the airport, waiting for the long flight to begin, hoping for the best.  I’m struggling, but I know that things will work out.  They have before.  They will again.

Pac Pac Pac Pac Woman

I have narrowed down everything to two suitcases, a duffel bag, a backpack, and a cat.

My mom was interested in going to my grandmother's this morning, so I was gently encouraged to have all my things packed in order to prepare.  It was very positive, because I was able to sort through some things from the past and make sure I had everything in order.

I was about to say that my whole life was in those two suitcases.  Though, it isn't.  I'm trying to live a simple life, a life without distraction, and this is the first start to that.  In my suitcases, I have some clothes, some shoes (size 11 shoes in BKK are not going to be located), and a few other essentials from home.  Not very many things, honestly.  I have a hula hoop.  I have a bread cutter, some deodorant, my cross stitch.  Rizza's scratching post, some earrings, lip balm.  Not much.  There were some things I intentionally didn't bring: DVDs, my Wii, general technology things.  I'm aching for a simple life, and I have this opportunity to go back to this life where simple, effective living is the norm.

I'm wary of all the things I need to buy: furniture, kitchenware, bedding... even though I know it won't be a struggle.  It will be such a cost that I don't want to front, especially since I just sold up all my other possessions: furniture, bed, mattress, etc etc etc.  I wouldn't say that I have an attachment to the stuff, but I felt lucky with the things that I had been able to put in my home.  I'm getting to a certain point in my life where I'm feeling an exhaustion with moving.  Honestly, it makes sense.  I just brought my possessions over to Iowa in my car, from a house I'd only been in for 6 months.  Before that, I'd lived in a house for 6 months, and before that, another house for a year.  And this is all just in Pittsburgh... before that I brought my life back from Cambodia and started fresh in the very difficult US of A.  Here I am, going back and starting fresh again, and I'm somewhat ready to settle for a moment.

It will be a fresh new adventure when I arrive on Tuesday.  It will be a brisk transition, from start to finish.  And I'm trying to think of the things that I want to focus on for my home once I arrive.

1. A bed.  And pillows.  And sheets.

2.  A table. A tall one that I can use for a desk, a dining table, a little bit of everything.

3.  A hammock.

4.  Kitchen wares.  I need to cook the foods.

That's simple, that's good.  That's a quiet home and a simple life.

T Minus Three Days

It's getting closer and closer by the minute.  Last Monday I drove with Aaron, the boyfriend, back to Iowa.  We happened upon the world's largest candle, the world's largest truck stop, and a very disappointing large chair, and I was able to finish a few more rows of my cross stitch and enjoy a couple more hours with the best man I've ever known.  After visits to both sides of my family, a bunch of sweet corn consumption, and a trip in the sail boat, I dropped him off at the airport.  It was a rough day, and solidified the need to move back to Pittsburgh to see him, or to reconnect in another way.  I miss him already, and his absence is forcing me to focus on the upcoming trip and my goals and plans for it.  There are many things I want to do, things that will put me in a good place for my upcoming 30th birthday.  Bangkok will hopefully provide me with the time, money, and quiet to do these things.

I'm always shifting and changing my goals, but a couple of them are already set.

1.  Save as much money as possible in order to travel, pay off loans, and pad the emergency fund and IRA.
2.  Organize a lifetime of photographs to be able to search easily and securely.
3.  Increase my mindfulness and shift bad habits by creating good habits.
4.  Find the enjoyment and pleasures of cooking by cooking often.
5.  Further my career in as many ways as possible and continue to work on my lifelong learning.

To that end, this blog will begin.  It will be a catalogue of successes, or life changes, of accountability for my goals.  Hopefully, I will encounter some entertaining people in order to provide some funny stories.  It will be a blog that will have a different vibe than the previous; instead of focusing on just the stories that effected me, I will also be discussing the effects that I have on myself.  I want to change certain aspects of my life so that I can be mindful of the gratitude that surges through me with every passing moment.  I want to find joy in everything and share that with the world at large.

Three days til liftoff.