The air smelled heavy with rain. Wind bent the trunks of small trees and leaves waved as my bus passed them. I knew that the rain would fall soon. I was right. Streaks of it slid across my window as I looked out. Rice fields passed one after another and the lady sitting next to me simply said ‘fon-dtok’ (it’s raining).
I wasn’t expecting to exhale a sigh of relief when my bus took me over the bridge that brought me to my village. I had just finished a 3 night stay at a fabulous hotel in Phitsanulok. My hotel included a full room (including bath and shower with hot water), a pool, a mall, a club, grocery store, and a few places to eat such as the Pizza Co. and KFC. We were in heaven. No one quite knows what it feels like to take a hot shower (with water pressures) when you use a bucket shower and/or take a cold shower every day. The feel of the water pounding on your body is amazing after not having that experience for months. I slept in a bed that was made out of a real mattress, not the broken board that I sleep on now, and I was even able to sleep in until almost 9am one morning. Again…heaven.
This was a much needed break. We were able to relax, visit the local night market, and get a massage (my second one in a 2 week period). After taking a dip in the pool we would head back to our rooms to watch some Law and Order or go to the pizza place for ANOTHER pizza or pasta. Relaxation was the goal of the weekend and I think we succeeded.
Heading home on the local bus, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go back. I kept thinking about the warmth of the bed against the coolness of the A/C room and the feeling of togetherness that you can’t quite achieve with people who don’t understand exactly what you are going through being the only farang around. I wasn’t sure if I was prepared to be thrown back into it all. On the bus, I carried on a short conversation with a Thai woman about why I was taking the bus to a remote town instead of heading to BKK like all of the other farangs, and what I was going to do in Thailand for two years. It wasn’t until I reached my village, that I truly understood that I was home. I was ready to be back.
It is strange that there is a city 30-40 minutes from my village where I can find other farangs, eat farang food, and almost, just almost, feel like I am back in America. It is strange that there is such a large difference with just a short drive. About a 10 minute bike ride from my village the differences that you see are even more drastic. Most people that I live near get the luxury of living in a cement house, and many are able to install some sort of shower head if they choose to. A few minutes away, the houses are all wooden. Holes litter the floors and walls, and the walls stop short about a foot from the ceiling. In the evening, bugs infest these homes, and in the winter, the river rises and knocks on their doors. But, 40 minutes away, people have steady electricity, running hot water, malls, spas, and they live a western way of life. It is hard to imagine a transition that drastic at such a small distance.
The wonderful thing about Thai people, though, is that they don’t dwell on what they could have, should have, or want to have. They are content and happy with where they are in life. They know that they have their family, friends, and health and they are content with that. The people that I see happiest here are the ones that seem like they have the least. One thing that I think Americans (including myself) forget often is that money doesn’t solve everything. Money can be what leads a person into a depression, money can ruin lives. I understand that we all need money to survive, especially in America, but we need to learn not to focus so much of our happiness on it. We need to look further.
So, how do you make friends in the Land of Smiles:
Step 1: Smile at someone (they will ALWAYS smile back)
Step 2: Ask: Gin kaao lEEo ruu young (Have you had your rice yet today?)
Step 3: Talk about food…any food, doesn’t matter
Step 4: Eat…doesn’t matter if you are full already, eat with them anyways
Step 5: Buy some kanoms (Thai treats or fruit) to share
You are now friends
I was joking with Ron Muay the other day about how when I say that I am full (im lEEo) I am truly and utterly full (unless they are eating something gross – then I might lie). But, when I Thai person says they are full, they are just full of that one thing, they are just ready to move onto the next. Ron Muay explained to me, that Thai people have 4 chambers in their stomach. The first is for the rice. The second and third chambers are for the main course and some fruit and the final is for desert (kanoms). They always have room for more. I have yet to meet a Thai person who is truly full…because even after they state ‘im lEEo’ four times, they always seem to go back for more. *I wish I could do that and stay super skinny.
Anyways, life is good. I have been invited by the police chief to play soccer (futbol) with him on Saturday, so that will be interesting since I understand the main concept of the sport, and I will watch it, but I have never really played it…we will see how that goes. I am about to turn in my budget to my Tessaban so that will be a relief when it is finished, and hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I will get more news on my housing situation. I have a couple more invites to go out of town, all in the central region of Thailand, but I may be planning a trip to head to an island in a couple of months. Hopefully, everything will work out.
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