so, i have been back from the land of smiles for a second day, of course, it feels weird to be back, to step into my house, to have stable electricity, 24/7 internet, clean water supply and convenient flushing system. i guess it is true that it takes 21 days to form a habit, and it probably takes about as long to undo that habit, so i think it will take a few days or weeks before i feel like my normal self again. which might be better to delay...
anyway, i have been reflecting about my 5 weeks in Thailand since i touched home soil. it is not an experience that can be summed in a few words, not even in a few sentences, so i cant answer the 'so how is it' question in a minute. it has been enriching most definitely and will leave a long-lasting impact on me. of course there were difficult and stressful times that i would rather not go through again but i guess it is necessary and part and parcel of the process. in the many places and accommodations that i have been to (which is alot, i moved like 7-8 accommodations for about 9-10 times ), one thing that is constant is how nice the people are, how sincere and genuine they can be. These Thais really go out of their way to make you feel happy, comfortable and at home in a foreign land. so many times when we asked for directions, they would not tell you but bring you there themselves even though its about 5 10 minutes walk away. thats one thing of Thais that i really love. i guess the land of smiles moniker is true to a certain extent, but there will always be your fair share of unhappy people, wherever in the world. the pace of life is also different. its fast yet chillax, buzzing yet easy to take in. until you get to Thailand and get under its skin, you wouldnt actually give much thought to the country. it isnt like a hot-topic land where it is exposed to media interpretation constantly, like the Middle East or even China. so you wouldnt really have much of a pre-conceived notion of Thailand or Thais even. but that is when the magic catches you off guard. their language is really very beautiful because they have 5 tones and it sounds like they are singing a song whenever they speak. (i found out that there are 8 tones in Cantonese! no wonder it is considered as one of the more nice sounding dialects than say Hokkien) i was literally offended when i touched down back in singapore, at the airport, i hear, "move here pleassse!" with that distinct singaporean sound. i was like "oh no, im back here again". having heard people sing whenever they speak, this is quite a rude welcome back to my homeland. :/
i have made some nice friends, met random people who are really kind and nice that feel like family while i was there. like our songthiaw drivers, songthiaws are the local transport in Northern Thailand that is like our taxis. it goes really anywhere and everywhere. and it is really cheap, just as with everything else there. they were like our dads there. we had Thai nicknames and one immediately liked my name. i had to sit in the front seat beside the driver where it is not so shaky as i have motion sickness. so randomly he would sing a song that has my name as part of the lyrics at the top of his lungs while cruising through the mountains of Mae Hong Son (a province in northern thailand). he would give me stuff to snack on. even though he couldnt speak much english except very basic conversational words and phrases, i could genuinely feel that he was concerned and cared for us. and that is so sweet, we being complete strangers to him. and this is so for all of the Thai helpers, so sweet right? :)
anyway, i dont intend on going into the details of my time there. just suffice to say that i would most definitely go back, to Chiangmai especially. and i would be taking Thai 2 in school :D yaaay! i was deciding whether to take Korean 2 or Thai 2, cause i have been wanting to learn Korean in school for more than a year now, but couldnt afford the module. but i decided to go with Thai, cause i might be going for mission trip next year with the youth ministry, and if we go back to Thailand, it would be of great use :)
so it was great, to use a lame word, and i hope to have more of Thailand. see you soon, na kha!
P.S.: Rak is love in Thai
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