A Birthday Abroad & November Fun

Sawadeekah friends and family. I think you should all be used to the infrequency of my blog posts by now, but if not, I again apologize. Life is Thailand is swell. As I come upon the close of my second month in Thailand, things are starting to slow down a bit. Now, when I say slow down, I don’t mean things are boring or that I’m not busy. If I were to say that, it would be quite the lie. I’m actually more busy now that I have been since I arrived here. However, the life of daily adventures, climbing waterfalls, and exploring new cities has slowed down quite a bit. I’m learning to live here, not just be a tourist, and that means that not every single day is an exciting adventure. As much as I’d love to be living in a beachside town with lots to do, I feel that I’m getting a genuine sense of what Thai life consists of.

The past month been full of long, hot days, and fun weekends. Here are the highlights:

A birthday abroad

I rang in the big 22 in Thailand on November 19th. Initially, I considered telling no one that it was my birthday and living it as a normal day. I thought it would be an interesting experience. Then I realized that was silly. Plus, my friends knew it was my birthday from my Facebook. It was quite a modest birthday, but it was certainly one to remember. day, but it was certainly one to remember. I didn’t spend it getting hammered and partying as many people spend their birthdays. In fact, I only listened to “22” by Taylor Swift once! My day was made so special by the teachers I work with and the students I teach. One of my classes had asked the week before when my birthday was. They then asked what my favorite cartoon was. I said Snoopy. On my birthday, a whole crowd of them came to my office with a beautiful notebook in hand that they had decorated themselves. They came wishing me the best day, and then the teachers around learned that it was my birthday. They all crowded around me and sang the happy birthday song, which is way more fun in Thailand. From there, news of my birthday spread like wildfire. Walking to and from class, I was approached by so many students that I didn’t even know wishing me a happy birthday. It was really sweet. I was walking back to my office when I was surrounded by about 15 girls and they sang the birthday song as well. All of the classes sang to me. I think I was sang to about 6 times during the day. It made me feel so special. I had been feeling a little bit sad to not be spending the day with friends and family, but they made it all worth it. For dinner, I had pad Thai with my two closest friends, then we went for ice cream. My choice of dessert, obviously. They somehow managed to surprise me by sneaking candles to our waitress, and I was sang to yet again. It genuinely caught me off guard. It was such a nice day.

Teacher turned tutor

Coming to Thailand, I knew that teaching would be different. But I didn’t expect it to be this different. Still, after two months, many of my students don’t come to class. I’ve adjusted to it and now accept it. I have ample planning time during the day, which is an excellent change of pace from America because I rarely bring work home with me at the end of the day. However, I’ve taken on a pretty busy tutoring gig that I’ll have until some time in January. I work every day besides Sunday. The hours aren’t bad (about 14 in a week), but it does entail a whole lot more planning, plus I’ve given up my Saturdays. I’ve found that since I took this additional job, I’ve been much more tired, but I really really enjoy it. Because it’s so hard to get through to many of my students at school, tutoring is a chance for me to feel that I’m making a difference and connecting with my students. I really enjoy it! I also tutor three of my students for free in exchange for Thai lessons. We’ve only had one lesson of each so far, but they were both so fun! They’re the sweetest girls. They are really excited that I want to learn their language, and they remind me of why teaching is what I am so passionate about.

Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, Rockin’ Everywhere

Last Saturday after tutoring, I decided to join my friend Rob in his expedition to explore some of the famous wats (temples) in Ubon. They’re everywhere here. Other than the nightlife, temples are what Ubon is known for. We hopped on the free trolley from the park that takes you to the temples and saw three temples. The first was breathtaking. There were so many huge Buddha statues and it was gorgeous. It was quite serene there and I really hope to find it again and practice meditation. I want to start meditating because I think it’ll help keep me sane with my busy schedule and it’s just such a peaceful, relaxing experience. We saw two others, but they did not compare to the beauty of the first one. I’ve been reading about Buddhism, and I think it’s such an amazing way of life. Though I grew up Catholic, I think the ideals and values of Buddhism better align with my own personal values and beliefs. I’m only a few chapters into my book, but this is what I understand so far:

Buddha was a human who just figured out how to be happy and reached enlightenment. During his life, he tried to teach others how to be happy and reach nirvana. He never claimed to have any special powers or immorality . He attributed his success to his human intelligence and hard work
My thoughts: I can really appreciate this. It appeals to my sense of logic and hard work. The truth it, sometimes I pray to God, but really only when I need something. As wrong as that is, it’s true. We often turn to God when things get rough, and we have no other option but to turn to Him. Many people credit the amazing things that they accomplish to God. While I understand this, I sometimes think about one of my favorite fictional characters from literature. Beneatha, from A Raisin in the Sun said, “It’s just that I get so tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort” (Hansberry). I do think I believe in God, but I also believe that it’s important to give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge success as a result of human intelligence and effort.
Man is in charge of his own life—there is no sin and no greater power to judge your actions and deem them good or bad—it is up to you to lead a good life and create your own happiness. You should not believe or do something just because others say it is right. You have to abandon what you believe is wrong and follow the path that you believe is right and good.
I really like this because I like that you don’t live to appease a higher being. You live to your own moral standard and must discipline yourself. Today, I think so many people hide behind religion to justify their actions and beliefs. Not all Christians do, but many hate gay people because being gay is a sin. I think this mindset creates so much hatred in the world. Being responsible for your own self and beliefs is really cool I think. You can’t blame God for your unhappiness. You must make it happen yourself. The Buddhist religion wants people to doubt and question things in order to discover truth. My analytical mind loves that.
Buddhists have a great sense of religious tolerance. You shouldn’t condemn other religions as wrong— doing this only brings shame to your religion. You should honor your religion and all other religions. There has been no violence in converting people to Buddhism for this reason.
My thoughts: I could not agree with this more. Being religiously tolerant is so important, especially now in the wake of the Syrian migration crisis and the Islam community being attacked for the actions of ISIS. The old adage “live and let live” really seems to be a big part of Buddhism and I love that.
Don’t label people—accept everyone as humans. It is okay to have your own views, so long as you do not look down on other views.
My thoughts: Buddhism rules. Everyone is accepted and that is awesome.

Basically what I got from that is accepting each person as a human regardless of his or her differences and create your own happiness and success. In some ways, I like that there is no “higher being” because my rational mind thinks that, but I also like believing in a higher power because it provides hope and comfort in times of trouble. The Buddhist values are very similar to my own personal values and my duties as a citizen of the world. There are no rules in Buddhism about what people will not be accepted due to their sins, it just teaches how to be a happy, good person. That’s one of the things that I love so much about Thailand—everyone is accepted. While many westerners think of ladyboys as a joke, they’re real and they’re plentiful. It’s normal. Thai people accept them as they would anyone else. There’s no shame in being who you are here. While I imagine there is still some bullying, inner conflict, and difficulty, it’s very different in a good way here. I love how open my students are about their orientation. I have so many gay and lesbian students and it’s nothing weird. No one treats them differently at school. This is the way it should be.

A Thai Thanksgiving

Happy very, very, very belated Thanksgiving. I had a nice day. Despite the fact that I spent the day working, it was a nice day. I’ll admit that I was a little down about not being with the family on this day. Nothing will ever hold a candle to Thanksgiving with the family and the yummy, delicious, dream worthy food that they make, but I’m grateful to have had any celebration here at all. I celebrated by gathering with friends after work at a restaurant called Peppers (the same place I get my comfort food pancakes and pizza). The owner had a big Thanksgiving dinner planned, and for 500 baht, I got to enjoy turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, and pumpkin in good company. It was delicious, but as mentioned, nothing compares to home. I was dreaming of Auntie Moe’s sweet potatoes with marshmallows. YUMM. Next year, though! :)