September 25, 2019
Okay. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of getting accustomed to life here, but there is one thing that I really miss and can't get:
Starbucks. Yes, maybe it makes me a bit basic, but I don't care. I want my ridiculously sweet and creamy coffee. The only Starbucks shops in Thailand are in Rayong, Pattaya, and Bangkok, so the nearest one to me is a good several hour drive without traffic. And expecting no traffic in Thailand is just wishful thinking. I mean, of course there are other coffee shops. One that I constantly see is called "Cafe Amazon," which seems to be just as popular as seven eleven is in the states. But it's just not the same, and I am seriously missing my double chocolatety chip frappucchinos even if they do cost four bucks.
I could say that I miss speaking English and understanding everything in general- and I do- but I miss Starbucks more, and being confused is to be expected anyways. I have been utterly confused so many times that I simply can't count them, and I think all fellow exchange students would agree. We had another ceremony at school a while back, with the purpose of celebrating nine teachers who had been teaching at the school for a very long time (something like 60 years? Or maybe they were 60 years old, that might be it. I don't know.) and were retiring. I was able to recognize a few words and even a few phrases, as well as the school's song and the national anthem. I was also more familiar with parts of the ceremony, like the presentations of Phuang Malai (a type of flower garland) and bowing to those we respect. And while I didn't understand much, it was still nice to not be completely clueless.
On that note, I am finally starting to notice more progress in my language skills. It's still really slow, but familiar conversations with my host family (mostly revolving around whether or not I've eaten yet/enough) are getting much easier. That doesn't mean I'm fluent, or frankly, even anywhere near it. But it feels absolutely amazing to be able to understand even a single sentence, and it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment to know that I've made progress. I still probably sound like a toddler, since there are only so many ways for me to currently convey my thoughts. But I'm able to speak with my host mom with regards to meals, what we'll be doing, and even school on occasion.
When it comes to school, there isn't always a lot to talk about, since I don't always understand the lessons. But it's a good way for me to learn more Thai, and it's also a great way for me to integrate into the culture some more. I've found out that people here really like Kpop, and I've actually started listening to it as well. I tried to avoid it in America because I didn't really understand the fan mentality or the music. But I don't understand anything now, so it doesn't hurt to add something to the list. People also like Shawn Mendes for some reason, and I never thought I would learn that in school. The more you know, I guess.
I also learned a traditional Thai dance. Usually, dancing isn't exactly something I enjoy, and this was no exception at first. But after getting the hang of it, I actually grew to like it and I wish I had learned it sooner. Dancing is an actual class that students my age need to take, and I think I have an exam coming up for that class (I'm not sure- the information I got was unclear). Luckily, that'll be the only exam I'll be taking, since I can't understand any of the other classes. This week is exam week, and while other students are at school taking their final tests, I actually get to start my term break early and am left with some free time.
The first thing I did with that was celebrate my birthday.
Friday (the 20th) was my last day of school for this term, and before mentioning what I did, I'd like to say how disappointed I am in my American friends for not raiding Area 51. Shout out to that one Naruto runner who didn't disappoint me, unlike my so called "friends." I expected you all to do more. Anyways, after school that day, we headed to a Rotary meeting around seven. I got to try sticky rice that was cooked in a bamboo shoot, and I can't say I've eaten many things better than it and it made for a great early birthday present. Also, I wasn't the only one with a birthday to be celebrated- in fact, I'd say there were about ten of us who had birthdays around that time. We all stood together as people sang happy birthday (it's different than the song they sing in the U.S.) and afterwards, everyone in the room- and I mean everyone in the room- came up and clinked glasses with us and wished something for us. There was a line of birthday people, and a very long line of Rotarians stretching almost to the door as they all came up to us in turn to wish us a good year filled with happiness and prosperity. And while I can't say I loved how formal it felt or how long it took, it also felt really good to feel so loved and respected by everyone.
They also gave me a coffee mug.
Saturday was my actual birthday, and my host family had a bunch of friends from school over at the house. They were technically there for a school project, but we all spent maybe one collective hour actually working. The other five were spent eating, talking, and watching movies with English subtitles. My friends also asked me to play piano for them, and I've noticed improvement in that area, too. This is more of a personal growth story than a cultural integration story, but I still find it to be really valuable.
I stopped playing piano a while ago (after having played for fourteen years), simply because of the anxiety that I got from it. I cared too deeply about how other people saw me, and valued their opinion of my playing so much, that I didn't want anyone to hear me practicing because my playing wasn't perfect. It was almost like an obsession, to be able to gain people's validation. And so I didn't want people to hear me if I wasn't perfect, which led me to not even want to hear myself if I wasn't perfect. It led to one problem after another, and I even got performance anxiety to the point where my entire body would be shaking, which only started a few years ago. But now, playing piano is much easier to do since I'm just constantly making mistakes, which is also expected of me. I no longer expect myself to be automatically perfect at something, which I never should've expected in the first place. It's made it easier to practice again and hear myself mess up, and more importantly, to improve. So when my friends asked me to play for them, I wasn't nervous because I wasn't afraid of what they thought and I wasn't afraid of making mistakes.
I played for them, and I made mistakes. And they loved it anyways. And this isn't supposed to be a sob story about how hard it was, and it's not supposed to make anyone feel sorry for me. But I do want to point out that this exchange is already helping me with personal growth as well as cultural growth, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.
So there's a little personal story for you, sorry if I made it cheesy.
Also, after that I got cake and a very American style dinner plus a bunch of stuffed animals. They're adorable.
So now that I'm on break and have time on my hands, I've been doing several things. I'm looking up colleges to apply to back in America, but I've also spent more time outside and visiting local landmarks. A little while ago, I visited a local temple with my host family. The process is to light incense and pray for something, followed by taking a gold leaf and pressing it onto a statue. We then went and looked at some other nearby temples, not for religious reasons, but just so that I could see them. I also went to work with my host mom, who is self employed. I'm still not entirely sure what she does, and I don't know how to ask, but I think it involves sewing. I helped her make curtains a few weeks ago, but other than that, I don't know what else her job entails. We went to the mall first, and after that, she took me to a client's house. She basically told me to chill for several hours, so I sat in the backyard next to the river reading in a hammock for quite a while.
That was a good day.
And today, as it turns out, was the birthday of my younger host brother (Stang). He got to skip school for it, and both my older host brother (Stamp) and I didn't need to go to school, so we ended up going to the zoo. Apparently, Stang is really interested in animals, and he seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. It was almost funny to see deer in an enclosure, since I see them so often at home in California. They also had emus, peacocks, meerkats, and for some reason, rabbits, pigs, and sheep. There were also some ponies just wandering around, although I didn't really know why. Most of my time was spent walking around, pointing at the animals and naming them in English and having one of my brothers say what they were called in Thai. But one thing that I really enjoyed was actually the bird enclosure. And I know what some people might say- I'm nineteen, I shouldn't be talking about how much I like birds at the zoo. But I don't care, and nobody can stop me from ranting about birds.
This place was insane. They had this giant bird cage, probably thirty by forty feet and at least twenty feet high. The entire place was filled with these small parrots (not actually sure what they were called- they might've been conures) and you were allowed to just waltz into the place with them. They never let me pet them, but several did land on me to chew on either my shirt, my hat, or my watch. And I loved it. Mom, let me buy a bird.
And that's all that's really happened so far. I am less than a week into a nearly month long break from school, and I can't wait to see what we do. It sounds like I might be able to visit Bangkok soon, or maybe even Ayutthaya. My host mom says she wants to take me to see some things, so I'm excited to see what that means. Maybe I'll even get a Starbucks drink if I make it to Bangkok. We'll see.
Starbucks. Yes, maybe it makes me a bit basic, but I don't care. I want my ridiculously sweet and creamy coffee. The only Starbucks shops in Thailand are in Rayong, Pattaya, and Bangkok, so the nearest one to me is a good several hour drive without traffic. And expecting no traffic in Thailand is just wishful thinking. I mean, of course there are other coffee shops. One that I constantly see is called "Cafe Amazon," which seems to be just as popular as seven eleven is in the states. But it's just not the same, and I am seriously missing my double chocolatety chip frappucchinos even if they do cost four bucks.
I could say that I miss speaking English and understanding everything in general- and I do- but I miss Starbucks more, and being confused is to be expected anyways. I have been utterly confused so many times that I simply can't count them, and I think all fellow exchange students would agree. We had another ceremony at school a while back, with the purpose of celebrating nine teachers who had been teaching at the school for a very long time (something like 60 years? Or maybe they were 60 years old, that might be it. I don't know.) and were retiring. I was able to recognize a few words and even a few phrases, as well as the school's song and the national anthem. I was also more familiar with parts of the ceremony, like the presentations of Phuang Malai (a type of flower garland) and bowing to those we respect. And while I didn't understand much, it was still nice to not be completely clueless.
On that note, I am finally starting to notice more progress in my language skills. It's still really slow, but familiar conversations with my host family (mostly revolving around whether or not I've eaten yet/enough) are getting much easier. That doesn't mean I'm fluent, or frankly, even anywhere near it. But it feels absolutely amazing to be able to understand even a single sentence, and it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment to know that I've made progress. I still probably sound like a toddler, since there are only so many ways for me to currently convey my thoughts. But I'm able to speak with my host mom with regards to meals, what we'll be doing, and even school on occasion.
When it comes to school, there isn't always a lot to talk about, since I don't always understand the lessons. But it's a good way for me to learn more Thai, and it's also a great way for me to integrate into the culture some more. I've found out that people here really like Kpop, and I've actually started listening to it as well. I tried to avoid it in America because I didn't really understand the fan mentality or the music. But I don't understand anything now, so it doesn't hurt to add something to the list. People also like Shawn Mendes for some reason, and I never thought I would learn that in school. The more you know, I guess.
I also learned a traditional Thai dance. Usually, dancing isn't exactly something I enjoy, and this was no exception at first. But after getting the hang of it, I actually grew to like it and I wish I had learned it sooner. Dancing is an actual class that students my age need to take, and I think I have an exam coming up for that class (I'm not sure- the information I got was unclear). Luckily, that'll be the only exam I'll be taking, since I can't understand any of the other classes. This week is exam week, and while other students are at school taking their final tests, I actually get to start my term break early and am left with some free time.
The first thing I did with that was celebrate my birthday.
Friday (the 20th) was my last day of school for this term, and before mentioning what I did, I'd like to say how disappointed I am in my American friends for not raiding Area 51. Shout out to that one Naruto runner who didn't disappoint me, unlike my so called "friends." I expected you all to do more. Anyways, after school that day, we headed to a Rotary meeting around seven. I got to try sticky rice that was cooked in a bamboo shoot, and I can't say I've eaten many things better than it and it made for a great early birthday present. Also, I wasn't the only one with a birthday to be celebrated- in fact, I'd say there were about ten of us who had birthdays around that time. We all stood together as people sang happy birthday (it's different than the song they sing in the U.S.) and afterwards, everyone in the room- and I mean everyone in the room- came up and clinked glasses with us and wished something for us. There was a line of birthday people, and a very long line of Rotarians stretching almost to the door as they all came up to us in turn to wish us a good year filled with happiness and prosperity. And while I can't say I loved how formal it felt or how long it took, it also felt really good to feel so loved and respected by everyone.
They also gave me a coffee mug.
Saturday was my actual birthday, and my host family had a bunch of friends from school over at the house. They were technically there for a school project, but we all spent maybe one collective hour actually working. The other five were spent eating, talking, and watching movies with English subtitles. My friends also asked me to play piano for them, and I've noticed improvement in that area, too. This is more of a personal growth story than a cultural integration story, but I still find it to be really valuable.
I stopped playing piano a while ago (after having played for fourteen years), simply because of the anxiety that I got from it. I cared too deeply about how other people saw me, and valued their opinion of my playing so much, that I didn't want anyone to hear me practicing because my playing wasn't perfect. It was almost like an obsession, to be able to gain people's validation. And so I didn't want people to hear me if I wasn't perfect, which led me to not even want to hear myself if I wasn't perfect. It led to one problem after another, and I even got performance anxiety to the point where my entire body would be shaking, which only started a few years ago. But now, playing piano is much easier to do since I'm just constantly making mistakes, which is also expected of me. I no longer expect myself to be automatically perfect at something, which I never should've expected in the first place. It's made it easier to practice again and hear myself mess up, and more importantly, to improve. So when my friends asked me to play for them, I wasn't nervous because I wasn't afraid of what they thought and I wasn't afraid of making mistakes.
I played for them, and I made mistakes. And they loved it anyways. And this isn't supposed to be a sob story about how hard it was, and it's not supposed to make anyone feel sorry for me. But I do want to point out that this exchange is already helping me with personal growth as well as cultural growth, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.
So there's a little personal story for you, sorry if I made it cheesy.
Also, after that I got cake and a very American style dinner plus a bunch of stuffed animals. They're adorable.
So now that I'm on break and have time on my hands, I've been doing several things. I'm looking up colleges to apply to back in America, but I've also spent more time outside and visiting local landmarks. A little while ago, I visited a local temple with my host family. The process is to light incense and pray for something, followed by taking a gold leaf and pressing it onto a statue. We then went and looked at some other nearby temples, not for religious reasons, but just so that I could see them. I also went to work with my host mom, who is self employed. I'm still not entirely sure what she does, and I don't know how to ask, but I think it involves sewing. I helped her make curtains a few weeks ago, but other than that, I don't know what else her job entails. We went to the mall first, and after that, she took me to a client's house. She basically told me to chill for several hours, so I sat in the backyard next to the river reading in a hammock for quite a while.
That was a good day.
And today, as it turns out, was the birthday of my younger host brother (Stang). He got to skip school for it, and both my older host brother (Stamp) and I didn't need to go to school, so we ended up going to the zoo. Apparently, Stang is really interested in animals, and he seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. It was almost funny to see deer in an enclosure, since I see them so often at home in California. They also had emus, peacocks, meerkats, and for some reason, rabbits, pigs, and sheep. There were also some ponies just wandering around, although I didn't really know why. Most of my time was spent walking around, pointing at the animals and naming them in English and having one of my brothers say what they were called in Thai. But one thing that I really enjoyed was actually the bird enclosure. And I know what some people might say- I'm nineteen, I shouldn't be talking about how much I like birds at the zoo. But I don't care, and nobody can stop me from ranting about birds.
This place was insane. They had this giant bird cage, probably thirty by forty feet and at least twenty feet high. The entire place was filled with these small parrots (not actually sure what they were called- they might've been conures) and you were allowed to just waltz into the place with them. They never let me pet them, but several did land on me to chew on either my shirt, my hat, or my watch. And I loved it. Mom, let me buy a bird.
And that's all that's really happened so far. I am less than a week into a nearly month long break from school, and I can't wait to see what we do. It sounds like I might be able to visit Bangkok soon, or maybe even Ayutthaya. My host mom says she wants to take me to see some things, so I'm excited to see what that means. Maybe I'll even get a Starbucks drink if I make it to Bangkok. We'll see.
Pictures of the sticky rice, the birthday gifts I received (Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Katie for sending me Endgame, I appreciate it), and my host family celebrating my birthday
Pictures from the river and one of the old temples we visited
Pictures from the bird enclosure- I don't care if I took too many pictures. I had a really fun time.
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