Saw-ad-dee-ka!

This is not the Wai, it is our "Thailand is HOT! Picture"! From left to right
Dalrudee, Yod, Me

Saw-ad-dee-ka, or, hello, good morning, good evening, goodbye, I greet you with this! As I greet you, I put my hand together in front of my chest with my elbows to my sides and bow my head slightly. 

I regret not being able to blog before my fourth day in Thailand as this will make for a long post! There isn’t much to say about my journey over except that it was LONG. I wrote in my journal at 5:15 AM on August 15^th at the JFK Airport:

"I fee kind of like a machine… I’m doing things that are so familiar to me, going through security, planning my hydration and pee breaks, in such a way that I have created an illusion for myself that I am going somewhere familiar. It doesn’t seem foreign or surreal, and most weirdly it doesn’t feel like a big deal! It just feels like another day with the TSA".

At that point I had been awake for over 20 hours, staying awake through the night until my 6am flight. Let’s just rhyme and have a good time. Staying awake really numbed the novelty and anticipation of my departure. I didn’t have a restless night's sleep or an early wake up, I simply lived through the day, and at the end of it left my house… for 6 months. 34 hours later, I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

After a short orientation with ISDSI (International Sustainably Development Studies Institute), I was super excited after we were told that ISDSI is basically Montessori School for College students. WOW. ISDSI and Montessori is all about experiential learning… activating all five senses in a first hand encounter type of environment. I was a Montessori student when I was younger, and learned how to pour, measure, mix, build, read and label fish by the time I was 4 years old, all by learning through doing. I am really, really enthused for what is to come during my time as a student there.

I’m really glad I didn’t blog last night because I think I would have terrified myself, and all of you. My journal reads: 

My host families house :)

“Today was absolutely insane and I’m so tired I need to go to bed right away. I’m so frustrated with myself because I can’t remember anything my host family tells me. I think my host brothers name is Yod? Or something? And the housekeeper is either Pajan or Pajin, I can’t remember which, and I don’t remember what I should call my host mother and father Jan Ma? Jan Pa? Yod’s friend is with us and she keeps laughing at me when I try to say thank you. It just won’t stick in my head! Their house is like a palace! It is enormous, and as you walk through there are a series of shoes you must wear for each room. I think I wore a total of four pairs of ‘indoor shoes’ from room”.

Yod, me and Dolrudee in a telephone booth in Chiang Mai while exploring the markets

The shoe craziness still makes me smile and “thank you” is still my hardest word (and I need to use it so often, darn it!), but I have  much more faith in myself. I can’t say that my Thai got better today, but I did come to terms with how difficult it is going to be to learn. I have absolutely no natural ability at this language whatsoever, but it is because the words and sounds have no roots to words or sounds I am familiar with. Now I understand why everyone coos over romance languages… they really are easier. Corrections to last night’s journaling: My host brother’s name is Yodbourdin (Yod for short) and he is eight years old. He is absolutely precious and speaks English so I have been doing ok on the communication front, even if it is through translation. I just love the things that he says like “really please very much” and “did you have really a fun time today?” and he is so welcoming and enthusiastic that I am living with them, and that make it really fun. 

Swimming!

His friend, Dolrudee (that took me a few hours to remember) is spending 2 nights with us, and we can’t really talk much. She is 9. The poor things spent 2 hours with me this morning fter breakfast, teaching me words (numbers, body parts) and shaking her head at my horrific pronunciation while Yod was in Chinese lessons. I thought she hated me, but we went swimming today (where she was the one needing help, so we bonded), and she loves my Ukulele (ookalele in Thail). I still think she thinks I am an absolute moron. Jun (hoon) Mee and Jun Paw are my host parents, and they are lovely, warm and patient. There wasn’t a moment today where I felt alone, lost or in the dark. We went to get a cell phone, had ice cream, went to the market and went swimming. They are wonderful!

"Wang, sin, saam, take your marks... BEEP"

I am really in high spirits about everything and can’t wait for tomorrow to start… I think we are going on a adventure. Right now I am going to go practice the words that I learned so I can talk to Dohlrudee tomorrow!