A pre emptive apology. I have never written a blog before and my biggest fear is that it will be boring. My vision before I left the U.S. is that I would share amazing inspiring stories of adventures & life in Thailand. I have already learned that some of the most interesting aspects of living in another country (and experiencing another culture) is the small things and the people. I anticipated that living in a country is not the same as visiting it. However, I am surprised by how I look at things differently because I know I will be living here. For example, my neighborhood in Korat is next to a temple so it is not unusual to hear the monks chanting. When I vacation in Asia I love to hear chanting. When I hear it in the neighborhood I live in (and in my house), it seems a bit bizarre.
I have already experienced a wide range of emotions. There have been some amazing wow it is cool to live in Thailand moments such as interacting with Colin's Thai coworkers (they are fun loving, inclusive, and very kind), the Loi Krathong festival, walking in the tranquil and beautiful park near our apartment in Bangkok (I love major city parks), getting the nerve to walk around my neighborhood in Korat by myself, and the cute little Thai boy that tapped me on the back at the market in Korat and then at the encouragement of his mother tried talking English with me. There are so many more little moments. Another wonderful feeling is setting little goals and accomplishing them, every day tasks. Such as taking the Bangkok Sky Train from the apartment to a certain spot and back. Getting my cell phone. Figuring out the short cut to the park. Everything is an adventure.
However, there have been some difficult adjustment moments- such as getting comfortable with the lack of foreign women in Korat (I have not seen one yet - besides the other Jennifer - wife of the other western coworker at the plant). There are plenty of foreign women in Bangkok but Korat seems to only have western men that have Thai wives (at least a double age difference). The bugs (typical tropical weather bugs), not really having a routine yet, and the language barrier (esp. in Korat).
The differences between Korat and Bangkok are huge. I am lucky to get to experience both. I love the apartment in Bangkok - swimming pool, fitness floor, breakfast included, maid service, not far from a park, walking distance to restaurants, Expat clubs, close to public transportation. It is basically an executive apartment where mostly expats live. Korat we live in a house in a Thai neighborhood with a temple just a block away. It is more difficult to walk to places in Korat (and Thais as a general rule do not walk just to be out walking). When I do go for a walk in Korat (from my house) there is typically not a sidewalk and I am breathing in exhaust fumes. Of course I get plenty of stares when I go for these walks - but Thais are typically nice so if you smile they smile back (and will say hello which is sawadii ka).
You can imagine that Korat and Bangkok will give us two different experiences - both enriching.
Colin works alot of hours during the week so I cherish the weekends when I get to spend time with him and we get to explore together! I am incredibly happy to be here with him after 4 months a part.
Regarding the floods. The two areas we live in have not been affected by the floods (except that it takes us a long time to drive to Bangkok due to road closures due to foods). However, the reality of it is the floods have been devastating and affected many people - and commerce (i.e. flooded factories). Also, there has been the political side of the floods in that certain neighborhoods are flooded to spare others (i.e. flooding of poorer areas to spare the financial/economic districts of Thailand). I had a strange experience Friday night when we drove to Bangkok. They finally opened up a major highway that had been closed due to flooding. I don't think they should have opened it. We were at stand still traffic with at least a foot of water beneath us at one point. You could feel it swish when a moped drove by). Not a good feeling. We turned around. Thailand is going to give each flooded house around $150 dollars for aid. Can you imagine?? Your house is flooded and you only get $150?
I procrastinated in starting this blog. We have been on the go with going back and forth between Bangkok and Korat and I went with Colin to Chang Mai for a couple nights on a work trip. Chiang Mai is a lovely part of Thailand with the highest mountain in Thailand (plus parks, waterfalls, temples, etc). I have already done many fun things. Now I just need to settle on some sort of routine - such as should I spend most of my time in Korat or Bangkok and how does going back and forth affect something like volunteering.
My next blog I will share some photos.
Thank you so much for sharing Jennifer!!
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