First week

Wow, I’ve not even been in Thailand a week, and oh how things have changed already! I’ve gone from the initial excitement of arrival and then meeting my host family, to some frustration at how slowly it seemed like I was adapting and learning, to quickly expanding my Thai vocabulary and knowledge of the city as I’ve settled into my daily class schedule. I definitely wouldn’t say that I feel at home yet, or that I feel like I’ve found “my place” in Thailand, but feel great about how quickly I’m learning and my relationship with my host family.

First, for all those who maybe expected me to be in more frequent contact… doesn’t look like that’s going to be possible. I don’t have internet at home, and while ISDSI does have wireless, I don’t have many breaks at school to be able to use it. I finally found an adapter in the market on my way home, so I can now write some blog posts in word docs at home, and just post them quickly at ISDSI… but even this takes a good chunk of time at night, and I don’t often have much extra time. My best mode of communication is by cell phone, but even that’s hard with the 12 hour time difference, so I’m just getting in short calls home before my school day starts.

I arrived to Chiang Mai on last Thursday night, and settled in for a good night’s sleep at the beautiful Mountain View Guesthouse. The amenities were pretty simple, but the architecture and central garden/dining area were really striking. Someone said it was like staying in a giant treehouse, and I think that sums it up perfectly. Some of the girls from Colorado College and a few other schools arrived when I did, so we stayed together and explored a little until the rest of the C.C. and Kalamazoo kids got in on Friday mid-day. Once everyone arrived, we had most of Friday to all get acquainted before going to stay with our host families on Saturday. It was really nice to have a little time to hang out with everyone before we split up, because it will be our only real down time together outside school until we move into apartments/leave our host families in late Sept. 

I still felt like a real farang (white person) in those initial days though. Walking to a shopping center to find a bank to exchange our money, some of us got caught in the hardest rain I’ve ever seen. I mean, I knew it was the rainy season, but I didn’t yet know how to read the sky and know from the clouds that all hell (rain) was about to break loose! Here we thought we were being rugged, walking to where we needed to go, when the real Thai thing to do is avoid the rain! I’ve realized that walking is not the common man’s form of transportation, and neither are bicycles really (at least not on the main roads of the city, and not as much as India). Motorcycles are much more common. I also didn’t know a word of Thai, so communication was impossible. Realizing how little I actually understood Thai culture, I didn’t trust myself enough to judge the street food yet, so I just played it safe with food at the guesthouse (as did most of us).

Much of that has changed now that I’ve been completely immersed into Thai culture. My host family is wonderful. My mae (mom) is an elementary school/pre-K teacher and my paw (dad) is a policeman. I have two host sisters, Pim (18) and Poi (15). They are both attending school (7 days a week, though only a few hours on the weekend). Both Pim and Poi are learning English at school, and both my host parents know a little English and want to learn more. So, between the four of them they were able to communicate bits and pieces with me from the very beginning—which I’ve become abundantly thankful for as I’ve heard stories from classmates whose families speak no English at all. That kind of absolute communication barrier is more difficult—physically and emotionally—than you would imagine. Thankfully, from the very beginning, my family has embraced me with warmth and excitement.

I’m really pleased with the transactional relationship we’ve built. I was eager to learn Thai and they really want to learn English words too, so from the very first car ride we were exchanging words for objects. Paw often says “speak English” while pointing to something, or will prompt me “speak Thai” and then tell me the name for something. I had trouble retaining a lot of the words at first, which was almost more frustrating than just not knowing any Thai. Granted, those were the first two days, before I’d had any formal classes. But, I remembered the way I’ve always learned languages is by writing and repetition, so I started writing down words I was learning in the journal I’m keeping. Once class started Monday, my Thai has improved exponentially. I can now communicate with the bus and taxi drivers in Thai, could barter a price, know the names of many common foods and items, and even said  a full sentence or two to my family tonight at dinner! This complete immersion is amazing. I get 4 hours of Thai class in the morning, use my Thai on the trip home with the classmates I travel with, and then use it all evening with my family.

My family is also a little less traditional than I expected. They hold to most of the Thai customs I’ve learned, but are much less protective of me than some other host families. Other families won’t let their host child do any chores or help out at all. One host mom even said the daughter can’t cook because the kitchen is outside and “there are mosquitoes.” I’ve gotten to cook with mae and paw a good amount, I think partially because I put in my letter to them in my application that I like to cook. The first thing I made was fried potatoes (man allouey), or french fries. Figures right? But last night I helped make a soup called “sayi” with carrots (calob), cabbage (pak saa), bak choy, pork balls, crab, and egg. I also did my laundry this weekend. We did the washing and laundry detergent by hand, put the clothes through a spinner, and then hung them to dry. Mae was surprised at how well I could wash them. All that penny-pinching in Traverse City last summer came in handy! I also get to help with dishes, in a rotation for cleaning with Pim and Poi.

While there are definitely communication and cultural barriers between my family and I that I’m still maneuvering, all in all I feel really comfortable. Yes, I’ve been using my camp towel for showers… because I didn’t know they would expect me to have my own! And yes, I’m not sure if I should let my mother wash my uniform “early, early in the morning” or just insist on doing it myself. But I’ve avoided breaking “rip roy” with any awful cultural mistakes so far. And they’ve looked legitimately proud of me a few times (with my improving Thai, cooking, or washing my clothes), and we’ve had some good laughs too. The other night I taught Poi the phrase “food baby” when she was cradling her full stomach in her hands after dinner. We laughed together tonight that the Thai word for guava is “falang,” just like me! And they’re really getting to know me. They’ve realized that I really like any food—including spicy things—but that fruits and vegetables are my favorite. I’ve had lu pap (apple/mango type fruit), dragonfruit, Sharonfruit, papaya, guava, pineapple, and watermelon while here! Paw and I actually like a lot of the same foods. (“Cho pag,” like vegetables and “Cho pik,” like peppers.) And I get a (little) cup of coffee every morning! What’s not to love?

More on ISDSI and my classes later.

For now, much love to all of you!