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So I have now been in Thailand for 10 days. I think in that time I've achieved quite a lot, I have got myself a place, I have made my little place resemble home, I have worked out how to get from here to town, to work and to the hypermarket, I have sussed out pretty much everything the local filling stations shop has on offer, and sampled most of it too, some of it yummy and some of it not! I have started work, I hope I've made a good impression both to my boss and my team and to the Thai teachers at the school. I have been invited to go shopping with the Thai girls in our team after work, and even went to one of their brother's weddings on Saturday, so I guess these things class as starting to make friends! I have learnt to spend my evenings mainly alone with my computer and my TV, and that's OK. I have learnt to sleep in a new bed, although I need to make my bedtime a little earlier before term starts!
However, even with all this achieved, I still have lots and lots I need to do. So this blog is all about the things I think I need to do to make Thailand feel like home I guess.
LEARN THAI!!!!!
This is something that I HAVE to do. This is the first time in my life I have lived somewhere where everyone around me knows little or no English. It's tough, I can't just pop in the local shop and ask where something is on the shelf, putting credit on my mobile is a mission, I can't chat to my neighbours, I can't tell the bus conductor where I want to go, I can't pop to the food vendors down the street and ask what all their delicious dishes are and eat there. I am very iscolated. Right now this is obviously making things more difficult, but this is also a motivator for me to learn. I am going to set up a programme with my Thai teachers tomorrow, where I have certains words I should learn everyday, simple greetings and sentences with common vocab to start with, and then move on from there to build up my knowledge. Now, my Yorkshire accent and the tonal Thai accent don't fit together too well at the moment, but I am promised that with time, practice and patience, it will happen, we'll see!!
To help me with this, I am going to have a Thai book, where each day I write the words I am learning for that day, and keep it with me all the time. i will also include notes on ways I can remember the words, little associations etc to help, and also as I get better the sentence structures I need to use the vocab.
SORT MY HOME!!
I am happy with my place. It is very small, just one room and a bathroom and balcony. But thats all I need, and it is in a nice building, I feel secure here. I am starting to make it feel like home, I have set up a kitchenette corner, a 'sofa' and got funky bedding. Below is a list of things I still need to get though, to make it really home......
- Big cushions for my sofa
- An electric cooking pot (pot noodles are getting boring!!)
- Spare sheet/duvets
- Iron
- Mop and bucket
- Cushions for my balcony chairs
- DVD player
- Install Satellite TV
- Washing Basket
- Bin
- Big food shop for cupboard fillers
That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there are more things, when I think of them I'll come back and add. As you see nothing that I need really badly right now, but many things it would be good to have. Esp something to cook with and TV with a range of English channel!!
MAKE FRIENDS!!!
This is the big one! How I'm going to achieve I'm not sure??! Well no, I get on well with the Thai's in our team at work, especially considering I've only known them for a week. I am also very excited that we will soon have some more westerners joining the team, so hopefully we will all get on well. If not, I will just have to start getting out there and meeting people somehow, for now I am coping fine with it just been me alone on the evenings, but that isn't going to last forever! I am going to make an effort to meet up with the girls at work outside of work this week, and hopefully meet their friends too, and take it from there. Again this will become easier when I can communicate even a little in Thai, as not many people speak English
OK, I think that is enough for now, the rain is stipping so I'm going to go an get dinner. I will continue with this list later, as hopefully writing all I want to acheive down will mean I have focus in getting it done!
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Posted by deepintought on 2008-05-12 07:27:09 | Rating: | Views: 62
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You keep mentioning the westerners are coming...the westerners are coming:P UGH! I suppose repetition is a side effect of solitude. You are just exhaling in the cold. Keeping warm/cool.
One thing I am sure about without knowing anything Thai first hand, friends I am sure will be easy to make as long as you remember what you learned back when with your folks. Respect and kindness/compassion. I think any Asian culture(Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai) would have similar serenity and peace of mind for respecting strangers unless they are so "modernized"/"westernized". Sure, your Thai is quite limited at first, but it just takes a good group of companions at your lunch table every day or a strong connection with someone you can spend more time with to start to pick things up. I know Brits are good at faking an American accent, so:P
I suppose I should add that I had "plans" to be in Thailand this year before monsoon season. But, due to lack of experience/confidence and an uncertainty of how to plan/who to trust, I backed out of it. Otherwise, I'd probably run into you one day. Maybe:P And, wonder who is this fellow foreigner to this land. I was told monsoons start in April and that the best time to go to Thailand was between November and February. So much for that theory this year, ay?
One thing to try is get silly. Pick up a phrase in a book or on the street and just start messing with it. I took 2 yrs of Spanish and never had anyone to really use it with. So, it sort of went to waste, but I still remember a few words/phrases...provided they are spoken like mollasses.
Sawatdeekrup...or is it better to say sawatdeekup?:)
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Posted by brainstormer
on 2008-05-17 22:01:51
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