Feeling at Home

I finally feel like I belong in Thailand. The initial culture shock that lasted for 3 weeks is finally wearing off. I no longer find myself in constant confusion. I no longer am phased to see dogs, cows, chickens (an elephant) around in public, barefooted people selling flowers at intersections, or motorcycles weaving dangerously in and out of traffic. The massive amount of telephone wires that spiderweb across the city streets and alleyways look normal to me. I am loosing my sense of what is familiar and what is not. I am loosing my sense of home. It is difficult to remember what things are like in the USA because if feels so far away. I truly feel like I am on a different planet. I feel like my life in the USA is frozen, not continuing without me. I seldom think of home, not because I am trying to prove my independence, but after going on exchange once, I understand now how short one year is. I don't want to waste my time missing the familiar when I could be discovering the unfamiliar.

I still encounter several occasions in which I am frustrated or unhappy due to lack of communication, but that will improve with time. I already have improved my Thai drastically in the past weeks. I came here knowing next to nothing, and now I am slowly starting to form simple sentences. This is a huge accomplishment considering how difficult the Thai language is! 5 tones, 2 speeds, multi-syllable tones, cryptic alphabet, no punctuation, and I'm not just learning Thai... I'm also learning the Laotian dialect- Isaan. I sit through class on most days and go through my multiple Thai learning books learning vocabulary and grammar. I am determined to learn this language. I am a language geek... and proud of it. I'm not going to waste the opportunity to LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE! Plus, I really don't have anything better to do considering I don't have to do any school work. I just go from class to class- and can really do whatever I want. I spend a lot of my time just hanging out with Thai people and listening to them speak. Their words used to make no sense... But I'm starting to hear definition. I hear words. I recognize sounds. I hear the inflection in their voices and make mental notes. I hear how they emphasize with volume rather than tone. I hear. I learn. IMMERSION IS AMAZING. It is the most exciting feeling on the planet!

To make this year more productive I purchased a year membership to a really nice gym here in Ubon. It is a bit small, but it is a brand new facility and has top of the line equipment. It is located on the 5th floor of a hotel and I can come and go as I please to swim on their rooftop pool, exercise, or sauna/steam. They even have personal trainers who help all of the members with new workouts. The staff is very nice and they were SO surprised to see Jackie and I (two white Americans) buy memberships! If you never have been to Asia, I think it is safe to say that Asia probably has the best customer service on the planet- They are truely amazing with tending to customers needs. It also was really CHEAP... TAILANDIA- TE AMO! (I'm also learning some Spanish- shoutout @Luis)

I am very very very happy here. I feel just really laid back and chill all the time. No worries. Just living and learning. It is crazy how stressed the American culture is in comparison to Thai culture. Sure- in Thailand there are a lot of rules and strict customs... but sometimes it's nice to just go with the flow and see where it takes you.
I can't wait to see where this year takes me! It has only been ONE month here in Thailand and I feel like I've been here for ages. I cannot fathom all that I will learn this year. I am so excited at the prospect of how much growth I will experience after all of this is over.

สวัสดี :)

Much love from the land of smiles.