Upon returning from our travels, I, along with most of the other volunteers, began to sense some anxiety in the air about returning home and ending our journey in Thailand. It all started with the task of changing our return flights – a process that very literally brought me to tears - and it all spiraled from there. Soon enough, weekend conversations were dominated with “What’s next?” instead of the usual, “What crazy/interesting/awesome thing happened in your village this week?” I too got swept up in thinking of what was coming next, and trust me, the whole thought of returning home is so anxiety ridden that it completely threw me for a loop. It got to the point that I was thinking so much into the future that I entirely neglected everything that was happening in the present. Sure its kind of exciting to get caught up in imagining what I’ll be doing after Thailand, but the truth is there’s still three whole months left to enjoy this experience. It feels like forever and absolutely nothing at the same time. Why should I waste this precious time worrying about the future when I am in the midst of an incredible journey? As time seems to just fly by, it’s now my goal to keep my thoughts on the wonderful moments that make my life in Thailand so special. Here are some of my favorites:
- Laughing with Pi Nok every day about how forgetful we both are about silly things like where we left our keys. Or maybe not so silly things, like the time we almost blew up the house.
- My students, particularly 3rd grader Jet, who every single time I ask him anything, will giggle and squirm in his seat and respond with, “I am thank you!” It’s so adorable I almost don’t ever want to teach him the correct answers.
- The woman at the market that I buy vegetables from each week. Our interaction lasts all of 30 seconds, but I always look forward to seeing her smiling face.
- Whenever I go to a fruit stand and ask what some mysterious fruit is, I always get offered a taste, and the owner grabs a piece and rips it open for me. Most of the time its delicious, sometimes its durian.
- The bike shop owners who one time chased me down the street so they could refill my bike’s tires.
- Whenever I drop off clothes at the laundry shop, the woman always invites me inside for a glass of water and asks me questions a mile a minute. Somehow, I can always understand her. I don’t even know her name, but she’s one of my favorite people here.
- My fellow volunteers who have become family, and who always have the ability to make me laugh so hard tears stream down my face.
- One of the office lady’s adorable little sons always walks slowly and nervously to my desk to show me whatever toy he has that day. Never says a word to me, but he’ll let me drive his toy car over the side of my desk.
- Pornchai asking about the intricacies of English to and from site visits. On our last trip, he wanted to know the differences between see, saw, and seen. The end result was either “I haven’t seen you in a long time” or “It has been a long time since I last saw you.” I realize more and more each day how ridiculous the English language is.
- Each week when I go to the Som Dtam shop, the woman automatically starts making it exactly how I like it. While she’s mashing away, someone in the shop always remarks about how novel it is that I can eat Isan food. When I explain to them that it’s my favorite meal I’m always greeted with squeals of delight.
With wonderful moments like these, why would I even try to think of anything but today?
Heater, this is a beautiful post and it made my whole day.
ReplyDelete