Becoming Bi-Cultural
When I first came to Thailand I was told that my two years here would be a process of becoming bi-cultural, i.e., in some sense I'd lose some of my American-ness and at the same time increase in Thai-ness. Four months later, it's interesting to look back on my time here and reflect on the ways in which I have already changed culturally. A couple examples: Once a week I take a taxi to pick up my team lead's kids from school and take them home. When I went to pick them up last week, the taxi driver had to be somewhere by a certain time and couldn't take us the whole way, even though he… Read more >>
Red 71
In many ways, the month I find myself in is a significant one: It's a new year, so our calendars say "2016" instead of "2015". All of our staff have returned from the States, so our team is finally complete. My fellow interns and I have begun learning how to read and write in Thai. Five days ago, I hit the three-month mark, i.e., it's been over three months since I first moved to Bangkok. In less than three weeks I will be running my first half-marathon. That same day, I will break the record for the longest I've ever been abroad, which, I'm anticipating, will feel like an incredible… Read more >>
F.O.M.O.
Of any year I've ever lived through, this year has had the most change, by far. In May, I graduated from university, joyfully but also with a bit of grief. The relationships I'd developed would never be the same again, for distance and time would separate me from most if not everyone. The experiences I'd had would become distant memories, most of which I'd remember fondly but some of which I'd keep struggling to make sense of. Summer and the first bit of fall were incredibly challenging but also rewarding and memorable. I got to travel all over the Northwest, the land of my upbringing, and… Read more >>