Being in Thailand for
the past three weeks had taught me a lot about being open to new challenges and
not take things for granted. The two home stays were the best experiences because
it made me go out of my comfort zone in order to fully communicate with my host
parents. My host parents knew little English, so I had to learn how to do
hand gestures and body movements to get my message across and they had to do
the same too. Although, I couldn’t speak fluent Thai I felt a strong connection
between me and the host parents through the body gestures. The most frustrating part about the home stays was sleeping on the floor with insects
coming out at night. It bothered me a lot because I was never exposed to
anything like that, so it was difficult for me to sleep throughout the night. Then
waking up early to cook with the host parents for the monks and breakfast
taught me how precious time can be. I love to sleep in but by waking up early
in the morning I felt like it made a difference in my day because I can get so
many things done.
The
one activity that challenged me the most was hiking and going up the stairs to get to the top of the waterfall.
I thought the hike was only an hour or so, but it took about two hours and by
the time we reached our destination everyone was drained. All I remember was
complaining about the insects and how hot it was. But after the hike I reflected
on it and realized that the whole time the tour guides never complained once or
said that it was too hot for them. During the hike we saw some people working
and picking out tea leaves to sell. I envy them because they’re able to work
hard under the hot weather and the insects didn't bother them. I wish I can fully immerse myself into their way of living and not complain about it.
All
my experiences so far are just a little taste of how Thai people live. I still
have a lot to learn about the way of living in Thailand. But the one connection
I made while being in Thailand was how my parents lived here. The night of
the hiking trip I called my mom to tell her that I finally knew exactly what she was
talking about when she said she used to walk hills after hills on dirt road to
get to the garden. My parents used to live in Thailand and they would tell me
stories about walking on steep hills and having to hike to get to places. Now I’m
finally experiencing the same things my parents did when they lived in
Thailand. I’ve learned to go out of my comfort zone and see a new way of
living.
I totally understand your thought, Ka. I'm happy to learn that you like what you experience. I can see that you really to trying hard. I still remember that you try to talk to the host family. You both don't understand each other, but you still want to communicate. Thank you for sharing your experience.
ReplyDeleteMai Zong,
ReplyDeleteBecause of the way you wrote this, the connection between you hiking up steep hills in the heat, and your parents doing the same to get to the gardens, really comes alive. Thank you!
As Americans, we have an extreme need to control our environment - control the temperature to fit our preferences, keep bugs away and avoid places where they might dwell, drive rather than walk, etc. So navigating a place where harmony or co-existence with the natural world is the norm, throws us all off balance. But I hope you remember that you did it! You climbed that hill to the waterfall, you slept with the bugs "-), and you sweated so much that you had to drink a gallon of water to rehydrate. Draw strength from overcoming those challenges, especially when you meet the next one that comes down the road. Thanks for your honesty, Mai Zong!
ReplyDelete