The accident-Part One

Not in my wildest dreams did I think I would end up in Thailand. Not in my worst nightmares did I ever think I’d come within an inch of my life here.

As many of you have already heard, I was in a car accident in Phuket just about a month ago. It has really opened eyes to the harsh reality of living alone in a foreign country where customs and laws are very different from home. I am very grateful to be alive, but I am also very angry about the way things were handled following the accident. I am writing about it because I find it therapeutic. I also have received a barrage of emails so this is a quick and easy way to make sure my friends and family know what happened. I do not feel comfortable censoring myself, so I apologize for the length of this blog…but here is the whole story. (Well Part One actually)

I went dancing with a new friend of mine from Switzerland on a Friday night. We had a great time in the party-district of Patong. When we decided to go home, rather than taking a tuk-tuk, (of questionable safety) we decided to take a taxi car home. About halfway home we look up to see someone driving on the wrong side of the road, like so many dangerous drivers do in Thailand. This car was going FAST. Our taxi driver swerved to avoid it. At the same time the driver finally swerves to go over onto the correct side of the road...and we smashed into each other.

I'll never forget the moment when I saw the headlights coming at us and I knew we were about to crash. I heard the metal crunch and crumple, and the glass shatter. I lurched forward from the impact. It all happened so fast, but is also seemed to go on forever. After we finally stop moving around I open my eyes and think “Thank God, I’m alive and conscious.” I go to take a breath. Nothing. I panic. I start banging on the windows, desperate to get out for air. My friend Nana tries to help me by taking off my seatbelt. I still can't breathe. She tries to calm me down, telling me I'm just in shock. After about 30 seconds of sheer terror, I finally gasp for air.

We both know it's time to get out of the car. Nana, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was miraculously left uninjured, even has the mental clarity to even grab our purses. That's when I realize I am in horrific pain around my abdomen. I can't even stand up. When we get out of the car, I just collapse onto the road. Nana urges me to get up or I'm going to get run over by another car. She takes me to some side shop that has a couch outside of it. At this point, people in the neighborhood start coming out to see what's going on. I lie down on the couch and tell Nana she needs to call emergency because something is seriously wrong. I don't know how, but I just knew I was bleeding internally or something to that effect. It felt like someone was ripping me apart inside. Nana calls 191 (the Thai version of 911). It’s a good thing she knew the emergency number, because I had no clue what 911 was here.

In the meantime, I am lying there, looking around half dazed and thinking the worst...that I'm bleeding inside and the longer I wait, the more of a chance that I will die. I remember watching TV shows where doctors talk about internal bleeding and impending death. Then I realize there are 10 people around me doing NOTHING to help. They are just standing there gawking at me. One even has the audacity to start asking me "Where you from? Why you in Thailand?" I'm sorry, but do I look like engaging in small talk?! I felt like a zoo animal. Everyone was just staring at me, muttering 'farang, farang' (meaning foreigner in Thai). I wanted to scream out of pain and frustration combined. There was one Thai man who was kind enough to get me some cold water who I will never forget. He actually cared.

It was an eternity waiting for that ambulance for probably 30 minutes. When it finally got there, Nana and that Thai man helped me get up and walk to the van. I get into the back and lie out on the stretcher. No paramedic in sight. A few minutes later, I’m wondering why in the world we aren’t moving yet. A police man and Nana are talking outside. Nana comes back in to tell me they want me to get out of the ambulance. Apparently they only sent one ambulance to the scene of an accident with two cars, and three people injured. They wanted the Thai man in this ambulance. Oh so this is how it’s going to go…..The police officer comes in, shoves his flashlight in my eyes, and says this: “You fine. You okay. You take taxi to hospital.” Excuse me?! I just got in an accident in a taxi!!! I told him in very clear words that I was not getting out of this ambulance and if they so much as touched me I would kick and scream. Just because I’m not bleeding does not mean I’m just fine. I’m not sure if he understood my English, my body language did the talking. I was NOT getting out of that ambulance.

Probably another 30 minutes later, I am still lying in the back on the stretcher. The ambulance still wasn’t moving. At this point, I want someone to knock me unconscious so I can just get a break from the pain. Nana comes in and out to check on me and tells me what is going on. First she says they are taking me to the hospital now. Wait a second…now she says they are busy trying to get the taxi driver out of the car. Alright, now she says they are sending another ambulance. She tells me the police are standing around the accident doing nothing..not taking pictures, not interviewing witnesses, nothing. Nana says one even looked her up and down and muttered something that included the word ‘farang’ and walked away. Is this every going to end?! I probably would have gotten to the hospital faster in a taxi, but there was no way I was getting in another car. When they realize I am not going anywhere even with their stall tactics, they finally get in and start driving.

Somebody who looks vaguely like a paramedic gets in. He doesn’t even touch me, or strap me into the stretcher. In fact, he never even made eye contact. I see a neck brace on the wall. I am very tempted to grab it and put it on myself. I can’t believe this is happening.

We get to the hospital ten minutes later. I am frightened about this despite previous assurances that Phuket’s hospitals are of high quality. I am wheeled inside to emergency. Nana helps to explain what happened. What do they do first? Get me to fill out paperwork. We desperately tell them somebody needs to check me inside my stomach. They need my address first. After Nana helps me with the paperwork, we just wait. Nana tries her best to figure out what is going on, but she doesn’t get anywhere because of the language barrier. I finally get some pain killers after an hour. They don’t work very well, and I keep begging for more. I am desperately thirsty now, but nurses tell me to do the proper tests I shouldn’t drink anything.

I make the call I desperately want to make, but I have a feeling of dread when I dial the numbers. I call my mom. She picks up and I tell her to call back right away because I do not have much credit on my phone. My mom told me later she knew by the urgency in my voice that something was seriously wrong. She calls back and I tell her a short version of the story… She says she had a weird feeling all day that something was wrong. Strange. It helps to hear her voice, and I tell her I love her before the nurses take me away for some tests. I will call her back once I know what is going on.

After an hour, they do an ultrasound. I wait another half an hour. They do an x-ray (where I pass out in pain a couple times). I wait another half an hour. They do a CT scan, which takes 45 minutes. I can barely understand the nurses who speak little English when they tell me to move this way or move that way. I wait in emergency for the results for about twenty minutes.

A man named Dr. Tongchai comes in to tell me what I knew all along. I had internal injuries that occurred from the impact against my seatbelt. The device which is supposed to save my life actually had put it in danger. The doctor says there is a hole in my bowel and in my intestinal wall or something. Bile, some blood, and possibly stool is leaking into my blood stream. He tells me he needs to operate immediately.

I asked the doctor, “And if I don’t get the surgery?”

He puts down his head, takes a breath, and says very bluntly, “You will die.” He says that could happen within a few hours.

Hearing those words, I thought, alright then, I’m having major surgery in Thailand. I have been told that healthcare in Phuket is good, but that does nothing to ease my fear. What if something happens to me? I am thousands of miles away from home and I have no one except Nana right now. The people with my life in their hands barely speak my language. My family is way over in Canada. I wonder why I came here at all.

I call my mom to tell her. She and I work hard to convince ourselves that everything is going to be fine. She says she will be on the next flight out, a comforting thought. Suddenly, I am having problems speaking. I have a very tough time getting out simple words like “drugs” and I am slurring. This scares me and my mom. I pass the phone over to Dr. Tongchai who explains in greater detail to my mom what is happening. He goes away for a few minutes, then brings me back the phone. For some reason I think about Terry Schiavo. I tell my mom if the worst happens and I become a vegetable to let me go after a year. I think it was a little melodramatic of me to think something like that could happen from intestinal surgery, but I still felt it was important…but it made my mom burst into tears. I say I love you again and see you soon.

Then, something weird happened. I didn’t feel scared anymore. I had heard of so many studies done about how a positive attitude leads to better chances in surgery and a quicker recovery time that I just decided I need to get positive. Nana said it was like I was calm all of a sudden. Nurses wheeled me to ICU, and I was even making jokes (in between cringes of pain). Before they wheeled me into surgery, a clock fell off the wall and onto my head. I am not even joking. This is sooo me, I thought. No injuries this time, so I smiled, looked up and said “God, would you give me a break already?!” The nurses laughed.

I was under the knife within the hour after the doctor told me I needed surgery. It took five hours, longer than anticipated. It felt like a second to me of course. I woke up to see Nana and one of my bosses, Duncan, at the end of my bed. There was a tube coming out of my nose which was connected to my stomach, an IV tube in my wrist, and a catheter coming out the you-know-where. The rest of that night is kind of a blur because I was on so many pain killers. But I do remember waking up later in the night to find five of my Thai co-workers around my bed. It was so comforting to see them. My number one fear coming here was getting hurt or sick and having no one around me.

I stayed in ICU for one night, then I was moved into the in-patient ward. I spent a total of a week there. My mom came on the Monday, when I was finally able to sit up. I was so glad to see her, but I refused to cry. I knew if I cried, we’d both never stop. I needed to stay strong.

I was on an IV for nearly four days. Every little movement was painful for a long time, even sitting up was difficult until the third day. It took me two days to start walking a little. I had to do exercises so that breathing wouldn’t be painful. The doctor continuously came in to check if I had ‘passed the wind.’ That meant my bowels were back in working order. When I finally did, I was so excited! Yes that’s right, I was excited to fart. Farting meant I could get the tube out of my nose and I could actually eat FOOD!

On the fifth day, the doctor took my bandages off my stomach. I look down to see a 6 inch incision in the middle, complete with a long row of staples. My immediate thought is that I look like Frankenstein. They clean up the wound, and replace the bandages. On my last day in hospital, they take out the staples. The doctor gets me to count them, one by one, to help with the pain. I count TWENTY. Now I have twenty staple marks to go along with my scar. Yippee. I look in the mirror later and see a gigantic bruise that stretches around my side and up my back. It is multi-colored.. yellow, blue, purple. At this point though, I am just glad it is my last day in the hospital. I thank the nurses that took such good care of me during the week and Dr. Tongchai before I leave.

I have been out for almost three weeks now, slowly but surely getting better. My scar is starting to heal nicely. The staple marks are almost gone. I still have some issues with my stomach and digestion, but the doctor says that should improve over time. I plan to see a doctor and physiotherapist when I get home. I’m just glad my mom was here with me every step of the way. I do not know what I would have done without her.

Believe it or not, there is more to this story…having to do with police (who do things very differently in this country), lawyers, the embassy, insurance people, the driver who caused the accident, etc etc. It is hard enough dealing with that in Canada, but it is far worse here. But that is for another blog entry…

Thanks to all my friends and family who sent me get well messages. It really meant a lot to me and helped me get better. I love you all.

The beginning

It was exactly one year ago I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda. I remember stepping off that plane after a grueling 32-hour journey, admiring the flat-top trees and green hills as I walked across the tarmac. I couldn’t’ believe it: I was in Africa. I had no idea that this would be the beginning of the best year of my life so far.

I will be honest that when I was young, I thought about traveling the word, but not in the same way I do now. Rwanda ignited something in me. I am obsessed with world travel now. My heart races when I just look at a map. If you count my trips to and from Ottawa for school, I have boarded 21 planes this past year. It still amazes me how different my life could be if I had chickened out and not boarded that plane to Rwanda.

I probably would not have gone to Hong Kong. If I had not gone to Hong Kong, I almost guarantee I would not be sitting here in southern Thailand.

I would say time has flown by, but I would be lying if I did. It has to a certain extent, but at the same time, it also feels impossible that I could have done so much in just a year. I have seen giraffes, zebras, and baboons in eastern Africa. I have been within inches of a group of 15 gorillas. I have gone whitewater rafting on the Nile in Uganda (and nearly drowned in it!). I have danced with a group of inspirational African women who I don’t even share the same language with. I have kayaked on the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, California. I have seen the Hong Kong skyline from a helicopter in the sky. I have seen the biggest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha. I have enjoyed a boat ride through a fishing village near Hong Kong. I have prayed at a Buddhist temple in Asia. I have eaten Pad Thai where it was first eaten probably hundreds or thousands of years ago. I have touched an elephant. I have been in the Andaman Sea. I have seen the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. Most of all, I have met incredible people who have taught me so much about the kindness of strangers. All this makes me the luckiest person in the world.

If I have done this much in one year, I can only dream of what I can do in a lifetime. Still, I know that I can’t be greedy in my lust for the world. What I have seen and done so far others will never get to experience. I will always be grateful for whatever powers that be have granted me.

Next week I am having dinner with a woman I met on a travel networking website. She is over fifty years old and has been to 108 countries. Her goal is to visit 150. Besides being a globetrotter, she is also a single mother. Her kids are older now, so she is traveling again and is going to be in Phuket for one night. I am so excited to meet this inspirational woman. I can’t wait to hear her perceptions about culture, peace, war, the human spirit, and the world. Who knows? I could be her 30-something years down the road! I sure hope so. But I know I’m still one lucky girl if I do not.

Lady what??

I have copped a feel of a transvestites boob . . . Just one more thing to put on my life list under the “unexpected” category.

The unwarranted sexual experience happened at about 10 p.m. Saturday night in Patong, the centre of nightlife in Phuket. They call it the “Devil’s Paradise” around here. Imagine flashing flights, scantlily clad women everywhere, the scent of sewage and cheap beer, blasting music, and people handing out pamphlets of questionable content yelling out “Ping Pong show?” (hint: that show is not of the table tennis variety)

I went out with some girls from work who said they would show me a good time. We stuck to Bangla road, the heart of all the madness. We were walking around and that’s when I saw them: a huge group of provocatively dressed women parading down the street. Jeab and Gem asked me: “Do you think those are women or men?” Umm…women??? Wait no…are those girls what I think they are? They can’t be….are those LADYBOYS?!

Ladyboys are Thai men who have decided to live as a woman. I thought it was just men who have undergone a sex change, but it actually encompasses men who like to dress up in drag to the ones who choose to go under the knife. The ones I met MUST have had surgery because they were actually quite beautiful! Almost no hint of masculinity…well there were some small hints.

I was standing in absolute awe as they danced around trying to get the tourists’ attention. I still was not 100 per cent sure if they were indeed ladyboys because Jeab and Gem would not come right out and tell me. “You tell us!”, they kept saying. Then a woman in an elegant white gown came up to me.

“You want picture? You come!”. The voice was a dead giveaway. That is DEFINITELY a man.

She dragged me over by the arm to her other ladyboy friend dressed in a very revealing red and black corset and black fedora. Just then, the one on my left grabbed my hand and put it on her boob. No hesitation. AHH! Well, now I know what implants feel like.

The pictures taken after this moment were quite hilarious as I tried to avoid caressing her chest again. I actually wish the girls had taken a picture while I made the grab because the look on my face would have been priceless!

Ladyboys, also known as Kathoey’s, are actually very well-accepted in Thailand. I read on a website that there are probably about 200,000 in the country. Some of them work in bars, others in the sex trade, and some are just normal people working in restaurants and beauty salons. Buddhism, the main religion in Thailand, encourages tolerance, which explains why Ladyboys and homosexuals can be open about who they are. That’s not to say there isn’t any discrimination, but it is still a very open society. Absolute fascinating. We could learn a thing or two about acceptance from Ladyboys.

Who knew a chest grab could turn out to be a cultural learning experience!

Taking the wheel

Oh god. I’m going to die. As melodramatic as they sound, those were my thoughts on the first day I started driving in Phuket. I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles hurt by the time I made it back to my room.

That was about two weeks ago. My work cut me some slack and has given me an automatic car for about a month so I can get used to the roads before I give manual drive another shot. Already, I am getting used to the precarious roads of Phuket, probably a little too used to it.

My first drive all by my lonesome was the longest ten minute drive since I got my license at 16. I kept telling myself “Drive on the left, Drive on the left, don’t forget” because I was so afraid I would turn into oncoming traffic. Thankfully, it’s almost a straight-shot home, except for a few turns. First I had to make a right turn. I went to turn on the signal light and then all of a sudden my windshield wipers go on. Flustered, I tried to figure out what was going on. I was looking down trying to reorient my knowledge about my car’s buttons and switches when I hear a honk. Ahhh! It’s a green light now. Okay my windshield wipers are still going. Wait am I going right? Another honk. Okay I’m going already!

Alright turn number one was a success! No near-death experience. I proceeded to go straight for about eight minutes. But lanes kept appearing and reappearing out of nowhere! I’m confused. Can I go straight or do I have to turn here? Then I freaked out because I got stuck in what I now like to call an “auto-sandwich”. That’s where there is a motorcycle, car, and huge truck across just two lanes of traffic going in the same direction. There is about a foot in between each car. One slight turn, and you would sideswipe someone!

Almost home, I was once again reminding myself to stay left. Then there is a car coming full-force, head-on towards me. I had to double check to see if I was indeed in the left lane. Yes, I’m not crazy! It’s THIS guy driving over the yellow line that is nuts! Just when I was about to take emergency driving action, he swerved back over where he belonged. I guess he was passing someone and decided he felt like going into opposing traffic to do it. Now I know that this happens all the time here. Usually, they will switch on their blinkers to warn oncoming traffic of their intention to defy common sense and stare death in the face.

Switching lanes is ten times harder as it is at home thanks to traffic congestion and motorcycles weaving in and out. I checked my rearview mirror, side-view mirrors and blind spot about three times before I even considered changing lanes on that first drive home. Now I am used to the craziness and I just check it all once! I will admit though that a couple of times I changed lanes when I never would have considered it safe at home. I guess Phuket driving really is having its effect on me! I am being careful, but you have to be aggressive driving here or you’ll never get where you want.

I made it home in one piece that day, and I only accidentally drove on the right once: in the parking lot. No harm done. For the next three days, I refused to take the car anywhere else other than the roads to and from work. Now, I have ventured off to places I have never been with map in hand. I have discovered how to get to some of my favourite beaches on my own. Alright, so I have gotten lost a few times, but I always find my way! You know what they say: getting lost is the best way to figure out where you are. The areas I have gotten lost in are the ones I know best!

Driving here is scary as hell, but it’s also given me a great sense of independence. The next challenge will be learning the rules of the road all over again in a manual drive. Better bring along some Aspirin for those soon-to-be sore knuckles again!

Land of the Smiles

Rwanda’s nickname is land of a thousand hills…so I find it quite interesting I’m in another “land of the” country…this one of smiles.

Everyone you meet it’s custom to say “Sawadee ka” with a smile and oftentimes a wai. A wai is where you put your palms together close to your chin and bow your head a little. There are a lot of rules regarding wai-ing, depending on who it is you’re talking to. But the safe bet is to always wai back to someone who wai’s you! So I’m wai-ing all over the place haha.

But it was on Wednesday night I truly realized why this place is called Land of the Smiles. I had a long day at work because of my hopeless driving skills and all I wanted was some food I could take back to my room. I went to the same restaurant I did the night before, and within seconds of arriving I heard a familiar voice…It was KOBY! He invites me to sit down with his friends and try some of their food. I sit down and I introduce myself to Nong and Fang. They all work in the travel industry so they understand English. Very nice people!

First of all, they say how impressed they are with my Thai skills. Yea right, I say. They insist my pronunciation of the words I actually do know are great! Sweet.

They order me Som Tam, or papaya salad. It’s a very traditional Thai dish originating in the North of the country. Not really sure what’s in it, but it tastes good! It’s spicy, but Fang said to me “Oh please the spice they put in yours is what we give to babies here!” I don’t’ even want to imagine what full-throttle Som Tam is like. I think I might have passed out on the floor from the spice!

Then the beers start flowing….best beer I’ve ever had! And for sooo cheap…about $2.50 for a HUGE bottle of it. It was after a couple beers I gained the courage to eat part of a fish eyeball. I know, who would think I would ever do that?! Well, when in Rome. Apparently it’s good for your brain and your skin or something. Fang and Koby egg me on as I stare down the eye on my fork. I shove it into my mouth! It’s tiny but I attempt to chew it. Ewww scratch that. It’s hard, so I swallow it whole. Cool!! Now I can put that on my list of things I have done.

I don’t think I’ ve ever had so much fun with strangers. We start singing Cher and Tom Jones outloud! Turns out Koby used to work as a singer in different parts of Asia in bars and hotel lobbies. He is quite the character. He only stands about 5 foot 6 inches, but he packs a lot of personality! He grins the whole night and always looks genuingely interested in what I’m saying. At one point, he starts belting out Josh Groban songs! Then he turns to me and says, “Meagan I already think of you as my sister, I want you to know that I am gay.” I’m touched that he opened up to me so quickly, but I will admit I guessed it from the moment I met him.

After singing, of course comes dancing! They were showing me how to bend m fingers how the Thais do, but my fingers just don’t’ bend that way. Still, they said I’m pretty good for a Farang (white person)! We all got up and started dancing. The entire restaurant was staring me. Whatever, I’m having fun!

One thing led to another, and one beer led to another, and by the time the night was over we had spent 3.5 hours socializing!! My original plans for the night had included going to be at 8 pm after eating some food in my room. This is what I love about travelling. Spontaneity is at every corner!

On The Job

I’m officially an expatriate. I now live and work in Thailand. Weird.

So yes on Tuesday I started my new job. My boss picked me up at the Mangosteen Hotel in the morning after I enjoyed one last swim and a buffet breakfast. No more 5-star hotel for me. We threw all my luggage in the back and headed to the office while my boss cracked jokes about me “travelling light.”

The office is on a side street in the southern part of the island. Very small but it’s cute! Oustide are the company pick-up trucks and my new car, a tiny little Suzuki jeep. I ask if it’s stick shift. Yup. Oh dear. My boss informs me we will go for a lesson with it in the afternoon. I’m kicking myself for not learning to drive standard at home.

I am then introduced to everyone I’ll be working with now. There are about 8 people total including myself. Two british guys, me, and then the rest are Thai women! Jane, Tang, Jib, Gem,Nook. Yea it took me a while to learn those names. I can remember them now though because I associate them with English things like the Orange sugary drink, a jewel, and something you eat breakfast on. It helps! All of them are incredibly sweet. They are already teaching me Thai words that will come in handy like “Mai pet” (no spice) “Hong Nam” (Toilet) and “Aroi” (delicious!). Already they are making plans to show me everything Phuket has to offer!

My office is on the top floor, with a large window and view of the street. I share the room with my boss Terry. It’s a strange feeling having my own desk! It makes me feel super important. Immediately, Terry throws a whole bunch of assignments at me. Ak!

Then we do something I’ve never done at a workplace…ALL of us go out for lunch! It’s great to socialize with everybody and be exposed to different kinds of food. The first day we went to MK restaurants in a shopping mall where you shove all the food into a pot of boiling water! When ti’s done, you take a ladle full and put it into your bowl. Yummy!

In the afternoon, we head back to the central part of the island to go to my new home. There has been a change of plans from the place they originally said I would live. It’s in a great location, next to 2 big shopping malls, a movie theatre, grocery store, and plenty of cute little food stalls. I walk outside and there are food stalls making noodle soup, chicken on a stick, and stir fry’s. It smells great! There are also stray dogs walking around, but that’s normal for here I’m noticing. . The apartment itself is actually just a hotel room, but it’s a good size by Thai standards! At first, I’ll admit I was disappointed because it is not as nice as the other place that I was supposed to live in, but it’s growing on me (and the smell is disappearing). I really enjoy the wide windows and balcony because I have a great view of a bunch of bright green palm trees, and rolling hills.

We go back to the office in the afternoon for what I have been dreading since the morning: my driving lesson. Okay it’s bad enough I have to learn to drive on the left side of the road, now I have to learn to drive stick from my NEW BOSS on my first day on the job in a crappy little jeep. Let’s not forget there are no Wal-Mart parking lots around here. This is Asia. Every little speck of space is used up! Oh and I can barely understand what my boss is saying half the time because he has a VERY thick British accent.

We take the jeep to a little roundabout across the street. I have an audience of Thai men. Oh yay. My boss shows me how to use the clutch, but I can barely hear him over the loud noises in the car. We spend an hour jerking back and forth thanks to my pathetic driving skills. I get very frustrated and start screaming. I have a feeling my boss thinks I’m an idiot now!

The moment of truth. Time to hit the road. Oh god Oh god Oh god. I nearly turn into the wrong side of the street right off the bat! Alright, now back onto the left. He mumbles something I can’t understand. Huh? What did he say? I can’t understand this man for the life of me. GO!!! Oh crap I’m rolling backwards. I hit the gas and the engine makes a crazy noise but thank god I move forward!! Don’t even know how I did it. Motos and scooters are whizzing past me honking. This is now what I signed up for!! Culture shock begins to hit me a little at this point. Oh well. I survived. For now, it’s back to the office. I’m sure as heck not driving this thing home!!

I do some work at my office and then Tang drives me home. I’m walking around looking for a good place to get some food. I’m listening to all these people speak Thai and I’m hit bigtime by the culture shock. I’m tired, overwhelmed about my new life, and this new culture. I need to sit down. As I’m looking for a place to get a stiff beer and some food, I catch a glimpse of the sunset. I don’t’ think I have ever seen a sunset like this at home. Pink stretches all the way across the sky behind the palm trees. It provides me with a little bit of perspective. Culture shock is normal. It happened to me in Rwanda on the third day too. Culture shock happens to everyone, even the globetrotters. If I didn’t get at least a little bit of it, what’s the point of experiencing a new society? If it’s all familiar and the same, then you’re not learning anything about the world and how you view it. I calm down a little bit after this.

Then I go to a restaurant down the street to grab some food. I have no idea what to get and it doesn’t make things easier that the cook doesn’t speak English. I ask for Pad Thai. They don’t have it (speaking of which, apparently it’s near impossible find pad Thai noodles in THAILAND of all places! This I don’t understand). We just stare at each other not really sure what to do. Then I hear a voice…”Hello can I help you?” A Thai man who speaks English! Oh thank god. His name is Koby. He helps me figure out what to eat, asks me where I’m from, and says if I ever need help to give him a call. Wonderful! I left with a full stomach of noodle soup and a feeling of hope that I’ll be just fine here….new job , frightening driving lessons, bad Thai speaking skills and all.

Pinch me please

I feel like I'm living inside a postcard.

We've all seen those postcards with teal waters, palm trees, and white sand. Well today I saw all that my own eyes. I keep doing double takes because I feel like this isn't something
that actually exists. I always thought the pictures were tweaked just a bit with photoshop to make those waters a little bluer, and the sand just a little whiter. Nope, it's all real. And it's beautiful!

This afternoon I went to Nai Harn Beach, about a six minute drive away. The hotel has a shuttle bus that takes people there. Well it's more like a truck with wooden seats in the back. I was the only one in it today! They aren't kidding when they say it's low season here in Phuket. There aren't too many tourists around this time of year. Hence, I rode solo in the back, gazing as we passed shop after shop, palm tree after palm tree!

I get to Nai Harn, and my mouth drops. Ahhhh tropical paradise!! I've never seen a beach like this in my life.Like I said, a postcard: teal waters, hills covered in palm trees, and white sand.
I dropped all my stuff and ran through the sand and jumped in the Andaman sea! Only thing is, I underestimated the strength of the waves. I nearly fell over. I really need to stop being so clutzy. Once I got my balance back, I spent half an hour jumping over the big waves coming in.

Of course, just my luck is started to rain. It was weird because the raindrops were cold but it was still 30 degrees out. Thankfully, the rain only lasted about 5 or 10 minutes and it wasn't too hard. Apparently, that's quite common and that rainy season isn't usually that rainy. Hooray! The weather here is gorgeous. Warm all day, but with a cool breeze coming off the sea every once in a while. Humidity takes some getting used to, but I'll take that over cold Canadian winters anyday.

After it stopped raining, I sat and stared at the sea sitting on my towel in the sand. I started to think about the tsunami. It was strange to think something so beautiful could cause so much destruction. I wondered who was here on this beach that day, and if anyone died at on this very spot. You could easily forget the tsunami looking around as everything looks like it never happened.

Just before the shuttle came to pick me up, I decided to have a traditional Thai massage. The massage parlours are everywhere. I had a 45 minute full-body massage (including butt!haha) for the equivalent of about seven Canadian dollars. People pay 10 times
that at home! Now I have decided I'm getting on here every week! Thai massage is pretty intense, I'm not going to lie, but you feel great after. They sure do know how to work their hands! And use their body weight. At one point,the lady had almost all her body weight on my back. It hurt until my back cracked. Ahhhhh I needed that!

This evening rather than spending the night at the hotel, I took a taxi to Phuket town, the downtown so to speak on the island. It's filled with all sorts of restaurants, stores, and all sorts of western conveniences like a big movie theatre, McDonalds, and a drugstore. The thing that struck me the most was the traffic! Motorcycles and scooters are EVERYWHERE. Some parked, others zipping around on both sides of the road. Parents even drive with their kids sitting in the front of them. Then add in the tuk-tuks (sort of like big red wagons) and
taxis and you've got some good wholesome chaos! I like it though. It gets my heart pumping!

So I wandered around for a while and then I got waved down. "Taxi? Taxi?" says this guy in a bright yellow shirt a good foot shorter than me. I was in no rush, and I was just going to wander around anywhere, so I humoured him while he took out a map and showed me where I could go. We agreed on a cheap price and he took me to a couple markets to look around. His name was Tiger! (Rawrrr! Love it!) He didn't speak very much English at all, but he somehow knew the lyrics to the Backstreet Boys music playing in his car. (this is the second country I have been in where a taxi driver knows the Backstreet Boys! It happened in RWanda too...weird.) The shopping here is awesome. I'm in trouble. Shirts are about five bucks or less. I got three bottles of nail polist for two dollars. A headband for one. Okay I'm going to have to limit how much cash I bring to markets from now on!
Thankfully, I was so tired that after a while I just got too tired to shop anymore. There are so many stores it's just overwhelming!

On the way back to the hotel with Tiger, I saw a sign saying "Best House mansion this way." Hey, that's where I'm moving to tomorrow!! Staying in this hotel the first few days, but I'm excited to move into my new home. It will be my apartment for the next two months, courtesy of my new employer. I'm meeting my boss tomorrow morning here at the hotel. He's taking me to the office and then we'll talk about my new apartment and my company car. I'm a little nervous because I don't really know what to expect. But I'm excited too!

I think the only thing I'm really freaked out about is drivng the car.
They drive like maniacs here!! Plus they drive on the left which is going to thorougly
confuse me. Even sitting in the passenger seat is nervewracking. On several occassions, I thought the car was going to hit someoneon a motorcycle because they just weave in and out as they please. It appears the only real rules of the road are a. drive on the left b. Do whatever the heck you want.

Tonight my plans are to go for a dip in the pool and lay in my hammock and read my book. I want to be rested for my first day on the job. I'm actually excited to go to work. It will make all this feel more real!