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!

T (Thailand) minus 22 hours

Well this is it. My last day in Canada, or North American for that matter. I can barely believe a month ago is when I made the decision to move across the planet

For those of you who don't know, I got a job offer at an English publishing company in Phuket. It's Thailand's largest island located in the southern half of the country. I applied for the gig thinking I didn't actually stand a chance of getting it. After all, I'm pretty sure there are a million people who would love to live on a tropical island in Thailand. I forced myself to apply anyway, and a week later, I got the offer. WHOA.

There were a lot of pros and cons for me to weigh, so I won't say it was the easiest decision. But I went with my gut, and it said go. It just feels right. I know there are going to be a lot of adjustments: a new job, a new country, a new culture, new friends...a new life basically. I'm ecstatic on so many levels, but I also don't think I have ever felt so frightened in my life.

Going to Rwanda was scary, but I knew it was only going to be two months. Hong Kong wasn't scary at all. But moving to Thailand is different. What if I get sick and there is no one I know well enough that will take care of me? What if something happens to family or friends at home and I can't get home fast enough? What if my job doesn't go as well as planned? In my gut, I know these things aren't really worth worrying about, but my mind races over it all anyway.

I just know it's the right decision though. All my friends and family noticed that as soon as I made the decision, I started acting more like myself: happy-go-lucky. I was not happy here. I love being around my family and friends, but nothing compares to that exhilarating feeling of waking up somewhere completely different from what you are used to. I can't even explain it.

I'm just glad I have an extremely supportive family (my mother is dealing with it incredibly well), friends (all over the world literally!). I honestly wouldn't feel as good as I do about making the move as I do if it weren't for you guys. I know you will always be there for me. Thank you for that.

I will talk to you all when I arrive at my new home in PHUKET!