The last days of a twentysomething
on My Thai (Thailand), 09/Jan/2011 15:17, 34 days ago
So the last few days I’ve been in a pretty good mood - I felt that alone warranted sharing!I think there are a few things contributing to this momentous occurrence; the upcoming birthday getaway to Koh Kood (only five days to go!) being one. That’s if I make it there: it’s going to involve a night bus, a few hours to kill in the very early morning and a long speedboat trip to boot. Still, once I’m there I’m sure I’ll appreciate it being a bit off the tourist trail. It’s not far from Koh Chang but, from the sounds of things, is going to be a lot quieter. Planned activities include quality beach time (it’s been nigh on 8 years since I lay on sand – I deserve it!) and, if I can muster up the energy, kayaking, snorkeling, walking, cycling and trying to steer a motorbike! Can’t wait!While I’m pretty excited about that, I think there are more subtle factors at work too...I’m within finishing distance of the first level of the English scheme of work for my organisation’s Learning Centre. I feel I’ve raced through it somewhat in my eagerness to have some proof of the work I’ve been doing and there’s still lots of room for improvement but it’s good to feel I’m getting somewhere with it at last. Still, once it’s finished I’ll have to speak to VSO about its translation which may take even longer to complete!What else...I’m spending a lot of my lunch hours here. It’s an artificial lake in the middle of the rather grand gated ‘village’ where my office is. It’s not a bad place to escape to for an hour each day, really! I even spotted a turtle in the water today. I also get saluted every time the security guards let me through the barrier, which I neverget tired of! What lowly volunteer would ever get that treatment back home? Sure it’s their job but still - it’s a great way to start and end the day with a smile.I feel I’m getting to know Bangkok a lot better now and its great being so close, even if it does mean I now have only 300B in my account to last me the next two weeks! My English ‘Mortgage Fund’ is no longer even big enough to buy me a dog kennel. I blame Tops supermarket and the fact that it’s a minute’s walk from my flat!I was waiting to catch the bus into Bangers yesterday and suddenly realised that the stares were becoming less obvious to me as well. I don’t think they’re occurring any less frequently, at least not outside my usual haunts where I think the novelty is wearing off somewhat, but maybe I’m just less on edge about it. There was a point not so long ago when my ears were so finely tuned to hearing ‘Farang!’ that on even the whiffof a syllable I was rearing up. I still hear it, but it’s very gradually becoming background noise instead of the fingers down a blackboard effect it had on me previously.It got me thinking today about VSO training and the‘ups and downs’ they describe.This nifty little model is from the P2V training I attended back in Birmingham:Shock/denial -√Pining/Searching -√Anger -√Guilt -√Depression/Apathy -√...and as for‘Acceptance’ and ‘Euphoria/Minimising’, much as I think it might be tempting fate to say so, these have been frequently rearing their heads just when I’ve needed them most.I’ve learnt so much in the past few months, met so many great people, experienced a different culture, survived in a country that speaks a different language to my own.Total strangers smile at each other on the street here, there’s no crossing the road to avoid ‘yoof’, people will go out of their way (literally) to help you...it’s a lot less insular than the lives of most in the western world.And to top it all off I’ll be having some euphoric pre-birthday drinks on Khao San Road come Thursday night too!