tee hee, my apartment is the twin building on the right
first month in a nutshell due to my blogging ignorance-
flew for 36 hours too long. arrived. slept. got lost. slept. ate street food. chucked. slept. keep on keeping this on for a few weeks, until i moved into the rattanakosin condominium, 34th floor, with a thai roommate. things were lookin pretty bright. its harder to notice the stray dogs, trash, spit, cockroaches, rats, derelict buildings, poverty, disformed beggers, and repugnant pond-scum in the first few weeks, but slowly it creeps in like adema on the steps of everst's 3rd summit. needless to say at this point, you gotta love it. To feel and smell the real feelings and smells of 7 million people crammed into a concrete labryinth. Eventually you come to love the constant action of every intertwined person youve never seen, and will never see again. hell, you'll love the pad thai lady down the street, the dog with the floppy left ear which looks an inch from death, the one-eyed security guard ( whith whom ive now formed a one way relationship in my mind, i am positive he is a reincarnated buddha) and the ants which, regardless to the exponential bounds of human engineering, have found their way to the 34th floor of a vertical, cinderblock beartrap. i love just about everything here. in time im sure ill come to change this mindframe. but until that time i think for sanities sake i need to stay optimistic.
Ko Samet- white beaches which feel like flour. white people all over, farangs as the thais call us, also meaning guava in thai. dont get the meaning there, maybe cuz were both white on the inside? i always felt like i was more red on the inside. people are suprisingly fit here. the nightlife is too much to describe. thais work damn hard, and they play damn harder. i have made some good friends here, whom i followed to Ko Samet. i dont know their independent reasons for coming here , so i will only assume their discomfort with the feeling of their previous homes. a large majority of the entertainment on Samet is provided by firedancers, which light a staff with dual toarches, one on each end, which is covered in petrol. fire dancers are some of the most talented people ive met, and with enough artistic flash to make any dali painting look about as interesting as the wal-mart greeter. for all i know they are paid in whisky and coke, and from what ive seen, i think it might be just that. after a few days of too much sun and seawater which is almost uncomfortably warm, you feel blissfully relaxed and salty. bangkok seemed home from the moment i bought bedsheets, and after 2 days on samet the 6 hour bus ride back 'home' was a bit of a relief.
thammasat campus is a bit of a change. college is college however, and classes remain the same as i have experienced at home. professors who like to hear themselves talk, with a few inspiring people thrown in the mix for some fun. im taking thai and rural development, thai language, cross cultural communication, and philosophy of religion. all of which are more or less fine, with the exception of rural development, and the unwavering desire by the end of each class to join the military, or defenestrate myself and pray for a broken bone and a speedy getaway from a boredom which could never be reckoned with. the college hangout is the seemingly makeshift outdoor cafeteria called the 'canteen', from which you can choose from any ridiciulously sugary drink (in thai sweettooth fashion), or any curry or rice dish which will be unexpectedly spicy regardless of its phet level. its always humid there, like all of thailand, and it always smells of sweet rice and cleaner. good energy there, and always a group of exchange students to eat with, or thai students to stare at you strangly and laugh, though never maliciously. there is a feeling at thammasat, though i cant quite pin it down yet.
the language is coming to me quickly, but it is getting harder and harder, due to the fact that virtually every word has only 4 or 5 letters, and the only difference between many of them is one letter, or if theyre exactly the same, they have different rising or falling tones. for example the word maa, can mean dog, horse, grass, come, and a few others, depending on the tonality that you use. it can get a little depressing. speaking of depressing, it makes the language harder, because of the difference of words if you say them with a decending or ascending tone, so if you are sick or sad, theres a good chance noone will understand you.
flew for 36 hours too long. arrived. slept. got lost. slept. ate street food. chucked. slept. keep on keeping this on for a few weeks, until i moved into the rattanakosin condominium, 34th floor, with a thai roommate. things were lookin pretty bright. its harder to notice the stray dogs, trash, spit, cockroaches, rats, derelict buildings, poverty, disformed beggers, and repugnant pond-scum in the first few weeks, but slowly it creeps in like adema on the steps of everst's 3rd summit. needless to say at this point, you gotta love it. To feel and smell the real feelings and smells of 7 million people crammed into a concrete labryinth. Eventually you come to love the constant action of every intertwined person youve never seen, and will never see again. hell, you'll love the pad thai lady down the street, the dog with the floppy left ear which looks an inch from death, the one-eyed security guard ( whith whom ive now formed a one way relationship in my mind, i am positive he is a reincarnated buddha) and the ants which, regardless to the exponential bounds of human engineering, have found their way to the 34th floor of a vertical, cinderblock beartrap. i love just about everything here. in time im sure ill come to change this mindframe. but until that time i think for sanities sake i need to stay optimistic.
Ko Samet- white beaches which feel like flour. white people all over, farangs as the thais call us, also meaning guava in thai. dont get the meaning there, maybe cuz were both white on the inside? i always felt like i was more red on the inside. people are suprisingly fit here. the nightlife is too much to describe. thais work damn hard, and they play damn harder. i have made some good friends here, whom i followed to Ko Samet. i dont know their independent reasons for coming here , so i will only assume their discomfort with the feeling of their previous homes. a large majority of the entertainment on Samet is provided by firedancers, which light a staff with dual toarches, one on each end, which is covered in petrol. fire dancers are some of the most talented people ive met, and with enough artistic flash to make any dali painting look about as interesting as the wal-mart greeter. for all i know they are paid in whisky and coke, and from what ive seen, i think it might be just that. after a few days of too much sun and seawater which is almost uncomfortably warm, you feel blissfully relaxed and salty. bangkok seemed home from the moment i bought bedsheets, and after 2 days on samet the 6 hour bus ride back 'home' was a bit of a relief.
thammasat campus is a bit of a change. college is college however, and classes remain the same as i have experienced at home. professors who like to hear themselves talk, with a few inspiring people thrown in the mix for some fun. im taking thai and rural development, thai language, cross cultural communication, and philosophy of religion. all of which are more or less fine, with the exception of rural development, and the unwavering desire by the end of each class to join the military, or defenestrate myself and pray for a broken bone and a speedy getaway from a boredom which could never be reckoned with. the college hangout is the seemingly makeshift outdoor cafeteria called the 'canteen', from which you can choose from any ridiciulously sugary drink (in thai sweettooth fashion), or any curry or rice dish which will be unexpectedly spicy regardless of its phet level. its always humid there, like all of thailand, and it always smells of sweet rice and cleaner. good energy there, and always a group of exchange students to eat with, or thai students to stare at you strangly and laugh, though never maliciously. there is a feeling at thammasat, though i cant quite pin it down yet.
the language is coming to me quickly, but it is getting harder and harder, due to the fact that virtually every word has only 4 or 5 letters, and the only difference between many of them is one letter, or if theyre exactly the same, they have different rising or falling tones. for example the word maa, can mean dog, horse, grass, come, and a few others, depending on the tonality that you use. it can get a little depressing. speaking of depressing, it makes the language harder, because of the difference of words if you say them with a decending or ascending tone, so if you are sick or sad, theres a good chance noone will understand you.
1 comment:
you are good little man and I want more!!!!
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