Living in a sea of Asians

I have been in Khon Kaen for the past 3 days, and it has been absolutely wonderful. One of the things that I have trouble with is change, and one of the many things that attracted me to this CIEE program was the fact that participants would constantly be changing their locations and their daily routines to fit the structure of different classes and home stays. I wanted to challenge myself, and so far I feel that I have dealt with constantly being in transit pretty well. I have enjoyed all of my home stays, but it is nice to be settled in one place for, KKU, for a little less than 2 weeks. I love that I have a room to return to, that I know where things are, and that I can take refuge from the chaotic schedule in the streets, which are very safe, of Khon Kaen.

The last few days have been filled with relaxation, class, and homework. On September 5^th, I had a 10 hr. day of class, but then went out to the downtown area with about 13 other people as a reward for making it through our first two weeks of the program. We were taken to an Italian restaurant (that’s right, they have Italian restaurants here) by way of tuk tuks. Tuk tuks are little cabs that can hold roughly 4 people, but of course, we crammed 5 people into each one. They do not have any seat belts, any airbags, or any semblance of automobile “walls.” Although scary to ride because they weave in and out of lanes as though the streets are deserted when in reality they are jam packed with traffic, the experience is always fun. I was in a tuk tuk that happened to have sub woofers, which was really fun; especially because he was playing “Low” by Flo-Rida, which is a very popular song in Thailand, whereas it was the “it” song in the U.S. my freshman year (2007).

Pomodoro’s, the restaurant, was delicious and not overly pricey. We then went to U-Bar, which is the most popular bar in all of Khon Kaen. It was packed because there was a very famous band from Bangkok playing there, much to our surprise. It was a lot of fun to “dance” (the popular style of dancing is to wildly toss your head in the air while bouncing on the tips of your toes). It was a lot of fun, and also very eye-opening. CIEE had told us to not bring anything that revealed our shoulders or too much of our legs, which is understandable, but the Thai girls here wear the most revealing clothing that I have ever seen in my life.

On September 6^th, I had my second personal day, and I along with some friends, decided to try to find some craft stores that were described in our program book. We first tried to find a store that supposedly sells handmade crafts, but we were unable to find it because the directions were too vague. So we then decided to try and find the other craft store, but yet again, we were unsuccessful. We boarded a sang taow, which is a larger version of a tuk tuk and slightly safer, but the driver clearly did not understand where we were trying to go because instead of bringing us to our destination, we simply rode the tuk tuk in a circle. A large circle at that because we sat there for an hour while we watched all of the other passengers on board slowly filter out, and then watched as a new batch of people boarded to retrace the route that we had just come from. Luckily, we were all in good spirits and just considered it a funny and unexpected tour of the city. That night, I went out to dinner with some of my friends, Boe, and some of her friends. It was really nice because the American and Thai students (nach- suk-sas) were able to mingle with each other.

On September 7^th, we had class all day, and we were then split into our “where we’re at” groups. In these groups of 5-6 people, we had to come up with who would be the process facilitators. The process facilitators have to decide what the schedule is for the “where we’re at” days, and they also need to monitor the group to make sure that everybody is on-task and enjoying the program. I was chosen as the process facilitator for my group, and I’m excited/nervous to see exactly what that job description entails. Afterwards, I had a homework party in my room with 2 of my friends, Dalya and Jenny.

AnAnd now…Some things that I’ve noticed since I’ve been here:
1.     I am constantly covered in bug bites. I have been spraying deet on myself every morning, but it does not seem to detract the bugs from biting me. It’s something that I think I will simply have to become accustomed to.
2.     In order to survive, one must be fearless. The drivers here are insane and seem to think that driving laws and regulations are either nonexistent or do not apply to them. Through much observation and experience, I now know that you need to simply walk into the street regardless of the flow of traffic because otherwise you would simply be waiting for the right time to cross for literally hours. Perhaps this isn’t the best rationale, but it’s the only way that I know how to get by in Thailand.
3.     Many of the people here think that I am Thai, which is very interesting to me. I am given a lot of attention when I am with my white friends, but when I am on my own or with my home stay families, I am not called a farang (foreigner). It is nice to blend in because many of my white friends feel disrespected and singled out when called a farang instead of his/her actual name. It is as though farang is their only identity. I was slightly apprehensive to come to a country that is populated with Asians because I thought that it would be a strange sensation after being surrounded by white people my entire life.
4.     Without internet in my room, 10 hr. a day schedules, and a ton of homework, it is very hard to keep up with current events. I found out about the death of Ted Kennedy through my brother’s facebook status, which is terrible! Many of us have talked about how we feel very disconnected from the rest of the world and quite ignorant on current issues because our hectic lives do not provide the time for us to be able to read the new on a daily basis.
5.   I'm in a perpetual state of exhaustion, but I love being in Khon Kaen. Everyday that I am here I fall more in love with the people and the land. It is an amazing setting to live and learn in, and I’m excited for what’s to come. I hope that all is well in America!