Two-Zero-One-Zero

Writing this on email as if I were to write to someone. Why not write to someone? You may wonder, I sometimes feel like I have exhausted them by sending long emails. This is the way for them to choose whether to read it or not.

It’s been a year since I came to Thailand. Life in Thai life is far greater journey than I have imagined and a lot tougher than I hoped it to be. Language barrier, cultural misrepresentations, difference in thinking process which followed by misunderstood actions. If I were here to raise all those issues, I can, but what would be there after that? We all need to look forward and not backward.

One night, I was at driving range with a friend from work. This guy is 50 years old, I have a lot of older friends here. Oldest is 60 years of age and he is very kind and knowledgeable man. He does not act like a father instead more like a senior in Highschool and I am a freshman. Anyway, this Thai man who is 50, let’s call him Mr. Greenshot. He and I go to driving range to hit some golf balls and he teaches me with what he has learned in past several years. His English is something better than others that I came across in this country. I talked to him like I talked to friends in the US. More of broken English with the speed that I always speak of, Thais think I speak really fast, in fact, I am not sure if I do. Mr. Greenshot likes beer, when he drinks, he gets drunk like anyone else, but drunk badly a little bit. He talks big, he tells he knows people in high up, as the time is getting close to closing time, he started talking without making sense. “What makes you come to Thailand anyway? I don’t think you come here for money.” “You are in the wrong organization! You can work in different place with what you have!” and then… “I mean, what is life, you know?! Life, life, LIFE! What do you want from life!!!” I just laughed, “Listen to yourself, you are talking about life now.” Without thinking so much, my also-drunk mouth started spitting some words. “I come here for the experience. Think about it. Living in different country, learning about culture and people, there are plenty of lives out there. Don’t you want to know all that?”

A few days later, I was thinking about life I want to carry or have, I remembered my drunken comment. It just made me realize that is a reason why I left Japan in the first place. Sure, there are some opposite reasons that I was so disinterested in Japanese culture. In many ways, I took my own home for granted. After I came back from the US, it was completely alienating experience, but what can I do? I just tried to act like one of them robots. Now here in Thailand, I work in very busy place. Constant problems to work with, good hearted but a bit too relaxed people to be with, but after one year of chaos and happiness, I can confidently say that this last 365 days have been more dense than 365 days in Japan. It constantly pushes me to learn, adopt, accept, hold back, be patient, and grow. One good friend of mine said “Teaching is Love”, it may sound corny, but I hope you can see passed that. Why teaching is love? Teaching is love because one tries to share what s/he knows with others. If this person does not have kindness or heart, this person will not teach. Passing down the knowledge to others is one of the gestures of sharing. Thais constantly teach me to work, how to communicate, sometimes how to live. That is love.

If you were in new situation or new work, if there is someone who ask you “Can I help you?” You may wonder why s/he is nice, but there may be love. Today when I went to copier to scan some documents, a girl came to ask if I needed help or not. I knew what I was doing, but she checked everything is ok. How nice a person can be and helped me to realize I need to be nice to others as well.

In 1 year, my good friends gave a birth to baby boy. Beautiful one. Their lives are moving forward. Another friend passed very difficult exam by studying by himself to make advance in his career. A girl I know who worked in busy jobs in busy city left the city to live in different country. In 1 year, we all experience different things in different places, we all grow in many different directions. I don’t want to take life for granted, but sometimes or maybe most the time, I think I can relax, so that I see the purest form of life as it is.

How was 2010 for you?