Just Another Day in Thailand

Because this past Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far in Bangkok, this article on how to survive the summer here was passed around. We have used so many of these methods ourselves, and have observed people doing most of them. Yes, ice in beer is the norm here. Yes, many people walk around completely covered from head to toe, even wearing ski masks and gloves, to avoid the sun. My son's swim coach remains covered from head to toe even when in the pool.

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My son's Thai language teacher, a beautiful-looking, young woman who is always impeccably dressed, regularly asks her students if they think she's pretty and if they love her, kisses and hugs them, and tells my son that she is his second mother. When he disagrees and tells her he has only one mother, she asks the others students if they agree that she is his second mother.

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For morning snack at school, my son and his friends are regularly given cake and other sweet baked goods. His Thai teacher also gives them candy every day and ice cream every Friday. I can only imagine how the parents at home in the U.S. would react to all this sugar consumption.

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First time in my life that I've heard students talking trash to one another...about their upcoming AP exams and the scores they expect to get.

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It costs us only $80, with no insurance coverage, for two dental cleanings and one filling.

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During my teeth cleaning, the dentist was more interested in learning about my family and our stay in Thailand than the health of my teeth. Then we ended up in a long conversation about places to visit in Poland because he realized that my husband's last name is Polish in origin and wanted suggestions of places to visit in Poland when he goes to visit Germany next month, even though I told him we have yet to visit Poland ourselves. We also learned all about his own family and his German goddaughter, whose father is a farmer who is really a baron who lives in a castle.

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Getting into a friend's car, I marvelled at how progressive she was because she actully had a booster seat in the back for her son -- a rare sight in Thailand. But when she started driving, I realized her son wasn't even buckled up. He also was allowed to get up throughout the ride to poke his head up front. His mom, my friend, was talking and texting on her phone throughout the drive.

Related to transportation, I once saw a woman watching a video or movie on her tablet while bicycling.

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Only the Thai people would have such a relaxed attitude that even airport personnel at the boarding gates are able to just hang out with each other and play on their phones and each other's hair.

 

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When I was having problems with the computer in my classroom, I asked one of the computer lab technicians to take a look. His solution: turn the computer on and off a couple of times. It didn't fix the problem, of course.

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Scooters are used to carry and transport quite an assortment of things: people (as many as five or six), very young babies (held in someone's arm or held up between two people), animals (cats, dogs, chickens), propane tanks, ladders, pets in cages, food, jugs of water, furniture, pots of plants, and groceries, just to name a few.

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The Thais love children, which is really nice to see. I've seen people of all ages and social status -- from janitors to professionals -- drop everything they are doing just to talk and play with children they don't know and give them little treats. For this reason, every time we've used the public bus or train to go somewhere, there are always at least three adults who give up their seats for my son, but when an elderly person gets on, no one budges. We've also had elderly women offer to have my son sit on their laps on the bus.

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Showers are almost ubiquitous in bathrooms here. I have seen showers in bathrooms at the local coffee shop, in restaurants, in retail shops, and even at the tutoring service where I tutor! With the heat here, I guess you never know where you might need a hose-down!

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For the first time in my life, I overheard a woman talking with her daughter in Chinese...with a Thai accent...interspersed with actual Thai! That was very intriguing.

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I have so many more stories like these about our everyday life here, but I can't remember them all right now. Definitely makes for an interesting everyday experience!