I’ve found myself on the other side of the world. Quite literally. Although I have a great time getting to know all the people, I have found that I am completely illiterate, incompetent and unable to effectively communicate verbally—definitely out of my hemisphere. Also, I say verbally communicate because I have become a kick-ass charades player. Honestly, you want me on your team, because I can do so many complex emotions and multi-step processes without a single peep. I also have made a goal to get people to laugh in the taxi’s. The taxi’s here are small concerted pick-ups with two benches facing each other atop the wheel wells. So I do everything from funny faces to dancing/singing just to get a good ole fashioned chuckle out of the people who are already slowly dying of boredom and smog pollution.
They call this the land of the smiles, so you’d think my Charlie Chaplin would go over great in the taxi’s, but I get mixed results. Maybe it is because I do like to smile a lot, but I don’t feel like people are particularly fond of smiling at me—I’ve been the initiator or most smiles. So if your expecting people here to be extremely happy and giddy, don’t get your hopes up. However, they do have an uncanny ability to hide everything that is really going on and just breeze pas you with their lips in an upward semi-circle—reminiscent of a girly smirk. Most people will let you in but will not let you within arms length. (Quite literally, I need a friggin hug) Don’t get me wrong the people do care a whole heap for you, but don’t try to become best buddies forever or pen pals. Although it is a more closed culture many people are real gems. Take for instance my host grandma. Although she is about 100x more annoying and controlling than my real mother she has been really sweet and considerate to me. Take for instance, this Sunday she planned out my whole day (and tried to plan the rest of my life).
Most Sundays I just hang around the toy factory and write/study thai while the animal production rolls on. Then we all have dinner, I do some ganban(homework) and then head off to bead. Yesterday, my mom thought I needed more activity. So she came up to me and said—your going to the neighbors. I knew instantly what was up, and I said no. I had ganban. She said it again, slower, as if I didn’t understand. Finally I give in and say I will only go if she comes with. So she walked me to the gate of our neighbors and pushed me in, then walks back home—so much for an afternoon with grandma. Anyway, in the gate there was a young woman and her mother who already knew everything about me. The mother introduced me to her daughter twice then we went over the fact that we were both single and both university students. Wow, what an amazing random coincidence. (Surprise face) We go inside for some snacks and a talk. Once inside, we start talking about places around Chiang Mai. She asks—Do you like animals, do you want to go to the zoo? Innocent question, I think not. I keep trying to skirt around getting pinned into committing to a location and the subsequent date. Using my basic vocabulary I fire questions right back like; Do you like animals? What is the zoo like? How far is it? Finally I concede, or get traped by my words or charades and I say I would like to go to the Sunday Market. Instinatlly, she jumps up and runs outside to ask my grandma if I could go to the Sunday market—right then. I chuckle and quit fighting the tide. So there we are, me, my neighbor and her mother—all going to the Sunday Market. On the way, she calls her brother and he comes out to join the festivities and rounds out the family date. I kept laughing all night at how funny the situation was and they kept asking me if something was wrong. I kept having to appoligize but I just couldn’t keep from chuckling at the whole situation.
To her credit though she is actually cool and getting her masters in microbiology from Chiang Mai University, and her brother is an industrial engineer. I am even planning to hang out with her/them all again this weekend—although her mother is quite the character.
