Alright, now that we got that out of the way (so my mommy can put her heart attack on hold until the next time I find myself amidst a revolution/government coup), let me fill you in on Bangkok. Yet another lovely oxymoron of a place to add to my list of bass-ackwards Thai experiences.
We arrived by bus at 6:30 AM on Sunday morning, about three hours after the Red Shirt demonstrations became violent, and 21 people were killed. Basically, I woke up and almost wet myself, imagining mobs of rouge-clothed savages overturning my bus before I could even set foot on big city soil. Not cool. I was almost as freaked out as my loved ones were at home, whose frantic texts didn't exactly help the situation (sorry guys, I love you and know you meant well).
But what in the hell was I, a frazzled farang, supposed to do??
Well, I'll tell you what I did:
SONGKHRAN!!!!! (Said in your best spring break, frat boy voice)
So the military breaks out rubber bullets and (debatably) guns? We bust out water guns, and celebrate the Thai New Year like our lives depend upon it. And do not for one minute think that because you are wearing a red shirt or a brown uniform you will be spared... no no, we Songkhraners take no prisoners. Red shirt? You now wet red shirt, no ploplem, can do! Brown military fatigues? I dare you not to smile when I spray you in the face with my AK-H20. Basically, regardless of race, age, uniform, or religion, we were all just looking for a reason to smile, and good lord, we fucking found one.
As all good (and sketchy) things must come to an end, I now find myself in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where Songkhran is a bit more lighthearted, but also a bit more wet.
And with that, we part, and I wish you all the happiest of New Years, and a bit less worried about me (ahem, see title of post again, please).
Peace, love, and somewhat strange vibrations,
Karissa
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Same-same... but different
Okay, so I've been off the grid for almost a month now, and before I get into the madness that is Bangkok at the moment, let me fill you in on the last few weeks:
My course was a roller coaster ride, filled with the highs associated with teaching that I have discovered are absolutely exhilarating, and the lows associated with stressing out about gerunds and dipthongs (look 'em up and feel my pain). The people in my course have been amazing (minus the token nutter or two), and I wouldn't have made it through without their support. All in all, one of, if not the, most rewarding experiences in my life. I am proud to announce I passed my course as one of the top in the class, and I am officially a teacher now!
One of the main things I've learned about this place that's helped me brush the dirt off my shoulders more than once: TIT. Yes, TIT. This is Thailand. Wondering why all the kittens have crooked tails here? No problemo. This is Thailand. Wondering why the Thai police have allowed my friends and I to wreak havoc across this bloody island on our motorbike with a sidecar (which is completely illegal in its own right, never mind the fact that we are often piled seven people deep)? No worries. This is Thailand. Ladyboys, hookers, and farangs coexisting peacefully together over ever-warming Changs, Singhas, and Leos? Tit, tit, tit. Nothing ever needs further explaining, and it makes being lost in translation a little bit awesome. As we say here, "Same-same... but different."
I've done a tiny bit of travelling, including an amazing trip to the island Ko Phi Phi while Sean was visiting, where we snorkeled (somehow i still haven't been diving yet) with black-tip reef sharks, went cliff diving, and played with monkeys on the beach. You probably know this place as paradise: it was made famous as such in the movie The Beach.
The beaches on the island of Phuket are gorg as well, though my sometimes 16 hour school days have kept me pretty grounded during the week. Work hard, play hard. No complaints... well, at least in retrospect. There were definitely a few complaints concerning my wanting to kick phonology in the face, but that's another story.
A 7.9 earthquake hit Indonesia day before yesterday, and I was roused that morning to a tsunami evacuation warning, which was lifted a couple hours later after no wave was generated. Crazy. It's surreal when you feel the effects of the '04 tsunami here, especially because they are so subtle that they catch you off guard. For example: most, if not all third world countries I've been to have a high population of mangy, malnourished street dogs and cats. I noticed my first week that on the island 99% of the cats and dogs you see have collars and/or seem to be well-fed. Reason? The stray animal population was all but wiped out 6 years ago, and re-population has been slow. Dead coral still lines some beaches. Tsunami evacuation route signs abound. I can finally put a face to a name, so to speak.
Anyway, back to now. My visa expired yesterday, so I'm technically in the country illegally. Getting that fixed tomorrow when I fly with a buddy down to Kuala Lumpur (KL to it's friends), Malaysia for a visa run. After that, I fly with some girlfriends to Bangkok for Songkran, which is Thailand's biggest holiday and festival, basically a week long water fight. Awesome, right?!Only problem? Thailand has, yet again, decided to Viva la Revolución! Yeah. The opposition party, known as the Red Shirts for obvious reasons, have been calling for the resignation of the newly-elected PM for a while now, but the situation just escalated in the last couple of days, with states of emergency being declared in Bangkok and 17 of the northern provinces, including the one where Chiang Mai is located (our next stop after Bangkok). Tourists are not being targeted at all though, and hey, a little revolution never hurts, right? So we (the farangs) march on...
This is Thailand.
My course was a roller coaster ride, filled with the highs associated with teaching that I have discovered are absolutely exhilarating, and the lows associated with stressing out about gerunds and dipthongs (look 'em up and feel my pain). The people in my course have been amazing (minus the token nutter or two), and I wouldn't have made it through without their support. All in all, one of, if not the, most rewarding experiences in my life. I am proud to announce I passed my course as one of the top in the class, and I am officially a teacher now!
One of the main things I've learned about this place that's helped me brush the dirt off my shoulders more than once: TIT. Yes, TIT. This is Thailand. Wondering why all the kittens have crooked tails here? No problemo. This is Thailand. Wondering why the Thai police have allowed my friends and I to wreak havoc across this bloody island on our motorbike with a sidecar (which is completely illegal in its own right, never mind the fact that we are often piled seven people deep)? No worries. This is Thailand. Ladyboys, hookers, and farangs coexisting peacefully together over ever-warming Changs, Singhas, and Leos? Tit, tit, tit. Nothing ever needs further explaining, and it makes being lost in translation a little bit awesome. As we say here, "Same-same... but different."
I've done a tiny bit of travelling, including an amazing trip to the island Ko Phi Phi while Sean was visiting, where we snorkeled (somehow i still haven't been diving yet) with black-tip reef sharks, went cliff diving, and played with monkeys on the beach. You probably know this place as paradise: it was made famous as such in the movie The Beach.
The beaches on the island of Phuket are gorg as well, though my sometimes 16 hour school days have kept me pretty grounded during the week. Work hard, play hard. No complaints... well, at least in retrospect. There were definitely a few complaints concerning my wanting to kick phonology in the face, but that's another story.
A 7.9 earthquake hit Indonesia day before yesterday, and I was roused that morning to a tsunami evacuation warning, which was lifted a couple hours later after no wave was generated. Crazy. It's surreal when you feel the effects of the '04 tsunami here, especially because they are so subtle that they catch you off guard. For example: most, if not all third world countries I've been to have a high population of mangy, malnourished street dogs and cats. I noticed my first week that on the island 99% of the cats and dogs you see have collars and/or seem to be well-fed. Reason? The stray animal population was all but wiped out 6 years ago, and re-population has been slow. Dead coral still lines some beaches. Tsunami evacuation route signs abound. I can finally put a face to a name, so to speak.
Anyway, back to now. My visa expired yesterday, so I'm technically in the country illegally. Getting that fixed tomorrow when I fly with a buddy down to Kuala Lumpur (KL to it's friends), Malaysia for a visa run. After that, I fly with some girlfriends to Bangkok for Songkran, which is Thailand's biggest holiday and festival, basically a week long water fight. Awesome, right?!Only problem? Thailand has, yet again, decided to Viva la Revolución! Yeah. The opposition party, known as the Red Shirts for obvious reasons, have been calling for the resignation of the newly-elected PM for a while now, but the situation just escalated in the last couple of days, with states of emergency being declared in Bangkok and 17 of the northern provinces, including the one where Chiang Mai is located (our next stop after Bangkok). Tourists are not being targeted at all though, and hey, a little revolution never hurts, right? So we (the farangs) march on...
This is Thailand.
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