Scratching the Surface

When I first arrived one of the Teachers at NIS said something to me that has really stuck. He told me "Thailand is all about appearances, but once you scratch the surface it's a different story." As I spend more time exploring and paying attention to things that aren't always in plain sight, I am noticing this more and more.

Disparity in wealth.
Notice the photos to the right. I lived here for almost 2 weeks before I noticed this first set of basically shacks and realized people live there. I drive by it everyday and it is just across the street from a bustling shopping center and billboards everywhere that advertise luxury living. On the surface this is all I noticed, but when I looked a little closer this is what I saw. It was actually the night/ morning that my bike broke down and I had to walk 2 hours home. Who knows how long it would have taken me to notice otherwise.
The second photo I took while exploring side roads down by the river one afternoon on my motorbike. I stopped to look at a beautiful scene of mountains and trees, and upon closer inspection came across this... I don't even know what you would call it. Small shelter maybe? Clearly someone had been or was still living there.
The third photo is of a middle class house nearby, this is what you mostly see. As nice moobans (housing developments) are in plain view and advertised everywhere. Places like the first two photos are more tucked away.

For a country that has so much disparity in wealth it was shocking to me when I found out I make 8 times the average wage of Thai person. By US standards my salary in dollars is alright, but here it is very high. Granted I do work hard, but still. Most people think of Thailand as beautiful beaches, jungle, and happy, friendly accommodating people. This is all true, but there is a lot more to life here than meets the eye. Life is hard for people living in poverty anywhere in the world. It's just amazing how the appearance on the surface and what you actually find once you dig a little deeper are not a match.

My most recent favorite example is the other day I was on my way home and realized to block the view of the central prison (which I just happen to live next to) there is a HUGE sign advertising culture, food and tourist attractions. You wouldn't even know the prison was there unless you stopped to read the finely printed "Chiang Mai Central Prison" sign, or peeked behind the sign to see the barbed wire and expansive prison walls.

We are talking about a place that regulated opioids so strongly you can bearly get a pain pill to save your life, yet Crystal Meth (which comes in the form of pills, and is known as "yabba" is everywhere.

Abortion is still illegal, and the teen pregnancy rate is sky rocketing. Yet every pharmacy you walk into there are birth control pills on display and condoms at 7-11 right next to the register. I'm gonna go ahead and guess that this is due to a lack of education and a conservative society which creates social stigma. In a conservative Buddhist country these things are very taboo, yet these ideals are not keeping up with reality. This means women with unwanted pregnancy's (with the exception of cases where the mother's life is at risk, or it was a rape) are forced to go to illegal clinics where they often end up with infections or other complications and must be hospitalized.

Now do not mistake me pointing out these issues as getting on my high horse and preaching about what is wrong with this country. We all know that the US has plenty of flaws. I am merely pointing out the things I have noticed or read about and am either trying to understand, or at least be aware of.

For now it is about figuring this place out, and trying to understand a culture that is very different. Sometimes it's really difficult to be the foreigner, and at times it even gets to me. Being called "Falang" everywhere I go is something I find slightly offensive, and I am still not sure if I should or not. There's just something about not understanding anything people are saying but knowing when you hear "falang" they are talking about you. Maybe I will get used to it, or maybe just need to keep my headphones on when I am feeling particularly on display. Either way it's good for me. I think everyone should have this feeling at least once in their life. Especially westerners (and by that I mean white people). I think we would all be a lot kinder to each other if we knew what it feels like to be on the other end as a minority.

I will leave you with one example of logic here- which on the surface seems to be a lack there of, I am baffled by things like this on a daily basis. This is not to say people in Thailand, or even Asia don't have common sense. It is a different culture so who am I to judge- a better approach is to try to understand and learn. However, I did get a good laugh out of this:

One of the teachers at school told me a story about how the fire department came to talk to her class last year. They were discussing fire safety. They told the children that if their house is on fire to get down on the ground, find a plastic bag, and tie it over their head.

Yep.

Making Friends and Exploring

It took me a few weeks to get settled and make some new friends. In a way I think this was best. I was able to figure things out and find my independence. Once I started hanging out with some lovely ladies from Canada (you know who you are), it started to feel like I am going to have a real life here, and that was reassuring. Being so far away from home and everything familiar it is difficult not to have a support network. Of course I did not expect to arrive and have it happen overnight, but I am lucky to have met some amazing people.

while out and about exploring I ran into another teacher from school who is from the Philippines. Her and I hit it off very well, and I have recently made a new friend from Burma.

I have been exploring the countryside, temples, Old City and a few bars here and there ;) Everyone kept telling me that in order to go to the attractions outside of the city I needed to hire someone to drive me. Well due to my stubbornness, independent nature, and possibly a little naivety I decided to take my bike out to Mae Sa falls and Tiger Kingdom about 25 km outside of Chiang Mai. As a new driver I was very careful but it was fine and at no point did I feel unsafe. There is something about having the freedom to do the things you want, whenever you want that is so satisfying. I think it's called independence ;)

The Floods

The photos pretty much speak for themselves. The Mae Ping River is way beyond flood stage, and remains that way. Notice how close the river is to the bridge? That is not normal. People's homes and businesses were flooded and for that I only have empathy. We did get a three day weekend due to the flooding, but it's hard to brag about when it meant people having to deal with all this.

The school that did the Nazi demonstration is the one you see under 4 feet of water. Most westerners immediate reaction to this is: Karma.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lite/topstories/258603/nazi-themed-sports-march-sparks-outrage

I think it's a bit of both. Celebrating Nazi's is never a good thing. My Mom brought up a really good point though- How many wars and mass genocides go on all over the world that we have no clue about? I don't think Thai people would intentionally do this, but it is something that has happened before, and they had to have done research!

When I arrived here all everyone was talking about is the rain. It has been raining non- stop and continues.

This link pretty much sums it up:

http://asiancorrespondent.com/66090/flooding-threatens-chiang-mai-thailand/

Hoping things get better before they get any worse. One good thing is there are NO tourists here right now, which makes exploring nice.

The Wrath of Thailand

It's all fun and games until you get your first cold, food poisoning session, and have back problems flaring up... All within 4 days.

It Started on Thursday of my second week. I got up that morning and as I was attempting to get ready for school could barely move, my back hurt so bad. Okay, so this makes sense seeing as I just flew half way across the world. So instead of going to school I went to a hospital. I waited until 8 am to see the doctor, and after examining me he admitted me to the ER and they doped me up with some sort of pain killer. (They are very stingy in this country about that, so most narcotics are only available once you are admitted to the hospital, ironic since Opium is produced in this region- but more about that in a later post). So long story short someone from school came to pick me up and take me back to my apartment. Didn't think hopping on the motorbike would be such a great idea. I went home and slept. Later that day two staff members who barely know me went back to the hospital after school to pick up my bike and delivered it to my home! So very kind. The following week I made sure to bring them treats to show my gratitude.

So then Thursday night I realized I had a cold coming on. I messaged my teaching partner to let her know it could go either way and I would let her know in the morning. Sure enough I woke up sick as can be. As you may already know I get sick. A lot. However, when I arrived teachers were dropping like flies, kids were all sick, and everyone has been blaming the rain. Needless to say no school for me on Friday.

Saturday morning my back was still killing, and I was having an allergic reaction to the medication that was first prescribed to me. I returned to the hospital I had been seen at, only to find a different doctor. He sent me for an x-ray and once we got the result back he let me know I have a congenital anomaly (essentially a birth defect). The part that connects your spine to your pelvis is abnormal on one side. On top of this the space between my bottom vertebrae is smaller than the ones above (but it's supposed to be the largest. Therefore the nerves do not have the proper amount of space (maybe that's why I have been in so much pain?!), also my spine tilts to the right, and I still have sprained muscles from the car wreck in May.

Okay so I am only going to get on my soap box a little here, but HOW many doctors did I see in the US?! More than a dozen. Did any of them do an X-Ray? Nope. Has anyone ever bothered to figure this out? Nope. I am 26, and it took coming to Thailand to figure this out. We think we are so advanced and great... ok, stopping there.

Well this particular doctor recognized all this, but told me basically too bad and sent me on my way. Now, I am fully aware of the cultural norm here that says the worst thing you can do is get upset in public. Keep in mind here I just found all this out, was exhausted, and still sick, and he wasn't going to help me at all...

Let's just say I will not be showing my face in that hospital again, and knowing Thai culture even if I did they would smile, nod, and never actually help me again.

I left and went to another hospital that comes highly recommended, but is known for being more expensive. I saw a doctor there, he had to do another x- ray, and he actually came up with a treatment plan including medicine for the nerve pain, physical therapy, and yoga.

After spending Thursday, Friday, and all of Saturday daytime in the hospital I decided to venture out for dinner to meet up with a friend who was visiting from Bangkok. We chose a Burmese restaurant. Followed by a tour of the bars in the more touristy area. I drank very little as I was still a bit sick and planning to ride my bike home. There is no such thing as a drunk driving law in this country, but common sense prevailed. It turned in to a pretty later night, just two girls chatting for hours. On my way home I was so concerned with not getting lost, or killed, I neglected to pay attention to the fact that my gas tank was on empty. The good news is I knew where I was at the time. The bad news is I had to ditch my bike and walk 2 hours to get home.

A few hours after I made it home, and fell asleep I awoke to the horrific experience of food poisoning in Thailand. I will not go in to details, but you can imagine.

By Monday I had my bike back. I was still a bit fatigued and could pretty much only eat crackers, but made it to school and was happy to greet a new week.