Well folks, I’ve made it to Thailand! It’s officially month 3 of the Race, which means that I’m halfway done with Asia! Who would have thunk it?
We left India on August 31, took an overnight bus to Hyderabad, caught a plane at 6:30 am to Delhi, and then flew from Delhi to Bangkok. And got off the plane in Thailand. And it was crazy.
Bangkok is beautiful. Thailand is beautiful. But I was hopelessly overwhelmed. I went from rural India to the middle of a huge city. I could have fooled myself that I was in an American city, with shopping malls and buildings and cars that actually listen to traffic laws. For the first time in two months, I wasn’t surrounded by people honking just to make noise. It was eerily quiet.
It’s crazy how quickly I got “un-adjusted” to living in such a developed place. We stayed in Bangkok for two nights, and there we had real beds, air conditioning, real showers, real toilets, and real good food. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt spoiled and undeserving, yet it was also so beautiful and magical.
At orientation, we found out that in Thai culture, the nicer you dress the more respect it shows you have for a person. As you may have guessed, packing for the World Race doesn’t allow for a ton of “nice” clothes. So this of course meant shopping! They have really awesome street markets, where I was able to pick up some shirts to replace some of the ones I ditched in India, but what I really needed was a pair of jeans. Since most Thai people come up to my bellybutton, this meant I had to go to the mall.
This mall was freaking HUGE. I’m talking 4 stories, countless stores, everything that you could ever need, even more than you could ever want, all smooshed into one building. I don’t understand how I ever shopped in malls before. They’re the worst! I felt so stressed out. I had in my mind that I needed jeans, and they had an H&M. So I found that H&M, I found my jeans, and then I wanted OUT. I couldn’t handle being in that place.
Afterwards, I was amazed at how adaptable humans are. I have been thrown into two living conditions completely different from each other, and completely different from how I lived for 22 years. And once I returned to the way I grew up for 22 years, I was uncomfortable. I had grown used to not having options or choices. I had grown used to being stared at and honked at. I had grown used to sleeping on the floor and sweating. I had grown used to wearing the same things every day and covering my ankles and my shoulders. And once those things were gone, I felt uncomfortable.
All those things that I had at first hated, I had grown used to, and was uncomfortable not having them. It’s still so weird to me. I think it’s so crazy to me because I thought that the Race just meant living in these countries, helping them, and then leaving. But you grow into the cultures you’re living in. They become a part of you. You’re not simply existing in them, but you are living in them. You pick up their traits. You pick up their customs. You grow used to not showing your ankles, and feel scandalous when you wear shorts. You pick up words and phrases that have so much meaning to you, but no meaning in the place you are. In the same way as you leave pieces of yourself behind, you take pieces of each place with you.
I already feel like a hot mess of cultural norms, and I’ve only been in 3 countries. I find myself responding to people in Nepali, head-bobbling like an Indian, and sitting like an American. It’s confusing to be living in all of these places, because as soon as you adjust, you leave. As soon as you get a grasp, it’s time to peace out. But, here’s to 9 more adaptations, and a confused combination of 12 different cultures.
It’s going to be great!
