Going where I’ve never been

It’s another stormy Sunday afternoon, so I thought I’d pass the time with some more social commentary…

First of all, Thai time. In Thailand, meeting times, starting times, ending times, departure times, arrival times and deadlines are all merely suggestions. Thai people simply are not in a rush to get anywhere or to do anything, and it carries over into most aspects of life here.

I’ve talked before about how students often show up 10-15 minutes late as though it’s nothing – they know that they are “supposed” to be on time, but it’s just not something that gets enforced or really even noticed. Thai people have the ability to walk incredibly slow – I mean to the point where it seems like special effort! They’ll take these tiny shuffle-steps, stopping here and there to look at whatever is being sold next to them, seemingly with no awareness of anything going on around them. Things that might seem incredibly rude in the west – such as blocking an entire walkway to inspect some pineapples, parking a motorbike right in the center of the sidewalk or simply riding your motorbike through a crowded bus stop – are commonplace and don’t get a second thought. Personal space has an entirely different meaning here!

Despite slow walkers, abrupt stops in the middle of sidewalks, jammed paths and, of course, traffic that never lets up (commute time in Bangkok is typically 2-3 hours by car/bus), you never see an aggravated Thai. There is no sense of impatience, road rage is unheard of and irritations are brushed off. I think that a lot of it boils down to Thai time – if you’ve got all day, what is there to get all worked up about?

I’m sure that there are many factors causing this attitude, many of which are related to Buddhism and its lack of the “get ahead” mentality.  However, I think that the hot, humid climate, the sheer number of people, the belief that everything should be “sanuk” (fun) and the monsoons play a huge part as well. I mean, when the afternoon storms hit, everyone simply stops and takes cover where they are, until it’s over. Appointments and meetings be damned, they will wait until the rains stop!

Although there are certainly times when all I want is a place to open when it says it will open (for example, when I haul my massive bag of laundry to the end of the road only to find the door locked), or for there to be just a little bit of logic to the way the sidewalk traffic moves, overall I would have to say that it’s all very refreshing! You have to make an effort to adopt their attitude and simply slow down…once you do, there is no stress, irritation or frustration. As the Thais say, “mai pen rai”… it’s no worry.

I also want to comment a bit on Thai-size. Generally speaking, Thai people are small – they’re short, they’re skinny and their biggest shoe size won’t fit my big toe. There are some exceptions, however, which I notice largely due to working at a school.

I don’t think that I’ve ever seen an older person over the height of ‘short,’ but I’ve got a good number of tall, lanky 17-20 year olds in my classes. Interestingly, I recently read the reason behind this: milk was not commonly consumed in Thailand until about 15 years ago, which is when it started being given to babies. Thus, we are now seeing the first generation of milk-grown Thais… Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have milk-grown feet yet so I’m still out of luck when it comes to shoes!

Another thing that I have noticed in Thailand is that while you almost never see an overweight Thai adult, there are some pretty big kids running around. I’ve got an overweight kid or two in a few classes, but the biggest problem is definitely among the younger children, the 5-10 year old age range. This has an explanation as well: fast food, internet and television. This is a country that has only had these things introduced in the relatively recent past, but the effects are being seen quickly.

KFC, McDonalds and Dairy Queen are all huge here. Tesco is essentially WalMart, encouraging shoppers to “buy more, save more!” and society in general is modernizing pretty rapidly. Considering that  pretty much every student I have lists their hobbies as “video game, internet, shopping,” it’s easy to see that Thailand is facing more and more of the consequences of westernization and consumerism every day.

A lot of these things are pretty specific to Bangkok, as it is a huge city with rampant consumerism. The villages are much different, the lifestyles much more traditional and much more appealing to me! Eventually I’ll be in Laos, where there is one ATM in the entire country. For now, however, I’ll stick with my observations of of city life!

My dad had asked about the gas prices, which I think is worth mentioning here. Gas is just as expensive, if not more, here as it is in the states. It’s running around 40 baht/litre right now, which is just over $4 per gallon. Most people do not drive, and although the roads are choked with traffic at all hours of the day, it is 85% taxis and buses. There is a large upperclass population, as there is in any big city, but I can’t imagine how anyone on a typical Thai salary would ever dream of having a car!

The gasoline for taxis has always been subsidized, but that will come to a stop at the end of the year, as the government has decided that it’s financially unsustainable and that subsidized prices will not get people to change their habits. Bus, boat and taxi fares were all increased last week by a few baht each and I’m sure that they’ll be raised again before too long.

The Thai’s are hardest hit by food prices, as food takes up the majority of family budgets. School lunches were only 15 baht and standard street meals 20 baht until a few weeks before I arrived; they are now 20 and 25 baht, respectively, due to rice prices. It’s nothing to me, but it makes a  big difference to someone who makes $200 a month! I don’t think that this country could ever go hungry, but they are feeling the pain as much as anyone else in the world!

As “bad” as things are with the American economy right now, it’s good to put it into perspective. $4 gas is bad, but imagine if that $4 was your daily income (minimum wage here)… there’s a big difference between having to sacrifice a vacation to make ends meet and having to find a way to buy enough food for the week! Not too many places in the world have it particularly easy right now, but we’ve got to keep in mind how good our ‘bad’ is..

There is a giant cloud outside that looks like it may spawn 10 or 12 tornadoes (see photos), so I decided to spend some time commenting on a few random topics instead of heading out for dinner.

First of all, spicy food. It’s no secret that Thai food is HOT. Aside from rice and possibly fish sauce, chiles are the most commonly found ingredient in pretty much any sort of food. Even the fresh fruit vendors package up your pineapple or guava or papaya or bananas with a bag of sugar mixed with crushed chiles – there is no escaping it!

No escaping it, unless you happen to be foreign. If you are foreign, Thai people will be terrified to serve you spicy food, issuing warning upon warning if something that you order has any sort of flavor to it. They will then go prepare it without said flavor, pleasing many westerners out there but certainly not pleasing me!

There is quite a bit of Thai food that is prepared relatively spice free, as the consumer is expected to add their own mix of spices from the standard selection on the table: sugar, crushed red pepper, fish sauce and chopped chiles. However, there are also many foods that are hot to begin with, such as any sort of curry and, my favorite, Pad Kaprow Gai (chicken stir-fried with fresh basil and many chopped chiles).

Any time that I tried to order such a dish, the cook would suddenly look very nervous, saying “hot!” or simply “phet,” which is the Thai word for spicy. I would nod, encourage them, try to convince them that it’s okay, I really CAN handle it! They would reluctantly give in and then examine me as I ate, curious as to whether my head would explode.

I probably received the most warnings at school. Around Teacher Appreciation Day, there was free lunch for all of the teachers, delicious self-serve things in pots, prepared by fellow teachers. I went downstairs and was excited to see a giant pot full of hot red curry, one of my favorites! I started to ladle it onto my plate of rice, only to be interrupted by another teacher jumping in to save the day! “Oh no, spicy! You don’t want! Bamboo soup there!” she excitedly informed me, pointing to a boring-looking pot of broth. I smiled and shook my head, pointing at the curry saying “good!” She looked concerned, but let me be.

During the course of eating that wonderful curry, I had THREE different teachers pass by and tell me “Spicy! You don’t like, bamboo soup!” Keep in mind that I was already halfway through my meal and was well-aware of its temperature…I had to wonder if the bamboo soup was included strictly because of the farang teachers!

Anyways, I took that experience as my cue to learn a VERY important phrase: Di-chan chaep phet!” which means “I like spicy food.” It has been magic, and although most Thais will give me a doubtful, worried look when I say that, at least they cook my food correctly and let me eat in peace!

The issues at school are no more – I’ve established myself as a chile-eating farang who can actually handle it! The food stands that I frequent know what I like and start to make my plate before I can even say anything, giving me a knowing smile and saying “Ajarn, phet!” The lady who grills Thai sausage down on the street below my room now knows to add the bag of chiles when she packages my meal, the pad thai girls no longer leave out the spice and the fruit guy knows that I want the condiments with my fruit. All in all, I feel pretty proud of myself – it’s not every day that Thais will put chiles into a blonde girl’s food!

While I’m on the topic of food (one of my favorites), I’ll go ahead and mention a few more incredible recent discoveries! First and foremost, the icecream that is sold on the street. Most Thais are lactose-intolerent and the icecream is (hand)made with coconut milk in lieu of cream. There is usually some sort of nut mixed in, pistachios or cashews, then it is scooped not into a cone or into a bowl, but into a hotdog bun (which is first filled with chopped fresh coconut)! A bit of sweetened condensed milk is poured on top and then, for 10 baht, you have an amazing, not-too-heavy icecream sandwich to enjoy!

A lighter but equally delicious dessert involves a bowl full of crushed ice, chopped fruit, coconut milk and sugar syrup. I’m in love with this concoction, though there are a few strange things that Thais use as toppings for both this and for icecream… corn and kidney beans! Yes, both of these things are used as a dessert ingredient, specifically for iced desserts. I’ve yet to try either one, but the day will come…I’ll make sure to report on it when it does!

Next there is the fresh-squeezed juice. On every corner you can find a vendor squeezing oranges, pineapples and whatever else they happen to have straight into plastic bottles, which are then capped and sold for a mere 10 baht apiece. Refreshing!

I can’t forget the Khao Tom Gloo-ay, which are pieces of banana hidden in a big ball of sticky rice then wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. There is a woman who sells these right at the gate to our school for 5 baht apiece…every day I would want to try one, but could never wait that long to eat breakfast. I finally held off a few days ago and bought a couple of freshly grilled treats for my morning meal – I am now forever changed! Those things are like crack, I can’t imagine NOT having them for breakfast now!

There is another specialty downstairs that I’m trying not to make a habit of consuming – fresh donuts! Basically there’s a woman with a big wok full of oil, throwing in balls of sugary dough then scooping them right out and into a pile next to the wok. You walk up, fill up a plastic bag with however many you want and grab a plastic bag of chilled milk. You then dip the doughnuts into the milk and try to savor it before the heart attack hits! (You can also stop at the man next to her and pick up a few small skewers of grilled chicken, just in case you need some protein with that sugar)

Despite this wonderland of food, I’ve managed to actually drop a few pounds. As I’ve said before, it’s coming largely from lifestyle – if I want to take the subway or a boat, I walk for 20 minutes. If I want room furnishings or groceries, I walk there then carry things back. If I want to mail something, I walk to the post office. I walk home from work everyday, I walk 10 minutes to do my laundry and, of course, I walk any time that I want to eat something. I have no fridge or kitchen or hot water, so there is always a journey involved.

On top of these things, I’m no longer sitting at a computer all day, I NEVER sit in a car, I’m able to run more than my injuries had allowed over the past two years and, very importantly, my beer consumption has DROPPED. Austin is full of delicious microbrews and relaxed patios that persuade you to just “have one more,” whereas Thailand is full of not-so-tasty Asian beer and crazy karaoke bars. I think it’s for the better!

Enough of my mindless rambling, I’m now starving and am going to go brave the storm – I’m sure that whatever I find will be well worth it!