Just go, C!
I'm Charity, a proud auntie, wine lover, semi-nerd, and dreamer who can't stay in one place for too long.
The morning after I landed in Bangkok, I was too scared to leave my hotel room.
No joke. Once again, just trying to keep things real here, man. I was so intimidated. Thank goodness my TESOL agency arranged transport to the hotel from the airport, because I probably wouldn't have even left the airport otherwise. I chuckle about it now, because of course, I did leave my hotel room and even (gasp!) saw a pretty decent amount of Bangkok before leaving Monday morning with my classmates. But man, those first 12 hours or so were really something. I have never felt so isolated and alone in my entire life as I did in the first few hours. I arrived earlier than everyone else in my group so there wasn't really an opportunity for me to hang out with anyone. Of course I don't speak Thai, and I'm in a very big, busy, noisy city with no clue of where anything is. That's about as scary as it gets for me. I posted on a couple Facebook forums I followed asking for advice, and a couple people suggested I check out this-and-that place, which was great, but what I really wanted to ask was, "Could someone please save me from this horrible feeling and just tell me every little step I need to take to feel somewhat normal?" So I had a little conversation with myself - which if you have been reading this blog for a while, you know how often this occurs - and decided I was going to buck up and just walk to the 7 Eleven. That's it. Just a few blocks away. I'd grab some water and toilet paper (another story for another time) and hurry my way back to my panic...er, hotel room. That was my way of "negotiating" with myself. So that's what I did. And something kinda cool happened on the way. I was walking along the maze of alleys, which was definitely a culture shock in itself (not recommended for the germaphobic), and started to go down one alley, and there was a group of guys sitting on their motorbikes talking and laughing to each other. One of the guys noticed me and said, "Hey. Hello. Where you going." I thought, oh shit, here we go. Defensive Jet Li Kung Fu mode and Impenetrable Shield = activated I smiled and tried to look really confident. "7 Eleven!" He smiled back at me and pointed to another alley: "That way." Wellllllllll F. There went my Joe Cool façade. I thanked him and headed in that direction, and sure enough, he had pointed me in the right way. Call me a major cornball, but I don't take moments like that very lightly. I really interpreted that as a message that IT WAS GOING TO BE OK. That guy reassured me that there weren't big scary people lurking at every corner waiting to attack me. I could do this. And so, I "did it" - that afternoon, I took the local BTS (train) and river boat to the Wat Pho and Wat Arun temples. I went somewhere new every day. I drank coconut water from an actual coconut. I stuffed myself onto an express boat with too many other people, definitely zero personal space and mucho B.O. involved. I ordered meals despite language barriers. I shopped in street markets and malls, despite the fact that there were very few places selling "bigger" clothing. I tried mango and sticky rice for the first time. And then tried it three more times. ;-) I would get back to my room in the early evening, completely exhausted from all the walking and sight-seeing. Please understand that I'm not saying any of this to try to "show off" but to make a point that doing something you're afraid of often requires one small, tiny step in the direction you want to go. Kinda like "baby steps to the elevator" for all the What About Bob? fans in the house. And often times, things aren't as scary as we make them out to be. It's been a FULL first week in Thailand. I'm in Hua Hin now for my TESOL class and soaking up so much already about the culture and language. I can't wait to tell you more. Stay tuned....
4 Comments
Brett.LEE
3/1/2017 07:29:07 am
Just walking across the road is brave in Bangkok. keep up the blogs they are inspirational
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Charity
3/5/2017 01:45:27 am
Right you are, mate! Thank you for taking the time to read it!
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Bela
3/4/2017 06:22:40 pm
This is so AMAZING. I can't (can) believe that you signed up for TESOL and will be teaching english. I love watching your journey, Charity! Looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for you.
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Charity
3/5/2017 01:47:26 am
Thank you for this and for ALL your comments. I'm glad you decided to follow through on your commitment to read my entire blog. ;) your life is hereby enriched beyond compare. Seriously though, I respect you as a human and woman and it means a lot to know that another kind soul like you finds value in what I share. Much love!
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AuthorHi! I'm Charity. I'm from Omaha, Nebraska, USA. I quit my job in October 2016 to travel the world. Archives
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