The overarching theme of my first month in Thailand has been learning to “go with the flow”. I’m laid back about most things, but nothing can make me short circuit faster than the finality of making a big decision. Sometimes even the most minor inconveniences make me want to sit down in the middle of the floor and make a scene (does anybody else wish that was still acceptable or is that just me?).  Between adjusting to the ins and outs of Thai culture (and toilets), repeatedly being stuck without a phone, and having the worst allergic reaction I’ve ever experienced, there’s been no shortage of moments testing my patience and my SANITY.  Let me elaborate…

 

A Thai Love Affair

I never thought being loved too hard could be a problem, until I began my relationship with Thai mosquitoes. Those things are straight up obsessed with me. *Cue Match Game crowd shouting: “HOW OBSESSED ARE THEY?”* Thai mosquitoes are so obsessed they make that guy who still texts you “hey” every week even though you haven’t responded since 2007, look like he’s playing hard to get. Have some dignity, for crying out loud!

 

Sadly for those little guys, our love is unrequited. Upon getting 27 (yes I counted, and a small part of you deep down knows you would have done exactly the same thing) mosquito bites my first night in Thailand, my ankle and foot swelled up to at least double their normal sizes. On top of that, I had tennis ball-sized bite marks that were a shade of red just horrifying enough to make me *calmly*  consider amputation as a viable option. Fortunately, with the help of a strict daily regimen of ice, steroids, and cool and collected (panicked) phone calls home, my foot has finally returned to normal size. I decided the picture of my leg was too gruesome to post, but if you’re intrigued enough to put an image behind the story, message me and I’ll send it along. DISCLAIMER: If you want to ever be able to picture me without a tree trunk for a leg again, it should remain unseen.

 

Moral of the story is: bug spray, MAJOR KEY (DJ Khalid voice). Going to school? Spray it. Hitting the beach? Spray it. Not even stepping outside, but looking out the window and trying to remember a time when you weren’t covered in bug bites? Spray it. Learning this lesson almost sent me to a Thai hospital (which probably wouldn’t be that bad, but in my mind resembles a makeshift battlefield first aid station), so if you take one thing away from reading this post, please let it be to ALWAYS SPRAY IT while traveling. Being the girl who always smells like bug spray isn’t exactly the coolest role to fill but I promise you will never regret wearing it (unless you’re a beekeeper or something… that could end in tragedy).

 

I Got Two Phones (but neither of them work)

I’ve always made it a point to avoid using my phone in social settings. I’d much rather take in what’s actually happening in the moment, instead of scrolling through Snapchat to find the best filter for the picture I took, or checking in on Facebook to see what Susan had for dinner (sorry Susan, love you). That being said, if you’ve ever been on your phone for more than five minutes of a one-on-one lunch with me, I’m probably still holding a grudge and you can feel free to apologize at any time. Since I’ve always had this attitude, I assumed I wasn’t too dependent on my phone. Boy, did Thailand prove me wrong.

 

My phone was stolen on the beach my third day here. After a few failed attempts at searching through the sand, looking like a sad and lost puppy, I took the “L” and bought a new iPhone. Dropping a few hundred dollars was NOT the way I planned to start my trip, unless it was on something worth it like a week long booze cruise with John Stamos. Beyond the money aspect, being phoneless also made functioning in a foreign country next to impossible. Two days without a phone doesn’t sound like much, but trying to navigate a new city, where I only knew how to say “hello” and “thank you” in the native language was straight up terrifying. Not to mention trying to translate signs in Thai script (I’m 90% sure they throw hieroglyphics in there just to mess with foreigners). Someone may as well have dropped me into the middle of the rainforest with nothing but a compass (does anybody actually know how to use one of those things?) and an adorable but useless animal sidekick. While I didn’t find a furry sidekick, I was fortunate to have a group of English speakers who were nice enough to help me get to a phone store.

 

Once I got my new phone, I thought my tech struggles for the trip were over and I was back in action. As it turns out, I spoke way too soon. True to this country’s mission to disconnect me from the outside world, my brand new iPhone (I swear I bought a legitimate phone and not a knockoff street phone) decided to go into hibernation. I didn’t drop it, I didn’t get it wet, my phone just shut off while fully charged and has not turned on since. It’s been over a week and I still try to turn that thing on every day, dreaming of the glorious sight of the white Apple logo, to no avail. Upon traveling an hour and a half to the nearest phone servicing store, I found out they would need to send my phone to Singapore for two weeks to “diagnose and fix the problem”. I BARELY survived two days without a phone the first time, what the hell was I supposed to do for two weeks?! With that thought in mind, I made my second phone purchase of the trip. I am now the proud owner of a charming Samsung phone (I have green texts for the first time in my life, and I honestly can’t even look at myself in the mirror) that only has enough storage to hold three apps at a time. Needless to say, I am thriving.

 

Not all Toilets are Created Equal

One of the biggest differences between Thailand and America can be found in the most crucial of places: the bathroom. Thai toilets are similar to ours except they don’t have the bowl, which doesn’t sound like a big difference, but in reality changes EVERYTHING. Their toilet is simply a porcelain-lined hole in the ground, with foot holders on either side for you to plant your feet to squat and take care of business. These “squatty potties”, if you will, are so common here that every Western (normal) toilet comes with an attached sign to warn unsuspecting Thais against the dangers of standing on the toilet seat. I chuckled the first time I saw this, but later considered the logistics involved in executing this stunt and now laugh hysterically Every. Single. Time. The pure athleticism involved in achieving a full squat on such a small area is impressive enough alone, but pair that with the balance it takes to stand on something rounded, two feet above the ground, complete with a horrifying fate should you fall, and you realize that something you’ve used every day of your life is a Thai persons worst nightmare. If you think I’m making this up and that nobody would actually think to crawl up and pop a squat on a Western toilet seat, see below for photographic evidence of this cultural phenomenon.

Instead of letting inconveniences or moments of bad luck pile up on top of each other, poised to come crashing down should one final thing tip the scale, I tried something I’ve never done before: I isolated each “hardship” and every incident to put it in perspective. I made it my goal to live one moment at a time and focus on making that moment as enjoyable as it can possibly be. So when something went wrong, looking at the big picture allowed me to hold back my inner diva, and realize life will go on. Putting an issue into perspective like this provided me with a chance to take a deep breath, truly examine the problem for what it was, and calmly come up with a solution to fix it. No hyperventilating phone calls home? No shouting “why me?” off my 6th story balcony (my neighbors do love me, thank you for asking) into the sunset? Not even an irrational thought??? I don’t know who I am anymore.

 

Living from moment to moment instead of sweating the small stuff has given me a sense of freedom from anxiety that I didn’t know was possible. I still have a long way to go in my journey towards being able to truly “go with the flow”, but this is a huge first step. One of my goals for the remainder of the trip is to focus on being present and consciously putting the effort in to make the most of every situation. Instead of anxiously contemplating how things can go wrong or wasting time thinking about problems that are out of my control, I will simply deal with any issue that arises immediately and do whatever I can to get back to enjoying the moment and helping those around me to enjoy it as well.

 

Even with the road bumps and cultural differences I had to overcome, I’m having the time of my life out here! It’s only been a month and (as lame as it sounds) I can honestly say I’ve already changed for the better and am ready to tackle my goal of finding a passion. To catalyze the process, I made a list of about 30 different things that will push me out of my comfort zone. I plan to pick one “new thing” to tackle every Monday, and will share my experiences from the week with you guys by the following Sunday. Here are just a few of the ideas I’ve come up with so far:

• Go offline for three straight days
• Fix something broken with only the help of YouTube
• See what fun things you can do for a whole day without spending money
• Take an art class
• Eat vegan for a week
• Do a choreographed dance in the middle of a busy place
• Raise (at least) $100 for a charity
• Interview a group of strangers about what they do for a living vs. what they would do if money wasn’t an object

 

Have a suggestion for something new I should try? Let me know ASAP.  Let’s get started!

*Cue exit music: “Start of Something New” – High School Musical*