I have been living in Thailand for two years now! I know, time flies when you are eating amazing Thai food. Yep, always comes back to food with me. But a food post is for another day. My lovely friend, Terri at The Homeschooling Doctor asked me some questions in a recent comment and I really wanted to answer them. I always appreciate when my readers/friends/family ask me questions because life here has become pretty normal to me. I don’t think about the differences between living in Thailand and America too often anymore. So thank you to Terri, and if any of you have questions leave a comment and just ask.
I decided to do this in an interview format… why? Because fun! I love fun!
Terri: What is the society you hang out with?
I love to mix it up no matter where I go. I mostly hang out with other expats and have just started to make some Thai friends. Though I admit, since I do not speak Thai, my Thai friends have a full grasp of English and often are more western minded.
I have friends that I met because we are moms of kids the same age, friends that I met through our church, and friends that I met by chance. I enjoy all my friends and love being social any chance I get.
I have started to hang out with a more artsy crowd on occasion and it reminds me of living in Northern California.
I just the short answer, after this long answer, is that I don’t have any specific society that I would prefer, just a little of everything I can join into and meet new people.
Terri: What fear do you have of being in a new country, specific to each country?
I never have a fear of being in a new country. As I stay in a place for a little while, I may develop some anxiety about some things, but I attribute this to culture shock.
For example, when we were in Portugal, I had assumed that there would be more English speakers and felt really lost sometimes in trying to communicate. It is more situations like that.
To be fair, I have certain countries that are low on my list to visit, because of safety issues. So the main reason that I haven’t had a fear of being in a new country is because I haven’t made an effort to go to the places I find more daunting with a toddler/pre-schooler.
Terri: How does your child relate to society there?
I often joke that Z will never be able to live back in America because she is so used to be the golden child here. Literally, her golden hair and blue eyes make her stand out and we can’t go anywhere without someone talking to her or noticing her. She loves it most of the time.
Z is always making friends despite a person’s religion, color, race, or language. She is outgoing and kind and because of people always speaking to her, she is always wanting to say hi to everyone she meets.
Terri: Does she know any different?
It has been long enough now that Z understands that she is American, or “born in America” as she says, but that her home is in Phuket, Thailand. People will ask her, “Where are you from?” and she’ll answer Thailand. The person will then usually ask, “no, but where are you from?”, to which she will tell them she was born in America. She doesn’t remember anything about living in the USA , besides our families there.
Z is still very close with her grandparents and Skypes with my parents at least once every couple of weeks. I think that her memories of her many aunts, uncles, and cousins have suffered a bit, which hurts my heart. I do talk about them all the time and show her photos and videos, but alas, with the busyness of life (and my intense hatred of talking on the phone), I have probably let that go for too long… So to all you many aunties and uncles that read this expect some calls from Z and I soon! (You guys had better get Skype or Facetime if you don’t have it already! Fair warning. Ha!)
It is amazing to me how writing a blog post can prompt me to want to change something in my life that was unrelated to the post idea. This last question really convicted me that I need to make more of an effort to keep in touch with Chad and I’s siblings. So, thank you again, Terri! xoxox
Have you ever lived outside your home country? Want to answer the questions above as well? I love to learn more about you!
photo credit: Into Darkness via photopin (license)
15 comments for “You ask, I Answer!”