Driving on the Left
I've officially been out of the states for two months! I don't think it would have felt as strange as it has either had I been in Australia this whole time but this past week in Thailand has made it feel much longer. I'm starting to long for my own culture again and I'm not even as averse to eating pizza and hamburgers as I was a few days ago. There's only so much rice and noodles an American can eat...
This is also the longest time I've ever gone without seeing my parents, a fact I'm sure they're well aware of. I've spoken to some internationals at Macquarie about what it's like when their parents come to visit and I've gotten the same general feedback. They are happy to have them visit. (Note the part of that sentence I emphasized.) While I would never question the extent of my dependence on my family, I'm nervous about how their visit might challenge the independence I've acquired since I left home. Somehow, I think they'll respect that I might not be the same person I was when I left and I think I'll enjoy having them around for a while.
Ok, so back to life in Thailand. I just did what just might be the second riskiest thing I've done since I got here: I biked through the streets of Chiang Mai! Although not as chaotic as in Bangkok, the roads here are crowded, dirty, and loud. (Remember Manhattan during the blackout a couple of summers ago? Multiply that by ten and pack the streets with potholes, mopeds, and stray animals.) Not only does the traffic serve as a serious danger here, but police officers and others who spend a lot of time exposed to the pollution cover their mouth and nose with surgical masks not unlike the ones Michael Jackson enjoys wearing. The woman in the bike rental place laughed at me when I requested a push bike rather than the more popular motorized ones. She then laughed again when I asked for a helmet and told me that I don't need one because I'm in Thailand. (Yeah, right.) Call me worrysome, but I was raised Jewish. This means I don't take chances, especially in foreign countries, and I always know exactly what's covered by my insurance policy.
Speaking of being Jewish, this past weekend was Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of our new year. I have to admit I've fallen behind with the rest of the world and I'm not even sure when the holiday ends. I think it might be today. Now, I'm not a religious person but I have very mixed feelings about missing the holiday. I knew RH fell during my trip but I believe there should be a certain amount of flexibilty with these things. Just because I was not physically in a synagogue or eating the traditional foods with my family, I spent the holiday doing something I've never done before and will probably never do again: trekking through the hills of Northern Thailand. Since I see this time overseas as hopefully marking the start of a new chapter in my life, I didn't think I would feel like I missed anything by being in Thailand over a holiday that celebrates fresh beginnings. I was, however, particularly homesick this weekend. With no end in sight to the emails and phone calls from friends and family (and seriously, keep them coming!) I missed my traditions. I missed my family, my food, my house, and my dog. I don't even particularly enjoy the hours I spend every year in synagogue for the High Holy Days but, this being the first time I can remember not specifically observing the occasion, I missed it. It just wasn't the same.
Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, falls on the same day I get back to Sydney. I'll arrive back early that morning and, after a nap and a shower, I'll go to St. Ives to a friend's family to observe the fast and attend services. Don't think I'm not continuing the trend of stretching my cultural experience, though! I might have had dinner last night in a hardly Thai Irish pub, but St. Ives is a community of South African Jews and I'm anticipating differences between the way I'll observe this year and how I normally would at home. I'm really looking forward to it.
The enthusiasm I had for Thailand when I got here is starting to wane. Don't get me wrong: I've made some great friends and I haven't regretted my decision to skip the beach and spend my break here for a second. I'm just starting to lose my patience with the language barrier and the unbearable humidity. I miss being able to brush my teeth with tap water and being able to spend more than seven minutes a day not drenched in my own sweat. I'm even starting to drift back to the foods I swore I would avoid at least until I got back to Australia. I'm also spending more and more time in internet cafes updating my blog and sending emails home...
The rest of the week is up in the air, given the current political situation. We're supposed to head north to Chiang Rai and cross the border into Burma. From there, it's the Golden Triangle, where the Thai border meets Burma and Laos. A few of these things probably won't happen and that's OK with me. At the end of the trek, our itinerary included a bamboo raft ride that would have been fun but, honestly, when the river flooded and our tour guide nixed the ride, I wasn't disappointed. The only thing I wanted to do was get back to my hotel room and take a nap. It's become clear to me that I'm not the adventurous traveller I thought I was. I love learning about other cultures and languages, but a Marriott and some air-conditioning along the way aren't the worst things in the world, either.
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