I've landed myself in a rural village in Thailand, about 20 minutes to the north of Chiang Rai. The culture shock never really sets in at first, at least that's what they say. My parents were wondering if it was a strange experience, being in a place where the majority don't speak my language. To me, it was actually sort of calming, in a strange way. It affords you the solitude of being alone while still remaining a part of society. I've picked up some of the little phrases, so far, like "hello," "goodbye," "thank you," etc. The climate though, will take the most getting used to. There isn't a time of day where we're not sweating. This trip seems to be one huge detox: tons of water, tons of sweating, no alcohol and home-grown food from the local villagers. Western food is going to wreak havoc on my stomach when I get home.
The culture here is so different from the states, as one would imagine. At a glance, it seems so much more respectful. Aside from the children, all Thai people greet each other with the wai, a respectful bow to one another. Everyone smiles all the time, in all circumstances. It makes you feel immediately welcomed. They're also entirely more relaxed here as well. Things that would be so inappropriate in the states is perfectly normal here. I saw a woman on a motorbike yesterday with her infant child swaddled in cloth hanging across her back, casually driving down the bumpy, unpaved road. I think things like that are always going to be illegal in Ohio. Maybe here, they just give more responsibility to their citizens; they don't impose laws and rules that one's common sense and good judgment couldn't account for.
Another interesting sight yesterday was a school "bus." It had to have been loaded with at least 20 small children, crowded in the back of a big white van, albeit none of them wearing seatbelts. There was no one worrying that they would get into an accident without their seatbelts on. No police officer was going to crack down on booster seat regulations. People here are just trusted to do what's right for them, what has worked for them for years, without constantly worrying about the "what if's." I wish my world back home could be completely void of all "what if's." There really is no sense in worrying about what may happen when there's nothing to suggest the likelihood that it will. Life here is slowed-down with less structure, less worries.
