The rumble in my stomach has the quality of distant thunder and lets me know that it's around 2 pm. Eating patterns provide me with a practical and reliable alarm clock - one that relies on rice, not batteries.
Sometimes my insides can feel like they are brawling, an internal struggle for energy sources; a fight to the death - acids vs. enzymes.
At this point the mind gives up on many levels, and concentration gives way to a blinkered one way street, with a vender selling fried dumplings and bbq chicken visible at the end.
Images pour in to the mind like an intense light source; smiling faces smeared in meat juices and sticky fingers lifting delicious pieces of spiced pork, delivering them to their salivating resting place.
The day is long and bright, but for once the shining beacon in the sky is not burning white.
Monsoon weather has it's benefits. Humidity and suffocating heat are not present today.
The world looks like a different place.
I can look out into the distance without a painful squint, and can feel fresh in mid afternoon without the need for a paralytic nap.
This is a good time to be productive - no time to rest.
Productivity is not a given in Thailand; the climate does not always permit free flowing activity. Like a fisherman, you have to pick the correct moment and move fast, no stalling or the moment will pass.
As the evening draws ever closer people start coming out of buildings, like ants between the cracks of concrete, their motorbikes groan and then howl, as they make their way to their destinations.
Even with a forest of black clouds in the sky the locals wrap their bodies in clothing, afraid of it's relentless UV assault.
This lesson is ignored by the blossom faced tourists who ride bare-chested, oblivious to the damage to their skin, on an insatiable quest for temporarily darkened skin.
Vanity squares up and eyeballs cancer.
Only one can be the victor in this battle.
Eat where the locals eat and do what the locals do if you are serious about staying in an alien place for long.
Take heed and learn their lessons. Be open to things that you initially disreguard as nonsense - Hold back your pride and embrace the unknown.
It's time to leave the world of words on a blog level and assert myself within the classroom.
Teaching English is a rewarding and challenging job. One in which you will never know it all.
For that, I am thankful.
In the immortal words of Confusious, "A great teacher is always learning."
Time for class.
Mike
2 comments:
And yet, in their avoidance of the suns rays, do the Thai people also neglect to convert sunlight to vitamins? Granted, it only takes ten minutes of exposure per day, but if they are always wearing sunblock or covering themselves, are they getting enough sunlight?
I doubt there are many who get more than 19 secs in a day - unless they work outside.
When one lives in such an climate, the sun does not have the same appeal.
Mike
Post a Comment