So, what have I been up to? Not really that much unfortunately. It seems every weekend there's something going on in terms of get togethers, which are amazing, drunk, fun, but not usually all that noteworthy. Although one did have Mexican food with Chinese karaoke - two things that definitely go together. Man, can't remember the last time I had an enchilada that good. And it seems a lot of my free time actually, has been spent around food. I've really taken to cooking quite a bit here, and have made a few amazing curries this month. I'm continuously trying to get the taste to be as good as possible while having the cost as low as possible, and I think the key to all of that is coconut milk. It's cheap here, and makes things taste magical. So, future Weg, remember about coconut milk. It's awesome.
At school we had something called Wai Kru day, which is some sort of big ceremony where the kids present their teachers some sort of gift. It's cute, but I felt that I didn't deserve any sort of gift considering the short amount of time I had been there. And I didn't receive much except some flowers, which was sweet. Some teachers got some pretty amazing flower arrangements though. Check out the photos - mind blowing stuff the kids worked really hard on. Also there was a fat, cross dressing mermaid. I don't understand this country.
Which actually, let me talk for a little bit about school. Thais really don't take it seriously. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing, but just about every week I have classes cancelled at the last minute because of some sort of nonsense thing. To make flower arrangements was one. To organize a school World Cup. To see a play. To see a concert. To make a banner to appear on the news. These are just some of the reasons, and while it is refreshing to get away from the ultra-regimented school system of East Asia, their priorities are all messed up. Education seems to be an after thought here that nobody really cares about past superficially. As long as the white person is in the room, they're happy. Doesn't matter what he/she teaches - in fact, nobody has ever checked up on me since I started. I'm flattered they trust me that much, but honestly I could be going into every class and taking a nap and I don't think anyone would know. But i'll tell you what is serious - pens behind your ear. As I learned one day, because it's a super convenient place to keep a pen. Unfortunately, it's so unprofessional and a big deal the director of the high school needs to get involved. Oh, and something was thrown away in a teacher's private waste bin instead of the public one, which triggered an intense investigation.
Your priorities are all messed up Thailand. These are the things you should not care about. What is being taught to your kids is something you should care about. Anyway, enough of this silly country.
Last night was my 30th birthday party, which was a small but very memorable get together. We had some drinks at a dive, then moved onto another bar to see the football game, then to a club to boogie the night away. Also, there was ice cream cake, so, awesome? Actually yeah it was awesome.
Now on hangover Sunday, I can sit around and contemplate my 3 decades on Earth. Which, I don't want to dwell on too much. I think it's safe to say when I was 20, living on Kalmia Avenue back in Lexington, I wouldn't have imagined my life would be like this. If you asked 20 year old me where 30 year old me would be, he would say that I'd be living in Lexington doing some sort of IT thing. And if you asked 10 year old me, back in Taylor Mill during 4th grade, he'd say I would be an astronaut pilot doctor working at Nintendo. It's an interesting trade off that I've made, living overseas. With each passing year, I'm starting to feel more about news stories from back home are in the "well, that's not my problem" part of my brain. The line between home in America and home in Taiwan, for example, is becoming more and more blurred by the day. Which unfortunately, that also means losing touch with friends. Of course I've made a lot of friends over the past 3 years, more so than I would have in America I'm sure. But given the time difference, there's a small window of opportunity you have to talk during the day. Often times you miss it, just due to life. And each time you do, it becomes easier to miss it again. I'm not throwing a pity party for myself, honestly everything is great here. I think I've mentioned it before, but Dan recommended a movie to me a while ago called A Map for Saturday. It's basically about this guy who's travelling for a year, and how every day feels like Saturday. But the thing I took away from the movie, is that he said when you're travelling, you get really good at saying goodbye. Which is depressing, but the thing he doesn't say is that you also get really good at saying hello. And while every day my life is fresh and exciting, sometimes it's nice to not have to do either.
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