The Joke's on Me

I value self-deprecating humor. Knowing someone can laugh at themselves puts me at ease. If I had mantra it might be, "I'll make fun of me first."

There is always risk associated with cracking jokes at your own expense. If the joke is not particularly funny your ego is doubly crushed and there's always with the chance that people will laugh too much, implying that they agree with your self-criticism.  But in general, not taking yourself too seriously is valued in American culture.

Thais, I am told, do not make fun of themselves, which actually makes sense. Instead they direct their jabs at friends and family. The pain distribution is probably the same for both cultures it's just a matter of who can dish it and who can take it. 

This puts the American ex-pat at a disadvantage in Thailand. She can't help but be the target of her own mocking quips even while mild insults pour in from all directions. She is from now on the butt...and head of all jokes. And maybe she will be a better person for it.

"Not a Finger"

In just under three weeks I have managed to have six flat tires. This has left me feeling like Ralphie's Old Man in one of my favorite movies, A Christmas Story. The Old Man's tires are said be only tires "in the academic sense" because they are round and once made of rubber. My tires are also more patch than rubber.

But I'm no Darren McGavin. Despite all of my best intentions to be the most feared flat tire fighter in central Thailand, everytime I get a flat somebody fixes it for me. I've never seen really seen myself in the role of "damsel in distress," but I must look pretty pathetic fixing my bike because men come out of the wood work to patch my tires.

Don't get me wrong, Langland's are not what you would call "mechanically-minded" so I appreciate the help. But eventually I will be alone at sight and need to the Old Man, pretend I'm in the pit of the Indianapolis Speedway, and fix my own tires.

Until then I angrily say to fra-gee-lay bike tires, "not a finger" and hope there is someone around to bale me out.

Certificate of Incompetance

In Thailand, by day I am an adult. I go to training classes, conduct interviews, and network . I discuss nuanced development topics with other adults. I forage for my own lunch and pay for it with my Peace Corps salary. I moonlight as a child.

Yesterday morning I was greeted with bad news. The "handsome" host brother I have yet to meet is in the hospital in BKK. My host parents would be leaving for the capital within the hour.

After I was assured in Thainglish that he would make a full recovery from the moto-cy accident and was not in a coma (nothing feels more calloused than acting out comatose), I started to wonder child-like things like,  "How will I find food for dinner?" and  "What am I going to do all night with no one to entertain me?"

Peace Corps presents a strange dichotomy. Volunteers simultaneously take on the responsible role of development worker- requiring maturity, responsibility, and technical training- and of host child to a family that understands your language and cultural proficiency is that of a four-year-old. Taking the boldest step of my life thus far- joining the Peace Corps- has left me feeling juvenile and naive.

It is exhausting having my competency stripped away, exhausting and humbling. I guess it's good to not feel feel like the shit all the time. I'm sure my sister, Claire, will want to thank my the nation of Thailand for wiping the "perpetual smug look" off my face. And someday soon, I do hope to progress, at least to metaphorical puberty.



By the way, my host brother is doing well and I did eventually find food to eat.

Good, Pretty, Spicy, Delicious

I only know four Thai adjectives. This means everything in my world is either good, pretty, spicy or delicious.* Luckily I can also negate the adjectives, mai or add a superlative, mak.

Geng- Good

My ajaan, teacher, Nopparat feeds my appetite for praise when she says, "Geng mak," after all attempts at speaking Thai. I must be very good because she says it a lot ;)

Suay- Pretty

My host mother is training the neighborhood two-year-old to call me suay. When I'm introduced to a family friend usually the only word I can pick out is suay. This was very flattering until I showed my host mother I picture of my now-deceased Great Aunt Pat (referred to by a cousin as Grandma Lipstick), "Suay, suay, she is beautiful." Now I realize suay is thrown around a lot.

Arroi- Delicious

Everytime I say arroi (aloi in the local accent) at dinner I make a mental note to look up a new word for deicious- maybe something akin to tasty or even yumster. Then I forget and point to all of the following night's dishes and say, "aloi mak."

Pet- Spicy

My Thai chuu-len, nickname is Nong Prik, roughly, Sister Chili. My host family knows that this farang likes her food pet. 


*Note, sexy and wow are generally understood.

Thai-cycle

Bike-riding or cycling, as the pros call it, is an integral part of Peace Corps Thailand. Today's training was devoted to the sport.

In the states I'm really not much of a biker, so I may have exaggerated my enthusiasm for biking to the Peace Corps when they asked if I would be willing to bike 10-15 miles/day. But today I was glad I did. Today's 18 km trail ride was just the stimulant I needed as when beginning a three-month home-stay.

Our trek took us through our village, Bang Rachan's scenic riverways and Thai-style residences. We also passed rice paddies, temples, cows, and a couple dozen horny dogs. My home-stay anxiety was replaced by excitement for living in such a beautiful place surrounded by gracious people who came out to wave at our parade of farangs.

After the biking was a bike maintenance. This was a buzz kill. And on a side note, I saw a monkey walking on a power line yesterday.

Imported from Detroit

Send-Off

My family put all other PC families to shame this morning when they showed up early in the morning at MSP, balloons, banners, and teddy bears in hand. I couldn't have asked for a nicer send-off. Of course, having a family this wonderful makes it very hard to leave your hometown. Quite a few tears were shed- mine and those of a horrible sobbing baby next to me.

I didn't think landing in Detroit would be the thing to bring me comfort, but surrounded by my fellow volunteers at check-in, I felt at ease.

Even after a long and intense orientation session with Peace Corps Recruiter Jeff (whose name you may remember from the embarrassing incident when he called me for an interview during a post-op Percocet stupor) I still feel at ease. At ease and ready to serve in Thailand with the other passionate volunteers I am enjoying getting to know. You might say, Detroit's been good to me.

Westin Detroit

Harbinger

Last night Alec Baldwin and I celebrated my twenty-first birthday, in my dreams. This is a sign of good things to come- for my fake birthday party tonight and for my life as a Peace Corps volunteer. Never mind the part when Alec thought my name was Ellen or when I forgot to bring my "Finally 21" Baseball cap and accompanying shot glass to the party, this is a good sign. Sunshine and rainbows are headed my way. Thank you, TV's Jack Donaghy for your guest appearance.

"Here's to you, El"