Day 2 of the Loi Krathong Festival…

Get to know what Loi Krathong actually celebrates here in Thailand and witness one of the MOST INCREDIBLE NIGHTS EVVEEERRRR!!!!

PS: This was on my List of Things To Do Before I Die. Swish!

There are some things that some travelers, no matter how savvy, don’t know right away. Sometimes all the time you spend on the computer searching and re-searching doesn’t yield the kind of results in a foreign country like Thailand as they might in a place like, say, the United States. This is something I learned by traveling and not having internet to work with at all.

I have had this problem in the past: Some people more than others, particularly Americans in my experience, are detached. As one Kenyan/American told me once, our culture values time more than relationships, and I’d have to concur. Consequently we have become comfortably attached to our computers. This is normal. We do our work on the computer, we catch up with friends online; its our entertainment, our catharsis, our pleasure, and our business. And by we, I mean myself included. (Guilty as charged.)

I have been taking a different route here in Thailand however: connecting with people. The problem with that is that not everyone else is ready to do that. Building relationships, for some, takes time. In addition to growing accustomed to their new surroundings, they have to trust the person, understand their logic, connect with their background and interests, and any other number of other things. But if I want something I go for it, especially if it is for the betterment of a group.

I’m used to dealing with people who are alive! Who live out loud not in quiet matrimony to their laptops, work, headphones and cell phones. That life is no life in my experience. It may “get things done” but it’s not fulfilling, is it? And shouldn’t each day be full? The answer is yes. A life of constant pursuit doesn’t interest me. So I prefer to engage with the world around me and live in the moment. That’s why I chose to come and do Jet Set Zero in the first place. But when you can’t connect with people closest (in proximity) to you, then what? All the efforts for the better of the group hit a wall. Especially if they don’t arrive in American time, it seems. Maybe it hasn’t hit everyone that we are in Thailand yet. There have been the odd similarities of drunken white people, Western pop music, bars, and brands, but if you seek the unfamiliar then get up and look for it.

In the end what I think is lacking is feeling. Enthusiasm. Excitement. I understand, however, that these things cannot be forced. All the stress aside, my senses, enthusiasm, and excitement have been pretty strong. And if they aren’t I do something about it. I take action. I meet new people, see new things, find light elsewhere. Luckily there’s no lack of it here.

Yes, we have a place to live now. An AMAZING, beautiful, home-y place. True, it’s been a trial, but for the sake of documenting this journey I have to say that this past week has been tough with a lot of tension in the group. Words have been slung, but I vowed before leaving the U.S. to own up to my actions and I did let my ego to the front of the line, passing judgment of people’s processes – and allowing others’ judgment to dull some of my shine. Do I feel my efforts are still under appreciated? Yes, I do. But I expected appreciation from the unwilling. No “thank you” should be forced and I wouldn’t want it anyway. Everyone has their own way of going about things and processing their circumstances. Just because I see my time as well spent doesn’t mean that someone else spending their time differently is wrong; it’s just different.

In the end, we’re in Thailand. What that means to me is more than just geography. I cant wait for other people to adjust to their new surroundings or wrap their minds around their new experiences, but luckily I feel the dynamic shifting already – seamlessly with some, gradually with others. So for now I’ll do what I know best: me. And that advice comes straight from some monks I met recently, so consider this a test of Buddhist practice. (Shh! Don’t tell Jesus.)