Saturday, August 28, 2010

Walk On

I absolutely love it here.

Call it a honeymoon period, call it whatever you will, I love it. I can see that this is where God has called me - where I will learn, grow, and serve for the foreseeable future.

Things I love about Thailand/my life here:

1. ICS

The school is such a wonderful place with wonderful people. Like any organization, it is imperfect - but I feel supported despite my own imperfections here. It feels so much like a community, and people are always around to help. In my first week, I sent an email to the high school chemistry teacher to see if he had food coloring, expecting and 'yes' or 'no' email in return. Instead, he personally brought it over by the end of the day. I have at least one person each day pop their head in my door and ask how I'm doing. And they really want to know!

I am teaching two courses: 6th grade science and 7th grade science. Although it is difficult to figure out where to get materials for labs and activities (fresh flowers took me a couple hours one night), I love focusing on two classes. I feel like I have the time and freedom to become a great teacher here, not just an 'I'll do what I can' teacher. And 70 minute blocks are wonderful things for science!

2. New Friends

There were 11 new teachers this year, and all but one are female. All but two are single. So get a big group of young, single, fabulous ladies together, and what do you have? Fun. :) We have been able to connect with some of the other single teachers as well, and they are awesome. We spent a long four-day weekend at an island called Koh Samet, hanging out on the beach, getting fake tattoos and toe infections. (Ok, that last one was just me. Lesson learned: pedicures on the beach are not a good idea.) We went out dancing last weekend and are headed to a salsa club tonight. Love it. I do miss my guy friends though. I miss watching baseball, eating pizza, and zoning out during much-too-intense sports conversation. ;) I'm still waiting to find a group of guys who wouldn't mind a female tag-along.

3. Thai Culture

Coming here, I expected to be more annoyed by cultural differences than I am. Rather, I find myself more annoyed with my own American culture than Thai culture. I think I might have been misplaced for the first 25 years of my life. :) I am a conflict avoider, I smile to get out of awkward/unpleasant situations, and I procrastinate like it's my job. I am Thai. Except...I'm not. I'm a (naturally) blonde-haired, blue-eyed Dutch American. I will forever be 'farang,' or foreigner, here.

I will never fully understand the intricacies of the Thai culture and belief systems - a fact that is both overwhelming and challenging. I think being an expat in this culture might be sort of like a marriage. I am living with Thailand living in Thailand. Just like a husband will never fully know his wife and vice versa, I will never really know this culture. But just like (hopefully) a husband enjoys learning new things about his wife, I look forward to discovering new things about the Thai way of life each day. First step: learning the language. Here goes....


The Other Side of the 10-Baht Coin:

Having said all of that, I wish I could be two places at once. I miss my friends. I miss my family. People I love are struggling with tough situations, and I want to be there to support them. It's hard to be there for people when you can't be there. I was really struggling with this when I went to a praise and worship night at the local YWAM headquarters. Even though all the songs were in Thai, there were English translations on the screen, and I really felt the call to prayer and to lay my burdens at God's feet.

There was one song in particular that said "He desires that you walk on....to see the destiny He has for you. We don't have to be afraid....He is with us." It was an amazing reminder that I have been called to this place. God is not only walking beside me, He's preparing the way ahead of me. As much as I want to be home to help those I care for, God has other plans for me. And God can care for them, with or without me. He will put people in their paths that can help them, support them, and love them.

I rest in that truth. So I walk on.