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Creature of habit (from Monday evening)
Posted by Teresa Ulrich
on
11:07 PM
If I may be perfectly honest, I had a hard time last week being here in Thailand. Don’t get me wrong. I love it here.
However, I am a creature of habit. My mind works systematically. I hate it because it causes me to love being in a comfortable spot.
I’ll be totally honest, starting with college. Ever since I graduated in December, I’ve had a hard time being motivated to do anything. College was great. I had a schedule to follow. Same classes every week in, week out, same church, same work schedule. But college ended, and so did my routine. My parents might have taken it for laziness when I was home for a few weeks. Okay, so maybe I was a little lazy… but hey, I just made it through four and a half years of school. I think I deserved a little break. Truth is, I didn’t have anything to consume my time. Nothing to keep my hands busy. No schedule to govern how I use my time… so what do I do then? I became listless, almost lifeless, it felt to me. (I did fill the time by watching seasons 3-6 of NCIS on DVD.)
I think the only thing that kept me going in the summers were my working at the computer labs and the community center. I hated the summer in between the spring and fall semester, to tell the truth. I never lived in the same place for two summers in a row. I moved home for a few weeks and then moved back to Terre Haute. I felt like a nomad. Always packing and unpacking boxes, packing and unpacking my car, moving my belongings here and there. I greatly appreciate those people who graciously opened their homes to me, don’t get me wrong. I was just tired of moving. I cried about it one night while visiting my grandma during one summer.
Moving away from home to go to school was such a good thing for me. I was forced to take responsibility for myself. I’m just so tired of MOVING everywhere.
The night before commencement, I sat in Joe’s apartment with Tara, talking about this very subject. “I’m so tired of moving. I want to find a job and stay there for a while,” I told Joe. I hope that whatever job I get, wherever I end up, is a job that I like. I don’t want to take a job for a year as a means for getting something else the next year, or even the year after that. I hate that feeling. My (future) students deserve something better than that. I can’t stand doing something halfway.
So what does this have to do with Thailand?
Last week I had a hard time, like I said. Here I am, in an exotic, foreign place, without even the OPTION of going back home, not for a few months at least. I can’t go to Applebee’s and get the BBQ pulled pork sliders with the amazing garlic mashed potatoes and raspberry iced tea. Every day is filled with new culinary wonders--you would think that I would love it. And I do. I hope that is evident from the food vlogs and pictures. Please don’t misunderstand. I guess that the thing I am missing is consistency, a constant. And I’m not just talking about the food. I don’t have a set schedule for every day, so it’s easy to just sit around and be lazy.
Luckily, another professor from ISU is here. Besty, from the College of Nursing. I’ve talked about her before. It’s nice to see a face from home. We frequent a restaurant that is across the street from us in the alley (as well as the hotel’s restaurant). Rai’s place, we call it. It’s a quaint little place with white tables and walls. She serves specialty coffees and ice cream, as well as some great dishes. The other night I had fish and chips (what can I say? Close to home! And come on, I try something new just about every day… so I think I can afford to have a dish from home). The thing is just that: we go quite often. Thus far, about twice a week.
Tonight (Tuesday) I didn’t know what I was going to do for dinner. I don’t want to get into a “consistency rut” and go the same places all the time. Believe me, I am fighting this complacency thing. Thing is, I just don’t know where else to go, and what places are good to eat at by myself—mostly due to the language barrier. So… I decided I would just go to Rai’s. Betsy is out for the week in another part of the country, and those fish and chips were calling my name.
Rai knows me by name now. I walked in, and it was like she was looking for me. As much as I don’t want to get stuck going to the same places all the time, I’m glad I went. I knew she would take care of me. As I waited for my food, she chatted with me a little bit. Then she brought out some fruit that had been boiled in sugar. It was sort of like a cross between a cherry and cranberry—sweet and with a small pit. I didn’t get the fish and chips, though. Don’t worry. I had stir-fried chicken with basil and rice. After I paid the bill, Rai gave me a small bag filled with the candy-like fruit. How kind! I can’t get over the hospitality of the Thai people.
After I left the restaurant, I did go to a street vendor and order an ear of corn. The corn here is, like, 10 times better than fair corn.
I must say, I am growing accustomed to the spiciness of the food. I don’t mind it as much. A non-spiced dish almost tastes bland without even a little bit of flare to it.
This week seems to be better for me. I feel a little more adjusted. It might have helped that I rode a bus on Saturday—by myself—to MBK, the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE shopping mall downtown. I walked around the mall by myself. I’ve never had a problem doing something by myself. But when it came to getting back to campus, I ran into some difficulties. I thought I could take a certain bus back to campus, and the bus attendant, who could only speak very little English, told me that that bus didn’t go back to campus (but it picked me up at the bus stop right outside the gate??? That doesn’t add up!). So I got off the bus. I started to freak out, so I walked around for a bit to try to figure something out. Because the bus attendant couldn’t speak English, he didn’t bother to try to tell me what bus I should take. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt—a young woman by herself on the streets of Bangkok. Eventually I thought that surely the mall has information about busses, so I asked, and they were able to direct me to the correct number.
Being thrust out of my comfort zone of consistency, while it is extremely comfortable, is a good experience, I know. All of this discomfort will be worth it on the other side.
By the way, I finally had some fresh coconut. They cut a hole in the top, give you a straw, and you drink the milk on the inside. Well, it’s more like water that is coconut flavored. Then, after you drink the juice, you get a spoon and carve out the flesh. VERY good. It’s very different from going to the store and buying a bag of shredded coconut (which is also very good). And any dessert with coconut milk is absolutely to DIE for. I definitely recommend it.
However, I am a creature of habit. My mind works systematically. I hate it because it causes me to love being in a comfortable spot.
I’ll be totally honest, starting with college. Ever since I graduated in December, I’ve had a hard time being motivated to do anything. College was great. I had a schedule to follow. Same classes every week in, week out, same church, same work schedule. But college ended, and so did my routine. My parents might have taken it for laziness when I was home for a few weeks. Okay, so maybe I was a little lazy… but hey, I just made it through four and a half years of school. I think I deserved a little break. Truth is, I didn’t have anything to consume my time. Nothing to keep my hands busy. No schedule to govern how I use my time… so what do I do then? I became listless, almost lifeless, it felt to me. (I did fill the time by watching seasons 3-6 of NCIS on DVD.)
I think the only thing that kept me going in the summers were my working at the computer labs and the community center. I hated the summer in between the spring and fall semester, to tell the truth. I never lived in the same place for two summers in a row. I moved home for a few weeks and then moved back to Terre Haute. I felt like a nomad. Always packing and unpacking boxes, packing and unpacking my car, moving my belongings here and there. I greatly appreciate those people who graciously opened their homes to me, don’t get me wrong. I was just tired of moving. I cried about it one night while visiting my grandma during one summer.
Moving away from home to go to school was such a good thing for me. I was forced to take responsibility for myself. I’m just so tired of MOVING everywhere.
The night before commencement, I sat in Joe’s apartment with Tara, talking about this very subject. “I’m so tired of moving. I want to find a job and stay there for a while,” I told Joe. I hope that whatever job I get, wherever I end up, is a job that I like. I don’t want to take a job for a year as a means for getting something else the next year, or even the year after that. I hate that feeling. My (future) students deserve something better than that. I can’t stand doing something halfway.
So what does this have to do with Thailand?
Last week I had a hard time, like I said. Here I am, in an exotic, foreign place, without even the OPTION of going back home, not for a few months at least. I can’t go to Applebee’s and get the BBQ pulled pork sliders with the amazing garlic mashed potatoes and raspberry iced tea. Every day is filled with new culinary wonders--you would think that I would love it. And I do. I hope that is evident from the food vlogs and pictures. Please don’t misunderstand. I guess that the thing I am missing is consistency, a constant. And I’m not just talking about the food. I don’t have a set schedule for every day, so it’s easy to just sit around and be lazy.
Luckily, another professor from ISU is here. Besty, from the College of Nursing. I’ve talked about her before. It’s nice to see a face from home. We frequent a restaurant that is across the street from us in the alley (as well as the hotel’s restaurant). Rai’s place, we call it. It’s a quaint little place with white tables and walls. She serves specialty coffees and ice cream, as well as some great dishes. The other night I had fish and chips (what can I say? Close to home! And come on, I try something new just about every day… so I think I can afford to have a dish from home). The thing is just that: we go quite often. Thus far, about twice a week.
Tonight (Tuesday) I didn’t know what I was going to do for dinner. I don’t want to get into a “consistency rut” and go the same places all the time. Believe me, I am fighting this complacency thing. Thing is, I just don’t know where else to go, and what places are good to eat at by myself—mostly due to the language barrier. So… I decided I would just go to Rai’s. Betsy is out for the week in another part of the country, and those fish and chips were calling my name.
Rai knows me by name now. I walked in, and it was like she was looking for me. As much as I don’t want to get stuck going to the same places all the time, I’m glad I went. I knew she would take care of me. As I waited for my food, she chatted with me a little bit. Then she brought out some fruit that had been boiled in sugar. It was sort of like a cross between a cherry and cranberry—sweet and with a small pit. I didn’t get the fish and chips, though. Don’t worry. I had stir-fried chicken with basil and rice. After I paid the bill, Rai gave me a small bag filled with the candy-like fruit. How kind! I can’t get over the hospitality of the Thai people.
After I left the restaurant, I did go to a street vendor and order an ear of corn. The corn here is, like, 10 times better than fair corn.
I must say, I am growing accustomed to the spiciness of the food. I don’t mind it as much. A non-spiced dish almost tastes bland without even a little bit of flare to it.
This week seems to be better for me. I feel a little more adjusted. It might have helped that I rode a bus on Saturday—by myself—to MBK, the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE shopping mall downtown. I walked around the mall by myself. I’ve never had a problem doing something by myself. But when it came to getting back to campus, I ran into some difficulties. I thought I could take a certain bus back to campus, and the bus attendant, who could only speak very little English, told me that that bus didn’t go back to campus (but it picked me up at the bus stop right outside the gate??? That doesn’t add up!). So I got off the bus. I started to freak out, so I walked around for a bit to try to figure something out. Because the bus attendant couldn’t speak English, he didn’t bother to try to tell me what bus I should take. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt—a young woman by herself on the streets of Bangkok. Eventually I thought that surely the mall has information about busses, so I asked, and they were able to direct me to the correct number.
Being thrust out of my comfort zone of consistency, while it is extremely comfortable, is a good experience, I know. All of this discomfort will be worth it on the other side.
By the way, I finally had some fresh coconut. They cut a hole in the top, give you a straw, and you drink the milk on the inside. Well, it’s more like water that is coconut flavored. Then, after you drink the juice, you get a spoon and carve out the flesh. VERY good. It’s very different from going to the store and buying a bag of shredded coconut (which is also very good). And any dessert with coconut milk is absolutely to DIE for. I definitely recommend it.
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