Woah There Culture Shock

Yeah, I've been living in Thailand for 8 months. And yeah, I'm incredibly comfortable here. And yeah, I like the people and the culture. And yeah, I consider myself well-adjusted. I don't know nothing. This weekend was culture shock to the max.

My time here thus far was mere child's play compared to the weekend I just had. Nothing could have prepared me for a solid 42 hours with a group of 60 Thais. Nothing. It was a lot of fun, but really just so overwhelming.

Before I go any further, I love my Thai teachers, and this experience only made me love them more. Be sure to keep that in mind as you continue reading.

I'm not so big on writing in chronological order, but let's go ahead and start this story at the beginning, with the bus. It leaves at 5 am Saturday morning, so I figure it's safe to assume most passengers, including me, will be sleeping for a majority of the trip. Wrong. It's really not safe to assume anything, ever, in Thailand. And this was sure a good lesson.

Not only was there no sleeping, there were neon lights and blacklight-glowing seats and obnoxiously loud, bumping speakers. and gambling. and drinking. Yes. at 5 am. 

Gambling by the sweet glow of neon lights sometime around 5 in the morning. What I mostly didn't get about their obsession was that all of the games they played were based on luck. If I'm going to bet, it's going to be on myself and my ability, not whether a card might randomly be drawn. They certainly didn't seem to mind, as every single second of our 42-hour trip some form of gambling was taking place. Literally, every second. On the bus, on the boat, on the raft. Nothing could stop them.

I put this in mainly so you can see it's 5:16 a.m. and this is what was happening to me. Why do we need these colorful lights again? Why don't you people want to sleep? 

My favorite photo of the trip; and my first sunrise of the weekend. Apparently, this is how I roll. 

Moving forward. They say rafthouse I say floating dock. From where I was sitting, there was nothing "housey" about it. Okay, it had two rooms. But 90% of it was just out in the open. Not that I minded; I dug it actually, but I never saw anything remotely close to resembling a home. I saw an area set up for people to sing their hearts out until the wee hours of the morning, a place to eat, and a floor on which to sleep. That's pretty much how it went. These fools love karaoke. And that's what they did from 7 pm until after midnight. Don't worry, of course there was still gambling. But imagine, you've been up since 4:30, desperately waiting to go to sleep on the dock, but you can't, because your co-workers are party animals. I mean, they've been up since 4:30 too. How do they do it?

I slept outside because inside without a fan was like death. I thought my body was going to boil from the inside out. It was more than hot. Outside was bearable, and I finally dozed into sleep after 1 am. Much to my surprise, I was awoken by singing and a guitar at 5:20 a.m. 5:20!!!!! What is this? There is definitely nowhere to hide from sound on the dock. It's go time. Up and at 'em. Carpe friggin' diem. 

On the plus side, I was delighted to take a pre-dawn walk through the woods with Madam. So again, for the second time in one weekend, I saw the sunrise. I was so not expecting this.

Madam liked this little cottage. This was ohhhh, 6:15 Sunday morning. 

The rafthouses.

Sleeping quarters. Originally we were in one of the few rooms, but the second the music stopped I booked it outside with Pi Ow. Madam stayed, and the next morning when I asked her about it, she said whenever she gets too hot or uncomfortable she just prays and she can sleep. No problem. Of all the teachers, I believe she is the most religious. She is always talking about going to the temple and meditation and meeting with the monks. I enjoy listening to her.

Karaoke is what it was all about. This guy, wearing the most awesome outfit ever, is one of our assistant directors. He, along with the majority of other men remained drunk the entire weekend. He was the only one who consistently hit on me though. I'll get to that story later.

The weekend itinerary read as follows: floating market, boat to waterfalls, bamboo raft, film studio and bridge over River Kwai (it's Kwhey in Thai).

Before my second sunrise I had checked "floating market" and waterfalls off the list. The FM was no such thing. I've seen the pictures, I know what's supposed to happen. There should have been boats lining the river preparing and selling food. Something I was genuinely looking forward to. We went to a market beside the river. Not even close to the same, not even in the same ballpark. This was my only disappointment of the trip. What I should have seen is this:

**These were stolen off a random blog. Don't belong to me or anyone I know, but do a good job of showing you what I was expecting. It woulda been sweet. This is just so unusual.**

The waterfalls were super cool. Not so big, but different than any I had ever seen. The water was such a unique shade of blue, and there were so many. I loved it. 

Me and my possy. These two were so protective all weekend. It was really cute but kind of unreal. All out of love though, for sure. 

Them: Jackie, I'm going to the bathroom, you wait right here. 

Me: Umm, I think I'll be okay Madam/Pi Ow. There are 59 other people around us who know me. But thanks very much.

Jumping in Thai-style (in your clothes). They never wear bathing suits, ever. I wouldn't wear one in front of them either and have gotten pretty used to swimming in my clothes. One of the best things about the weekend was getting to see a different side of the teachers. They were there to have fun and let loose, and that they did. Case and point. This is one of the assistant directors, and she is always so professional at school. She just ran right into the falls and started splashing around like a 9 year old. It was really cute to see. 

A few swinging branch photos for you: 

Tee hee. I love this one. What an expression. And what an outfit.

I recognize three photos of the trip from boat to shore is a bit much, but I thought this was pretty cool. And kind of crazy. So enjoy.

I have a hard time determining what would be perceived as unusual or culturally unique for you now after living here for a bit, so I am curious. Are you thinking to yourself Wow, that's so crazy. I can't believe they walk on such janky boards. Doesn't seem too safe...

Or are you saying, What's the big deal? Same ole' Thailand. What else you got? 

I am seriously curious, so tell me. Tell Me! For me, it was a Wow, this is really crazy.