Thailand is warm in multiple senses: namely, the weather, and the people. I have experienced so much kindness and compassion while I have lived here. This post contains a compilation of moments from the past six months that have proven to me time and again how genuine, caring, and connected so many of the Thai people I have encountered are, even to a foreigner such as myself. I hope these stories fuel your faith in humanity as they do mine.
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The Students
Valentine's Day
I had the best Valentine's Day of my life thus far with these sweethearts. My students, first through sixth grade, spent the day putting heart stickers on each other - and on me! I was covered in over 400 stickers by the end of the day. I transferred them onto my notebook so that I could savor them forever.
PP
PP is one of my dearest students. He is a fifth grader, and he is very good at English! His family runs a restaurant by the river. I ride my bike by there often, giving me many chances to have fun times with darling PP! We ride our bikes together, go to temples, and eat at the restaurant. His family is so kind to me, and I am so grateful for the connection I have with this lovely group. I love PP!
Sixth Graders
One of my precious students, Fai, had her birthday during the term and let me know beforehand. I made her a card, on which I drew a picture of us together. She was always a great student, and she helped me out when her classmates were misbehaving, so I wanted to show her my gratitude. At the end of the week, she surprised me in a different classroom with a picture she drew of me. This picture is on my wall in my apartment. I simply love it, especially because it reminds me of sweetie Fai.
On our last class meeting, my 6/1 class (the top level of sixth grade) performed one of the greatest acts of kindness and warmth that I have ever experienced. They surprised me with a song, gifts, and a poster that they all signed. I could not help but cry with joy and love. I have the poster, the art, and the cards that they gave me up on my apartment wall. I will never forget this class and all that they did for me on this day.
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The Monks
One of my closest friends in this corner of the world is my dear brother, Monk Khoun. I met him in Laos in a meditation session held for foreigners, in which monks can practice English in exchange for teaching the visitors meditation. We became Facebook friends, and we message often! I ask him questions about his life, and about meditation practice, and he asks me about my life in Thailand and in America, as well as questions about the English language. We call each other brother and sister. I love my monk friend very much.
At a temple in Thailand, this sweet monk came up to me and was very curious, so we had a chat in Thai. My darling friend Phil captured this moment of connection.
One day in Nong Khai, I visited one of the smaller temples along the river. There was a monk seated outside who wanted to talk with me. We talked for awhile, and then he told me to wait where I was. He came back with a bag of snacks and a bracelet to tie onto my wrist, the one with the golden beads. He blessed me and the bracelet, and then had me eat a soy milk and a chocolate snack pie. His name is Gayo. This experience left me filled with gratitude and joy.
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The Food Vendors
One of the most loving connections I have in my town is with the woman I buy fish and crab skewers from, named Jai Guan. She is just over 4 feet tall and she is so kind. She lights up when she sees me, and I simply love every interaction with her. One day, she was coughing, and I gave her my water bottle. She frequently gives me extra skewers for free. She is like my Nong Khai grandmother. I love her so, so much!
The women that I buy fruits and vegetables from are such sweethearts, as well. The vegetable woman always throws in some free tomatoes into my shopping bag, and the woman that I buy fruits from sometimes gives me an entire bag of fruit for free! Being a regular at these places simply makes my experience in this town so much richer.
Finally, the couple that I buy my favorite food, khao jee (grilled sticky rice patties) from, are so kind to me. They know how much I love their food, and they see how excited I am every time I purchase a khao jee. One day, they gave me two for the price of one, and I was so tickled!
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The Community
The Tuktuk Driver: Chang
Chang is the tuktuk driver stationed right by my apartment. I see him pretty much every day, and he never misses an opportunity to call out, "Hello! Where go?" (He now knows I understand the Thai version of the latter - "Bai ni?")
One day, I was going to the neighboring country of Laos. Chang drove me to the bus station. I was very confused about where to buy my ticket, so he actually got out of his tuktuk and walked me to the ticket booth, and then made sure I knew which bus to get on. He is such a wonderful friend!
*Note: a tuktuk is an electric vehicle widely used in Thailand, kind of like a motorbike with a covered seating area behind. See photos of tuktuks here.*
The Bike Shop
There is a bike shop in my town that I visit regularly for repairs on and accessories for my bike. Almost every time I have gone there, they fix up my bike and insist on doing it for free - filling my tires, repairing holes, attaching my headlight, etc. There is a woman who works there named Fern, and she speaks very good English. Whenever I go to the shop, the others who work there call out, "Fern, my friend!" (meaning her, Fern's, friend) to let Fern know that I am there. Whenever I have an excuse to buy something from them, I do, just so that I can actually support their wonderful shop. My bike is in such good shape because of them!
Exercise Park Friends
This is my friend Pon. I met her at the exercise park, where she goes to bring the stray dogs fish to eat. She is so warm and kind! She has a 14 year-old daughter, who is also so nice. Pon and I talked for half an hour the first time we met, and she invited me to come to her homes in Phuket and Chiang Mai with her when the next teaching term is over. She also gave me very delicious sweet bananas in milk!
Another day at the exercise park, I was watching the giant catfish that swim in the lakes. A beautiful ladyboy (man who dresses/presents as a woman - a celebrated group in Thai society) named Mo came up to me and gave me a loaf of bread so that we could feed the catfish together. Mo taught me new phrases in Thai and we exchanged phone numbers. What a beautiful heart and soul.
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The Teachers
The first time I ever visited the school where I teach, it was the director's birthday. The kind director (left) and teachers insisted that I join them for her birthday lunch. I felt so immediately welcomed and included. Talk about getting off on the right foot... I still feel so welcomed and included by these wonderful teachers, today.
These teachers live in the teacher dorms. They have invited me to join them for food and drinks here on multiple occasions. On the night photographed above, Pang (blue and green shirt) picked me up on her motorbike - it was my first time riding one, and I loved it!!!
For the holiday Loy Krathang, beautiful Teacher Pui invited me to join her and her family for the traditional celebrations. She introduced me to her friends, her sister, and her mother. I am still friends with all of the people I have met through Teacher Pui. Being a foreigner who is completely unfamiliar with the customs and holidays of Thailand, I can hardly express how much I appreciate kind people like this taking me under their wing to include me in the culture they have grown up in.
Holidays shake up the typical school schedule, such that I generally don't know where to be (no classes = no mandatory classrooms for Teacher Roxi!). On the day that the school celebrated the New Year holiday, Teacher Pang invited me to spend the day with her class, the sweetest little second graders. It meant so much to me that she went out of her way to bring me into her classroom on this special day.
One of the most salient acts of generosity and goodwill I have experienced was Teacher Phil inviting me to join her and her family for the New Year holiday. Her family was so incredibly welcoming to me. Phil went so far out of her way to show me a good time and take care of me. This holiday weekend remains one of my favorite weekends of my life.
One random day, Teachers Pang and Jaae picked me up and took me to a beautiful riverside cafe with Jaae's sister. It was so out of the blue and made me so happy.
On another occasion, I was riding my bike along the river and I saw a few fellow teachers on their motorbike. They waved me over and insisted I join them for dinner. It was a very special bonding opportunity with some teachers I had not yet gotten to talk much with.
One Saturday, my friend Teacher Tew texted me a message along the lines of, "Want to feed the fish this afternoon?" I knew she was referring to the giant catfish of Sala Keoku sculpture park, so I enthusiastically replied, "YES!" She picked me up on her motorbike and we had such a fun afternoon at Sala Keoku, followed by a delicious dinner at Chic Chic Market. This is what we entitled, "Adventures of Roxi and Tew, Episode 1"!
The next day, my dear friend Teacher Phil needed some fabric for her tote bag business, so she took me along with her to the neighboring province of Udon Thani for a day of fabric shopping and sight seeing. She even helped me to buy a traditional Thai shirt and gifted me some Thai skirts so that I could wear the traditional Thai outfit with the rest of the teachers on Fridays. She takes such good care of me.
Finally, the Pattaya trip will forever go down as one of the grandest acts of kindness and generosity I have experienced in Thailand. The founder of my school brought me, his brother, and Teacher Tew to this beautiful island paradise, and they all took care of me when I got very sick at the end of the trip. I am so grateful to all of them, and to all of the teachers mentioned above, for their boundless kindness.
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This wraps up my post about the random acts of kindness I have experienced in my time in Thailand. I know this was a wordy post, so if you made it this far, kudos to you and thank you!
I hope you enjoyed feeling the warmth of Thailand along with me - without having to weather the above-100 degree temperatures. May you be well, and may you know much warmth!
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