Yin dee ton rab.

 When I arrived in Bangkok, the first thing I noticed was the rush of hot, humid air that hit me. The plane landed at night when it was dark, and it was still about 88-90 degrees Fahrenheit (32-33 C) outside. It was unlike anything I was used to. My cousin Erin and I got on a rot fai fa, or sky train. Erin knew this country like it was a second home to her, but I had never been anywhere in Asia before, let alone Thailand. I didn't know what to expect. After getting off of the sky train, Erin and I waved down a taxi and headed to our hotel. As I looked out the window, I was scared. Everything looked sketchy and unfriendly to me. I didn't know what the people were like, I didn't know what the culture was like, and I didn't know how safe I was. I started to wonder if I was crazy, and why I had decided to come here in the first place. But I knew that I had chosen to come to Thailand for a reason and that I was here for a reason. God was taking care of me; I just had to trust Him. I also knew that from my experience, first impressions are often wrong. I thought that maybe in the morning, I would wake up and things would be just fine.

I was right. I woke up the next day feeling ecstatic. I was so stoked about the adventure I had begun to embark on! First I would travel around Thailand for a couple weeks with Erin, and then I would head up north to live with a host family. As we walked around town in the morning, it didn't look sketchy at all. The people were nice, everything was new and fascinating, and there were shrines and wats everywhere. It was very foreign to me, but as Robert Louis Stevenson said, “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” I was reminded of this everywhere I went, particularly because I have white skin and light brown hair.

If the idea of going to another country where you don't know the language or culture and living there for three months sounds crazy to you, you're right. If figuring things out as you go and somehow trusting that everything will be fine sounds crazy to you, you're also right. It's absolutely nuts. But that's just how I roll. This is something I have been wanting to do for the past four years and now it's finally happening. I know this won't be easy, but I do know that I will not regret it in the end. Last fall, I went to an international study program fair at my university where a bunch of options for international programs were being displayed, and I walked all around trying to decide what to do. When I walked up to the Thailand table, immediately this feeling came over me like "oh my gosh, I need to go to Thailand!" It's that simple, and I don't know how else to explain it. Sometimes, going with your gut is the best thing you can do, really.

 So, why Thailand? Well, why not? A friend of mine lived here as a refugee once. He told me about how much he loved it here, so I thought I'd check it out myself. This is an amazing place. If you'd like to come on a virtual trip to the Land of a Thousand Smiles with me, then I invite you to follow my blog.

My host family!! :)

 Mai pen rai is the Thai phrase meaning "it's nothing" or "don't worry about it." It's the "hakuna matata" of Thailand, and it pretty much sums up the culture of this country in three words. That is why I thought it would be an appropriate name for this blog.

Mai pen rai is like the other day when I was on a bus heading to Udon Thani from Roi Et, and I couldn't get my straw through the plastic lid of the cup of water provided to me by the bus. A man sitting across the aisle from me took it from me and tried to poke the straw through, but when he couldn't do it because the straw was shaped weird, he gave me his straw. How nice of him! I drank the water and then looked at his and realized he had already used the straw. I totally just used a stranger's straw. Mai pen rai.

Mai pen rai is also like the time when I was riding a tuk-tuk with my cousin in Bangkok, and a motorcycle crashed into us from behind. The driver of the tuk-tuk and the motorcycle both said "it's ok, don't worry about it, it's fine" and then we went on our way as if nothing had happened. Thais don't get worked up about that sort of thing, and neither should we. Mai pen rai.

By the way, tuk-tuks are SWEET. I seriously want to get one. Not even kidding. I wonder if they're legal anywhere in the States, and where I could get one. The blue vehicle in the picture above is a tuk-tuk.

That is all for now, and there will be many more posts to come. Until then, choog dee khaa!