Monday Morning in Paradise

As my alarm insistently pulls me awake in the predawn morning, I groan and think longingly of my Western hemisphere friends, still luxuriating in their Sunday evenings. I roll over gingerly, yes, still bruised where my hip bone pushes too sharply into the rock-hard Asian mattress.  The good news? I feel loads better than yesterday when I was still in the firm clutches of whatever virus conquered me so completely. The bad news? Giant cold sore on my upper lip.

As I make my way downstairs to cook breakfast, I gasp at the lightning fast tickle of a lizard scurrying out of my way, short-cutting across my bare toes. I actually welcome these critters into my home (better than bugs any day!) but still the surprise takes my breath away.  Soon I have bacon in the pan, eggs sitting out ready to scramble, and the whispering of little feet above my head telling me the kids are out of bed and getting dressed (a small miracle after only being awakened once! Must be finally nearing the end of jet lag). And then, before I know what hit me, I’m gagging. The bacon, only two days old, is wrong, so very wrong.  Still gagging, but grateful no one else is in the kitchen yet, I start over, reminding myself that meat is different here: Eat the day we buy it or freeze immediately.  My friend warned me, but I’d forgotten. I think this smell will make the message stick though. 

No worries, we still have time.  Eggs sizzling on the stove, fruit cut, I open a cupboard to finish preparing lunches for the kids. Quick dark movement, everywhere. It’s like the sealed packages are alive, fuzzy, vacillating frantically in the light. Ants. I wonder what they found? I try to be so careful—sweeping after every meal, every snack even, keeping everything sealed tight. Where is that lizard now?

Kids tumble down the stairs. Mom, where is my book? Mom, where are my glasses? No not those glasses, my other glasses? Mom, make sure you . . . As I move around the kitchen solving myriad problems, feeding the kids, finding lost treasures, I feel Zen. Look how awesome I am, greasing the squeaky cogs of routine on this Monday morning. Not even the ants can get me down today. I walk outside to the laundry room and swat the clouds of mosquitos away so I can get to the washer to start a load. They love this room. I wonder briefly if I can wrack up karma points by avoiding the impulse to go Rambo on the roving blood suckers with two cans of OFF!

Tropical birds start squawking outside as tendrils of light lick at the horizon. Back inside the kitchen, I’ve unearthed the ant problem—one of those cute Thai jello cones I bought for the kids’ lunches was a tiny bit sticky. Soap, water, elbow grease. Ants eradicated. For today. Or maybe just for this hour. Still, it is something. Kids have homework, water bottles, books, lunches packed away, shoes on, scampering away in the early dawn glow toward the school van. My Man hurries to gather his things, grab his motorcycle helmet, zoom off looking incongruous in his sharp suit and glossy black helmet on his motorcycle.

And then it is just me. There are piles of dirty dishes in the sink (no dishwasher here), chores to do, errands to run. More birds join boisterously into the morning conversation. A few more ants scurry into a new cupboard, just to see . . . A mosquito hums into a distant corner. The world is so beautiful. So strange. Is this really my life? My new normal? There is a part of me (is it wrong to admit that it’s a big part?) that just wishes this were all a dream, that I will wake up Monday morning back in Oregon or Utah or Virginia again, where things are normal and easy and American. Then the heady scent of Jasmine tickles my nose, I drink up the sight of palm trees and tropical flowers in my yard, and I take a deep breath, counting my blessings for marrying an adventurer to drag me out of my comfort zone and into paradise.

Disclaimer: I hesitate to post essays like this, worrying I seem ungrateful, negative, or spoiled. I know that we have it relatively easy. I know that we are lucky to be here. I know that it could be much worse (I have read The Poisonwood Bible afterall!). Still, I think a little salt goes a long way and acknowledging the hard things in life, even if they are relatively small or petty, helps us appreciate what we do have. And for me, this is hard. I am a quiet introvert who would be happy curling up with a book and a cup of steaming herbal tea every afternoon in the same little corner of my predictable world. For me, this wild and crazy expat life is a challenge. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it is what it is. And this essay was only a little peak at the many uncomfortable annoyances I could have mentioned that are now part of my "normal." But I think it is enough. Maybe more than enough.

Swimming Through Jet Lag at the Conrad (Almost Home)

Our last stop on our way "home" was Bangkok, known in Thailand as Krungthep, short for the full name กรุงเทพมหานครอมรรัตนโกสินทร์มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลกภพพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถานอมรพิมานอวตารสถิตสักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์. What? You didn't catch all that? Here it is transliterated for you: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit. Yikes, that's a mouthful. According to Wikipedia, the name roughly translates to "City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Visvakarman at Indra's behest." But, we'll just stick with Bangkok for now and call it good.

Our view out our hotel window, picture by Young Man.

We arrived near midnight and after collecting all our bags, heading through customs and immigration, and driving to our hotel, we got to bed well after 1am. My Man had to be at work at 7 that morning!  Luckily our sponsor forgot to let us know that actually we were all supposed to accompany him for in-processing. Oops.

Instead, the kids and I slept in and then headed out to Lumphini Park, a large park just a few blocks away. By the time we set out around 10am, it was already 95 and humid. Darling Daughter thought we were trying to kill her. After the subzero temps we'd just come from, it was quite an adjustment.

After a bit of cajoling, however, we got her to come along and even pose for a few forced-smile pictures.

The boys thought it was heaven.

The best part of the park is that there are giant monitor lizards all around. We saw lots of big ones and even some babies.

There were some pagodas, playgrounds, lakes, and beautiful flowers. We finally got a real smile out of Darling Daughter when we agreed it was time to head back to the hotel.

On the way back home, just around the corner from our hotel, was a busy street market (I am totally kicking myself for never getting a picture--it was a fascinating market!). There were all sorts of strange street foods and fruits and smells and so many people! The kids got strawberry smoothies and Darling Daughter decided she liked Thailand afterall. They were that good!

Although Bangkok is full of wonderful things to see and do (and I had an ambitious "to do" list a mile long for our four days there), the combination of jet lag, heat, and Funny Guy's persistent stomach bug (bothering him on and off since Utah), kept us at the hotel more than I would have liked. Still, it wasn't a bad place to hang out. The pool was absolutely beautiful and we spent several afternoons swimming and lounging out there.

And, truth be told, even though I was disappointed that no one wanted to go anywhere, there was a part of me that was secretly pleased to just sit back and relax.

I did manage to talk the kids into one more little adventure. Bangkok's snake farm (the world's second snake farm) is famous and has a show where you can watch them milk the cobra venom to make antidotes (the farm supplies hospitals with antidotes for all of Thailand's poisonous snakes).

It was a fairly long walk, but we cut through Lumphini Park and saw lots more monitor lizards.  We also saw the first of many signs honoring the King (they are everywhere here!).

We made it just in time for the show, which was pretty cool (literally--by then we were so glad to enjoy a little bit of air conditioning!). We watched them milk several cobras, which was fascinating (they let the cobras strike a cup covered with plastic, so that the venom collects in the cup).

The snake exhibits, both inside and out, were also nice. The only negative was when I made the realization of how many different venomous snake species there are in Thailand!! Yikes. Definitely not the place to try and catch a pet snake.

We stopped at the U.S. embassy for lunch on the way home (hoping to see My Man, but no such luck). The whole embassy is surrounded by a wall covered in "Friendship murals," with each section painted by a Bangkok school to commemorate 180 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Thailand.

Later that day, Funny Guy finally lost the tooth he's been wiggling for weeks. He was very excited and even happier when he found out that tooth fairies in Thailand give you baht! Time to go get a smoothie.

(Little did he know that the other top tooth would soon follow. Now he's double toothless and it is adorable!)

Our last day in Bangkok, I got up early and went jogging in Lumphini Park. It was awesome. The park was completely transformed early in the morning. When the kids and I had gone earlier, it was practically a ghost town, but at 6:30 in the morning, it was hopping! There were hundreds of runners (many seemed to be in clubs or groups) and it had the feel of an organized event, like a 5K. Then there were tons of groups of people doing aerobics, yoga, tai chi, and other various exercises. What a fun way to start the day.

The kids voted on swimming for their last day, but we did head out for some street food for lunch.  The kids decided on a rice flour crepe wrapped around scrambled quail eggs and a hot dog (kind of like this except ours had two eggs and a little hotdog inside). I was proud of them for trying it out (personally, I was overwhelmed by the smells and heat and opted for just an orange juice, although when I say "just an orange juice" what I really mean is "the most amazing burst of flavor and sweet pure joy you've ever tasted, freshly-squeezed mandarin orange juice"). They also tried out a few satays (roasted meat on a stick), fresh fruit, juice, and some weird gelatin things that were not as palatable as they looked like they would be.

After that, we headed back to the pool. :-)  My Man had a much busier, crazier week than we did. Each day he headed to the embassy early where he finished in-processing, meeting everyone he needed to meet, and then shadowing colleagues so that he'd be ready to hit the ground running in Chiang Mai. Although it was busy, it was invaluable and made him even more excited to head up to the consulate to start work. Even though he didn't feel like he needed to do any sight-seeing in Bangkok, for our last evening there I set up a dinner cruise on the river (the easiest way to see the sights!).  It was pretty awesome.

The cruise ship had an international buffet, traditional Thai dancers, musicians, and of course, beautiful views.

We passed all of the main temples that Bangkok is famous for (most of which are featured on the back of the Thai coins). All lit up, they were absolutely beautiful (and made me want to get out and get a closer view!).

It was a great way to finish our stay in Bangkok. The next morning we packed our bags and said good-bye to the luxurious Conrad Hotel (very sad to be eating breakfast for the last time at the best breakfast buffet in the world!) and headed to the airport for our last flight in awhile, ready at last to go home.

Konnichiwa (こんにちは)

I have to admit I was dubious when My Man pushed for a rest stop in Japan on our way to Thailand. The hassle of baggage claim, customs & immigration, hotel transfers, and airport security, only to do it all again the next day didn't seem worth it to me. But he gently persisted (would a several-hour layover and then another 6 hours on a plane be better?!) and I am so glad he did. By the time we arrived in Japan, after our 3am wake up in Utah, flight to LAX, then flight to Japan, we were all ready for a break!

Ever since we hosted a Japanese exchange student when I was little, I’ve been fascinated with Japan. Incredibly, though we’ve transited Japan several times now (usually on our way to or from Korea), we never made it out of the airport. This time, though, there was just enough time for a small adventure. Jet lag, some last-minute online work training (for My Man), and just plain travel exhaustion kept the boys at the hotel (a decision none of them regretted), but Darling Daughter and I headed out to Narita for the morning. We had a blast.

Our bus dropped us off in the middle of Narita, a cute little Japanese town next to the airport (we decided to save Tokyo for another day when we had more than a couple hours). From there, we made our way to the temple street, a road lined with interesting shops that leads to Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple.

It was the last day of the New Year's festival, so there were lots of people out and the atmosphere was festive.

When we got to the temple, there were even more people, there to start the year off right, buying fortunes, paying alms, burning incense, and offering gifts. Many of the temple buildings had huge lines and there were crowds of people everywhere.

The buildings were beautiful. Reminiscent of the Korean Buddhist temples we'd visited, the brightly painted pagodas were especially stunning.

There was a beautiful forest with trails twisting through. Ginormous stones and monuments jutted up throughout.

Since we don't know any Japanese, Darling Daughter and I had fun imagining what different signs or script said. Was this a graveyard or a monument garden? I like to think maybe the giant stones memorialized great heroes of the past. Or maybe the engravings were timeless quotes, nuggets of wisdom. Regardless, I could have wandered through this forest for hours.

But Darling Daughter was more interested in the souvenir shops. So after a few forest trails, we headed back to the temple to finish looking around before heading out to the shops.

The temple grounds were beautiful. There were many statues and gardens and buildings and so many people! 

We were glad we came in the morning because by the time we were leaving, the crowds had swollen dramatically.

As we were leaving, a procession of colorfully dressed monks were climbing the stairs to the temple.

On our way back up the street to the bus stop, we browsed the many shops, fascinated by strange foods, samples, and trinkets. Darling Daughter had fun shopping for a little souvenir for each of the guys. At one store, she was delighted to find stuff we'd seen in Bali. Sure enough, it turned out to be a Balinese shop.

Another store was full of beautiful and expensive drums. When we peeked in, the owner directed us to the front where there was a sound system hooked up to a tire. Darling Daughter got to rock out to her heart's content.

We got back to the hotel just in time to hop on the shuttle back to the airport, happy to have earned that extra stamp in our passport.