Chapter 5i: How Did I Get Here?

I have never wanted to be a stand-up comedian, but I’m good at it.  In Thailand.  When I speak Thai. 

I have never wanted to laugh in the midst of humiliation.  But I can’t help it.

I have never wanted to smile at the school janitor, the taxi driver, the waiter, the painter, the lady who doesn’t speak my language, or the money collector on the bus.  But they do, so I do.

I have never wanted to say that the best decision I have made for my life was drunk.  But it was.

Tonight, the restaurant owner in my small town, and his Friday night band, insisted I drank with them… On the house.  A month ago, the person behind me in the ATM line gave up her place in a long line because I forgot my card and ran down to the previous floor of the mall to give it back. Two weeks ago, the bus driver detoured to cater to my convenience.  Last weekend, I was walking along the road and offered front door service by a passing by pickup truck.  Every day.. I leave my doors unlocked…  my bicycle on the street… my iPhone on the table, and am never concerned about the safety of my belongings.

I am almost twenty four years old.  I earned a respectable college degree, I have a reasonable chance of getting into a decent graduate school, and I have goals.  These goals would require accumulating debt with which I would find myself saddled as I begin my career and maybe a family.

I’ve been asked how I got here.  

In a simple answer, I want to see the world.  I want to immerse myself into a culture – not just visit the foreign tourist traps designed to satisfy a 2 week holiday.   Such an experience, at the fundamental level, requires time.  Time requires money.  I am not blessed with money, thus the only way to sustain a lifestyle in which I get to see the world is to work while traveling.  Such options are limited, but many countries need English and don't speak it.

I had nothing *really* tying me down in the United States.  Most of us don’t.  Employers want experience, and few are willing to give it.  That scenario renders my Pre-Health Bachelor's Degree virtually useless.   Meanwhile, I have a teaching certification that took 4 intense weeks and a lot of coffee to obtain.  And I have no teaching experience.  Yet, I am an invaluable asset to a rural high school in Thailand, earning twice as much as the native teachers.

Wanting to see the world is a goal I’m sure many people can relate to.  Tonight, I spoke Thai to someone who speaks no English.  In return, he spoke English to someone who speaks no Thai.  In a month, I have amassed more pictures, memoirs, and recollections than I thought I would in the full 7 months.  Maybe I lack maturity in these aspects, but I have no desire to pay back loans or start a family.. yet.  I want to try deep fried frog.  I want to wear silk shirts.  I want to hear Rock music in a language I don’t understand. 

Perhaps most importantly, I want to see MY life through someone else’s. 

What potentially stopped me from making an inebriated decision with Jeff at our usual Irish bar a reality?  Well... Nothing, really.  The fear of the unknown and abandoning the comfort of familiarity?  Too often, people contrive illusions about the obstacles that bar their path to adventure.  I had as much at stake as you do.  Maybe not the same things, but maybe just as much.  Jobs, obligations, a relationship, etc.  Your adventure may not be teaching in a developing country for 6 months, having your blood sucked by flying insects, living in the tropics with no A/C or hot water, waging war on ants, or dealing with the metric system.  Understandable.  But you have one.  Find it and do it. 

And if not?  Offer someone a drink.  Or a ride.  Go out of your way for someone you don't know, have never cared about, and may never see again.  It might make a difference in their life.  It might make a difference in yours.