Category: Thailand
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Until We Meet Again, Thailand
Since arriving in the United States after 5 years of expat life in Thailand, I’m sad to say that it no longer feels like home. The reverse culture shock was real when I stepped foot on US soil and realized that everyone had high expectations of what their lives should include- fast customer service with…
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Edgar, the Street Dog
I thought about where he went to next and what he was doing. No doubt he would find other animal lovers to feed and water him. Edgar didn’t have a pack to run with nor did he need one; he was all alone on his own journey.
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Catharsis in Thailand
I feel very lucky to have this second chance to love Thailand. Many foreigners come and go with a feeling of hate towards Thailand and its people. It’s easy to be centered when you are surrounded by the comfort of familiarity. Sometimes people need to purge and start fresh. Strip your life of what you…
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“They Say the Darkest Hour is Right Before the Dawn.” – Bob Dylan
2014 was my 4th full year of living in Thailand (how did that happen?) and my 5th full year of being with Joe. Like others, it began as a rat race to do my best at work while juggling my insatiable appetite for travel and change. I successfully quit a temp job that had taken advantage of…
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4 Years Later in Thailand Part 3 –“Assimilation”
Monday January 10, 2011 was Joe’s first day of training at work. He took the scooter we had rented and I took a cab to search for a teaching job. I tried to straighten my hair that morning, but the cheap converter we bought started to smoke and fried my Chi. Western comforts were slowly…
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4 Years Later in Thailand Part 2 –“The First Month”
One of the houses we looked at was nothing more than an empty shell with only one dirty mattress on the floor. I was horrified and began to fear we would be forced to live in the jungle with cobras and no air conditioning. The locals tend to hang around outside (probably because it’s too…
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4 Years Later in Thailand – Part 1
It was November 2010 and the condo Joe and I were renting in downtown Orlando was being foreclosed on. We were being kicked out of our home and I was preparing to graduate from the University of Central Florida after 5 years of carefully laid plans. I moved from Texas to Florida and took time…
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Racism is Alive and Well in Thailand
If you plan to visit and / or live in Thailand, be prepared for blatant double standards and racism. Yes, there are so many wonderful things about Thailand – the beaches, the friendly (and not so friendly) locals, the amazing food, cheap beer and lack of law enforcement. However, when you live here long-term, the…
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Being Cute in Thailand
There is one aspect of Thai (and possibly all Asian) culture that I can never quite grasp. The beauty and social standards for women demand “cuteness”. In addition to wearing scrunchies (did those come back in style?) and ribbons in their hair, grown Thai women braid or make their hair into pigtails. I’ve seen many…
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The Irony of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
Every year Phuket locals celebrate the Vegetarian Festival. This is predominately a Chinese celebration, so the festivities take place in Chinese temples throughout Thailand, but you don’t have to be of Chinese decent to join in on the fun. The festival falls in the 9th lunar month (October) in the Chinese calendar and lasts for…
Angela Killian 