My Thai word for the week is "song tao," which literally means "two rows," but is actually a noun. It is a small pick up truck with two rows of seats along the sides for people to sit on. I like to ride song taos to and from the sky train station every day because they move very quickly and take alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic. Any type of transportation on the streets of Bangkok provides opportunities for your life to flash before your eyes, so every day is an adventure. I try not to take motorbikes as they are the most risky, but there is no foolproof way to get around. Oh well, such is life!
I've realized that I only remember the Thai words people tell me when they are words I was wanting to learn. Sometimes people tell me many words at one time, and I usually forget them all. I've learned the days of the week and some other basic vocabulary words, which is encouraging.
I'm doing the culture shock thing a little bit (not because I want to). I miss being able to jump into my car and go somewhere close by to buy food, clothes, toiletries, or whatever I need. Here, I have to find out where I can find the thing I need and then how to get there, i.e. which bus, train, etc. to take. It is a long process that can be very exhausting. Still, I am way too afraid to drive here, so I will not be learning to drive British-style any time soon.
I got to share my testimony with the foreign elementary school teachers at my school two weeks ago. It was really amazing how God used it to challenge another Christian teacher to share a testimony of what the Lord has done in his life as well. He was previously not very vocal about his faith with the other teachers, but now he is opening up more, which is very good because he has been at BCC longer than I have. He wanted to start a prayer group with other foreign Christian teachers, which we have had for two weeks now. I got to speak today in our meeting.
I will close with something I heard recently from a Thai minister. He was addressing the foreign teachers at BCC. He mentioned many reasons that people could come to Thailand. Some were things like experiencing a new culture, helping a developing nation, or running away from something (namely God) in one's own country. He told us that he was sure that the reason we came to Thailand is because of the free sauna we experience every time we step outside. He is not kidding. It happens every day.
2 comments:
I don't know how you stand the heat in Thailand. I can barely stand it here in Virginia sometimes. I hope your Thai continues to improve.
Flight Song is my blog. My URL is so long, you may not want to use it. I am still trying to learn more about using computers.
I met you at Valley View, the last time I think was at the fund raiser for Lynettet and Carl family.
It's not a sauna everytime we step outside here in Denver, but lately has been very hot.
I'll be praying for you, especially about dealing with the traffic there.
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