Daily Life Differences
Sometimes when the weather is just right at dusk and I am sitting at the table in front of my house, I slip into a state of daydream while sipping cool iced tea, listening to the crickets chirping steady melodic tunes, and feeling the soft breeze on my face. And for a few moment I am back in Iowa (my home state) relishing in the marvels of the summer ambient. This lasts for only a moment, of course, until I am jerked back into my present state of reality and my neighbor walks by with her herd of water buffalo and the smell of aromatic curries seeps from kitchens afar.
In regards to shifts in daily life, I have compiled a list below of shifts in my own lifstyle I have experienced:
Sometimes when the weather is just right at dusk and I am sitting at the table in front of my house, I slip into a state of daydream while sipping cool iced tea, listening to the crickets chirping steady melodic tunes, and feeling the soft breeze on my face. And for a few moment I am back in Iowa (my home state) relishing in the marvels of the summer ambient. This lasts for only a moment, of course, until I am jerked back into my present state of reality and my neighbor walks by with her herd of water buffalo and the smell of aromatic curries seeps from kitchens afar.
Going along with the theme of my last entry, I would like to touch on some of the routine daily life differences that make life in the Peace Corps so different from life in the States and elsewhere. As I adjust to life in rural Thailand, I see my perceptions shifting by paying more attention to and appreciating the little things in life. Stopping to 'smell the roses' (or jasmine), if you will. In addition, I have been trying to rid myself from material attachments. More and more, I try to focus on healthy living and discovering the richness of nature, the landscape, the crops, and the people. Even appreciating something as simple as a beautiful sunset against a coconut and banana tree backdrop or fresh jasmine engulfing my airways can be a great boost to any moment.
These things help in getting through anxieties. I also have started to detach myself from a fast paced mind-frame of getting things done in a certain timeframe or fashion. Rather, I am trying to go with the seasons (literally in this case--you just can't bike very far on an outrageously rainy day!) by finding time to meditate and realign my focuses to empty out my mind.
And actually, I find these shifts in thinking very conducive to completing my graduate studies. As I write and eventually complete my thesis in the next 3 months I have been trying to realistically dedicate time to my studies when it's available and if I don't have time or I have an interruption then I don't sweat not doing what I planned for the day. The idea is to work toward the final goal as best I can given the other things I have going on in the community.
These things help in getting through anxieties. I also have started to detach myself from a fast paced mind-frame of getting things done in a certain timeframe or fashion. Rather, I am trying to go with the seasons (literally in this case--you just can't bike very far on an outrageously rainy day!) by finding time to meditate and realign my focuses to empty out my mind.
And actually, I find these shifts in thinking very conducive to completing my graduate studies. As I write and eventually complete my thesis in the next 3 months I have been trying to realistically dedicate time to my studies when it's available and if I don't have time or I have an interruption then I don't sweat not doing what I planned for the day. The idea is to work toward the final goal as best I can given the other things I have going on in the community.
In regards to shifts in daily life, I have compiled a list below of shifts in my own lifstyle I have experienced:
- Washing clothes by hand
- Power outages (during rain storms)
- Eating rice with every meal (since living on my own I have a little more control over this)
- Eating or at least tasting every possible foodstuff that is offered to me--less I hurt the cook's feelings (this has included bugs, grubs, frog curries, fermented shrimp paste, and pickled chicken feet)
- Having a bike as my sole mode transportation in my community
- Taking public transport to other cities
- Cooking with a wok
- 'Bucket' showers
- Burning garbage--yes, unfortunately that's the preferred method of waste disposal since there is no waste management facility to speak of (potential project for the future!)
- Living in a collective society where, I have only to open a window and people wander into my yard
- Having everyone watch my every move
- Living in a community where everyone grows or raises their own food
- Taking up daily meditation
- Never really going a day without a very awkward moment--often due to language or cultural misinterpretations
- Going days without communicating a single word in English
- Learning 2 new languages simultaneously
- Experiencing prickly heat...very painful!
- Going to be by 10 PM at the latest--this used to be very unusual for me
- Rising with the sun
- Buying the bulk of my food in an open market
- Going many days without internet access or access to world news
- Drinking instant coffee--or as I like to call it: 'fake coffee'
- Having the weather dictate what I can and cannot do for the day
- Taking care of a house
- 'Relaxing' like I never have before
- Encountering my 'second childhood'--being taken care of by community members as if I were their own child and often being treated like a child
- Letting go of preconceptions
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