Becoming Street Smart in Thailand

Ten things you should know in Thailand...

1. Don’t step on a coin or you will be thrown in jail. (the king’s face is on the coin)

2. You better know what you want as soon as you sit down at a café/restaurant because the waiter stands there until you decide.

3. Cars and motorbikes don’t stop for pedestrians. You will get hit.

4. Pointing at things only goes so far. It helps to know the language.

5. Just because a coffee shop says they are open at 8:00 AM it really means they open whenever they want or perhaps they wont be open at all.

6. Stray dogs roam the streets and in and out of café’s. (don’t feed or touch them)

7. Thai people are very kind/gracious and smile at everything…even if they are mad. :)

8. The family vehicle is a motorbike. It apparently fits up to four. (Who needs a minivan?)

9. You can eat food on the street carts for under $1.

10. In the Thai language you can make a complete sentence with one word. (since it’s a tonal language, one word can mean five different things..rough)

Dara and I are still getting acclimated to the climate, culture and language here in Chiang Mai. We have been meeting with other SIM workers and learning more about the essential do’s and don’t’s of Thai culture . The last couple of weeks have been an interesting transition. From busy, fast paced Boston to relaxing, slow paced Thailand. Over the next 4 weeks Dara and I will only be teaching two English classes per week and hanging out with the students. We will spend most of our time focusing on learning the language. It’s a doozie. I mostly have to laugh when our tutor tells us that one word has four different meanings which are all spoken with different tones. Yep. Good times. Although, as hard as it is going to be Im very excited to learn the language and be able to communicate more with people.

The Lord has really spoken to the both of us that He didn’t call us to a place but He called us to Himself. As hard as it is to slow down and not have a million things going on I really feel like the Lord wants this to be a season of waiting on Him and learning more about his character. The slow pace here is hard to get accustomed to because America’s mentality is that if we aren’t busy and not seeing success or fruit then we must not be doing enough. The Lord is not calling me to comfort or success but to obedience. Right now the Lord is telling me to come. We focus so much on go and make disciples that we forget to come to his feet. Please pray during the next four weeks we will go deeper into what the Lord has for Dara and I. We really want to use this time to pray for this nation and learn more about what they believe (95% Buddhists) along with focusing on learning the language and spending time with the Lord.

I know this will bless us in the long run it just seems hard to sit and be still; especially when it feels like we aren’t making a difference. I know the Lord has a plan. Thank you for your prayers.

Phil 1: 8-9

Hanging out with students at the Centre