Two weeks.

I’ve been here for two whole weeks and it feels longer than that.

My life in America feels so far away, and going back to America feels like it will happen much sooner than later. (What do people like to say about time flying?) The latter feeling has been the fire under my belly in the past week: knowing that my time here is limited and I need to get moving. I’m itching to get moving on the things I came out here to do.

It’s strange planning everything by myself even though I love having autonomy over my days: Which days will I write? Which days will I pitch? (answer: almost all the days). When should I go to the gym? (Midday) Where do I want to travel? How do I want to get there? How many days do I want to spend in one place? The questions are endless. The only way to answer these questions has been to constantly tap in with myself.

I’ve learned two weeks is enough time for me to feel at home somewhere new. I’ve gotten used to looking right then left before crossing the street, taking off my shoes before entering public spaces without fear they’d be stolen, and wandering places with a general sense of direction but not specific ones.

I’ve learned three key Thai phrases: sa wat dee ka/kap (hello f/m); kor toht (sorry, excuse me); korp kun (thank you). My friend’s brother (a Thailand native) said, “very good! Now that you know those three phrases, you can stay in this country for a long, long time. For everything else, you can just use body language.” But I still have to override my impulses to say “thank you,” “sorry,” etc.

I’ve over-ridden my fear of going up to street food booths with signs exclusively in Thai and summoning to the vendor, “I’ll have what that guy before me had.” For instance, I had no idea what dinner would be tonight:

Had very little idea what this would taste like. It was a delicious blast to my mouth, and so spicy it deep-cleaned my sinuses. Good thing I had a huge bottle of Leo’s to wash erry’thing down with.

I’ve ridden a motorbike and I liked it. I’ve learned how to jump on and jump off a water taxi with relative ease and grace (i.e.: I haven’t fallen into the water yet). I can now give a cab driver my address instead of pointing to a screenshot of Google Maps.

Water taxi: one of the unexpectedly simpler ways of getting around Bangkok from where I live. It’s a fun and bumpy ride.

I still have trouble knowing what time it is in time zones and cities outside of EST and PST. I ultimately decided to obtain a fake wedding ring for less than $3 USD just for good measure.

I learned that I hesitate a lot when I’m about to push my comfort zone. This means I just take longer to make some decisions instead of acting more impulsively.

I’ve seen a lot, and I’m itching to see more. All in due time.