Week One
I should've learned Russian.
I really like being in the english hall here because now I get to see what it must be like for the native Thai speakers to have all these foreigners trying to comment and do the ministry with them. All three halls have a generous supply of Russians, at varying levels of fluency. There are also some folks from Sweden and a German brother. Got to dust off my German tonight! I have a special fondness for that accent. My grandma's accent is German and whenever I hear it, I feel like i'm with family.
But seriously, Russian is what i'm learning here. Not as much as Thai of course, but a lot more than I thought I would. On most days, when I'm not working with one of my roommates in service, i'm working with one of the many Russian sisters in our group. We trade phrases and correct grammar in between talking to the Thai householders. I've got to be careful. I'm already getting some Thai phrases confused with Russian ones. Before I speak I have to think, wait a minute... what language is that? Not to mention, Cheri has a Spanish call and i'm about to study with a girl who has a French father so of course, we can use those languages while we're here too. Japanese would be helpful to know as well. Thankfully, good ol' English is the fallback. And I gotta say, it sure feels nice to be the expert.
I like feeling what it's like to be the native speaker because it's alleviated a lot of my fears about what the Thai people must be thinking. I love it when the brothers and sisters at least try to speak English even if they get it wrong. I don't feel bothered when they ask for help because it feels good to help them. So that will help me be less shy when it's my turn to ask for help. It's funny too how our english deteriorates as we try to communicate with others who don't speak it fluently. I wanted to say "you're kidding me" the other day but it came out "you make joke with me". Wha? Come on, english is all I got. Can't lose that too! Especially if i'm going to start teaching it :/ Amy just started teaching english online today so she's blazing the trail for me. I can start in May after the Thai class is done. Amy also told me I don't have to be able to read the language before I start the class, just know my letters. SO there's less pressure on that point.
Side note: the fried chicken here is amazing. It's a million times easier to find knock your socks off fried chicken here than it was in Seattle. It's the little fried things that count. That and the good coffee shop near our house that Cheri already sniffed out. The food is so much better here than in Costa Rica, there's just no comparison. Being here makes me appreciate what we sacrificed there!
Also it was day one of me learning how to drive a scooter with a manual transition. Let's just say, that would never ever never happen back home. Back in the states, when someone prays at meeting that we all make it home safely, it just feels like something nice to say. Here, it takes on a whole new meaning. Like, it might be my favorite part of the prayer.
Even though everything here is foreign, even down our simplified way of speak/acting english, Jehovah is helping me stay calm and focus on one thing at a time. It doesn't feel like a hard transition. I just wish I tried it sooner!
Now I leave you with the reader's digest condensed version of the past week. The video was too large so I had to post it on Vimeo. Click on the link below.
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