Sunday, August 12, 2012

people helping people

Disclaimer (yes, another): this is a long post, my 5 readers. I hope you stick with me 'til the end!

I love traveling. Packing. Waking up in a totally new city just waiting to be explored. Being completely immersed in a foreign culture. Tasting new delicacies. Observing religious ceremonies and beliefs. Comparing and contrasting them from my own. Breathing air that doesn’t smell like home. Walking everywhere. People-watching. Speaking new languages. Hearing them spoken fluently. It’s all absolutely thrilling to me. 

What’s most amazing about traveling, however, is the fact that it all comes down to people helping people. Ty and I found this to be true in our European backpacking excursions, and the same continues during my adventures here in Thailand. The people make the place! I’m reminded every time I step on a surface I never have before. 

-The very first stop in our European escapades was visiting Galway and being hosted by Becca, my high school friend/sister who was studying there for a semester. She gave up her beds for us, arranged tours for us to take, and cooked us baked potatoes at 3am (just to name a few). 
-Then there were Robert and Karen Litton, the newlyweds then living in Karen’s native country, England, who took us in, fed us, drove us all around, showed us the hot spots, allowed us our very own bedrooms (a big deal when you’re used to hostel living), and made us feel at home. 
-After Robert and a few other stops, there was Toni and her wonderful Austrian family. We stayed in 3 different members’ houses in Vienna and Gratz, all the while being spoiled and stuffed with homemade cakes (filled with cherries from their backyard tree), apple strudel (again, homemade), and downright love that you can only get from a big special family. I was in heaven.
-Thanks to Ty’s dad, we slept in a five star hotel in none other than Rome, Italy. We’d never known such luxuries as we were allowed during that stay. I wouldn’t have done it any differently, either, because traveling frugally as we did allowed us to completely appreciate those luxuries we were awarded in Rome. 
-After a while of being on our own (and a miserable overnight train ride from Paris), I couldn’t have been more excited to meet my foreign exchange sister and her family who were hosting us in Berlin for the next week. I was so lucky to have been the one to meet her first, and also so lucky to have been spoiled for the duration of our stay. We woke up to a spread of different breakfast foods each morning, which was only outdone by each lunch and dinner. We were taken to museums, markets, the Wall, and all the other amazing sights of Germany’s capital. When I boarded the train to finally leave, I was in tears. 
-I saved the best hostess for last. Seeing my best friend’s face as I stepped off the train in her new home of Amberg, Germany was greater than all the sights of Europe. Ashley showed me such a memorable time, but being reunited with my best friend and able to just be us was the biggest treat of all. 
-Even upon my return stateside, I was shown generosity American style from one of the loveliest couples I know, Curt and Mary Zacharias. They gave up their guest bedroom and bathroom for months, allowing me to live and work there in Chattanooga, Tennessee while I began the search for my place in this world. Not once did they complain, and told me I could stay as long as I needed. They also have me convinced that they're incapable of bad moods because I was never greeted with anything less than love, kindness, and graciousness. 

So....all that to say, the life I’ve made here in Thailand has been no exception. From the moment we retrieved our suitcases from baggage claim, we have been “handled with care.” The love, compassion, and interest which has been shown to us cannot be topped. The best example of these characteristics has been illustrated by Alleeya and her family this past week. 

I’ll draw you a quick family tree to show you how Alleeya and I are connected. This could get confusing. My mom has an uncle named Mickey. Mickey has a wife (our aunt) named Mary Ann. Mary Ann has a brother named Dan. Dan has a girlfriend, and his girlfriend happens to be Alleeya. They live in Florida, but Alleeya is in Bangkok (her home town) for a few months visiting her family. Clear as mud, right? My Aunt Mary Ann put me in touch with Alleeya-and thank God for it! Keep in mind that I’d never met her before she requested my friendship on Facebook and invited Meredith and I to come vacation in Bangkok over our long holiday weekend. We immediately accepted the invitation without question, unsure of what we were getting ourselves into. Little did we know...

We took a 7 hour bus ride to the big city, and were greeted by a smiling Alleeya as we stepped off the bus on Wednesday night. She and her nephew, Peel, whisked us away for dinner in the heart of the city. She promised us we’d never be hungry during the duration of our trip. After we’d spooned all the rice, chicken, vegetables, fruit, and dessert (all heavily coated with Thai spices and doused in the special coconut curry mix I love so much), we took a ride around the Grand Palace which was completely adorned with lights for the religious holidays. We took strolls down the most popular streets in the city that were totally alive with an energy I can’t even describe. I found myself oggling at all the “farang” (foreigners) because it’s been so long since I’ve seen people who aren’t, well, Asian. As odd as it sounds, it was so strange not being stared at all the time like I am constantly here at home in Uttaradit. That’ll be a rough transition to make when I get back to the states. But I digress...



Fresh off the bus our first night in the big city with Alleeya

Later on that night, we made it to where we’d be residing for the next 4 days: Alleeya’s aunt and uncle’s house. However, it is not just a house. It is a huge home that is bursting at the seams with love, generosity, kindness, and welcome. Also, you have to cross a bridge going over a pond with giant coy fish in it to get to the front door. This is a big deal for me. Do you know anybody who has a moat-like coy pond entrance to their house? I didn’t think so. We were greeted by the ferocious cocker spaniel guard dog, Dee-Dee, who learned to love us when we bribed her with tummy rubs. P’Boy, husband of Alleeya’s cousin, led us to our sleeping quarters (complete with our own bathroom with a rain shower head-another big deal for me), which ended up being our very own wing of the house. When you can use the term “wing,” you know the house means business. They bolted the deal that had long been sealed when we woke up, went downstairs, and were greeted by a feast of a breakfast. Alleeya’s sweet aunt sat with us to make sure we were completely and utterly content with everything we piled on our spoons and into our mouths. If there was free space on our plate, she could be found filling it. If we so much as leaned or, heaven forbid, pointed, in the direction of something we wanted, the angel had it out and ready for us.  These people are kind. These people are generous. These people are love. I could’ve cried all day, every day, from sheer happiness.

After eating as if afraid we never would again, we left the house to spend the day in the city. We shopped. We ate. We saw the Grand Palace (ya know, where Alleeya used to work-no big deal, right?). We got Thai oil massages. All of these were compliments of Alleeyah, who claimed, after our many failed attempts to pay or give her money-and believe me, we were trying- “it’s just Thai style.” The next day was the same, continuing in the fun and relaxation, but filled with just as much excitement and this time, we were joined by Aui, one of Alleya’s cousins. And truth be told, I’m not sure I’ve ever met a more beautiful person, inside and out! This angelic woman gives and gives and gives. Every time we passed a person in need, she gave. And never attracting attention, but silently, discreetly, and tenderly. For the rest of my life, I will strive to treat people the way she did. I could have cried from her compassion. 




Sweet Peel and me at the Grand Palace



On Saturday, the ladies took us to the floating markets of Ampawa, which is a city a few hours outside Bangkok that’s comparable to Italy’s Venice. It’s a little city on the water, and you can shop at the water’s edge, or have your pick from merchandise being sold on longboats. They booked us a Thai style hotel right on the canal, and we were just a short boat ride way from the main attraction. On Sunday, we took our own private boat ride through the canal and shopped at our leisure, exploring what the vendors had to offer. My favorites were, you guessed it, the ones with food. You can’t imagine a better scenario of eating while you shop, so stop trying right now. I munched on my longon (my new favorite fruit that Alleeyah introduced to me) while haggling with vendors. I could have cried from contentment. 



Floating Markets of Ampawa at sunset. If only the picture could do it justice. 



Aui, Alleeya, Peel, and me about to board the boat to the markets.

We were only in Bangkok with this family for 5 days, but that was all the time it took to make them ours. A Thai family all our own. They not only insisted we call them if we needed anything, but also made us promise to come back in October on our long mid-year break. I am only too anxious to take them up on it, and have already made a calendar to count down the days until I get to see the people most precious to me in this country again. Alleeya kept her promise to me (ya know, the one where she said we’d never feel hungry), so I feel it’s only right to keep my promise to her family about returning quickly. I could cry from the love of my new family. 



Alleeya's precious niece-love at first sight (on my end at least)


one big happy family!


Alleeya's aunt-she has my heart!

The challenge is this: how could I ever attempt to repay all these people around the world for the care and kindness and love and compassion and generosity they showed me, some of them never having met me before taking me in? But that’s just it! They don’t want to be repaid. They do it because that’s what good people do. I have concluded that the only way I could do them justice is to pay it forward. Who knows where in the world I'll end up settling down (if anyone could ever convince me to), but when/if I do, I'm making another promise to you, my Fabulous Five, I will find some way to change lives the way each and every single one of these special people I've encountered have changed mine. I will continue on and strive to be one of the people to help people. I am longing to be someone's person to have made the place for them, and I can't wait until I achieve it. When that's done, I'll pack it all up and start over. Luckily, this kind of gift giving is the best kind: recyclable.