In Thai Transition, Part I

[I blame my middle school education if this had tense problems *grin*]

I looked at the woman's disposable camera photos of her brother's graduation because that's what you do when you travel. When a Vietnamese woman at your flight gate to Taiwan wants to point out every member of her family to you and discuss her black friend's hair (that can refrain from being washed for 2 weeks), you look at them. You talk about your hair too.

She did try to coerce me to say she was fat. I didn't participate.

The silver haired, middle-aged Arab man who sat next to me on the flight was reading a book called Thai for Lovers. Every time I glanced over, he seemed to be coming back to the same few pages. I'm assuming it was the Infidelity section, which contained such useful Thai phrases like "You cheated on me!" and "You think that guy is better than me?!" Mr.--I don't know what you're into.

Why I like traveling is that you have an anecdote for every five minutes, something story-worthy is always happening. It's not that interesting things, quirky things aren't happening to us where we live, where we're settled, they're happening all the time actually--it's that for some reason, the action of intentional displacement (or Voluntary displacement as Nouwen put it once in a different context) moves you out of your normal way of perception, out of your expectations, and forces you to see everything's potential. Things are funnier, more interesting, more noticeable. Things a world away are so different not because they're foreign, I am.
My China Airlines flight to Taiwan was actually very, very good! I overestimated the flight time, figuring it would take me close to 17 hours to cross the Pacific, but the flight was only 12 and to me twelve was far more doable than seventeen so I had a party in my head. I should always do that when I fly. Oh, a flight to Indiana? 7 hours tops. Oh, its only 3, you say? Phew. Well, how nice. I took a pill and knocked out for 5 1/2 hours (god, I hope I wasn't clicking) and watched two great in-flight movies for the rest of the time. The flight attendant in my aisle sort of machine-gun-staccato yelled her requests at me when she passed.

"Drink?!"
"Tea would be great, thanks"
"Tea?! LATER! Drink?!"

I smiled nicely and I just took a water instead. I listened to Cronie and waited to land on the tiny Island in the East China Sea. (My Terp friends! There's going to be a big Deaflympics in Taiwan this year! AMAZING). The Arab man spoke up only when we landed and I found out he lives close to my hometown. He has a daughter in Sacramento but all of this information only decreased his creepiness slightly. You land in Taiwan and it smells like wet earth. Taipei is hills wrapped in gauzy haze and, at 5am, it is 82 degrees outside. I'm so excited to be 3/4 of the way there and I freaking love new airports! As I walk out of the plane, I realized that I'm going to be the only one of black skin for a long time while I gander at all the beautiful advertising and small Asian faces. I couldn't read any of the signs so I wandered and took my time to get to my gate since the airport was deserted and how many times will I come to Taiwan in my life?

I tried to take a toilet picture for my friend Elizabeth but I just couldn't get it right, too much of me or too much of the potty. My 3 1/2 flight to Chiang Mai was torturous, I just wanted to be there already and there's was much more turbulence for the smaller plane. It seemed like 49 of the 50 people on that plane had to go the bathroom. Sadly, a Thai man in front of me (I knew his ethnicity because when he put his hands over his head, he had one set of knuckles tattooed LOVE and the other tattooed THAI) was having a flu problem. When I felt my throat tickling, I thought NO, OH GOD. SICKNESS BEFORE I EVEN GET THERE!!!! but as we got closer and closer to our destination, my throat began to get more irritated. Not sore but like it was.....
..
..
..sw...
...elling?!
We landed in lush-green-rice paddie-Doi Sutep Chiang Mai and instead of being excited out of my mind, I am worried I am loosing my ability to breathe. Hahahaha, My throat is huge inside and GoEd had forgotten to send me the address where I'd be staying and I had to think of something quick to put in that blank on the customs form before they kicked me out of the country. Good Lord. I must have been allergic to something I ate on the second flight but I have no known allergies and I don't know what was in my food. I wonder if I should get an epi-pen. I'm mindful of my breathing, quick-fast-in-a-hurry putting Chiang Mai University, the only Chiang Mai institution I knew of but didn't live at, in the blank, and hoped for the best.

She stamped my passport and handed it back to me. I was triumphant. Chiang Mai is hot hot hot, a heavy humid heat (at 10am) and I go outside with my bags to wait for the Millers. Just a few minutes late there are Julia and Kenny, my long lost GoEd Student Chaperones and I couldn't be more happy to see them. Maybe Julia has an epi-pen.
"How are you?!" they ask
"Great! Maybe a little sick." I squeak.
"What?" they ask.
"Um, my throat is swollen for some reason." I reply.
"Can you breathe?" Julia asks
"Yeah." I wheeze.
"You'll be fine." she says.
"I hope so." I think.

And we ride to a restaurant where the Green Curry Chicken is so good it burns the corners of my mouth. It's going to be this way for the next four months. Coming was such a good idea. Oh well, about the allergy. The hotness of the peppers cleared up my throat after a while. THAI FOOD!! I'll just have to avoid eating a lot of whatever it was.....
Whatever it was in. Cronie, get the bags.