Laew Phop Gan Mai

These are our last few days in Thailand, and we are grateful to our host country for all the gifts it's given us.

1) Thai smiles. Thais are generally very happy, upbeat people, and they smile and laugh all the time. We've learned that the smile can mean many things -

• I'm happy.
• Welcome!
• I'm embarrassed.
• I can't understand you.
• I don't know the answer, but I'm telling you something anyway so I won't lose face and you'll leave me alone. 

It can get frustrating when the smile is insincere. But for the most part, if your default mode is a smile, I think that's pretty awesome.

2) Our students. Students at our international school are some of the best in the world (so we're told, we've only taught in 2 places.) For the most part they are sweet, respectful, and hardworking.

3) Our friends. We've seen many friends come and go over the past 6 years, but it's reassuring to know we will always have a place to stay in Delhi, Doha, Santiago, Hong Kong, Caracas, and many other cities throughout the world. And of course, when we're missing the sun in London, we can always fly back to Bangkok to visit our friends who will remain in Thailand.

These are just a few of the many people we've had the pleasure of knowing in Thailand. 

Here we are with 2 other couple friends.

We're so tight, we wife swap.

Ah, much better.

4) Anything goes. In Thailand, there is no black and white. Laws are merely gray areas. Get stopped for a speeding? Pay the cop 300 baht (about $10). Want to open a roof top bar in a residential area? Go right ahead! Sometimes it works to our advantage...

Our first year here, we neglected to pay the power bill, so when we arrived at home one evening our power was shut off. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but when it's 90 degrees at night, it's impossible to sleep without at least a fan.
I raced down to the office and tried to talk to the building manager who spoke no English. In my broken Thai I pleaded, "Mai mi fai! Don't have light! Call the power company and tell them I'm coming to pay the bill right now!"
"Go downstairs to see Khun (insert Thai nickname here)," he responded calmly.
"What?! No!  I need to get to the power company right away! Put me on a motorcycle and tell him where to go!"
"Just go downstairs."
I rolled my eyes and stomped downstairs to be greeted by a maintenance worker. Sweating, fuming, and frustrated from not being understood, I followed him up to a maintenance closet.
"Are you going to pay the bill?" he asked.
"Yes! Look, I have all this money! I need to go right now!" I replied,  fanning out hundred baht bills.
 "OK," he said, opening the door and flipping a switch to activate our power. "Be sure to pay the bill tomorrow."

Our friend Mel broke her shoe on the way to lunch yesterday. She walked in to a clothing store and begged, "Are you sure you don't have any shoes to sell?" They didn't. But the sales lady sold Mel HER OWN shoes for 100 baht ($3). My question is, what did she wear the rest of the day?

Looking shnazzy!

Look at all you can get for 100 baht!

5) Street food & Thai restaurants, although here they just call it "restaurant." Cooking on an occasional basis is fun. Cooking when  you have to cook? Terrible. There are not many places in the world where you can get good, fast, cheap, and delicious food that is somewhat healthy for you. Som tam, cashew chicken, basil chicken, rice noodles, pad thai, pad see ew are just a few of the dishes that we will miss in a few months.

6) Traveling. Bangkok is a major hub, and it's easy to leave from work at 3pm and be on the beach with the waves lapping your toes by 6pm.

Laew phop gan mai, Thailand. See you again!