Life in Translation

Thai to English.....it's a challenge

You know what it is like when you are dealing with the phone company or maybe even a credit card company. You spend hours on the phone talking to multiple people just to find yourself chasing your tail. Customer representative number one listens carefully to your problem and they assure you that it has been fixed and you shouldn’t have another issue. You hang up feeling accomplished until the next bill comes and you realize that nothing has changed. You call back. This time customer representative number two tells you that what you need is completely impossible or at least that is what you think he said because you are having a really hard time understanding his thick accent. You hang up and call back another day because surely if you had a hard time understanding him then he probably did not know what you were asking in the first place. The third time you call you get someone who is definitely located on the western hemisphere and with hope rising you begin to explain your troubles. Just when you have found a sympathetic ear and your problem might be resolved you get disconnected…ARGH!!!!! Have you been there? Can you feel your blood pressure rising just thinking about it? Living in a foreign country is like this on a daily basis. In the last week I have experienced all of the above scenarios a couple times over. 

Translating life from Thai to English makes everything a challenge. The language barrier plays a huge role in the difficulties we experience but culture is also involved. Here in Thailand saving face is extremely important. If you ask a Thai for directions to a specific place they will smile and graciously tell you where you need to go, however, it is quite possible they have no idea what you are taking about. Even if they do not know where to go they will make something up so that they will not be embarrassed. Now I don’t want them to be embarrassed but I do not want to drive off a cliff either! 

These things have the potential to get me a one-way ticket to the looney bin! Honestly, I spend most of my time exhausted. It really is pathetic that I need a vacation after simply running an errand. 

God is definitely teaching us to live one day at a time. We have to depend on Him to help us navigate the chores of daily living. Never before have I had to pray, “God I need your help to get through this,” while I am at the grocery store! As silly as that may sound it really is a gift to need Him so much. He is showing Himself strong and helping me accomplish the little things and He is keeping me out of the looney bin when things fall apart. I pray my life show His presence in all the details. Maybe life here will get easier and such difficult circumstances will not be required to foster my dependence on God. In the meantime, I have got a lot to learn and you can bet that naps will be a priority. 

Hope Deferred

King Midas had a touch that could turn anything into gold. I have a touch that can turn anything green into something that is dead and brown. I call it the touch of death! I would really love to have a lush garden full gorgeous flowers but I just can't keep anything alive. I have always blamed it on living in South Texas where we stayed in a perpetual state of drought, but I know deep in my heart that my location has nothing to do with it. Now, I am living in a tropical climate and there is a glimmer of hope that I would now be able to grow something. What are the odds? Not very good!

I may not be able to grow beautiful flower but my neighbors can. Walking down my street I get to enjoy their gardening skills. The flowers that have mesmerized me are the orchids. They are blooming now and they are gorgeous. Have you ever seen an orchid plant? The plant itself is very unattractive. Long straggly roots hang from the base of scaly brown stalks. It really is amazing that something so ugly produces such a thing of beauty. 

The orchids bloom only a few weeks out of the year if at all. So if you have orchids in your garden you will spend most of your time looking a pitiful and homely plant waiting for elegance to emerge. Isn’t that just like life sometimes. I feel like there is always something in my world that looks like that orchid plant, ugly situations, ugly relationships, ugly sin in my heart. I spend so much of my time staring at these depressing things praying, waiting, hoping that something beautiful will come of it. 

The orchid plant may never fulfill the gardeners hopes of blooms but God always promises to bring good from our difficulties and pain. The waiting can be excruciating. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred make the heart sick.” Have you ever felt heartsick waiting for something to change? I have. There is such a temptation to side with the enemy, give up hope and believe God doesn’t care. The truth is GOD DOES CARE. Psalm 103:5 says, “(God) satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed.” God sees you. God sees your longings. God promises good things will come. All you have to do is just hold on and don’t give up. 

The gardener won’t throw out the orchid because it is unsightly most all of the time. Instead he wait patiently for the beauty that comes in its time. Have faith like the gardener and trust that even in the mist of the ugliness of life splendor is just around the corner.   

Just Breathe

Years ago while at a friends lake house, Jon had the opportunity to catch his first fish. He

This is NOT Jon's fish but this was shortly before he caught his own!

had been watching his older brothers do it for years and it was finally his turn. We operated under a strict catch and release program because a small perch is not worth the trouble to eat and catching was the fun we were after. After Jon caught his fish he stood for the customary ‘first fish photo’ and then we explained that it was time to put the fish back in the water. Much to our surprise Jon had a different idea. There was no way that boy was going to give up his prize possession! We finally came to a compromise and placed the small fish on a stringer and tied the stringer to the dock. Sometime later we noticed that Jon had decided that the fish needed to be closer to him. He took the stringer from the dock and tied the rope to his life jacket. Jon was so proud to have his new friend close but the fish on the other hand was not too happy with the arrangement. The fish, now dead, followed him around as if it were a dog on a leash.  

Jon expected the fish to behave like a dog. The fish, however, was not a dog and could only hold its breath for a little while. I can really relate to that fish. A new country, a new culture, a new job and I feel like I have been holding my breath trying to be the dog that everyone expects but really I’m just a fish who is completely out of its element. Last week the lack of oxygen finally caught up with me. I told the Lord, I can’t do this anymore! As always, He was so gracious to me. He reminded me of two things:

• HE MADE ME: God has made me who I am, and that is all I ever have to be. I am not perfect and God is still shaping me but I do not have to bow to pressure to be someone other than who I am. For some of you this may be a very easy concept. For me, however, my insecurities scream that I must be what other people expect or need. It has taken years for me to learn to live free from these lies, but sometimes I find myself slipping back into old habits. 
• HE CALLED ME: God has called me to this place. He wants me, warts and all, in this place at this time. He has a plan and He is in charge of working that plan out for His glory and my good. My job is to rest in that. I do not have to do anything but be obedient. He is the one that produces the results that He wants. 

Setting these two truths back into their rightful place in my thinking has allowed me to exhale and breath. Once I did this, I was able to see that some of the expectations I was striving to live up to where self-imposed. I was my own worst enemy! 

I don’t know where you find yourself. Are you comfortably living where God has placed you or are you like Jon’s fish suffocating under unrealistic expectations? Don’t let anyone or anything pressure you into being someone that you are not. Remember that God has made you as you are for a purpose. Rest in that and take the time to breathe.

Testosterone

You can't see the snakes head because it's flicking its tongue at me!

Shortly after arrival, we were experiencing what the Forongs (Foreigners) call the Thai tummy. Basically our digestive tracks were adjusting to a different bacterial flora in our new country. We had been sequestered at home for several days and finally on day four everyone was feel a little better and somewhat stir-crazy. It was time to get out of the house!

We had yet to do anything “fun” so we hopped in the truck with a map and determination. We located an area that was full of tourist type venues. Being that my children are not of sound mind and completely snake crazy they decided a snake show was what we needed to see. Me, being a mom of three boys, agreed with their decisions. I learned long ago that you can’t fight testosterone. There were numerous shows to choose from but when we saw a sign that one of the snake shows had been attended by “John Rambo,” aka Sylvester Stallone, the decision was made (yeah, it’s that testosterone thing again).

We arrived just as one show was concluding so we were escorted around the snake cages by a Thai young man that told us he was a good boy scout. Boy Scout told us about the different snakes in the cages. He was very informative and funny. He took a ball python out for us to hold. Needless to say, I did not hold it. I must let my boys be boys but I’m still a girl. This fact became very clear when we took a family photo while holding the snake. I made a mistake and stood by the snakes head. It kept looking and flicking its tongue at me. It gave me the willies! Yes, the boys enjoyed my squeamish attitude but the icing on the cake was when Boy Scout handed my camera back to me. Upon my black camera was a black scorpion the size of a Chihuahua! I SCREAMED LIKE A GIRL!! All of the males in my family laughed till they couldn’t see straight and then took turns wearing the scorpion as if it were a brooch! (See insane photos below)

We took our seats in the arena and the snake show began. First they pulled out three Thai cobras each a couple feet long and played with them. They taunted the snakes and then pulled back just out of reach as they struck. They touched their heads and pushed them over. They even kissed them between their beady little eyes. My boys were in awe, I was horrified! 

After the Thai cobras they brought out big daddy, the King Cobra. He was just a youth at 8 feet long. Raised up, his head stood a good two, two and a half feet of the ground. They played with him as well but with a different attitude. After several minutes and many photo opportunities the snake struck at the handler with too much accuracy. The handler looked at the crowd and said, “It’s time to put him up!”

It was a fun time. The boys were happy they had been so close to something that dangerous and I was happy that we had all survived. It is hard for me to understand why on earth anyone would want to play with a snake. I guess it’s that testosterone thing again. It makes boys crazy and it keeps their mamma screaming like a girl!

He looks so proud!

I was holding my breath and praying!

Kevin couldn't be outdone!

Jon stuck his finger in the snakes mouth!

Same, Same but Different

It may look like Hellman's but....

“Same, same,” is something that we hear a lot lately. This phrase is the Thai world’s way of convincing us that a product or food is the same as what we are used to. I respond with a smile on my face “Ka, same, same,” but under my breath I am saying “Same, same, but different.” Different is how I would describe everything. Dish soap looks familiar and gets my dishes clean but it has an ingredient that makes my hands itch something terrible. You can get a fried pie at McDonalds but instead of apples or cherries, they are filled with corn!? We have given up on eating hotdogs, which have always been a staple in our home, because the wieners here are just beyond describing. Things that come in jars or bottles at home come in bags. Ever try to us use mayo from a bag? And if you are concerned about those dark age spots…cosmetics and lotions all have whitening in them, even deodorant. I am all for reducing the appearance of age spots, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why my armpits would need to be white?

I guess it is human nature to focus on things that are different. We even teach our pre-school children by singing, “Which one of these is not like the other, Which one of these just doesn’t belong?” Noticing differences is a very important skill that we must all learn, however, the problem comes when we pass judgement after we have noticed the difference. If you are like me then you suffer from a deeply ingrained bias that says, “My way of thinking is right.” My bias has caused me to pass judgement on my new home. In my heart I have been thinking, “They do it all wrong.” But the truth is, different is not bad, it is just….different.

“Same, same,” is the Thai’s way of making me feel at home and I am the one who has to turn my nose up and tack on…but different. This country has so much to offer I just have to get over myself and predetermined ideas of what is normal and good. It is time to embrace this country and its culture fully. Instead of seeing different as bad it is time to take it as an opportunity to grow a bit. So here I go. Instead of thinking, “Same, same but different,” my new attitude says, “Different, different but good!” I still don’t think I will be going for the white armpits but hey if that’s what they want…to each his own!

  

Unexpected Rest

As I have mentioned in a previous blog driving rules in Chiang Mai are left to each man or woman’s interpretation. You learn very quickly to be on the defensive expecting the unexpected at all times. The cars travel way above to posted speed limit and if you are driving a mere 20KM above what is posted you are likely to get run off the road. This is all unsettling but what concerns me the most are the motorcycles and scooters. They are the Thai people’s primary means of transportation and they go places an do things that make this westerner cringe.

Being that a scooter is some families only means of transportation you will see entire families riding together. A toddler will ride standing between a father’s legs on the foot platform and the mother will riding behind her husband cradling a tiny infant. It STRESSES ME OUT, however, this is all normal to them. 

I can remember riding with Kevin on his motorcycle. I needed to run up to the store to pick up a prescription and I agreed to go on the bike. Now I had cleverly avoided riding with Kevin before this because we only had one adult helmet. We had purchased a youth helmet for the boys but alas, being that I could not wear it, I was always left out of the fun (Aren’t I sneaky!). Anyway, Kevin managed to put on the boys helmet so off we went.

We started out and I fully expected to travel through our neighborhood to our destination but Kevin had other plans. We ended up on a major street with cars whizzing past. All I could think was, “If I fall off this thing I’m dead!” Needless to say I made sure we went home a different route.

As I watch these Thai families with their little ones in tow I am amazed at how calm they look. What astounds me even more is that often I see the little ones fast asleep! Just this morning as I saw a toddler asleep cradled between his father’s legs I thought, “How on earth can they sleep when they are in such a precarious situation!” Almost immediately I was reminded of Jesus asleep in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples had wondered the exact same question, “How can He sleep at a time like this. Doesn’t He know we could die at any moment!” When they woke Jesus up He rebuked them for their lack of faith and calmed the sea.   

I can’t blame the disciples for their fear. I face it every day. Right now I have two sick kids. In the states I wouldn’t have worried at about it, but now in a foreign country, I find myself worrying about what strange diseases they may have contracted. 

My fear is a lack of trust in my father’s care for me and my family. He brought us here and nothing will come into our lives that has not first gone through His hand. The toddler can sleep between his father’s legs even when cars are rushing past. My father is the Sovereign God of the Universe. Surely I can rest in His arms.

Days Like These

Mamma warned me about days like these and for us it had been several days of nothing but chaos. We had been in Thailand for just 10 days we I did something very stupid…I left my debit/credit card in the ATM at the mall. Of course I didn’t realize I left it until sometime later. I took the cash and walked away from my card. From the mall we went to the center of town for the Walking Street Bazar. Every Sunday night two streets inside the center of the ancient city are shut down and filled with vendors selling crafts, wares, and all kinds of delicious food. Kevin, Jon, and I had such a wonderful evening that we didn’t even mind when we got caught without an umbrella during a short downpour. Right before we left I bought a purse. I haggled for a good price and payed the vendor. We hailed a SongTow and headed home. On the trip to the house I realized I did not have the purse! I was frustrated but at the moment I didn’t realize that was the first thread of our  calm lives that was beginning to unravel.

The next morning Kevin and I set out to purchase a bed for Shelby and several other necessities. When it came time to pay I reached into my wallet and realized NO CARD!! I did what every woman of faith does in a situation like this, I PANICKED. I rushed home to get online to cancel my card but then realized that our internet was down. Yes we had had internet for an incredible 24 hours before it crashed. WHAT, I don't even know who to call! I pulled out the paperwork from the carrier hoping to find a number. Of course, it was in THAI! I started dialing every number that looked like a phone number. None worked.

I put my computer in the car and headed to a cafe that had wifi. I get there and my computer won’t connect. I head to a friends house and finally get online. I log into my banks website and the homepage reads, “I’m Sorry for the inconvenience but this site is down for routine maintenance,” PLEASE NO! I was beat. There was nothing I could do. Knowing that it would be hours before she would read it, I sent a message to my sister to see if she could help. I spent the rest of the day working to get the internet fixed but the best the company could do was promise a technician would come out the next day.

In the next 48 hours…I got my card canceled and in doing so Kevin’s card was canceled inadvertently. Which means we lost any means to access the money in our stateside account. The internet did come on but my computer still would not connect. At the ICare store a technician fixed it with a couple of clicks, but when I got home not only would it not connect it couldn't even find our signal. The final straw came tonight at dinner. I loaded rice into my brand new rice cooker and guess what…it wouldn’t work! I stood there in the kitchen burning the rice as I tried to cook it in my electric wok and cried. Lord, I am so frustrated! Then I was reminded that these frustrations can only be fought with one thing. I began to praise God. I didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want to but I did it anyway. God is still in control even when we have days like these. Good times or bad He is worthy of praise! The only thing the praise changed was my attitude but that was the most important thing.

PS As I turned on my computer to write this blog, I was surprise to see…I HAVE INTERNET!  I definitely don’t deserve it, but God is gracious to me! 

PSS The internet only worked for about 30 minutes...GONE AGAIN!