A few of our friends back home have been asking what a typical day looks like for us now that we’re settled into our tiny town in Thailand. It’s been two weeks and we certainly have developed a routine. Here’s my description, Kenny’s will follow.
We try to get up before 7am for a morning workout (usually some yoga and some weights). I’d love to say that this happens every day, but it’s probably more like every other. After shower, contacts, brushing teeth, etc., we throw together a quick breakfast. This usually consists of oatmeal, fruit, and soymilk (we can heat up water for oatmeal using our electric kettle) or yogurt and fruit. Then by 8:45 I need to run out the door and head to work.
My commute consists of a 10-minute bike ride to the outskirts of town, and I arrive at the office right around 9am. The morning bike ride is easy – it’s mostly downhill and the mornings here are nice and cool. Usually when I arrive, someone brings me tea or coffee, and I spend the morning either in meetings with the NGO staff or working on training materials or grant proposals in the computer room. We only have three computers to accommodate all of the NGO staff, interns, and volunteers, but we make it work. I have learned to do a lot of my work offline with pen and paper and type it up later when the computers are free (I’ve already filled one notebook and I’m starting on another).
Around 12:30, someone comes down from the kitchen area to let me know that lunch is ready. We all eat lunch together, sitting in a circle on mats around the floor, sharing food “family-style” from communal bowls. Everyone gets a huge bowl of rice, and then we can help ourselves to our share of the day’s selections, which are mostly vegetarian and all fantastic. There are usually four or more different dishes, and at least one of them features leaves that I had never tried before this trip to Thailand (mango leaves, mustard leaves, pumpkin leaves, etc.). The only truly unusual thing I’ve tried so far is red ant eggs (!) – these were served mixed into a chicken egg omelet, and added more texture than flavor.
After the lunch plates are cleared, we settle into more hard work for the afternoon. At some point, someone usually brings me a snack, like a huge plate of watermelon, which is just the thing on these sweltering hot afternoons. I usually work until about 5 or 5:30, and then hop on my bike and head back to town. The afternoon bike ride is much more difficult than the morning one – there are a few non-trivial hills, and it is hot outside. If Kenny is teaching English class (i.e., if it’s a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) I stop by his office to help him teach the end of his lesson, otherwise we meet at our guest house and then go settle in at one of our few typical dinner spots.
There really isn’t anything to do in the evenings in this town, so post-dinner activities usually consist of reading, photo-editing, and blogging. Lately we’ve been catching up on some Babajob code reviews and corresponding with some NGOs in Africa about our next volunteer gig, which we are planning for June. We also compare notes from the day and offer each other advice on how to solve various challenges in the office. Overall, it’s a relatively relaxing routine, and it’s quite nice to have some down time built into it.
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