The month of August was the best vacation I’ve ever had. I had the chance to go to Phuket, Thailand for my TEFL-TESOL certification.
I wasn’t expecting a lot the moment I left the Philippines on the 2nd of August. I was just so excited to visit a new place outside my country for the very first time. Talk about the first time boarding an international plane and going through immigratin and such. I was worried but everything went on smoothly during my trip.
I arrived at Bangkok airport, which is by the way, amazing! It is clean, massive, and organized. I was really glad to see Uncle Bertram, who assisted me for the rest of my transfer. I was a bit disoriented because I need to adjust my clock the moment I stepped on thailand’s soil. the time on my ticket is also different. hehhee! 10 minutes of being disoriented is not that bad at all..hehehe! I left for Phuket and reached the island about 8-ish pm. I was scared to hell because I can’t speak a single thai word and I was the last to get my luggage. I was really impressed with how the thai’s treated me. There’s this guy who approached me and took care of my taxi ride til the hotel. I wasn’t charged more than what I should be paying, I was approached by honest people. I remembered my experience back in pinas when one just got out of the airport…it broke my heart….
It was a new place with people who look a lot like me - the only difference is we can’t understand each other. My first day was challenging. It was raining and I havent met anyone from the course yet, so I need to go on my own and grab myself a bite. The experience was really interesting. the language barrier fascinated me. hehehhe! luckily, I got myself a meal and survived my first day.
I’ve met a lot of people during the first Monday of the month. I was the only Filipina in the course, the rest were from the 1st world countries. Our welcoming party that night was the most interesting part. That was the first time I had an encounter with the great cultural divide. Those with colored skin were in one table and the caucasians were in one table. That was more heartbreaking. We tried to enjoy ourselves even if it was such a depressing site. Good thing, there were some people from the US and Canada who doesn’t have racist hearts and made their move to approach us. Men are still innately “good”.
Got over the racism issue after a couple of days. We were able to coexist despite our race and color. Had fun at the beach and I can really say that Phuket is my new-found paradise! Every week was reserved for trips to the beach. Hence, my new color. hehehe! This thing called the umbrella was not something you bring when it is scorching hot. My classmates and I would just walk to school everyday for 10 minutes, under the heat of the sun and burn our skin. I forgot that I was already tanned. hahaha! The beach trips were the worst of all cases. They all bask under the heat of the sun while im in the shade avoiding its rays. still, I tanned a LOT! I asked them if i can trade skin tones for a day, they gladly agreed to my proposal. People just won’t get contented!
I still want to write a lot of things about my trip but going into details will take me more than a day. I just had a blast there. I love the warmth of the thai’s even if they always talk to me in thai and give me the thai menu…it was just funny and I’m not offended of such gesture. The Filipinos are warm but I hate the dishonesty and the rudeness they show to their fellow Filipinos. We are discriminated in our country. In Thailand, foreigners are second class citizens-which is a good thing because Thai’s are regarded as important. How about in our country???? Who are priviledged? who are treated right? Who are regarded as important citizens? Im really angered by such realization….
I love thailand and everything about thailand. I am happy to be respected as a Filipino during my whole stay there. I just hope abusive Filipinos will stop humiliating our country and our people. I have heard a lot of horrifying stories involving Filipinos in Thailand which I dare not talk about because it’s just darn HUMILIATING.
My journey is not ending in Thailand, I will travel soon and conquer the world. my experience opened my eyes to a lot of things that I still want to explore and enjoy. Meeting new people is really great and memories are worth keeping. My Thailand experience will always be a blissful memory for me.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:50
Comments