I’ve been living in Thailand for 11 months now.  It is a beautiful, exciting country and I love exploring it – when it isn’t hot.  Problem is, it is almost always hot here.  I am comparing this to the fact that before moving here, my body had gotten very acclimated to living in Minnesota.  A bit of a climate change to say the least.

So my explorations usually happen early morning or late afternoon.  If operating hours just don’t comply then I usually try to spend the hottest part of the day (11am-1pm) exploring air conditioned facilities in the area.  After a full day of this, the heat wipes you out.  The solution I have found is getting back to my apartment, taking yet another shower and rehydrating in front of the TV to rest my brain.

I know that the Thai people I run into are curious about other cultures and I have gotten some very odd questions over the short time I have been here.  Watching TV in this country explains a LOT of the oddity.

To any Thai who happen to read this:  I cannot apologize enough for the horrible choices of American television that are spoon fed to you on a regular basis.  There are some that you should avoid at all costs because I am convinced that the act of watching them will lower you IQ score drastically.

FAQ

1.  I have NO IDEA why the Kardashians  are famous, why anyone should watch them and I definitely don’t know why anyone would want to “keep up with” them.

2. At the time of it’s creation, The History Channel actually had shows about actual history – nothing else.  Although I can see the relevance of restoring old things, wandering through scrap yards and prying interesting things out of the hands of hoarders to have some historic interest, I don’t know why there is an entire show devoted to little green men or sasquatch.  I think you have to be doing some serious drugs to be able to see evidence of flying saucers, spacemen and big eyed aliens carved into the pyramids or the rosetta stone.  On that show, the only evidence of aliens that I can easily believe is that one guy’s hairdo.  Running through swamps at night looking for trouble is not only a really bad idea in the southern United States but then blaming every sound on a “Squatch” is the first sign that your crazy uncle may need to seek out professional help.  To be honest, I have not watched either show (my brain cells won’t allow it) but the commercials tell you enough to know you should avoid them anyway.

3.  In the US, there are people who have so few options to make a living that they wander through the aforementioned swamps during the day trying to play with large, deadly reptiles who are so perfect at being predators that they really haven’t had to evolve since the dinosaurs.  Does anyone else see the irony of watching the undereducated or unfortunate pitting themselves against the un-evolved?  This ranks right up there with watching endless videos of men getting hit in the privates with various objects.  You KNOW something bad is going to happen but you CAN’T LOOK AWAY!  Quality television?  Nope.

4.  FACT:  My hubby’s coworkers told my husband that I should watch Thai soap operas to get the hang of the Thai language.  They said that that is how they learned – by watching American soap operas!

Now I know why the first question every taxi asks is if I want to go to the high end shopping malls!  They are usually pretty shocked when I want to go to a museum or park.  Even our driver is shocked that I prefer to spend hours walking or biking around scenic parks and like doing things myself.  Eleven months and I STILL haven’t hired even a part time maid.  They must really think I’m nuts.