Lost in the sauce

One of the best things we’ve learned as expats is that you need to be comfortable being uncomfortable.  It may be the weather, the food, the culture, or just the day to day; The language barriers, unfamiliar signage, little faux pas, and all of the rest.  You need to just lean into it and accept it for what it is and then try to be gracious with you’re own misunderstanding or mistakes.

We are meetings some of the new staff that are coming in and a lot of them are (like we were) on their first overseas job.  It takes some getting used to and a short two years ago, that was us.  We struggled and grew and now we just are.  We navigate and hit the markets, we do things and not just “safe” things, but we go out and give it a try.  Why not?  You have one go around… might as well make something of it.  

J has been great being a friend and resource to some of the new staff that she’s met.  She is trying to give info and signpost without holding hands.  I don’t mean to come across as harsh or brash, but we figured it out and with very little help in most regards.  Part of that was due to covid and things being shut down or limited, but some of it was just that we didn’t know and needed to figure it out.  We grew in that learning and we implemented a lot of that in Vietnam.  Our next move will be smoother because of it.  We know how to shuck and jive, but we also know that we don’t know and need to just be patient and accepting- of the language and cultural differences, but also to our own mistakes; owning them and trying to learn on the fly.  It’s not always easy, but (so far) it has always been rewarding.  

It’s a sense of accomplishment, but it’s also a sense of pride.  I did that!!!!  We did that!  From our mobiles and water service to grocery and food delivery.  Even cooking in our postage stamp sized kitchen.  You just put it together or make it up as best you can and do your best to not just be the obnoxious foreigner who expects the world to speak English for you.

J and I try to do that when we can.  We go on our dates and we have fun, sometimes we go to Westernized places (Scarlett) and sometimes we have a date like we had the other night.

We’ve, on more than one occasion, seen a place called Pho Real Hot Pot.  It is ALWAYS crowded whenever we’ve seen it at night.  You’d think this place was selling the newest iPhone on launch day the place is so crowded.  

J and I both like Pho.  We both like hot pot.  Let’s give it a try.  

It was like a record scratch when we walked in.  Every eye was on us and as we sat even more eyes were on us.  You figure it out!  We figured out the ordering system and food and beers appeared.  We set about making our hot pot and food and people were still looking at us like they were waiting for Ashton to pop and tell them they were being Punk’d.  I gotta say, for 500 baht, it was same or better quality than we’ve had at The Mall and at 1/3rd the price.  

That’s the other benefit of giving things a try.  It’s significantly less expensive.  So, on top of that, we now have another date night place to go that we know won’t break the bank on nights when we have Nanny Beer and can go adult together.

After our Hot Pot, we headed back to Om’s LivingRoom (apologies for the misspelling in the previous post) for a pint.  Again, we were the only crackers in that box.  But, we got a few pints and enjoyed.

Some of the past beers on tap

The biggest positive (for us at least) is that Kiddo is taking on the mindset as well.  She’s started requesting market food more for lunch.  She has been significantly more willing to try new things and embracing the fear and uncertainty and doing things.  Like roller blading.  

I took her to the Mall last night, because J was going out with some friends.  It was a Kiddo night and she wanted to skate.  So, we headed over.  They didn’t have any slots open, it was going to be an hour wait.  That means an hour to kill with a 6 year old, at a mall with no errands to run, after we had just eaten and she was over the moon excited to show me her skills.  I talked with her about that, about waiting, and about how we would be home late so she wouldn’t get her video game time with Dada.  She was ok with it and willing (pardon the pun) to roll with it.  

We killed an hour looking at some speaker options for her room.  A bluetooth/nightlight combo option for her so she can have sounds and the right brightness for her sleeps.  She had one, but that wasn’t working great and J was bringing home her classroom speaker for the summer.  Well, with summer ending…. So, we browsed.  We also looked at some movies as a DVD reseller.  Most were in Thai or we own already, so we didn’t find much and the two things we did find that would be of interest were expensive and so we passed.  

Getting back to the skate area, she was a little nervous that she would fall or the instructor would be mean.  She reallllllly liked the girl she had last time and hoped to have her again.  Sadly, she got the guy.  She gave me a nervous look and I just gave her a smile and encouragement.  

As you can see she acclimated quickly and had a ball.  I didn’t get video of it, but whenever she was near me and where I was camped out, I’d get these side glances and smile.  She was both checking in to make sure I was watching, but also so proud of herself for A. Rollerblading and B. Being Brave.  I spent the entire time fighting the urge to laugh hysterically at her cuteness, the urge to sob because when did she become such a big girl, and the want to just swallow her whole and python her so she could just live in my heart like that forever.  Her bravery and boldness are incredible.  She’s really embraced the oddity of this life and seems to enjoy the newness of it while finding fun and finding that she is braver than she imagined.  

Let’s go, Kiddo…. We’ve got a year left and then things will get weird again as we figure out a whole new place, but that’s ok because we have each other and always will.  Mumma and I love you always.