For the first blog post of 2018 I have decided to recap over the 2017 quickly. In 2017 I travelled over seas visiting a large portion of Thailand travelling over 3000 km on a ’mo sai’, helped set up and run medical clinics around Siem Reap in Cambodia with a Volunteer organisation Volunteers Around the World providing medical support to those who cannoy afford and/or access medication or Doctors, met my current partners family. When I finally got back to Australia I finished up another year in research with a focus on binge drinking the paper of which is going for review at the end of this month, I learnt many skills while doing research including some interpreting a wide variety of journal articles which honed my skills in critical thinking and expanded my knowledge of electroencephula graph (EEG), the effect of drugs on the central nervous system wave spectra both long term and short term, the development of EEG since the early 20th century, additionally learnt how to utilise the programs curry, matlab, spss, and finally developed my excell skills (Excel is surprisingly and amazingly versatile). All the while I worked two part time jobs and studied full time. Additionally on the darker side of the year I faced the a long and arduous process of trying to get the police to prosecute the guys stalking me which has lead down many dead ends and wrong turns, who knew the difficulty for someone to prove stalking and finally dealt with some of the worst housemates (involving them going through my room and tampering with my food).
Christmas was amazing I got to catch up with my brother who lives in Amsterdam, spend time with my family and recover. I managed to get the gold standard of presents, socks and underwear. The new year came in with a bang more precisely an inspiring fireworks display seen from the balcony of the event I was working at. Amazing as it was, was not as good as knowing I am now getting double pay. While everyone else was holding their heads with a hangover, I was getting prepared for my trip overseas.
Currently I am in Thailand one of my favourite countries, the people, the culture, the wonderful food and amazing sights. I am getting to know my partners family better with no better way then a wedding, where I got the opportunity to meet all the extended family and participate in a ‘sinsot’ (Thai wedding), as family is the center of every Thai persons life it is a very important event.
There are still many cultural differences and language barriers which I have still need to get the grasp of however my partners family members are happy to help and share their wisdoms with me. My Thai has improved immensely and hopefully will continue to do so additionally I have started to learn more about Buddhism and have even started practicing ‘sudmon’ (Buddhist Prayers).
The Thai diet is wonderful with a wide range of food, ever available. From fresh fish and crabs to traditional curries the food is always amazing, with the spicy dishes tasting specially good. Each meal always consists of at least 4 or more dishes shared between everyone, with rice being the staple of every meal.
While in Thailand I haven’t been able to head to the gym so I have started a calisthenics workout routine and taken up running. Running in a Thai village can be fun however is fraught with the always disconcerting danger of being attacked by the local dogs. There is at least one pack of dogs on each street who happily follow and bark, edging ever closer to attacking.
2017 was a year where I started many things, in 2018 I hope to crystallise my life goals and develop my own personal code further which will end with me writing a list of goals and positive affirmations. I have just accepted the role as Team Development Coordinator with a Volunteers Around the World, a volunteer organisation that provides medical and dental aid to impoverished areas around the world including Cambodia and Guam. I will also be studying full time which will make this year a busy one.
To finish this blog post with a complementary cat tax.
