We're not so different
The last few weeks i've really been settling in to life in Thailand. School is moving along, I have a few great friends, and most importantly the culture shock phase is over. Culture shock can be really bad for some but it was more a feeling of excitement for me. Finding out what is similar, and more importantly, what is totally different from life in the US is what makes it feel like a new experience after all! But thats all been stripped away now. Rarely these days do I have moments of realization that something would be done a completely different way back home, which was an every day occurrence my first 2 months here.
I've been struggling with this, this week. Once you strip back the culture of a place, humans are really all the same. Experiencing new culture has been awesome but now that i'm so used to it i've had thoughts like "well why did I travel to the other side of the globe just to hang out with more humans?". These thoughts also feel a little selfish. How can I ever let myself feel bored when i'm so lucky to have this opportunity? If I don't make every single day memorable, what would someone who doesn't have this opportunity think? What would past me or future me think? But every day I settle more into a normal schedule, the harder it becomes to make every day memorable.
However, I think that when you look back on phases of your life you don't remember a lot of specific days, but you do remember periods of feelings. I'll remember the first months in Thailand as exciting and new and always changing and crazy. I'm not sure what i'll remember the next few months as but I know that some of the friendships i've made will have an impact. The people i've met here are not so different from myself, or even my friends back home. The more I travel the weirder it is that we've segregated ourselves into these communities. That some are choosing to literally wall themselves off rather than feeling this sense of global community that we should obviously share.
That's all, just a few thoughts.
Max