Changing views and opinions

One of my Facebook friends asked me to report every so often about our experience in BKK because he was interested in reading about the different points of view that one has as a vacationer versus as an expat living in the city.  He claimed, and I think he’s right that your perspective is different when the time factor is part of the equation.

Point in case, the first time we came to BKK on vacation about 15 years ago, we were here only a few days because I didn’t really find it that interesting.   In a couple of days we visited all the palaces and temples I could handle and even got enough time to order a couple of suits for me.  Back then we couldn’t wait to check the boxes and move on to Chian Mai or Bali where we would have more opportunities to experience more history and the cultures.  Well, this time, I have already been here for 3 weeks and have yet to visit my first temple or palace.  Knowing that I have the time on my side, I’m waiting for a good reason for visiting and besides, my focus has been on settling down and finding the more relevant things such as the grocery stores, the fruit markets and the best massage parlor for B.

In addition of having the time, I also think there is something else at play.   In the interim years since my first visit, I have also changed and with my changes, the color of my glasses has also changed.  I’m probably not as impatient as I was before, I’m not as arrogant and self-centered as before (even if some may still argue that I have a long way to go), as life has taught me to be more empathetic and tolerant of different opinions.  Bottom line, I don’t know it all nor do I claim to know it all.

One example that reminded me of that happened during my morning jog at Lumpini Park.  The park is less that a KM away and just a little beyond B’s building.  So, to force myself to do some exercise, right after breakfast I dress up in my exercise clothing and walk B to her job.  From there I walk to Lumpini Park where I do some light jogging under the canopy of the trees.

Through the route I see a lot of people doing different things.  Some are exercising, some meditating, and yet some are working.  The old me would see those ladies sweeping the street with a rudimentary broom and would think to myself of just how inefficient are these “less-advanced” societies of the world.  Comparing to the great nation of the USA,  how could any of them reach those heights?  In the USA you’d never find people simply sweeping the street.  We have machines to do that.  We have technology.  We have know-how.  Of course, that was the old me.

Now, I’m looking at these ladies sweeping the street and I’m thinking, what a great use of the available manpower.  These people are really smart.  I know for a fact that in the USA it would take just one person to sweep the street that here may take about six ladies.  But that also mean that with all that technology, five individuals, or maybe five whole families would be at the mercy of someone’s un-employment checks or collecting food stamps.

The streets would be cleaned in a jiffy but joggers like me would be overwhelmed and inconvenienced by the dust those gas-blowers generate.  Those that try to meditate or even those that try to think about life while jogging would be completely annoyed by the noise and the fumes the gas-blowers generate.  Instead, the Thai are keeping a few ladies employed, keeping joggers on pace and the Tai-Chi dancers more relaxed on this bright sunny morning.

So, I changed and will continue to change.  I’m not as smart as I thought I was but as least smart enough to continue learning and changing.