Y'all, as of today, I've been in Thailand for 6 months - whoa. Some days it seems like a wisp of time- like it's been 3 days. Other times it feels like it's been 3 years - but we'll talk about that another day. The words to follow are about my enchantment with the folks with whom I stumble through the circus that is the Thai language.
I don’t have a high-propensity for learning languages. I am not usually a fast learner. When it’s not about people of feelings, It takes me a bit of time to pick up patterns and see trends. Learning Thai has followed that same path.
I am in Thai Language school 15 hours a week. I thought it would be draining, that I would have to dredge through the seemingly unending vocabulary and tone patterns. The surprising truth is that my time in language school has breathed life into my sometimes weary body.
I have laughed and cried, had weighty conversations, discussed our various countries political landscape…yikes…and heard and shared fears and deep joys with humans I’ve only known a few weeks. When you’re learning a language - you don’t know enough words to have any coded conversations. You can only speak truth with the most simple of language - that being married is hard, or your deepest fear is being alone for your entire life, or that your both of your parents have died and you’re caring for your family and it's excruciating.
During my first month of language school, I was the only person in class learning their 2nd language. Most people spoke at least three languages, and yes - I did take 4 years of Spanish - and on a good day can speak 3 coherent sentences. My classmates have included business professionals from Twain, Japan, and Iran, a non-profit manger from Canada, an finance specialist from Indonesia/Australia, short-term travelers from South Korea, and a entrepreneur from Switzerland.
These people are lovely, kind, hilarious humans who, like me, have come to this land that is not their original home and and are trying to fit here - and that connects us. We don’t have the same mother-tounge, or practice the same religion, and we’re not in the same tax-bracket - but there’s something about learning something totally new together that breaks down defenses and awkwardness, and all the other usual barriers of life - and we laugh together. In her book, Plan B, Anne Lamott says, “Laughter is carbonated holiness” - and it may seem like hyperbole - but so many of my days in Thai class have felt like holy ground - a place where people can come together and see one another’s human-ness and maybe even a spark of the Divine.
Some days I glance around at all these people from all of these different countries, and I’m jealous of those who are able to work for the United Nations. I think how incredible it would be - and is - to be surrounded by people from so many different places who have such varied life experience and culture- not easy - but good.
I should also mention that all of my classmates know and speak, and some have even taught, English. They are brilliant without being pompous, and they recognize my privilege as an American - one who has never had to learn another language to communicate with people, and encourage me when learning the particularly difficult sentence structures and tone sounds.
It’s an honor to have access to education and teachers and classmates who make learning Thai a hilarious, fun experience that is continually showing me that humans are amazing - and we all hold such wonder and spunk in our souls. I’m so grateful to bear witness to it in the people with whom I speak broken Thai.
