To control is to survive

....he was determined to challenge the saint and so he asked him:

"If, tonight, the most beautiful prostitute in the village came in here, would you be able to see her as neither beautiful nor seductive?"
"No, but I would be able to control myself," the saint replied.
"And if I offered you a pile of gold coins to leave your cave in the mountain and come and join us, would you be able to look on that gold and see only pebbles?"
"No, but I would be able to control myself."
"And if you were sought by two brothers, one of whom hated you, and the other who saw you as a saint, would you be able to feel the same towards them both?"
"It would be very hard, but I would be able to control myself sufficiently to treat them both the same."

The stranger did not need Chantal to explain the story. Savin and Ahab had the same instincts -- Good and Evil struggled in both of them, just as they did in every soul on the face of the earth.

It was all a matter of control. And choice.
Nothing more and nothing less.

- Paul Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym 

European vs. American: Which one is who?

Today I'm going to talk about how different the guys from Europe and United States dressed. After being here for about two months and living with a bunch of Americans and Europeans, I now could somehow tell the differences between both of them in terms of dressing. Well, maybe some of the things that I'm going to tell is somewhat over-generalizing and stereotyping, because both regions are so big. Well for the Europeans, most of them were actually from the Netherlands and French (Germans and British dressed in a different way); so yeah, I'm pretty much generalizing. But still! You could really tell the differences! So you could or could not believe it, but here you goooo!

Europeans:
Europeans loooove to use patterned t-shirts like this:

I don't know why and I actually always tease them for using this kind of t-shirts. There is one funny story about it actually. So one day, I went to Siam Center with Joris (a Dutch) and Stephanie because Joris wants to search for a new pants. When he went to the fitting room, me and Stephanie just wandering around on the man's section and we saw some patterned shirt like this. Stephanie was laughing and said "The European boys must really love those shirts!" and I completely agree with her. After that, we just go outside the store and wait for Joris to pay for his pants. And when he came, he said "Look! I also got a shirt and a belt!". And I bet you could guess: yes, he got one of those patterned shirt. So it somehow justify my -- our -- judgement!

The next thing that they love to wear is... shorts. Okay, you must be wondering what is so special about shorts? So I know that it's completely normal for guys to wear shorts everywhere, especially in the middle of the warmth of Bangkok, but these European guys didn't wear the 'normal' shorts. They tend to wear a shorter shorts! Sometimes, the shorts could be so short that it only cover half of their thigh.... There you go. The shorts more or less looks like something like this:

Americans:
One thing that you should know: Americans love baggy pants. Like so much. They will wear it so low that you might think that it doesn't cover their bottom... Well to be honest, not all Americans do this. Because America is a very big country, and every states actually have their own personality. People from California and southern America tends to love this style. BUT STILL, they are everywhere.. But if it is not baggy pants, they usually wear the 'normal' shorts which by normal I mean it covers everything to the knee. And it does feel relieving, that you don't have to worry that something would peeked out.... No.

The other way of how American guys dressed is closely related to simplicity. They usually wear t-shirts and jeans and just it. But for the kind of t-shirts that they use, I will sum it up into two different category. The first one is: pure plain. So I bet they got a lot of plain t-shirts in their drawer in every color. Because they do wear a lot of plain t-shirts with every color. And the next one is: distro t-shirts. I don't know the English name for this kind of t-shirt, but this is the kind of t-shirt that has a big picture in the middle. It is different from the patterned t-shirt, this one is actually looks like a plain t-shirt that you print something on it (just like the bottom right picture). I know you could imagine it! And Americans love it so much. You could see a bunch of Americans buying these lousy t-shirts in Bangkok that says: Chang Beer, Heineken, etc. 

So I think that's pretty much it! If I somehow comes up with another idea, I will surely make a new post (or just edit this one). Adiós!

The only thing that doesn't change in life is change itself.

Changing my ways of describing myself, or in general, the way I describe everything. Does it mean that I changed? Or it simply only means that I change the way I communicate? Well.

Under one moon

I still don't know what sort of world this is. But whatever the world we're in now, I'm sure this is where I will stay. Where we will stay. This world must have its own threats, its own dangers, must be filled with its own type of riddles and contradictions. We may have to travel down many dark paths, leading who knows where. But that's okay. It's not a problem. I'll just have to accept it. I'm not going anywhere. Come what may, this is where we'll remain, in this world with one moon.

- Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Once upon a crazy night...

Hello again! (See? I do everything but studying!) 

Anyway, last night I went to the super famous Sky Bar! You know, the one in The Hangover Part II: Lost in Bangkok movie! And it's so awesome! You could see the skyline and everything -- which is so beautiful, but unfortunately last night is a little bit cloudy so we couldn't see the stars. But it's still super awesome though :D

We actually planned to go there on Thursday, and we did, but Mikkel wore short pants and they did not let us in...... So we just left. The dresscode policy is just too crazy, they didn't allow people to use sandals, guys to wear shorts, girls to use t-shirts, and many other restrictions. And what's crazier is that they are often not consistent with it, sometimes they will follow the rules and prohibit people without the 'proper' dress to go in, and sometimes, they will just randomly let them in. For example when I'm there, I actually saw some guys wore shorts. But nonetheless, it's still quite an experience!

The Famous Dome from Hangover II: Lost in Bangkok

Bangkok's Skyline

After finished enjoying the view, we went to Khao San Road (what else...) to get some drinks (or for me, watch them get some drinks) and then just hanging around and have some fun! I left my phone to one of my friend, Joris, just because I didn't have any room left in my bag and I didn't have a pocket in my dress. And turns out, he took 1600 scrap pictures (selfies!) in my phone!! So guys, lesson number one: never give your phone to your drunk friend.... Well, I need to admit that some of the pictures are quiet funny and worth to save though, and I believe that every picture snapped must worth a piece of memory, even if it's only a tiny bit. And last night was so fun and of course, worth remembering! So yes, hereby I attached some of my 'company' last night! (Picture courtesy to Joris! -- even though the pictures are so bad)

Me and Maureen, the crazy-picky-typical German girl!

Amie, a lovely yet naive American girl and Mikkel, a Danish who spend more time being drunk than sober

Joris, the suspect of last night 

Flo and Gareth, a German & British guy who love Thai girls! (This pict is so bad!!!)

Life as an exchange student in Thailand

On Friday, I have one midterm exam about International Studies at 6 PM. So on Thursday I went out with some friends and since my midterm for the next day is in the evening, we just keep hanging out all night long. The next day, I already have plan to go to the Friday Market in the University. So at 10 AM we went to the market, and it's amazing! They got some stalls -- which is more than enough -- and it's not as overwhelming as Chatuchak Market. So we got some meals there, shop a little bit until 2 PM. At first I was thinking about just staying in the University and study at the library. But thinking about it again, I don't think I'm into studying for four hours..... So I decided to go home with the others.

So I got back to Greenpark, I check my phone and reply all the chats because I could only do it when I'm encountered with wifi (I don't know why but I think my simcard is broken! It suddenly didn't show any 3G anymore!). And suddenly, I don't know what hit me, I feel like trying to enter my University's academic webpage. So I log in only to find out that my exam is on Friday............... at 2 PM. And the clock already turns 3........

I was startled! I was confused whether to just go for it and do my exam late, or just didn't showed up and make a good excuse later. Well then I decided that I just have to go for it, so I ran to a cab and go to the University straight ahead. I'm already an hour late, so I'm so nervous about that. But nevertheless, I looked for the teacher, and I apologize and try to explain what just happened. 

Turns out, my teacher is the best! He told me to just do my exam straight ahead and he will give me an extra 30 minutes. I still lost 30 minutes of my time, but it's better than if he didn't allowed me to do my exam! So yes, I made it even though it is obviously not my best one and I didn't finished it. But it's still okay though!

And now.. I actually have an exam for tomorrow. But it's so hard to find motivation to study. And right now I do anything but studying; when I should've do nothing but studying. Xxx

00:00 - Happy Birthday

"The time when you feel lonely, is the time you most need to be with yourself."


♥,
P




PS: But if I'm wrong, I'll be here.

My Weekend at the Weekend Market (Chatuchak Market)

The only thing I hate more than shopping is shopping with people.

So yes, yesterday I decided to go to the Weekend Market (also  known as Chatuchak Market or JJ Market) all by myself. And it was super fun!

I planned to go to the market at 10 AM, but plan is just a plan. I can't wake up early because the night before I didn't get enough sleep (some of my friends share some very inspiring stories, but that's another story), so yeah I got a few good excuses to not being able to wake up early. So I finally went there around 12.30 PM. I took the 539 bus from across my dorm and get off at the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai). Well, so the day before I already searched the way from my dorm to the Chatuchak Market. And because there is no direct bus from my dorm, I need to make a transfer to another bus. I remember that I could get off at the Southern Bus Terminal and then take another bus to the market, but I forgot which bus that I should take. And the stupidest thing is, I didn't know that I already used up all my data plan; so I didn't have internet in my phone. Well enough for that. I finally figure out that I should take either the 28 bus or 177 bus. But the thing is.... I already sat at the bus stop for about 45 minutes, and there is no sign of both of these buses. So I decided that I need another plan. So I know that the Chatuchak Market location is close to the Northern Bus Terminal (Mochit), thus I decided to take one of the buses that heading to this terminal -- which is the 170 bus.
'
Long story short, I finally arrived at Mochit (after an hour ride); and it turns out that it's not as close as I thought. Well I only need to walk for about 20 minutes...... but still. There are many taxis and motorcycle taxis that offer me a ride to the market, but no, I don't want to spend anymore money for unnecessary things like transportation. So yeah, a 20 minutes walk it is.

So I actually already went to the Weekend Market before, and at that time I went there in the morning from 9 AM and got back at noon; so it was just the perfect time to avoid the people and the hot weather. And this time, I came at the wrongest time possible! The hot weather itself I can handle, but the people.... No, I just can't. But because I have a mission to accomplish -- I need to buy souvenirs and gifts for my family and friends since I would go back to Jakarta in some time soon -- I won't give up! Besides, I already spent 2,5 hours on the road and I don't want to go back for nothing.

Well so, Chatuchak is the best place if you want to find...... everything! It is the biggest weekend market in the world, and they have the broadest product line. You could find literally everything, from cloth to pets, souvenirs to spices & herbs, furniture to shoes! So if you are the typical of a mass shopper, this is definitely the best place for you.

So yes, I just go through the souvenir section (which is hard to find because of the huge size of the market) and then... shop! I tried to speak a few Thai words (I'll mention some of it in this post later!) just because I just love to blend in with the locals (since my face already looks like one), and who knows, maybe I could get some extra discounts because I'm Thai! :p

And the amazing thing is, it actually worked! I got a huge discounts, and it's not because of I'm Thai (well they finally figured out that I'm not Thai after a few words more), but it's because they appreciate my effort to learn Thai! So guys, this is a major lesson: learn a few words of a country before you go somewhere, because the locals would feel respected!

Long story short, after a few hours I finally got everything that I needed with a very good price. And that's all that matters. So yap, I'm so happy right now -- mission accomplished!

Here's some Thai words that might come in handy: (the polite particular for girl is kha and boy is krab)

• Sawadee kha/krab --- Hi/Hello/Goodbye
• Sabai dee mai --- How are you doing?
• Sabai dee kha/krab --- I'm good
• Kho tod kha/krab -- Sorry/Excuse me
  
• Tao lai kha/krab --- How much?
• Aniy -- This
• Lot day mai -- Can you give discount?
• Khap kun kha/krab -- Thank you
• Neng - One
• Song - Two
• Sam - Three
• Si - Four
• Ha - Five (that's why Thai people often say 5555 while chatting which means hahahaha)
• Ho - Six
• Jet - Seven
• Pet - Eight
• Kao - Nine
• Sip - Ten
• Sip et - Eleven
• Sip song - Twelve
• Yi Sip - Twenty
• Loy - Hundred
• Song loy - Two hundred