Blown fuses: getting plugged-in in Bangkok

I love my little apartment and it took great strides this weekend in finally coming together. On Friday my new chair, footstool, and end table were delivered. Two more end tables will be coming in September. On Saturday I bought a new night table at Ikea and got it assembled this morning.  All of that means that I am now ready to choose paint colors so I can paint, frame and hang pictures, and then tackle the guest room.

But I'm also having a small issue this week with the electrical outlets in the apartment, or shall I say, the lack of electrical outlets.  It's been an issue since I moved in, but it came to a head this week when I started blowing fuses :)

Imagine this.  In the entire apartment, there are a total of 8 individual plugs: four sets of 2 each.  One in each bedroom, one in the kitchen area, and one in the living room.  Into these 8 outlets I must plug in a refrigerator, hotplate, toaster oven, living room fan, TV, laptop, speakers, internet modem, 2 living room lamps, bedside lamp, bedside fan, cell phone charger, and on occasion a rice cooker, electric grill, or guest room fan.

This week my problem was that I was grilling meat and veggies and wanted the fan on (since the grill makes the kitchen hot) and was boiling water for pasta at the same time.  All 3 of these things, and the fridge, were plugged into the same set of 2 outlets with a power cord and it just kept blowing the fuse (which of course is located above my head so I had to drag a chair into the kitchen so I could reach it to keep flipping it.  Eventually I gave up on the fan and had to eat the pasta side dish later since I couldn't cook it at the same time as the meat and veggies. 

The problem, really, is that I am a Western foreigner living in an apartment that is not designed for a Westerner and all of her gadgets.  I guess I am lucky that I don't requite a hair dryer or a curler or a straightener of any kind, considering there isn't an outlet to be had in the bathroom and I'm already in enough danger with my web of power strips and extension cords that I wouldn't want to be dragging one across a wet bathroom.  Don't worry, I shall try my best not to burn the place down and though I managed to give myself a good 220 volt shock at one point last year, I have yet to electrocute myself in the new apartment.  I'll do my best to keep it that way :)

Love flow down

I heard a quote a few weeks ago, I think at church, that has just been churning around in my head ever since.  We can never do anything to make God love us more than he already does.  At first, it just seems like yeah yeah yeah, I heard that before, and I get it. But on closer examination I am starting to see just how much of my life revolves around trying to earn grace, trying to earn love.  And when I can stop trying to earn it, trying to make God love me more, I have the freedom to do so many other things.  When my energy is not all going towards trying to impress God, I have more energy to live the abundant life he has given me.  I can spend time with friends and give real time to them.  I can workout. I can teach and tutor and put more into my job.  I can teach English.  I can watch Downton Abbey and lose myself in a good story and strong characters.  I can go grocery shopping.  I can cook.  I can even mingle. With people I don't know. On a weekly basis.  Without thinking, shoot me now, the entire time. 
As I am better able to comprehend the depth that I am loved, I am better able to love others.  To relax (my family has been trying to get me to do this one for years).  To give.  To extend grace.  To let God be God and just rest in him and in the knowledge that nothing I do today, or tomorrow, is going to change the depths of the riches of his glorious love for me.

Too often I hear truth and I don't really let it settle and resonate deeply.  But this one I can't get out of my head.

God's love for me does not depend on how clean my apartment it. Or how well decorated it is.  It does not depend on the number of friends I have or the quality of friendships.  It has little to do with how I teach or what I teach or even if I teach.  His love is not going to increase if I'm more involved at church or if I always remember people's birthdays.  It won't deepen because I wake up early to pray or lessen when I am unable to do so.  His love won't diminish if I buy veggies and don't get around to eating them and they rot in the fridge. I can't earn it by what I write or say or do.  It is not inversely proportional to the size of the inner tube that is developing around my belly.  His love doesn't change based on marital status or social status or facebook status.  His love is already at the fullest possible measure.  His grace is already offered.  He is already my God.

I hope this truth can settle even more deeply into my heart in the days to come, that it continues to turn and tumble through my mind until it takes root.   

Not just another taxi ride

You never quite know what you're going to get when you jump in a taxi around here.  Today after school I went grocery shopping with two friends. We hailed a cab in front of the school and were off.  The car was brand new and very clean, but there was one good sized red ant running up the seat in front of my friend, so she started swatting at it, and thus hitting the back of the driver's seat. 

"Don't worry, just an ant," my friend told him. 
"You eat ants?"  Emmmmmm, no!

The man proceeds on for several minutes explaining to us the best ways to prepare and cook ants.  Two of the three of us couldn't understand him, but that's the gist of what my friend said he was saying.  He was really into this whole ant thing.

Needless to say, I still came home with the more traditional pork to put on the grill with my veggies. 

Rainy Season

Moving to Bangkok has introduced me to several new seasons, as the traditional summer, fall, winter, and spring aren't really a part of nature's rhythms here.  There's the really hot season, the rainy season, and the fairly hot season. Mostly hot and really hot are about like they sound- hot.  But it was rainy season that I really wondered about.  What does that mean exactly? Does it rain 24-7 from May to October?  Does it rain every day?  Does it feel like Scotland, where you wonder if you'll ever see the sun, only hotter? 

The answer, really, seems to be none of the above.  As I encounter my second rainy season, it seems to feel a touch like Florida in summer, only more extreme.  The sun, thankfully, continues to shine most days during rainy season, and there are days when it doesn't rain at all.  There are some days where there is a constant drizzle or frequent bouts of light rain.  But mostly, it seems, there are lovely sunny days with big giant late afternoon downpours.  The safest rule is, no matter how nice it looks outside, take your umbrella. 

Today, for example, I had a lovely sunny walk to school at 6:30am.  By afternoon though, things were clouding up and I noticed a little after 3 pm that some rather ominous clouds were moving in.  The wind, fresh and cool and strong, hit first.  Then big blobs of water pelted down.  Eventually, the wind backed off a bit and there is now a steady rain falling amid occasional rumbles of thunder.  I doubt that it will last much longer, and then I will be safe to venture out into the world again.

I love it when the wind kicks up and I can tell a storm is coming. I love the cool breeze and fresh spring feel. When it rain sideways I have to close all the windows, but I love it once the wind calms down and the overhang protects me once again and I can open everything back up.  I love the smell of the rain.  I also really love that any plants that can survive the wind on the balcony never need to be watered.  Or at least not for a few more months. 

Queen's Birthday

Yesterday was the queen's birthday, which means two things.  First, yesterday was Mother's Day, and second, today we have the day off in her honor.  Last night there was a big ceremony and celebration at the Grand Palace downtown.  I went to an afternoon church service and then out to dinner with friends. They had the ceremony on the TV's at the restaurant and at one point they started passing out candles to all the patrons at the restaurant. They were the little hand-held kind like what you would use during Silent Night at a Christmas Eve service.

So when everyone on the stage and in the crowd at the palace lit their candles, we also all stood and lit ours (restaurant employees included).  There was a small stage at the restaurant for live music and several well dressed people (employees?) stood on the stage with their candles.  We stood and sang the king's anthem along with the TV, and then another royal song I didn't recognize.  And at one point in the song we all lifted our lit candles in the queen's honor. 

It was a nice little surprise to get to watch and participate in a Thai cultural moment.  We just don't get that kind of stuff in the US! 

Year 2 Starts

My second year at ICS has started off really well. Tuesday was the first day after having an Open House on Monday afternoon.  I love the first few days of school with sixth graders as they learn about middle school and get so excited about things like lockers and changing classes.  They come in all nervous and excited and have a million questions.  I especially love that they laugh at all my jokes :) 

I have also really been enjoying the fact that it's not my first year so I know what's going on and my lesson planning is a million times easier.  Even in the first days of school I am already finding that I have more time and energy for more creative stuff in the classroom and for doing things in the evenings.

Probably the most exciting thing I've done this week (I know you're all on the edge of your seats) is buy a grill. I wanted a little one for the balcony, but didn't really find one. What I did find was an electric one I can use in the kitchen, so I got that.  Being electric, I'll definitely use it more often than a charcoal, which is good, even if it doesn't have that awesome charcoal flavor.  I've grilled steak and veggies one night and some chicken and veggies another night, which is a huge improvement over my usual "cooking".

Jet Lag

I admit, I feel a little guilty saying this, but emmm, I don't really get much jet lag.  I feel incredibly blessed in that way, as friends and colleagues continue to wake up early, and throughout the night.  I do have several distinct advantages over many of these people, the first being that I don't have small children.  Little ones can't be coaxed and coddled into changing their sleep schedule very easily, and if they're awake, you're awake.  Secondly, I am a champion sleeper. It's one of my greatest talents.  With few exceptions, I can sleep most anywhere and any time, which not only helps me when I arrive at my destination, but also helps me start to adjust my sleep schedule in transit on the planes when I need to.  Don't hate me, but that first week I basically wake up once per night, use the bathroom, and fall back asleep till morning- ahhhh sleep!  I also happen to believe in better living through chemistry, so that helps me get a good night sleep that first night I arrive. 

So this week wasn't quite as bad as it could have been. After my 50 some hours in transit, my flight landed in Bangkok last Sunday night at 10:15 and I was at work at 7:30 Monday morning.  By Tuesday I'd developed a cold, and though it made me miserable, it probably also help me sleep even better than normal.  As I adjusted mentally and physically this week, I pretty much just worked and watched Olympics.  School starts Tuesday and I'll start resuming the rest of my regular life activities once I get the first few days under my belt- and the Olympics finish.  Maybe next week when I'm feeling better I'll even be able to watch later into the evening! 

The Olympic Games: Only One Gets the Prize

I love the Olympics.  I don't care what sport it is, if it's Olympics, I will watch it.  Skiing, fencing, paint drying.  Olympic gold is the ultimate prize in many sports, especially my beloved figure skating.  I love the games, but they can also be really sad: with only one winner, there sure are a lot of people who lose.  In the medal ceremonies I like watching the faces of those who won silver and bronze.  For some, a medal of any color is thrilling.  For others, anything short of gold is defeat.

The training for Olympic athletes (and aspiring Olympic athletes) amazes me.  They train every day, every year, year after year. Many of them relocate, changing cities, countries or continents in search of the perfect training situation.  Sometimes the entire family moves, while some athletes move far away from their families, even at a very young age.  Everything all day is focused on one goal: eventual Olympic gold.  It influences where they live, when they get up, what they eat, what they do with their time, what their money goes towards, what time they go to bed.  Gone is a normal school life, a normal family life, a normal social life.  Families sacrifice so much- all in hopes to qualify to compete. 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says that in a race, everyone runs but only one of them gets the prize.  That we are to run in such a way as to get that prize.  That everyone who competes goes into strict training in order to win a crown that will not last. But we, as Christians, run the race in order to get a crown that lasts forever.

Now, I am not much of a runner.  I only run when I feel like it: when the weather is nice, I'm not sore or tired, have the time, etc. It's aimless.  But when I have a goal, like a race to train for, a prize so to speak?  Every day. Rain or shine. 

So it makes me wonder.  Do I live my life and pursue Christ with every minute of every day?  Does my pursuit of God change when I get up in the morning? When I eat and what I eat?  What I do all day?  What I spend money on?  Where I live?  What time I go to bed?  Is my faith something that I only practice when conditions are perfect, or is it rain or shine? 

So I strive to run in such a way as to get the prize.  Live to "shave milliseconds off my time". Choreograph each movement, from fingers to toes.  Wake every day to train for a crown of righteousness.  One that does not spoil, does not fade from media attention, does not collect dust on a shelf.  Run for the crown that lasts.