The East and the West

Yesterday I went to a hair salon to get my roots colored. I have been to this place two other times for various hair needs since my arrival in Thailand. While I was sitting in the chair waiting for the color to process, I was going through my Thai vocabulary flash cards. One of the stylists came and sat next to me and asked what I was studying. I showed her my cards. She proceeded to help me with pronunciation for the next thirty minutes as I reviewed my seven most recent lessons.

Once we got through all the vocabulary, we proceeded to have a conversation about Chiang Mai and how it has changed in the last two years since so many Thai people moved here after the flooding in Bangkok. She was telling me how much she likes country living and the small feeling of Chiang Mai and doesn’t want things to change too much.

On Saturday I went to dinner with my landlord and the YFC Asia Pacific training director. My landlord took us to a Thai restaurant that sits on the edge of a small lake. We ate amazing Thai food, including a whole fish that was cooked on a skillet over an open flame at the table.

While we sat and ate, a group of Thai men approached the table with a guitar, mandolin, and upright bass. They proceeded to serenade us with country and Irish music, singing in broken English. The music was fabulous and the three of us couldn’t help, but smile through every performance. As the sun went down, the geckos sat on the railing next to the table, snatching moths from the air.

Living in Chiang Mai seems to be full of contrasts. There are moments that feel so urban and Western, like sitting in the hair salon at the mall or listening to country music. Yet this is juxtaposed with Thai food, language, and cultural values (and geckos). There is such wealth and such poverty. There is the cosmopolitan and the rural. There is the East and the West. Yet, in the midst of all the contrasts, there are people. People I want to communicate with. People who I want to know Jesus. People I want to learn to love in the midst of the contrasts.