Thoughts and Discoveries during the Trip

There were so many visible trannies in Bangkok and the beach. My dad recognized at least 3 mtf(male to female)s. I thought it was rude of him to tell me "there's one" or "did you see that" each time he saw them. I know he wasn't trying to be rude but still.

Also, he bought me a book about them at the bookstore near the beach.

I finished reading it a few days ago. It was an autobiography of 9 Thai mtfs. In Thailand, they are called kathoeys. Before reading, I thought, if they have their own name, Thai culture must be cool about them. But it seems that's not always the case. Most of them came from poor houses and had to come to Bangkok to work and send money to their family. Their families don't complain about them because they need the money. Many ladyboys work in prostitution because they make much money in a short time that way.

Also, because men are considered superior to women, mtfs are considered to be like a servant and could be treated like shit. So, the ladyboys are desperate to transition completely, like, thinks they have to have the complete surgery. So the ladyboys who have gone through the complete transition looks down on the ones who still haven't or who aren't planning to do so. I thought that was sad. :(

Anyway, I thought this book was very interesting and informative.

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My dad told that Thailand is famous for plastic surgery. I knew this because I've heard many have gone to Thailand to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

He told me that many Thai people have silicone inserted between their eyes to make a barrier so that one eye doesn't slide off to the other when they are asleep! That's funny!! Haha!

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In this trip, I realized how important and useful to be able to speak English. I mean, I know it's important but not HOW important. I can't speak a word of Thai but I could communicate because the others could talk English. If I just spoke Japanese, I would be totally clueless of what was going on. Also, I realized that SPEAKING is more useful then writing or reading. My dad has been living in Bangkok for a year now and he can just about make himself understood when talking to the local Thais. He can't read or write Thai. He says he's not really good at listening to Thai either. Still, he's coping.

I think about my class mates (they're going to school everyday even during the summer holidays) and think "is what they are learning going to be useful when they go abroad for holiday?" ...I don't think so. Sad.

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Because I had all this amazing experience, I CAN'T WAIT FOR GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like, I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO EXPLODE WITH EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok I need to calm down....

I can't wait to break free from the "wake up, go to school, study, come back, sleep" routine and experience new things. There's so much that I wouldn't dream of with text books.

I'm only going to school practically until December so it's only 4 months. It sounds short but feels SO LONG!!!!!!