I am in Thailand now. I arrived eight days ago. And I think that that is a record for setting up a new house (renting a condo long term). From a friend of mine. I was also fortunate enough to find a lady to take care of me in the house. She is the ex-girlfriend of a very close friend of mine who used to live here in Thailand. To be honest, she made the difference between it being relatively easy, and an enormous chore.

I don't mean to sound spoiled, but there is a real benefit to having somebody local in places like Thailand who will take care of you, and act as an interface between you and some of the vagaries of the way things are done.

I had to immediately switch out the work desk that was in the condo and add a recliner, but other than that everything in the condo was wonderful. A very few small things that the owner immediately fixed for me. And frankly, I feel at home. It is a smaller building, only eight floors and 34 units total, on a very quiet street on a hill. Yet, it is close to everywhere.

I did, after much vacillating, buy myself a motorcycle. As I write this, I am still somewhat ambivalent about it. I have no problem riding it, the traffic is not really that bad, although one needs to be constantly careful. But I had forgotten how brutal it can be simply being out in the elements all the time. When I arrive someplace I am usually sweaty and feel dirty, and I'm not sure if arriving quickly and under my own power makes up for that. I'm still giving some very serious consideration to buying a car, although I had talked myself out of it numerous times. However my comfort may trump all of those ‘logical’ reasons 🤣. I hate that that idiot politician has created in me a reluctance to use that word.

It has been a very hectic week. There is no doubt about that.

Regarding the transport, here in Thailand, it is very easy to use rideshare services that are either cars or motorcycles. In addition, having found a couple of people, drivers, who have cars that I can call whenever I need to hire a car for a few hours (about $10.00 an hour), I am really evaluating how much I want to keep this motorcycle. Of course, if I had been smart, I would have rented a motorcycle for a few days to see how it was before I went and spent the money on buying a new one. So great to be able to use the excuse “senior moment”.

As compared to Clark, Philippines, they have real stores, where one can get almost anything that one wants. I am talking primarily furniture, home improvement, household goods, electronics, stuff like that. But of course they have everything here from Bulgari to Zara as well. Plus of course, one of the standard things that I look for, great hospitals.

As I write this, the early morning sun is coming in, illuminating the room. It is even more quiet than the house in Clark. And I value the quiet so much.

I have to admit that I have gone a little bit crazy, with going out here and there during the day and early in the evening, but after only eight days, I have adjusted back to being happy to stay at home. It is definitely more expensive for me to live here, simply because I go out more. However, I'm not exactly worrying where my next steak is coming from, so I will probably settle down to a happy balance I hope. And the reason that I think that it is good for me to be going out and seeing people , is because when I'm in the Philippines I turn into a hermit. I probably leave the house only an average of three to four times a week. And only for short periods of time. Other than that I stay ensconced in my cave. Not healthy.

I can't remember if I said this in an earlier blog, but I found out a couple of weeks ago that I cannot in fact apply for Spanish citizenship, because consultation with the second lawyer revealed that you did indeed have to be native born. Honestly, that only engendered in me a sense of relief. One less thing to have to worry about. Now, I will just spend most of my time going back and forth between the Philippines and Thailand.

I am continuing to have these flare ups in my low back on some mornings. I still can't figure out what's causing it. However, Prednisone and a hot pack usually seem to clear it up within a few hours. I cannot complain about that, compared to the old problem that I had with muscle spasms and knots that could last for days if not weeks. But - I’m back to rucking albeit only with a 6kg pack. But that is better than nothing 👍.

I have been going back to studying Thai with a vengeance. I found an extremely good YouTube channel that does a very good job of explaining lots of the intricacies of the Thai language. The Thai language itself in terms of how to express oneself and grammatically is actually relatively simple. The complexity comes from having to learn the alphabet, the written form of the language, combined with the tones. There are a myriad of little rules regarding the writing (hidden vowels, hidden syllables even, consonants that change their sound at the end of the word, and many others). The tone thing. I didn't really pay attention to it when I studied Thai 10 years ago or more and that was a mistake. I should have.

I have always said that tonal languages are impossible for me because of my hearing, but I start regular Thai lessons this week and I am really going to give a shot to trying to master the towns. Well, master may be a bit of an exaggeration. If I can just barely get myself understood by saying things with the right tone, I would be ecstatic. I think most of the time, when listening, I can probably understand the word from context rather than understanding the tone. Because truly, I don't care how much the teachers yap about this, I have a very difficult time telling when somebody is saying a word with one tone versus another tone.

My goal is to see if I can get my Thai to A2 level by the end of the year (CEFR standards) – I.e. able to have a basic conversation with no issues. 😊

I can’t express how peaceful it is to NOT be staying in hotel any more. So relaxing.

That’s all for now. I’ll do more of an update next month.