The following piece consists of a little list of tips inspired while writing an email to my 'ole office pals at DC's District Department of Environment. Now working in a Thai local government office, I anticipate taking back to America the following tips from my Thai counterparts....
NOTE: The picture here consists of me and new Thai office pals -- it was at their special request that I share this picture with you all!
1) Don’t be serious.
Colleagues, language teachers, friends and my host family – oh, and even the village fortune teller – continually remind me to “not be serious” regarding work, relations or myself. (The staff meeting on my first day was a good example of the Thai’s lightheartedness. I was essentially introduced – not as a former educator or administrator or such – but as the ‘gluten-free, non-drinking, properly dressed, and happy to be single, lady.’ Ha!) Yes, I’m taking to heart how the Thai’s repeatedly stress that ‘enjoying life’ and/or ‘fun’ is the only thing that should ever be considered serious.
2) Take an extra coffee break, or two.
I won’t pretend to be being productive – if I’m not then I’ll take a break (or write my former colleagues a lengthy email). I’ll drink some more joe, go for a stroll, or just casually chit-chat. I won’t be so serious about having to do something at every single moment. (NOTE: This is NOT easy for someone as obsessive compulsive about immediacy as me!! Therefore, I am constantly reminding myself of that saying: I’m a human-being, not a human-doing.)
3) Wear matching shirts.
Each day of the week in Thailand corresponds with a different color of the rainbow, and if one ever finds themselves pondering “what day is it?”, they merely need to look around and see the radiating stream of bright orange shirts to know it’s Thursday. It’s a friendly reminder, and it’s fun!
4) Share food.
Everyday is a potluck day for breakfast, snacks and lunch – watermelons, mangos and jackfruit; curries, papaya and cucumber salads. There’s never a bang-of-hunger to be found, and there’s always good reason for another break to join in on the eating, the sharing, and the enjoyment of one another. It’s fun!
5) Use nicknames.
Most every Thai person has a nickname, and it’s usually a fruit or animal, but sometimes it can be a descriptive adjective (I’ve been deemed “moonlight”, after denouncing my first nickname “shampoo”, which is the name of a rather plain fruit that I really don’t care for). Try calling a colleague a banana or a monkey – it’s fun!
6) Use less toilet paper.
Okay, so not necessarily an office affair, but nature calls wherever one is – and it particularly calls quite a bit if one is taking those extra coffee breaks. That said, while I’ve always been one to appreciate my fair share of squares, I’ve found that one or two squares truly is suitable for most situations, and this makes me feel bad about the wades I wasted that inevitably ended up in the Potomac, or in sewage-flooded basement apartments -- not that I speak from personal experince on the latter, or anything like that! Ha. Not fun. (NOTE: Maybe this is why toilet paper is most popular on table tops?)
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Indeed. I find it no coincidence that the word “co-worker” in the Thai language translates directly to “friend-at-work”, as the atmosphere and etiquette of the workplace certainly fosters such relations. (Not to mention the lack of cubicles. Desks are side-by-side in a large openspace, and it's more preferable then I could have imagined. Why 'box' ourselves in anymore then we already do by being inside a building, in a house, in a car, etc...)
All that said, at the risk of being a bit cheesy, I want to add a final “tip” learned, and that is that I will always take the time to reflect on the what, the where and the with whom I am experiencing, and make sure to share this experience with others – because if you’ve actually taken the time to read this, then I’ve exchanged my experience with you, and this is truly most satisfactory.
And, what pray-tell do you have to share? Any tips you want me to pass along to the Thai's perhaps?
Shelby! Wow, this is such a great list of tips! How interesting and insightful.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to have fallen behind on reading your blog, but today Wordpress told me that someone clicked on my blog from yours and I was so happy to re-discover it!
One thing I have learned about blogging though, is never hesitate to "be a bit cheesy!" If not here, then where?? Those are often the most profound comments.
Ok glad to hear things are going well!
-Jenny
Love the blue shirts and the whole concept of a different color for each day of the week. What a way to keep track of what's going on. Sounds like you are having the adventure of a lifetime.
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