A Humanist activist who lives as a digital nomad, exploring how to apply Humanist values in a traveling lifestyle outside a single fixed community. Follow along on Anya's journey for her unique perspective on life, politics, and more.
Hello from Bangkok, Thailand!
Hi, ReaderWe arrived in Bangkok on September 26th. The flight from Los Angeles to Xiamen, China, was about 15 hours, and the flight from Xiamen to Bangkok was about 3 hours. All told, it was probably 24 hours door to door. But we made it, and we love it here so far! This is my second time in Asia. I lived with and worked for my Uncle in Hong Kong for a few months in 2011. This is Phil's first time in Asia. Both of us are enjoying Bangkok so far. It's a very safe city (perhaps one of the safest we've been to in a while). The main streets are very walkable, and some have skywalks above the road, which link to the train system. The food is delicious and available at much lower prices than we have been dealing with in California for the last few months. However, we bear in mind that we have extreme privileges from earning the US dollar and living on the Thai baht. A Little Thai HistoryThailand has a unique history as a Southeast Asian nation in that Europeans were never able to colonize it. Thailand's neighbors, Myanmar and Malaysia, were colonized by Britain; Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were colonized by the French; the Philippines by the Spanish; Indonesia by the Dutch; and Timor by the Portuguese.
There is, however, noticeable neocolonialization. Between lighter skin being regarded as more beautiful and the popular double eyelid surgery, it's pretty clear that white supremacy culture has an impact here. And don't even get me started on the ever-present "Passport Bro" dynamic here in Thailand (well, maybe next time). Learning ThaiI have been learning to speak and write Thai. It's a tonal language with a non-Latin alphabet, so it's pretty challenging. My mother informed me that it is rated a 4 out of 5 on the US State Department's FSI Language Difficulty Scale — a scale for native English speakers to understand how difficult it is to learn other languages. Here are some peeks into my notebook for Thai language practice: Feedback Time!Until next time. Thanks for following along with me, Writer | Marketer | Activist | Humanist | Digital Nomad |
The Nomadic Humanist
A Humanist activist who lives as a digital nomad, exploring how to apply Humanist values in a traveling lifestyle outside a single fixed community. Follow along on Anya's journey for her unique perspective on life, politics, and more.
Hi, Reader I've been struggling to sleep at night because my Gazan friend is in trouble. As you know, Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. The situation in Northern Gaza is particularly bleak, and there is little hope for a positive change in the situation anytime soon. Haneen Qanetta is a friend of mine. She is 24 years old and lives in northern Gaza with her parents and six siblings. Before the war, Haneen was in nursing school. This is Haneen The Qanetta family lost...
Hi, Reader I’m writing to you from Pasadena, and boy have I been busy in the last eight weeks. Me and Zappa, Marit’s new three-legged dog in Pasadena I meant to get around to sending an email last month, but between all the moving around, the wedding, getting COVID, resigning from the AEU, and some personal drama with friendships, it just didn’t happen. But now I’m back with big updates! Catsitting in Chico, CA Phil and I spent a week in June watching our friend Dan’s cat Scooter while he and...
Hi, Reader I'm writing to you from my dear friend Marit's house in Pasadena, California. If you read my last email, you might recall that this is not where I said I would be this month. I said I was still going to be in Oaxaca, Mexico. Well, I can explain. Marit's dog Loki imitates some kind of Renaissance painting Plans Change A few things happened in Oaxaca to end our time there early, but the driving reason behind leaving was the drought. Oaxaca can only supply something like 30% of the...