Australia

After three months of travelling, I have heard and talked about Thailand more and more often, either within my team or with people I have encountered. There have been many times when my team praised the warm weather and sunny days; I just thought that Thailand is hotter and sunnier. When someone crazily ran down to a beautiful beach, I just thought that Thai beaches are more amazing. Every time the team was amazed with the low living expenses, I just thought that it is also cheaper in Thailand. It may be a patriotic feeling but I have never realized how wonderful and liveable my country is.

Spending time in South America and South Africa where there are not many Asians to be seen, being a Thai is some kind of a rare species (but warmly welcomed). I felt excited with the new setting and practice that I am not accustomed to. But arriving in Sydney where there is such a large Asian population and loads of Thai restaurants, the feeling of my nation evokes an unexpected strive for identity.

After a series of incomprehensible countries, I admit that I feel strange when I hear Thai conversation in an unfamiliar sight. It makes me a happily confused though. Familiarity brings me back to my beloved country, stressing the special invisible value of “Thainess” imprinted in myself. Further more, I have accidentally bumped into a friend I know from Thailand. That longing for self-recognition and mutual acceptance has built up notably. Nationality becomes an invisible and indescribable bond.

In the past when I travelled overseas with my mum, I never wanted to find a Thai meal, I never understood the joy of meeting Thai people abroad, I never liked expressing my “Thainess”. Looking back now, I feel that it was nonsense. But now I gladly embrace what I am and what I have in my country. It is not a homesick feeling, but a pride of being a Thai.

I love Thailand…..