I'm Baaacckk!!!

My month-long hiatus has ended, and I have finally decided to write something. Forgive my absence, but I've just been pretty uninspired (although plenty has happened since I last wrote). I just get back from school most days and numb my mind with the anesthetic of television until I have no desire to do ANYTHING productive. Today, I shut off the TV, bumped some good music (Kid Cudi's Make Her Say and Cheb Khaled's Aicha were some favorites), and began to excavate my brain of interesting experiences in the past month.

Then I thought, "I really haven't said much about Khon Kaen, have I?" Nope. I haven't talked much at all about where I live and how I've been living. So, I want to give you an idea of what Khon Kaen is like, and compare it to the great metropolis that is Bangkok (I guess that means that I'll have to tell you a bit about Bangkok as well). Here it goes:

Khon Kaen is charming city in Northeast Thailand. It's population is in the 100,000s, but Khon Kaen province itself holds nearly 2 million people. Khon Kaen is the capital of Isaan, the Northeastern region of Thailand; but for such an important administrative center, it knows how to keep its cool. And its a Don Cheadle kind of cool, as opposed to Denzel or Will Smith for example - understated and underrated, but when he nails that scene, your eyes just gleam with amazement and all you can say is "Wow!" That's Khon Kaen for you. It's geographically flat and uninteresting (it sits on a plateau). Economically, it's nowhere close to a bustling city and after 10PM most places are closed, but people are always on their hustle, especially the street vendors. Scholastically, it has one the best universities in Thailand (Khon Kaen University), and it's youthfulness gives it a college town feel. The social scene is very limited. There are only three "clubs" in the city (Ubar, Rad, and Tawandaeng), but at night, almost every restaurant or bar plays live music and people (usually men) heartily drink beer. The scene definitely picks up on the weekends, with more people out on the town, but despite its limitations the party scene grows on you: it's quaint and predictable, but you keep going back to it every weekend. Politically, Khon Kaen is a pretty vital part of Thailand and is a crossroads between Northern Thailand and Central (Bangkok). About 1/3 of the population of Thailand resides in Isaan, and the region is the poorest and funkiest part of the country. Isaan is culturally strongly tied to Laos, and the Isaan language itself is more similar to Lao (the language of Laos) than Thai. The people of Isaan have a strong cultural heritage and are proud of it. This makes Khon Kaen an interesting cog in the giant wheel of the Thai political sedan. Anything that happens in Khon Kaen affects the country as a whole.

KK is an authentic (in the sense that you actually have to know some Thai in order to get around), unassuming Thai city, but you can tell that it's on the verge of something bigger. A new, massive mall is being built that, apparently, should compare with some of the behemoth shopping complexes in Bangkok (and it'll show movies with English subtitles too!!!), more and more farangs (foreigners) are popping up in the city, and interesting new businesses are springing up everywhere (I went to a "hip-hop" shop the other day that sells oversized shirts, fitted caps, and the coolest, acid-induced, multicolored high-tops I've seen in my life). This all goes to show that Khon Kaen is perhaps losing it's innocence, it's cool, and turning more and more into a Bangkok (think New Orleans on crack). I really hope not.

I like KK just the way it is. I especially like the people. Khon Kaeners, when you get to know them, are some of the most graceous, generous, and friendly people in the world. You never have to ask twice for a ride, you get regularly bombarded with snacks and fruits from colleagues and friends, and invitations to join in a meal, or in a drink, are as ubiquitous as sculptures of The Buddha. People just really want you to feel comfortable, and they'll go to some lengths to make you like them. In my short time in Bangkok, I didn't find people to be quite as accommodating, which is actually understandable. Bangkok is a big city which caters to tourists from all over the world, most of them uninterested in the people and the culture and more interested in the elephants, pad Thai, the seedy nightlife, and the mind-blowing temples. Bangkok is also a hub for Thai people from all over the country. It's the New York City of Thailand: If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere! So, lots of people (especially young men) leave the hometowns for Bangkok in the hopes of finding riches and/or opportunities to support their families. This creates a city of multiple personalities - the naive, the disgruntled, the angry, the overwhelmed, the awestruck, the starstruck, and the desperate... all vying for a role in the great theater that is the "Venice of the East." In this environment, people become a little less friendly, start guarding their privacy a bit more, try to squeeze out one more buck (or baht, in this case) out of a customer, and become more wary about who to trust. That's how you get by.

Now, I'm not bashing Bangkok. In fact, I think its a mesmerizing, cosmopolitan city, and one of my favorites to visit. But, like many big cities (New York for example), it often gets a reputation for being unkind (the traffic and pollution doesn't help either). A fairer characterization of Bangkok is: complex. But I have to admit that I prefer the simplicity of life that Khon Kaen affords me. People are more at ease and comfortable in the environment. There's actually an environment here, with more greenery and less concrete than in Bangkok. Yeah, I don't see too many people who look like me. Yeah, it can be very difficult finding anyone to actually have a conversation with. But this has forced me to adapt, to try to understand better, and to work on my nonverbal, orangutan arm-swaying communication more than ever. I'm digging Khon Kaen, and I think it's loving me back a bit more everyday.

...What I'm not digging though, is this leak in my ceiling. If I have to wake up again at 4am to clean my floor, I'm gonna go ape on somebody...