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 |  This is my blog & my hope, writing daily will help me see my progress and log supporters. |
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| Being single for the past eight years, I must admit that adjusting to this new relationship has its ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, Nada is a beautiful soul, and I wouldn't change anything about her...well, maybe just a few little things. I'm not having second thoughts, it's just that I'm not used to certain things that are female in nature. Before I met Nada, when I would go to the store, I'd put on my shoes, spray my underarms with deodorant and be gone in sixty seconds. Now, the time it takes to leave the house has stretched to an hour or more. Nada (and I'm sure many other women) won't go anywhere until she has showered. When I arrived at the store, I'd be in and out in a flash. Now, it takes thirty to forty minutes. This is because my beautiful girlfriend NEEDS to examine every piece of fresh produce before she is satisfied and finds the perfect item to place in the bag. And don't get me started on the girly stuff. Creams, lotions, shampoos and conditioners are selected very carefully. Each bottle's smell is just as important as what the label reads. My opinion and approval is a requirement that cannot be overlooked. Nada cooks the most delicious food, and last night, we had a salad with roast chicken which was, without doubt, one of the best meals I have ever eaten. When we began living together (two days after we met), we agreed that if Nada cooked, I would clean up afterwards. And given my lack of culinary skills, I am now doing a lot of dishes. My girlfriend owns more clothes than you would see in a boutique. Because she has had to sort through them as she unpacks, this morning's load of washing was both my absolute delight and worst nightmare all rolled into one. We bought an 18kg washing machine, which is pretty large for a domestic unit and because Nada works, I think it only fair that I have taken on the responsibility of keeping our clothes clean. Before we met, I did a small load every second or third day. Nowadays, I'm doing much larger loads and more often. The workload isn't the issue, it's the technical side of things that has me stumped. Nada owns clothes I'm having difficulty figuring out how to hang properly. There are extra bits of material and I don't know where to place the pegs so they hang evenly. Some of her tops have padding in places I don't believe Nada needs to accentuate. All that being said when it comes to Nada's underwear (OK...I have an underwear fetish), I admit I take longer than is necessary to hang them out. FYI...few people use clothes dryers in Thailand because the hot weather makes them redundant. Nada is one of these people who enjoys feeding others. She told me when her son comes to stay, he always gains weight. Her sister told me about this phenomenon, but I didn't quite believe it until I tasted Nada's cooking, and after only a few weeks of living together, my pants no longer fit. She just this second came over to me and shoved a Macadamia nut into my mouth. You might say my mouth has to be open for this to occur, and that's true, but the last thing I want to do is offend my gorgeous Thai girlfriend. |
| As far as being a Farang is concerned, Thailand has its ups and downs. There is a definite bias that leans towards the Thai people. I've mentioned before the unfair situation when it comes to wearing motorcycle helmets. An example is if I'm a pillion on Nada's bike, and neither of us is wearing a helmet and the police pull us over, I'm the only one who will get fined. Yesterday, I had to report my new address to immigration. When my number was called, I approached the female officer and greeted her with a bow (Wai). She didn't look up from her screen and completely ignored me, so I sat down and waited for her to acknowledge my presence. Eventually, she indicated for me to give her my paperwork, and as she looked over the pages, I could tell her demeanour wasn't great. Dot the i's and cross the t's and hope for the best when dealing with officialdom in Thailand...or, do what most foreigners do and pay an agency to handle it for you. Yes, it costs a lot more to go down that path, but the process is so much easier and you are guaranteed to get what you came for. Admittedly, my application wasn't straightforward. The fellow I signed the lease with doesn't technically own the property. The deeds for both his and the house I am renting are in his dead wife's name. Because of this, the immigration officer point-blank refused to accept my change of address. I was finding it hard to understand what she was saying (hence her reluctance to deal with me in the first place), so I called Nada over, and from that moment on, everything changed for the better. I sat quietly listening to the two Thais talking (without understanding what was being said). I cannot express how relieved I was when I sensed the cold I had felt just a few minutes earlier beginning to thaw. Long story short, Nada arranged for my landlord and me to have a follow-up meeting with the same officer today. My landlord was told to bring 20000 baht (or US$600...which was discretely passed over the counter inside a plain white envelope) to ensure a smooth process. All it took was a little money to help grease the machine that is Thai bureaucracy. What appeared to be an impasse the day before, became an easy fix today. Call it what you will, but unless you are willing to get with the program, Thai style, then getting through these barriers will invariably be a much harder undertaking. I must admit that I was worried for a while there. I've invested quite a bit of money in this house, and the possibility of having to walk away was making me feel anxious. However, not having a legitimate address to report to Thai immigration (the only solution I thought of was to get a hotel room until something was sorted) made me feel even worse. And now, thanks mainly to Nada and my landlord's willingness to work with the immigration officer, I have my passport stamped so I don't have to report again for another ninety days, and the issue of legally renting the house has also been solved. We had blinds fitted to the windows and doors in the house this morning, so we no longer feel exposed to the world. All in all, it's been a good day in paradise. |
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