Leben Leben Liebe

Hello Hello

How time flies… it's strange, you have the feeling that when you're not working, you have so much time, and that's true, but still, the days go by too quickly...

The last two weeks have been full of action: parties, fights, festivals, and a lot of Muay Thai... and little sleep 😎

On October 26, 2017 was the funeral of the king, a very special, sad but also interesting day in Thailand. The island felt deserted, calm, and the mood very somber. Almost everything was closed and everyone was dressed in black. I also dressed appropriately in the last minute (after showing my black outfit to Joy and she explained to me that it's not correct for the king!). Since the Muay Thai center was also closed, I allowed myself to sleep in. In the afternoon, we went to the other side of the island to the Old Town, where a ceremony was taking place in the temple. The entrance was heavily guarded and despite my outfit, which I just bought, I had to wear a long black skirt over my long black pants. What heat, all buttoned up from top to bottom, but what must be done, must be done! We received a special flower and had to walk along a beautifully decorated aisle, bow at the end, and then we were allowed to sit down and listen to the monk and pray. The tears flowed in streams, the Thais call the king their father and you could feel the pain they were feeling everywhere. After that, we watched the whole ceremony on TV all evening, Cannon (darling) explained a lot to me, and yet there are still many unanswered questions for me. Black clothing was still required until October 29, after that, I was looking forward to wearing my pink flip-flops again after almost 3 weeks!

My daily routine has slightly changed because Cannon now works from noon until midnight, so I go to bed later, sleep in longer in the morning, and only go to training at 4 pm. Being in a relationship with a Thai person is wonderful, exhausting, exciting, and always surprising! I could never have imagined this, as I wanted to have my peace and quiet, but what happens, happens 😊

A lot has also changed in training, new trainers have come, new and many people are now training, some are preparing for a fight, and I still have fun every day and I'm super happy about it!

Some of you ask me what I miss? I don't miss much (especially not winter 😁) but what I do miss are my friends! Just speaking Swiss German as it comes naturally, having deep and familiar conversations. Otherwise, I have everything I need and occasionally I need a pizza or a burger among all the rice 😀

There are Open Seasoning parties everywhere right now... live concerts, festivals, and dancing all night long... We went to a reggae concert, to an opening party at a bar, and of course, we enjoyed the Loy Krathong Festival. Loy Krathong is held every year on the night of the November full moon. Everyone builds a small float out of banana stems, including flowers, incense sticks, and 3 candles, which are then released into the sea along with something personal (a nail, hair...). The festival of lights is a thanksgiving to the water goddess and a way to release all anger, grudges, and impurities of the soul so that life can begin anew from a better perspective. Now I hope that all my wishes, prayers, and positive thoughts that I sent off with the float will come true!

I had the great honor of watching an amazing Muay Thai fight by Pon (my favorite trainer)! These were the most impressive 3 hours in Thailand for me (and I've spent a lot of time in Thailand but this was the best experience ever!!!). We drove in the car in the evening and it took us 2 hours to get to Trang on the mainland. The fight was exciting and Pon won confidently with a knee kick in the 3rd round. The opponent had a broken nose and Pon had money in his pocket again 😁 But the best part was seeing him during his preparation. He is always loud, lively, and funny in training, but before the fight, he is totally calm, focused, and introverted. No eye contact, just a fixed gaze into the distance, you could see and feel how he mentally prepared himself, it was just stunning and gave me goosebumps! A fighter who has only practiced Muay Thai his whole life, has had over 300 fights, is truly a special person. I feel honored to have him as my trainer and to be inspired by him every day! Kapunka kun Pon!

Aek, another Muay Thai trainer, turned 51 the day before yesterday and in the evening, he organized a huge barbecue, that was so much fun and joyful 😂 (see photos) Muay Thai people are like divers, a family of their own. Now I have so many families around the world and I'm happy to be able to count a new one among them. How beautiful it is to wake up slowly on my balcony every morning with a smile, a dance, or a joke when the trainers from the studio downstairs call out my name (which, by the way, is pronounced in all variations 😄). It is also very familiar in the accommodation and everyone helps each other, whether it's with a tea when someone is sick, a beer, or whatever.

I also have the pleasure of learning some Thai and it's even free. The International Language School here is publishing a self-study book and they were looking for people to test it and provide feedback. That means, this week I'm learning Thai for 1-2 hours every day👌👌👌

Trash Hero... Unfortunately, with a heavy heart, I did it for the last time last Sunday. It wasn't easy for me to give it up, but I hope I can still participate occasionally (I can't write publicly why I stopped, it's too risky for me).

So my dear ones, that's a brief summary of what I'm experiencing here. I would love to write more about what it feels like to live with Thais, what's funny, quirky, exciting, and annoying, but that doesn't belong in public!

But one thing is clear: I'm doing really well, I'm super happy, and I'm enjoying my life here to the fullest, I can very well imagine living here forever! Just go with the flow...

With love, Daniela