I went on the office work trip last month. I hadn’t planned on going since last year’s trip was such a disaster, but when the invitation came, I noticed that they were taking us to an all expenses paid trip to an extremely fancy hotel in Hua Hin (one of the White Lotus hotels), I figured I should go because I’d never be able to afford to go on my own (especially not with what they pay me).
To be completely honest, I was anxious about the trip nearly the whole time. The only thing that gave me comfort was that I was sharing a room with one of the few people I actually got along with. He’s a Thai teacher, he was actually one of my coordinators, but we had a really good rapport and working relationship, so I felt much more at ease knowing I’d be with him. When he didn’t show up on the bus, I got very anxious.
It turns out he drove himself because he was going to stop at his vacation home in the area because it had been vandalized.
The trip was fine, I suppose. I really love Hua Hin. It’s such a beautiful area. I was considering whether or not going to Hua Hin permanently could be in my future, but then I started noticing something… and my co-worker, whom I met for the first time on the trip, confirmed it for me. Before she came to work at the University, she worked in Hua Hin for a few years and so she knew the area. The only other European (white people) were old fat British men living out their retirement by the beach.
Now that is a completely common problem. Seriously. That’s one of the reasons I always lived and spent time away from the tourist areas because the tourist areas are filled with these awful Harvey Weinstein-looking assholes. I don’t necessarily begrudge them their retirement, but the way that they treat Thai people as subhuman is very bothersome… but then again, that is the heritage of white people, isn’t it? No matter what continent was came from, our track record with indigenous people and people of color is not exactly known for championing their personhood.
Entitlement is ugly in all circumstances but I find it especially grotesque here.
The seminar we were supposed to listen to was an absolute mess. I could not stop laughing at the whole thing… and since I was basically alone, I had to watch my eye-rolling and stop my comments. It was a very challenging seminar to sit through…
The seminar was about developing a personal style. Then we took a survey in which we had to figure out if we were an Autumn, a Winter, a Spring, etc. Seriously. Then we went over the color wheel and had to match our eye color to… OH MY GOD.
Then she started dressing everyone in fashions from the boutique that was sponsoring the event. When she turned the clothing rack around and I saw the name, I literally spit water all over the person in front of me from laughter. Apologizing with a dribbling face while turning cherry-red from laughter is probably a new level of multi-tasking that I unlocked.
The fashionable clothes she started bringing attendees up, one-by-one, to dress were from Guy Laroche. If you aren’t familiar with him, he was incredibly famous for being the first major designer to put shoulder pads in women’s clothes in the 1980’s. Imagine all the clothing from a 1986 episode of Designing Women and you’d get an idea of what he had on that clothing rack.
3 hours of this nonsense.
You know how they say, “This meeting could’ve been an email”? This seminar could’ve been replaced with a back issue of Ladies Home Journal from the 1980s.
I looked at my roommate who was sitting next to me and said, “I’m gay, I should be exempt from this seminar!”
It was amusing though because at the end my boss, who has never said one nice thing to me since I started working here, complimented the way I was dressed. I find this amusing because I was wearing my work clothes… even though this was a vacation, I’m still very aware of how tenuous my position is, so I didn’t pack one pair of shorts, a t-shirt… none of that. NO RELAXATION FOR ME!
I had on a navy blue tunic, khaki joggers from Uniqlo and black sandals that are like the official Thai footwear for foreigners. He said that I was dressed so cleanly, tastefully and casual but still business appropriate. He asked how I pulled if off and I explained thusly…
I have this shirt in 7 different colors and these pants in 5 different colors. It’s what I call my uniform, so I always look somewhat the same. Relaxed but not sloppy and I only pick colors that reflect my eye or hair color. He nodded in approval and stalked away.
I spent a lot of time at the pool. I forgot how much I love swimming. Although I’m sure everyone was quite surprised to see me in a Speedo. I go from my rather buttoned-up “uniform” to nearly-naked while everyone is chowing down at lunch (the patio at the Standard faces the pool). But whatever, I’m in my 40’s and not fat… I’m proud of that fact.
I’m thinking about buying a camera. I had two very nice ones back in California, but whenever I try to ask what happened to all my things when my mother moved, she becomes scatterbrained and changes the subject. I had two very expensive Canon cameras and if they’re gone, I won’t be happy. But I’m thinking I’ll get the new Fuji coming out soon.
I need some thing to do, especially now that I’ve given up television… Thanks to Ark’s tv show. But I’ll tell you about that next time…
https://www.instagram.com/share/_ltyN4VH8
I took this in Hua Hin.
Loading comments...