Bangkok!

(Bangkok V-Day cast!)

I’m in Bangkok! What does that mean? It means everything is new. It means last night was a whirlwind of the first V-day fundraiser event, with my backpack stashed behind the bar, and mingling with a crowd of glittering ex-pats producers, stockbrokers, actresses, UN workers, etc. It means I am new enough here that I was thrilled to see an elephant in the street. It means I slept nearly 12 hours after an endless two days of travel and bureaucratic bull-shit that necessitated me desperately buying a plane ticket to India before I could board; I’m going to have to switch my ticket and make a visa run at 30 days. It means I am listening to Flashdance and Eve 6 while the Thai wind wraps around the studio apartment my main contact Alanna’s friend is letting me use. It means I’m sleeping in the hugest bed ever, that a tiny balcony overlooks the Northern Bangkok skyline, that I am determined to keep this guys plant not only alive but flourishing. The skytrain is awesome! It means there is pomegranate juice and chocolate soy milk in the fridge. It means I can breath easier in the humid heat, that my pores are cheering the warmth, that I can return to flipflops, that the sun is making me ridiculously giddy. And having done my first step immersion stuff- cell phone now in hand, mystifying grocery store experience, public transportation, I am suddenly- settling. It is shocking how quickly these basic details get taken care of. How… (please don’t let this jinx me) easy it all is. I was a bit daunted leaving this morning, but my nerves quickly switch to excitement-stimulation instead of fear by all the I see, smell and hear. Walking from the skytrain to ‘my apartment’ the air is filled with mouthwatering street food smells, and there is a beautiful, silk draped shrine in the alley. Motor-bike taxis await their next patron. I think I’m going to be really inspired here.

Tonight I’m going to a Vagina Monologues rehearsal; the cast includes Thais, ex-pats, transgendered folks… It will be done in a combination of Thai and English. My mind’s already a whirrrrr. There is heavy censorship here- a film producer last night told me his movies had liberal chunks frequently removed, including a frame where a women’s dress strap slid modestly off her shoulder. BUT the Vag Mons is somehow under ‘royal patronage’ so it gets to skate away, censorship free! There is a famous tennis player and ex-miss universe publicly sponsoring the event, and there has already been excellent media coverage though it’s still over a month away. This kind of participant-observation is what I dreamt of while writing this fellowship proposal. In a few days Alanna and I will catch a flight to Northern Thailand to do interviews, collecting testimonies of women who have experienced violence at Burmese Refugee camps as part of the activist/educational component of the production. If you know me, you can understand that I am in heaven. More than ever I am aware of the flippant brevity of a year, and feel a near constant ticking against my wrist where a watch should be, reminding me how brief this blessing is. Half way gone, so much to still see and experience…