Bikeless in Koh Lanta

This week has been marked by the coming and going of many people, which loosely translates to several late nights of indulging in island life. Camilla, Miriam, and Camilla's friend Ash who was visiting left on Tuesday for Bangkok where Camilla is, today, flying to Australia and Miriam is sorting out medical information for her New Zealand visa application. Miriam will be back today but I'm quite sad to see Camilla go; we'd been hanging out a lot in her last few days. Also on Tuesday we had two new volunteers arive. There's one girl, Sarah, from Manchester who has been rooming with me since her arrival and another girl, Tilly, from England and both seem like nice people. Today the two Polish vets, Sylvia and Eva, after several attempts to extend their stay, are sadly departing for home. With Miriam in Bangkok for these few days I hold the title of longest volunteer which is strange since I still feel like I've just arrived here, but no, tomorrow is four weeks - my half way point. Am I half way through all the things I'd like to do here?

As usual I have to comment on my bike once again and our deteriorating relationship. While I first thought of it as cute and quirky in a broken down kind of way, I'm now realizing a few more of its dangers and attitude problems. I say attitude problems because clearly my bike has a mind of its own and will try to kill anyone who rides it besides me. The time I let Terezia ride it she fell over and cut her elbow. Then I let Miriam ride it the other day when I was on the back of Sylvia's bike and while she was driving the kickstand somehow came down and sent sparks flying behind it, almost causing a really dangerous accident. We continued driving out to Kantiang Bay, about half an hour's drive, to go to Why Not Bar for Camilla's last night. Such a fun night, but when Miriam and I went to get on my bike and drive home we discovered it had taken some angry revenge out on us by having a flat tire. I need a bike therapist.

It would have been too dangerous to ride the bike home in that condition with two of us on it and a terrible road, and suddenly we found ourselves stranded far away from the shelter. But then to our rescue came a Thai man from the bar who immediately offered us a ride home and to bring me back the next day to get my bike fixed. What is this kindness? A complete stranger is going to go out of his way for our sake? But that's kind of what people are like here. This island is small enough that you routinely run into people you've met before and they're all generally kind and with good intentions. As I was working the next day this guy, Pey, offered to take my keys and money and get it fixed so, trustingly or perhaps naively, I did just that. And he did what he said he would and I got my bike back the next day, but not without becoming aware of some alterior motives. While I'm beyond grateful for the help I would be more than happy not to run into this fellow again...and therein lies the problem of living on an island.

When Miriam left I didn't have my bike back yet and the lovely person that she is left me her bike keys as well as her laptop. It's so strange having unlimited time on a computer as opposed to counting minutes because I'm paying for them. I find myself just staring at the screen, fixated by nothing. I saw a television in a store a couple of weeks ago and found it really bizarre to watch the moving picture - it started giving me a bit of a headache. Oh I hope it's not so easy to fall back into habits of tv and electronics as it has been to fall out of them. I really spend most of my free time reading and it's beyond wonderful. That's by far been one of the best things about having this time away without commitment. I've read so many wonderful books and I just want to keep reading. Actually I really wish I had someone to talk about these books with, but I lent Sarah a few of mine so perhaps that wish will be fulfilled. Fittingly for Thailand I've read a few Buddhist-oriented books such as Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh which was a perfect lead in for Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. I flew through Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck) and found myself entirely engrossed in Viktor E Frankl's Man's Search For Meaning. All I've got left is some short stories by J.D. Salinger and then I'll have to prowl some more out of the shelter's left behind book collection. In some ways I'm really looking forward to college and reading lists just to have good books and other people to talk about them with which is so not the attitude I had before I left. I just figured I'd skim through books or use online summaries in typical high school fashion but that would be such a waste of good literature. Maybe that's enough on my love affair with libraries (for today).

Also, Maine, I'm sorry it's snowing but don't feel too bad because it's also only 30 degrees or so here...celsius. Thanks to Miriam's laptop I was able to skype with my parents for the first time in maybe a month today and it was so lovely. It's always a bit strange arranging times to speak because I'm 11 hours ahead (it used to be 12 but Thailand doesn't have a time change) and so it was bright morning sunshine on my end and nightly darkness at home. I suppose that's all I have time for right now - it's time to work the afternoon shift, and then I'm also doing the sleep in tonight. First sleep in without Rufus!