Adapting To Thailand As A Teenager
This is a bit out of the ordinary on our blog, but we thought it would still apply here as it is a Thailand based post.
This is written from the perspective of Alec Munkvold, the son of Bangkok Beyond’s managing director Frank Munkvold.
As a teenager, moving to a foreign country can be quite a threatening experience. The new food, environment and culture makes it hard to adjust. Especially when growing up as a Norwegian boy, I remember finding it a bit difficult. Not as difficult as I expected however. I liked the difference. I saw a whole new world of opportunities apart from the little town I was from. From a town with a population of 5,000+ to Bangkok, it was a big change for me. I liked it all. This article is a journey through my time adjusting to the new culture and falling in love with it. Learning the bad manners and good manners and how to behave around people and elders in Thailand’s culture. Learning to eat spicier foods and the names of my favorite meals. It’s been two years and I am still learning, but here is my experience so far.
At the age of 16 I moved to Thailand with my father and step mom. Moving during the rainy season was the right move on my father’s end, because of the slightly more chilly weather than usual, it made it easier to adjust to the temperature difference between Norway and Thailand. However I still sweated like a pig and complained almost daily (I did a lot of complaining). Our first house was in a walled community, a village. Located in Khlong 3, Rangsit, so the food choice wasn’t very diverse. We lived in a large village next to a main road and our only form of transportation around the village were two bicycles. We only had a 7/11 and a handful of other restaurants in our large village so my daily breakfast was mostly stir fried pork with basil (Phat Kra Phao), and sometimes ham and cheese toast.
My days were long and boring in the beginning, I had no friends at this point and there was not much to do. I stayed at home while my parents worked in the company. I made Youtube videos however, and managed to develop a new favorite hobby. It forced me to go outside and do something almost everyday to release a new video every week. That was how my days consisted for the next half year. My dad noticed my love for photo editing and video editing and offered me small jobs for the company, which I gladly took. I made small videos for the company, edited their social media banners and earned a very small sum, but I loved it.
A year had passed, we had moved to a different house, now closer to the city. I had lived in Thailand for a year, and somehow I had made no progress in adapting. Maybe the climate and the food, but not the language and I still stayed at home all day and did very little. Youtube had become a thing of the past as video games took over for me. I worked less for the company and I had reached a new low. I ate only two times a day, and not very much. I became very skinny. I hadn’t worked for the company in months and I noticed my dad was disappointed in me. I was worn down by the change and often thought of home, Norway. I wanted to go back and be with my friends and have the life I had the year before.
That attitude changed by 2018 though. My dad had suggested I go to a Thai language school to learn the language and to adapt better. I agreed, knowing I had to at some point. That decision changed everything, I was finally adapting and maturing. The language school, The Knowledge, was located in Asok, which meant I had to get there with public transport. As a boy from a small town where I could walk to anywhere in town, I was not used to the idea of public transport. I had never really taken it on my own and it was kind of threatening to be honest. That changed after a few tries however, and just a couple of weeks into the new schedule. I was suddenly a city boy. I was learning Thai, working for the company and things looked up.
It took over a year to adapt, but here I am now. Speaking a little bit Thai, not fluently however, since I haven’t completed all of my classes yet, but I am near the end of it. I understand Thai fairly well, and understand a lot when people talk. I travel where I want in the city, and I have learned to love Bangkok and South East Asia in general. I work for the company almost daily, and try to do my part to help my father. I don’t eat daily 7/11, actually I avoid it as much as I can. I’ve built in a regular workout routine and I’m trying to stay as healthy as I can. I am a lot home though however, mostly because of work. But since internet is such a wonderful thing, I am always social there. I made many friends at the language school and I don’t feel lonely like I used to.
I’m pretty sure other westerners had an easier time to adapt. They accept the change and like it. For me however, it was a rollercoaster with good and bad. It might still be, but at least the cart is going upwards.
Thailand is a truly beautiful country and I am in love with it. The photos I can get here and the endless opportunities, it’s just an amazing experience overall. I’m happy we moved here, though I miss the cold weather of Norway, I think Asia is the place for me.
