Humbled in the Unknown

by Kamryn Harms (United States of America)

Making a local connection Thailand

During December of 2019, I decided to go to Thailand for two weeks. I had traveled to Panama before, but I know Spanish and traveled around with ease. However, the Thai language doesn't even utilize the same alphabet as I'm used to, so the culture shock was a bit more extreme than when I arrived in Panama. Navigating around the country was challenging, but most of the locals spoke English to some extent. I traveled around Chiang Mai and saw the Hill Tribe in their townships. I saw how people lived and made the most out of their resources. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and even dancing in the middle of the street. Not a single person was glued with their face to their phones, but instead, interacting with their family and friends. I hopped on a tiny plane and flew to the beautiful island of Koh Samui where I spent four incredible days on the beach and exploring the city. I stayed at a super touristy hotel, so everyone spoke English. I was unfamiliar with the Baht to Dollar ratio, but I knew enough to pay for things correctly. I had my fair share of freshly opened coconuts and screwdrivers with the best Mandarin orange juice one could ever hope to consume. I charged everything to the room, something I had learned to do from working at a five-star resort. I also learned at that five-star resort, that the employees made their living from the tips they received, so I always made sure to leave a little extra because I know that's exactly what I would want. Of course, I had no idea what an appropriate tip looked like in Baht, but I knew that 100 baht was equal to roughly $3.00 USD. In the United States, 15% is the usual tipping amount, but I always make sure to exceed that amount. As a server, you always tip more than normal so your karma stays positive. I continued to tip 100 baht for every drink order that I placed. Pineda, the incredibly beautiful bartender that helped me every morning when I came for my coconut, became my best friend during my stay. I got to know a little bit more about her and her family, even though her English wasn't the easiest to understand. She was the same age as me, 24, but her life story looked so completely different than mine. She was the youngest of six, but unlike her siblings who had the opportunity to go get a college education, she made the choice to stay at home and care for her elderly mother after her father passed away from cancer. Pineda was 19 when her mother had an accident and became a paraplegic, forcing Pineda to work two jobs just to afford the care her mother needed to survive. Just when she had a short period of time to breathe, Pineda was sexually assaulted at the age of 21, which resulted in a pregnancy. Shunned by everyone except her mother, she continued to work hard. Pressured by her church and family to terminate the unwanted pregnancy, Pineda struggled to make ends meet. Pineda is now 24, and her daughter, Siree, is 3. I had the pleasure of meeting Siree on my last day at the hotel, and this moment is one that I'll never forget. Pineda waved me over as I headed down for my daily coconut and introduced me. Siree spoke very little, but I pointed at her coloring book and gave her a thumbs up. She immediately started giggling and went to hide behind her mother. Pineda told me that Siree's birthday was two months ago, but she was unable to get her a gift since caring for her family was expensive. She then told me that Siree loved to color and that I was the one who had given Pineda more than enough to provide the essentials for her family, even the non essentials, like crayons and a coloring book. My lack of Thai tipping knowledge made such a huge difference in Pineda and Siree's life, even if it only resulted in a coloring book.