up against the wall
perspective.
that is what we all need.
there are times when i think my problems are so big and i just need to go sit on a mountain and stare into empty space to realize that really they are nothing. but this past month has been the opposite of that.
as i come to terms with everything that has happened since december 26th, i have had anorexia of the brain. trying to convince myself that things like this are normal, and that i am just making a big deal about it.
but really, time needs to be taken, and we all need to make time for ourselves right now to realize that this isn't something that we are supposed to be able to handle naturally.
rin and i have had heated discussions involving that way in which we are handling the events. while i like to go for walks alone and be at peace with my thoughts overlooking the bipolar sea, he would like to be in the heat of it, watching every news story and seeing everything he can to try and understand.
this all came to a pinnacle last week when he came home with a goft for me, well, for us. he thought it would be good for us to watch a vcd of the tsunami. one of holidaymakers who caught the whole thing on tape, and people are not buying them. for only 75 baht, you too can watch hundreds of people die.
i tried to explain to him that i have seen these people, three days later, dead, covered in sheets, with people crying over their vanishing souls. i don't need to see how they died. i have a pretty good idea.
but he insisted that it would make me understand better, and so in passing, he put it on, and i was walking between our bedroom and the kitchen and found myself trying not to look at the screen, but finding it impossible not to.
i still don't agree with what he did, or think that it helps anyone to see people die. but that is how i was raised, that is the culture i come from. for him, seeing these things helps him understand and get his own perspective. so be it.
i do have to admit, after watching the footage, i do understand a little better how so many people drowned. i know how people were swept into the sea and will probably never surface again. i understand why people are afraid to swim. i understand why so many people feel so angry.
life in phuket is getting back to normal. there is still much work to be done, but many people have reached out and are making this place better.
for now, all phuket needs to get back to normal is for people to come and have a holiday here. i was talkin with a friend about what can be done for phuket on an international level, and he mentioned free flights. after thaxin refused international relief funds, what can be done with the money? really, if every country was to send over two flights a week for four months, fill it with people, and don't charge them anything. once people get here they will see that the island is fine. parts of the island are untouched. without tourism this island is going to sink into a financial disaster. already many people have lost their jobs...including my boyfriend. (big issue...mentioned inappropriately, i know. he was laid off last thursday...not enough tourists going to seua saming to make it worth their while to keep him. joy of joys.) we need people to come here and support the local businesses. taking a ride in a taxi from the airport to the beach will feed a family for a week. without this tourism, the island is going to sink.
that being said, i have to go teach.
while i think of it, a blogger friend of mine from canada has make the trek to thailand to help out. check out his blog for a firsthand look at what it takes to rebuild a village: www.picturemerolling.blogspot.com
that is what we all need.
there are times when i think my problems are so big and i just need to go sit on a mountain and stare into empty space to realize that really they are nothing. but this past month has been the opposite of that.
as i come to terms with everything that has happened since december 26th, i have had anorexia of the brain. trying to convince myself that things like this are normal, and that i am just making a big deal about it.
but really, time needs to be taken, and we all need to make time for ourselves right now to realize that this isn't something that we are supposed to be able to handle naturally.
rin and i have had heated discussions involving that way in which we are handling the events. while i like to go for walks alone and be at peace with my thoughts overlooking the bipolar sea, he would like to be in the heat of it, watching every news story and seeing everything he can to try and understand.
this all came to a pinnacle last week when he came home with a goft for me, well, for us. he thought it would be good for us to watch a vcd of the tsunami. one of holidaymakers who caught the whole thing on tape, and people are not buying them. for only 75 baht, you too can watch hundreds of people die.
i tried to explain to him that i have seen these people, three days later, dead, covered in sheets, with people crying over their vanishing souls. i don't need to see how they died. i have a pretty good idea.
but he insisted that it would make me understand better, and so in passing, he put it on, and i was walking between our bedroom and the kitchen and found myself trying not to look at the screen, but finding it impossible not to.
i still don't agree with what he did, or think that it helps anyone to see people die. but that is how i was raised, that is the culture i come from. for him, seeing these things helps him understand and get his own perspective. so be it.
i do have to admit, after watching the footage, i do understand a little better how so many people drowned. i know how people were swept into the sea and will probably never surface again. i understand why people are afraid to swim. i understand why so many people feel so angry.
life in phuket is getting back to normal. there is still much work to be done, but many people have reached out and are making this place better.
for now, all phuket needs to get back to normal is for people to come and have a holiday here. i was talkin with a friend about what can be done for phuket on an international level, and he mentioned free flights. after thaxin refused international relief funds, what can be done with the money? really, if every country was to send over two flights a week for four months, fill it with people, and don't charge them anything. once people get here they will see that the island is fine. parts of the island are untouched. without tourism this island is going to sink into a financial disaster. already many people have lost their jobs...including my boyfriend. (big issue...mentioned inappropriately, i know. he was laid off last thursday...not enough tourists going to seua saming to make it worth their while to keep him. joy of joys.) we need people to come here and support the local businesses. taking a ride in a taxi from the airport to the beach will feed a family for a week. without this tourism, the island is going to sink.
that being said, i have to go teach.
while i think of it, a blogger friend of mine from canada has make the trek to thailand to help out. check out his blog for a firsthand look at what it takes to rebuild a village: www.picturemerolling.blogspot.com
posted by isobella at 8:58 AM
1 Comments:
hello again!
i often wonder myself how such devestation is possible. how so many people can die in an instant. isn't human life worth more than that? are we simply doomed to think we're seperate from that which spawned us (Nature) and yet be compelled to harbour the illusion that we're somehow special?
There are some posters around my campus that say "where is God in such catastrophe?" advertising a prominent Christian speaker coming to the area. While I don't believe in God as a human-like entity watching over us, I'm considering visiting the seminar, simply to see how others cope.
I did recently read an illuminating article regarding altruism, which I can pass along if you're interested. send me an email and i'll fire it back ;)
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