During Transference, we asked everyone to reflect on the greatest lessons they learned over the past 90 days…and what they want to carry forth with them after leaving Thailand. While no words can capture fully the emotions, the lessons, the meaningful connections, we are so grateful to everyone who’s been a teacher (whether they know it or not!) along our way.
Nelson:
- Appreciate the slow pace of life — you never know when you’ll get an opportunity to be here again.
- Home isn’t a physical setting — it’s the people in the community that gives home a meaning.
- Learn about the less — the marginalized communities, the conflicts that aren’t on the news, the untouched history of many.
- Be comfortable with being uncomfortable — it’s a humbling experience.
- Be unsatisfied — it pushes you to seek opportunities.
Vorleak:
- Love can be found even in the farthest and darkest place.
- Never take anything for granted; no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.
- Do not give up when faced with an obstacle because that challenge will be a memory you’ll look back at and see that it serves as proof of how far you’ve come/grown.
- Always expect to be surprised!
- Home isn’t just a place, it is something you create.
Amos:
- Humility, love, kindness, and compassion.
- Thai language.
- Invaluable family connections.
- Taking care of oneself/self love.
- Love is beyond words!
Dani:
The lessons I have learnt from this experience are immeasurable. In fact, I don’t even think I fully understand everything I’ve learnt up to this point. What I do know is that I’ve learnt so much about myself, and how I interact with others. Anyone who knew me from before this experience, would have said I was a confident person. What I have come to realize is that it was a charade of confidence, delusional confidence, one might say. So yeah, I’ve learnt a hell of a lot about myself. I am truly confident in who I am, the decisions I make, the way I hold myself, the company I keep, and the way I can continue to improve.
Karlita:
- Stay being real.
- Don’t settle for anything.
- You are valued.
- If you want it, go get it.
- After completing point B, look forward to Point C.
- Stay true to yourself.
- Have an open mind.
Jake:
Leaving Thailand (hurts to write this), I know I’m taking with me some meaningful relationships. The conversations I had may be stuck in a time and place I am no longer occupying, yet the memories and emotions will remain.
The souvenirs I am taking back have importance; they’ll be from the walking streets of the Old City where I spent hours looking for the wildest pair of Muay Thai shorts, which happened to be bright pink with a giant Red Bull logo front and center. Or maybe it’ll be from the White Temple, where I got lost in the details of the architecture, and got an art print to memorialize that moment.
I may not be in the country anymore but the country will always be with me.
Belén:
- Kind people are everywhere.
- Patience.
- Change in environment causes change in thinking, which causes change in behavior, so with change in environment, expect and allow for yourself to change as a person.
Alonso:
I would say always addressing problems with respect, empathy, tolerance, cultural relativism, and willingness to find a solution that will mutually benefit all parts involved.
Michela:
I’m taking the feeling of the village with me — the one I know now is an un-lonely place, somebody always calling you over: here, try this som dtam I’m making, is it too spicy? Or hey, let’s go bike to the reservoir. Or look what I’m making, how I’m dancing. People ask where you’ve been and where you’re going here so much that it’s like the strings of your lives get all tied up together — like the white strings on my wrists promising sweet dreams and good luck. I want to take this tied-up togetherness with me when I go; to be the kind of person who knows sharing food leaves you fuller after.
Originally posted here.