Friday, 11 November, 2022 – In our conversation a few days ago, Elias said that one reason Thailand has felt easier to travel is that he is more relaxed (partly because he is a far more experienced traveler now) and he’s not worried about the language barrier. In France, he felt like he should be able to speak the language and when he couldn’t, he felt bad. But in Thailand, no one expected him to speak Thai and so all the pressure was off.
Elias conveys a lot on his face about what he is thinking and feeling. I know that sounds obvious but there are people who are harder to read, right? That’s not Elias. My point is simply that he can convey a lot without speaking, which is helpful in this situation.
I wonder if there is a lesson there about the pressure we put on ourselves. I honestly don’t know, since I remember feeling that pressure in China and not feeling it in Thailand. I remember feeling pressure – from myself – to demonstrate that the years of struggle to learn Chinese were worth the effort. Somehow, being able to speak the language – and I never knew what was good enough – was a sign of how smart I was.
That does not capture the pressure, though, because I remember going to Italy for two weeks, attempting to speak Italian after listening to tapes for a couple of weeks and not feeling the same pressure. I never felt stupid not being able to speak Italian; I genuinely enjoyed making the attempt and feeling some sense of accomplishment when I got it right.
I am just glad Elias is enjoying being in Thailand, without the pressure to speak the language. Maybe he has even picked it up, precisely because he wasn’t worried about sounding dumb.
I mentioned a couple days ago that Elias had gone out with Amy’s “Belgian brother” Ward and Ward’s girlfriend. He sent pictures of their dinner to David, which I will post tonight. And then post more of the pictures he’s uploaded tomorrow.
David: Wow! That looks great. Looks like you had fun with them! You look happy. I’m glad you were able to connect.
Elias: Yeah it was great to meet some people and have a night out with people who live there.
P.S. I know this is a total mother-y thing to say but I was so happy to see a picture of Elias, smiling and enjoying himself. My lovely, funny, endearing son.