Adaptation

Posted March 29, 2009 by Sky

As I was eating dinner tonight, I stopped eating for a moment and studied the scene around me. I was the only Westerner in sight, eating cheap Thai food from a street vendor, and weirdly enough, I felt completely at home.

I didn’t feel foreign or alienated, or like I was in Wonderland. I just felt like a normal person eating his dinner, and I smiled. For once, it didn’t seem like people were staring at me, or that I was the odd one out. It was just another daily routine, and it was no big deal.

It’s funny. Sometimes, I feel like a celebrity, walking down the street as every Thai person stares at me with wonderment. While other times, I feel like a total outcast, like people are purposefully ignoring me and turning the other way. I’m sure it’s all just in my head, but it’s hard not to think about it. It makes me wonder if actual celebrities feel the same way; that they just want to be treated like everyone else. Standing out and getting extra attention can be pretty cool, but it can also be daunting. It all depends on how you perceive it, I suppose.

7 Comments to "Adaptation"

  1. Rebel Jane says:

    So you are like that dude in the laptop ad. I told you it would be that way.**SUPER STAR**

  2. Sky says:

    Hahaha!

  3. Nemo says:

    EVERYTHING depends on how you perceive it. That’s when the fun begins! Your realizations will make a book someday.

  4. Woody S. Pike says:

    The big difference might be that outsiders get stared at, but celebrities get approached. When you lose this privacy is when it becomes daunting.

  5. Sky says:

    Woody S. Pike: You bring up a good point. One time when I was in Koh Phangan, an Asian girl randomly asked to take a picture with me, as if I was some kind of celebrity or something. I was kind of freaked out, but also kind of flattered. I wonder if she has that picture up on a blog somewhere…

  6. Woody S. Pike says:

    Hmmm….what did the young lady take a picture of you doing, and what will happen now that her father has seen it? As it turns out, the photo was last seen in a Koh Phangan post office with a bounty on it. Hey, this trip is finally started to get exciting! :-) )

  7. Sky says:

    Woody: Luckily, the picture only consisted of the random Asian girl smiling, and me looking really confused, haha.

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