On Field Studies (1)

You know what the feeling of missing Field Studies is like?

It is remembering waking up to a huge mess on the floor where your backpack is and clothes half-strewn all over the place, spilling out of Ziplock bags. It is remembering sharing a 3-room pub-cum-guesthouse with only one toilet, and it reeking of piss because all your project mates and Thai buddies are guys and naturally, that’s the way toilets smell when all but one of the inhabitants are male and the toilet does not get washed regularly enough. It is remembering working in uncomfortably hot conditions, where hygiene becomes a matter of inconvenience even for the most hardcore hygiene freaks. It is remembering being ripped off by taxi drivers in Bangkok. It is remembering trying not to vomit on the song tiaw, as it is making its way up the narrow, winding roads of Mae Salong.

It is remembering how, after staying in one place for a week, you become a familiar sight to the other residents and stall vendors of the street, and you wave to them like old friends as you walk past. It is remembering the smile of familiarity from the roadside coffee seller when you get your morning caffeine fix. It is remembering making your requests known through a combination of your poor command of Thai and hand gestures. It is remembering riding pillion without a helmet, amongst other unconventional modes of transport, like sitting on the back of a lorry, with the sun on your face, wind in your hair, mountains in the distance (all the while thinking to yourself, I will never experience something like that again, and relishing every moment of it). It is remembering how you got over your fear of deep water when you swam across a lake with a friend next to you all the way making sure you don’t drown.

It is remembering making friends with people, regardless of age, and language barriers. And remembering the amazing camaraderie shared with the rest of your Field Studies mates and Thai buddies. And how you never had so much fun before, just enjoying a few Singhas with a bunch of people who took turns strumming a guitar, and everyone just singing along.

And when the rush is over, even though memories and photographs are the only things you take away with you, they’ll be among the best ones you’ll have in your life.