Hello. This is Machiyama from Monosus Thailand.
This time, I would like to talk about why I came to Thailand and how my feelings have changed since I got here.
"Why did you decide to go to Thailand?"
"Huh? Why Thailand?"
This is a question I was often asked when I was still in Japan. Of course, I was happy to be asked this question, but I don't know if I was able to give them a satisfactory answer. Because my answer was,
"I've never wanted to go before."
That's because, for some people, it may not be a good answer.
But for me, that was everything.
I hope I can complete that answer here, even though it's a little late.
What kind of work can help you live regardless of where you live?
Shortly before I found out about Monosus, I was thinking about eventually living somewhere other than Tokyo, partly because I was born and raised in Tokyo. I would visit places that interested me and check out potential places to move to.
One of the proposed relocation locations at the time was Himi City, Toyama Prefecture.
What I envisioned was a place with a good balance between nature and vitality.
He was looking for an environment where he could enjoy the benefits of modern technology while also appreciating the people and nature he is blessed with. However, he didn't feel like devoting himself to farm work, and wanted to learn new skills that would help people in his new home, regardless of location.
At that time, the idea of working on the web came to mind.
I started looking for work with the idea in mind of helping to highlight the wonderful places, things, and people hidden in remote areas and get people far away interested in them.
That's when I came across the Monosus recruitment ad.
What first attracted me was the keyword "Kamiyama Town."
It was a place I had been interested in for a long time, and the life I had imagined was already realized in this environment. I was also surprised by the job posting, which said that even a complete beginner could be given some guidance here. However, it was just a training session. Looking closely, the job posting location was... "Thailand."
...Hmm? Thailand? Where is it? First of all, I'll tell you a secret: I wasn't even sure where it was located on the map.
I had never thought of that.
"Thailand" was a keyword that had never existed in my life until that point.
I had never even thought about going to Southeast Asia.
I am excited by this option, which I could never have imagined.
Speaking of Thailand at that time…
I'm worried about the hygiene. I'm not really a fan of Thai food. The security situation doesn't seem good. I'll get sunburned all year round.
Because of such negative impressions, it was something I had completely pushed to the back of my mind.
There are many preconceptions.
Suddenly, I realize that I was only seeing what I wanted to see.
At the time, I was feeling anxious and uncertain about Japan's future, and wanted to distance myself from Tokyo, the center of the country. I was searching for a job and a place to move to, in order to find a new way of life and a new place to do so.
Before I knew it, I had been choosing only things I liked and was limited to a certain range. I thought that by coming into contact with things I dislike or don't pay attention to, I might be able to gain new perspectives and ideas.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
If it means I can broaden the scope of my life, then I have no choice but to take action now.
I'm sure that in Thailand I will find values that I have never encountered before...!
We only live once, after all. To be honest, I was a little scared, but I also felt that a mundane life would be boring, so I decided to jump at the unknown keyword "Thailand."
What is the Land of Smiles?
What "Mai Pen Rai" brings
After about three months of all this, we somehow managed to make the connection, and our long-awaited move took place during the hottest time of the year in Thailand.
It was mid-April, and Thailand was in the middle of Songkran.
Songkran, the Lunar New Year, is also famous as a water festival. People in the city wait everywhere with water guns in their hands. In some places, even store clerks are your enemies. If you're not careful, you'll be hit mercilessly with a water pistol or have a bucket tipped over you. I managed to escape, but many people lose their cell phones, so you need to be careful.
Once you go outside, there is no rest...
My first time in Southeast Asia. My first time living alone. My first time in the web industry.
My new life, full of everything for the first time, has finally begun.
The first thing that struck me when I came to Thailand was the diversity of the people present in the cities.
Skin color really is different for each person, and here in Bangkok, there are many people of many different nationalities. Therefore, it is nice that the barrier to speaking English is low. Perhaps because many people are not at home, they are tolerant of poor English.
At a friend's tennis court. Through friends, the circle of friends expands.
And what I feel most often is the smiles on people's faces.
It truly is the "Land of Smiles."
Even strangers will smile if their eyes meet on the street, and will immediately lend a hand if you are in trouble.
The emotional distance I feel towards strangers on the street is incomparable to when I was in Tokyo.
I feel like the range of things that I feel are relevant to me has expanded a little.
Also, for example, in the morning. In the office, Japanese people often greet each other without changing their facial expressions, but in Thailand, they give you such a lovely smile that you wonder, "Are they really giving me such an innocent smile?" This is also a natural smile from the morning.
The magic words "mai pen rai" well represent the character of Thai people.
It means things like "don't worry," "it's okay," "you're welcome," etc.
This is a phrase that is often used in Thailand, but I've recently come to think that this may be the secret to enjoying life.
In Japan, I worried about things that I didn't really need to worry about.
When you add that up, the amount of time you spend together surely adds up to something.
But now, there are many things that don't bother me, and I have more peace of mind and time to spare.
All of this is something I acquired naturally through my daily interactions with Thai people.
Working and living in Thailand
It's already been three months since I started living in Thailand.
Since coming here, I feel a change in my state of mind; my impatient personality has become more relaxed and I have become kinder to others.
Of course, at first, there were many inconveniences while living there.
There are many situations where what has been taken for granted until now is being shaken.
Easy-to-walk roads and a life where our needs are met are not things we can take for granted; they are something that only come about when someone puts all their effort and thought into making them.
All of the assumptions about how things should be are simply something we have made up ourselves.
Everything that exists and everything that happens is only a matter of how you perceive it.
So you can have fun wherever you are, and when that's not possible, just look inside rather than outside.
The world we see is determined there.
This is what I felt most when I came to Thailand.
To be honest, I still don't have enough time to get to know Thailand, but I want to explore more. If I visit Japan again, I'm sure I'll notice some changes.
Anyway, I would like to try something that can only be done in Thailand someday.
To achieve this, I would like to spend each day focusing on the things that I can only notice because I am in Thailand.