This time I would like to talk about the background of how Monosus and I came to Thailand and our footprints.
Looking back now, I realize that this was a turning point in my life.
Why am I in Thailand?
"Why don't you just go at least once?"
Those were the words he might have used. Two months before I was to move there, I was asked by the company president, Hayashi, to go on a business trip to Thailand just to inspect the area. My curiosity only grew as I took up my first overseas business trip. Now that I think about it, this is the country that Ishida Issei once said in an airline commercial, "Go to Thailand while you're young."
A collection of nostalgic Thai Airways commercials: "Go to Thailand while you're young."
I thought the power of copywriting was amazing, that I could remember a commercial from 20 years ago, but I didn't know anything about Thailand. I guess it's not too late.
It was my first time in Southeast Asia. I stayed there for three nights and was surprised at how big a city it was. There were huge shopping malls and skyscrapers, and the city was filled with people of various races, and it had a different kind of energy to it than Japan.
Night view of the square in front of CentralWorld, a shopping mall in central Bangkok
The next words from Hayashi after returning home were
"What if I just go for three months?"
I had a feeling that I would be the one to go from the time the topic of the business trip came up, and from an objective point of view, my position within the company was just right, and I was flexible enough that no one would be too inconvenienced if I suddenly disappeared (laughs).
Since I was a child, I had always had a vague admiration for Western countries, and I didn't have any particular attachment to Thailand, but I thought that anywhere would be a good experience for a three-month overseas business trip.
It had been three years since I joined Monosus as a mid-career hire, and I was also looking for a change. In my personal life, I broke up with my girlfriend of five and a half years three months ago, and my apartment lease was about to be renewed. Looking back, I think it was the best timing.
Coding Director's Overseas Assignment
As the saying goes, "home is where you are," and I got used to life in Thailand pretty quickly. Until I learned a certain amount of Thai, I was often ripped off by taxi drivers, but with the support of our partner companies, I was able to live comfortably from that time on.
After that, the three-month mission did not go as expected, so the business trip was extended to six months. During my stay, I completely forgot about the Japanese atmosphere, and when I returned after six months, I felt uneasy and uneasy because of how clean Haneda Airport was and the number of Japanese people in the city (which is natural in Japan). Even now, I feel that the feeling of arriving at the airport in Japan is fresher.
It had been six months since my last visit to Japan, but two weeks later we had a company trip to Thailand.
I was there until last week. It was a company trip, but I was the only one with a one-way ticket (laughs).
Company trip in 2013. At the Ayutthaya ruins in Thailand.
Since then, I have been working as a permanent expatriate in Thailand, establishing Monosus Thailand.
Of course, starting and running a corporation overseas comes with many challenges, and I had to research complex corporate and labor laws. At Monosus Japan, I only had experience in coding and direction, but strangely enough, I now feel that labor management and management are more suited to me.
Looking back, up until three months before coming to Thailand, I never even dreamed for a second that I would be living abroad, so I jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of this unexpected turn of events, but I really do think that you never know when or how life will turn out.
Takuya Miyagawa, a resident
Can we connect with Thai society?
When you start living in a foreign country, every day is exciting, and you feel like you are experiencing something new and growing every day. It feels like you are living a precious time in your life. However, now I feel like I have become accustomed to this everyday life.
After living in Thailand for several years, my close friends who were stationed there started to return to Japan one after another. And it happened quite suddenly. I sometimes sense a sense of regret from them, like "I could have done more" or "If I could do it again". Seeing their situations makes me feel that the present will not last forever, and makes me think about what I can do.
Night view of Suvarnabhumi International Airport before landing
Thankfully, I have made many friends in Thailand. I go golfing with someone twice a month, eat Japanese food, sing karaoke, play mahjong, and go on group dates. However, I wonder if that is all I need to live, and if I am just consuming Thai society.
The idea of consumers and producers, or in other words, input and output.
Rather than simply receiving services as a foreigner in Thailand and consuming them, if I could contribute even a little by outputting something, I could become more connected to society.
Of course, creating websites and having local staff learn Japanese-quality web production can also be considered productive activities, but these are natural part of the job, and I've recently begun to wonder what I'm doing in Thailand if I don't produce some extra output as an individual.
And now we have a platform for communication called "Monosasu Site."
Can someone like me be a producer? I will think about it, put it into practice, consume more deeply, and produce again. That is my ideal life in Thailand from now on.
MIYAKAWA Takuya