There Are Always Two Sides to Every Coin...

written January 18, 2008:

Yes, I live near a beach. Yes, I work at one of the posh-est spas in the world. Yes, the sun shines everyday. But I feel drawn to explain the other side of the coin tonight, as I sit here alone in my bed, in my very utilitarian 4 story apartment building. Dont get me wrong. I am thrilled at the opportunity that I have here. I have no doubt I am meant to be here and I will have many amazing experiences. But all of this ‘paradise’ does not come without its challenges…

I’ve already explained about my laundry challenge so I wont re-write about that. Let me tell you something about the Thai’s. This country is on the equator. Its hot. The sun shines all year round (I know, all you Seattle-ites are drooling). But what that means is that when they build things, they do so to keep the sun OUT. This resort was originally built 12 years ago with the intention of attracting wealthy Thai people. Well now, people come from all over the world, and I have yet to see a single Thai. Nonetheless, the original structure was built with the Thai people in mind. So what I am getting at is when I go to work, I often don’t see the sun. I am inside with AC all day and my window, which does not open, looks out to a cement courtyard. As one of the best spas in the world, I envisioned it out on a big bluff, all spread out over the land, surrounded by green rolling hills. Well, that’s not how it is. Its a long and narrow 7 acre rectangle. Beach on one end (but all the guests stay at the pool so the beach is empty). Busy road at the entrance end. Then a big cement wall (covered in greenery) to the north and south enclosing the property. I of course live outside the wall…which is where the very utilitarian 4 story staff apartment building is and the staff cafeteria, which brings me to my next point…

I really dont know what I am eating half the time. It comes in sauces, and little balls of who knows what. The salad bar is nice…as long as it hasn’t gone bad since none of it is kept on ice as it sits out for hours. The filtered water is good. As for any other beverage, it’s all sugar water in various colors. As for my room, I am very excited because I just moved into a new room…one that has a window. My last one was like a box, seriously. Apparently, when they were building it they ran out of windows for the top floor so someone decided that since we will be mostly working and not spending much time in our rooms, we didnt need windows. There was a door that opened to the outside 2′ x 4′ patio and that was it. Anyway, so now I’m in a room that actually has sliding glass doors that open out to a very narrow balcony. My view is of a dilapidated tennis court..but hey, its better than no window. The trade off for my window and balcony is that ants seem to love my bathroom and I could pee with more pressure than what comes out of my shower. After my ‘probabtion’ period is over, I will be given a housing allowance and can move somewhere on my own. I have my eye on some beach front apartments that I am going to take a look at on my day off.

Speaking of my day off, I am lucky to get it. The turnover rate for my position in the last year has been almost 100%. There is only one woman who has been here for over a year, and she is getting married to a Thai guy next month (she has motivation to stick around I suppose you could say). Everyone else has quit. Apparently they worked them with so much overtime that everyone has left. Given that, they are acutely aware that they dont want that to happen again. We’ve got a new boss who is promising to take care of us and seems truly like a great guy. One bummer thing for me that I just found out today is that I can’t call myself the title that I have been working so hard to achieve for all these years. I can’t call myself a doctor. I am a ‘Health Advisor.’ All of us in this position are not doctors so they dont want to confuse the guests and make some guests feel they are being met by a doctor while others are just met by an ‘advisor.’

Anyway, its all an experience that I am keeping open too. I trust I am meant to be here and am excited about what lies ahead. But, just know, it is up to all of us to find the paradise in our own lives…because even here in ‘paradise,’ its not always what it seems.