Feeling like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation

Social media plays a big part in making ourselves and the time we are having abroad look so damn glamorous. Instagram and snapchat stories show only the best of times – and Facebook rubs it in your face how many different places someones been, while you’re sitting at home in front of your computer screen. And that may be the case with a lot of people – chillin’ on beaches, sipping on cocktails, private boats, museum tours and all.

But people don’t realise that half the time, what we’re actually doing is being completely clueless and utterly lost foreigners battling a new city, a new culture, a new lifestyle and a language. While my time in Bangkok has been admittedly super fun and exciting to say the least, there’s definitely been some low moments. And in hindsight, these will be super hilarious – no doubt about that.

I’ve felt like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation (you MUST watch the movie if you haven’t) on a daily basis – frustrated that I can’t communicate with people, or express my thoughts and feelings. It makes you feel surprisingly lonely and out of touch with everything when you can’t talk to anyone around you. At the same time, the anonymity is sometimes a blessing – but only at times you want to be invisible.

Anyways, these are some of the lolz I’ve had so far:

#1: Making a sore tummy gesture at the pharmacy and being handed over a tub of stretch mark cream for pregnant ladies. Lady, does my tummy look that big to you? It’s called a healthy appetite, not pregnancy. I finally opted to typing my symptoms into Google translate on my phone and showing it to the pharmacist. She had a wee chuckle.

#2: Ordering ‘gai’ (chicken) and halfway through my meal realising I was eating a mixture of chicken liver and chicken heart. I thought I’d be adventurous and have a Thai breakfast – enough yoghurt and cereal! When it came out, I thought it was beef because it was a browny-red colour. Yeah, nah. This is a wee bit more slimy and metallic aye. Good thing I actually like chicken liver because we eat heaps of it in Japan – but the heart bit was a little bit overwhelming. Cheeky 10am yak in the office toilets.

#3: Telling one neighbour I’m from New Zealand, who told all the other neighbours I’m from Switzerland. Apparently there’s no difference between them because they are geographically close (who knew?) and they both look green and spacious. Now I am known as that foreigner girl from Switzerland who is half Chinese. (Same same but different – as the Thais would say!)

#4: Telling the bartender I want some water to sober up. Ended up sculling half a glass of gin and tonic. “Now pay me 120 BHT” Ughhh. I’m going home this sucks. *Stumbles out of the club.*

#5: Trying to pronounce impossible place names while asking for directions, getting sent to the middle of nowhere. Everyone’s friendly enough, so they’ll try to understand what you’re saying and just point. I’ve ended up walking down random streets for hours.

#6: Asking where the public toilets are in a street market. Getting sent to an exposed long-drop toilet in someone’s backyard, where there was no flush. Enough said.

#7: Requesting “Hello” by Adele (or so I thought) at Karaoke – ended up singing slow Thai opera. This was actually one of those beautiful miscommunication moments. Ended up making friends with some Thais in the Karaoke box who admired (or found it absolutely hilarious) we were trying to sing Thai music without knowing what the words meant. One of them joined in with me, gave me his name card and invited me to the restaurant he owns. Karaoke brings the world together.

So being put in several new, uncomfortable and foreign situations, conversations and ending up in dodgy alleyways numerous times, you learn something new every time and gain some self-confidence. Being ‘lost’ can actually be quite fun – trying to find your way again, and trying to communicate with randoms can lead you to discover things you otherwise wouldn’t have. Being forced to constantly talk to randoms, I’ve met some wonderful humans I otherwise never would have if I wasn’t by myself, or if I didn’t get lost that particular day and stumble into the closest bar.

Going back to Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, I’ve resonated with him SO MANY TIMES this month. (And yes – I must confess the title of my blog is definitely inspired by this movie, because I predicted my life in Bangkok would actually be like this movie.) Being the only foreigner almost everywhere, solo-drinking at bars and pondering about life or meeting randoms, not understanding foreign humour, not understanding what is appropriate to say… sometimes it can be quite hard figuring out the subtle, unsaid rules of a new country.

And hopefully, my time here is going to end just like the movie did. He finally discovers what he wants in life, and what is important to him. Rather than seeing things as foreign, weird or incomprehensible, he celebrates differences and begins to appreciate it. I won’t ruin the movie for you if you haven’t seen it because its such a classic – but what I’m trying to say is, that maybe being lost in translation isn’t too bad after all.