My flight to patriotism

I was never a Patriotic person. I love my country and King and all, but never felt the need to have any sense of attachment to my homeland, whatsoever. When I was five, my father was sent by the government to represent his office, so we moved to Rome, Italy; and 6 years of childhood in a foreign land, shall we say, makes me a third-culture-kid. After returning back to Bangkok, I never really made an effort to reconnect with my homeland, and I especially never really made an effort to pay attention to politics. But my recent trip to Hong Kong changed my dull view of my country. For the past few years all I’ve wanted to do was GET OUT OF BANGKOK. It was driving me nuts how much of a routine my life had become. My creative juices were running dry, my daily activities were within the radar of my office, home, and malls…and I hung out with the same people EVERYDAY, almost 24/7. So when my boyfriend flew to Hong Kong for an editing job, it was a necessary excuse to take leave.
It’s my third time in Hong Kong, but I still love it! I loved being in a country that I couldn’t speak the language for a change, because I got to experience what most foreigners do in Thailand.

I loved how fashionable people were. I loved being overwhelmed by the cold breeze as I strolled down The Victoria Harbor. I loved how organized the streets were, and how in nearly every little road, there were pedestrian crossing lightings; and I loved being woken up every early morning by what I thought was my alarm clock, but instead was the sound of the crossing light alert…if you’d like to hear what it sounds like, click here:

Obnoxious right? Ha – call me crazy.

And though I’ve enjoyed standing awkwardly in the midst of the crowd at Causeway Bay waiting for a good shot, or drinking Hoegarden among some of the most beautiful people I’ve seen at Lan Kwai Fong, or taking the Mickey Mouse train to Disneyland, or feeding my temptations by window shopping…. It all hit me in the end as I was on the plane back home…

There are probably more than thousands of cool places in Bangkok alone that I’ve never made an effort to discover. I’d probably be as fascinated with my own country just as I was with Hong Kong, if I didn’t take it all for granted. I blame my routine life on mere laziness, and lack of love for my homeland. It’s embarrassing when foreigners know about your country better than you do. So I’ve made a decision, that I would start looking at my country with a fresh perspective – a loving perspective, and that I would make an effort to pour out more love for this nation, and its people. That’s my definition of patriotism.

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