Don’t Take Things for Granted

Don’t Take Things for Granted

Everybody meet Sai! She is a University student that I met back in 2017 when I first came to Thailand. When we can, we like to meet up and I help her with her English homework and she helps me with my Thai homework – it’s a perfect swap. She comes to Church with me as well when she can!

This particular day we met at a huge mall. After we were done, I suggested we eat something there. She asked me what I wanted and of course I wanted Burger King because it’s a rare treat for me to get. Last time I remembered I treated her to Burger King though and she didn’t care for it. It was her first time ever even eating a burger! (Can you imagine that?) So I’ve been to a popular restaurant several times in Thailand called, “MK Restaurants” and I know that Thai people love it so I suggested that place. Her eyes got big and she told me she’s never even been to a restaurant, but she always wanted to go to “MK.” I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t like it was a super fancy restaurant or anything. They are practically all over Thailand in every single mall and shopping center.

I just asked why not and she said, “You know, I come from a farm and we aren’t rich.” I said, “Well I’m not rich either by any means.” She said, “Teacher, I know. But we grow our own food and my father doesn’t have a lot of money to give me to eat at a restaurant. I try to save my money and be more…what’s the English word?” “Frugal.” I said. “Ok. Yes, I try to be more frugal.”

Trying not to make a big deal out of it I’m like of course, well let’s fix that and eat there today! She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. I let her order anything she wanted which consist of different porks, vegetables I’ve never even heard of, and ice-cream to top it off.

So this is a very popular restaurant setting in Thailand where there is a boiling pot in the middle of your table and you boil all of your pork, vegetables, and eggs together in it. What grosses me out is that they just boil their meat for like minute. People are always taking my pork out and I’m always putting it back in just wanting to make sure it’s fully cooked and that the raw egg is cooked as well. It’s definitely a place that I used to be hesitant to go, but I’m getting used to the idea.

This just shows me how easily we take for granted going out to eat either at a fast food place or restaurant. We look at it as a sacrifice to eat out only once a week while Sai has never even been to a restaurant in her whole life. Today let’s be grateful for the food that is before us. Yes, we work hard for the food that is on our plates, the farmers work hard for it as well. We are just blessed more than we know to have better circumstances of living.