Whether you’re a stickler for your daily regime or you’re still working on developing the perfect flow, everyone’s got some form of routine for their morning – even if it’s just routine chaos. This month’s group article explored the morning rituals of our Sticky Rice Staff.
Cloé Fortier-King, 134 YinD
Morning in Mueangjee:
Bianca Palese, 134 TESS
My morning routine can be summarized as this: waking up later than I needed to after hitting snooze a million times and answering the question “gin kao yang?” (have you eaten yet?) from every person I come into contact with.
I walk to school most days because I live close enough to hear the bell ring and it allows me to stop and talk to people more naturally. When I pass by the Bprathom (primary school) building on the way to morning ceremony, the first graders give me hugs and squeal “Good morning, teacher!” Then they fight to hold my hand and walk with me. That’s the best part of the morning. While the students sit and listen to announcements, the teachers take attendance, chit chat, and share food until we need to attend to our classes.
Kyra O’Connell, 134 TESS
Morning routine for my typical school day:
5:00-5:30am: Wake up, then lay in bed pretending to sleep some more.
5:30am-6:00am: Some yoga, or if sleepy disease strikes, sleep some more.
6:00am-6:30am: Refreshingly cool bucket shower or freezing cold bucket shower depending on the season, and get dressed/toiletries/etc.
6:30am-7:15am: Eat breakfast, then prepare backpack and bike for school.
7:15am-7:30am~ish: One of my neighbors who is also one of my 4th grade students comes over and we bike to school together. Some days other students in the neighborhood also come as well. My biggest headcount for the Go To School Biker Gang is 7 students for the 10 minute ride to school.
7:30am-8:00am: Arrive at school to help with cleaning, preparing for class, and saying Hello/Good morning to what feels like the entire school population of 230 odd students and teachers.
8:00am-on: Let the real chaos begin.
Kayla Kawalec, 134 YinD
My morning routine as told through the eyes of my cat, Popcorn:
6am: The rectangle thing makes the daily noises, but sometimes the food distributor continues to lay prone. On these days, I have to bite her face so she knows it’s time to get up and distribute the food.
6:15: Once she distributes my breakfast of rice, eggs, and sardines, the tall one goes to the wet room and uses water on her face and uses the mouth stick on her flat teeth. I like water so sometimes I sit and observe the strange ritual or fall asleep on the black thing.
6:30: Now the two-legged one will roll out my favorite toy to chew and claw – the squishy mat. She makes weird shapes and movements and I try to climb on her back or sleep on the mat.
7:15: Some days the smooth face will heat up a black liquid and sit on the porch with me before getting on her wheel machine and going away for a very long time. Sometimes I follow her to see where she goes before going home where I wait for her to return and distribute more food.
Grace Teng, 134 TESS
I wish I had a real routine and that I was motivated to be dedicated to it as well. Truthfully, I have no real routine. At a mere 24 years old, I am already starting to feel like my body can no longer just go with the flow and relies on a consistent daily schedule to stay healthy. This past “bpit term” or school break, I had a great opportunity to travel. I was out of my site for two weeks and while I had a blast, my body was aching to get back to its regular habits. Now that I am back at school, I think I have recovered. Despite the tiredness that persists when you exist and have a job, I enjoy having my school schedule which helps me eat at set times every day, go to sleep at a reasonable hour (for the most part), and have a regular exercise routine (if you read my last article, y’all know what’s up).
Although I don’t have a routine, I will add this short list of things that I occasionally do to help keep me sane:
Journaling!
o I’m sure a bunch of people might say this, it could be considered cliché, but there’s a reason everyone suggests this! I appreciate the outlet to write down and think through my feelings and I often come out with a clearer outlook on my experiences or just generally feeling like I released a weight off my shoulders.
Making Art!
o This is something I wish I did more often. When I have the chance to make art, I feel like it’s a moment in time where I can sort of turn my brain off and just focus on making something my own. (Non-artists, you can do this too! It doesn’t have to be pretty, just have fun).
Listening to Music!
o This can be applied in so many ways. I think music can just be a good way to reset and put yourself in a good mood. I listen while making art, while going for walks/runs (another thing that keeps me sane), and even just lying in bed. A few of my fellow Peace Corps buddies and I will also send each other songs every month or add to a shared playlist, it’s a great way to stay in touch.
Morgan Shupsky, 134 YinD
Before I came to Thailand my morning routine consisted of waking up 15 minutes before I had to leave my house, leaving me with enough time to wash my face, make a latte, and grab a piece of bread on my way out. That is a far cry from the hour and a half I now give myself every morning to do my carefully curated morning routine. This routine started when I moved into my own house three months ago and consists of washing my face/taking a shower if any Thai person asks, doing 15 minutes of yoga, sweeping my house (you would not believe how dirty it gets overnight from the lizards and bugs), packing my bag so I don’t forget my change of clothes, making breakfast, sitting outside with my coffee and breakfast while I watch my show of choice (right now it’s Seinfeld), washing my dishes immediately to mitigate future bug encounters, and heading out to wherever I go that day!
Throughout my day at the government municipality or schools, I really never know what’s going to happen, but it’s very helpful to know that for the first hour and a half of every day I know exactly what is going to happen. Getting up when my alarm goes off at 6:00 to do yoga was a test of my mental fortitude for sure, but they say after like 21 days of doing something it becomes a habit and now, after 90-something days, I can say that I don’t absolutely resent my alarm going off quite as much as I did at first!
Teresa Derr, 134 YinD
I am not a morning person. For years, my morning routine has been to wake up at the last possible moment while still giving myself enough time to do my devotional, get dressed, and eat breakfast (sometimes all at the same time), before I need to be out the door to wherever I’m going (if I’m not going anywhere, I usually won’t get up until much later in the morning).
Thailand has… not exactly changed that, not yet, but it is starting to. Most days, following my old routine in order to leave the house at 8:00, I don’t want to wake up before 7:00. And yet. My host father has taken to inviting me to go on morning runs with him, which means waking up at around 5:25 to change and stretch. On certain weekdays, there are morning markets where – if I want to buy anything, I need to get there before they close at around 7:30am (notice this means waking up before I want to?) And sometimes, since the entire community seems to wake up at 5 am, there are just times when there is too much noise by 6 am to sleep through: my family chattering outside my door as they get ready for the day, motorcycles revving outside my window as the neighbors leave for the day, the Wat (temple) drums and chanting being broadcast across the neighborhood…
While there are plenty of days where I will stubbornly sleep until 7 regardless of what is going on around me, there are slowly starting to be plenty of days where I get up with my community, involve myself in their morning routines, and resign myself to being grumpy until I can find a cup of coffee.
Sticky Rice 
Share your thoughts