why thai people are amazing

the best story from my weekend happens to have occurred before the weekend even really started. while on our way home from school, i was looking forward to catching a nap before heading out to meet everyone on khoasan road. as steinar and i were rounding the last bend on the street leading to our apartment building, i reached into my bag to get my keys. they got caught on one of the pockets and slipped out of my hand, falling directly through a hole into a sewer, without even gracing the edge of the concrete.

the sewers here are covered by slabs of concrete with holes the size of the bottom of a solo cup. luckily, this one was not one of the deeper ones and there was no water in it, just brush and some weeds, and we were able to see exactly where the keys landed. so we went to steinars room and got a wire coat hanger.

apparently, 4:00 friday afternoons are quite a busy time for traffic in our little town. as we were kneeling and sitting on the ground with our faces pressed up against the concrete and hands below the surface, the stares we got from the locals were beyond amusing to experience, and just a glance sent me into hysterics enough to make it hard to hold the flashlight on my phone steady. im also sure the fact that i was still in my polo with the name of the school on the back of it made it even more of a sight for them to witness.

after about 20 minutes of us having absolutely no luck, a motorbike "taxi" pulls over and tries to ask us what we are doing. through gestures and steinars limited thai, we were able to convey to him the problem. two minutes later, he waves over another friend, speaks to him for a moment, and then sends him off. he tried to explain to us what he was thinking, but communications got crossed and at one point we were under the impression the other guy went to get a vacuum.

when the other guy returns, we find out the idea was string and a powerful magnet. within a minute, the keys are retrieved, and i am utterly grateful but left without the proper language knowledge to thank them. boo.