Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand December 2014 / January 2015 | Page 31
Life & Travel
or China and continue skating.
And then, four months, three countries, and one CELTA course later,
a job came up that I couldn’t turn
down. I accepted a teaching position
in Bangkok. I was here to stay.
BKK I love Bangkok. Yes, it gets
deliriously hot and uncomfortably
sticky. And I appear to be some kind
of cockroach goddess, attracting
scores of worshippers wherever
I go, but nothing beats seeing
fat monitor lizards lumbering
around the lake in Lumpini park,
watching the sun set from the steps
of Wat Arun, or spending nights
sampling the best food this earth
has to offer: nutty somtam, chillihot morning glory, rainbows
of fresh fruit, grilled meats, fish,
sweet sticky rice parcels wrapped
in banana leaves and stuffed with
taro. Making friends and finding
both my way and my favourite foods
filled my first months, but there
was a gap in my life where roller
derby used to be. I couldn't ignore it.
I needed to try. Even one new chum
to skate with would be a success.
Meet Up had been useful meeting
other people by interest—books,
films, teaching—so I set up a group,
named it Bangkok Roller Derby,
and got excited when a few people
joined. After a much anticipated
but dispiritingly under-attended
first meeting, I tried a second.
Six people attended, five women
and a Thai guy who helped make
a lukewarm gesture into a genuine
venture. Sueb runs roller events
across Thailand. He had heard
about us from an Australian
roller derby referee he knew
and wanted to see if he could
support us in some way. He showed
up at the rink that Sunday and told
me he was in the process of building
a roller rink—did we want to use it?
“I learned
how much
I could
accomplish by
being active
rather than
passive...
Roller derby
didn’t exist in
Thailand in
2012. I changed
that, and I’m
nobody much.”
He only had blades for hire, he said,
but he could import quads for us.
Two meetings down and Bangkok
Roller Derby, impossibly,
had a potential venue complete
with pads and skates, a group
of women who wanted to learn,
and a roller-experienced fairy
godbrother we affectionately named
Sueberman. I'd taken a tentative step
towards roller derby, and roller derby
had taken a giant leap towards me.
I remember the day laying
the track at Lad Phrao with music
blasting from the stereo in the centre
of the room, and our first,
excited sessions with newbies
who'd never heard of roller derby
and a few girls who had. Our venue
was out-of-the-way but those
of us who got it didn't mind
the trip. People came and went
but slowly a core formed. We picked
a training day, had a logo
designed, and T-shirts printed.
I bought a whistle and attempted
to emulate as closely as possible
the coach who'd made derby
come alive so spectacularly
for me. It's been over a year since
those first scary, exciting days.
Some of the original crew are still
skating with us, and though
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