THAILAND: Two Amazing Decades

I decided to graduate early, leave the Army Reserves, and say goodbye to life in the USA in August of 2001.

I was lucky and learned Thai at the language school in Monterey, California. I taught myself and fellow soldiers how to surf. Of the many labels or words that end in, er, that I've been, surfer, is one I'm very fond of.

I was really good at running, swimming, and shooting, so I had this giant delusion that I had what it took to become a SEAL.

Everyone thought I was crazy for not becoming an officer and enlisting in the Navy. I never cared about rank or power, so I never regretted it.

Even though I was unhappy in America, I made the best of it. I lived on this sailboat in San Diego for a few years. It was fun living in California, but my heart was still set on Thailand.

I had always heard that Chiang Mai has the most beautiful women, so when I finished the Navy, I sold my boat, car, and condo and moved there.

The women looked just like they did in Bangkok, so I don't know how this rumor of beauty started.

There were so many nice women to choose from, but I really fell for this one.

I've always liked Pocahontas and I thought Som looked just like her so that's why I started dancing with her on Valentine's day in 2007. We got married six months later.

The first memory of my step daughter is her asking her mom why she chose a guy like me. I was a big fan of the UFC back then and had a modified original Xbox that could emulate any older generation of games as well as play downloaded torrents. I had downloaded UFC 88 and was sure Chuck Liddel would win again. He got taken out with Rashad Evans uppercut. She wouldn't stop making fun of him losing and Chuck Liddel was her first word in English.

I didn't know that we would have a son, so I raised her like a boy. I think a lot of dads must do that too. Maybe we secretly wanted sons so we just raised our daughters as one. She's almost the valedictorian and has a bigger vocabulary than I do now. I'm very proud of her.

I really miss and love my Granddad. I named my son exactly like him, Daniel Parke Custis. This name has been in the family longer than America has been it's own country. I thought if he decided to reincarnate as my son it would be easier if he kept the same name.

Daniel saw this photo when he was less than one and immediately pointed at it. Maybe he remembered it. My Granddad came to Thailand in the 1950s and delivered their first fighter jets to the King. The CIA liked him because he was anti communist and Uncle Sam gave him support so Thailand wouldn't fall to Communism like all the countries around it.

How many horror stories have you heard about guys marrying Thai women, bringing them home, and then a bad ending? You can add me to the list. Before we had our son, my wife made me promise I would be both mom and dad to our kids because she never wanted kids. Since I was the one feeding and changing diapers I took my son back to Bangkok when we got divorced.

I didn't start work until 5pm so I could spend the day with Daniel and bring him to work with me too. I never put up a student teacher wall and made really good friends with many of my students.

I thought being young and speaking Thai was good for picking up Thai women, but being a single dad with a cute little boy was amazing. I had a lot of beautiful and nice women come into my life because of his cuteness.

A lot of people think I'm a Playboy, but I honestly don't even think about sex because I'm asexual. My male friends have no concept of this and think I'm secretly gay. Women seem to take it two ways, either you're the best guy ever or you're not a real man. I may not care about sex, but I still appreciate beautiful asian women.

I really loved this girl more than my wife or any other girlfriend I've ever had. Not only is she beautiful, she is truly kind and likes dogs. (If you don't love dogs, then I don't love you.) She's the only asexual person I've ever had a relationship with.

She broke my heart bad. I don't remember breaking my hand. I was so sad she left and I got black out drunk. The next day I woke up to a demolished room, glass sticking out of my feet, and a broken hand. The doctor thought I broke my hand beating my wife so she didn't give anything to numb the pain when she reset it. The bone grew back funny so now I think of her every time I look at my slightly deformed hand. My pinky doesn't work well now. Good thing I'm no longer in the military, because I can no longer salute properly.

To be honest, I just tried to add some details to these photos that survived over the years.

There is no way I could possibly put my experience of living in Thailand down into a post like this.

I could keeping writing about it every day for a year, but I don't have many pictures left from that time and no one wants to read a post without pictures here.

I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to learn Thai. My life truly has been an adventure. Thank you for reading about my adventures in Thailand. I hope you have a great day.

Photography Tips:

☀️Submit to the sun! Nothing can provide better lighting than a clear day at noon.

📷Get close up! Make the photos feel 3D by having the camera focus on something very close while showing layers of blurred background.

✂️Cut, crop, and delete until you have ten good shots with unique proofread text.

⚙️My Gear:

iPad Pro

🖌Procreate:

📷Canon Rebel:

🎥Sony Projector:

先生 เจ

Jeremiah Lee Custis

Personal Facebook Page:
https://Facebook.com/JeremiahCustis

Personal Youtube Channel:
https://www.Youtube.com/user/JeremiahCustis

Tavel Blog:
https://travelfeed.io/@jeremiahcustis

Personal Blog:
https://Steemit.com/@JeremiahCustis

Thai Language Blog:
https://Steemit.com/@TeachinThai

Solar for Siam NGO Facebook Page:
https://Facebook.com/SolarforSiam

Language Camp Facebook Page:
https://Facebook.com/LuangPrabangLanguageCamp

Let’s help science together!
https://App.Boid.com/u/CPU4Good

Conversation Gaming Facebook Page:
https://Facebook.com/ConversationGaming

Conversation Gaming Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkxwjbgN0Js4vM-tiSvVMIA

SplinterLands:
https://steemmonsters.com?ref=jeremiahcustis

STEEM Casino:
https://steemslotgames.com/?referral_name=jeremiahcustis

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/JeremiahCustis
TikTok: @JeremiahLeeCustis
Discord: 3438
Telegram: @JeremiahCustis
Skype ID: JeremiahCustis
Zoom ID: JeremiahCustis