I can’t speak for every American expat in Thailand, and certainly not the rest of the world, but I can tell you what it was like for us to witness a day like Memorial Day from across the Pacific.

Let’s back up though. When we lived in Slovakia, they didn’t really acknowledge St. Patrick’s Day or Thanksgiving/Fall Harvest. In India, we had to be very intentional about finding Christmas and Valentine’s Day. And, so far in Thailand, there was no mention of Easter. But one thing we would be hard-pressed to find anywhere outside of the US is the celebration of Memorial Day.

I don’t know if much Thai news has spread to the US, but the political situation in Thailand has been escalating recently. If you are interested, this article will get you up to speed. In short, the military announced a coup on Thursday night, and that’s when everything changed. Truthfully, the coup hasn’t affected our day-to-day too much. School was cancelled on Friday, there’s a bit more traffic due to military check points along the highway and there is a 10pm curfew for the entire country. What’s actually been the most striking to me is less of what I’ve witnessed, and more of the irony that surrounds it. On the same three day weekend that Americans honor those who have fought for our country’s freedom, our unexpected three day weekend represented, perhaps, the opposite.

So, what’s it like to experience Memorial Day in Thailand? I could have had my pick of protests to attend, and, as long as I’m home before ten, I could have finished out the night by watching TV (so long as I didn’t want to watch one of the channels that’s been blocked until further notice). Truthfully though, for us and what would appear many of the Thais around us, life pretty much continues as usual.