Reason #20 we should go to Thailand: We are like Spider-Man

I'm pretty sure this blog post title will catch some eyes. Maybe it's because I'm a huge comic book nerd and have actually managed to get Ambi hooked on the graphic novels of Y: The Last Man. (If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?)

Or maybe it's because Peter Parker's IQ-Score is higher than Glenn Beck's (and thank God for that). But I have found a great deal of life lessons in comic books that have led me to this blog. And while I wish Amber and I had the proportional strength and abilities of a spider, I can only suggest that we do follow the wall-crawler's golden rule, spoken to him by his dear Uncle Ben before his life was tragically ended by a wayward mugger, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Now of course, I didn't write this with the same gravitas Cliff Robertson spoke with in Spider-Man really, but the message remains clear. Amber and I want to be the Ultimate Thailand Explorers, but we understand better than anyone that we don't just represent ourselves in this competition.

If fortunate enough to be selected for the semi-finals and curry enough favor with the voting public to be sent to Chiang Mai, we understand that we have several responsibilities to fill, and not just the ones the Tourism Authority of Thailand tells us to. We are representing ourselves, the people who voted for us, our home country, and Thailand.

Whew! That's a load of responsibility! Good news is, I have a broad back and am willing to shoulder that load. As a world traveler, I know that I am sometimes the first or only Westerner many of our new friends will have met.

Take, for instance, the picture to the left where I visited some school children as part of a cultural exchange program in Tokyo. Most of these 4th grade students had never met a gaijin much less talked to one. And although I was only there a matter of hours, it meant a great deal to me that I was the first and only impression of a gaijin they may have. Every Westerner they meet from that point on in their lives will be measured against the interaction they had with me, brief as it may be. You'll always remember your first flight, and although you may earn a frequent flier card at some point, you'll always remember that first jaunt into the blue sky.

Amber and I look forward to this pressure. It'll keep us honest. We'll have fun and we'll give everyone following us a taste of Thailand as well. But we will represent Thailand in the best way possible, because we understand the responsibility better than anyone.