Editor’s Note: Pawaran “Kai” Mongkhonkham is a junior foreign exchange student from Thailand who recently watched his first American playoff baseball series. The following article reflects the impact that experience had on him. Please follow Kai’s articles this year as he explores American culture from a fresh perspective.

Are you feeling lonely on the weekends? Do you feel like you’re stuck in a bottle and you can not get out?

And your friends are going to have a party tonight. They’re gonna scream, jump and shout. They’re gonna shake, shake that house to the ground!

While you are stuck at home!

I wanted to find something to do this weekend, and couldn’t think of anything. Then I remembered that I watched the Cubs beat the Cardinals this past October and it gave me a crazy idea: I wanted to be like Anthony Rizzo!

Recently, I spent my whole Saturday in a place called Stella’s Batting Cages in the town of Lyons, and I think it’s a very cool place to start swinging a baseball bat for the first time.

You have to wear a helmet while batting, and they have helmets for you to use in case you forgot yours.

There are a lot of different ball speeds that you can choose from. At first I hit a softball at 38 mph, and then moved on to a baseball at 54 mph.

Baseball in Thailand is not as exciting as American baseball is. Thai citizens are only crazy about soccer. The only people who watch baseball playoff games in Thailand are the players’ friends and family, or people who are really crazy about the sport, like me.

However, Thailand’s national baseball team took fifth place in Asia and 22nd in the most recent world rankings. That’s not so bad for the rookie country.

My favorite Major League Baseball player is Johnny Damon. He is a Thai-American outfielder who has played for the Thailand National Baseball team and the Cleveland Indians, amongst many other MLB franchises.

Stella’s is also a restaurant, so if you get hungry or thirsty you can eat there. You can also take a break from batting by playing the arcade games they have.