Chapter 23: Thailand

It is not unusual to see 4 kids a mom and a sack of rice piled onto a motor bike. Safety has a different standard in these borders. Children as young as 7 are seen speeding past on motor bikes. Moms run errands with their infant strapped (sometimes not…just holding on) to the front of the bike. Pick-up trucks are not only loaded with hay and materials, but sometimes dozens of kids and/or workers. At first, it was a system shock..cringing each time a motor bike ran past, but now I’m used to it…even the other day on my way to the market- 6 students on one bike. It was plugging along and it’s rims scraped the road’s surface, but they managed to make it there and back in one piece. In Chang Mai, after a few drinks at a Thai night club with friends, we hailed a tuktuk (tiny cart with 3 wheels and a motor) and fit 6 people on this (two holding onto the sides of the driver hanging out the sides, 3 crammed in the back, and one literally sprawled across our laps. Good thing we were a bit tipsy at the time, or else it would not have been comfortable. It takes me back to the days on New York and DC, when cab drivers would be hesitant to even put four in the back seat. Unless they were corrupt and you slipped them more cash, most would only drive the allotted 4 (so we would all have seatbelts that we would in turn, not wear). When Brittany Spears made national news and went to courts for her baby driving stunt (for those of you who don’t remember- baby Spears rode shotgun on Brittany’s lap) I wonder if those pictures made it here. I’d assume it didn’t get much press…because here, it’s just the way things work.

Dogs…There is quite the dog problem here. No one gets them fixed (bob barker would be quite upset) which you can imagine leads to a country overpopulated with stray dogs. Most aren’t vicious, many are sick, and none have the loving dog personalities we find from our canine best friends at home. Im assuming it is due to the heat and lack of nutrition that they are quite subdued- sleep all day, in the sun, not moving an inch as you walk past. At night there seems to be quite the dog melody, that I assume one only hears in the quietness of the country. Simultaneously late at night, all the dogs break out in a chorus, howling…it’s so loud it sometimes wakes me up at night if I already dozed off. It is exactly like One Hundred and One Dalmatians style…like their planning their attack and their plans to take over the country side. It’s kind of creepy at night, and I find myself checking the locks

ps I truely enjoy all your comments.  keep em comin
pps i thought i posted this a while back…oops

The same things I love about this country are the same things that drive me crazy sometimes. But, thus is life and I am used to most Thai style or sty as they say…as much of it is becoming my own. As a white woman, I receive quite a bit of attention. Although charming at first, it causes me to always be on guard, on my best behavior, and as appropriate as possible. On my way home from Chang Mai last weekend (a 10 hour bus ride that got me back at 3am and dropped me off on the side of the highway- I guess that’s another posting) our bus ran into 4 check points. Each time, the officers loaded the bus in masks and with guns, checked everyone’s passport, went through our luggage loaded underneath the bus, and even checked the crevices of the engine. It was not a pleasant experience- especially as 3 of the officers hovered over me specifically at 1 in the morning passing my id around trying to pronounce my name. Not going to lie- one of those moments I wished I blended in. The majority of the reactions to “…mah jak America.” is an immediate smile and “Oba-ma!” emphases on the “ma” as they point to their darkened skin and say same-same. I’ve gotten used to this type of attention, but as I work in the little Thai I know, they are thrilled with my attempts and I gain a different kind of respect from them as they continue to hound me with questions and try to teach every word around me.

Other customs I’ve grown accustomed to- in ground “toilet” holes. Places near Bangkok have westernized toilettes, but an hour outside, all you will get are holes with buckets of water to flush with. I’m a pro now at this squatting technique. In the North, there are two basic types of work- farming, or owning a shop. Every shop- noodles, car parts, cloth- every shop is a house as well. The restroom is their own family restroom- shampoo and toothbrushes scattered throughout, the wooden plank next to the pot of boiling broth is the owners bed. Mattresses are very rare…most Thais sleep on wooden planks – or a big wooden table (some outdoors) throughout the day and at night. The temperatures get so hot that sometimes the only thing to do is sleep. Many older Thais- especially farmers and market sellers- have black stained teeth. The permanent tooth decay is from their lack of dentistry and the constant leaf they chew (much like pure tobacco leaves- but I think stronger). Ill get back to you on it’s formal thai name.

Rice and or noodle soup is served with every meal and condiments include, but are not limited to, sugar, chili, fish sauce, and hot sauce. Everything is eaten with spoon (right hand) and fork. Knives are not used at the table. Driving rules are non existent and 7-11 (7 as they call it) is on every street corner stock full of canomes (meat or pastry filled pies), seaweed and chili lays, and whitening lotion.

I’ve written quite a bit about school, but in general, the students are never on time (if they show at all), sports, music, and dance activities come far before education, and each day I wake to the Thai national anthem and our school song played loudly over the campus speakers.

On a final note- our buffalo are veered very important. We now have 13 buffalo living on campus, grazing in a new field each week “mowing the lawns”. When we receive or buy new buffalo there is an induction ceremony. A monk attends and sprays them with holy water, I fed them last time with holy hay. It is always a grateful day. Along with our buffalo are 6 pigs, a giant rice field, and rows upon rows of vegetable greens the students are harvesting for class. If the greens don’t survive, they fail the class and must retake it next year.

This weekend I am headed to Chang Rai (the farthest northern province) for my second attempt at climbing Mt. Puchifa (fog mountain).   Hopefully some great pictures to come. 

much love

new pictures are posted to the right under blog roll: New Years vacation pictures and New Years Continued

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