Hi everyone! I have been thinking about my last blog post and feeling guilty that 'stupidity' was a bit harsh... I think I was a bit effected by some conversations I had that day as well, namely with a woman who did community development in Laos for many years. I can't even express how wonderful it is that people can see a need and take initiative to use what they know to meet some of that need. I had also heard my instructor say too many times that the place was, 'disgusting', 'such a mess', and that 'the administration doesn't ever change because one wouldn't want them to feel disrespected (in Thailand, 'losing face' is very grave)'. We don't know how to do anything else other than fix the noticeable needs that our western culture finds lacking. I'm not saying that I know how to do more; I just wanted to show that the world needs so much more than our money and the satisfied feelings we get when we think we are making their lives more and more... like ours? I'll try to talk to more experienced people about this and report to you later. I'll be chewing on this for a while. :)
I just sent out a (sort-of-weekly) e-mail, from which I will repeat a few things from it; if you've already read this, or would like to recieve e-mails, or are upset bc I forgot to add you to my e-mail list... I'm sorry, you'll have to fb me or e-mail me again :).
I went to an orphanage kind of place on Sunday and by the time I got there after Church, the rest of the TEFL trainee teachers had left bc 'there were no kids'... ahh... but I have learned that a football suddenly make kids appear out of nowhere! It’s like magic, seriously. Just appearing with a football on a garbage-strewn pitch somehow draws kids out of the woodworks. While I was playing with a couple of younger boys a handful of 13-yr old girls who had been gathering in numbers in the shade came over, "You, you!". Sweet! More players. Alas, my little boys ran off, only to appear with a stampede of 8-yr old boys a couple minutes later. "poo-ying!" "poo-chai!" ahaha... boys against girls... the pitch erupted into a mess of running bodies, garbage, and dirty bare feet. It was hilarious; flip flops flying everywhere and people piling up on top of the soccer ball. Cries of ‘poo-ying! (girls)’ and ‘poo-chai (boys)!’ and excited high- fives erupted each time a team scored. It was... hilarious.
A shy girl on the side lines ran over to deliver a sticky coca-cola candy to me while we were playing. I put my hands together and lifted them to my chin (chin for kids, nose for equals/adults, and forehead for monks); humbled I said thank you and made sure I told how 'arroy mak' it was (super delicious!). Ach, I am getting dangerously attached to these kids...
I also met my potential house-mate on Sunday night at the Sunday Market. She and her landlord/Thai teacher had come down for the weekend and had arranged to meet me. I got along really well with her and everything seemed to be going fine, but I think she has changed her mind and would like to keep living by herself. She said she swears a lot and wouldn't want to offend me as I'm 'religious'. *sigh. Anyway... so if she doesn't change her mind I have to find somewhere else to live when I get to Mae Sie; I'm hoping when I get connected to a Church there I can find a community-ish thing. I am so, so glad I have chosen to live with my Thai family while I'm in Chiang Mai. Last night we were making 'Moo Joom' for dinner, which consists of ripping apart lots of vegetables and stewing it in an electric wok. The pot simmers with ginger, bay leaves, and other things that I don't recognize and is added to and taken from constantly: pork, eggs, noodles, cabbage, etc. My job was to crush garlic and chilies in a pestle and mortar to make a spicy sauce (I was rubbing banana skins on my hand later... chili juice feels like a third degree burn I've realized), and my little brother Nong Tung was juicing limes. Tung said he thinks Moo Joom tastes so good because we make it together. Yes, Tung. I think life is a bit like that too... worth it, regardless of chili-juice ;).
Cheers! n.
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