Celebrating a Famous Poet (6-26)

The event of the week this week was the celebration of the famous poet’s birthday on Friday. I remember this from previous years when there were no classes because students were copying poems and drawing/copying pictures. This is the poet whose memorial we visited near Rayong. Thursday after school I could see that something was happening on Friday because a fancy stage was being set up. So I asked what was happening on Friday and if there would be classes, since no one had remembered to let us foreign teachers know. Friday I learned that Kate and Lovely had been told about the program. 

Friday morning the stage was ready. It was decorated with large leaf shapes and a huge heart, both made from coconut tree leaves. There was a display of written work, pictures, and books students had made. The ones on display had been judged.  On Wednesday I had seen a group of students in the library most of the day drawing and making books. Now I knew why they were doing that.

The plan was to have classes in the morning and have the program in the afternoon. I had two morning classes. Only half of the students were present in each class, as the others were getting ready for the afternoon. When I saw the program, I wasn’t sure why so many were missing, as not all of them were in the program. I think a lot of it was the typical one student is in the program and three or four are needed to get him/her ready, many of whom really aren’t doing much to help. A good excuse to be out of class. The students who were in class and I had a good time. We did the vocabulary activities/games in one class, which the boys enjoyed. In the other, students wrote sentences and I could help them more than when everyone is there. Some were able to write one or two extra sets, which was fun for them.

The program began with a parade from the back of the school, around the building to the street, and back to the front of the building. 

Then there was a short theater presentation in which some students acted the roles and others read the parts. Then there were a couple talks by teachers. By the time the talks were given, only students in the first several rows even pretended to pay attention. The others were talking and playing. There’s always some talking at these events in all of the schools I’ve been at, but this was the loudest and worst. Then there was the typical Isaan music. By this time, no one was listening and it was even louder in the audience. After a bit, students seem to have been told that they could do the other activities. At this time it reminded me of community events with music and a stage show. There wasn’t the typical scantily-clad young women dancing, but early elementary students danced. Vendors were selling food. 

Several people had set up an area where students could make a woven plastic basket. 

Some students played jacks with snail shells. 

There were stilt walking races and races in which students walked on coconut shells. I was a good sport and tried walking on the stilts when I went to watch even though I hadn’t done that since I was the age of the students. The young men didn’t let go of the stilts, which was a good thing. 

There was a race in which the boys “rode” horses made from sugar cane stalks. 

And a walking on coconut shells race. Other students just sat around and chatted. Some played checkers. All students had a good time. It was a bit long for me, as I usually attend these events for about half an hour, not three hours.

After the program, it started to rain hard. At 4:00, Khun Kwan called to tell me her husband was picking Bitoy up then. Since I couldn’t leave until 5:00 and I know he picks up Bitoy and then goes back to work, I missed my ride. Khun Kwan told me to walk to her house for dinner. So I did. It was raining quite heavily at that time. When I turned onto their street, their car came and picked me up. Khun Oy had gone back to the school to get me, but they forgot to let me know. They didn’t see me leave because I go out the back door when I walk, and they park at the front door. So we all ate dinner and then he returned to work. I hung out at the house until he came home at 8:00 and they drove me home.

Sunday I needed to get more cholesterol meds. Khun Teamjan had said she would take me on Saturday, but I think she forgot. I thought about going to the hospital on my own, but I needed to print the insurance form. And I knew that if I didn’t call Khun Kwan and tell them I needed to go, they would not be happy. So I called Khun Kwan at 10:00, but she didn’t answer. Thinking they were out somewhere, I walked to the Internet shop and printed the forms. Then I took a songtaew to the bus station and another to the hospital. All was going well. Just before I got to the hospital, Khun Kwan called, having slept very late, and told me to wait for her at the hospital. As I was getting ready to tell them what I needed, Khun Dakom called and told me not to go to the hospital because Khun Somlan would take me to see his doctor daughter. So much for my adventure on my own. I was to wait for Khun Kwan and family and then go the village with them. Then he called again to tell me that Khun Somlan’s daughter is in the Czech Republic, and Khun Somlan will take me on Tuesday.

After lunch, Khun Toy took me to see Khun Ying, as Khun Ying has been telling her how much she misses me and I didn’t see her last week. She wasn’t home again, but her sister called her and told her to come to see me. She was very happy to see me, and I her. She told me to move back into the house and be her neighbor. She gave me a bag of fried silk worm larvae. When we walked to Khun Toy’s uncle’s house, a couple young boys rode by and greeted me. I didn’t know them, but they knew me. Khun Toy fried the silk worm larvae some more. I left some with her, and had her put some in a bag for Khun Kwan’s family, as there were many more than I will eat.

In the evening, Khun Toy called to tell me that Adin was bringing some bamboo for me. Then she called again to see if he had.

Honoring a Missionary and Teachers (6-20)

We had two special events at school last week. Wednesday morning during the opening ceremony, there was a special ceremony to honor a missionary who was in the region (Laos, Thailand, Viet Nam) in the 1600s. One of the buildings at the school is named after him. A large picture was on the altar and the Sisters and teachers put flowers and jasmine wreaths on the altar. I was also invited to do this. Tony, Kate, and Lovely were not nearby, as they were standing in the shade. It was very hot that morning, as we felt sorry for all the students and teachers who had to stand out in the sun. 

Thursday was Wai Kru (respect the teachers) Day. Since the school is so large (900-1000 students), there were two ceremonies—one for pre-school and grades 1-3 and one for grades 4-9. Tony and I got to participate in both. Kate and Lovely stayed in the background and left with the first group to teach their classes. They don’t like to be on display at these events. My Peace Corps experience got me used to this, and I don’t mind it any more. It’s just what is expected and I do it. Since there are so many students, all students did not come up to the teachers like they did at my former schools. Here, two representatives from each class came up. Nor did all teachers participate. A group of us sat in two rows on the stage. 

The class representatives presented their floral arrangements to the altar and then lined up in front of the Sisters and Kru Tang in the front row. (I was moved to the front row for the second group when someone left and there was an empty chair.) 

When each Sister had a student in front of her, the students waied and then bowed to the Sister or teacher and she put her hand on the student’s shoulder. Then the arrangements were passed to the back row and along to the end of the row. After the older students presented all their arrangements, students who had flower bouquets were told they could present them to several of us on the stage. 

Tony was quite popular and received many flowers. Some students gave me flowers, too. 

After each session, group photos were taken. 

I am always amazed at the lovely floral arrangements the students create. 

These were on display for the rest of the day.

Monday evening I returned to the massage therapist. She had suggested an herbal steam massage, especially for my shoulders, as the right shoulder, which has never been a problem, was hurting a lot. She worked on me for 90 minutes, and I felt much better afterwards. I’ll be seeing her again. Her style is a little different from Khun Nit’s in the village, but she is very strong and is aware of what needs special attention.

My neighbor gave me twelve bananas from the bunch that were growing beside my gate.

Other news from the village: Khun Kasemsri told me that Khun Lai finally got a school in Chonburi. It’s not the one she was in line for a few months ago, but at least she got a school and is now a school director like she wanted to be. Only about 15 of the teachers went on the trip to take her to her new school because teachers didn’t want to go with Khun Kumtom. She said it’s worse at the school this year than last year and teachers are always very tired. She also told me that the students keep asking when I’m coming back. I guess they remember that I left last year and then returned. And people call the radio station asking where I am. It’s nice to know I am missed.

I finally got to ask Khun Teamjan about my rent again. She laughed and consulted with Khun Toy and then told me 1000 bahts (about $30). This is a special friend price, as that is what Kate and Lovely pay for their one room. I also asked  her about getting a sit-on toilet, and she said she’ll have a builder come to replace the toilet.

Khun Dakom said that, if I am here when Khun Toy retires in a year and a half, she can go to America with me. He now says he doesn’t want to go. Khun Toy was all smiles when he said she could go to America with me. I really would like to have that happen. She and her family do so much for me; it would be nice to help her realize this dream.

Note on the book damage: Quite a few books now have interesting holes in the pages. Most are still readable. I’ll need to tear out a few stories in reading books, as they are not useable. I had to throw away three books that were almost totally gone inside.

And a couple travel notes: The TSA approved lock on my big heavy plastic bag was ripped off along with the ends of the zipper when I claimed the bag. The bag was half open and the zipper could not be closed without the ends. I guess I was lucky the contents were still in the bag and not missing or strewn around. I don’t know why it was pulled off and thought later that I possibly should have reported it, but there isn’t anything that could be done and the bag was not worth replacing. One pull tab next to the TSA lock on the zipper of my large suitcase is missing. I’m guessing it was pulled off, as they don’t fall off, but the zipper was too strong to break. Also, they confiscated my peanut butter at the airport. The woman said that she could squeeze the jar, which was in a plastic bag; so it couldn’t be carried on. I wondered if it would have been OK in a glass jar that couldn’t be squeezed.

To the U.S. and Back (6-19)

I have been back in Thailand for six days now. I had a really nice—but short—visit in the U.S. The purpose of the trip was to go to Christina’s wedding, but I also squeezed in a 3-day trip to Omaha and Lincoln. I had an interesting encounter as I was getting on the plane in Chicago. A man about my age from central Nebraska was in line in front of me. He had made a comment about our numbers as he got in line and then chatted about where we were going. A few minutes later, he turned around and said something like, “Tell me if I’m wrong. You’re a nun.” I was rather surprised and told him he was wrong. After a couple minutes, he turned around again and said, “It’s just your quiet demeanor.”

On the way back, I went to the Thai Consulate in Chicago to apply for my non-immigrant B visa. This is a two-trip process, as you turn in the application one day and pick up the visa two working days later. The first day I enjoyed lunch at the Thai restaurant next to the consulate. The second day I enjoyed walking back to the train station. I hadn’t been walking in the city for a number of years and enjoyed walking along the river walk and seeing buildings I remember from 40+ years ago.

The wedding was, of course, lovely. They had good luck and it didn’t rain on Sunday, as it had on Saturday; so they could have the ceremony outdoors like they wanted to. Cheryl had invited out-of-town guests to her home Friday and Sunday nights. These were additional opportunities to visit with family and a few friends I hadn’t seen for many years and to chat with some new people. 

It was especially nice to become acquainted with the nieces and nephews again as older people than they were five and eight years ago. And to meet the new baby Annabel and play with her brother Daniel.

The trip back to Thailand was gruesome. The plane on Thursday was delayed two hours due to rain earlier in the morning. Then we were told that it was further delayed to wait for a mechanic. The second delay meant that I would probably not make my connection to Tokyo; so I was rerouted to fly on Friday. Since this was a last-minute change, my bags went on to Detroit, but I was flying out of Minneapolis the next day. The baggage man at the airport was very helpful. I went back to my brother’s house for the night and enjoyed hanging out with him and my nephew. Back at the airport on Friday, I learned that my bags had made it to Minneapolis, which pleased the baggage man as well as me. In Minneapolis, I learned that the plane to Tokyo was delayed a few hours due to a hydraulic leak. Then it was cancelled. The airport people were quite efficient about getting about 800 passengers assigned to hotels. We were given vouchers for food and a room. A special plane was being brought in for us Saturday morning. In the morning, I decided to do a quick e-mail and received a message that the plane was delayed until 4:00 PM. So, I stayed at the hotel and watched TV. I did a quick e-mail check again before leaving and learned that the departure had been changed to 2:30. Fortunately, I still had time to get to the airport and make the flight. After that, all went well.

The trip from Minneapolis to home took 40 hours. I arrived in Bangkok at midnight Sunday night and hung out at the airport for a few hours before going to the bus station, as it’s a more pleasant place to hang out. At the bus station, I waited for the ticket booths to open at 5:00 AM Monday morning. I was able to get one of three seats left on the first class bus, but had to wait three more hours. I could have gotten a second class bus earlier, but they stop a lot and, therefore take two hours longer and arrive only an hour earlier. So I decided that it was worth waiting for the first class bus.

It was difficult letting people here know about the changes in my travel plans. I e-mailed Sister Viphaporn but wasn’t sure if she checked mail on the weekend. I also e-mailed Khun Yindee and asked her to call Sister Viphaporn and Khun Kwan, but I wasn’t sure if her e-mail at home was working. I had no way to contact Khun Kwan directly. I did hear from Khun Yindee after the first change that Khun Kwan had called her when I wasn’t at the bus station. I learned later that she called again Sunday when I wasn’t there. I called her Monday morning, and the family was there to meet me when I arrived in the evening. She now has an e-mail address and knows how to use it. She e-mailed me to tell me she was worried because I am like family to them. She does take care of me well. Khun Dakom also called me Monday afternoon. It made me feel welcomed back.

Arriving two days late meant that I missed school on Monday. But, more importantly, I missed my day to relax and recover a bit at home on Sunday. So the rest of the week I was very exhausted and travel-weary and jet lagged. The teacher who taught my classes while I was gone did all the worksheets I left but didn’t correct them. So I had a big pile of papers to correct. This took most of the week.

When I arrived home, I found out that the termites (or whatever they are) in the extra bedroom had surfaced again. The larvae had eaten through the whole bottom of a box of books and into some of the books. They had eaten through the bookshelves from the bottom and back and into some of the books. It was a mess. I removed the bookshelves and damaged books to the porch that night and sprayed them and the floor and wall in that corner of the room and moved the rest of the books to another room. Over the next few days, I cleaned them in the evening. I didn’t need this extra work, since I was very tired, but it had to be done.

My body was tired and tight and my shoulders hurt. Usually, only my left shoulder bothers me, but this time it was mostly the right shoulder. I desperately needed a massage. I vaguely remembered seeing a sign somewhere, and Thursday night, when a teacher was riding me home, I saw it again. So, Friday I stopped on the way home. I could stay only an hour because Khun Dakom called to tell me they were coming to Ubon to have dinner with me. She spent a lot of time on my legs, which don’t usually need extra attention, but which I knew were very tight. When I left, I knew they were much better. She started on my shoulders and suggested that I come back for an herbal steam massage. I planned to do that on the weekend, but Khun Dakom and Khun Toy invited me to go to the village on Saturday and spend the night. When I returned Sunday, I was too tired to go out.

I really enjoyed being back in the village. I do miss it. I miss the quiet walk to school and greeting people along the way. I miss teaching with Khun Yindee. I miss being in the country. I miss seeing some of the children—the neighborhood children and Khun Teamjan’s grandchildren—regularly. While Khun Toy went to school to do some work, I walked around the village a bit. Some of the old women saw me and called to me. Khun Noi also saw me. Khun Ying was not home, but Khun Kasemsri was. We had a pleasant visit. It was good to see her again. She said the students keep asking when I will come back. I guess they remember that I left last year and came back and haven’t really understood that this year I am not coming back. She said people call the radio station and ask where I am. It’s nice to know I am missed. I also briefly stopped to see the other Khun Toy, who hugged me. We went to Khun Suwit’s farm for dinner. I stayed in Khun Toy and Khun Dakom’s small house by the pond. They stayed in the other room there. I wondered if they stayed there because they didn’t want me to be alone in the house. He is calling it my house now, which is sweet.

Sunday morning I went to the wat with Khun Toy, as she was taking the grade 7 and 8 students. The old women were happy to see me and several tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention and greet me. After breakfast at the farm, Khun Somlan drove me back to the city.