The excitement at school this week was a dance competition on Friday. This took place during the last two classes, which were cancelled. So, I missed Sound Lab with one class, which didn’t upset me at all. The competition was for elementary students, but all students attended. This really meant that most students ran around and played or hung out elsewhere with their friends. After the first twenty minutes, the only students watching the competition were others in the competing grades.
Small groups from most of the classes danced to the same song. This took about 80 minutes. I got tired of listening to the song after the first few. The 5th and 6th grade students were fun to watch, as they did some more choreographed dances. The younger ones just sort of moved to the music.
With Pim and Bank who were the MCs.
This month I’ve been left on my own more often. In May, when the electric and water bills arrived and I asked Khun Kwan what to do with them, she told me to give them to her and Kru Oy would take care of them. So every month I give him the bills and the money and he pays them. This month when I gave her the electric bill and money, she told me to take it to the Seven (7-11 store) near my house. I didn’t know I could pay there. So now I pay the bills myself. I needed to have my teeth cleaned and asked Kru Oy about a dentist, since he had mentioned having seen a dentist last month. He thought for a bit and then pointed to the clinic and told me to go there. I hadn’t realized they have a dentist there. So, Thursday on the way home I stopped at the clinic to see the dentist. 45 minutes later I left with clean teeth. The line for the dentist is shorter than that for the doctor. Cost: 330 bahts (about $10).
I decided to get my hair cut again. After the last time, Khun Kwan had told me to call her the next time and she would take me to her hairdresser. But this month she is extremely busy preparing a “report” about her work. She works on it every day and has five huge binders full of papers so far, and she says she’s not finished yet. So, I went to the area where I know she goes and walked into the first place I came to. The woman spoke English fairly well, which surprised me. She turned out to be Pim’s mother. She lived and worked in Bahrain for eight years. She went there because she has an uncle who lives there. While she was there, her three daughters stayed with their grandmother here and she visited every two years. Four years ago she returned to be with her daughters and had daughter number four. Pim was pleased that I had had her mother cut my hair.
Entertainment on Saturday afternoon: I took a break from reading to have a snack. When I returned, I noticed a large black spot moving up the wall. This could only mean that ants were carrying something up the wall. A group of the fast-moving ants was moving a large flying insect up the wall. In addition to being fascinated by this, I was curious to see where they were taking it, as the only thing at the top of the wall is the ceiling. They went up the window screen on the metal piece where the two screens meet. At the top of the wall, they went around the corner, across the bottom of the soffit, around the corner, and up the soffit. Once they were on this section, a number of other ants came to join them and the group kept changing. It looked like they were sending relief.
When they came to the ceiling, I was really interested to see where they would go. They took went to one of the places where the ceiling tile rests on the frame. Then they pushed the bee into the crack, which was smaller than the body. Now I know where the ants live. They are a recent addition to the house, and I’ve seen them on the table recently but didn’t know where they came from. I imagine there’s a colony of them above the ceiling.
Sunday we celebrated Khun Teamjan’s birthday, which is on Monday, because those of us in Ubon could go to the village on Sunday. Khun Somlan was to pick me up at 8:00 Sunday morning. At 8:45, Khun Dakom called to say that Khun Somlan had business and would come in about an hour. On the way to the village, we stopped at his sister’s house so he could visit his farm. I was given a drink and some peanuts and told to wait. He asked if I had a book; they know me well. I had taken a book because I thought it could be a long afternoon during which I would want something to do.
When we arrived at Khun Toy’s house in the village, women were starting to prepare lunch. Khun Toy told me I could walk around and checked to make sure I was OK about walking alone. Since I walked there for three years alone, this was not a problem. My first stop was Khun Kasemsri’s house. There I was surprised to see Aemmy, who was excited to see me because she had a lot to tell me. She finished her massage class and went with a friend to Singapore for a month. Then she had to leave because she didn’t have a work permit and they are very strict about following the rule not to work without a permit. After returning home, she went back to Singapore for a week to meet a man she had been “dating” online. He’s Liberian and has been working in Malaysia for two years at an importing company. He paid for her ticket to Singapore. She says he loves her very much and she thinks she loves him. She plans to go to Malaysia in mid-October to spend more time with him. She’s very excited. He sounds better than the last man she dated; so I hope this works for her if it’s what she wants.
After eating, I went to visit Khun Ying, who was very excited to see me. I do miss the village and the neighborhood and my friends there. I miss feeling like I belong in a community, which I don’t here. Khun Dakom mentioned again that he wants me to be here next year for Khun Toy’s retirement to take photos for her. He called me in the evening to tell me that again. I told him I want to be here, as I know this is a really important event in her life, and I want to be here for her. (I consider it to be like going to a wedding or graduation.) I just need to figure out what I will do between the end of school and September. I also reminded him that I want to bring Khun Toy with me to America. We need to keep talking about that, and I need to talk with Khun Teamjan to see if she is thinking about this trip, too.
While some people played cards, Khun Toy sat in the living room next to the baby’s cradle. I joined her so I could read. After a while, she put on a video the school had made—a short story about a boy without parents. The boy acting the part was in one of my classes last year and several of the teachers had parts. It was fun to watch. Then she showed a DVD made from photos of our Ti Lo Su trip two years ago.
When the baby started to cry, she hushed her, rocked the cradle more, and gave her a bottle but did not pick her up. This still fascinates me. Then Adin came into the room and picked up his daughter. After a few minutes, he changed her diaper. Afterwards, Khun Toy picked her up and carried her outside.
When we left, there was a brief moment when Khun Somlan went to the driver’s side of the truck. He was clearly drunk and I’d been told that Khun Toy, his wife, would drive home. When they asked who I wanted to drive (I think they were joking with me, but I wasn’t 100% sure what was happening.), I said I’d take a bus if he was driving, which made them all laugh. Khun Somlan very willingly went to the back seat. Once we were on the road, he was asleep in two minutes. I know this happens often and I hope she drives home other times, not only because I was with them.
On the way out of the village, we stopped at Khun Teamjan’s house to drop off a table they had brought. Her son and daughter-in-law were there; so I got to see them briefly. I miss that family and having them in my life on a regular basis. I’m sure the granddaughter doesn’t recognize me anymore, since she is so young.
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