House Warmings (3-8)

Last weekend was a weekend of housewarmings. Saturday morning was the housewarming for Khun Dakom’s cousin’s new addition. She and her mother have rooms for rent and just built a new building with twelve more rooms. After the monks prayed, we had a seven-course breakfast that was quite good. Lots of fish. I was sent home with three bags of food, which is enough for the week for me.  

Sunday we went back to Khun Somlan’s for the official housewarming for his new house for his mother-in-law. Khun Dakom seated me at a table with people I don’t know, which was a little disappointing and uncomfortable, since what I enjoy about these events is hanging out with my friends. I realized later that he had done this to take care of me, as usual. They ate upstairs, sitting on the floor, after the monks finished eating what they wanted of the food offered to them. I started eating earlier and was seated on a chair at a table. The breakfast had nine different dishes. I practically ate a whole fish; so I didn’t need much food for the rest of the day. After eating, the karaoke began. I tried to sing a song, but the man wanted me to wait until a woman was finished and then the men started singing again; so I missed that opportunity. My contribution to the entertainment was dancing. I had a good time doing that, as usual. I danced with a woman who is a good Thai dancer. I can mimic the hand movements—sort of. I need to concentrate and, as I’ve said before, my hands will never be Thai. She kept trying to make my wrists and fingers bend back like hers do. Mine don’t. I told her my hands are American, not Thai. But we had a good time together. Other people kept telling me how well I dance. Well, maybe for a foreigner. I do enjoy it, though.

I started with a new student on Saturday. She is Khun Tang’s niece. Her parents came to see me last week to make arrangements for me to teach her. She’s in 4^th grade. They don’t know I’m leaving in two months, but I can work with her until then. One of her main difficulties seems to be lack of confidence. She seems to have a good vocabulary base, but, of course, she can’t speak much and isn’t used to thinking. My other three girls are still coming. I’ve written a number of simple dialogues and am running out of ideas for new language to use. They’ve gotten good at discussing what they do each week. It’s hard getting in gear to work at 5:00 after not working all day, but I enjoy them once they arrive and we get going. They come later and later; so I think we’ll all be ready to finish at the end of the month.

Wednesday was a holiday for Makka Bucha Day. On Saturday Khun Dakom had asked if I wanted to go to the village. I said I was thinking about going on Wednesday. So I went Tuesday evening for dinner—a wonderful meal of fish from their pond cooked by Khun Toy. She also made the special soup I like with leaves/herbs and ant eggs. We ate at the outside table. It was really nice to be there with them again.

As Khun Toy was getting my room at the cottage ready, we saw a rat go up the corner of the wall into the ceiling. It was a big one. Then, when I put my towel on the rack, I noticed one of the really big spiders behind the rack. Khun Dakom got a mop and chased after it and killed it. Fortunately, the rest of the night went without seeing any critters.

Wednesday morning Khun Toy and I left at 5:30 to go to Wat Hua Don. When we drove in, I noticed that the walking Buddha statue now has an umbrella. 






























We walked to the old temple to see progress on the roof. Then we joined the group for feeding the monks and a brief talk by Pra Tong. When we were eating, a woman came to talk to me in English. She was with the group from the Rice Research Institute who were there for the morning service. They were having a week-long conference in Ubon. Most of the people in attendance were with that group. I did see several of the old woman I knew from before, and they were all happy to see me again.

Pra Tong was giving out new t-shirts advertising the wat’s new website. All of the guests received one, as did we. Recipients had to complete a form. Khun Toy took shirts for all the extended family and completed everyone’s forms. Pra Tong told me that the wat is the heart smile group. I liked that name.

We returned to the village and visited friends before going to lunch at Khun Suwit’s farm. Khun Kasemsri invited me to the tamboons she’s organizing next month: one at her house for her daughter who just got a government job and one at the wat in Lue Amnat to build a Buddha in one day. The latter includes sleeping at the wat in our white clothes, which I haven’t used since I moved. She also invited me to join her and Aemmy to go to a special tamboon in Chaiyapum. It’s a three-day retreat that will be another opportunity to wear my white clothes. It will be nice to have some time with her in the car as well as to share that experience with her.

Khun Ying was also very happy to see me. She gave me some kao tom (sticky rice steamed in banana leaf). We went to my old house where she picked several low-hanging mangoes from the tree. I’d been missing them, as mango season is beginning and I no longer have a tree. When we were leaving, she wanted to give me some rice—about 20 pounds of it. Since I don’t eat white rice at home and I have enough other rice, I graciously thanked her and turned down her offer, saying I have enough rice. Khun Dakom had also asked if I need rice.

Lunch was at Khun Suwit’s farm and featured fish from his pond. Their granddaughter was there. I hadn’t seen her since I moved, and ten months is a long time in the life of a 26-month-old; so she didn’t remember me and looked at me like I was the strange-looking foreigner I am. After a while, though, she warmed up and we played peek-a-boo with the chair. When Khun Toy was picking leaves off tree stems, we both helped.

On the way back to the house, we stopped to visit Baibua, Khun Toy’s 8-month-old granddaughter. She was sleeping but they woke her up for our visit. It was good to see her again.

A couple minutes after Khun Dakom dropped me off to get a bus home, a car stopped and a young woman greeted me like she knew me and asked if I was going to Ubon. She and her friend gave me a ride. One of the young women is Khun Teamjan’s niece, whom I vaguely remember meeting one time, and the other is a daughter of another teacher. Sometimes it’s good to be recognized.

Being back in the village and spending the night and day with my friends reminded me how much I’ll miss them when I leave, and that time is coming soon. I started to go through this a little bit last year when I wasn’t sure what I would be doing, but now I know for sure that I will be leaving. Leaving my friends here will be hard, and I will miss them greatly. When I think about that, I know I miss friends in the U.S., but many of my good friends keep in touch by e-mail. And I know I’ll see them again. When I leave these friends, I won’t hear from them, and I may not see them ever again. That’s the difficult part. It will be the end of these connections, even though we’ll always remember each other in our hearts.