Today I learned to make Ratna

Today I learned to make Ratna

Today at school I learned to make one of my favorite foods I have had here.  Ratna.  After making it I know why I love it so much.  It has noodles, sugar, salt, msg, pork, kale, soy sauce, and vinegar in it.  Yum yum.  It was nice to serve it to the teachers who feed me every day.  Here I am cooking it.  

This is our school kitchen.  A little different than an American school cafeteria.  

Finished gravy to go with the fried noodles.  Delicious, but now that I know what is in it, I think I can only eat it once a month on special occasions.

Who does that?

Who does that?  5-28-13

What would you think if someone placed three roosters around your bedroom windows?  If you are from America you might have thoughts and emotions of vengeance, anger, persecution, confusion as to “why me?” and “who did this?”.  And maybe in some parts of the United States, this would be normal and acceptable, but not in my hometown.  I think in my hometown, as in a lot of towns around the US, roosters are illegal.  I don’t agree with that, but I do understand why they are illegal; as opposed to the anti-cloths line laws which I don’t agree with and don’t understand.(don't let me get off topic.)

Both laws obviously do not exist here in Thailand.  If I tried to explain that we had these laws, I don’t think any Thai person I know would understand.  Roosters walk the streets everywhere, including downtown Bangkok, and no one has a dryer. 

But, putting three fighting cocks around someone’s bed room, especially the town farang, or foreigner, still feels like a sign of aggression for me.  But, honestly, I think that is more a feeling than a reality, and that is a thing I am learning to keep in check.

Story:

My host mom’s son, the father of the “grandson” that lives with us, is in town because he is going to be a monk next Monday.  I think for 15 days?.   When I came to Thailand for the first time, I had ideas of Buddhist monks to be a pure species, above worldly temptations and materialism.  Back in 2000 that illusion was shattered when I saw monks smoking, talking on cell phones, and now in 2013 I see them at ATMs.  Men are expected to become a monk.  So you get all kinds of men who put on the orange robes.  Last weekend in the Bangkok post was an article about gay and transgender boys who choose, or are forced into being monks because their family thinks it will change the “way they are.”   http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/351847/gay-and-transgender-katoey-struggle-with-buddhism

My “brother” who will become a monk next week lives far away.  I have seen him come home a few times, and he usually has his fighting cocks with him.  This trip to be a monk is no exception.  He likes to drink beer and smoke cigarettes and spend his day gambling.  Maybe he is becoming a monk to have some time away from that, I don’t want to falsely guess his reasons for becoming a monk, but often people will dedicate the merit of becoming a monk to a living or deceased ancestor.  It is believed that it can change the luck or fortune of a family by working in karmic ways, as a kind of karmic cleanser for a family.  My family will have a three day, loud, probably expensive, definitely a lot of work party Saturday, Sunday, and ending on Monday.

So, back to the roosters, placed safely under my windows out of the morning sun; who does that?

Well, let’s analyze this for “fun” because it is 5:30am, I am up and have already done a load of laundry because those fighting cocks are LOUD!! Really loud.

Does no one in Thailand get upset about things like this?  Loud music and roosters that disturb you are so normal, they are not even annoying?  Do people know it bothers people, but don’t care?  Do we in the US worry way to much about what people will think?

I hope that I can find out the answer to these questions, and bring that understanding back home with me.  Just two days ago I stated my goal for the next two years to use this time to transform anger in me, existing anger and future development of anger, and thank you brother, I was able to get hot and cool down about three roosters this morning.  And, maybe in the future, it will take a lot more to get a rise out of me.

In the words of Bob Marley

"Don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be alright.

Rise up this morning, smiled with the rising sun, three little birds, is by my doorstep,

Singing sweet songs, of melodies pure and true.

Saying this is my message to you.

Singing don’t worry about a thing, because every little thing is going to be alright."

This song will forever mean something different to me than it did before Thailand.

To me it used to mean that whatever bad circumstance, it’ll get better.  Now I think, "don’t get so caught up in the small stuff."

Both good lessons to marinate on as the beautiful sun rises on a new day in Issan.

Khao Yai- Thailand's oldest National Park

Khao Yai

After the pawaw training in Surin five of us took a trip to Kao Yai national park.  We took the full day tour which started with a drive up into the mountains in a songtao.  Song means two and tao rows: a songtao is a tuck with two benches running down the bed and a roof.  It is essentially a minibus used for cheap transport in a city, or for a tour trip like this in Thailand.  We enter the park and pull off at a scenic view.  Here we put on leach socks and see our first monkey, a pig tailed maqauc. Carly, you are right, it does look like it has a toupee.

 Here Kevin demonstrates what happens when you don't properly wear your leech socks: LEECH!

  We also see a few beautiful green birds.  Into the truck and deeper into the park.  We see a hornbill fly over.

  Next we hear loud hooting, the truck suddenly stops and we file out of the truck bed and into the forest like soldiers except we are not hunting an enemy, we are looking for the gibbons we hear in the canopy.  We see them.  They are white haired gibbons swinging through the tree tops.  Gibbons are not monkeys and they hardly ever come out of the trees. Here is the crowned gibbon family.  We were not able to get a good shot of the white haired family.

 Next we visited the nice visitor center where the electricity was out and many of the displays used computers,so not too much to see there. Next, a long trek through the forest. Our hike through the forest took us to see a giant scorpion,

 we asked our guide why he does not sting and he said “he is a pet”  the sting is small like an ant.  We saw another family of gibbons black with white “crowns”, another hornbill, giant trees, 

giant mushrooms, a birdwing butterfly, and cicadas.  Lunch was served in reusable Tupperware; steamed vegan tofu and veggies. Yum!  Great to see our guides were trying to keep the environment clean.  We then went to a beautiful waterfall featured in the movie “the beach”.  I don’t know if I ever saw that movie.  I remember reading the book when I was here in Thailand in 2000.  I finished an excellent book, "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.”  Highly recommended.  We drove around for a few hours looking for wild elephants, we didn't see them, but we did see some barking deer and then, on our way home, we saw a sun bear  up in a tree, high over the forest busting up a beehive.  It was the coolest!!!  After that we saw ribbons of bats flying through the sky after emerging from nearby caves.  Awesome trip. I did not take these photos so thank you to Carly, facebook, and google, for allowing me to not have to carry a camera.

Put the Awww back in Pawaw

Last week, before heading to Chiang Mai, I participated as a trainer in a seminar to train Pawaws for my local PESAO.  "What is she talking about?" you might be asking.  A pawaw is a principal of a school. A PESAO is a primary education service area office, or kind of like a school board.  Anyway, it was fun.  It was just outside of Khon Kaen City on a "resort"- which means hotel rooms scattered around with a pool and meeting rooms.  The first session started with a circle and a great song I want to learn.  I am not sure what the "English" words were, but at the end, I figured out is a chorus of "come follow me, follow me, follow me."  When you hear this you should do what the center person is doing, people take turns in the center and then you drag someone else into the center to be the "me".  I think I have been outed as a "participator" and so I was drug in pretty quickly.  The above picture is me doing my fallback robot dance and you can  see the Thai principals following me in the background.
That night we had karaoke and dinner.  We cleared the room out with our Bohemian Rhapsody, and then the five volunteers enjoyed an evening speaking English:) in our room.
The next day at closing ceremonies, I made the mistake of standing next to the head trainer, a Thai woman.  I had no idea what was about to happen, a reality I am much more comfortable with these days.  We were given the instructions to cross arms and hold hands.  Now sway back and forth, ok.  Got it.  Now sing Auld Lang Syne....uh.. don't know it.  Well behind me is the words on the projector, but wait, what is she doing???!!!  The lady next to me is shoving a microphone into my mouth!! AHHHH!!!!!  Whenever I have had a microphone put to my mouth here, it has been practically in my mouth.  Claustrophobia always kicks in when this happens.  However, I am in front of an entire room of important people.  I don't know this song, and it is hard to sing, and my arms are in a straight jacket position.  The absurdity of it got to me, and a case of the church giggles ensued.  I could not stop laughing, and the microphone did not leave my mouth, even when I tried turning my head away.  I think the words are burned into my memory now.  "we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."

What makes it best

My learning goal for this week, other than learn to read and write and lesson plan and do yoga..., is to learn how to say in perfect Thai, "what makes it best".  While studying Thai very very hard, I was not able to worry about learning how to read, or pronounce the word correctly.  I just needed to learn the words, and more importantly what order to say them in.  Now that I have a general idea, the pronunciation is more important and makes my Thai better.  Also, I feel like I can learn to read.  I have already learned a handful of words- something I did not feel possible a month ago.  Learning to read and pronounce Thai is going to make my time here "best".
Many times I am asked what I want to eat, or how I want something, when I have no frame of reference and no idea how I want it.  I just want something good, and maybe without anything too scary to eat like frog soup.

I will probably end up loving ant eggs and frog soup by the end of this.  I just want them to choose what they like, or think I will like.  I have been referred to as "ambassador of all that is lovely and divine" by friends back in North Carolina, but I am far away from my known landscape.  Every store and restaurant is full of many many things I do not know, (and I can't read Thai) - This is why I need to learn how to say, "I want what is best".  I think this is my philosophy on life,  I just want it all to be the best.  My best is not your best and your best is not my best.  Sometimes my best might be eating a frozen snickers and watching four straight hours of Community.  Sometimes it might be doing two hours of yoga, then having a two hour Thai massage and then drinking cold coconut water and eating a healthy veggie meal. Sometimes it is submitting to the will and choosing of someone else and letting them choose, "what is best" for me.  That is becoming a more comfortable option for me these days.

For example:  Last Thursday I was in a parade in my town.  Puey Noi has a Khmer castle ruin which puts it on the map.  Once a year there is a four day celebration of this fact with giant stages, smaller stages, laser light shows, professional dancers, fancy dinners, carnival rides and games, and a two headed cow that costs 10 Baht to see.

Each night, next door, on the volleyball/ badminton/ dahk graw court all of the ladies would practice a dance.  Not dancing was not an option.  And then I was told to be ready at 9 am the next day.  Then I was told to wear a denim shirt. (Luckily they guessed my size correctly, Thais are pretty good at that). That morning I was told 8:30 let's go let's go and then it seemed like maybe this was going to be a parade.  Sure enough, I was in a parade dancing a choreographed dance with my fellow village ladies.  It was sunny, and very hot, but we suu suued (fight, fight) and we ended up getting first place.  I was pretty proud of my community integration skills that day.  Later on, we walked around the ruins three times, everything sacred is a multiple of three here, and splashed scented water on the walls.  Luckily, I made it home to wash cloths before 11, and was finished before a thunderstorm rolled in to town.  

my lovely neighbors, they like fun.

fishermen, he dropped the fish right after I snapped this

me in mostly Esan dress in front of Prasat Buey Noi (spelling varries)

Sure enough, my villagers knew what would make my trip, and work here in Thailand "best" and they were right.

I am in Chiang Mai right now visiting a friend from back home in North Carolina.  She loves tea.  Maybe because her name rhymes with tea, I don't know.  But she wanted to know what I wanted in it.  That is where this blog title came from.  I replied to her, "whatever makes it best" and sure enough, she knew what to do.  Earlier that night I had asked her friend to take me home early, Bee however knew I didn't really want to do that and said "NO! It's not on the way."  Sure enough I had a great time hanging out with her family in a compound in the forest.  When we left, it was very cool outside, and it really felt like I was in North Carolina.  We left on our bikes and rode along the sacred Ping river with a full "pink"moon rising over the river.  Bee knew what would make my night "best" and I am so glad I had the courage and patience to trust her.  It was certainly worth it.