Visionary environment

Last week I participated in an English Camp in nearby Kalasin. It was a fun camp, I was training the teachers about phonics, classroom language, western culture, and technology in the classroom with another volunteer that was hosting the camp. Four other volunteers were putting on an English Camp for Matayom students. The volunteer's school, and town were very nice. She lives in a town, so she has stores and restaurants in walking distance. Most volunteers do not have this luxury. Most of us are far away from stores in a village. To buy fresh vegetables, I have to take a songtao to Ban Phai, about 45 minutes away, and I must return home by 3pm, when the songtao stops running. What a luxury to have a 7-11, or a Tesco in walking distance. I think I would eat a lot of chocolate and ice cream if that was the case, so I will be thankful that temptation is out of reach for me.

On Friday afternoon, when the camp was finished, and we had our certificates of participation, and a beautiful hand woven blanket, off we went to our adventures. It was a three day weekend because Monday was a holiday, but I needed to be back in my village to celebrate the Queen's Birthday, Mother's Day. Some people went to the beach, some went back to their village, I, went on an adventure, and was lucky to have my friend Christine join me. She met me in Udon Thani, a large city full of farangs (white people). Udon was a very large American Air Force base during the Vietnam War. Many chose to stay, and thus established a large ex-pat community which drew in other ex-pats. Mostly men, who have tired of the dating pool in the USA, and have moved to Thailand to have a “second life”- their words not mine, and a Thai- E-san wife, possibly with children. There are white men everywhere you look here. And backpackers on their way to Laos. They are easily recognizable with their flowy pants, and wide eyes. We stayed at a hostel which was as hostel as hostel can get without being hostile.

Christine had arrived hours before me, and when I arrived to town I texted her and made straight for the nearest restroom, the Central Plaza Mall, which was having a car stereo show. I love these collections of trucks with hundreds of speakers and lights filling their bed. They connect all of the systems to a common dj booth, and at this one, they had gyrating dancers on top of the trucks. As I crossed the street to go into the mall, Christine was crossing to go to the bus station to meet me. Luckily we spotted one another.

We had a delicious dinner at an Irish pub. I had a burger, chips, and a Guiness and Christine had a raspberry crumble with cream. Yum. Farang food can be quite the treat. We checked out the night bazar, but I have grown weary of the markets selling the same old same old.

The next morning we took the bus, to the town of Ban Na Kha. One of the biggest fabric and clothing centers in Thailand. Wow!! The town is known for it's “khit” fabric. "kít is a diamond-grid minimal-weft brocade" according to lonely planet.  The town also had fabrics and handicrafts from all over Thailand. Materials and ready to wear skirts, dresses, and shirts. Christine and I met a wonderful shopkeeper. She was gorgeous, and had quite the aura about her. Her eyes were crystal blue. She had married and moved to Texas at the age of 17, “too young to know better” in her words. She then moved to Montana, and after a divorce, moved back to Thailand. Her shop had the most exquisite fabrics I have seen in all of Thailand. She spoke to us in Thai and occasional English about her life, the Naga fireballs in the MeKong, and of her internship to learn how to weave Mut Mee silk in Chonnabot, the village I visited last week.  Here she is with Christine and some beautiful, and expensive fabric behind her.  When I say expensive,  100$ for two yards of hand woven, hand dyed silk.

Christine and I then got onto a bus headed for Nong Khai, it was a full bus, and we had to go through a police checkpoint where everyone's ID on the bus was checked.

In Nong Khai, we walked to our wonderful guesthouse MutMee and had lunch. After resting for a bit, we took the rental bikes and made our way to the Sala Kaew Koo Sculpture Garden. This sculpture garden is an amazing place created by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat.

We walked around for a few hours as the sun was finishing its trip across the sky. Huge I-san clouds hung in the sky. At one point there was a rainbow in the sky unlike any I have ever seen. It was like the clouds had created a huge bubble. When you look at a bubble in the sun you see pink and green sheen. The sky was like that. A beautiful pink and green spot in the sky. Trying to take a photo of it didn't work for me. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. Very beautiful.  The sculpture park has a very quiet feel to it. It is a visionary environment similar to Pasaquan in Western Georgia. The faces look eerily similar to me. I wonder if there is any connection between St. Eom and Luang Pu.

When Luang Pu was a child he fell down a hole onto the lap of an ascetic monk. He lived with the monk for several years as an apprentice.   He then began creating a sculpture garden in Laos, where he lived until the communist take over in 1975 when he relocated to the other side of the MeKong river and began another sculpture garden. He used donated concrete and had many volunteer\laborers.  As is the case with many artists, locals thought he was insane.

His body is on display in a bubble in a building, surrounded by flashing lights.  The whole building is a little creepy. Full of nice gongs. One had the best re verb I have ever heard. I would love to have that in my house.

When we got back to the guesthouse and were eating dinner a big storm rolled in with loudly crashing lightning. The next morning it again rained really hard, great to sleep and be thankful that you went to the sculpture garden while the sun shined. It took a long time to get back to Ban Phai, but when I did, we were having dinner to celebrate mother's day. The next morning we went to the Amphur to pay our respects to the queen. I had my new Thai silk suit. I bought the silk in Chonnabot, and took it to Khon Kaen to be made into a suit. I designed the style of it, and I am happy with it, though it is a bit stiff. I think after I wash it, it will be a little less stiff.Here I am with my friend Kru A and one of my Thai mothers Kru Pimwara.  They are wearing their teacher uniform.  I was one of only a few people to not be wearing a uniform.  The other person, in a very similar suit, is the mayor's wife.  Don't we look like twins?

We sat in front of my Thai police students. They were naughty boys giggling throughout the performance. When I went up on stage, a loud murmur went through the audience. 1,000 people, were all talking about me at the same time. I hope they were saying nice things, like, look how nicely she curtsied. It get's hard sometimes to be the topic of conversation without being included in the conversations. Oh well. Then to lunch and to a funeral. It was a full day. I tried washing cloths when I got home, but the water was out. Here in WangPue, you must wash cloths when the water runs, and dry them while the sun shines. In the past, I would throw in a load of laundry whenever I pleased, and then into the dryer. In Thailand, much more thought goes into timing of laundry.At the funeral, people have given clocks and spoons.  I am not sure why they are all set to 10:10.  I thought that might have been her time of death, but I was told "no".  Some beautiful roosters at her house.

In the evening I had a knock on my window. My friend needed me to act as a lawyer to create a document for someones daughter. She had married an American, moved to the USA, gotten divorced, and remarried. She needed proof of the first marriage to extend her visa. It was confusing, and stressful, but I think I created an official document that would stand up in court. The job of a PCV never ends. Today, the entire school is going to a funeral instead of having afternoon classes. Tomorrow, me and the Matayom (middle school) students are going to next door Chaiyapum to look at a flower. I am excited, except I found out we leave at 4am.

Tune in next time to hear about the flower field trip, and the wonderful adventures of my uncle Scott and I in Bangkok.

 The following pictures are from the sculpture garden, and then some Thai fabrics I have purchased, and two from Malaysia.

The mighty Me Kong.

Silk Road

On Saturday I went off on an adventure.  I went to the nearby town of Chonnabot where there is a museum dedicated to the local style of silk weaving called matmee which translates as tie dye.  The silk threads are tied and died and then it comes out in a geometric pattern when woven.  The patterns reflect natural things like birds, flowers, and butterflies. 

 I didn't want to buy any silk, but, a bolt was so beautiful, I could not resist.  It is a butterfly and flower design.  My trip was a lot of fun, and included a stop at the Tesco Lotus Express, which had many more things in it than I expected.  I got some French's mustard so now I have everything I need to make potato salad, except some sweet pickle relish.  Next week's store run...  Coming home I had to wait 3 hours for a songtao to take me home.  I arrived just in time for the 1 o'clock songtao, but needed to go buy a papaya for smoothies, so I asked if there would be a 2o'clock songtao and was told yes yes.  Well, when he got back he said I would have to wait until 4.... Good reading opportunity I guess.  More work on patience and jai yen yen.  And it put me walking down the road at the nice light to snap this photo.  

Gorgeous I think.  The brown Puey Noi I came to in March, is now the verdant green Puey Noi that amazes me and makes me want to take a thousand photos of it.  Rain is to blame.  And the hard work of the farmers who hand plant each stalk of rice into the paddies, and the paddies are in every usable foot of space.

look at this tiny little pineapple:)  so sweet.

An old Issan house at the museum.

 I loved this pineapple dress.

 Mushrooms for sale.
I thought the red and white ones were poisonous.  I won't be eating them.

 More fun adventures await.  Tune in next week to see Udon Thani and Nong Khai's crazy weird places.
Koi mahk bai tiao yu blahk blahk.

Finally my mermaid dreams come true...almost.

Ko Tao
I have just returned from spending 20 days away from my site.  It started with a Teacher Training that lasted 4 days in Khon Kaen.  When that finished, I took an overnight bus to Bangkok and then a bus north to Chai Nat where I would spend the next 11 days with Peace Corps at Reconnect.  The first week was filled with language class and training sessions.  I chose to focus on learning my local dialect which has the name Essan, also spelled Issan or Esan, or Isan or E-ssan.  It's the name of the region I live in, the north east of Thailand.  Sometimes it is referred to as Lao language, though it is not exactly the Lao language that is spoken in Laos the country.  Issan language is very similar to Thai, though it is pronounced a little differently, and with some different vocabulary.  For example: Pineapple in Thai is sa pa rote.  In Issan it is Bag Nat.  In Thai "how are you" is Sabaii dii mai ka?  In Issan it is "Sabaii dii boh?"
It was great to be together with all 43 other volunteers.  That's right, if you were counting, we have lost 8 volunteers since we boarded the plane in San Francisco.  It seemed like most of us really appreciated each other much more having been away from one another for three months.  We had a lot of fun reconnecting.  At least I did.  I feel closer to my peers now,  than I ever did in the 10 weeks we were together in Si Prachan.  Speaking (typing) of Si Prachan, Bridgette and I went back to visit our family on our day off.  It was wonderful.  What a great family I was fortunate to live with.  My Yai (Grandmother) was so happy to see me.  She hugged my neck tightly when I left.  My family drove us back the 90 kilometers to our hotel and I saw some dewy eyes as they drove away.  The same as with the other volunteers, I felt really close with them after reconnecting.
Next, my co-teacher Dork-Or joined my in Chainat and we began the second counterpart conference.  I think it went really well.  It was nice to have people available to help us communicate anything we needed communicated.  Chai Nat was having a rowing boat race festival and we had a good time walking around the booths and watching some funny boat races.  The CC ended on Wednesday at noon and it was TIME TO GO!!!  I had decided that I would spend the long weekend going to Ko Tao and getting my PADI open water certification.
I had planned on October as my SCUBA certification month.  I am glad I did it when I did, because I did it with friends, and the weather in October is supposed to be terrible.  I also wanted to make sure I liked SCUBA before I spent a vacation planned around it.  Unfortunately, it was a perfect storm for crowding on the island.  For one, it is July, which means that western schools are on holiday.  Secondly, it is the full moon, which means thousands have flocked to next door Ko Pangnan for the monthly full moon party.  And, lastly, the full moon in July also means a big Buddhist holiday, which was Monday, and also Tuesday- Kao Pansa which is the beginning of Buddhist Lent and the "rainy season"  though it has been raining for two months.  For the rain retreat Thai monks are not allowed to travel.  Many lay people are ordained as monks for the three month period.  In Thailand, businesses will give you up to three months off to ordain as a monk.  This meant this was a four day weekend, so, many local vacationers were also on the island.  It meant it was CRAZY CROWDED>
I booked us two rooms to hold the group of four.  It was a dive center with rooms.  We were diving at the wonderful New Heaven Dive Center.  Buddha View was where we were staying.  The second day of our four day stay they asked us to move out because they "needed the rooms"  We had nowhere to go.  Stressful.  But, the wonderful people at New Heaven told us not to worry and that they would find us somewhere to stay while we were on the boat diving the next day.  Well, luckily as we were studying PADI, I saw many backpackers leaving their guest house and snagged us a cheaper, more awesome room right on the ocean on some rocks.  We slept with the sound of the ocean, instead of the sound of backpackers slamming doors.
The first day of SCUBA open water training was about physics, equipment, safety, etc.  and then we went into the water to practice.  The next day we did two dives, practicing more, and then swimming around the coral.  It was really beautiful.  The next day, our first dive was CRAZY!  The current was really powerful and a lot of stuff went wrong, it was really hard, but it was a great teachable moment.  Glad I had it.  The next dive was much calmer and nice.  Then, final test and I am open water certified.  Once I learned to relax and breathe slowly and deeply, I fell in love.  It took a little coping and mind control.  Self calming behavior.  It is certainly not a natural feeling.  But, it also is.  For me I have always wanted to be a mermaid and live underwater.  With a scuba tank I had a chance to experience that a little.  I caught the SCUBA bug.  Monday, I went snorkeling on nearby Ko Nang Yuan with my Moo Ban mate Molly.  It was nice.  There is a site called Japanese Gardens.  I picked up a lot of trash from the thousands of tourists who swim in the coral garden every day.  All of those years of diving for rings in the deep end came in handy so that I could dive for plastic bottles and snorkel and mask packaging.
As I write this I am on a bus heading to Bangkok full of non Thais (farangs)  I have enjoyed traveling around Thailand, but I don't love being a tourist.  I will add the photos as I get them. :)