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.