Internet is very limited, so I’ve been writing on my computer and save to a USB and will post when I get the internet. I just discovered tonight that my host family does have a computer but I didn’t ask if they have internet. This is the first time I saw anybody on the computer and assume it’s not used often, so would rather just go to an internet café. With that, these posts are quite delayed and I apologize.
This past Friday night my family and I went to the local market which is quite big on Friday nights. There are tons of Thai dishes, sweets, clothes, music, etc. My family and I bought some side dishes for dinner which we ate on the floor (traditional Thai style) for the first time. We typically eat dinner outside at a table, but because there were tons of these little knat/bugs outside, we ate inside which has only a small table that isn’t big enough for all of us. So, as we are eating, a little gecko is running around the floor (they are really cute and are not bothersome at all) as the cats (yes, we have 2 cats and thank God they leave me alone!) chase it. So, my host brother is trying to hold the cat back – as this is going on I think to myself that the cat won’t really catch the gecko. Needless to say, I was surprised when the cat caught the gecko’s tail and cut the tail off: the gecko ran off while the tail was right beside us jumping around!!!! It was gross, funny and exciting to me….and a bit awful as I felt bad for the gecko who lost his tail. Nobody else seemed to be phased by this so I imagine this is normal for them, which made me even more excited!!! After dinner, we painted these little figurines that we bought at the market. They came with a variety of color paints, each in individual baggies, and we painted together after dinner. It was great to do something active together. **Please note that just days later a gecko pooped on my arm! It was hysterical and just my luck!!** That weekend I also was allowed to help in the kitchen!!! We all (me, host mom, aunt, little sister and her friend) made these delicious sweets (sweets/deserts are called kanome) and then delivered some to all the neighbors.
We are beginning to learn about, understand and visit our community, the resources and the government offices in our dtambon (sub-district) and amphur (district) that we are currently living in during training. As CBOD volunteers, we will be working at the government offices and with a counterpart within the dtambon we are placed in after training. Thus, it’s important for us to learn about the structure of Thai government (fairly new, within past 15 years or so) and the village structure as this was the original form of government within the villages. Apparently, the original structure now exists next to the new governmental structure and still functions although there is an official governmental structure. It’s interesting how the government coincides with the village heads/people and how they seem to work together. It’s like they came in with the new, but never threw out the old. I’ve learned that the villagers are all aware of both systems and ideally, will work together, not against each other. Of course, not all function in an ideal manner, but I think it’s an innovative concept and it’s been interesting to learn about. Within the government structure, there are ministries or sub-departments. The sub-departments may focus on agriculture, health, community development, etc and we have begun to visit each individual office and learn about their role. It’s making me excited about going into my site at the end of training to begin my work!
This upcoming weekend is quite busy. Saturday is a Thai culture day at school and Sunday I’ll be with the family and some family friends (who also are hosting volunteers) in which we’ll be visiting an important/significant/holy place within the province we are living in. I hope it’s one of those spots that only the villagers know about, as those are always the best! More to come…..
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