Bittersweet Wan Song Kran - April 20, 2011

Wan Song Kran is a HUGE event all over Thailand; I’ve heard that it’s most fun in Chiang Mai in the Northern region however Esan people know how to have a good time so I didn’t think they would fall short.  I was not disappointed! 

In short, it’s the Thai New Year.  It’s celebrated with lots of water and wishing good luck particularly to the elders for a happy and lucky new year.  The festivities began in Don Nang Hong (DNH) on Tuesday.  Each of the 11 villages in DNH chooses 1 beautiful and smart young lady to represent their village in the Miss Song Kran contest which is basically a beauty pageant.  There was a big parade that included each young lady on a float and the people in her village dancing, singing, drinking, celebrating, etc.  The parade was led by a special someone in the community…can you guess who?  Yep, the parade was led by me J  I was originally told that I was going to be dressed in traditional Thai gear and make-up and crowned as Miss Song Kran.  However, for reasons unbeknownst to me that unfortunately didn’t happen.  I was actually really looking forward to it, but it was so hot that it was probably smart not to dress me up.  So, the parade marches through the community to the site of the festivities.  Lots of speeches were made, one made by me in Thai of course – this is a regular occurrence now. There’s drinking, eating, dancing, etc.  I was able to see some great traditional Thai dancing.  Some were less traditional with the typical funny guy ridiculously dressed as a girl and just having fun. But the big event is the Miss Song Kran contest.  The girls were beautiful and it was a fun day.   While this is going on, those not attending are out in the streets throwing water at everybody.  People stand in front of their houses throwing buckets of water at people passing by, either on bicycles or cars, it doesn’t matter….everybody gets soaked!  This goes on for 3 more days and was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  My host family took me to this one place where it was like a giant block party where tons of people lined up in front of their houses to soak everybody and put powder on their faces.  There is Thai music blasting, people drinking and dancing in the middle of the street.  People on their motor cycles and people packed in their pick-ups drive through to get wet and soak everybody else dancing in the streets!  And nobody ever became upset! It’s a fact that you will be soaked for 3 days straight and people love it because it’s like a cheers to new beginnings and good luck.  So, the more wet you get and the more powder you have all over you, the better!  It is the type of celebration I would love to bring to the states!   The 2 days following, I biked around DNH and although it was more tame than the 1st day, it was so much fun as well.  People everywhere – I was stopped at many houses so people could pour water on me and to powder my face and maybe stop and dance a bit.  It was a great way to meet people and just have fun.  When I meet people in the community, communication is limited.  So, it’s hard to discuss anything beyond simple conversation.  Meeting people during Song Kran was a great way to just have fun, scream and laugh as they pour water and wish good luck.  Spirits were fun and light and it’s just a general ‘feel good’ time.   

I titled this blog ‘Bittersweet Wan Song Kran’ because despite the fun, there was a tragic event that took place in my community on Tuesday April 12^th.  Two young girls, 6 years old and 7 years old drowned in the large community river where the festivities took place.  The girls were playing in the morning and after the girls didn’t come home, their parents went searching for them.  Parents and community members searched for a while and announcements were made.  Eventually, the girls were found in the river but it was already too late.  It was one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever seen and I feel sad beyond words for the families.  I couldn’t help but think of my 2 scrumcious nephews who I miss so much and simply cannot imagine what those families are going through right now.  One of the families owns a restaurant that I have eaten at a few times.  The day before the festival, I had gone there for lunch and the little girl was so excited to help her mom and give me a glass of water and my meal.  She was so cute – I will always remember her beautiful and happy smile.  I will pray for the 2 families to somehow find the strength to get through this. 

Through this experience I learned that this is a problem in my community.  Nobody knows how to swim here and therefore many children drown every year.  My Balat (supervisor) informed me that she would really like to have a community swimming pool built and have swimming lessons for the children.  I am completely ‘gung-ho’ about this idea.  I imagine this would be quite an expensive project so I am not sure how much of a reality it is, but will certainly look into this and keep you all posted.