Monday: I go to the SAO office (the sub-district government office) and hung out with my co-workers, checked email, learned some Thai and ate lots of food. After dance aerobics (every night at 5pm) I went home, ate some dinner and went to clean my dishes. I don't have a sink or a water source in my kitchen (I have 1 faucet in my bathroom) so I wash my dishes in a bucket from the water source outside in my little backyard. I found this spider chilling in my water bin and nearly fainted. Quickly composed myself so I could grab my camera and share this atrocious creature with you all :)
Tuesday morning: I went to teach some English at the daycare centers. When I got to there, the kids were lined up to brush their teeth as they do every morning. One girl immediately began crying because many Thai toddlers are afraid of farangs (foreigner = white person); a few more kids followed in the crying, but most of them were a little stunned and stared at me with their adorable faces. I began playing with them, showing them how to brush their teeth while beginning an improv English lesson.
My morning continues with the letter 'A' and we had a lovely time singing songs about apples, alligators, axes and ants. In Thailand everybody takes off their shoes before stepping into a home, building, school, etc and so I was barefoot. I really enjoy this aspect of Thai culture, except for when you step in a fresh puddle of pee from the little 3 year old who happily just handed you the picture of the apple she colored. And I'm not talking about a little dribble down her leg - she had no pants on and it was quite the puddle - so I assume she took her pants off with the intention of just going to the bathroom in the classroom. This is not uncommon as I see children practicing on their training potties in the front yard, or naked kids squatting in front of their house, or anywhere for that matter,, to relieve themselves. I always want to take pictures but feel like that would be creepy, so I just laugh and carry on. Tuesday afternoon: the pleasure of sitting in my supervisor's (title is Balat) office having a 1-sided conversation (on her end) about my work. She called in 2 employees (who I happen to love) and asked me to give her an assessment of how they work, as if this is my role here. Typically, I would have told her I wasn't comfortable with this, but I only had positive things to say so I informed of her my thoughts. I started speaking in Thai as a curtisy to the 2 women I was 'assessing' as they don't speak English but my Balat told me to speak English instead. She thinks she can speak English and insists I speak only English to her, but she never understands me and tells me it's because I have a NY accent. So, conversations about work and such, often result in frustration and disagreements. I could write a book about my experiences with her, most of which are awful, and I'd throw in a few chapters about the ridiculousness of the hierarchial system that is Thailand...but, that's not what this blog is about. Anywho, I 'conversed' with her for 3 hours and went to dance aerobics with a headache.
Wednesday morning: Attend a training for the tobacco farmers in my village (farming rice and tobacco are the main source of income in my community) on using organic fertilizer and organic pesticides to make the cigarettes more healthy (are you laughing yet?). We also had the health station come to test the blood of the farmers as a preventative measure for something that using farming chemicals causes. I'm always proud when we do things like this :) Some people say everybody uses organic products here, while others say nobody uses them. Not sure if I'll ever get the real answer.
Wednesday afternoon: the SAO had many left-over lunch boxes and so my Balat suggested her and I go deliver the extra food to the 'disadvantaged' and poor families in my community. This is the best suggestion she has made since I've been here. We met this one grandma who was amazing. Her daughter lives in another province to work and so grandma is left to take care of her 5 year old grand-daughter who has severe developmental issues. She was born with an underdeveloped brain and can't speak and can barely move, but she can hear. I sang the itsy bitsy spider to her, which I used to sing to my nephew Connor when he was a baby. She didn't respond at all, but I have faith that she heard. Not sure if this was a good thing, considering I wasn't blessed with a singing voice, but I do plan to go back and read to her. I later attend a 2 hour meeting (in Thai, I practically fell asleep like 56 times) with some big-wig guy who wants to make a video of my community - guess who will be the main feature? Yep, that'd be me. Better get my "Sunday best" out for the video shoot next week. I skip dance aerobics because I'm so tired I think I might keel over. My friend Cartoon unexpectantly cpmes over - unexpected guests show up all the time, and I'm never really a fan soley because I'm toast by the end of the day, but it was great to hang with her and we made plans for her birthday party next week! Oh, the pic below is 1 of the women's group I paid a quick visit to - they were sewing shirts that they sell to Tesco Lotus (kind of like a Wal-Mart in the states).
Thursday morning: did some prepping for the video shoot. Was about to do bodily harm to my Balat and so after lunch, I hopped on my wheels *aka, bike* and went to hang out with the villagers. This is one of my favorite things to do. You never know who you are going to meet, what they will teach you or what they will feed you. My first stop was the organic fertilizer and pesticide 'plant' I've been meaning to visit. I hung out with the workers for a bit and they showed me around and explained how they make the organic products that they sell to the local villagers. With my barely there Thai, it was a bit difficult to catch everything and so I'll go back in August to see the process from the beginning.
Next, I was off to visit one of the village council members. Her and her sister, who is recovering from breast cancer and is a riot, live together so I get the pleasure of both of them. They decide they want to sing karaoke. Now, I should preface with the fact that Thai's are OBSESSED with karaoke. In the states, people get drunk before they have the cahuna's to get on stage, but in Thailand it's just the norm. So, the 3 of us go to the computer and put on the karaoke program and begin to sing. I keep my voice low, while they have a serious soprano harmony thing going on, when I'm told to get up and dance. So I dance, because that I can do. Then they bust out microphones and tamborines and before I know it we've got a 3-man band going. I somehow have the mic in my hand and eventually my insecurities about my horrendous voice fade :)
Oh, do not fret, the day is not yet over. I go to this other ladies house who calls to yell at me if I don't visit often enough. So, I hung out with her, lounging on her hammock for a while. I'll be helping her plant rice on Saturday. It's been set up as though I'm doing her a favor, but in reality she's doing me a favor because I've been dieing to get out to the rice fields. Moving along, Thursday nights is market night - so I head to the market to get some food and as I'm buying my mangosteens and ma ngaw (2 of my favorite fruits here) a random old grandma that I've never met before, passes me and tells me I'm fat. Oh man, you gotta love Thailand...Never dull :)