The one where everybody throws water (Songkran Festival)

Last week I got to experience my first Songkran festival, or Thai New Year.  I experienced my first taste of Songkran a week before it started…I was on an afternoon bike ride exploring yet another side road that led to another cluster of villages when I look ahead to see kids standing on the side of the road with hoses/buckets/water guns.  Luckily I quickly stuffed my camera and iphone into pockets where they wouldn’t get wet, because as soon as I rode by they attacked.  They laughed, I laughed, and it was awesome because it was so hot outside and it felt great. 

Songkran festival included a week off of work and a busy schedule full of celebrating.  My community started celebrating two days before the actual first day of Songkran, with a parade, beauty pageant, singing competion, a bunch of speeches I didn’t understand and more brightly colored, flowered shirts in one place than you’ve ever seen in your life.  Water is a huge part of the celebration as people pour water on each other all day long and kids wait by the side of the road with buckets and water guns to drench the 5-20 people riding by in the back of pickup trucks (sometimes the pickups have buckets of water in the back for retaliation as well).  After they drench you in water they put baby powder on your face (if you want to read more about Songkran check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran_(Thailand)).   We made several trips to the local wats (temples) to pay respect to family members who have passed away by using plant branches and leaves to sprinkle water on their ashes/bones that are in little jars or containers in front of a bunch of monks.

Around the third or fourth day of Songkran I woke up cranky, determined to have a bad day.  I didn’t want anything to do with anything.  I accompanied a few community members to a gathering at a house where a few monks were surrounded by a bunch of people sitting on mats on the floor (side note: Thais sit on the floor a lot for a lot of things, and it’s pretty uncomfortable to do for long periods of time.  My feet and legs start to hurt and then fall asleep and then I have to try to adjust my sitting position periodically enough so that my legs don’t completely fall asleep.  One time I sat in one position long enough that my leg fell asleep and when I tried to stand up I couldn’t walk right for a few minutes and everyone got a good laugh at my attempts).  I went through the process of switching my seated position every so often while listening to what sounded like a mix between a song and a chant in Thai, wondering when I’d be able to stand up and sit in a chair again.  Then the songs stopped and all the Yais (grandmas) sitting around me took turns tying strings around my wrist and wishing me health, happiness, and good luck for the new year.  Needless to say my mood changed instantly as one by one they tied strings around my wrist, wishing the best for me and squeezing my arm and smiling at me.  Then we all ate a bunch of food and they busted out a few bottles of whiskey.  The men drank, the women danced, and the kids took to the streets armed with buckets, water guns, and buckets full of water. 

Overall I really enjoyed Songkran festival and was happy to be a part of so many different events in my community.  I wasn’t sad when it ended though, since that meant not changing my clothes a few times a day and being able to ride my bike again (they told me not to during the festival – lots of drunk drivers apparently, and Thai driving is scary enough as it is….I’ll save that topic for a later time).

My supervisor bought flowers and had me give one to each of the beauty contestants.

Dressed up in traditional Thai clothes after changing out of my wet ones

The water crew...with one still armed and ready while we take pictures.

Kids just up the street.

String ceremony

Dancing and karaoke! 

Turning on his own...this is also the little pistol I made cry a couple weeks ago.

Piling into the truck for a ride around the village...only to come back soaked. 

More water ceremonies at the Wat (temple).

Lots of blessings for the new year.

Brief water break for a snack.

The one where I made a kid cry

The phrase ‘good conversation’ has become a very relative one lately.  If I’m able to make it through any exchange in Thai, no matter what it’s about, I consider it a good conversation.  I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few very interesting people since I’ve been here and have learned a lot in several actually good conversations with them (these people can all speak English fairly well, which has been great not only for my sanity, but because I can talk about things in addition to what I’m doing here, where I’m from and what I like to eat).  I’ve learned bits and pieces of the history of Thailand and the history of my community and surrounding area (the province I’m living in was only established as its own province in 1993, and is the second newest province in Thailand).  I’ve learned about Thai people and my community from the people who have lived and grown up here; I’ve also learned about some of the many realistic challenges I’ll face in the next two years.  I’ve been careful not to ask too many probing questions - with all of the other personal challenges that are presented on a daily basis I don’t want to focus on the potential barriers and become disheartened about the things I’ve come here to do before I even get started on them. 

 Last week I went to stay with another family in a neighboring village in my area.  I was excited because this family had a little boy about 6 years old, and while I love kids in general, I love playing with Thai kids – they’re so much easier for me to talk to, likely because they’re more on my language level.  I spent most of my time with him, and when it ended up storming so bad later in the evening that the power went out, he clung to me like a monkey and wouldn’t leave my side.  I had a couple small flashlights in my bag, so I got them out and we took turns making scary faces at each other while his parents set up candles so we could eat dinner.  The thunderstorm was awesome and was accompanied by a lightning show that went on nonstop for hours.  It was pitch black outside and the doors and windows were open – there was an amazing breeze outside, which was especially refreshing considering it’s so incredibly hot every day.  Having never experienced a thunderstorm blackout in rural Thailand before, I kept nervously glancing toward the open doors, slightly terrified that I’d see a scary man standing in the doorway with a knife/machete/bamboo stick, waiting to attack every time the lightning struck.  This was also the same night I experienced my first ‘bucket bath’.  I had opted to wait until before bed to shower, and as I walked into the bathroom with my flashlight to provide a little bit of light so I could see what I was doing, I regretted my decision to wait.  It wasn’t as bad as I imagined it…it’s kind of like a bath…but without sitting in the actual water…kind of.  One of our days of training included demonstrations on how to take a bucket bath along with how to use a squat toilet, and I was happy to have successfully experienced both of these so early in my PC experience (though I’m happy to have a ‘normal’ shower on a regular basis).  Unfortunately I’ve somehow gotten into a bad habit of forgetting to bring my towel into the bathroom with me when I shower, so I either end up getting dressed while wet (which I absolutely hate doing), or drying off with the parts of my dirty clothes that aren’t drenched in sweat (I’m pretty much perpetually dirty here, so that doesn’t really gross me out much).  The next day I went to the Local Health Station to get an idea of what goes on there and help with some home visits.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the home visits turned out to be much more than I bargained for as we were visiting a few very elderly people in the area to treat their bed sores.  Let’s just say there’s a reason I never actually wanted to go through with my fleeting childhood aspirations to become a doctor.  I had to put considerable effort into keeping my face expressionless while trying to look anywhere else but at pockets of bone and skin.  We ended up back at the health station where I recovered with one of the aforementioned really good conversations (in English).  Lunch that day consisted of a whole lot of food (as always) and about 20 people on a floating dock/restaurant.  I let the little boy I had spent the previous day with play with my iphone since there was a game on there he had quickly become obsessed with….eventually I took it away and told him he could play with it later when we got back to the health station since it was getting dangerously close to going in the lake.  What eventually followed was an epic tantrum.  Having noticed that this kid seems to get whatever he wants no matter what, I was determined to stand my ground no matter how loud he screamed.  As we made our way back to the health station in a car with 5 adults and 1 screaming child, I wondered if this was the best time to be trying to teach a lesson to this kid that’s not mine (but I was still determined to not back down and give him his way).  I wasn’t sure what the other adults in the car thought of the situation, or if I was breaking some sort of cultural rules/norms or just being a stupid American that won’t share her toys (although sometimes I really just don’t like sharing – I blame middle child syndrome).  They took the kid home and that was the end of that – I wasn’t sure if I should feel successful since I didn’t back down or terrible because I made a kid cry.  He eventually forgave me, as the next time I saw him he was the same clinging monkey I met the first time. 

I wish I could write about all the amazing work I’m starting here, but I haven’t really done anything yet.  My days consist of riding my bike to work, playing on the internet for a while (if it’s working…such a treat since I don’t have it at home), getting escorted to meetings where I listen to a whole lot of stuff I don’t really understand and then give a brief introduction/speech in Thai, going with my coworkers for a 2 hour lunch/coffee break, maybe coming back to the office for a bit (the internet seems to not work as well in the afternoon so I pretend to study Thai or something), then biking to wherever the local market is to hang out with my host mom and eat some fruit/shop.  Most of the day is spent confused, wondering what’s really going on or where I’m being taken.  This past weekend I set out on yet another bike adventure (my go to activity right now when I don’t have anything to do).  I took a small road near my house into the fields to see where it would go.  Eventually the dirt road turned into a paved one and led to what has become my favorite spot in my community – open fields with hills and mountains and a pretty amazing view.  I eventually made my way back to where I came from, but chose to continue on the paved ‘road’ instead of taking the dirt one right back to my house.  I figured it had to lead somewhere, and when I eventually ended up in a nearby village that had a road leading back out to the highway that I live on, I felt like I had actually accomplished something.  For about five whole minutes my life here made sense, and it was awesome.

I don't understand.

I’m finally home…or what I will call home for the next 2 years in the Esan region of Thailand.  After my 3 day site visit several weeks ago I wasn’t sure what to think (or even if I could live here for 2 years).  Coming here for good a couple days ago I had a new perspective and a bit more willingness to let go of my expectations and preconceived notions so I could really get a feel for my new home.  The first couple days have been a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing.  I have a new host family, which is comprised of just my host mom and her father.  My new home stay also has a washing machine and an air conditioned bedroom for me….ah the simple amenities that I had learned to live without but now have a whole new appreciation for…it’s really nice to have them for now.  The first day here I was told I have a 4 day ‘holiday’ - my supervisor is out of town for a few days, so he told me to take it easy and we’d start work on Monday.  A few hours after arriving at my new homestay I decided to go with my host mom to one of the markets to sell fruit…I figured I’d have plenty of time to settle in and thought this would be a great opportunity to start integrating into the community.  I was able to practice my Thai a little bit while my mom introduced me to everyone that came by and told them what I was doing here, even offering the information to people walking by that didn’t seem all that interested in hearing it.  I ate a lot of fruit and listened to a whole lot of conversations I didn’t understand.  The first night here I was greeted by a bat flying straight at my face when I turned the light on to go into my room.  My host grandpa was able to help me out and took the bat outside for me.  I found another, smaller bat a few minutes later (squeaking in the corner hiding on a stack of books) that he took out as well.  I can still hear bats squirming around in my ceiling every once in a while and I’m waiting for the day I wake up with one of them on my face.

My second day at site I thought I was going with my host mom to a cave in one of the small nearby mountains.  After breakfast I put on a t-shirt and workout pants, prepared to climb the 600 steps to get to the cave.  Before we left she was saying something to me that I couldn’t fully understand, but what I took from it was that we were going to the temple near the cave so I needed to be dressed appropriately, which included a shirt with full sleeves and longer pants (the ‘conversation’ included several gestures and a few select words of English she decided to throw in).  Not fully knowing what was going on and also not wanting to be dressed inappropriately, I changed my clothes.  We got to the temple/cave and my host mom explained that she was going to sit and sell fruit so I was free to walk around and explore (so much for thinking I knew what was going on…not the first or last time this will happen though.  This was also the moment I realized that the English words my host mom knows aren’t always correct, or used in the correct context).  I really wanted to explore, so I climbed the 600 stairs to get to the top…in long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and $3 flip flops I bought here at the grocery store in what felt like at least 100 degree heat….not the best attire for cave exploration, but it worked.  It was pretty awesome (and a little cooler once we got to the top and inside the cave).  After wandering around for a few hours I ended up going to have lunch at the Early Childhood School that was close by with a few of the women who work there (and a bunch of napping kids nearby).  I’m trying to be intentional about trying to remember names and faces and I’m sure it’s going to take a while.  It’d be nice to know everything that people are saying to me (and about me), and hopefully with time will come more understanding and language ability. 

I really thought I’d have a bit more anxiety with my first few days at site, but I’m happy to realize it’s not really there.  I’m excited to finally be in my community and be done with the 8-5 schedule of training we had during PST (pre-service training).  It’ll take time to get to know people and actually get projects started, but for now I’m just soaking it all in and doing whatever comes up with whoever comes along.  I’ve spent a lot of time on my bike, exploring and seeing what I can find.  Each time I can’t help but realize how amazing this experience is – how much I’ve already done and how much more I still have yet to do.  I’ve been in Thailand for almost 3 months now…really?  The longest I’ve been out of the country up until now was about 2 weeks.  The more language I learn the easier it gets and the more excited I am to learn more.  It’s definitely frustrating for me learning a new language and there’s so much I don’t understand, but when someone says something to me and I’m able to answer them, it’s awesome.  I’m anxious to meet everyone and get started with something amazing.  I know this will be a process and it could take some time before I’m able to really get started on something new, but I’m excited to learn along the way.