Makha Bucha Day

Makha Bucha Day is a holy day in Thailand so it is also a school holiday.

It was Feb 18 and the morning after the Full Moon.

As I got up at the crack of dawn the moon was still visible and looked to me like a heart of clouds was encircling it. Makha Bucha Day, translates loosely into Monks Day, and it is the Thai tradition to visit the temple, bring food and money, and then have breakfast with the Monks. So the night before I went to the market and bought flowers, oranges, grapes, sticky rice stuffed into bamboo stalks, and "ping-pong" balls (fish and meatballs).

I had not been to the local monastery and temple so I was filled with anticipation. Of course I was expecting an exquisite glittery Thai "Wat" but what I hadn't expected was a primitive open wooden structure in the forest.

As we brought in the food, many women were already busy setting up trays with a variety of traditional Thai foods. it looked like enough to feed the whole village.

The four Monks sat on a platform in the front and the men sat on the left with the women and children sitting together on the right. A mixture of aromas from the freshly cut flowers decorating the center, the trays of foods waiting to be consumed and the smoldering incense filled my head.

Now the chanting would begin (before breakfast). Lucky for me I had some sense of what was going on as I had a monk from Sri Lanka live with me in Las Vegas.

At least I was a little familiar with some of the words and knew when to kneel and when to bow three times. It was a bit chilly that morning and two hours later, my hands and feet felt numb from sitting cross-legged so long, wondering when the chanting would end...I was hungry!

Markers of Monks who have gone on to another life

Next we poured water into our containers, went to the forest and picked a tree to feed.  Now we would wait for the Monks to eat, they only consume one meal a day, it's after their morning chanting and they eat very slowly. Finally it was time to enjoy the breakfast feast, even though it was almost noon. I guess it was an honor to be asked to eat with the village elders, somehow it just made me feel OLD! But I did get a special blessing from the Senior Monk for a long and healthy life... I'll take that!


 

Birthdays are Universal

       Happiness is celebrating birthdays in any language and any country.

One of the joys of the evening was teaching everyone to sing 

"Happy Birthday" in English.

We laughed and tried to sing...mostly clapped, but the children got the idea and enjoyed the cake and candles. There are no ovens in a typical Thai kitchen, so the cake was store bought.

The little girl whose birthday it was lives in the house next to mine. For her gift I looked all over the little village to find a "Barbie" doll. It didn't exist. I happened to be lucky enough to find one in Bangkok, the only one with dark hair and a sparkling yellow gown. Needless to say she was very happy and took the doll to bed.

In the Thai culture every celebration is a party and centers around food and an evening of eating. Usually the cooking is done together and outside. The eating is done mostly with hands picking up noodles and sticky rice and then communally sharing all the side dishes.

One fish often feeds a whole family and the portions of pork, beef or chicken are very small, with lots of cabbage and green vegetables.

Cucumbers are a favorite. Lucky for me the really hot spicy sauces and dips are  usually separate and you can dip "nit-noy" (a little bit). I like Thai food and everyone laughs at me when I say "sap-sap" or "aroy," delicious!

  

 I am so grateful that everyone here in the community has welcomed me into their families.

Could it be that GOD is smiling ?

Little House in the Woods

I have a new house I call it “my little house of wood in the woods”… the school built it just for me because they want me to be happy and stay.

They even cut the trees that they built the house with but they saved a very sacred old tree with protective spirit ribbons tied around it.
I have a tiled bathroom, hot water to take a shower, a sink and western toilet… I did not have a sink in the other house and for those of you that have traveled in Asia, the original toilet was the stand up/squat kind.

My bedroom is painted “pink.” I am not sure I would have picked that color, but it was my surprise and everyone was sure because my name is Rose that I would want a pink bedroom!     Last weekend I made curtains for the windows, sewing them by hand. I sure could have used a sewing machine! 

It is amazing how little I have learned to live with. I have a hot pot for my kitchen, but mostly I eat my meals out as it is very inexpensive. I can have a delicious lunch or dinner meal for about $1.00 US.
The day I met my first elephant at an outdoor market was also the same day I made my first art purchase, a hand painted silk fan with Thai Elephants. YES, of course I paid to feed him … a Thai tradition for good luck in the New Year. The food was inhaled quickly and  that's why he's smiling and I have my hands behind my back!

I started teaching the teachers English after school and their first lesson was “good morning and good afternoon.” They were very happy and felt successful being able to greet each other. Now almost everyone can say "good morning" to me when I walk to school.

 In the evening I couldn't resist teaching a little American "Las Vegas Poker"