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"

New Year Celebrations

  

Happy New Year 2011 or in Thailand, Happy 2554

To begin the New Year, here is one of my favorite Buddha Quotes:

“Whenever you see things, just see;

  Whenever you listen, just listen;

  Whenever you know, just know.”

 Our New Year celebration continued for two weeks…

Beginning on January 30^th, and then continuing on New Years Eve day, we started at one o’clock in the afternoon and finally welcomed in the New Year at Australian midnight.

That reminded me of when we were in Vegas and California and celebrated New York New Year! We ate all day and toasted with the School Director and the “American” James, who was our school Santa Claus. He was visiting from Switzerland, and it turned out that 20 years ago he was in the Peace Corps and taught English at the same school that I am teaching at now. He said it was much smaller then, and only had three grades. James is now an attorney, and works for the World Trade Organization in Geneva. It was nice to actually have an English conversation. We talked about Swiss cheese fondue, and all the many varieties of which I remember fondly from my travels to Switzerland. Cheese is almost non-existent in Thailand, and I do miss that! (I bought some Thai mozzarella cheese, and disappointedly it tasted a like a rubber band.)

Everyone joined in for both Thai and American Karaoke, complete with video screen and microphones. 

Happily, since I don’t sing, I was able to teach a little song to the young son of the Head of the English Department, which he sang with gusto!

Welcoming in the New Year would not be complete without visiting wats (temples) and receiving Buddha blessings from the monks.
I gratefully received two hand woven wrist bands, one that takes all the negative energy away and another to bring in good health.

They are still on my wrists, and it is customary to wear them until they fall off naturally.

The next New Year celebration was a special dinner for all 60 teachers at our school directors house with happy students helping to serve the food and wash the dishes

Again more FOOD, gifts and more Karaoke, with a big screen and microphones also set up outside. 

My gift came from the head of the local government; it is a special golden tree to bring abundance and good health and has its own place in my home. 

Continuing with the annual new year honoring of teachers was the all day and into the night " Teachers Day" celebration, January 16^th. 

The event began in the morning with all teachers from the Sopisai District, about 1000, being welcomed with an orchid corsage, coffee or tea and something sweet. 

The morning ceremony continued with monks on stage chanting for about an hour and ending with a special water blessing for all in attendance. 

After a delicious Thai lunch, the afternoon was spent with a variety of sport games and teacher competitions. 

The evening was transformed into a Thai style night club, complete with music, and on stage singers and dancers.

Lots more Thai food was served including fish, beef, chicken, pork, vegetables, rice and noodles.

 

The day finally ended with everyone dancing… at least I think that was what it was… 

more like a combination of line dancing and aerobics, but everyone was laughing, singing and having a wonderful Thai time...until next time,
Happy 2554!

Christmas at Sopisaipittayakhom School

 Christmas at Sopisaipittayakhom School

The second week in December the school in Thailand where I am teaching asked if I would teach something about Christmas.  So??? Of course I said yes, and had no idea that it would mushroom into a full blown Christmas program and New Year celebration

It started with the idea of teaching my classes “Jingle Bells” and ended up with the entire 1500 students singing and producing an all day event complete with Santa Claus.

 
In preparation we had a variety of art projects including posters, puppets, stockings, bells, snowflakes, hats, Santa’s, and Christmas cards. 

 

The students really enjoyed it all, and the school looked a lot like an American school with Christmas artwork all through the halls! I was amazed at how creative the kids are since there is no formal art program in the school.

The Thai teachers in the English department all helped.

We even had all the other 60 teachers participate in a “Color Santa Contest.”

 The students decorated the stage, created many mini-shows and rehearsed until performance day… 

and rehearsed and rehearsed...

the actual performance day kept changing…. 

First scheduled for Dec 23, then 24^th, then 26^th and finally Christmas on Dec 3oth!

The reindeer were of course, girls….

See story below.

Reindeer's Story at Christmas

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. However, female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should have known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

So our Santa, who happened to be visiting friends, was actually from America.

He was a great surprise to the all the students…especially the two other schools we invited to come and see the “Big  Christmas Show.”

Please remember this is Thailand and most of the students had no idea about Christmas, in fact they had not even heard Christmas songs… so it really was a first! 

And the school also wanted the story about the First Christmas… we did the best we could, with the costumes being a bit of a challenge with “0” budget… even I was in awe as the multi-act presentation continued for hours.

Here is a link to see the 5 minute video sample.

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_timedtext?video_id=ZIsbV_6wwKE

Of course no show in Thailand would be complete without their rendition of a Thai music video.



 And Miss Christmas was a Kathoey,

  “Lady Boy” (a teacher at that).

 

The day ended as all Thai events do…with lots of wonderful food and the students celebrated a job well done! I was exhausted but very happy and proud of the students.

Phukradueng Mountain - National Park

Mountain climbing at Phukradueng National Park

In early December I went on a 4 day trip with 6 teachers and 60 senior students to climb the highest mountain in Thailand.

It was a fun and challenging weekend. My body was taxed to the max... close to 4 days with almost no sleep and very steep climb up and down the mountain!

The first night we left from school at midnight for an all night ride to Phukradueng National Park… as we boarded the old fashioned school bus I noticed it had a video screen at the front…so they could play Thai music videos! Not much sleeping on the bus!

Arriving around 8am at the park, I found a toilet and a coffee…the little things that are so important. 

Then we began the climb...a very difficult steep mountain climb...maybe that could be the reason many of the teachers kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to go. 

Of course I thought I was in pretty good physical shape and began with great enthusiasm.

My newly purchased small back-pack seemed light enough as we started, however it gradually seemed to get heaver as we climbed. 

It took me over 6 hours to get to the top…but with a great deal of encouragement from the students, lots of water and a few rest stops...

I finally made it to the top and the students were so proud of me. 

I would not have made it without them cheering me on. 

I think I was almost the last one up to the top.

  

When we got to the top every part of my body ached.

Then as we set up the tents we found out our reserved bedding was gone…It was a holiday weekend, the Kings Birthday, so they were over sold.

Sleeping on the cold hard ground without a sleeping bag and no blankets, and only a light jacket was not in the original plan.

I froze and my legs kept cramping from the cold and damp weather on the top of the mountain.

 

But as always, something wonderful happened… 

I got up to go to the outdoor toilet and only about two feet from me was a real reindeer. 

Luckily I had my i-phone camera… photo a bit dim, but I did not want to try a flash.

The next day I decided to do a shorter hike around the top… 

I wanted to see the waterfall and the Buddha. 

Of course there is one on the top of the mountain… its Thailand! 

Also I got back to camp early and got sleeping bags for a much more comfortable night before the decent down the mountain.

Thank goodness we had a day in between and refreshed I carefully began… hundreds of steep steps, ladders and rocks later… resting less frequently, I made it down with the first group! Happily we all laughed, sang and danced…even had time to shop and I bought a t-shirt as a souvenir that I really had conquered Phukradueng Mountain.

 

Then another eight hour bus trip back to school riding with 60 singing (in Thai) high school seniors!!!  Even they were exhausted, but still dancing in the aisles of the  bus. I was happy to have a hot shower and a warm bed.

Phu Kradueng National Park, covers an area of 348.12 Kilometers with 60 Kilometers of a vast plateau on the top of mountain. The highest peak is 1,316m above sea level. (4,317 feet)

 In general, Phu Kradueng is the sandstone mountain consisting of an abundance of flora and fauna and the fullness of cliffs, savanna, streams and waterfalls.  

 It is the head watershed of Lam Nam Phong River which is one of the most important rivers in Northeastern Thailand.

According to its high elevation and climatic condition, the weather on the mountaintop is cool all year round. 

Sometimes, in the winter. temperature may drop to freezing point. 

So, Thailand invites visitors to be a Phu Kradueng conqueror at least once of their life.

Just another adventure for a 70 year old teacher in Thailand!