Rice Grains

Tonight I went downstairs to the office to pay my rent and got invited to eat supper with the manager and his family. I love that family. I don't see much of them, but when I do, they are such a warm, fun family. My Thai is still so bad that they didn't understand half of what I was trying to say, but we managed to communicate in spite of my handicap. I told them they were going to make me fat if they keep putting food on my plate.

Oh, and speaking of the food, I ate something new. Luung, the mom, had prepared the food; often they buy food off the street like I do. But tonight we had "bplaa mook sigh moo", otherwise known as squid stuffed with pork. I wasn't too sure at first glance, but it was actually quite tasty. We also had grilled fish, some dish with baby corn/shrimp, and, of course, rice. So it was seafood night for me.

The family typically does not all live together. Luung is a housekeeper for a family in Bangkok, and Dtaan, their 11-year-old son, usually stays with his mom's sister's family several hours from here. Kitti, the dad, and the other two boys, Lak and Gop, stay here at the apartment complex. For some reason they are all together right now. Can I just say again that I really like that family?:)

Lak in the back, doing the "wai", Kitti, Dtaan, Gop, Luung

Lak, the 16-year-old, decided he needed to take a picture with me in the family. Notice the two yellow "king shirts". Today is Monday, the day many people wear their yellow shirts in honor of the king.

Did I already tell you that I like this family??:)

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Today I met Trish at the full Gospel Thai church for their 10:30 service, which has headphones for English translation. I hope for a day when I will be able to understand without the use of translation, but it hasn't happened yet.:)

The message today dealt much with a call for believers to fast and pray that the people of Thailand would come to faith in Jesus. I have often been touched with the heart many Thai believers have for their own people to know Jesus. They say their people live in fear, and thus try to appease many idols and/or seek good luck charms. The Thai pastor this morning was appealing to his congregation to commit to prayer and fasting one day a week (for practice), leading up to a time when he hopes to have a 40-day fast for the people of Thailand. What a challenge....

After church, we found a coffee shop where we ate lunch and then studied Thai for a couple hours. Now I am back at my apartment and just had a very satisfying meal of corn on the cob and fresh pineapple. Yummm!

When I bought the corn, the vendor asked if I wanted him to dip the ear in a pot of hot water he had sitting nearby. I asked him what it was, and he told me it was salt water. So I said, sure, why not get my corn salted for me? And it was perfectly seasoned that way!

The corn cost 7 baht (about $0.22), and the pineapple was leftover from last night; I'd say the half I had today probably cost 5 baht, or about $0.16. Hope the pictures below make you jealous!:) Actually, I think the pineapple pic looks a little anemic, but it tasted WONDERFUL!

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Yesterday as I took the bus home from Bangkok, I decided to put my camera on "continuous shot" mode and aim it out the bus window at the massive construction taking place. They want to extend the sky train closer my way (which would be nice, except it won't be done until I'm no longer in Thailand!). The following pictures are not great; maybe sometime I can walk down the sidewalk a ways and take better pictures.

And the final product is meant to carry this train further down the line.

Posted by Sharon Rice at 06:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I feel like I have been quite busy these past few days. Most of Saturday I had reserved to study for today's test. But around 8:00 PM, my friend Dang called me to ask for some help with her English homework. Since she lives about a 2-minute walk from my apartment, I went over to her house. I suppose I wasn't very nice, because I laughed a bit when she told me English is so hard to learn. She laughed too, though, and said now she understands better when I complain about Thai language being difficult to learn.

I stayed at Dang's house till almost 10:30; her son who is in his mid-twenties joined us at some point and had some questions about speaking English. He works at a hotel, and he says it is difficult to understand Americans on the phone but that British speakers are easier to understand. :)

Sunday morning I went to a Thai church in Bangkok, then met a friend for lunch. From there I took the bus back to Tom and Candice's house, where we had game night. Wow, I haven't played games in forever! It was a good evening, but again I didn't get home until about 10:30, too late to try to study for my test.

Walking down Soi 12, the street where Tom and Candice live, I stopped to take a couple pictures of some beautiful red flower clusters on a bush in someone's yard.

PS My test today was not too bad, thank God!

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Hot season has arrived full blast now, I think. When I come home in the afternoon, sometimes I feel I will be smothered in the heat. Even turning on the A/C makes limited improvement; it appears my air conditioner can hardly keep up, but at least the humidity is taken out of the air.

I will need to spend most of the day studying for my test on Monday. It was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed because a majority of the class wanted it Monday. I would have preferred getting it done and over with so I could breathe easy over the weekend. Such is life.

Below are two pictures of Jesus that I saw in one of the Thai churches I visited. The pastor's wife told me someone in their congregation painted them. I hope the details show up clearly. They are, I think, amazing pictures because of the biographical scenes from Jesus' life that are blended into the main portrait of Jesus.

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Currently the Thai New Year celebration, Songkran, is taking place. I believe April 13-15 every year officially marks the new year (this year, in Thai time, by the way, is 2550). I am discovering why this celebration is also called the water festival as well.

Whenever I leave or return to my apartment, I can plan on getting wet, and maybe powdered as well. Groups of people, armed with hoses, water guns, or plastic containers, sit at various spots along the streets. As motorcycles, cars, trucks, or pedestrians pass, water is sprayed, shot, or poured on them. Sometimes, additionally, a person with a bottle of talcum powder will gently smear some on faces, arms, and legs. "Happy Songkran", they will say to us foreigners, as they initiate us into their culture.

Pickup trucks loaded with people and water also drive up and down the streets, spraying or throwing water on anyone or anything they feel like hitting. Today, as Trish, Michelle and I walked up the street from Tom and Candice's house, a pickup truck passed us several times, making sure to get us each time.

It's actually pretty much fun; it is hot season here, so getting wet is almost welcome. It reminds me of the many water battles in which I have participated over the years. Only here it is not so much a battle as allowing them to "bless" us (I think...:). A part of me wants to take a cup of water out with me tomorrow to "return the favor" as I get my daily dowsing. And it really has been a daily dowsing since Friday.

I got dowsed a second time today as I walked down my street toward my apartment building only to be approached by a couple Thai people once again. One or two guys poured tubs of water over me, and a third guy proceeded to sprinkle talc into his hand which he applied to my face, wishing me a happy songkran as he did so. Oh my, this is the worst I have gotten it so far; I was almost totally soaked, dripping wet, and it was my first experience receiving the talc treatment.

One more day to go.....

The view out my window

The view in my apartment after my thorough soaking!

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Today Noy, the apartment owner's wife, gave me a few Thai treats wrapped in banana leaves. She explained that inside the leaves was sweetened, thickened coconut milk, and inside the coconut milk was sweetened coconut "meat". Yummmmmm! They were very tasty--I don't want to think of the fat/caloric content!

Pictured below are the snacks in various "phases". You'll see what I mean.:)

And, entering the final phase (I must be crazy!)--maybe you'll have to vote on the best (or weirdest) picture!?

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Somehow, I've gotten busy. Actually the last several days I was in the city of Chachaengsao attending a retreat for Anabaptist workers in southeast Asia. It was a good time to rest and relax and receive input. I learned a new version of the game "Upset the Fruit Basket" called "Have You Ever....". The person in the middle had to ask a question that was true of him/herself, and any people for whom the statement was also true needed to find another seat.

Another game involved running around a fairly small building 3 times, the object being to not let the one who was IT see our feet move. So when we realized that IT was coming our way, we needed to stop short, hoping IT didn't notice our feet in motion. If we were caught, we had to return to base and start over our 3 times around the building. The first person to accomplish that feat became the new IT. Oh, my, who thinks up these games? But I must say, it took me back to my days of working at Spruce Lake when there was always fun and laughter and games going on.

Below are various pictures including a beautiful view from the hotel, a friend from my days in Reading, PA, who ended up being my roommate, and skit performances.

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