Have you ever had your day pretty much planned out and then it turns out that you end up doing something you never in a million years ever thought you would be doing?!?
I am planning on going to Cambodia next week; which will be a very nice break from site, but also involves a lot of planning beforehand. In order to go to Cambodia, we have to get a visa to get into the country and also get a re-entry visa to get back into Thailand. Peace Corps actually provides the re-entry visa, we just have to get the visa to get into Cambodia…which we can get at the border, but we have to get photos taken before we get there. On Monday, I asked my counterpart where I could go to get a picture taken (you know those tiny ones that they use for passports). She told me that the Nayoke would take me into Nan on Tuesday (he is the mayor of the villages in our area and had a meeting in town).
So I show up for on Tuesday expecting to go into town with the Nayoke. They tell me that the Nayoke can take me into town, but then I would have to find a ride back on my own…or I could go into town with Pee Aroon (“Pee” is an honorific that you use to address someone when they are older than you). I decided to go with Pee Aroon.
A couple of other people also came with us…Pee Yap, and Pee Aae. They took me to get my photo taken (and it is amusing to hear what they tell complete strangers about me…they were telling the guy at the photo shop that I couldn’t ride a motorcycle. That Peace Corps won’t let us & that I had to ride a bike & wear a helmet) then they had a few other errands to do. We stopped at a car dealership as Pee Aae is in the process of buying a new truck. Then we stopped for lunch. Then we dropped Pee Aae off at her old car and she left us…so that left me with Pee Aroon & Pee Yap. They told me that we had a couple of more stops to make & then we went to an insurance company so that Pee Aroon could renew his car insurance then we had to go to the police station so that he could renew his registration.
When we finished at the police station, Pee Aroon told me that we had one more stop & then he said something that I didn’t understand. They can tell when I don’t understand something (I think I’ve perfected the “I have no idea what you just said look”) so he started with the charades…and he started jabbing himself in the breastplate. It only took me a few seconds to figure out that he was talking about getting a tattoo (I would kick ass at charades now).
You see, the “traditional” tattoo is spiritual here. They are supposed to be a blessing & kind-of act as a good luck charm (they explained to me that it will protect them from guns& getting hurt). A lot of men have tattoos right in the middle of their chest…where Pee Aroon was jabbing himself. So after I told them the English word for what they were doing they told me that they wanted to see the “tattoo doctor” (their words not mine).
I was expecting a tattoo parlor, but we showed up at this guy’s house. The men all went inside, but I didn’t know if I was allowed to watch so I waited outside, but they soon came and got me (I think part of them wanting to get one done was to show off to the farang). As we were obviously not at a tattoo parlor, I was still expecting a semi-professional room where a guy does tattoos out of his home. What I found was a mess! There was a shrine of Buddha on one side of the room and the rest of the room was filled with clutter (and I am completely serious). The most interesting part was in the corner where he (the “tattoo doctor”) had a little stand of these really long sticks…which I soon realized were the needles (in the pic on the left side).
He handed two of them to one of the guys who then proceeded to stick them in boiling water for two seconds to sterilize them (I don’t know why they bothered as the “tattoo doctor” blew on the needles right after they sterilized them).
I am planning on going to Cambodia next week; which will be a very nice break from site, but also involves a lot of planning beforehand. In order to go to Cambodia, we have to get a visa to get into the country and also get a re-entry visa to get back into Thailand. Peace Corps actually provides the re-entry visa, we just have to get the visa to get into Cambodia…which we can get at the border, but we have to get photos taken before we get there. On Monday, I asked my counterpart where I could go to get a picture taken (you know those tiny ones that they use for passports). She told me that the Nayoke would take me into Nan on Tuesday (he is the mayor of the villages in our area and had a meeting in town).
So I show up for on Tuesday expecting to go into town with the Nayoke. They tell me that the Nayoke can take me into town, but then I would have to find a ride back on my own…or I could go into town with Pee Aroon (“Pee” is an honorific that you use to address someone when they are older than you). I decided to go with Pee Aroon.
A couple of other people also came with us…Pee Yap, and Pee Aae. They took me to get my photo taken (and it is amusing to hear what they tell complete strangers about me…they were telling the guy at the photo shop that I couldn’t ride a motorcycle. That Peace Corps won’t let us & that I had to ride a bike & wear a helmet) then they had a few other errands to do. We stopped at a car dealership as Pee Aae is in the process of buying a new truck. Then we stopped for lunch. Then we dropped Pee Aae off at her old car and she left us…so that left me with Pee Aroon & Pee Yap. They told me that we had a couple of more stops to make & then we went to an insurance company so that Pee Aroon could renew his car insurance then we had to go to the police station so that he could renew his registration.
When we finished at the police station, Pee Aroon told me that we had one more stop & then he said something that I didn’t understand. They can tell when I don’t understand something (I think I’ve perfected the “I have no idea what you just said look”) so he started with the charades…and he started jabbing himself in the breastplate. It only took me a few seconds to figure out that he was talking about getting a tattoo (I would kick ass at charades now).
You see, the “traditional” tattoo is spiritual here. They are supposed to be a blessing & kind-of act as a good luck charm (they explained to me that it will protect them from guns& getting hurt). A lot of men have tattoos right in the middle of their chest…where Pee Aroon was jabbing himself. So after I told them the English word for what they were doing they told me that they wanted to see the “tattoo doctor” (their words not mine).
I was expecting a tattoo parlor, but we showed up at this guy’s house. The men all went inside, but I didn’t know if I was allowed to watch so I waited outside, but they soon came and got me (I think part of them wanting to get one done was to show off to the farang). As we were obviously not at a tattoo parlor, I was still expecting a semi-professional room where a guy does tattoos out of his home. What I found was a mess! There was a shrine of Buddha on one side of the room and the rest of the room was filled with clutter (and I am completely serious). The most interesting part was in the corner where he (the “tattoo doctor”) had a little stand of these really long sticks…which I soon realized were the needles (in the pic on the left side).
He handed two of them to one of the guys who then proceeded to stick them in boiling water for two seconds to sterilize them (I don’t know why they bothered as the “tattoo doctor” blew on the needles right after they sterilized them).
And then they were ready to go…
It was really neat to watch. The “tattoo doctor” props the needle on one hand then with the other makes these really fast jabbing motions (pushing the needle into the skin).
They both got them done...
They kept asking me if I wanted to get one, but I think they were joking. I’m not sure, but I think that these types of tattoos are only for the men. Which is fine with me because everything was a little too dirty for me (he dipped the needle in the same ink for both guy’s tattoos for one, he kept blowing on the needle and the new tattoo for another). But they have been doing this for hundreds of years…and it was really neat…maybe next time…(just joking Mom).
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