(Sorry Mom, I have to do it).
I was talking to my Mom a month or so ago (this was before the Cambodia trip). Now every phone conversation I had with her between July and October involved the question “Now when are you going to Cambodia?” It didn’t matter if I had spoken with her the day before…she still asked “Now when are you going to Cambodia?”
This time, after she asked the “Cambodia question” she asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving. I told her that the Peace Corps staff puts on a Thanksgiving dinner for us in Bangkok, but they were having it on the Saturday before because Thanksgiving is on Thursday & we don’t get it off. Then she asked THE question…the conversation went a little something like this:
“When do they celebrate Thanksgiving over there?”
“Mom!”
“Well, do they celebrate it the same time we do?”
“Mom! Thanksgiving is an AMERICAN holiday!”
“Oh, well what about Christmas?”
“Mom!”
“Well, do they celebrate Christmas?”
“Mom! Christmas is a Christian holiday. Thais are Buddhist. They do not celebrate Christmas!”
“Oh. I think I’ve asked you that before haven’t I?” (No, she has not asked me that before & I hope she did not ask anyone else that question).
So for those of you unfamiliar with international holidays, they do NOT celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day (aka 4th of July), Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Valentines Day, President’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, or Halloween. They do have their own holidays and I can give you that list if you want it.
So I will be going to Bangkok the weekend before Thanksgiving to have Thanksgiving dinner at one of the Peace Corps’ staff member’s house. There will be other volunteers there, but not all of us. It will only be for the weekend, and most of us will be back at site on Monday & spend this November 22nd (Thanksgiving Day) working as usual.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Randoms
A few random things that I haven’t had a chance to write about (but I had pictures & I wanted to post them)…
I was sitting at my desk a few weeks ago when one of the village council members approached my desk & asked me if I would like to go with her to visit the tea making group. I of course said yes & she told me that she had to go to the doctor first then she would stop by after to pick me up.
When she came back, we headed out…her on her motorcycle and me on my bike. We stopped at her house & walked from there. On our way we picked up a few stragglers…
We got to where the group was meeting & they were in the process of cutting up ginger. They make ginger tea & dried ginger. They had a big huge bowl that they were filling…
We stayed for about 5 minutes & then they told me that they were finished! They promised me that they would ask me to come again next time they met…and hopefully we won’t show up 5 minutes before they are done!
A week or so later, I showed up at the office & was locking my bike when about 4 guys walk out from behind the building carrying a pig carcass! It was so gross! They had built a barbeque pit behind the office and were having a pig roast.
It looked disgusting but smelled wonderful! When I asked why they were doing it they told me it was to welcome the new interns they had working at the office. So we all ate pig for lunch.
I was sitting at my desk a few weeks ago when one of the village council members approached my desk & asked me if I would like to go with her to visit the tea making group. I of course said yes & she told me that she had to go to the doctor first then she would stop by after to pick me up.
When she came back, we headed out…her on her motorcycle and me on my bike. We stopped at her house & walked from there. On our way we picked up a few stragglers…
We got to where the group was meeting & they were in the process of cutting up ginger. They make ginger tea & dried ginger. They had a big huge bowl that they were filling…
We stayed for about 5 minutes & then they told me that they were finished! They promised me that they would ask me to come again next time they met…and hopefully we won’t show up 5 minutes before they are done!
A week or so later, I showed up at the office & was locking my bike when about 4 guys walk out from behind the building carrying a pig carcass! It was so gross! They had built a barbeque pit behind the office and were having a pig roast.
It looked disgusting but smelled wonderful! When I asked why they were doing it they told me it was to welcome the new interns they had working at the office. So we all ate pig for lunch.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Halloween & Weather
I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween! It is strange being someplace that knows about the holiday (or at least recognizes the word) but does not celebrate it.
I knew that I wanted to teach my students a little about Halloween, but I was stuck for ideas. I mean I didn’t have the supplies that one would normally find in a classroom in the States (I mean it was a big task to find glue and scissors one day). I didn’t even have access to Halloween candy or decorations. Luckily, Tara came up with the wonderful idea of having mummy races.
I taught some vocabulary first (I wanted to make sure that they KNEW what a mummy was before they actually had to make one). They were pretty familiar with some of the words…spider (from Spiderman), Dracula, bat, and a few even knew mummy. I then made them get into groups of 4-5 and the fun began…
My classes were actually on Tuesday & Thursday so I didn’t have anything scheduled for the holiday itself…which meant that when I woke up freezing & saw that it was raining outside, I called and told them that I wouldn’t be coming in today. I sooo did not want to ride my bike in that rain. Instead, I spent the day in a sweatshirt & pants, huddled under all of the blankets I could find, watching movies on my computer. Not a bad way to spend the day (except for the freezing part).
Speaking of weather, the cold season has officially reached Thailand. Which means that instead of 90 degree weather, we now have weather in the 70’s. Now in Montana, 70 degrees means shorts, but here in Thailand it means sweaters & coats (someone even mentioned seeing a sale on scarves & hats). The days are actually really nice (when it’s not raining or they don’t have the a/c on in the office)…it’s the nights that get me.
It’s actually a bit like camping…you know those mornings where you don’t want to get out of your sleeping bag because it is so cold out there (in fact you kept your clothes in your sleeping bag so that they wouldn’t be cold in the morning when you had to get dressed). Well, that’s what it’s like here. I just have to say that I am SO glad that I bought that hot water heater!
I knew that I wanted to teach my students a little about Halloween, but I was stuck for ideas. I mean I didn’t have the supplies that one would normally find in a classroom in the States (I mean it was a big task to find glue and scissors one day). I didn’t even have access to Halloween candy or decorations. Luckily, Tara came up with the wonderful idea of having mummy races.
I taught some vocabulary first (I wanted to make sure that they KNEW what a mummy was before they actually had to make one). They were pretty familiar with some of the words…spider (from Spiderman), Dracula, bat, and a few even knew mummy. I then made them get into groups of 4-5 and the fun began…
My classes were actually on Tuesday & Thursday so I didn’t have anything scheduled for the holiday itself…which meant that when I woke up freezing & saw that it was raining outside, I called and told them that I wouldn’t be coming in today. I sooo did not want to ride my bike in that rain. Instead, I spent the day in a sweatshirt & pants, huddled under all of the blankets I could find, watching movies on my computer. Not a bad way to spend the day (except for the freezing part).
Speaking of weather, the cold season has officially reached Thailand. Which means that instead of 90 degree weather, we now have weather in the 70’s. Now in Montana, 70 degrees means shorts, but here in Thailand it means sweaters & coats (someone even mentioned seeing a sale on scarves & hats). The days are actually really nice (when it’s not raining or they don’t have the a/c on in the office)…it’s the nights that get me.
It’s actually a bit like camping…you know those mornings where you don’t want to get out of your sleeping bag because it is so cold out there (in fact you kept your clothes in your sleeping bag so that they wouldn’t be cold in the morning when you had to get dressed). Well, that’s what it’s like here. I just have to say that I am SO glad that I bought that hot water heater!
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