7:30 am and I am waiting outside my building with my car and driver. Neither Neung nor Khun Ying, her sister. Oh well, it’s Thailand, so I guess I just have to wait. I receive an sms and it seems that the taxi they called could not find their place, so they are going to be very late. May feather rai. Website design By BotEap.com8:15 Neung and Ying arrive with 6 large bags of cat food. Hmmm, this looks interesting. I’m not quite sure how to explain this. We set off for Ransit. Neung explains about cat food. Her mother had four cats. The neighbor has been feeding them but ran out of food 4 days ago, so the cats haven’t eaten. Ok, that explains cat food well enough! Website design By BotEap.com9:15 am we arrive at the house in Rangsit and go to see the neighbors. Cats are coming, fast! We give them some food and then they’re joined by the neighbor’s dog, who seems to eat cat food as willingly as he eats dog food. Well, it’s Thailand! Website design By BotEap.comLet’s make tambuun in the house. Neung explains that sometimes people do it in the temple but it is considered “luckier” to do it in the person’s home. Something to do with the liberation of the spirit. I don’t pretend to understand, but no problem. I ask when the monks will arrive. Around 11 am they tell me that obviously means 11:30 am. everyone is always late here. All the monk’s gifts have been prepared. Money in envelopes, flowers, and the usual bucket of goodies: washing powder, toothpaste, etc. Website design By BotEap.com10.30 and the monks arrive. What’s going on here? No one in Thailand is ever early. We’ll get back to this shortly, but it turns out it’s all about food. The monks arrived, all nine of them, in the back of a pickup truck. Dressed in their orange robes it is a somewhat surreal scene. Weirdest pickup delivery I’ve ever seen! Now we have nine monks sitting on the floor of the house, with about 25 guests sitting on all sides. The rituals begin with an offering of water to the monks. The candles are lit, the rope is unwound, we all settle down, and the singing begins. Website design By BotEap.comI can’t be sure, but it seemed to me that the songs were very similar to those of funeral ceremonies. It is very interesting to watch and listen to. It is melodic without being musical and slightly hypnotic. Hypnosis would have been helpful because he was in agony from sitting cross-legged. My knees are damaged from too much running in the gym and I find these basic sitting postures nearly impossible to manage. So for me, chanting is an exercise in pain and the constant thought going through my mind of “how much longer?” Website design By BotEap.comA couple of dogs come and go as we sit and a 2-year-old girl joins us, raising her hands in a prayer position. It’s a very nice scene. She quickly becomes bored, as 2-year-olds do, and decides to examine and disarm the lock on the garden gate. She then decides to try on everyone else’s shoes, flip flops, high heels, they are all of equal interest. I find that my eyes wander much more to her than to the business at hand. Website design By BotEap.comThe chanting stops and now I know why the monks came early. We are your lunch. I am told that the monks eat twice a day, breakfast and lunch, and that they cannot eat after noon. They arrived early to make sure they could have lunch. Well that makes a lot of sense to me. After all, this country, more than most, runs on its stomach. Lunch is a party. A mass of different foods. They eat, we wait. Everyone seems happy and there are lots of laughs from everyone. Website design By BotEap.comI am, of course, the only farang and the object of some attention. Many ask Neung if I am her boyfriend. She says no, just a friend and that I’m gay. Hmm, okay. Now where did that come from? Neung explains. If I say you’re my friend (puan), they’ll wonder why you’re here, so I called you my gay friend. Hmmm okay. Why not say that I’m your ex-boyfriend? No way she says. If I say that, I lose face. So the price of not losing face is that I am now gay. Life could be worse! Website design By BotEap.comThe singing resumes, but this time it is very short, no more than five minutes. The monks collect their treats, get in the truck and drive off. The procedures are over. Neung’s mother is now at peace. Website design By BotEap.comLunch begins for all guests. We split into two groups. I sit with Neung, Khun Ying, and seven other ladies. Most are between 50 and 60 years old and I am an object of fascination. They see me struggling with sitting postures and, laughing, a stool appears and they tell me to sit down. My cheeks are red but the pain is gone so it’s a nice trade off. Then the real challenge begins. Am I going to eat the food? Luckily, I like Thai food at least as much as Kon Thai, so food is not a problem for me. They even start to realize that I speak pretty decent Thai. Website design By BotEap.comAll is well until we get to durian mixed with sticky rice and coconut milk. Durian is fine to eat, but this one is not ripe enough. Sticky rice is not something I enjoy. Mix it all together? Well, I manage not to throw up, but just a little bit, and of course the whole group finds this very entertaining, almost including myself. These are all good people. They are having fun. They are being very welcoming to me. It’s been a good day so far. Website design By BotEap.comThe food is removed and we all start cleaning up. Neung pays for the food, which necessarily means that I pay for the food. There is much celebration and five minutes later what seems like a million bottles of beer arrive. Looks like I gave some good advice too! So now everyone really loves us. Website design By BotEap.comIt’s time to go, time to do a lot of wais, say goodbye and drive home. Neung is going to Amsterdam tonight to spend 10 days with her gay Thai friend and her Dutch boyfriend. She tries to insist that she won’t spend the entire 10 days looking for a new boyfriend, but she doesn’t sound too believable. She may think, this is no longer my problem. If she’s happy, so am I. She may be my ex, but she’s still my friend and she’s had a rough few months. Website design By BotEap.comThe first Thai funeral I attended was for Neung’s mother and I also made my first tambuun for her. It has been another fascinating experience. Thais handle death with great grace, humor, tact and respect. That’s a strange combination of words, but it’s an appropriate combination. I like the way they do this and I like to think that Neung’s mother would be pleased with what she saw today. I don’t claim to understand Buddhism or Thai culture, but what I see I like very much. Website design By BotEap.comAs for Neung, it has been a difficult time. Her mother was her only family. Her father didn’t show up today and apparently has been asking her for money. Her 75-year-old stepfather has been trying to transfer his affection for his mother to Neung herself. Website design By BotEap.comShe has been unhappy and cried a lot alone. I haven’t been able to spend much time with her. She today she seems happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. It’s partly because she’s going to Amsterdam, but I think it’s more than that. She has finally learned to say goodbye to her mother. Website design By BotEap.comThailand is sometimes truly a crazy place. Crazy but wonderful and very much alive, even in death. I am privileged to be here. Website design By BotEap.comThe end. Original article available at [http://www.blog.artthailand.net/?p=17][http://www.blog.artthailand.net/?p=17]
Teerak, my mom is sick and I need money (4)
Website design By BotEap.comPick-up truck delivery: July 4
7:30 am and I am waiting outside my building with my car and driver. Neither Neung nor Khun Ying, her sister. Oh well, it’s Thailand, so I guess I just have to wait. I receive an sms and it seems that the taxi they called could not find their place, so they are going to be very late. May feather rai. Website design By BotEap.com8:15 Neung and Ying arrive with 6 large bags of cat food. Hmmm, this looks interesting. I’m not quite sure how to explain this. We set off for Ransit. Neung explains about cat food. Her mother had four cats. The neighbor has been feeding them but ran out of food 4 days ago, so the cats haven’t eaten. Ok, that explains cat food well enough! Website design By BotEap.com9:15 am we arrive at the house in Rangsit and go to see the neighbors. Cats are coming, fast! We give them some food and then they’re joined by the neighbor’s dog, who seems to eat cat food as willingly as he eats dog food. Well, it’s Thailand! Website design By BotEap.comLet’s make tambuun in the house. Neung explains that sometimes people do it in the temple but it is considered “luckier” to do it in the person’s home. Something to do with the liberation of the spirit. I don’t pretend to understand, but no problem. I ask when the monks will arrive. Around 11 am they tell me that obviously means 11:30 am. everyone is always late here. All the monk’s gifts have been prepared. Money in envelopes, flowers, and the usual bucket of goodies: washing powder, toothpaste, etc. Website design By BotEap.com10.30 and the monks arrive. What’s going on here? No one in Thailand is ever early. We’ll get back to this shortly, but it turns out it’s all about food. The monks arrived, all nine of them, in the back of a pickup truck. Dressed in their orange robes it is a somewhat surreal scene. Weirdest pickup delivery I’ve ever seen! Now we have nine monks sitting on the floor of the house, with about 25 guests sitting on all sides. The rituals begin with an offering of water to the monks. The candles are lit, the rope is unwound, we all settle down, and the singing begins. Website design By BotEap.comI can’t be sure, but it seemed to me that the songs were very similar to those of funeral ceremonies. It is very interesting to watch and listen to. It is melodic without being musical and slightly hypnotic. Hypnosis would have been helpful because he was in agony from sitting cross-legged. My knees are damaged from too much running in the gym and I find these basic sitting postures nearly impossible to manage. So for me, chanting is an exercise in pain and the constant thought going through my mind of “how much longer?” Website design By BotEap.comA couple of dogs come and go as we sit and a 2-year-old girl joins us, raising her hands in a prayer position. It’s a very nice scene. She quickly becomes bored, as 2-year-olds do, and decides to examine and disarm the lock on the garden gate. She then decides to try on everyone else’s shoes, flip flops, high heels, they are all of equal interest. I find that my eyes wander much more to her than to the business at hand. Website design By BotEap.comThe chanting stops and now I know why the monks came early. We are your lunch. I am told that the monks eat twice a day, breakfast and lunch, and that they cannot eat after noon. They arrived early to make sure they could have lunch. Well that makes a lot of sense to me. After all, this country, more than most, runs on its stomach. Lunch is a party. A mass of different foods. They eat, we wait. Everyone seems happy and there are lots of laughs from everyone. Website design By BotEap.comI am, of course, the only farang and the object of some attention. Many ask Neung if I am her boyfriend. She says no, just a friend and that I’m gay. Hmm, okay. Now where did that come from? Neung explains. If I say you’re my friend (puan), they’ll wonder why you’re here, so I called you my gay friend. Hmmm okay. Why not say that I’m your ex-boyfriend? No way she says. If I say that, I lose face. So the price of not losing face is that I am now gay. Life could be worse! Website design By BotEap.comThe singing resumes, but this time it is very short, no more than five minutes. The monks collect their treats, get in the truck and drive off. The procedures are over. Neung’s mother is now at peace. Website design By BotEap.comLunch begins for all guests. We split into two groups. I sit with Neung, Khun Ying, and seven other ladies. Most are between 50 and 60 years old and I am an object of fascination. They see me struggling with sitting postures and, laughing, a stool appears and they tell me to sit down. My cheeks are red but the pain is gone so it’s a nice trade off. Then the real challenge begins. Am I going to eat the food? Luckily, I like Thai food at least as much as Kon Thai, so food is not a problem for me. They even start to realize that I speak pretty decent Thai. Website design By BotEap.comAll is well until we get to durian mixed with sticky rice and coconut milk. Durian is fine to eat, but this one is not ripe enough. Sticky rice is not something I enjoy. Mix it all together? Well, I manage not to throw up, but just a little bit, and of course the whole group finds this very entertaining, almost including myself. These are all good people. They are having fun. They are being very welcoming to me. It’s been a good day so far. Website design By BotEap.comThe food is removed and we all start cleaning up. Neung pays for the food, which necessarily means that I pay for the food. There is much celebration and five minutes later what seems like a million bottles of beer arrive. Looks like I gave some good advice too! So now everyone really loves us. Website design By BotEap.comIt’s time to go, time to do a lot of wais, say goodbye and drive home. Neung is going to Amsterdam tonight to spend 10 days with her gay Thai friend and her Dutch boyfriend. She tries to insist that she won’t spend the entire 10 days looking for a new boyfriend, but she doesn’t sound too believable. She may think, this is no longer my problem. If she’s happy, so am I. She may be my ex, but she’s still my friend and she’s had a rough few months. Website design By BotEap.comThe first Thai funeral I attended was for Neung’s mother and I also made my first tambuun for her. It has been another fascinating experience. Thais handle death with great grace, humor, tact and respect. That’s a strange combination of words, but it’s an appropriate combination. I like the way they do this and I like to think that Neung’s mother would be pleased with what she saw today. I don’t claim to understand Buddhism or Thai culture, but what I see I like very much. Website design By BotEap.comAs for Neung, it has been a difficult time. Her mother was her only family. Her father didn’t show up today and apparently has been asking her for money. Her 75-year-old stepfather has been trying to transfer his affection for his mother to Neung herself. Website design By BotEap.comShe has been unhappy and cried a lot alone. I haven’t been able to spend much time with her. She today she seems happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. It’s partly because she’s going to Amsterdam, but I think it’s more than that. She has finally learned to say goodbye to her mother. Website design By BotEap.comThailand is sometimes truly a crazy place. Crazy but wonderful and very much alive, even in death. I am privileged to be here. Website design By BotEap.comThe end. Original article available at [http://www.blog.artthailand.net/?p=17][http://www.blog.artthailand.net/?p=17]
7:30 am and I am waiting outside my building with my car and driver. Neither Neung nor Khun Ying, her sister. Oh well, it’s Thailand, so I guess I just have to wait. I receive an sms and it seems that the taxi they called could not find their place, so they are going to be very late. May feather rai. Website design By BotEap.com8:15 Neung and Ying arrive with 6 large bags of cat food. Hmmm, this looks interesting. I’m not quite sure how to explain this. We set off for Ransit. Neung explains about cat food. Her mother had four cats. The neighbor has been feeding them but ran out of food 4 days ago, so the cats haven’t eaten. Ok, that explains cat food well enough! Website design By BotEap.com9:15 am we arrive at the house in Rangsit and go to see the neighbors. Cats are coming, fast! We give them some food and then they’re joined by the neighbor’s dog, who seems to eat cat food as willingly as he eats dog food. Well, it’s Thailand! Website design By BotEap.comLet’s make tambuun in the house. Neung explains that sometimes people do it in the temple but it is considered “luckier” to do it in the person’s home. Something to do with the liberation of the spirit. I don’t pretend to understand, but no problem. I ask when the monks will arrive. Around 11 am they tell me that obviously means 11:30 am. everyone is always late here. All the monk’s gifts have been prepared. Money in envelopes, flowers, and the usual bucket of goodies: washing powder, toothpaste, etc. Website design By BotEap.com10.30 and the monks arrive. What’s going on here? No one in Thailand is ever early. We’ll get back to this shortly, but it turns out it’s all about food. The monks arrived, all nine of them, in the back of a pickup truck. Dressed in their orange robes it is a somewhat surreal scene. Weirdest pickup delivery I’ve ever seen! Now we have nine monks sitting on the floor of the house, with about 25 guests sitting on all sides. The rituals begin with an offering of water to the monks. The candles are lit, the rope is unwound, we all settle down, and the singing begins. Website design By BotEap.comI can’t be sure, but it seemed to me that the songs were very similar to those of funeral ceremonies. It is very interesting to watch and listen to. It is melodic without being musical and slightly hypnotic. Hypnosis would have been helpful because he was in agony from sitting cross-legged. My knees are damaged from too much running in the gym and I find these basic sitting postures nearly impossible to manage. So for me, chanting is an exercise in pain and the constant thought going through my mind of “how much longer?” Website design By BotEap.comA couple of dogs come and go as we sit and a 2-year-old girl joins us, raising her hands in a prayer position. It’s a very nice scene. She quickly becomes bored, as 2-year-olds do, and decides to examine and disarm the lock on the garden gate. She then decides to try on everyone else’s shoes, flip flops, high heels, they are all of equal interest. I find that my eyes wander much more to her than to the business at hand. Website design By BotEap.comThe chanting stops and now I know why the monks came early. We are your lunch. I am told that the monks eat twice a day, breakfast and lunch, and that they cannot eat after noon. They arrived early to make sure they could have lunch. Well that makes a lot of sense to me. After all, this country, more than most, runs on its stomach. Lunch is a party. A mass of different foods. They eat, we wait. Everyone seems happy and there are lots of laughs from everyone. Website design By BotEap.comI am, of course, the only farang and the object of some attention. Many ask Neung if I am her boyfriend. She says no, just a friend and that I’m gay. Hmm, okay. Now where did that come from? Neung explains. If I say you’re my friend (puan), they’ll wonder why you’re here, so I called you my gay friend. Hmmm okay. Why not say that I’m your ex-boyfriend? No way she says. If I say that, I lose face. So the price of not losing face is that I am now gay. Life could be worse! Website design By BotEap.comThe singing resumes, but this time it is very short, no more than five minutes. The monks collect their treats, get in the truck and drive off. The procedures are over. Neung’s mother is now at peace. Website design By BotEap.comLunch begins for all guests. We split into two groups. I sit with Neung, Khun Ying, and seven other ladies. Most are between 50 and 60 years old and I am an object of fascination. They see me struggling with sitting postures and, laughing, a stool appears and they tell me to sit down. My cheeks are red but the pain is gone so it’s a nice trade off. Then the real challenge begins. Am I going to eat the food? Luckily, I like Thai food at least as much as Kon Thai, so food is not a problem for me. They even start to realize that I speak pretty decent Thai. Website design By BotEap.comAll is well until we get to durian mixed with sticky rice and coconut milk. Durian is fine to eat, but this one is not ripe enough. Sticky rice is not something I enjoy. Mix it all together? Well, I manage not to throw up, but just a little bit, and of course the whole group finds this very entertaining, almost including myself. These are all good people. They are having fun. They are being very welcoming to me. It’s been a good day so far. Website design By BotEap.comThe food is removed and we all start cleaning up. Neung pays for the food, which necessarily means that I pay for the food. There is much celebration and five minutes later what seems like a million bottles of beer arrive. Looks like I gave some good advice too! So now everyone really loves us. Website design By BotEap.comIt’s time to go, time to do a lot of wais, say goodbye and drive home. Neung is going to Amsterdam tonight to spend 10 days with her gay Thai friend and her Dutch boyfriend. She tries to insist that she won’t spend the entire 10 days looking for a new boyfriend, but she doesn’t sound too believable. She may think, this is no longer my problem. If she’s happy, so am I. She may be my ex, but she’s still my friend and she’s had a rough few months. Website design By BotEap.comThe first Thai funeral I attended was for Neung’s mother and I also made my first tambuun for her. It has been another fascinating experience. Thais handle death with great grace, humor, tact and respect. That’s a strange combination of words, but it’s an appropriate combination. I like the way they do this and I like to think that Neung’s mother would be pleased with what she saw today. I don’t claim to understand Buddhism or Thai culture, but what I see I like very much. Website design By BotEap.comAs for Neung, it has been a difficult time. Her mother was her only family. Her father didn’t show up today and apparently has been asking her for money. Her 75-year-old stepfather has been trying to transfer his affection for his mother to Neung herself. Website design By BotEap.comShe has been unhappy and cried a lot alone. I haven’t been able to spend much time with her. She today she seems happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. It’s partly because she’s going to Amsterdam, but I think it’s more than that. She has finally learned to say goodbye to her mother. Website design By BotEap.comThailand is sometimes truly a crazy place. Crazy but wonderful and very much alive, even in death. I am privileged to be here. Website design By BotEap.comThe end. Original article available at [http://www.blog.artthailand.net/?p=17][http://www.blog.artthailand.net/?p=17]