Although I’ve written of our average day in the village,
there really is rarely an average day. By that, I mean, you’d think that living
in a Thai-Lao village would be boring and sleepy; that every day would be
pretty much the same thing, but that has not been my experience. In fact, every
day I need to be ready and flexible for The Unexpecteds.
Let me break for a sec to say one thing about my usage of
the term “Thai-Lao”. Our villagers would actually take some offense at being
classified as such, as they consider themselves 100% Thai People (Kon Thai)
and any inference that might be interpreted as their being less than 100% would
be – if not a slight, certainly bad manners. All the people in the Isaan I have
met are very patriotic and pledge their allegiance to their country and
especially to their King Bhumibol Adulyadej,
whose picture is displayed in every home and business throughout the land.
That said, I still feel the term “Thai-Lao” best describes
the people of the Isaan, given their language and cultural duality.
So, what kinds of things might come up to change Thip’s and
my average day in our Thai-Lao village? Here’s a short list from my first
month:
- Visits from friends or relatives that take on a life of their own
- Gold Buddhas melt
- Boon Pakwet
- Gam Gnan promotion party
- Supplies run into Nong Bua Lamphu
- Fishing
- Trip to Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary
- Buying a tuk-tuk
- Helping out on the family farms
- Invites for BBQ at family house and farms
… Some explanations to follow…
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