Cowboys and Ladyboys

You may be thinking that half of my social life involves street festivals.  Well you are half right.  The other half involves shopping and eating, which are not always photo worthy.  I do have some cool scarves though.  Because it’s hot here.

No really, Thai people are wearing jackets and sweaters right now in the evening when it’s in the 80’s.  At night.  Not low 80’s either.

We went to a “cowboy festival” which involved many leather goods made by Thai’s wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and long hair.  Having been to Texas myself a few times I appreciate their nostalgia for all things Western including Westerns.

After some light “American” shopping we gorged ourselves on various types of meats on sticks and foods we don’t want to know how they are made they were too good. 

When I asked my coworker who eats these bugs she said nervously “I do, when I see them.”  Apparently it’s a snack you just get used to like fruit cake, I’m guessing pregnant women don’t crave them.

Christmas here is going to be weird.  After swimming in the pool, as usual, with the clear blue sky dotted by palm trees, I went to shower in the locker room when I heard Elvis regailing me with some Christmas droning.  It’s going to be painful listening to all the music this season, especially since Thai’s seem to pick some pretty dreary renditions of classics.  The Mall plays acoustic renditions of popular American songs by the likes of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, really sets the mood.

The best part of the evening was a competition on the stage of choreographed teenagers dancing to John Denver’s “Country Road” and then a song of their choice.  I heard the song about 6 times and although their costumes changed the quality of dancing did not.  One of the groups was quite racy, and living in a pretty conservative part of Thailand, I wasn’t used to seeing all those shoulders and knees.  From a distance the performer showing the most skin looked like a tall Asian Barbie Doll but during the interview portion of the show she was revealed to be a ladyboy.  We were then lulled to sleep by a Thai singer, in a cowboy outfit, singing some classic Mexican ballads.  I guess you have to do something with the horn player in your band.

A nice visit to the Flamingo farm.  There were live goats too I guess bringing live flamingo's would have been silly.

Loi Krathong

All over Thailand people celebrated Loi Krathong by floating offerings made of banana leafs and flowers into the water to apologize to the water for any wrongs they had done it in the past year.  There was music, food, shopping and a float/krathong contest.  I'll spare you the several hundred pictures I took of the floats.

Black bean ice cream on a stick in a cup.

People taking pictures with dinosaurs? 

Usually there are lavish floats in the water but this one is floating in a sea of people.

A Krathong competition

Music, food, shopping, classic street fest fair without the beer sponsors.

People making a wish and apologizing to the water for any wrong they had caused it.  There was incense attached to the candles and some people tuck money and hair into their floats, or krathongs.  Men were also in the dirty dirty dirty water up to their mouths rummaging threw the krathongs looking for money.  I guess it's ok if you give an offering and someone takes it moments later.  Don't ask me to explain why.

A refreshing cart of dried squid that get rolled through a press and served with a salsa-like sauce.  My friend could seriously not understand how I could stop eating it after one bite but I claimed to be full.

A ride home in a cozy tuk-tuk, our driver was evacuated from Bangkok and didn't really know the way.  Thailand has no city planning and most streets aren't really on any maps.  I'm told most cities in Thailand use regular taxi's but in Korat the tuk-tuk is standard.  And smelly they must run on diesel and the exhaust must come out of the front.  It does feel safer than a motorbike though and is quite fun.

Eat eat eat eat

The blue skies and crisp night weather is unrelenting here.  It’s surreal to think that Bangkok is under water, a mere bus ride away.  Although my internet is spotty I knew the flooding had gotten worse when moving vans pulled up en mass one day as my entire apartment complex was filled with evacuee’s. Also, water is getting scarce but if things get hairy I think I can live off orange Fanta.  In a bag.

Smart Thai women who I meet have similar educational backgrounds.  It seems the trend is to get an undergrad in “business English” and an MBA.  They mention it off handedly like it’s not big deal leading me to believe that they are raised not to brag and are sharper than their wobbly English lets on.  They also have terrific manners.

As Tiger’s time was coming to an end all her Thai friends very generously took us out to eat eat eat eat. Here are some photo's from a lovely dinner with our female work colleagues. 

Tiger and I splurged on an 1-hour and 45-minute full body scrub, which began in a “sauna” or a cabinet one might put sweaters or a TV in.  Cozy.  Disney anything is very big here as we were shuffled around the spa wearing “Tigger” shower caps and slippers setting the mood, but the woman’s skill in relieving me of any dead skin could not be denied and I no longer have alligator ankles.

As a fancy American I've been very self-conscious about people looking at my toes.  Specifically on the saung tau.  If you have ever heard my rant against sandals you might be surprised I've crossed over to the dark side but it is damn hot here.  My Thai friend took me to a spa in my neighborhood where I paid a woman $1.63 to make my toes look good, without polish.  Why?  Why not.  People are probably looking at the tattoo on my foot anyways.  These are the mundane days of my life.

I have been making frequent trips to the pool.  It's also where retired falang men hang out.  Literally they are hanging out, I don't think you can even buy a Speedo in Thailand.  Rotisserie chickens.  I am usually the only person doing laps but the pool is big enough I think there is room for whatever you want to do in it.  Children just want to splash.  I guess that's a thing you can do in a pool.

On a day trip outside the city we visited some well-preserved excavation sites surrounded by locals going about their daily lives.  I was struck how self-sustaining they were, no Cisco trucks making stops through town, rather their furniture was locally grown bamboo, chickens and rooters running around in lush gardens with hammocks in every yard.  I've also been told everything is organic.  It was a different kind of “rural” than the cornfields and cow pastures of the Midwest or upstate New York and it reminded me that I am indeed in the largest city of the province and the rest of the area is not cement filled.  Now if only they could drink their water...

While stopping by some ruins I was asked to have my picture taken with a Thai couple making an offering to the Buddha.  I guess we were as memorable and unusual a sight as seeing history.  One note I made was no matter where you go in the country, no matter how rich or poor, there is always a splendid structure to honor the Buddha.  It’s a priority and frequently the only buildings left standing of a civilization fallen centuries ago. 

Week the first

Thailand, where the cats are thin and the rats are fat. Not NY fat though.

Falang. I have picked up a few words in the last few days. Let’s call that word “gringo” and I hear it often. Two Falang on the back of a motorbike is probably the most amusing thing people have ever seen in Korat, or so they tell us and it’s probably the beginning of a joke.

Thai is a “tonal” language meaning you can say the word “my” 5 way; one makes something negative, a question, “burn,” “wood,” and “new.” I have picked up none of these and if you remember correctly I speak only in monotone and sarcasm.

Friendly and polite.

Let me just say my experience with the Thai people has been a delight.

I was instructed upon my arrival at the bus station, to just ask any Thai person to use their cell phone to call someone from my school to pick me up. That sounded crazy to me and was even more crazy when it worked, twice.

My first few days off the plane should hopefully be my hardest and I am set on learning as much Thai as I can as soon as I can so the country can unfold around me. There are some English speakers here but this is not a tourist town and I can’t imagine there are more than maybe 2 other Falang women in this city, tops. Maybe. And I’m one.

Tiger Torelli, the lovely teacher I am staying with until she ships back to Oregon this weekend has been showing me the ropes, ordering food for me, and just generally keeping me amused. I should have a new lady teacher arriving next week, so we will have time to complete the joke.

Nakhon Ratchisima, the city I am in is very working class, I have compared it to Milwaukee and that would be a fine comparison. The city is the biggest in the province that is surrounded by farms, so things are quite cheap and metropolitan without the glitz and glam of Bangkok. There are several large shopping centers here, the most popular one being “the Mall” which has a grocery store, a large swimming pool, a kiddie amusement park, a movie theater, a car show, etc. you get the picture. They even have an authentic “iStore” on the gadget floor.

Another spot, the Tesco Lotus is a supermarket, Target and Costco all rolled into one, it kind of feels like home and their dehydrated cuddle fish selection is stellar. I bought some slid-on sandals to wear in the shower for $1.46. Bathrooms in apartments and hotels have a shower without a door or curtain so the whole room gets wet when you shower. Still bigger than my bathroom in Brooklyn.

At one of the Night Markets you can buy all manner of pets including tiny puppies. They have fighting cocks, parakeets, mice, fish, turtles, etc. They also have tons of crap for your house and cheap clothing. There are some knock-off products but I’m told the gold is near the Cambodian border, which I will be visiting for some Converse.

A couple people from the school took us out of town to be tourists on my second day here. First stop, an outdoor mall that was Tuscan themed with outdoor music you would hear in the Italian section of Disney world. Very strange. Second stop, a restaurant that was neatly organized with stuff, ephemera, antiques, etc. from America. This expansive place had great food and a pleasant view to match if you ignore the brown color of the stream. It reminded me of a well-preserved junk shop or just my parent’s garage.

Getting around. We get towork on a “song tau” which is basically a pick up truck with seats in the back. It costs 8 baht, roughly $0.26. It kind of reminds me of the NYC subway system without the map or schedule. Sometime people give me their seats.

I substitute taught my first two classes this week, a 1.25 and a 2.5 hour class with a hectic 10 minute break in between. Thai are very accommodating and helpful as a whole and my students are eager to learn and very respectful. I chose this job because it is an after school/work program so people are paying to be there, or more likely some of their mothers are paying for them to be there.

I have been told that in class, the sillier the better. Thai are willing to throw themselves completely into a game and have fun, no matter how stupid the game. If there is some learning involved as a result, you are doing your job. They love getting points for things, having a time limit to do something, winning, even if the victory is only rewarded through light applause and a smile from teacher.

I will never get tired of eating Thai food. A typical meal costs between $1-$3 when we splurge. I paid $0.81 for a Papaya salad that I watched her make fresh in a mortar and pestel at “the Mall” today.

It’s all delicious and it comes from the land, lots of vegetables. The KFC even has a soft serve bar, although I have yet to try it.

My current apartment is small but a lot more space then I had in NYC. And it’s in Thailand. The view outside my window is of a wall and there is a lovely farm on the other side of said wall. I was told that there was terrible flooding here last October, about 3.5’ worth, so everything is freshly painted and they have really amped up flood protection around their property. I can even flush toilette paper down the toilette in my own house, what a luxury.

There are also a ton of dogs roaming around. I think they are cute and during the day they tend to just sleep in the heat. We turned a corner yesterday and there was a motley cru of 5 dogs sitting there, ears up watching us, all roughly around 35 pounds in a variety of colors. Night is a whole other story in which I am resorted to waving my bags at them, yelling "No," and just generally asserting my dominance. If they ever unionize I'll be in trouble.