Vegetation, monks, and other random information

Granted, I am living in a tropical area; maybe because it is so urban I did not anticipate all of the lush greenery. Plants and flowers are everywhere. It doesn't look like people had to expend much energy to make such beautiful landscape, either; it is almost as if the flowers and huge green plants just appear, the way wisteria and kudzu grow in Virginia. The picture of the little pond and falling fountain is the backyard of one of the teachers at my school. She and her husband are currently housesitting for another couple who is away for the year. The house has one of those outdoor kitchens, where the burners and all are on the back patio, next to this verdant landscaping. I think I would be more inclined to cook in such a setting. The other picture of plants and the fountain up against a building is at my school--I get to walk by it everyday!

Another picture taken at school is the one of the miniature temple which is located inside the front gate. I'm not sure exactly what it is called, but it is a place where people make offerings to ensure that the school comes to no harm. People light insence and leave fruit or water for offerings. These mini temples can be see all over Thailand.

So can monks. They are easy to spot because they are usually bald and wear a large orange cloth tied about them, almost in a toga-like fashion. They do not wear shoes and they have religious tattoos on their bodies. Apparently, they wake up very early and go to bed very early. They do not eat after 11am, so they must eat all their food in the morning. They are not allowed to buy or prepare their own food; they must ask for food and accept it from generous people. Many people provide for them because they believe in karma (what goes around, comes around). There is a monk that walks by our bus stop most mornings, a very solemn sight. One of the Thai ladies I work with bows to him with her hands folded together and held up to her forehead when he walks by. Buddism is prevelant everyway; it is not a religion but a way of life.

I tried to take some pictures of my students but was met with much hiding of faces behind books and moving to get out of the camera's path. I thought they were just extremely shy; it was explained to me that because of spiritual beliefs, some people think if you take a picture of them, you take a part of their soul. I will refrain from taking pictures of the locals.

I have spoken with a few expats (people from other countries living in Thailand) and inevitably they ask me about America. These have been people from England, India, Italy. They ask me what is it like to be an American, how do I feel about American politics, the president, Bushisms. I laugh before I give a short answer (you all know me so you can imagine what I said).

The subservience, in women especially, is something I am having a hard time adjusting to. At a luncheon held at Dr. Lalima's and Dr. John's apartment, the lady who cleans and cooks for them was passing around a tray of food. In doing this, she would kneel down next to you as she waited for you to take what you wanted. I went downtown to the Royal Orchid Sheraton for drinks on Friday and in the bar, the beautiful waitress, wearing an off the shoulder silk number, kneeled next to me while she poured my wine. I think my first impulse was to ask her to get up off her knees. What are you doing down there? It's almost embarrassing. I know that it is merely a gesture of respect; your head is not supposed to be higher than anyone you are showing respect too. I would never be able to waitress over here; up down, up down--my knees would just give out after an hour of pouring wine and serving food. Snap-crackle- pop, oops, that was just my knees. Sorry to disturb your meal...


The food has been fabulous. Of course you have to over look the fact that eggs are not refrigerated here. Not even at the grocery store. The food stalls are quick, easy, and cheap. So far I have not been sick. It helps that I do not have a sensitive stomach, unlike some people I know...Eating at first was a challenge in that knives are not an option. At every meal, a spoon and fork are provided. It is considered rude to put the fork to your mouth, so you more or less use the fork along with the spoon to pull your food apart and then push the food with the fork onto the spoon for the quick trip up to the mouth. This was awkward at first, but now it is more or less habit. Some Westerners always use a fork, but I don't want to appear gauche.

Large bills are hard to change here. A 1000 Baht (about $27) cannot usually be changed at a food stall or a taxi. This can be awfully inconvenient. I took a taxi downtown last week and was charged 81 Baht (about $2) and all I had was a 1000 Baht. The taxi driver could not change it and I didn't speak Thai so he didn't understand me when I said to wait while I went into McDonalds to change it (sidenote: they have pineapple pies here instead of apple; yummy!). When I came back out, he was gone. I was afraid he would hunt me down and be very upset with me. However, when I was walking up the drive to my apartment after school a couple days later, there he was. He was just smiling and nodding his head as I smiled back. When I realized who he was I walked over and asked him if he was the one I didn't pay. He smiled, pointed to his car, and said BTS, which is where he had dropped me off. I paid him and felt really silly. Always carry small bills.