Emmy in the Rice Paddy: Thanksgiving in Bangkok

Thanksgiving weekend in Bangkok was one of the best weekends of my life. As much as I love my rural life where no one speaks English and everyone stares at me like I have 5 heads, it was great to be back in the city where I started my journey in Thailand. Hearing what the other Fulbrights had to say about their experiences thus far- the things we all find hilarious and the challenges we all are having, was very comforting.

Out of our five day trip, the first full day was spent in a panel-like setting, where each Fulbright shared what their living situation was like, their school, their teaching schedule etc. We are all having very different experiences. The next two days were spent volunteering at two different Bangkok Flood Relief Centers. The first flood relief center was at a wat run by monks, and the other was a much more systematic, Western-style center at Chulalongkorn University. It was really interesting to have the experience of volunteering at two very different flood relief centers, as the monks at the wat were very laid back, and Chulalongkorn was very tense and fast-paced. Both sites packed between 20,000 and 40,000 meals everyday- entirely supported by donations. Volunteering begins at 3am everyday, because the trucks carrying the meals need to leave to deliver the food starting at 10am. We didn’t arrive there at 3am, but we arrived at 6am both days and worked until the afternoon. The first day, I was in charge of packing sticky rice- with my bare hands- for 7 hours. I have never eaten sticky rice in the US, but I eat it almost everyday here. Now I know that when it is fresh, it is steaming hot, extremely sticky, and fun to play with. It was a very gooey experience. While packing the rice, I talked with a Thai woman who said that if volunteers didn’t help everyday, flood victims would starve because the government isn’t being responsive.

The next day, at Chulalongkorn University, there was a director yelling into a megaphone every five minutes. I was assigned to rubber-banding bags of already packed rice. The woman rubber-banding next to me was a flood victim herself. She had not been in her home for two months, yet she was here helping at the flood relief center. I also met some people who came to volunteer at 6 or 7am every morning before they had to go to work. A very inspiring way to spend Thanksgiving, if I do say so myself.

On Thursday night, all of the Fulbrights were invited to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (yes!) at one of the US Ambassador’s homes. It was heaven. There was an open bar, pumpkin pie, and lots of really interesting people. I ate dinner outside, overlooking a spectacular view of Bangkok.

I spent my final two days in Bangkok exploring with my friend, Mark, from Cornell, and then, well, partying.

Dinner at one of the US Ambassador's homes

Perk of being a politician: Really cool apartments for entertaining

Bangkok at night

Important people :)

Traditional Thanksgiving dinner, including mashed potatoes. Yes.

Eating dinner on the balcony overlooking Bangkok with both Thai and Laos Fulbright Scholars. A very memorable Thanksgiving!

Red Cross nurses. Their outfits (hats) remind me of Halloween costumes/ American nurse outfits from the 1950s.

Water and supplies for Bangkok flood victims; Chulalongkorn University

Rubber-banding rice. So much rice.

Doesn't matter if you're young or old, everyone helps.

Fulbright catered McDonalds for us?! They know me so well!

I love going to McDonald's in other countries because they usually have slight menu variations: check out the pineapple pie!

Thai and Laos Fulbright Scholars (both ETAs and Researchers)

Oops, another McDonalds pic.

I wish that I was able to take a picture of everything hilarious that I've seen strapped on the back of motorbikes. If you think it can't be transported...it can. Yesterday I saw a man driving on the side of the road with three 15 foot carpets. Don't ask.

Outside Mark's apartment. Enjoying Thailand's "winter" :)

We took a river taxi down the flooded Chao Phraya River. The sunlight was unbelievable for photographs.

Wat Arun basking in the afternoon sunlight

There is a very famous bridge behind me

Fort Sumen

Crazy small world story: I thought that I recognized this man from last week at the Elephant Fair. I have never met him. I stopped him and asked if he was in Surin last week at the elephant fair...and he was!!! We took a photo to remember random coincidences.