We drove from the city to the country, and slowly the buildings and traffic turned into the most BEAUTIFUL rice paddies. Nicki mentioned to me, "You get to see this everyday?!" It was wonderful having her here because she is so positive and continuously reminded me of just how lucky I am. Once at school, we watched (and tried to sing along) with the Thai National Anthem. Then we watched the whole school do Brain Gym (physical yoga-like exercises that "wake up" your brain) followed by floor arts and crafts. I loved that Nicki did Brain Gym right alongside the students. However, she had never heard of it before, which I found amusing because Nicki is from California! (Californians would be ALL about Brain Gym :)) We walked around the school, seeing the different groups of students, as well as the really teeny kindergarteners. For my first time, too, we went to some of the upstairs young-student classrooms! We also had some visitors at school, that randomly took pictures with us/ pictures of the two of us doing nothing. That doesn't really happen in Bangkok because there are so many farang in Bangkok that we're not an anomaly. Way out here in the farmland of Ubon Ratchathani, it's a whole different animal!
This Friday, I only taught 3 classes back to back in the morning. (Which again, was a whirlwind, but also great because it meant that we had the afternoon to explore and sightsee!) Nicki and I co-taught 3 very relaxed classes: 9th, 6th, and 5th grade. In every class, Nicki spoke to the class about herself, and I would sometimes ask her questions too. Then we asked the students questions in English about what they had heard. It was great practice for the students listening-wise, and great exposure to another American, overall! We also had enough time for students to introduce themselves (great speaking practice!) and we had all students say what their favorite food or animal was; Nicki is a natural teacher, as she intuitively started a tally on the board. Nicki also did a great job of showing students where California and Illinois were on my big map. Students were shocked that it was a 4 hour plane ride to/ from Chicago! In our extra time, I taught 5th and 6th grade the American classic game, "Heads Up 7 Up." They loved it. When our teaching was done, we headed to see the school farm for a little bit. We were mesmerized by the pigs, and how silly they were. Our school director, Mr. Ken, threw some vines into the pen and the pigs voraciously ate them...it was very funny. Nicki and I commented on how this was the way pigs were supposed to live- in a pen where they could move around, lay in the mud, and have fresh air. (Not the way it is in America...) We also checked out the damp and shady mushroom house, ducks happily swimming under a huge electrical tower (so funny) and hundreds of caged chickens in a chicken house (this makes me not even want to eat eggs- because the chickens who lay the eggs do not "live." Still, we commented that we know it is much worse in America). Finally, we checked out the wooden stilt homes and the charming Thai-style farm house before P'Nuan dropped us off in Warin to take the songtaew (covered pick-up truck with built in benches) back to Ubon.
Ever since I found out that Nicki would be visiting (!) I had been planning a "songtaew route" for places to show her after school that would not require a motorcycle or car. Our first stop was this magical little garden-bakery. The decorations inside were very rustic, with lots of antiques- ranging from Coca Cola bottles to lanterns to Buddha figures. The best part about the bakeshop (called "Steak & Bakery") is the sprawling, hidden-gem, Avatar-style, slightly overgrown garden in the back. I can't really describe how magical it is, but we took lots of pictures so you can get a sense of how hidden and peaceful it is. We spent a good few hours there- Nicki drinking tea while I ordered a blueberry smoothie (with a DELICIOUS parsley garnish...who knew?!) and a slice of lemon meringue pie. As we were getting ready to leave, we met and chatted with a group of dentists who were in Ubon for a meeting from Khon Kaen. They started talking with Nicki at the bathroom, and all of us hit it off. We traded emails and whatnot, and they told us that if we ever visit Khon Kaen, that they will show us around. One of the most wonderful things about Thailand, in my opinion, is this extremely open friendliness, happiness, and generosity. This would rarely happen in America, and I will miss meetings/ conversations like this so much!
Back on the songtaew, Nicki and I first got off at this magnificently intricate white wat. (I have taken every visitor of mine here, so it's pretty special to me). Before checking out the wat, we walked down to the Mun River and bought a loaf of bread to feed the fish. We had as much fun feeding the aggressive pigeons as we did the monster fish. I took the BEST picture of Nicki feeding this feisty pigeon that landed on her arm ;) When we were over the pigeons and walked back up to the wat, the doors to the wat were closed! We asked a monk if we could peek in and he told us that we could. We were the only ones there, the weather was cool and ominous, and the whole mood of the afternoon was really special. We took lots of artsy pics before heading to catch the songtaew again to visit another one of my favorite wats. Some truck drivers smiled and waved at us (I'm sure we looked pretty out of place) but Nicki and I commented that their smiles were so genuine and harmless. Ubon is such a happy, genuine place. (Also, on the walk back from this wat, we went out of our way to say "Hello!" or "Good afternoon!" to every school child we saw. At first they would look around, thinking that we were talking to someone else. Then they would grin and say it back to us. It was adorable). Nicki also took some pictures of the Old City (where we were), because her Dad was stationed in Ubon in the military in 1972. It's a small, crazy world.
The second wat was SO different than the first, and absolutely spectacular. I should add, that when getting off of the songtaew, the driver told me that we weren't yet at the street I had asked if he was going to pass (so unbelievably kind!) Many Thais look out for each other here, and it felt so refreshing that he went out of his way to make sure that we knew where we were (or weren't!) There were larger-than life giant gold and white Buddhas, along with tons of other gold statues throughout the wat. There were wind chimes at this wat, and we commented that the sounds at this wat were half of the experience. It was so magical you felt like you had to whisper :) We also noticed that there was a third "squiggly" language found in this wat, in addition to Thai. Also, many of the figures had gold painted bindis (small dots) on the middle of their foreheads, which you don't normally see in strictly Thai Buddhist wats. We concluded that this wat has some sort of overlap between Buddhism and Hindi. I would love to learn more about this!
We rode to the songtaew one final time, making it home just in time for P'Nuan to pick us up for dinner. On the walk to my apartment, we quickly stopped by my Thai families home, and took a few pictures with them. At my apartment, hanging on my doorknob were some baked breads and goodies from Mahh Lahng (so so sweet). P'Nuan picked took us to a fabulous Vietnamese food restaurant (my favorite kind of food) called "Golfer House," where she ordered us an absolute feast. We ate spring rolls, build-your-own spring rolls, omelette with chili sauce, kanom cracker with a veggie salad cooked in it (so good!) and the most amazing Vietnamese soup (a red broth bowl of mushroom and veggies was brought out with a dish of greens and sprouts; you put a handful of the greens in your bowl and then served the soup over the greens. So much fun, and so healthy!) Nicki said that it was one of the best meals she'd ever had. We were only getting started ;)
The drive to school and the rice paddies surrounding my school.
(I am an ocean/ water girl, but in its own way, this is just as beautiful)
I can't believe I get to see this everyday!
I love this picture! Teacher Nicki!! (Talking with Umim :))
Kruu Emily using a poster given to me by the US
State Dept. to play a vocab game with 6th grade. The
poster happens to be of Amish Pennsylvania haha.
5th grade. The boy in the purple shirt smiling faintly
is so bright. I love teaching this class.
Me :)
Showing students some of the beaded animal keychains
that Nicki bought, and asking them what animal it is,
what colors it is, etc. (I really look like a teacher here ha!)
These two sweet girls brought me homemade lemonade,
and then wanted their picture taken together :)
Me, P'Nuan, Nicki
(Do you see her tallied list of animals on the whiteboard?)
Nicki and a forrest pig!
Feeding the pig some grass
Momma pig and baby pig (so much bigger than last time!)
Snarfing down some green vines. So cute and funny.
The silly ducks happily swimming underneath the electric tower.
The chicken house
Me, Nicki, and Mr. Ken
Me and P'Nuan...look at that sky against the rice paddy!
Nicki and I
Nicki and I at the farm house
Nicki and P'Nuan
The beautiful drive I make home from school every afternoon.
How white and puffy and beautiful the clouds are!
Nicki drinking tea at the bakeshop!
With our drinks, respectively :)
Lemon meringue pie + blueberry smoothie
Blueberry smoothie + little kitten!
The "indoor" room of the bakeshop.
(These next few pics are all of this special bakery)
The outside seating area of the bakery
Bakery decorations
Chilling with my buds
I just love the wooden door frames outside
Inside seating area.
(On the chest in back there is a collection of Buddhas)
A waitress cleaning up.
I spy hanging plants and vines!
Nicki (left) with our friendly new Khon Kaen friends!
Old City, Ubon Ratchathani
A cute little pink truck that matches the "lee la wa dee"
flower in my hair!
Feeding the pigeons on the Mun River
It looked like it was about to rain, but didn't!
Great photo taking skills, Nicki!
Feeding 2 pigeons at once!
A pigeon landed on Nicki's arm!
Love this! The wat juxtaposed with the gray sky is so cool!
The beautiful ceiling inside of the wat
Artsy pic!
I have a thing for trees. Look at how the roots
of this tree squarely grew around the block of cement!
Very low bus stop seats
This little boy saw us and came running to yell "I am fine
thank you!" He must not have been more than 3 years old.
He was such a happy child, and so excited to see us.
This woman, whether she is his mother or grandmother,
or aunt (or whoever!) loved him so much.
This older woman sat with her dog, often stroking him.
The fountain in downtown Ubon, right as you cross the bridge from Warin.
The second wat we went to- probably my favorite wat in Ubon.
Larger than life Buddha
Look at how gold and intricate!
Can you find me?
The building of a Buddha
Nicki and I peeked upstairs, and saw this. Magical.
We were the only ones there. The ambiance was pretty surreal!
A monk sweeps around the wat
I love this image. Someone placed a fork in
the bowl to make it "easier" for this statue to eat.
I love this because I know that whoever placed the
fork there really believes this- not mocking or a joke.
(Very sweet!)
Hanuman and Emily!
This woman had brought lotus flowers and removed
her shoes. She was paying respect to someone.
A statue that I liked within the wat.
Me with the statue I like :)
This picture turned out dark on my camera but
I just brightened it. (Now it looks vintagey haha).
Yet another great Buddha.
Even though this picture is blurry, I love it because
P'Jang is smiling so sincerely with her baby :)
My Thai family who I love so much :-)
Vietnamese food!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment