Pee Me

It’s an odd feeling being in Thailand because time simultaneously seems to pass very quickly and very slowly. In a sense, I can’t believe that I have been here for 2 weeks, but at the same time, I feel that I have been here for much longer because of all of the things that I have already done in such a short period of time.

On August 31st, our entire group went on a tour of the city. Khon Kaen has a great downtown area that is filled with lots of markets, malls, and beautiful parks. During the tour, we visited a shrine, and we had our fortunes told. My fortune said that I shouldn’t try to be smart like those around me, that I need to study hard, and that I am very healthy. Not a great fortune, but not a terrible one either. Some of my friends got ones that said that they had to repent for their wrong-doings in their past lives.

Afterwards, I went to Nongchai, which is 20 minutes outside of Khon Kaen. At Nongchai, I met my two sisters: Bee, 17 years old, and Boom Beem, 12 years old. They are two of the sweetest girls that I have ever met!  Boom Beem is very caring, and always willing to help (with my Thai, with the dishes, with doing chores, etc), while Bee is much quieter, but just as polite and kindhearted. I learned a lot of vocabulary from them. For instance, bird is not, and bear is me, so Pee Bear is Pee Me! They love to laugh, and made sure that everything was always taken care of for me, which was unnecessary, but very nice of them.

They live with their grandmother in a house that has three rooms (2 bedroom and a living room). Their kitchen was outside, and we ate every meal on a mat on the dirt, which was nice…I loved eating while the stars were clearly visible in the night sky right above my head. For dinner, they bought me pad thai because I had told them that I thought it was “alloy ma” (very delicious). Again, the generosity that was shown to me was overwhelming. That night, we watched Thai soap operas (they had 2 televisions!). The soap operas are similar to the ones shown in the U.S., but the most interesting thing that I noticed was that the main actresses on the shows looked white. Their skin was white, which is in direct contrast to Thai people who are much darker than me, and many of them had gotten eye surgery to make their eyes look “white.”

On September 1st, Boom Beem took me to school with her, and we participated in their flag ceremony and their daily exercises. The exercises consisted of massaging one’s ears, lips, hands, etc., which was all very amusing to us Americans. Then, we got into a van and were taken to Nonwaeng, a different suburb, and we played soccer with the kids there, which was really fun. The kids here are all wonderful. Despite their poor socioeconomic statuses, they are happy, lively, and all smiles for the “foreigners.” That night, I returned to Nongchai, where there was a welcoming party for the U.S. students who were staying in that community. Boom Beem performed in a traditional Isaan dance, and she looked beautiful all dressed up! Then, the students there all received white strings that were tied to our wrists as a sign of good luck and hospitality. The experience of having 15 people tying string to your wrist to welcome you into their lives is something that I will never forget.  

On September 2nd, I returned to Nongwaeng, where we sat-in on a class of 9 year olds who were taught through an alternative teaching method…The group process. We were partnered with the kids during school activities and had snack time with them. After sitting in on the class, I returned to my home stay. Boom Beem, my friend, Hillary, her little sister, and I went to watch an aerobics class, which was fun. The aerobics classes are the same as in the U.S., except they do not use steps in Thailand. I became nervous for a little bit because a man came walking down the streets, and the girls pulled us away from the road so that he couldn’t see us as well. Then, they looked up and down the street before leading us home. Later, we found out that he was the town drunk. While I was on edge, I was also comforted by the fact that Boom Beem and Hillary’s sister were so concerned about us, and they did a very good job of making sure we were safe.

On September 3rd, I went to Mahasarakham, about an hour away from Khon Kaen, to have an exchange with Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP +). It was a very interesting exchange, and I found out a lot of interesting information. Luckily, the National Health Security Office in Thailand provides free healthcare, so people living with HIV/AIDS don’t need to pay for their medical bills/medications (ARVs). TNP + works with 3,000 patients from the entire district, and helps with both the mental and physical obstacles that the patients must face. There is still a lot of stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in Thailand, and one woman (a volunteer who is also HIV positive) said that she once brought home a puppy, and her neighbors poisoned her dog because they were afraid that the dog would bite them and then pass on the infection. This was the most shocking of everything that we had heard that day, at least for me, because I never imagined that people would go to such lengths to “protect themselves.” The sad thing is that many people are uninformed about the infection, and think that impure/sinful people contract it.

As a follow-up to the exchange, I visited a 5 year-old boy who got the infection from his now- deceased mother. He began taking the ARVs when he was 3 months old, and became blind when he was 4 months old, which is a side effect of the infection. He is a sever case because he is also ADHD, and has problems controlling his body movements. He loves to sing, but he does not have any friends his own age because he is very aggressive and gets into fights with other kids. Surprisingly, his aunt, his caretaker, said that he gets sick just like any other kid, but that he doesn’t get sick due to the drugs or having HIV. One of the saddest things that I found about the situation was that he will never be able to go to school because he needs an adult with him all the time, and he is not physically capable of meeting the demands presented by attending school. Also noteworthy is the fact that he does not know that he is sick.

Many of those who had HIV/AIDS and who spoke with us, told us that they never told their children that they were sick. The children realized what was happening to their parent(s) because of all of the hospital visits, and the information that was spread to them through the community gossip. Although one must be courageous to speak about such an issue with their child, it is important for their children to be well educated, and to realize how the infection impacts lives. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I feel very lucky to have been able to speak with such brave, open, and strong people who are trying their best to fight for such a worthy/underrated cause.

On September 4^th, I left Nongchai to return to Khon Kaen University (KKU). Bee dropped Boom Beem and me off at school, and then Boom Beem handed me a rose during the farewell ceremony. I had a wonderful time at my home stay. Boom Beem and Bee were both very funny, nice, and more than patient with my attempts to stutter out some semblance of a sentence in Thai. However, I was excited to return to KKU because I wanted to be settled in one place. I almost lost it though when Boom Beem began to bawl into my shirt right before I stepped into the van that took me to KKU. I plan on writing to them (in Thai…With the help of my handy dictionary), and I may even try to visit them during a personal day/break…They really aren’t that far away.

At 9 AM, I had my first Thai quiz. I don’t think it went too well, but I also think that it could have gone worse, so we shall see. After Thai class, we all went in Song Taows (open-air “buses”) to the jungle temple. The jungle temple is a temple nestled amongst many trees, and hidden far from the road. It was extremely beautiful and peaceful…A place that I have only seen in National Geographic. We met a Ajaan (teacher) there, and he guided us through a 20 minute meditation, which made me the most relaxed that I have ever been since arriving in Thailand. Then, we participated in an orientation activity. It was the best atmosphere to be in after having a whirlwind 2 weeks.

When we returned to KKU, I went to dinner with some friends at the night market on campus, and we then went to an adorable café that serves ice cream. 4 of my friends decided to try the “Wall of Magic,” which is a dessert that has 9 scoops of ice cream. 3 of my friends were able to finish their desserts…Quite a feat!

Thus far, I love the program, and am so grateful for all of the amazing opportunities that I have already had. It makes me truly appreciate everything that I have in America, and I’ve begun to notice that people are amazing beings who have the capacity to possess never-ending supplies of love and courage. The only thing that does make me anxious is the fact that the program is so demanding. It’s nearly every day for at least 10 hours per day with the same people day in and day out. It’s clear that the group is becoming slightly frazzled/burnt out, so this next personal day (Sunday) is going to be wonderful! Luckily, I get along with everybody…They all seem to understand my strange sense of humor/sarcasm, haha! I miss all of you terribly, and wish all of you fun dee (sweet dreams)!