Kira (Thailand): Adobe, Asoke, and other Adventures

I never thought I’d say this, but it’s really good to be back in Khon Kaen. Yesterday morning when I was walking past the classroom, one of the little pre-school-aged kids who hangs out outside ran up to me and hugged me around the knees, shouting “FARANG! FARANG!” He motioned to his two friends, and they ran up and hugged me too. “FARANG! FARANG!” Apparently, they missed us when we were in Bangkok...
Then in the afternoon, some of us returned to the local elementary school where we have been helping build an adobe music building. We stomped in mud, coated the walls with our mixture, and joked around with the workers. I don’t think I can explain how much I love this building process. It’s so sustainable and traditional, and incredibly fun(The first time we built there, the kids were building too, but they’re on summer break now. They have been an integral part of the building process.). When we were stomping in the mud, I led the group in the moose song and Princess Pat (really, would you expect otherwise?) And then the director of the school invited us over for an amazing homemade dinner. It was so good to eat Isaan food outside on a porch under the palm trees again.
As I said, it’s good to be home.
Notable events since last time I posted:
1. The Asoke community: The Asoke are really extreme Buddhists who try to live without any greed at all. They grow their own food, do everything communally, refrain from wearing shoes, and follow the 5 precepts very, very carefully. The community we stayed with for a night consisted mainly of school children (apparently, parents can send their kids there for free) and older women whose husbands aren’t Asoke (Thai marital relationships aren’t usally super-close anyway, so it’s not unusual). The Asoke wake up every morning at 3, have discussion/class from 4-6, work from 6-8, breakfast at 9 (most of the adults only eat one meal a day), work again from 12-2 and 2-4, dinner (for the kids and us) at 5, meeting from 6-8, and sleep after that. We had a really good time there, actually. We got to help out with work (gardening, fertilizer-making), play games (huggy bear, down by the banks, etc) with the kids, and have a “cultural exchange” with everyone in the evening. One part of the cultural exchange consisted of us taking turns playing/singing songs. We sang (with guitar accompaniment) “Sweet Home Alabama” and “On the Radio” (by Regina Spector). It was one of the most unexpected experiences of my life –singing Regina to a crowd of attentive children in blue uniforms, a monk, and some older women in drab, traditional clothing.
The next morning (at 4 am) we had another exchange in which they asked us what religion we were. One other girl and I said we were raised Jewish, and the Asoke woman who had been acting as our host mom (she was an English teacher before she became Asoke) said that she didn’t know much about Judaism, but she had heard that Jews were particularly violent and not very good to their slaves (!). So the other girl went into a brief history of the Jewish people, the holocaust, and the Israel-Palistine issue. When she finished, our host mom asked, “so, is it true that Jews are stingy?” HOW DID THAT STEREOTYPE GET TO THAILAND? It was crazy. I don’t think she meant anything bad by that, though…
After that, we accompanied the monk on an alms round through a city. Picture a monk, about 10 children in blue uniforms, and about five farang, all shoeless, wandering through a city and accepting donations of food. Kind of crazy.
And then, after a whole lot of intense wai-ing, hugging, and even kisses on the cheek, we left. I’d like to go back, though.
2. HIV/AIDS Patients: We spoke with an NGO about HIV/AIDS and then we visited a clinic and people’s homes. It was kind of intense. One thing that struck me is that a lot of the patients didn’t know how they got it, and they didn’t really seem that interested in knowing. One hadn’t even told his ex-wife and wasn’t sure if he ever would (apparently, he didn’t have the courage. Just for the record though, I feel like it’s kind of a necessary thing to do, regardless of courage). Also, we didn’t really connect HIV/AIDS to everything else we have been studying, but it is really connected (I explained this to the group later, if you’re interested in my analysis on the matter, ask).
3. BANGKOK: AHH. I HATE BANGKOK. It was nice to eat international (Indian, Mexican, middle-eastern) food, but that was the only good thing about being in Bangkok. We stayed right near Khaosin road, which is where all the dumb, white tourists like to go play. It was kind of a jarring contrast to what we usually see. Also, we had to go see male and female sex shows. That was a really difficult experience, especially in the context of what we have been studying. But we did get to have a bunch of really good exchanges with NGOs. I am though, as I’ve mentioned numerous times, very, very, very glad to be home.

We’re done with units and now we’re starting final project planning. I’m in a group doing stuff with alternative education in the school we’ve been building with and in another school in a slum. It should be fun . Also, it’s almost sonkran (water festival). We have four days off, and I’m going back to Udon Thani (the land-unit village) with some friends. That should be amazing too. I can’t believe I have only another month on the program…

Miss you guys.