Updates from Khemmarat and Update on Theo

Rainy season continues in Isaan but it's not what our friends in America might imagine.  Before the rainy season, there were very few clouds in the sky and the sun shown intensely almost all day every day.  Now there are clouds in the sky almost all the time -- sometimes puffy, white ones, but often dark clouds, even banks of dark clouds.  And periodically a storm will pass over us and very heavy rain will suddenly start and, before long, end.  In fact, as I'm writing this, we're having one of those torrential rain storms but it will likely end shortly.  But we can almost always count on some overcast most days and a break from the sun.  That is a total delight because the sun is intense and hot, but overcast days can be a break from the intense heat and very pleasant.  So we're mostly enjoying rainy season.  Mary did get caught in town in one heavy storm and got into a songthaew to get back home, but the winds were very heavy and the driver's family had some displays set up on the main street in town and he, naturally enough, wanted to take care of them first.  Mary took shelter and eventually got another ride home.

This picture of the Mekong River gives a sense of rainy season:  lots of clouds, rain in the distance, and no bright sun for the moment.

Buddha's Birthday

Buddha's birthday was celebrated in Thailand on Friday, May 24th.  There was a ceremony at the local temple (Wat Pho), a foot race, and, in the evening, a concert.  Wat Pho features a very large Buddha statue.

 

Folks had signed up for the foot race and received t-shirts to wear. There was a procession around the temple grounds led by the monks of the temple, and many of those in the procession were wearing those t-shirts.

 

After circling three times, runners headed to the race start line.  Close readers of this blog may notice Kru Tong (see June 3 post, "Mother Nature is Thriving in Isaan") to the right in the photo below.  George was surprised and delighted to see his friend there.

Runners lined up.

And were off.

The return leg was along the Mekong River, and helpers were passing out drinks for the runners.

Awards were presented by age group.

We were greeted by this group of students from Khemmarat Pittayakom where we teach.  They were in front of the laundry service next door to our apartment.  It is now quite common and fun for us to see many students from the school on our walks around town.

We have an early bedtime so we skipped the concert but enjoyed a  beautiful sunset off our balcony.

The Rice

Here are the fields off our balcony on May 11 before the rice was planted. (The fields are owned by Amara, the wife of Itthipon, the head of the English Department at Khemmarat Pittayakom -- it's a small town!)

And by July 11, the rice has been planted and is growing.

 

 Here are the fields across the street from Latda Mantion (where we live) being planted on June 14.

And on July 1.

The River

The Mekong River rises with the rain.  Here is the pier at the center of town on April 7, before the rain started.

On June 23.

And on July 18.

After very heavy rain the day before, here's the river level on July 22.

After some more heavy rain, here is the level on July 27.

And on July 31, the day we left Khemmarat.

In 1978, the river actually overflowed its banks and flooded some of the buildings in town of Khemmarat.  Here are some photos:

To do that, the river would have to rise by the elevation of these steps and then flow several blocks into town.

It's hard to imagine that -- the river also has lots of shore in Laos on its other side to absorb water.  [Note: we wrote that sentence on July 22.  With the July 31 photo now posted above, it's a little easier to imagine.]

Mary Helping Wachinee with an English Camp held at one of the Primary Schools in Town

English camps are held throughout Thailand to give students an intensive, but fun experience with English.  These students were from 4th to 6th grade classes from many schools throughout the province.

Leading the students in a game designed to teach English vocabulary and pronunciation . . .

Pl

 

Flowers

We've included many flower pictures in earlier posts, but we continue to see new ones (and continue to be struck by some we've seen before), so here's a sample.

Pomegranate

 

Banana: fruit and blossoms

 

After a rain

 

Mary's favorite wildflower garden:

Butterflies (and moths and other insects)

We have not only posted a lot of flower pictures before, but also butterfly pictures.  But we have seen so many new ones lately and some very large ones.  So we want to share them with our readers.

This one was a miniature butterfly!

We often see these red bugs on our river walks.

 

Wichai's Restaurant

As we walk along the Mekong after getting our coffees at the Kan Ang Cafe, we have noticed an old resort on the river that had fallen into disrepair.  One day in early May, we noticed a man working to fix it up.  We stopped to visit.  It was Wichai and he was restoring the "homestay" and restaurant.

We marveled as, nearly every day, we would see him hard at work, usually by himself, working on the roof in the hot sun or inside repairing walls or doing electrical work.  George doesn't think of himself as old but Wichai is just a little younger, and George can't imagine himself doing what we saw Wichai doing.  (Of course, George wouldn't know how to do that work either.)  One day Wichai told us he would be opening the restaurant on June 29th.  It didn't seem possible that he could have the restaurant ready that soon, but we made a date to be there and invited our dear friend Wachinee.

He opened the restaurant that evening with his wife as the chef.  We were there.

The sunset over the Mekong was very beautiful.

We met a lot of his family and had a great Thai feast.

This is Wichai's wife with Mary.

 

This is Wichai's family with his mother on the right.

There's still more restoration work to do and we still see Wichai (now with some helpers) there every morning.

My Facebook Post on June 19

I was reputed to have died yesterday.

I got a phone call last evening from Mr. Itthipon, the head of the English Department at our school, Khemmarat Pittayakom. I answered and didn't understand what he said at first (he seemed very excited), but I did understand that he was saying thank you, thank you. This morning he picked us up to take us to school and told us that a rumor went around town yesterday that I had died. It apparently started at the Khemmarat Market. (I had been there yesterday afternoon, but think I looked in good health.) It turned out that a Thai man 25 years or so my senior (and a former teacher at our school) had died and, when word spread about his death, somehow his name morphed from Jahn to George. Itthipon had called from right outside our apartment after the folks in the management office couldn't tell him what my status was. He was reassured when he heard my voice.

At school this morning, the teachers seemed especially happy to see me, and one teacher who said she had been the first to tell other teachers about the report hugged me. The good side in Thailand about being falsely reported to have died is that it means you will have a good, long life now. Folks were asking me my age and birthdate this morning and planned to use the numbers to buy lottery tickets today. I wish them good luck! Meanwhile you can disregard any further rumors about my demise -- I'm assured I'll be around for many years to come.

I'm very happy about the new prognosis about my longevity since Mary and I have a young grandson whose life we want to share for many years.

A Few Random Pictures

A tuk-tuk with a touch of art:

Clotheslines:

A riverfront house under contruction:

A new shopping mall recently opened in Ubon -- Central Plaza.  We went there in the middle of June and felt like we were back in the US.  There was a show going on that drew a lot of attention, and it includes a large fish tank that children loved.

There is a little market on the river at the end of the street we live on.  We pass it every day.  There is food to eat, and clothes and other assorted items to buy.  

We had dinner on the river recently with a friend from school and passed by the market at night.  

The candle festival is February 22-23 and there are many preparations underway.  We have been checking out the various temples in town tracking those preparations.  We saw this interesting gate at the temple on the north end of town and Mary decided to emulate the figure in the metalwork.

These are some of the "satoops" on the temple grounds.  They hold ashes of deceased Buddhists.

Poultry abound in Khemmarat and Isaan.

There are many, beautiful, old teak homes in Khemmarat.  Here is the second floor of one of them.

This sign caught George's eye because it depicts the rainy season.  We found out the sign is advertising roofing.

There are many petrol pumps around town for quick fill-ups of motorbikes.  Here is one.  The words just above the concrete fence are "Pump Quick."

The People

There are many interesting and beautiful sights around Khemmarat and Isaan, but the most attractive thing about Thailand from our experience is its people.  They are well-known for their friendliness and we have seen it over and over.  Here are a few of the many people who have made us feel at home here.

This is Weem and his sister.  While school was out, they were working in the Market and George often bought melons from them.

This is our good friend Kittisak preparing to grill some food on the river.

This is a lady who makes delicious little crepes at the little market by the river.

George was at his usual afternoon hangout -- the pavilion (sala in Thai) by the river near the center of town -- one day when some folks came in and made a little fuss.  It was some good friends from Baan Nong Tum (Tom's village) -- we were very surprised to see each other in a new place.  It was Pailin, her husband Yot, and their daughter Som.  Even though we had never tried to speak to each other very much because of the language barrier, it was like we were old friends now and actually made some conversational progress.  They were off to Laos (just across the river) for a week of rest before they returned for more work in the rice fields.  (George didn't figure out who the woman on the left was.)

These are some ladies we met on a rainy morning.  They had just been down to the river and caught some fish.

These are some children whom George met at the riverside pavilion -- Bam, Bank, and Subat.  After some initial shyness, they sat with George and engaged in some conversation despite the language barrier.  They accompanied George partway home, as did four young children on bikes who followed Mary home one day - all the way to the door of our apartment, where Mary invited them in and gave them copies of some of her English handouts.

Our favorite restaurant in Khemmarat is the Resort of Flowers on the river.  Owner/chef Deng always makes us wonderful meals.  This is a picture of Deng's daughter, Ahbed, and grandchild, Kuken.

Occasionally on weekends, as we do our riverwalk, we have the pleasure of encountering Non, who has a beautiful home on the river.

We frequently see these ladies folding banana leaves as we walk by

and members of this family sitting on the platform under their house with babies and children.

Our daily pleasure is to see Moo and get our coffee drinks.  This day she was visited by her neighbor Tukta and Tukta's son, Nong Pum.  

How do we feel about the people of Khemmarat?  Mary wrote this in her journal recently:

WHAT I’LL MISS THE MOST ABOUT KHEMMARAT (July 1, 2013)

This is our last month here, which brings me to thoughts of what I’ll miss most about living in Khemmarat.  Think of it this way: What if, as you were going about your day, every single person that you saw looked overjoyed to see you, said “hello” with a bow and smiled the biggest smile you’ve ever seen?  That’s what I’ll miss.  As we walk around town, residents call out to us from the platforms where they’re sitting under their houses, from cars and trucks passing by, from vendors along the roadside, or from tables at the restaurants along the Mekong River.  Their greetings go instantly to my heart and fill me with joy.  How can you help but feel good with such enthusiastic greetings?  Day after day, Week after week.  Month after month.  That is what I’ll miss most about living here.

Our friend Wachinee translated it so that our Thai friends will know how we feel about them:

สิ่งที่ฉันคิดถึงมากที่สุดเกี่ยวกับเขมราฐ (1 กรกฎาคม 2556)

นี้คือเดือนสุดท้ายแล้วสำหรับเราที่นี้ ซึ่งทำให้ฉันคิดว่า อะไรคือสิ่งที่ฉันจะคิดถึงมากที่สุดกับการอาศัยอยู่ที่นี้ เมื่อคิดถึงมันแล้ว ฉันก็คิดว่า ในขณะที่คุณกำลังเดินไปเหมือนปกติของทุกวัน ทุกๆคนที่คุณเห็นเขาดูเหมือนว่าดีใจเหลือเกินที่ได้เห็นคุณและเขาจะพูดสวัสดีและโค้งคำนับและก็ยิ้มให้ ยิ้มกว้างๆอย่างจริงใจคุณเคยเห็นไหม นั้นคือสิ่งที่ฉันจะคิดถึง เหมือนกับที่เราเดินไปรอบๆชุมชน ผู้คนที่อาศัยอยู่ในบ้านจะตะโกนเรียกทักทายจากนอกชานที่พวกเขานั่งอยู่ เสียงตะโกนทักทายเราจากรถยนต์หรือรถบรรทุกที่ขับผ่านเราไป เสียงทักทายจากคนขายของสองข้างทางหรือจากโต๊ะอาหารตามร้านอาหารต่างๆตามริมแม่น้ำโขง การทักทายของพวกเขา เป็นสิ่งที่โดนใจฉันมากและทำให้ฉันรู้สึกสุขใจ คุณจะช่วยยังไงหรอกับความรู้สึกดีกับการทักทายที่กระตือรื้อร้นแบบนั้นม วันแล้ววันเล่า, สัปดาห์แล้วสัปดาห์เล่า, เดือนแล้วเดือนเล่า, นั้นคือสิ่งที่ฉันจะต้องคิดถึงมากที่สุดกับการอาศัยอยู่ที่นี้ 

  

Update on Theo

It's been quite awhile since we have posted any new pictures of Theo so here are a few.  We arrive in Los Angeles on August 3rd to spend a couple months with Theo while Riley and Joel go back to their school jobs.  We are very much looking forward to it.

Visiting friends in Topanga Canyon in March

 

On the soccer field in May

With Papa in June

With Mommy

 

Trying on Mommy's shoes

 

Babysitting

Stacking blocks

See you soon, Theo!