Last Week in Chachoengsao

January came quickly and left even quicker. Before I knew it, it was the last week with my family in central Thailand. Those 7 days were packed with funerals, parties, planning, packing, and signing autographs. School went on as usual, with students and teachers saying sweet sentiments like, "I think you" and "you go?" Wanida took me to two funerals in two days. The first was for a distant cousin and was well-attended by members of the family and community. He was a police officer, so many fully-uniformed policemen were walking around. I thought it was just high-security until I saw the altar adorned with a large gun and pictures of the deceased in uniform. The second was for the janitor of the school's father. This one was well-attended, too. The members of the local government even made an appearance. A Thai funeral is a short affair, lasting about a half an hour. It begins by doing the traditional greeting (hand together in front of the face)- known as the wai- to everyone lingering around outside and inside the temple. Family members dressed in white hand out flyers. Kids are running around like it's recess. We go inside and sit in a plactic chair in front of a stage. A man begins speaking through a microphone, then four monks enter the temple. They take their places on the stage in front of their individual microphones. The audience puts hands in the wai position and the monks begin to chant. They stop three or four times during the ceremony for a quick breather, then start up again. The audience puts their hands down during the breaks. The first night I was very interested and watched carefully, only slightly distracted by the colorful towels hanging on the walls. I have yet to find out their purpose. The second night, I drifted in and out of a light sleep (think history class last period). After the monks finish, the man who started the ceremony gives them gifts. Then, family members come around with bowls of soup for everyone. Unidentifiable soups are usually dangerously loaded with meats products Westerners DON'T eat, so I didn't sample. Both nights I was given something small for good luck and to keep bad things away. Night one: a twig from a pomegranate tree. Night two: a tiny red thread. I can now say I have seen two Indian weddings and two Thai funerals.

Wednesday was a bit of a change of pace when we pulled up to a restaurant on the river after school instead of driving home. I knew something was up when one English teacher blatantly said, "tonight there is surprise party for you around 5:00" and another English teacher said, "party you." The latter doesn't actually speak the language she teaches. Turns out, Wanida and the director of the school organized a sunset dinner cruise on a river boat for me! The crowd was about fifteen teachers from the school and some other poeple I had never seen before. Of course there was karoake, so most of the time everyone couldn't figure out why I was laughing so hard. At one point, a teacher with the nickname "Panda" began dancing to a Latin-flavored Thai pop song. I'll let you use your imagination on that one and no, there was no alcohol served. The food was all fresh fish- fried, souped, or stir-fried. It was great fun and I was actually surprised.

Thursday was a mad rush to the mall when I realized I needed to get gifts for some teachers at school who had really helped me out. The whole family (minus Wanida's parents) decided to tag along, which is just as much fun as it sounds, especially with the welcome addition of the 9 year-old niece who hasn't yet learned there are other tones in the voice besides the whine. We finished up around 10 and had to stop for noodles on the way home. Then we drove past a temple festival, which was a must-stop. Temple festivals are a mix of sounds from every food vendor, two big stages, and various motorcyles with stereos in the parking lot. The whole thing slightly resembled a cheap version of Disney World: all the sensory overload with none of the charm. I went to bed late that night, yet still managed to have energy for the festivities of Friday. They had a farewell ceremony for me during assembly, which consisted of singing a song Wanida wrote and various teachers giving short speeches in Thai. After school that day, my loyal following of sixth-graders held a party for me with all my favorite Thai dishes. This explained the repeated question of "what food you like?" during the course of the week. We munched on som tam (spicy papaya salad), yam (lots of seafood with chopped onions in a light, flavorful sauce), and fruit while making basic conversation. It was really cute. Afterwards, there was a birthday party for a teacher at a remote river restuarant forty-five minutes from school. I slept on the way there and the way back. It was a great week, exhausting in a very good way.