ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK MAKES A HARD MAN HUMBLE

*Volunthai is the organization that I volunteer for. It is a very small local organization that has a small network of schools in the North Eastern provinces of Thailand that they wish to help. It was started by an American who travelled to Southeast Asia upon graduation from College. He stumbled onto this part of Thailand, and fell in love with the area. He has lived here ever since. He started Volunthai to help other travellers have a similar experience by teaching English. It's a home stay program. I live with a Thai family and they feed me 3 meals a day. My part of the agreement is that I teach at the school M-F. Michael (the founder) and his wife Ae now live in Washington DC. He is working on a masters degree at Johns Hopkins University. His wife, Ae's family looks after the program while they are in the United States.


I ended up having to stay in Bangkok longer than I had anticipated. I left Bangkok on Monday. My instructions were to go to the Mo Chit bus station in Bangkok. From there I was to take the bus to Chaiyaphum in the Isaan province. Someone was to meet me at the bus station in Chaiyaphum. I didn't know their name, gender, birthmark, or anything about them. I was just told someone would pick me up. There was me, and one other man who was Caucasian on the bus. He was from England and is visiting his wife's family in the area. Fortunately for me, he knew the area well. There are very few "farang" (foreigners) who travel to this part of Thailand so very little writing is in English. Luckily he was sitting in front of me, and informed me of when I should get off. This man seemed concerned with what my plans were. Mainly the fact that they were so vague. I suppose I was a little nervous myself.

I came down the steps of the bus and the bus attendant was smiling and pointing to a couple. As soon as the couple saw my face they said smiling, "Are you Lisa?" I was immediately relieved and felt a sense of security. They introduced themselves as the Mae and Pa Pientong. Ae's Mother and Father. It is disrespectful to call elders by their first name in Thailand. I don't actually know their first names.

They helped me with my bags, and as we were driving away Mae asked me if I was vegetarian. I told her yes, and she asked if I would like to join her to the market. I wish I had my camera with me. This was such a cool experience. We walked through the market and she introduced me to traditional Thai fruits and vegetables. We picked a little of everything so that I could have a taste. I tried things that by the appearance of them I would never dare taste. One fruit looks like a Sea Urchin. After the market Pa drove us down the street to a little restaurant. The only thing that was in English read "100% Vegetarian." This is where we got the main courses for our dinner later. They refused to let me pay for anything.

I stayed at their home for the night. They live in a very nice Thai home that is behind a gate. The guest bedroom I slept in was the only room with AC in the house. Mae is a teacher, and Pa is a retired Veterinarian. Something I found interesting was that he is a retired Veterinarian, but he has 5 chicken's he raises for Cock Fighting. Anyway, they have 3 daughter's and 1 surprise son. Ae-32, Oh-30, Oom-27, and Parin-10. He's your typical hyper active 10 year old boy.

Oom took me to buy my bus ticket to Si Saket for the morning. She then took me over to the local town center where there is an outside market. Once again, why didn't I have my camera? I think the coolest thing that I have seen since being in Thailand was 200 or so Thai men and women doing aerobics outside to Thai techno music. It was awesome! I'm not sure why I found this so amusing. Oom introduced me to her friends. We hung out for a bit and talked about school, boys, work, and our families. Just as I would with my own girlfriends. I couldn't have felt more at home.

We got home and I was fed the most awesome Thai meal. During dinner the family gave me a quick but efficient Thai culture and language lesson. I went to bed shortly after because my bus was leaving Chaiyaphum at 4:00 am the next morning.

They took me to the bus station and waited with me in the pouring rain until the bus arrived. I'm so grateful for the hospitality Ae's family showed me. I only spent 1 evening with them, and they were so kind to me. I was sad to say goodbye. I hate to think that this was the last time that I would ever spend an evening with them.