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Published: September 12th 2007
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I took the motocyc out tonight…the cool wind on my sticky skin felt real…its seems as though I have been in hibernation since I left. It’s almost unfair that I have had this experience because I know I will have to pretend it isn’t real one day and return to the limits of my own culture and country….but still having had these experiences make my life real.
I saw the most beautiful image today. Three pairs of brown legs smooshed together on a swing…there is such a closeness here, one that still takes my breath away when I see the warmth in it.
A little one sleeping across a safe lap in the middle of a restaurant, little ones gathered around an adult on the tiled terrace away from the sun, two year old fingers twined in an older sibling’s hair as their motocyc speeds past…
All these images are so alive with the bonds between people. It takes my breath away.
The apartment is set up now, furniture in place and the floors swept properly for the first time. I feel better to have “home” to put the kids to sleep in. It’s so nice
Kai Dum
He is doing sooooo well! to start off with a clean slate and all the rooms empty. Last time I had to share with a good pile of storage items from the orphanage…so I’m happy. Additions to the apartment this time include a mosquito net over their bed, bins for things like TP and cleaners to tidy up the cluttered back porch area, a better mattress for pretty Malie’s beauty sleep…
Malie is exerting her little mind for independence over here….a little too much for my liking, but she certainly is relating to the kids differently. I think she is in that in between stage where the girls her age aren’t really appealing, but the older ones are a bit too much of a jump. Luckily the new children are pretty young and Malie’s mothering is coming out in full force. Speaking of, I met
Tuutnam yesterday night….so amazing. This little one is just three months old! He is such a beautiful little boy. His mother placed him here right after he was born. Rotjana describes in the video that she didn’t want him. The reality is that she couldn’t care for him. His father isn’t around. With Rotjana in hospital for the next
Nan
A sweet little girl, new here. She's been in residence three months. while, Tuutnam is staying with an older woman across from us. He is the sweetest little thing…and no the Thai government will not let me adopt him as a single parent.
The village is growing. There is an abundance of life and dogs now. It seemed so new when I recall it from a mere 8 months ago. I tried for the first few days to keep Miles and Marrin from having anything to do with the animals. It was a hopeless effort. Marrin has named all of Dam’s surviving puppies. Two of which are permanent fixtures at the orphanage and whom receive dishsoap baths every morning after the kids are off to school, and Miles found a squirrel…..yes a Thai squirrel at a nearby Bang Niang market. It lives in a small cage and is fed all sorts of leftover items by its owners as they move their food vending stall from place to place. As you can see from the pictures it seems quite tame. Miles had it held like a baby for a good half hour as he fed it …things. Miles had a good time…he seems to love the creatures…including the live eels he discovered
Squirrel!
Mile's friend...ick. at the market in a large bucket. He petted them…ewwww. I didn’t have the heart to tell him they were destined for someone’s supper. I only hope the squirrel didn’t have the same future waiting for it.
I found another local market. Thet from the ITV village (another survivor housing village down the main road) took us on a motocyc tour of Takua Pa on our way to the market. My friends Britt and Kat came along, so three motocycs made quite the caravan. Most things are where I “left” them…
Miles has found a new friend. She lives across from us. They call her Mother Four…of Maae Cee. I am unsure what it means, but I refer to her as the White Woman. I think she is a nun, or a widow who elected to remain celibate. I recall reading something about this state of living but can’t find any references. She is such a beautiful person. She has the close cropped hair (like mine) and wears all white; trousers and top. She also tends to the villages Spirit House and keeps a small shop out of her home.
Miles discovered her when he went hunting
for snacks….she made him his noodles, cleaned him up afterward and when I peeked out from my chore (tending to Tuutnam…..) she was playing a game of kickball in the streets with him. There are times when she appears so lonely and quiet…just sitting and watching the world. Very silent and stalwart…then (as happened this afternoon) Miles will discover a new thing to show her…a remote control jeep…and the two of them are chasing it and each other around her tiled floors roaring with laughter…there is just something about her…..something special…
I am content to have my cold showers back again….with the need for them as well. I love the fearful cold shock that comes after waiting all day, through the heat and humidity. Though the weather has been fairly tolerable. Maybe around 34 with 60% humidity…
I actually prefer the periods of light cloud to the blazing sun. I can’t fathom how the plants live when the sun is direct…
So, a chat about tattoos. Pik, you’ll remember Mile’s friend from our last visit, shocked me the other day when I noticed a new tattoo peeking out of his shirt. He brushed my “ni aria?” aside
when I noticed it and dropped the subject until later in the evening when he pulled me aside. He proudly showed off his new tattoo, a beautiful Thai warrior. That boy is growing up….Of course the talk of tattoos has spurred a few conversations with Nan, one of the staff at the orphanage and tomorrow, I’ll be heading for a visit to his friend who does traditional Thai tattoo. Very exciting…I’ll keep you posted on that thought…
Marrin and Miles have re-entered the world over here quite well. They are part of the evening “community” chats again. The time after dinner when the kids all sit in their lines on the patio and are called out one by one to comment on or ask a question of. It’s a really warm and happy way to wind down the day before the kids go off to prayers and meditation time before sleep. Marrin was called out and had to sing a song, a Christmas song, and she chose Jingle Bells which most of the kids remembered from our last time here. Marrin sang really well, but Miles sort of hid and shied away from participating. After dinner this evening, Kat, the other volunteer here (she leaves at the end of September) pulled the younger kids together for English lessons. Tonight’s letter lesson was “G”. The little ones have almost no English and many of them are limited in their Thai written language skills as well, so it was quite the experience working with them. Marrin stepped up right away and helped the kids with their lettering; Miles handed out the pages and guarded the stash of stickers which serve as a reward for the complete job.
Anyway, more later….I’m exhausted and have to be up early to go see a man about a traditional Thai tattoo…
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