The Flag

---

I have a flag for each country I've lived in. Until today that wasn't so. I bought my Chinese flag in 2009 during the 60th Anniversary of the PRC; the seller looked bored sitting in his magazine stand. I had my dad send me an American one shortly thereafter since it didn't seem right otherwise.

I've been searching for a Thai flag for a while. I haven't seen one for sale anywhere and my Thai teacher suggested I try a bookstore. I hadn't gotten there yet.

With all the protests lately, I've noticed that a lot of the Thais have flags. Obviously, they must be buying them somewhere since they're all the same size and have that stiff newness to them. But with the crowds, I wasn't about to go shoving my way through to find one.

Today I was on my way to the dentist and took the BTS to avoid the crowds I knew would gather. But since I went through an hour later than last week, the crowds had already dispersed. (I've been told protests this week are shorter.) But, as I walked along the BTS's elevated walkway, I noticed that several vendors were still on the streets, each with a red, white, and blue pile of goods. I went down.

It took a few vendors to find one with flags. Many were selling whistles, lanyards, gloves, and other red, white, and blue striped goods. When I finally found the woman selling flags I was thrilled. She held up one flag, and it was bigger than I wanted. (I want one the same size as my other two.) I tried to ask if she had a smaller one, but my Thai isn't very good yet and she looked confused. A Thai person next to me noticed my failed attempts and immediately got his friend to help me. The friend asked what I wanted, and I explained I wanted a Thai flag, but wondered if she had a slightly smaller one. I explained that I live here and that's why I want the flag. She looked thrilled. She immediately explained to the seller what I wanted. The seller looked thrilled. But there were no smaller flags.

I thought for a moment. Then I asked how much the flag was, expecting to get a higher, farang price. I was told 20 Baht, which is a fair, non-farang price. I decided to buy the flag. Both women looked joyous and their faces lit up. I've never seen two people so excited about the sale of a flag.

My Thai flag is a bit larger than my other two. But every time I look at it, I think of those women and their friends, how kindly they treated me, and how they clearly felt when I said I wanted to buy their country's flag.

---

Comments

[Anna]

Nice post!
I really enjoyed reading this - it seeme to give the Thais such pleasure when we embrace their culture.

[sunketing]

Thanks!
I completely agree.