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Published: September 28th 2007
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I gave Marrin my camera today to see what she could see. I am amazed at her photo shoot of the market this afternoon, evening. She had no direction from me except to take lots of pictures. They are beautiful!
The Wednesday market or “Dallard Wanput” is the largest of the three weekday market. The others being Dallard Wan Jan (Monday market) and Dallard Wan Sow (Friday market). With tons of clothes shopping and the pet vendors, D. Wanput is much more interesting that the plastic-things-market, and the all-uncooked-food-market, each with a few of the clothing, stuff, household goods stalls thrown in for good measure.
Obviously the pet market is the most fun for Miles, who has, up to now, made friends with every puppy, frog, cricket, and lizard he can catch. The good news is the caged birds and turtles are usually watched over pretty closely by the vendors.
We strolled for a few hours during a thankful break in the downpours that are occurring everyday. We saw some pretty neat things including a dog that rolled its way across the path, turtles for sale, all kinds of goodies to eat and a few pretty neat characters
that made it all worth the heat.
My favorite part was jeans shopping. They are gorgeous and cost 3 bucks CDN. That makes the deal even sweeter! Marrin had a blast taking photos of every Hello Kitty themed item she could find, but took some great people shots as well. Because she is little and cute AND respectful in asking “tai roop mai?” each time she wants to take a photo, people here love her and are more than willing to let her snap pics.
Miles is happy as always to flit from stall to stall seeking out entertainment and food and generally running into or tripping over every tent peg, tie-down rope or person that he blunders into.
People still go out of their way to reach out and touch his hair at every opportunity. He is much more used to it now, but I wish he would respond more respectfully. Now and then he’ll wai with prompting or say “sawadee cup”, but usually, he just ignores them. Sigh….
Miles has been a real challenge this time. Both kids have actually. Miles is more mouthy than last time and I think it’s from a combination
of NOT being terrified of everything as this is all familiar now and being spoiled rotten by every staff member here….
Marrin is acting as though she is 13 already, is mouthy, snotty, and driving me to my wits end. I think the start of Karate is going to be a big help for Miles. I have also decided to hire a woman to teach Marrin traditional dance here. She needs something to focus on that is just her own.
I love that the water in this country is brown after it rains and the village will arbitrarily turn it off if they see fit.
I love that the rain is heavier than a hail storm in Canada and that the roof is metal so it sounds like you are in a drum.
I love that the language has no tense changes and the use of a pronoun is almost obsolete in everyday conversation…..
I love that the lizards find my bedroom ceiling attractive but seem to dislike the kitchen?
I love that the country runs on water….”dry” is almost a foreign concept.
I love that at night it’s almost at loud as
the daytime, but the sounds are all organic.
I love the food. It’s pure fresh and real.
I love that anything in a package will be a near cousin to a twinkie…even if its fish flavoured.
I love that people smile when they are nervous, sad, happy, excited and tired. It reminds you to be thankful for the people you have around you.
I love that people revere the spirits and when man is done with a structure, the jungle reclaims it.
I love my motocyc….it makes me feel alive and the people appreciate that I try.
I love that its so hard to concentrate here because you are so busy experiencing new smells, tastes, sounds and sights.
I love that the kids have “adopted relatives here”, Naa Bai especially.
I love that being silly here is a good thing. That sanuk is a concept widely expected and being sad is rarely left to fester before someone tickles you are poked you into smiling again.
We are planning to create a bit of a flower garden on our front porch. When the children finish their school work this morning we are
heading out to the landscape/garden shop to see how to do this. I have no idea how to plant anything here besides seeds for veggies. We would really like to hang a few orchids in coconut shells off the balcony and spruce it up a bit before the nicer weather comes and we spend our evenings outdoors.
Marrin also wants a pet fish. They have many plant aerated fish ponds here. Many door stoops and shop fronts have numerous clay fishbowls.
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Okaaaay, we checked out the plant shop. Ummm…I am totally confused! There are more kinds of plants and such here…sheesh. They sure are pretty, but I think it will take someone to volunteer their time to explain things to me before I go ahead with this garden idea.
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Grandma D
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Hey beautiful pictures. Beautiful grandchildren. I love Mailie's pick of shoes. I would like some please. Size 7 Canadian or a little bigger than your mom's. I like your friend Nun, she's very pretty too. Glad you're having fun. Love Grandma D and Mom