who stand out amid the riches of this bejeweled culture.
They decided to take me out for traditional Thai fare. Coconut/red ant
soup, deep fried catfish, raw shrimp and ferns in a screaming yam
dressing, a leafy green that grows in local ponds/swamps with egg and
garlic, shrimp with salty tree seeds in shrimp paste and young
mangosteens for dessert. All delicious and indigenous- the catfish is
a Thai staple but the rest were from southern Thailand or unique to
this province.
Next time, I'll be cooking an American dinner for them. They'd like
spaghetti and chop suey. Mmmm okey....
The problem was that conversation turned to my experience in Thailand,
and as much as I tried to sugarcoat it, they still latched onto the
rocky parts- bike wrecks, sickness, moving here after a broken heart,
not intending to go back. And that's the hard part for a Thai- how
could anyone exist outside of their family? How could I have gone
through so much without going home?
It was the first curse word I actually learned in Thai, aside from
those that I make a point of not hearing students shout-"you have
rotten luck. Bad bad luck. And we have a word for that in Thai. Is
very bad word.". Which sounds like the word for street. Love it.
Sent from Speedy the ipod.
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