The parents meet the parents

After a long and treacherous bus ride through the majestic winding mountains of northern Thailand, which I believed I was going to die on and hope to never take a bus on those roads again, we arrived safely to Chok Amnuay. Welcome home! The house was covered in a layer of dust and we had to climb through the cob webs to see my room but I would proud to welcome my parents to my Thai abode. Finally they were seeing my house not through a tiny web cam and could get a sense of my village life and the place where all the stories I had been telling them took place for the past 7 months.  I too was excited to be home after a month of travel. We had the afternoon to enjoy, mom and dad took naps as I did laundry and cleaned the house. They met Mah Nee, Paw Kit and Nah Tak, Mah and Gamon all of whom were thrilled to meet them and I so proud to show off my Thai family to my American parents and vice versa. We had huge family style meals which we shared many wonderful conversations, I being the translator of course.

4-20-11 Late morning we went to my school to see my classroom and were greeted by some of my teachers and students. I got to have my parents watch me guide my students through speaking some English and I was so proud to see they remembered. The teachers then took us to Paw Kit’s house where we ate a huge lunch. After lunch they brought us to a fruit farm in the village across the highway. The other village has been like a mystery place to me. I kind of new it existed but never had the courage to explore alone as it didn’t look like much when really it is its own little town. The farm was beautiful with so many fruits and we got to taste many of them. I just wish my teachers had invited me on little trips like this before. It was a treat thought to get to explore more of my area with my parents though.  The tour ended with each of us getting our own coconut.

That night Krew Too (the preschool teacher, Krew= teacher in Thai) took us to her house where we spent the afternoon driving all around her village meeting her family. Then her husband made a wonderful huge meal of all fish dishes, oh so very Isan, out of the fish one of the relatives had caught earlier that afternoon. Some were yummy others very bony almost to the point of being inedible. I have never been to this teachers house so it was nice to meet her family and I was glad to be doing it with mom and dad so that I could have someone to visit with while going to all 5 or so houses we went to.

4-21-11 We made our way into Nakhon Phanom and checked into our hotel. Went to the WorldTeach office and met Jes and Heather and Abe Jes’ husband who first came to Thailand while I was traveling. The 6 of us went out and enjoyed a lunch of Soam Dtam (papaya salad) Khao Niao (sticky rice) and gai yaan (grilled chicken). My favorite Thai meal! The rest of the afternoon mom, dad and I explored NKP walking along the river, slowly because it was a bloody hot day. We went to the Indo Chin market and a few other of my favorite locations around town including my favorite little bakery that sells bananas wrapped in creps (I always get them with Phe Toy) and found an awesome new coffee shop. We also made a stop at the night market and gave mom and dad a taste of where the locals do most of their shopping. Later on we met Jes, Abe and Heather again for dinner at a new restaurant we had never been to on the river front. Jes ordered a variety of our favorite Thai dishes.

4-22-11 We took an hour and a half sawn tao (public transportation truck with two benches in the back) ride to Tat Phanom. It is a city just south of here still on the Mekong River and is known to have one of the most beautiful Wats around this area. It also just another fun city to explore with shops. We had time to explore the Wat and do shaky sticks, for lack of a better term. You shake sticks in a cup and the one that falls out first has a number on it. You then go to a wall where sheets of paper are under each number and you draw your fortune. We met an awesome monk who knew lots of English and was happy to greet us and tie strings around our wrists to give us a blessing. The rains then came in and we had to wait under a ladies tent for it to pass. We helped her pull her goods under her tarp to protect them from the rain. After exhausting ourselves from touring the city we made the long fumy truck ride back to NKP. Phe Nok had prepared my favorite Phe Nok dishes: Tofu laab, a yellow curry and a green curry (hopefully I will be able to try to make them when I come home). I was so happy to have my parents eat in her home and get to know her. We had a wonderful evening enjoying relaxing as I do on a typical weekend.

 

4-23-11 We got up and took a walk to the Catholic Church in NKP only blocks from the hotel. It is a beautiful church and it was nice to go out for a walk with mom and dad just as we do back home together. We enjoyed the morning at Phe Nok’s house eating yummy coconut treats made from the 10 coconuts one of my teachers had given us. We left NKP and headed for PA Gai’s house. Once there we got a tour of their new house. They have been working on a huge remodel and it was completed while I was away so I was shocked to see it completed. They then had a huge lunch spread ready for us. I had been wanting to take mom and dad to a Vietnamese restaurant in NKP but we never had time and to my delight Phe Toy had bought the Vietnamese food she know I love so very much. That’s just another reason why I think she is so special, she reads my mind! I would also like to add that earlier in the week Phe Toy had a major thyroid surgery and still prepared the house for us to come. We enjoyed the afternoon hanging out and talking with them before returning to my house. Whew I am impressed that in the few short days we had at my house we managed to see and meet all the people I had wanted show off to my parents.

4-24-11 After racing all around the Nakhon Phanom area the past few days we took Easter Sunday very relaxed. We went to the chapel in my town that I go to when I am home on the weekends. And then the rest of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. My first Easter with no Easter eggs but rather a day to enjoy the sheer company of my parents. A nice way to wind down the tour of my banok home (banok= the Thai word for country folk or hick as many people in this area of Isan are called).