Some Earl Impressions
by Peggy
Wheeler
They are burning the rice stubble today and it is
smoky. The weather already muggy from
the humidity takes no pleasure from the extra smoke. We are getting used to our new quarters; the
noises at certain times of day are notable. There must be a wat
(or temple) nearby because we hear chanting in the evening and the first night
there was music drifting across the same field that the smoke now drifts
over. We were told that was a
funeral. It was very clearly traditional
Thai instruments and rhythms. I guess it could have
been taped. I am looking forward to bicycling around the
nearby countryside. We are told we can
see rice in any stage of development.
The people are proud of their Jasime (Yasmeen) rice. They
know it is the best kind.
It is something to take showers without hot
water and find them refreshing. One does
not towel off because in this humidity it is hard to launder and dry
towels. Better to wrap up in a sarong and
let the water evaporate on its own. The
food is extraordinary and the living situation is not to be believed, a
complete modern 2-story Thai apartment house with every need considered and
met.
Our meals are provided by a kind and friendly head cook
whose name is Mrs. Boon Lom. The first day we met “A” who speaks good
English and he interpreted for the cook.
Their concern was that our dietary needs be fulfilled. I wonder who is
paying for this and then I remember Thai food is relatively inexpensive. Keith
mentioned he was on a diet for his heart and they got the “diet” part,
(thinking weight loss) and they are conscious to keep eggs and fried foods to a
minimum. There were issues about
spiciness to which they try to strike a compromise. We tried to tell them we’d like to try a
variety of traditional Thai foods. The
fruits are plentiful and the green vegetables are incredibly succulent and
pretty. Lunch the second day was a gorgeous whole garlic crusted fish that took the whole
plate. They seemed justifiably proud. We will eat in town on week ends.
We’re still trying to figure out how to operate the
natural ventilation of the house and when to use the air conditioner. There are
wooden shutters on all the windows which are strategically opened at
appropriate times to allow the natural breezes to blow through, we just haven’t
figured out the strategy yet.
There
is a resident bird (or some critter) whom I have not seen, but he/she seems to
nest in the pile of sticks at the utility connection just outside our bedroom
window, and his call is every bit that of a goat followed by a repeated “ah-choo” type of sneeze (Keith swears he is saying “perky”). It
calls mainly at dusk, early evening, and at dawn. The house is full of shy little beige gekkos who appear transparent approaching anemic.
The
campus is about a mile from a main road which follows the river. We are out amid the rice and sugar cane
fields. Palm and other tall trees mark
the roads and demark the fields. Water
lilies grow in the drainage canals and bougainvillea among
mimosa add their own special beauty. The campus is surrounded by a white
concrete wall and our house is at the back far edge yet we cannot see over - it
must be some 3 meters high. I think
perhaps the wall also serves as a fire break if a rice field fire gets away, or
maybe it is for security (but we feel safe with or without the wall).
Trying to learn to drive the Honda. It’s a little awkward because of the gas
handle instead of a gas pedal. Driving
on the left side of the road will also take some getting used to.
I still worry about providing good English instruction, but am reminded often that this is less about teaching and more about exposing them to native speakers. It is just that I have expectations of myself that I can construct useful lessons for their needs and levels – I just have no clue what their levels are because no one seems to understand anything I say. There are always songs.
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