Massage, chickens, and coconuts

May 10, 12014 (Here it's the 10th, but in AZ it's still the 9th.)

Thursday was pretty uneventful. I was at the school all day.  I was planning mostly.  That evening I had a belly ache, but by the next morning it was all gone J

The Thai teachers started back this week.  They were here working for 2 or three days.  Yesterday was a Thai holiday so they were off.  Today looks like it’ll be another quiet day.  The construction worker are busy busy working to finish the building next door.  Hopefully they get it done enough my Tuesday because I start teaching Wednesday.  I’m equal parts excited and nervous to start teaching.  I was to do a great job and have fun teaching the kids.  I know that having that to do will help me feel useful and productive and the days not feel too long.  But it feels like new territory too.  I taught English with ILP before, but 1) that was 10 years ago, 2) I taught younger kids (3-4), and 3) I taught all SPEs (Synchronized play episodes—which are all really FUN all the time) before and now I’ll be teaching mainly phonics and reading, sprinkled with SPEs, math, science, vocabulary, and grammar.  I’m worried that for the kids who are the younger group and just transitioning into more focused curriculum and less play-type activities that it will be a little difficult.  But I’ll just do my best, be firm and consistent, and try to make it as fun as I can.  That’s all I can do, right? 

Yesterday it was so quiet all day long and I was itching to get out.  I didn’t want to ride my bike into town because I’m too lazy and it’s so hot that its incredibly uncomfortable.  Plus, I didn’t know what I would do if I went in.  I still have a bit of a fear of getting completely lost, all alone.  I mean it’s one thing to get lost with other people (I have done that plenty of times!) and another to be lost alone.  The inknown language adds to that as well.  So maybe I’ll get over that, or maybe I’ll wait for the volunteers and/or my husband to get here before I explore in depth.  But back to what I was saying: I wanted to get out, but didn’t know what I wanted to do.  Finally I decided it could be really nice to get a massage.  Problem was I didn’t know where to go to get one… So I decided to ask Bin, the guard.  He speaks enough English that I thought he would be able to help me.  I thought he could draw me a map, or write the address for a place in town and I could take a tuk-tuk there and back.  I asked him if he knew where I could get a massage and he asked me to wait a minute and pulled out his phone.  He made a call and when he got off the phone he said his brother’s wife does massages and she could do it!  He said he’s take me when he got off work at 5:00.  He also said he’d drive me to the store while we were out.  I asked if that was going to be too much for him to do that, and he said “No problem!” 

At 5:00 my adventure began.  I hopped in Bin’s car and we headed out.  We communicated the best we could as we drove.  He pointed out the water supply for the town, some farming fields, a temple, and junior high school.  I asked about the burning of the fields and he said they do that to clear the land so they can plant again.  He let me know that his wife is wife #6! He has a son and daughter from his first marriage and they are in their 30s living in Bangkok.  He asked how old I was and declared that I was young.  He told me about working in a factory before he got this job as a guard.  He told me that his parents were in their 80s and died about 3 months ago.  He asked me about my husband and my family.  After an 8-10 minute ride we pulled up to his house.  His house area consists of a little street side shop up front, a driveway, an open covered porch with tables and a fire pit for cooking, a closed in living room, with a bathroom and bedrooms upstairs.  I guess he and his wife live there with his brother, sister-in-law, and their 3 little boys (his nephews). 

He had told me about their coconut tree and wanted to pick one for me.  He pulled out a long stick with a blade on the end.  He cut one off and when it came crashing to the ground his wife scooped it up to prepare for me.  They have a little roadside shop out front that his wife runs.  It has a small table out front and he directed me to have a seat.  His wife got out a large knife-chopper (I’m certain that’s probably the technical name) and cut it open for me. While she was working on the coconut Bin was showing off his chicken.  They were roaming around and he picked one up.  I asked if they had names and he said they were called “guy” (a drawn out u).  I asked if they had any names like Bin or George and he laughed and said no, but I could name them.  We named the rooster Bin #2 and he got the biggest kick out of that!  Once I got the coconut the chickens hopped up on the table.  Apparently they love coconut and wanted to share.  The wife pulled a partially eaten coconut and a tool that shreds the meat.  She shredded coconut meat and the chicken munched it right up!  They had me take a turn feeding then too.  They then asked if I liked mangoes and when I said yes his wife quickly cut two up and handed them to me in a bowl.  I hadn’t eaten dinner so it was actually really great!  While I was eating a couple neighbors stopped by to say hello (and look at me).  One neighbor offered to send some mangoes with me, but Bin quickly told them that they were going to send some home with me!  During this time Bin’s sister in law had arrived and was ready to give me my massage. 

 Bin with his chicken in front of their little shop

My fresh coconut

Bin's wife with the rooster

Feeding the chicken and rooster coconut

Feeding the rooster coconut

You know when you picture how something is going to be and then it's not like that at all…? That’s how my massage was. 

Expectations                                                   vs                              reality

           

On a massage table in an isolated room                 on the living room floor, on a mat covered with a blanket

Private room                                                              in a living room with the door open and people coming in and out      

Quiet with faint music in the background             Children talking, laughing and squealing, and chickens squawking, with the sounds of motorbikes/scooters on the road

Undressed covered with towels                              fully dressed (in a skirt which was not the best choice…)

This is where the massage happened.  Door opened just like that.

The masseuse really knew what she was doing and gave a good massage, it was just in a much different environment than I expected.   She started on my lower legs and feet.  She worked her way up my legs and when she got to my skirt she just moved it up.  She them proceeded to lift my legs and ben, and push and twist them (like I said, skirt was not the most fitting piece of clothing…).  When she got to my upper back and shoulders she aid something to me in Thai followed by an awkward laugh (The kind of laugh that seems to accompany most conversations where neither party understands the other).   I don’t know exactly what she said, but it was probably something along the lines of “My word, you have some really tight, nasty knots up here!” (She mentioned to Bin afterwards that she needed strong hands to work on my shoulders!)  When she finished I was very relaxed and could have easily gone to sleep.  The last few minutes when she was finishing up someone had bathed her 3 little boys (my guess is that they are 2, 3, and 4).  They were running around naked for a few minutes while waiting to get dressed!  Once I was done I went back out the the shop out front where Bin and his wife were waiting.  I needed change so I could pay, so Bin's wife got change for me from someone down the street.  I paid for my massage (it ended up costing about $8.50) and got a picture with everyone.  

Bin and some random visitor in the back row. Bin's wife, me, and the masseuse in the middle and the little boys mixed in.  They little boy right next to me is the cutest!  When I was about to leave he held his pinky up to me.  I didn't know what that was about, but they told me that means "I love you".  He did that a couple times as I was getting ready to leave!

Then Bin took me to the store and back to the school.  At the store I picked up some more hangers, apples, a pair of flip flops, and some laundry soap and fabric softener.  The packaging is really funny to me!  The fabric softener is romance scented!  Thai marketing...

I’ve been able to do a couple loads of laundry this morning and now they’re up on the drying rack.  I’ll probably spend a bit of time working on lessons and finish up laundry.

Language lesson:

Thank you: cop cum kah (if you’re female) cop cum cop (if you’re male).  This is said with your hands pressed together by your chin while bowing slightly.

Pineapple: Zup a rote

Mango: Alloy

Coconut: coconut (I can certainly remember that!)

Two other things:

1    1)   Tanner and I have been in the process of selling our house and it closed today!

2    2)   I LOVE, love LoVE, LovE reading your comments, they seriously brighten my day considerably, so please leave one now and then (or every time!)