It's a Wild World

Just finished playing basketball with some of my kids and I'm about to head home and bask in a little slice of heaven I call the cold shower (today was ridiculously hot and humid!) but just wanted to share some amusing bits from the afternoon.

So I'm dribbling the basketball around waiting for school to finish when I see a bunch of my students screaming and running away from one of the teachers. So I head over to see what the commotion is about and there, wrapped around the teacher's shoulders, is this huge snake! So of course everyone is excited to see how the foreigner reacts to the creature (the kids make it a point to show me every insect they get their hands on whether it be deepfried--yup they eat bugs over here--or still alive). The teacher comes close enough for me to see that the snake is at least 6 feet long and not very friendly looking. I, of course, manage to keep an interested face--I nod as the students ask me whether I like snakes--and somehow maintain the poise of someone for whom being several inches from a 6 foot snake is a normal occurence. The teacher, satisfied that there will be no crazy facial expressions from this foreigner, turns around and heads to the school soccer field. I follow curious to see what fate awaits the 6 foot beast. Will it be burned? Beheaded, it's corpse left to feed the ants? Or is snake a delicacy here?

The snake is set free.

With all the questions running through my mind, I forget that I am still in Thailand--a land where people don't just go about killing animals. It's weird because despite the number of insects I've been offered to eat, I have NEVER seen any Thai actually kill a bug of any sorts. A mosquito is feasting on your leg? Shoo it away, that's what your hands are for. So there was the 6 foot snake, on the soccer field and the teacher actually had to chase and shoo it away. So now, not only does my school soccer field double as a grazing field for the village cows, but it's apparently a sanctuary for 6 foot snakes as well. Lovely.

About 10 minutes later, while playing basketball, three of the dogs that hang out in my school (some of them even walk in during my classes...as I type this, one of them is actually under the computer table asleep) had a little argument that they chose to settle...physically. These 3 went all out, howling and snarling and biting and wrestling each other to the ground. Of course none of the kids were surprised by this and instead focused their attention on the foreigner's reaction. I think I maintained a pretty stoic face (though I was a little concerned as the melee inched closer to the basketball court). Almost simultaneously, the chickens next door decided to settle their own little argument physically and while they weren't loud enough to drown out the growling (and whimpering) of the dogs, they made quite a scene of their own. Between the brawl of the dogs, and the ruckus caused by the chickens, and the knowledge that a 6 foot snake was roaming my soccer field, and that a huge beatle with a mettalic green coat was being shoved into my face by my students, I could not help but just laugh at the situation. It was all at once bizzare and amusing and, once I knew all the dogs involved in the fray made it out okay, most entertaining. What a wild world!

Monks By The Lake

To clear my head (I find that I need to do this often) I usually go for a walk. One of the best things about living in a village is that, if you learn how to appreciate the simple things of life, you never run out of beautiful things to see--whether it be a new tree you never noticed before, or a new path you never took, or simply watching the villagers go about their daily lives. Two days ago, I came across some young monks hanging out by the lake. I've walked past this particular lake several times but I never noticed the little dock that the monks were sitting on. One of them was a friend of mine who recently became a monk (all Thai men are encouraged to don the robe once in their life even if only for a short period of time) and he invited me to sit with them. As I sat there, I could hear the singing coming from the temple beside the lake and it was just perfect. I sat with them for about 40 minutes, answering the questions they had about America and asking them questions about life as a monk. Eventually an older monk who spoke a little bit of English arrived and we got to talk about life in the village and such. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and reaffirmed my belief that there are many special things to see out there...you just need to get out of your chair, get up, and walk to see them.

Some pics:

"Excuse Me, What's Your Name?"

They come out of nowhere
As if from some enchanted game
The village kids come asking
“Excuse me, what’s your name?”

No time to think about it
Nor wonder from where they came
The village kids come asking
“Excuse me, what’s your name?”

Take whatever route you wish to
Every road turns out the same
When the village kids come asking
(Every day they come asking)
Yes, the village kids come asking
“Excuse me, what’s your name?”

Who you are does not matter
Be you man or be you dame
The village kids come asking,
“Excuse me what’s your name?”

Your mood does not matter
Be you ill-tempered or be you tame
The village kids come asking
“Excuse me what’s your name?”

No method to the madness
No rhyme, scheme, nor aim
The village kids come asking
(Everyday they come asking)
Yes the village kids come asking,
“Excuse me what’s your name?”