Love at First "Site"

Two things stuck out as we drove into the province of Roi Et: It suddenly became hotter and it was a bit greener than what I had seen during my 6 hour bus ride from Nakhom Phanom. But there was nothing extra special that stuck out. Nothing that made me feel all warm and fuzzy about spending the next 2 years of my life in this province. Motorcycles made their ways through a busy crowd of people as stray, malnourished dogs either napped or wrestled each other to the ground. Monks, in their saffron colored robes sipped on fantas by little eateries on the side of the road. "This is it", I thought to myself, "the closest thing to a major city I will have over the next two years...whoopee!"

That Roi Et had one of the biggest Buddha images inthe world and a pretty lake in the city center did help but I knew I did not have much to work with. That is until we hit the actual village that I would call home for the next 2 years.

Cattle walked around leisurely as an old man in a straw hat led them though little dirt roads between old homes. Mothers and grandmothers sat by patches of grass talking as their children and grandchildren ran around chasing baby chickens. The men of the village sat by wooden benches sharing a communal glass of Thai whisky mixed with "soda water." Three eight year old boys on one motorcycle passed by waving to their friends who were kicking a basketball around, dribbling a volleyball and using a soccer ball as a chair.A middle aged lady, face wrapped in a ski mask (it was only 90 degrees after all) carried a basket of string beans and young girls, in their school uniforms, walked home under the watchful eyes of the older ladies. All the while, a shirtless grandmother lay, her breasts sagging beside her, on a bamboo bed outside a dilapidated shack.

And I fell in love.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't with the shirtless grandma, or with the fact that neither the basketball, volleyvball, or soccer ball were used correctly, or with the lady who thought suffering in the heat was a price worth paying to avoid getting a few shades darker.

I did not fall in love with the dung dropping cattle or the chicken chasing babies.

I fell in love with all of them together-- this great hodgepodge of activity that made up life in my little village.

I know love is such a stong word and can easily be used in place of infatuation but as the car pulled into the village, I just knew that I was entering something special. The feelings of unease (and to some extent, bitterness) that I originally felt at being placed in this province did not just disappear but rather, evolved into a feeling of this is the right place for me. I guess it's akin to the feeling one gets upon visiting a college or university for the first time and just knowing that it is the right place to be in for the next 4 (in some cases, 5) years of one's life.

When I got out of the car, my host family walked me around and I was amazed even more. There was a beautiful lake in the middle of the village right beside an old wat. I was told that there were old Khmer ruins around and that this town itself was a Khmer sanctuary dating back to the 11th century (I got to see the ruins a few days later and I was like a kid in a candy store!). We walked to the market where many of my future students were hanging out, playing tag and sipping on iced fruit drinks. Everyone was just so friendly and the energy about the village was amazing. I have about one more month of training and I know I will miss Sa Kaeo and the host family I have lived with for the past month and a half. I know I will miss being close in proximity to all the other trainees but I also know that when I leave Sa Kaeo and move to Roi Et, that a beautiful little village waits for me and I look forward to calling it home.