After that, I go back to sleep. Don't blame me for that, I really don't like getting up so early during the week and having the time to sleep on Saturday is pretty glorious. Which is another reason that working on the EIS Seminar the last couple Saturdays was a bit of a pain. But such is life. So the amount of extra time I sleep largely depends on how challenging my week has been. Sometimes it will only be another hour or so, sometimes I will spend pretty much the entire day in bed. Once again, try not to judge too much!
Other than that, Saturday is mostly dedicated to chores. Cleaning, laundry (depending on whether or not Rhea is doing laundry that day), maybe some schoolwork. I try to get some chores done, but not stress myself out too much with it. After all, there is Sunday for chores as well.
My favorite part of the week is the Saturday walking market. As I mentioned before, Nan has a morning market and an evening market every day. This is where you go to get fruits, vegetable, meats, and some prepared foods. I rarely go to the morning market because I don't want to get up that early, but I go to the evening market pretty much every day, if not to get my dinner, at least to grab some fruit or corn. The thing that is special about the walking market is that a whole street is shut down so that there is only pedestrian traffic. They set up a stage for traditional music and dancing, and there is an area for people to sit, eat, and watch. There are tons of different types of food, many of which are not available at any other time during the week. Last week I tried octopus there...a bit too chewy an fishy for my taste (I think I cook it better). Tonight I just grabbed a couple of my favorites since I currently have a ton of fruit and avocados in the fridge--a super smooth egg custard with pork and a spicy chili dip with sticky rice.
In addition to the food, there are all kinds of people selling things. These range from clothes to dishes to mosquito nets. There are iPhone cases, bamboo utensils, jewelry, makeup...pretty much everything. There is even a group that has animals for sale every week. The puppies are always the most popular with the Thais, but I find the other animals more interesting. Last week they had some bizarre fluffy chickens--I later discovered they were Silkie Bantams. This week they had puppies, parakeets, and 3 kittens. Two were very small short hairs, the third was a bit larger and FLUFFY. He was super energetic, kept pouncing on the two little ones, and even spent some time literally hanging upside down from the roof of the crate. Quite amusing to watch.
Basically, I love to wander the market. I like to see the people, and most of the vendors have gotten used to me at this point. It is funny when I stumble across a new one and hear a chorus of "falang" ring out. One of the teachers asked me the other day if I was offended by the term, since many Westerners are. I replied that it was the opposite--I actually liked it because it lets me know when someone is talking about me. That way I am a bit less oblivious!
Another thing about the market is that everyone goes. Well, not everyone, but I see at least one teacher there every week. This is both a good and a bad thing. Like tonight it was great--I saw a teacher I knew well from the EIS seminar, and we just chatted for a bit. But last week the teacher I saw was someone whose name I couldn't remember--a very common occurrence. So that can be a bit awkward.
I also like seeing my students there. I honestly don't recognize most of them, but they will wave and say hi to me, or even bow. Last week was a treat. Furby (from M 1.2) ran up to me as I was walking along and asked why I hadn't been in class that week. So I explained that I had to go to the seminar to teach other EIS teachers and that I would be back next week. He then introduced me to his little sister -- "This is my sister. She is very beautiful. She go to Chiang Mai to spell!" It was great to meet his mother and sister, especially since he is easily one of my favorite students--he always wants to talk in class and is willing to try to speak even if he makes mistakes.
Tonight's visit to the market was not a long one. I actually went out early to look for things for my apartment (a shelf to hold some kitchen supplies) with the intention of bringing the stuff home and then going to the market later. But I found the store closed and decided to head to the market early. Which, as it turns out, was an excellent decision. Not long after I got there some very threatening cumulonimbus clouds rolled in--the thunder and lightening was causing everyone to squeak! It is finally turning into true rainy season, with heavy rain pretty much every day. But I did make it home with my food and without getting wet.
I did have time to stop at one store to buy some fabric. On Monday after I finalize my visa extension I will be going to the dressmaker to get some clothing made. I had been admiring this fabric for some time, but it is rough fabric and I didn't really know what to do with it. So I finally asked Pee Praneat and she will help me get some clothing made. She is also getting me some of the green 'school fabric.' I don't know exactly what I will have made, but it will all be Thai-style.
I think that the teachers like that I wear Thai clothing. In the beginning I was scared that they might find it insulting, but the opposite seems to be true. Whenever I come in when something new, they comment on how beautiful it is. Plus, I am the only foreigner who wears Thai clothing. Rhea and Gina (Filipinas) both make it a point not to--I just think they don't like it very much. Rhea has a couple tight tops that look like Thai fabric, but definitely nothing traditional. Linda (the Canadian) is simply too big to wear any of the clothing here. And Mark (the Brit who married a Thai 10 years ago) occasionally wears a Thai shirt, but mostly sticks to Western styles.
So they seem to enjoy it when I wear the Thai clothes. When I wore the traditional attire yesterday, the director's brother/assistant was so excited that he insisted we take a picture together. And my students seem to find it interesting--in a good or a bad way is to be determined, but I like wearing it so that is all I really care about.
Anyway, so I went out today and found some fabric. I bought 2 different designs, both hand woven here in Nan. A bit expensive ($50), but not really when you consider they are hand made. I think I will have the magenta one made into a traditional skirt, and the bluish-purple one made into something else. Also the green one I have yet to see.
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| Namlai-Tailue Design |
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| Close-up |
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| Pong Design |
In other news, I have also made some minor improvements to my room. I added a bedside table, got cloth coverings for both tables, added a few decorations, and even got a rug (locally made of course). So it is getting more comfortable--actually feels like somewhere I want to be rather than somewhere I have to. The bed still sucks, but my body is adjusting. I have even found myself able to sleep on my side from time to time.
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| The big table has the same cloth |
My final bit of news is that we have yet another holiday coming up. I swear, the Thais have as many holidays as the Spaniards do! This one is Asalha Puja and the beginning of Buddhist Lent. The importance of this is that next Friday and then the following Monday and Tuesday are school holidays. I was originally planning to go to Vietnam with a group of teachers and was super excited about it. That is, I was until I discovered exactly what the holiday was. It is basically a giant candle festival. They have cars that are elaborately decorated and carry giant wax candles through the streets. Everyone int he parade gets dressed in more formal traditional attire and some ride the floats with the candles while others walk and/or dance along. So my decision to stay was made pretty quickly when a teacher from school asked if I would like to participate in the parade. Basically, they would dress me up in the traditional clothing, put a wig on me (short blonde hair isn't that helpful for elaborate Thai hairstyles), and do my makeup. Then I sit on the car with the candles and wave, or something like that. YES!!!! This is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities that I would be a fool to pass up. I absolutely want to participate. When talking to Rhea, she mentioned how she wasn't asked to participate last year, but when she saw it she was glad she didn't because of the amount of makeup they put on you. Pfff. Whatever. Even if my skin is irritated for a bit afterwards I still think it will be totally worth it. Also, yesterday after the director's brother saw me in my Thai clothes, he also invited me to join the parade, but this time on one of the big cars with some Thai actress or something. The details are a tad fuzzy, but it is a huge honor. I am a bit intimidated by it all, but also very excited. I will have to be sure to assign a friend to take tons of photos! Anyway, Friday we have the school festivities, then Monday the whole city has a parade. So I am glad I will be staying to see it.
That is all for now, and I will try to get the last vacation post up as soon as I can so we can get back to normal blogging. Seeya later!
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