Clean Clothes Vegetarian

Standing in front of the washing machine where I do my laundry, I looked down a the cement floor and noticed what I thought was a crab claw.  I looked a little closer and realized, nope, not a claw, but the decapitated head of a chicken.  

No-tip Driver

Ask any Thai person about racism, and they will tell you that it does not exist in their country.  

Thusfar, I have had no less than three colleagues tell me, no, announce to me that they hate Muslims.  One woman saying, "I hate the way their eyes look behind their scarves,  like they are evil."

Today on our cab ride home, our Thai driver asked where we are from.  He then regaled us with tales of his family, one niece who owns a restaurant in L.A., and another who married an American man.  He said,  "The Americans who come to Thailand are very nice.  The Arabs are not nice.  The Arabs and the Africans, they just cause problems.  The Africans, the women come here just for sex, and the men they come for bad business.  Yes, the negros are bad, but the negros from Africa.  Not the negros from America.  They are good."

I probably shouldn't get into my opinion about the Thai government's treatment of the minority Muslim Karan refugees, fleeing massacre by the majority Buddhist Myanmar government, or even allude to a relationship with this treatment and fact that Thailand is 97% Buddhist.  Nope, not gonna touch that one with a ten foot pole.

If I get thrown into a jail cell for libel, please send Bill to come get me.

Mom and Erin Take on Thailand!

I was lucky enough to have a visit from my mama in Thailand.  It was so joyful having her here, and so interesting to see Thailand from a newcomers perspective.  Its funny how quickly we become accustomed to our surroundings!

The highlight of our adventures, as I think my mom would agree, was visiting Krabi and the surrounding islands.  The Krabi Province is South of Bangkok and has breathtaking scenery.  

We enjoyed strolling down the store-lined streets in perfect beach weather that felt just like home.  The streets were so quiet compared to Bangkok, the one exception being this truck with loudspeakers attached that drove back and forth down the main strip advertising Muay Thai fighting matches in a manner that would make anyone want to shove bananas into their ears.  We had fun picking out fruit at this beautiful fruit stand, one of many street vendors along the main road.

We took a boat tour around the islands of Koh Phi Phi and Maya Bay, where the movie "The Beach" was filmed.  

While I'm pretty sure I sustained permanent back injuries from the boat ride across the choppy waters of the Andaman Sea, we both had fun talking to our cutie pie Thai guide, Matt, and taking in the splendor.

We also visited Wat Pho(wat means temple), the Wat which is home to the "Giant Reclining Buddha".  I wasn't super excited about seeing a big sleeping deity, but I'm glad I went, it was an amazing sight.

I took my mom to Erawan falls and we stayed in a rafthouse on the river Kwai, I can't get enough of the falls.  I didn't go down the rock slide this time, but we did see some wild monkeys being, um, amorous.  

In Kanchanaburi, we were offered a "taxi" at the bus station and agreed, only to realize that it was a "man-powered" tuk-tuk.  We felt a little bad about this, but he was a great driver, and we got to drive through a parade route that would otherwise have been inaccessible.  We watched the parade of students from local schools dressed in traditional Thai apparel from prime seats!

It was sad to see my mom go back home, but I am so glad she came to visit!  

More on "Beauty"

My friend Ione brought up another interesting question related to Thai culture and beauty.  In regards to pale skin being valued, she asked what the Thais think about the American obsession with tanning.  

Our second month here, the American teachers took a weekend trip to Koh Samet, a beautiful little Island South of Bangkok.  We all came back to school with what we thought were gorgeous glowing tans(not deliberately, the sun is POWERFUL in Koh Samet).  I remember receiving many stares, and one teacher's comment in particular sticks out in my mind, "Oh, so sorry, at the beach you got so dark, so sorry."  I explained that we liked our tans, that it is considered very beautiful in America.  She looked at me as if I had grown another head.  She just couldn't believe that I would want to have darker skin.  

Also, I was at the store yesterday trying to find deodorant and I had trouble finding one that wasn't whitening.  Apparently, your armpits need to be pale also.