Silent Inundation

Buffalos Take Refuge On My Lawn--NOTE: the incredibly cute new object of my affections: 2-day old, 'Sen Lek'








Almost overnight our seemingly quite and uninterrupted (from the outside world, that is) neighborhood went from ‘business as usual’ to an abrupt standstill prompted by mounting floodwaters. As I stood on my stoop two days ago, a hundred feet or so from the rising waters, the memory of last year came back to me in a flash. Talk about déjà vu. I suddenly remembered like it was yesterday. Compared with my post, from October 2009 entitled: Weathering The Storm(s) , the current circumstances are an eerie reminder that nature can and does repeat the same phenomenon year after year. To us, as human beings, that often means misfortune and disasters.
Here’s a brief from the recent Bangkok Post article relating to the flooding situation in Thailand:

Bangkok Post : Flood Toll Rises to Seven
Heavy flooding in the Central and Northeast regions has claimed two more lives, in Lop Buri, raising the death toll from the most severe flooding in decades to seven this week.
For more visit: www.bangkokpost.com

Now I remember vividly the rainy season going out with a bang last year as it has this year. Over the past two weeks, it has rained almost non-stop. I bike in the rain, I walk in the rain, I do my laundry with rainwater, I play in the rain, I sleep a lot while it’s raining. Actually, I was beginning to think I was mildly depressed because of all this good sleeping weather—rain induced coolness, that is. Needless to say, I have been sleeping far more than necessary during the ‘rain days’ & nights.
It reminds me of Monterey, California, where I lived before I came here. Everything was always damp during the perpetual ‘sweatshirt weather’ that Monterey often boasts.

Then, I’m reminded of Iowa in the harvest of autumn when the air is crisp and cool. My dad would say it’s good sleeping weather. But to be honest, good sleeping weather with all it’s pleasantries, has been making me a bit... shall we say... lethargic, not to mention a bit discontented with myself. Call it timing, perhaps the 6 months-to-go-syndrome but these last 10 days or so I’ve felt very unmotivated while wallowing in self-pity. The blues of facing the unchartered future and how I’m going to make the most of the time I have left. It could just be a coincidence that the heavy rains happened to coincide with my state. And, furthermore, that the flooding occurred when I’d about had it with my brooding and was beginning to climb out of my proverbial well.

And now two days later, I see waters receding and hope returning to worried faces. I feel my faith reviving and my outlook of present and future is seemingly better. I guess my bout with the blues could have been exacerbated by cabin fever too. This last week, I’ve spent an unprecedented amount of time in my house. It’s also possible that the parade and all the over-exposure of being in the fishbowl or on display like a zoo animal (ie: being in the parade) made me retreat into my shell. Whatever the reason, I see good things on the horizon. While in my hermit state, I took to watching a lot of Mad Men—and if you’re a fan, you would agree this current season (4) is not the right thing for an already melancholy person to be watching. Talk about depressing! But, I do recall a quote in one of the more recent episode when someone says... “When I’m feeling down, I look at the calendar. There’s usually something good on the horizon.” Now that I’m feeling a bit better, I appreciate those words of encouragement and I realize there is truth to it. I’m heading to see some friends this weekend and relax. Next week, I look forward to a long-awaited, anticipated arrival of my folks to Thailand. All the while, I continue to anticipate the transfer of funds for the Daycare Flood Remediation and Water Systems Improvement Project from PC Washington so implementation can begin.

And so the beat goes on and on....

Khmer Festival Time Again!

It really hits me as to how long I've been here when annual events start repeating. And wouldn't you know it, before I could hardly blink, the big Khmer festival of 2010, "Wan San Dton Dta" came and went. If you've been a dedicated reader to this blog long enough, you might recognize the event and the context. (and for a refresher refer to my post from last year's festival: A Khmer-Thai Tradition
It's hard to believe it's been over a year since I wrote that post and now I'm writing about the 2010 Festival. Time flies when your meticulously pinning ornamental garlic and chilies to a parade float and galavanting around in Thai costumes in the rain, smiling all the while. Actually, some of that makes the minutes go by pretty slow...

How incredible, the detail that goes into this festival--I think I noticed and appreciated in much more this year. Villagers literally work day and night to present amazingly displays of their local harvests, handicrafts, and specialties. My sub-district takes particular pride in their silk ( which comes entirely from the village--silk worms, looms, and finished products), crops of rice, garlic, chilies, and shallots,and last but not least, "Gwien Noi" which means small cart. Soon I'll have to dedicate a post to gwien noi because it's amazing what they do and how they do it. Below, you can see a picture of the large Gwien (or large cart) on the float. The gwien noi is a small prototype of the large cart that used to be one of the most important agricultural tools used for planting, harvesting, and transportation back in the day. Now that gwien's are outdated, the small prototype gwien noi's are ever so cherished and popular. They keep alive the memory of tradition and history in Thailand. For generations now people in my village have been carving and weaving gwien noi's. It's very much a local art that villagers are immensely proud of. You see, gwien noi's are not a common handicraft--though people recognize them throughout Thailand--it's a very painstaking and arduous task that originates from this particular village in Thailand. Sure it's not the only place gwien noi's are crafted but it's nevertheless, special to the people and they will tell you that the gwien noi's from this village are far superior to other's you will find. I sure am proud to know about and share in this tradition.

Anyways, yes, the festival. Well, it was great. Even though it rained. We also had the honoring of the dead/spirit world portion in which everyone makes up a bed in their home with all kind of fresh fruits and cooked rice, chicken, offerings, etc. I accompanied my neighbors and friends as they poured the wine and offered prayers and asked their ancestors to join in the feast of life. It's a rather beautiful display of reverence that takes place for about 2 days. In the spirit of the moment we did tip our glasses of ice-cold beer to the dead--it felt like the right thing to you. Here's to you, who have perished! Yes, and people got up at the crack of dawn again this year like they do every year to cackle and hoot their way to the temple to make a final merit with their ancestral offerings in toe.

I can't tell a lie, I got up at 4AM, all ready to go... only to fall asleep at 5:15AM and miss the whole activity. I blame it on not getting any sleep the night before...

Truth is, I felt less pressure and maybe a tad less enthusiasm to attend every activity this year. Not that the whole thing wasn't as fun as it was last year... okay parts of it were definitely more exiting last year since it was so novel and unfamiliar. It was almost like this year, I felt much more like a local ( sure, not so much when I was leading my entourage in the parade as 2,000 gawking onlookers hollered, smiled in awe, and took pictures.) But, as far as the activities in preparation and with my office and neighbors went, you might have had to look twice to tell their was a farang in the bunch.

Ode To My Buffalo

Tribute to Gwei Dtiao
Some of you may know that during the past year or so, I've befriended a buffalo. It shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone who knows me since you would already know I grew up raising and loving animals. In fact, on of my earlier career aspirations was to become a veterinarian. And who doesn't love books about animals--Charlottes Web, James Herriot's biographies, The Jungle Book. In any event, buffalo in Thailand are smart and keen creatures, with a sense of solemn wisdom about them. Many people will attest to this. Sometimes I liken them to horses or dolphins. About a year ago, my neighbor's large old buffalo gave birth to a little bundle of joy--they gave me the privilege of naming her..."Gwei Dtiao" or Noodles (I chose the name mainly because of our close proximity to my other neighbor's noodle shop and because I've always liked noodles in Thailand. In fact, I wanted it to be my nickname back in the day). Anyways, Gwei Dtiao has been a pleasant presence in my life here--often frequenting and keeping the grass trim on my front lawn. I'd spend many of afternoon lounging in my hammock while Gwei Dtiao kept me company nearby. When she'd fain thirst, I give her water and show her affection. It was especially during times when being a Volunteer felt very lonely that I appreciated having the companionship of animals like Gwei Dtiao and serene surroundings--there's something about the solitude of animals that provides one the feeling of acceptance and understanding.

Times Changing
Two weeks ago, I came home to quite devastating news that my pet buffalo (really my neighbor's pet but truly my friend) had been sold. My neighbor and her husband have long been buffalo raisers so selling a buffalo for profit seemed pretty commonplace. But, when I caught wind of it, she could tell by the look on my face that I took it to heart and truly felt the loss of a companion. As a compassionate person, she assured me the buffalo went to a good home where it would come into maturity and live a good life. Apparently she's found a new home nearby.

It's taken some adjusting but I've become more used to the current situation and I accept like all things--life changes, moves on, buffalos come and go! In a month, Gwei Dtiao's mother will give birth yet again and I assume the cycle will start all over again and before I know it I'll be christening the new buffalo... "Sen Lek" ('small noodle' in Thai). But, I thought it only right (before I move on to newborns) to dedicate a blog post to my beloved friend and companion, Gwei Dtiao, the buffalo--however silly it may seem to the reader. I'll never forget her!


For more information on Buffalo in Thailand, follow the link: Thai Buffalo