In October all of the school and university students have a holiday break. It starts around now and lasts until the beginning of November. This means that my days at work have been very different. Instead of running around from class to class with a bingo board in one hand and crayons and markers in other, I have been able to just help out with things here and there. Even though the teachers are technically on a break as well, a lot of them still come in and hang out around the campus at Kawila. Can you imagine being a teacher in the US and coming into school over your summer break to simply relax, eat and chat with other staff members? That is what is so remarkable about people's relationship to their work here. I know some people in the US thoroughly enjoy their jobs but I would go as far to say that about 80% or even more don't enjoy their job or find some fault with what they're doing. And I have noticed that across the board, at Kawila and other institutions I have had interactions with, the workplace is not just a place where people come in the morning, punch in, and do their time. Instead, it is literally a whole other community and family. I mean maybe I am making assumptions... because a major value in Thai society is "saving face"--making sure you never let your guard down. From what I've gathered it's not about being fake, it's more about avoiding making others feel uncomfortable or inconvenienced. So maybe they are not as happy as they seem to be? But at Kawila, so many of the men and women have been working there for so long and seem to really just enjoy being around one another and the work they are doing. It's so refreshing... and it makes me all the more grateful that they have invited me into their family.
So anyway, getting into the golfball story. Since I have had more free time at work, I have been helping to paint these linen bags that they sell for the benefit of the schools. On each bag, you trace a floral design and then use fabric paint to shade things in. It has been a great little meditation time for me. It actually makes me think of my grandma a lot. I just have such strong images and recollections of watching her paint beautiful flowers or doodle little designs and she would just sit there so quietly and calmly. Anyway, one of the teachers at Kawila who has been there for 20+ years has sort of taken me under her wing and guided me along in this painting. Her name is 'Cruu Bakeauw'. She knows a good amount of English so she enjoys speaking with me and asking me how to phrase certain things. She has also helped me with my Thai skills--which are slowly starting to take shape. She has also been really excited to teach me how to play a small Thai guitar-type thing called the 'seung'. It only has 4 strings and is made out of beautiful teak wood. It is specifically a Northern Thai instrument. She even lent me one of her own to practice at home on. (don't worry I am getting to the golf ball) So on Wednesday she told me that she wanted to invite me to come and learn with her music teacher at a temple in town on Saturday. On Friday when I came in, after a day of painting bags and practicing music, she brought me to the market in town to find a nice Thai-style shirt to wear to the temple on Saturday. So we hopped on her motorbike (motorbikes are the primary means of transportation for people here-- but don't worry, I wore a helmet!), and drove to the market. As I was getting off of the bike the back of my leg grazed the exhaust pipe of the bike that was burning hot. I ended up with a beautiful red, circular burn the size of a golfball on the back of my leg. OOOOuch. Despite the stinging on the back of my leg, we still found a great white shirt for me to wear. When I got out my wallet, she told me she wanted to buy it for me for my birthday because she remembered it was next week. Could this woman get any sweeter? When we got back to the school, Cruu Bakeauw ran to this house near the school and broke off a leaf of an aloe plant, peeled it, washed it, and stuck it onto my burn. (I thought that it was so cool that I got my camera out, limped over, and snapped a picture of the process). The pain was pretty bad at first but the aloe really helped. I did, however develop a wonderfully large bubble over the burn which was pretty sexy as you can imagine. She drove me home in her car that day.
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