Sawadee, friends.
These last several days have been quite a whirlwind of events. I’m coming down to my last days here in Chiang Mai, which implies the ending of my time with my wonderful host-family, my amazing Agape family, and my classes. I’m looking forward to taking my last formal final exam Tuesday, but I’m really bummed to be saying goodbye to my families...this reality is hitting me hard.
I have become really close with my host-family in Chiang Mai--especially my Khun Me. This week, we spent a lot of time cooking together and sitting for long periods of time at the kitchen table, having mother-daughter conversations that only we would understand. She’s determined that we won’t be saying goodbye forever on Thursday. Her main reason is that when I get married, I will surely have to bring him to Thailand to meet her. Oh Khun Me.
My little sister Ning finished her exams this week and I promised her that I would take her out to “duu cinema” as a special treat at the local mall I discovered. I was all pumped about playing the big sister and getting to treat her and then my Khun Me decided to join us, and insisted on paying (of course). Ning chose this Thai horror/comedy (is that combination even possible???) and it was as funny as it was scary. At the beginning of every movie, one has to pay respect to the king and stand for a five minute tribute, complete with music and a “motion picture”. A great cultural experience for me, great entertainment for Ning and Khun Me...all in all a fun evening.
All semester, I had been wanting to do something special for Pi Wara and Pi Jim, to bless them and show them how much I appreciated their friendship these last few weeks. Initially, I wanted to take them to a restaurant away from Baan Agape (since they rarely get to leave)...but because I’m not a full-time staff member and they aren’t able to walk really well, that idea was nixed. Instead, my friend Kaitlin and I decided to bring the restaurant to them! Saturday morning, we hit downtown Chiang Mai in search of the best food. We bought hamburgers (ha!) and some Thai food and Kaitlin brought fine dishes from home so we could really make it feel like a restaurant. We even got two of our friends to come and be servers...all in all, we had a great afternoon at a “restaurant” in Baan Agape’s backyard. Pi Jim and Pi Wara LOVED it. I was so blessed.
When I returned home later that afternoon ready to crash/study, Khun Me announced “we go camBING!” And that can only mean one thing in my family: we’re going camping, so pack your bag because we’re leaving in five minutes. (This is one of those cultural things I still haven’t quite figured out how to relay in words in a blog entry, but questions like “why are we going? where are we going? for how long?” aren’t necessary here, so I don’t ask them anymore/I never know what I’m doing.) Ten minutes later, I’m ready to go and my Khun Pa walks in the door. “May daay bai”. We can’t go camping; I still don’t know why, but my Khun parents were both disappointed because they really wanted to go (I can gather from their gestures). Khun Pa has a brilliant idea: we go camBING in our front yard. Moments later, there are mats outside and all the fixings for a Thai picnic are laid out. We sat only a few feet from the road and people in vehicles and neighbors strolling by gawked at the funny scene. To top it off, the smoke from the grill was blowing in Khun Me’s face so my Khun Pa brought out a fan. Khun Me showed me how to make som tam (this ridiculously spicy papaya salad), which I’ve developed a relative tolerance for in these last few weeks. I added a few too many chillis, however, and ended up with a consistently runny nose and tearing eyes for the rest of the evening. I’m going to miss being ridiculous and spontaneous with my khun rents and siblings.
Things coming up include: farewell banquet tonight at Night Safari, saying goodbye to Pi Wara and Pi Jim and all the others at Agape on Monday, final exam on Tuesday, “last day” on Wednesday, saying goodbye to host-family on Thursday....and then the traveling will commence. I’m mostly excited but definitely sad. Endings pave the way for the beginnings, yeah?
God is good in providing just enough for each day...ironically, I’ve been exploring what it means to rest in Him this week, in the midst of all these kinds of crazy, seeking peace in the chaos. More on this another time.
Thanks for your prayers and emails! Prajaw oi pawn.
“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure” Nouwen. so good.
