Tess sii dom...Mai bpen rai!

Have you seen my pictures? I am living in paradise. Well, of course, my actual work site isn't paradise but a quick twenty or thirty minute drive gets me there! I constantly feel like I am walking by a beautifully painted backdrop or looking at computer screen savers. It's unbelievable.

This past weekend was a long holiday called Songkran. Songkran is considered the Thai New Year from the 13th-15th of April. The first day, Thais bring tons of imperishable food to give to the monks in order to make merit for the new year to come. Usually, this is paired with a Miss Songkran beauty pageant. And, of course in a town all about looks, this was the highlight of the morning! After the monks collected the food, the elders of Pathiu were seated in a loop to participate in a traditional ceremony. While the elders held their hands over a plant, the younger generation poured water [scented with jasmine, mmm!] on their hands. During this act of respect towards the elders, I was kissed, hugged, and welcomed with such kindness that I have yet to feel at my site. After doing this about fifty times, I had the chills [but for a good reason].

And so started the festivities for the weekend. My long but fabulous weekend went something liked this:
-Rushed to the beauty salon only to wait four and a half hours to get my hair and makeup done.
-Thought the hairdresser was putting cake on my face but it was just the makeup.
-"Naa Tess suai maak dtee owen nit-noi" [Translation-Your face is beautiful but you are a little fat].
-Held a picture of the King while swaying [and smiling, duh] for five minutes while my students danced around me.
-Spent forty-five minutes of scrubbing my face to get some of my color back.
-Stayed at the beach for eleven hours with a very bitter foreigner.
-Had children wai me to pay respect then squirt me with water guns.
-Swam in the crystal clear Gulf of Thailand fully clothed.
-Enjoyed the company of my host family's extended family.
-Participated in a blessing of my family for the New Year, I think.
-Stuffed my face with all the wonderful fruits and Oreos I could.
-Explored some beautiful caves on a secluded beach.
-Played Bingo at a Wat in an attempt to win a blender.
-Attempted to make fresh tomato sauce and pasta again for my Thai family- fail number two.
-Pretended to be a typical tourist with a fellow volunteer on the way to the most gorgeous place I have ever been- Kho Tao [an island off of my province].
-Saw a new world while snorkeling.
-Bought a floppy hat [yes it is acceptable to wear one here and I am ecstatic about that!]
-"Tess sii dom...Mai bpen rai!"[Translation-You have black skin but, don't worry, you are beautiful anyway].

It was quite a long and eventful weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it. I don't know what changed from last week to this week but I have never felt so connected to my host family. I do feel like the eldest daughter in the family and that the connections I am building will be hard to forget in the future.

Maybe now I can convince my host mom to let me get a cat...