Our First Meeting

But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. Luke 2:19

A part of me does not want to share.  I want to keep these things for me alone.  Like a little secret for the two of us to share.  He of course will remember it all differently.

I met my second son yesterday.  I have waited 3 years for this.  I wondered what he would look like and his personality.  I wondered if I would love him the minute I saw him like I did with my first son.  How would we interact?  Would I be overly critical like am I with most people I meet?

I was scared and I think he was scared too.  I asked him a few questions and he could only nod his head.  There was a room full of 2 year olds watching everything.  We sat as close as possible, wondering if we could become invisible.  Then we were separated.  Maybe 10 minutes together and back to our separate rooms.

When we were reunited he was right at my side again; very close.  We played for 2 hours.  Books, matching, colors, a trampoline, a giant Pooh bear, a bicycle ride, oh and snacks.

As our time was coming to an end he knew and keep an eye on me.  I walked him back to his room where he would nap.  The 13 children in his room who were not at school all said goodbye to me; and one little boy looked back and waved, hopeful of our next play day, while tears welled up in my eyes.

Thai Culture - Dtuk-aa

This is called a dtuk-aa.  I have affectionately named this one, Frank.  It is a gecko that is much larger than normal geckos.  The usual geckos are 2 – 4 inches long, and we had them in Singapore too.  The normal geekos are kind of like pets that usually come out at night and eat little bugs (we are thankful for this).  However dtuk-aas are between 6 to 12 inches long not counting their tail.  They can change shade (not really color) for day time and night time.  They also eat bugs, but not the little ones.  They can eat little geckos, cockroaches, even rats and birds.  They got their name from the noise they make which sounds like they are saying “dtuk-aa.”

As our home was empty for quite some time before we moved in, a family of dtuk-aas found it to be a wonderful place to live.  And even though we moved in over a year ago, they are sentimental and do not wish to leave their home as well.  Let me clarify, only once has one of them actually been inside of our living area (see below), they actually live in the front porch ceiling and in our covered back porch (supposedly an outdoor kitchen) area.   That said, it sounds as though the dtuk-aas have found a way into our ceiling between the 1^st and 2^nd floors.  On random evenings we will hear something running/scurrying in the ceiling – too be honest it sounds like a small child is running up there.  Just as quickly as the sound appears it goes quiet again.  We have decided that this noise is actually the dtuk-aa chasing down dinner (bugs and/or mice) and once it gets quiet they are feasting.  By the way, we have never seen a mouse in our house.  It seems as though the dtuk-aas recognize our great size compared to theirs and do not care to hang around when they see us.  So I feel like we have a good arrangement; they come out at night and eat the things I do not care to see and when we come out in the morning they go to bed.

The Thai people are terrified of dtuk-aas.  It’s not quite like an American woman when she comes upon a cockroach or a spider who may be startled and shrink back.  I have watched Thai grown men come to our home who jumped back in fear when they see the dtuk-aa.  The first instance was when we had an air conditioner moved before we officially moved into the house.  The “men” went outside into the outdoor kitchen and came upon a dtuk-aa.  At this time I did not know what these creatures were, I ran over when I saw their response because I wanted to see what scared them so.  Of course the dtuk-aa had moved on, just as scared by the workers presence.  The man in charge had come over with me and simply said “dtuk-aa”.  A word I had never heard before.

More recently the maintenance men in our complex came over to repair something and as they walked up the front steps noticed the dtuk-aa above their heads at the front porch.  They jumped back and ducked their heads.  The younger of the two I think missed the dtuk-aa (as they can be quite fast) but the older of the two was the one cowering.  The next time he came over he was looking up as he approached my door cautiously.  It was a sight to see.

So I ask around to find out what this is all about and I found out that Thai children are told ‘if you are bad a dtuk-aa will come and bite you!’  And they know when a dtuk-aa bites is does not let go.  Clearly this is really ingrained in them so when become adults they are still scared.

I am happy to have them; well most of the time.  One did find its way inside the house where she snuggled up under my cookie sheet which was drying propped against the wall.  I am very thankful I noticed her before I grabbed the sheet.  Steve chased her out with a broom and we have never seen her again.  I’m assuming the whole experience literally scared her to death.

I am assuming our new son will come into our home being told dtuk-aas bite bad children and when he sees the handful that hang out at the front and back of the home he will be terrified.  The joys I have to look forward too!

A link to a youtube video where a guy quickly shows you one.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xychcX64L7U

You Lose!!

It's Sunday afternoon, I have had my nap and Noah is getting bored playing by himself so he moves on to me.  We start wrestling.  He thinks he has me and says "You lose, so you have to lick your toe."  "What!  The loser has to lick their toe?"  And with a couple moves I have Noah pinned with his toe an inch from his mouth.  "Now whose the loser?  You're the one licking your toe!"  And I proceed to put his toe in his mouth.  (Not hard since he's laughing.)  Then I tell him, "since you had your toe in your mouth you will not get another kiss from me today!"  Noah replies, "You lose, cause I suck on my toes all the time and you kiss me after!"

How did it come to this?  How is it that my six year son out smarted me?

Sustenance and other stuff…

Eating out can be quite an experience here in Bangkok.  Of course there are malls where we can get Pizza Hut, Burger King, McD’s and KFC.  But right on our street are vendors fully willing to sell you what they got.  Now when we first got here (and really still) we cannot speak thai nor read thai, so we have to order from places that have pictures or the menu in English and thai.  Our favorite place is Yellow Yellow (It’s so good; you have to say it twice).

 So in Singapore there was a huge Muslim presence making many restaurants Halal (no pork, mainly).  Thailand is very Buddhist and they LOVE their pork products!  The problem, it's not like American pork;  bacon and ham are still expensive here, but this entire case is pork products on a stick; cause really isn't this the best way to eat food, on a stick?  You pick out what you want and they have a little charcoal grill going that they cook it on.

I think I may miss the fruit stall the most if we leave Thailand.  No more peeling or cutting off tough outer skin; they have done it all for you.  I pay about $0.30 for pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon, or guava; all ready to eat (with a stick of course!)

This is the strip right next to the street.

I think of this as the classic pick and point.  Decide what looks the best, point at it and they put it on a plate for you.

 

All the food stalls are on the left side of the street, hiding in the shade!

These are the stalls under the car park right next to our building. This is where we get our cheap Starbucks!  $1.30 for my "cocoa  blended".  Oh and the fruit smoothie lady!!  She has a big crush on Steve!!  It is hilarious!  She will be polite to me, but when Steve comes, she gushes!  All in thai of course, so we have no idea what she is saying exactly, but her actions speak very loudly!!

The King's Birthday

I believe the king is now 84 years old and spends most of his days in the hospital (so I’ve heard).  And how exactly do you celebrate the birth of the king you love some much?  (Of course you get the day off of work.) By planting flowers!  The parks are beautiful and full of flowers!  We decided to visit a park close to the house and play Thai for the day.  Before we could even get to the park the streets are crowded with vendors selling clothes or toys or whatever they had in their house, oh and food; can’t forget the food!  Inside the park there are so many people!  I am amazed this is how so many thai people spend the day.  It was also interesting that most seemed young.  It was almost like this was a mall substitute for the day.  They got dressed up and met up with friends at the park!  

 I was by no means the only person with a camera as well.  Even in Singapore, I noticed people posing for pictures a lot.  They will take a picture with anything and everything.  So of course, they pull out a camera at a park to hopefully get that perfect pic for facebook!

 In this picture these are for real lily pads!  I have never seen any so big!  I thought they were fake added for the king, not so.  People throw coins onto the pads, kinda like we would into a fountain.

Noah posing with the sunflowers.  Isn't he cute!

 Taking a break in the shade with a orange Fanta!

These two were too cute to just walk past.  The "bigger" girl was determined to carry the "smaller" girl.  We watched her struggle for a while.

Water Water Everywhere

A few of you have asked about the flooding in Bangkok.  Thailand’s method of dealing with water is simply to push it off on someone else.  The rain water in the city is pumped out to the rural areas.  And the farmers are not happy about this because too much water is not good for their crops.  (It is possible for rice to have too much water; who knew!)  Farmers are so upset they tried to tear down a dyke so the city would flood and save their land.  And now the idea of lets just push our water problems on to someone else is affecting our “neighborhood”.  Water is being pumped onto our soi (pronounicated ‘soy’ meaning side street) and I guess the guy who owns the street (yes individuals own streets) has not figured out who to pump our water too.  So on Friday the water was standing in the street.  School was let out early and sand bags were placed around the school.

Saturday we visited Michelle and her peeps and saw the river near their place.  You can just make out the houses across the river that is nearly flooded.  When we came home that night it took us 30 minutes to travel 10 minute distance due to water in the road.  Not just on our soi, but on the main road.  The taxi driver could/ would not go down our soi, so we got to wade thru the water to get to the house.  Sunday was more of the same; school was cancelled for Monday and on Monday the water has dried up.  Not completely, but not nearly what it once was.  So we’ll have to see how the rest of the month goes.  November 1^st marks the end of the rainy season.  So if we can make it thru the month we will be fine.  Well we will have survived the flood and now get to survive the heat!!

First Thoughts of Thailand

So we have now been in Bangkok for almost 4 weeks.  Some things are very similar to Singapore; but most are different.  In Thailand we have been blessed with on campus housing.  As you enter campus there is a commercial building with a coffee shop/ book store, a music studio and laundry facilities on the first floor.  Then the second thru fourth floors are studio and two bedroom apartments.  We managed to get a two bedroom on the second floor.  Noah has a bunk bed which he has enjoyed and has taken advantage of two beds by sleeping in both!

Like Singapore we have hawker eating!  They do not call them hawkers but food stalls.  We tend to order our food by pointing at pictures or getting a menu with English and Thai and pointing at the item we want.  Like Singapore eating like this is very cheap.  We can all eat for 100 Baht which is just over $3US.  However eating Thai food is not something we want to do everyday.  And buying American can cost quite a bit more at the grocery store.  So we try to eat out the cheap Thai way but realize to get the comfort food we enjoy and crave we have to dish out some money.

Getting around – This is our next big obstacle.  We have not been brave enough to get on a bus.  The bus transportation is nothing like Singapore!  So our mode of transport has been the taxi.  And the taxi drivers do not speak English.  So I can tell them where I want to go but if they ask me anything else I stare and shake my head and say I have no idea what you are saying.  So far we have gotten where we wanted with no major problems.  We have heard many horror stories including our own adventure the first time I visited my sister in Thailand when we were in the car accident.  Our only taxi adventure so far has been a driver that I think was mad because we put 7 people in the car (3 were children) and proceed to take the long way home and drove 130kmph (80mph) on the highway.  The other family in the car with us was more worried than we were.  The taxi driver kept shouting something at us and of course none of us have any idea what he is shouting.  Normally Thai’s whisper when they talk so we had clearly upset his guy in some fashion, just no idea how??!

We have got to do some tourist kind of things.  We visited the Rattanakosin museum.  Ratt. is the fourth Thai Kingdom and when the capital was moved to Bangkok.  I think this statue is a demon (or represents one), so Noah has his mean face on.  This black roofed building is "special" cause its the only metal roofed building remaining in the world.  Is tin not a metal?  There are still tin roofs in the world are there not??  And we got to visit the old floating market.  Back when people lived on the water and travelled by water this market was huge.  Now it is open only on the weekends and is a bit more touristy; but neat to see people cooking from their boats and selling to people walking the market. 

 

More to come…