I woke up today to a little thing called martial law.
If you dont remember my first political update, go back and read that so that this all makes a bit more sense.
Anyhow, Thaksin was found guilty of corruption and more than 50% of his assets were seized by the government.
Although many people were unhappy with the ruling there was very little unrest the night of the ruling. One group of redshirts burnt a spirit house, but that was it.
In the week after the ruling they got back to throwing grenades at branches of the Bangkok Bank. I think its kinda pathetic when you throw 4 gernades at 4 different branches, only 2 go off, and only 1 actually does damage. No one was hurt. And the suspect was arrested.
Meanwhile we found out that the army lost a bunch of weapons from an armory. At first it was thought to be a robbery, but later realized that they have been slowly removed for a longer period of time. We dont know if they are going to the southern insurgency or here to bangkok.
Starting tomorrow Red Shirt supporters from all over the country are coming into Bangkok. Some of them are even going to be docking at one of the piers that our ferry goes to every day to get to school. There will be checkpoints on all major roads comming into the city to check for weapons. The Redshirts were calling for one million people to show up, with the goal of forcing the government to dissolve parliament and having a snap election. However the most generous estimates put them at getting 600,000 people.
On the 14th is supposed to be the mass rally, that will be able to last up to 5 days. If there arent changes by then the Redshirts will run out of money and need to try something else.
Because of all this happening the government approved use of the International Security Act, which puts the military in charge of all of the security and puts the police under the military's purview.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
How to get perscription meds in Thailand
Steve hasnt been feeling that well lately, so he went to get some painkillers. Now in America to get prescriptions you need a script from a doctor, then head to the pharmacy.
Thailand cuts out the silly middle-man of the doctor.
In thailand you go to the Pharmacy, describe your symptoms and they sell you the meds. Does this mean you can get morphine by just describing an injury that needs morphine. Well...yes.
Steve didnt get morphine. Im just pointing out the possibilities.
Thailand cuts out the silly middle-man of the doctor.
In thailand you go to the Pharmacy, describe your symptoms and they sell you the meds. Does this mean you can get morphine by just describing an injury that needs morphine. Well...yes.
Steve didnt get morphine. Im just pointing out the possibilities.
Bat Temple
Not that there is anything wrong with Lonely Planet, but i always find it exciting to travel to places that are not in the guidebook. When looking into heading to the bat temple I was pleasantly surprised to find that the entire provenience that its in, Chachoengsao, is absent from the guidebook.
The first step of the trip, as with most trips we go on, is to head to the bus terminal. At the terminal we found a window that said Bang Khla (the town we were going to) and tried to buy a ticket. There was a lady there who did not speak english, but didnt seem very willing to sell us a ticket. After about 5 minutes of talking with her, Jennifer and I figured out that the bus actually did not go all the way to Bang Khla, but to Chachoengsao City. With a shrug we said 'okay' and bought the tickets.
It was a bit tough finding where the bus was located, and a bit of a surprise when we did find it. Chachoengsao must not be a very popular destination, since it was a 10 passenger van. Unfortunatly I was the 10th passenger, making Jennifer the 11th. It was a bit of a squeeze, but we dealt with it. ((Steve and Johnny were not along for this trip for they rolled back to the apartment at 6am that morning and were PTFO when we left for the bus station. Thai bars are quite awesome, so i cannot blame them))
The van ride took about an hour and a half. Luckily magazines were on hand for reading. When we arrived we asked around for how to get to Bang Khla. At the ticket window it took a bit of effort to get them to understand that we wanted Bang Khla, not Bangkok. I suppose we probably just looked like lost tourists since farang are rather uncommon in these parts. Also English speaking was near zero and we were forced to use as much thai as we knew.
When they figured out we wanted Bang Khla we were lead to a Songtau (pickup truck with benches in the back). It was crowded, so i was very chivalrous and let the ladies sit down while stood on the back and hung on. Okay, Ive been looking for an excuse to do that since i found out what a Songtau is, but I still looked chivalrous.
It was an enjoyable ride, probably taking about an hour. We stayed on untill the end of the line which was at a small market in Bang Khla. Jennifer bought some grapes and we asked the lady selling "Wat Pho Bang Khla Yuu Tee Nii?" which means "Where is the town temple?". She told us the way, and suggusted we take a tuktuk. He offered us a price of 30 baht, and thats the lowest ive ever been quoted by a tuktuk so took it without hesitation.
Upon arrival at the temple i looked up into a tree and saw what i had come all the way to see. The tree contained waht looked like a hundred Giant fruit bats. It was crazy. It was everything i had hoped. But then i looked around and noticed that it wasnt just one tree full of bats. There were at least a dozen trees on the temple grounds teaming with the winged rodents.
As with most Wats in thailand there were people selling food and other small items. As we walked by them we said "sawatdii" the standard Thai greeting. These people had had thier eyes on us since we arrived, probably wondering how we had found our way to the Wat and they just lit up when we spoke to them in Thai "Pood Thai Dai!" one exclaimed (can speak thai!). They appreciated so much every word that we knew how to say. It was rather wonderful and a nice break from the city where broken Thilish is the standard, even if communication was more difficult in only Thai.
The Wat was situated scenically on a river. We walked over to the waters edge where there was a boat dock and an old man selling boat trips. We declined for then and explored the Wat a bit more and admired the huge bats.
They all were in the trees, hanging upside-down in true bat fashion, but they were not asleep as one might expect during the day, but they slowly fanned themselves with their wings. Once in awhile one would fly from one tree to another, which was just really cool to see.
When we were done exploring the temple complex we walked over to the boat man to see what his rates were. I hoped he would be able to take us on a trip all the way back to Chachoengsao City. He quoted us at 2000 baht, which would have been reasonable if we had ten people with us. He pointed to the opposite shore and made a circle with his hand and said "sam roi baht" which we took to mean that that was an island which he would drive us around for three hundred baht. This we agreed to, and the ride was most pleasant. We passed high class resorts on the island, and small fishing huts on both shores.
The ride took about 45 minutes. When we got back there was a small boat full of coconuts on the dock. He offered me and Jennifer some, but, thinking he was selling them, we declined. He bid us to wait anyway, and cut two open and handed them to us. Apparently they were part of the boat trip experience? Im not sure. However, it was teh first time ive had fresh coconut milk before. I cant say it was the best thing in the world, but it was interesting and a bit of a Thailand must try.
We said goodbye to all the ladies who were selling things, and went to walk back to the market. We didnt know the way exactly, but it wasnt far and it was nice to walk through the town. We got a few strange looks from people, but thats rather par for the course here in thailand.
Then it was just a songtau to a van back to bangkok and into the taxi to ride back to the appartment.
The first step of the trip, as with most trips we go on, is to head to the bus terminal. At the terminal we found a window that said Bang Khla (the town we were going to) and tried to buy a ticket. There was a lady there who did not speak english, but didnt seem very willing to sell us a ticket. After about 5 minutes of talking with her, Jennifer and I figured out that the bus actually did not go all the way to Bang Khla, but to Chachoengsao City. With a shrug we said 'okay' and bought the tickets.
It was a bit tough finding where the bus was located, and a bit of a surprise when we did find it. Chachoengsao must not be a very popular destination, since it was a 10 passenger van. Unfortunatly I was the 10th passenger, making Jennifer the 11th. It was a bit of a squeeze, but we dealt with it. ((Steve and Johnny were not along for this trip for they rolled back to the apartment at 6am that morning and were PTFO when we left for the bus station. Thai bars are quite awesome, so i cannot blame them))
The van ride took about an hour and a half. Luckily magazines were on hand for reading. When we arrived we asked around for how to get to Bang Khla. At the ticket window it took a bit of effort to get them to understand that we wanted Bang Khla, not Bangkok. I suppose we probably just looked like lost tourists since farang are rather uncommon in these parts. Also English speaking was near zero and we were forced to use as much thai as we knew.
When they figured out we wanted Bang Khla we were lead to a Songtau (pickup truck with benches in the back). It was crowded, so i was very chivalrous and let the ladies sit down while stood on the back and hung on. Okay, Ive been looking for an excuse to do that since i found out what a Songtau is, but I still looked chivalrous.
It was an enjoyable ride, probably taking about an hour. We stayed on untill the end of the line which was at a small market in Bang Khla. Jennifer bought some grapes and we asked the lady selling "Wat Pho Bang Khla Yuu Tee Nii?" which means "Where is the town temple?". She told us the way, and suggusted we take a tuktuk. He offered us a price of 30 baht, and thats the lowest ive ever been quoted by a tuktuk so took it without hesitation.
Upon arrival at the temple i looked up into a tree and saw what i had come all the way to see. The tree contained waht looked like a hundred Giant fruit bats. It was crazy. It was everything i had hoped. But then i looked around and noticed that it wasnt just one tree full of bats. There were at least a dozen trees on the temple grounds teaming with the winged rodents.
As with most Wats in thailand there were people selling food and other small items. As we walked by them we said "sawatdii" the standard Thai greeting. These people had had thier eyes on us since we arrived, probably wondering how we had found our way to the Wat and they just lit up when we spoke to them in Thai "Pood Thai Dai!" one exclaimed (can speak thai!). They appreciated so much every word that we knew how to say. It was rather wonderful and a nice break from the city where broken Thilish is the standard, even if communication was more difficult in only Thai.
The Wat was situated scenically on a river. We walked over to the waters edge where there was a boat dock and an old man selling boat trips. We declined for then and explored the Wat a bit more and admired the huge bats.
They all were in the trees, hanging upside-down in true bat fashion, but they were not asleep as one might expect during the day, but they slowly fanned themselves with their wings. Once in awhile one would fly from one tree to another, which was just really cool to see.
When we were done exploring the temple complex we walked over to the boat man to see what his rates were. I hoped he would be able to take us on a trip all the way back to Chachoengsao City. He quoted us at 2000 baht, which would have been reasonable if we had ten people with us. He pointed to the opposite shore and made a circle with his hand and said "sam roi baht" which we took to mean that that was an island which he would drive us around for three hundred baht. This we agreed to, and the ride was most pleasant. We passed high class resorts on the island, and small fishing huts on both shores.
The ride took about 45 minutes. When we got back there was a small boat full of coconuts on the dock. He offered me and Jennifer some, but, thinking he was selling them, we declined. He bid us to wait anyway, and cut two open and handed them to us. Apparently they were part of the boat trip experience? Im not sure. However, it was teh first time ive had fresh coconut milk before. I cant say it was the best thing in the world, but it was interesting and a bit of a Thailand must try.
We said goodbye to all the ladies who were selling things, and went to walk back to the market. We didnt know the way exactly, but it wasnt far and it was nice to walk through the town. We got a few strange looks from people, but thats rather par for the course here in thailand.
Then it was just a songtau to a van back to bangkok and into the taxi to ride back to the appartment.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Lop Buri
Awhile back i mentioned we went to Lop Buri to see some monkeys. Here at long last, is the video. You will notice an angry monkey at one point in the video. He is chasing steve for getting too close when taking a picture. Steve kept about a yard and a half bubble between him and any monkeys after that.
Work Point Studios
One of the classes Steve and I are taking this semester is Media and Society. On friday we took a fieldtrip with that class to Work Point Studios. Work Point Studios is the company here in Thailand that produces 80% of the prime time television. Its about an hour away from our campus, near the campus that i did the Rice Harvesting festival at.
Workpoint is a very modern looking building. We meet our tour guide, who is an old friend of our Ajan, and studied in Texas and lived in the states for a few years. He explained to us about how big of a market share Work point has, and showed us around the studio. We first went to see the loading docks and sound stages. There were some big sets up on some of them. One was of a train station, one was of a bus stop (there were others but those stood out to me). It was really neat to see that the construction techniques were the same or similar to what we do at school. It was also really neat to stand on a set again.
We were also there to watch the filming of a TV show. The title of the show would be translated as 'Oh My God' and has won numerous awards. It is a variety show and it showcases different Thai artists. Most episodes start with a interview of an artist such as a painter or architect, or even someone who is just influential in the community, and then a performance of some kind of classical Thai art. Often if it is a musical performance they will first have the classical thai, and then they will mix it with some kind of western music to. While we waited for the show to start in the the studios very nice green room (It had windows overlooking the stages, plus aerobic machines, a badminton court and a ping pong table.) they put in DVDs of last season for us to watch. It was really neat.
When it was time to film the segment we were going to watch, we filed into the studio and sat down. One of the hosts of the show is American, and has been living in Thailand for many years. He explained that todays show was part of a series of shows honoring the 9 artists that were chosen this year to recive awards from Thailand. (nine is an auspicious number in Buddhism). We were to witness a Khon dance. The Khon dance, a highly regimented and stylized style, is made to tell the story of the Ramakien, which is an epic story that is akin to the Iliad and Odessy of western culture. Because of the length of the story, we were only going to see an episode of it. (in fact, most 'full length' performances only show a small part of the story) We would be seeing the battle between the Monkey-Gods and the Giants. The performers (there were about 30-40 of them) were all students of the master who was being honored, who themselves went on to become teachers of the dance themselves.
While the performers did a few runthroughs of their dance, the master offered to show us how it was done and asked for a couple of volunteers. Of course Steve and I, who had been salivating at the thought of performance since we entered the studio volunteered and were shown the positions, with the Master repositioning us. It was not the day to have worn bluejeans. The positions were much like advanced ballet positions, requiring both strength and flexibility. Being inflexible as I am he made the comment that i had 'buffalo legs' but if i studied under him he could fix it.
We sat down for them to do another runthrough, this time with cameras. Afterwards the American asked for volunteers to be brought on stage during the actual filming. Steve, Johnny and I were chosen. They said they would bring us on stage, teach us a little of the dance and then ask us do show something that we were good at to the audience, so we were quickly put on the spot to come up with something that all 3 of us were good at. The decided upon talent was that I would beatbox and Steve and Johnny would dance.
The cameras started rolling and we were seated off to the side. The dancers danced, and then the master was brought onstage for an interview. After that 4 students of his students were brought on and they did a small sample of dance. Then we were brought on and taught the students dance. We did our best. :D One of the hosts is considered to be Thailands best commedian, and ran us through our paces, having us do our best imitations of the different characters in the Ramakein dance. They then asked us what we had to share, and gave me a microphone. This part I had feared because all of the microphones used in the show were direct feed, no monitors. Which works fine for just speaking, but i was worried about not knowing what the mic was picking up from the beatbox. Luickly they gave me a mic that was pumping through the speakers so i had no problems. Steve and Johnny danced and then the hosts started joining in also.
The episode will be showing on Channel 9, at 3pm Bangkok Time, on either the 20th or the 27th.
And needless to say, I left two copies of my headshot with different people during the tour.
Workpoint is a very modern looking building. We meet our tour guide, who is an old friend of our Ajan, and studied in Texas and lived in the states for a few years. He explained to us about how big of a market share Work point has, and showed us around the studio. We first went to see the loading docks and sound stages. There were some big sets up on some of them. One was of a train station, one was of a bus stop (there were others but those stood out to me). It was really neat to see that the construction techniques were the same or similar to what we do at school. It was also really neat to stand on a set again.
We were also there to watch the filming of a TV show. The title of the show would be translated as 'Oh My God' and has won numerous awards. It is a variety show and it showcases different Thai artists. Most episodes start with a interview of an artist such as a painter or architect, or even someone who is just influential in the community, and then a performance of some kind of classical Thai art. Often if it is a musical performance they will first have the classical thai, and then they will mix it with some kind of western music to. While we waited for the show to start in the the studios very nice green room (It had windows overlooking the stages, plus aerobic machines, a badminton court and a ping pong table.) they put in DVDs of last season for us to watch. It was really neat.
When it was time to film the segment we were going to watch, we filed into the studio and sat down. One of the hosts of the show is American, and has been living in Thailand for many years. He explained that todays show was part of a series of shows honoring the 9 artists that were chosen this year to recive awards from Thailand. (nine is an auspicious number in Buddhism). We were to witness a Khon dance. The Khon dance, a highly regimented and stylized style, is made to tell the story of the Ramakien, which is an epic story that is akin to the Iliad and Odessy of western culture. Because of the length of the story, we were only going to see an episode of it. (in fact, most 'full length' performances only show a small part of the story) We would be seeing the battle between the Monkey-Gods and the Giants. The performers (there were about 30-40 of them) were all students of the master who was being honored, who themselves went on to become teachers of the dance themselves.
While the performers did a few runthroughs of their dance, the master offered to show us how it was done and asked for a couple of volunteers. Of course Steve and I, who had been salivating at the thought of performance since we entered the studio volunteered and were shown the positions, with the Master repositioning us. It was not the day to have worn bluejeans. The positions were much like advanced ballet positions, requiring both strength and flexibility. Being inflexible as I am he made the comment that i had 'buffalo legs' but if i studied under him he could fix it.
We sat down for them to do another runthrough, this time with cameras. Afterwards the American asked for volunteers to be brought on stage during the actual filming. Steve, Johnny and I were chosen. They said they would bring us on stage, teach us a little of the dance and then ask us do show something that we were good at to the audience, so we were quickly put on the spot to come up with something that all 3 of us were good at. The decided upon talent was that I would beatbox and Steve and Johnny would dance.
The cameras started rolling and we were seated off to the side. The dancers danced, and then the master was brought onstage for an interview. After that 4 students of his students were brought on and they did a small sample of dance. Then we were brought on and taught the students dance. We did our best. :D One of the hosts is considered to be Thailands best commedian, and ran us through our paces, having us do our best imitations of the different characters in the Ramakein dance. They then asked us what we had to share, and gave me a microphone. This part I had feared because all of the microphones used in the show were direct feed, no monitors. Which works fine for just speaking, but i was worried about not knowing what the mic was picking up from the beatbox. Luickly they gave me a mic that was pumping through the speakers so i had no problems. Steve and Johnny danced and then the hosts started joining in also.
The episode will be showing on Channel 9, at 3pm Bangkok Time, on either the 20th or the 27th.
And needless to say, I left two copies of my headshot with different people during the tour.
Erawan National Park
It seems I'm a bit behind on the blogging, I could blame it on midterms, but we all know that I am far to good of a student to need to study. So I suppose I'll go with the excuse that I'm to busy living life to write about it, which I can hardly be blamed for.
Anyway a week ago me and Jennifer were at Erawan National Park. Erawan is the most visited National Park in Thailand, and host to a 7-tiered waterfall. The best part is that unlike at Khao Yai National Park, at Erawan the waterfalls are swimable. The 7th tier is a bit over a kilometer from the bottom of the 1st tier and thats where we decided to start our fun. (that way we could experience the waterfall the same way the water does...minus the falls). The top fall was very awesome. The water was a bit chilly, but not as bad as I had thought it would be. There was a primary waterfall, which was a few meters tall, and off to the side of that there was a kind of secondary waterfall, which was a small flow of water over rounded limestone, making what looked like convex giant stairs. We were able to climb around and play on the stairs, it was great fun.
I'm not sure how they decided that this was a 7-tier waterfall, because between the tiers there were other small waterfalls and pools, that could easily be counted as a new tier. Anyhow, tiers 6 and 5 were beautiful and I could go on writing purple prose about them, but I'll wait till Jennifer posts her pictures and just show you those. (I really should get around to buying my own camera).
Waterfall #4 was really a stellar one that I enjoyed, because it had a waterslide. No, not a garish blue plastic one with a ladder, but a natural made waterslide made of rock. Following the lead of some Thai people I hopped in the water (its rocky near shore, but drops off almost immediately) and swam over to the waterfall and climbed up on the side of it. On the top, I sat down, at the start of the slide. It was evident where people had been sliding for there was a streak where no algae grew even though they covered most of the rock with a fine coating of sliminess. (luckily only the front of the rock, so climbing was not exceedingly dangerous).
You may have heard about Fish Foot massages before. I know some places in the states offer them. They are not for the ticklish. At the Erawan waterfall, there were many many fish similar to the foot massage fish in all of the pools. The difference is that the foot massage fish are rarely more than an inch long. Some of the fish nibbling at my feet at Erawan were a foot long, with most being around 6 inches.
After we got our kicks sliding down the rock we headed to the 3rd tier. On our way, the path diverged, and we decided to check out where the path less taken goes. It went across a dry river bed and into a bamboo forest. the path quickly disappeared, and although I was willing to get lost for a little bit, Jennifer wasnt, so we stayed in view of the path and walked around admiring the way the forest transitioned into all bamboo, and how much of a change in atmosphere there was.
Back to the waterfall we went to the 3rd tier, which seemed like the largest. It was fun because I was able to swim over to an opening under the water and let it fall down on my head and back. It kinda stung. But it was very fun just to swim around in the water. It was chilly, but it was very refreshing.
The 2nd tier was nice, but since it is one of the closest to the parking lot (and tier 1 is kinda lame) it was very busy.
When we were ready to leave, we asked the information desk when the next bus would be leaving. She said that it would be an hour and a half. So we did like any Thai person would do, and killed time by going to eat. Unlike Khao Yai, which had very few food options, Erawan had a row of about 6 different resturants/minimarts, so we just went into one that looked good and sat down to chow down.
When we finished eating there was still time to kill. We pulled out the newsweek and TIME magazines, which are perfect for trips that involve bus rides, and read those untill the bus showed up to take us back to Kanchanaburi, where we then caught a bus back to bangkok.
Anyway a week ago me and Jennifer were at Erawan National Park. Erawan is the most visited National Park in Thailand, and host to a 7-tiered waterfall. The best part is that unlike at Khao Yai National Park, at Erawan the waterfalls are swimable. The 7th tier is a bit over a kilometer from the bottom of the 1st tier and thats where we decided to start our fun. (that way we could experience the waterfall the same way the water does...minus the falls). The top fall was very awesome. The water was a bit chilly, but not as bad as I had thought it would be. There was a primary waterfall, which was a few meters tall, and off to the side of that there was a kind of secondary waterfall, which was a small flow of water over rounded limestone, making what looked like convex giant stairs. We were able to climb around and play on the stairs, it was great fun.
I'm not sure how they decided that this was a 7-tier waterfall, because between the tiers there were other small waterfalls and pools, that could easily be counted as a new tier. Anyhow, tiers 6 and 5 were beautiful and I could go on writing purple prose about them, but I'll wait till Jennifer posts her pictures and just show you those. (I really should get around to buying my own camera).
Waterfall #4 was really a stellar one that I enjoyed, because it had a waterslide. No, not a garish blue plastic one with a ladder, but a natural made waterslide made of rock. Following the lead of some Thai people I hopped in the water (its rocky near shore, but drops off almost immediately) and swam over to the waterfall and climbed up on the side of it. On the top, I sat down, at the start of the slide. It was evident where people had been sliding for there was a streak where no algae grew even though they covered most of the rock with a fine coating of sliminess. (luckily only the front of the rock, so climbing was not exceedingly dangerous).
You may have heard about Fish Foot massages before. I know some places in the states offer them. They are not for the ticklish. At the Erawan waterfall, there were many many fish similar to the foot massage fish in all of the pools. The difference is that the foot massage fish are rarely more than an inch long. Some of the fish nibbling at my feet at Erawan were a foot long, with most being around 6 inches.
After we got our kicks sliding down the rock we headed to the 3rd tier. On our way, the path diverged, and we decided to check out where the path less taken goes. It went across a dry river bed and into a bamboo forest. the path quickly disappeared, and although I was willing to get lost for a little bit, Jennifer wasnt, so we stayed in view of the path and walked around admiring the way the forest transitioned into all bamboo, and how much of a change in atmosphere there was.
Back to the waterfall we went to the 3rd tier, which seemed like the largest. It was fun because I was able to swim over to an opening under the water and let it fall down on my head and back. It kinda stung. But it was very fun just to swim around in the water. It was chilly, but it was very refreshing.
The 2nd tier was nice, but since it is one of the closest to the parking lot (and tier 1 is kinda lame) it was very busy.
When we were ready to leave, we asked the information desk when the next bus would be leaving. She said that it would be an hour and a half. So we did like any Thai person would do, and killed time by going to eat. Unlike Khao Yai, which had very few food options, Erawan had a row of about 6 different resturants/minimarts, so we just went into one that looked good and sat down to chow down.
When we finished eating there was still time to kill. We pulled out the newsweek and TIME magazines, which are perfect for trips that involve bus rides, and read those untill the bus showed up to take us back to Kanchanaburi, where we then caught a bus back to bangkok.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Rice Festival
Last wednesday a few of us who were lucky enough to have seen the signup sheet earlier that week were able to leave class early to go to Rangsit Campus (an hour away) to participate in the Thammasat Rice Harvest.
Rangsit campus is quite alot fancier than Tha Prachan (where i go to school), however it is quite removed from the city, so I'm glad to be at the city campus even if it has far less amenities. Also the dorms there have a midnight curfew, which is one of the stupidest things I have heard. The idea is that you will go back to your room in time and study or sleep. In reality, lets be honest, everyone either finds out what friends have nearby appartments or they just say "well its past midnight, looks like we have to party till 5am. we have no other choice, WE CANT GO HOME" I get frustrated just thinking about such an inane rule.
Anyhow, we arrived at the rice field which was about the size of the NWU greenspace and have to sign in. It turns out each 'faculty' (which is like a college when a university is broken into different colleges of study) sent 10 people to harvest the rice. Rice is a big deal in Thailand, its in about half of all thai dishes (the other half use noodles...rice noodles usually), and the harvest is done as a community. The festival started out with speeches by some important people in the university who I did not know. Some bits and pieces were translated for us exchange students. Next we got a folk music performance, not translated, but we got to yell syllables during the call and response part. Im sure we were actually saying words, but i didnt know what i was saying. Then the hand held sickles were handed out and we were shown how to harvest.
It was really easy actually. The rice grows in a clump, so you grab the stems with your left hand, and then with the sickle in your right hand (or vice versa if you are a southpaw) you pull towards you and then you throw the rice into a pile that gets loaded into a truck and processed later.
All the groups spread out across the field and started working across. I started off working near a bunch of Thai students. They kept showing me how to do it. Often when they demonstrated they had more trouble than I did. After the first 5 people showed me how to do it I thought to myself "If one more person shows me how to do this very simple task I'm going to stop trying to integrate and go work by the rest of the foreigners." I relocated nearby my classmates within ten minutes of starting the harvest.
Perhaps it was just to prove that i knew what I was doing to the condescending Thai students but I felt like I worked at a very good speed. But the rest of our group was cutting their way across the field quite rapidly as well. As we worked the band continued to play Thai folk songs, giving us an appropriate soundtrack for our work. After what i would estimate was about an hour, but i really have no clue, we made it to the end of the field. One of the Thai professors came over to us chuckling. "how is it," he asked "that the Farang harvest rice faster than the Thai?" Looking over the field, some groups were only halfway. The area that was trying to tell me how to do it right was not that far behind, us but it was still noticeable how far ahead we had finished (and didnt do anything incorrect) so we all felt proud and I felt personally vindicated.
This also put us first in line for food. the ever appropriate Pad Thai was served, wrapped in a banana leaf. It was quite good tasting.
As we ate, the band and speaker did some closeing ceremony stuff that was lost on me since it was in Thai. Then the MC came over to all of us exchange students and said they wanted us all to sing a song. We figured out that most of us knew Stand By Me, which we got up and sang.
It was then requested that we do another. Most people had sat back down so i performed Lean On Me with the band. They didnt know the song but were able to follow the key that iw as in very well, even when i changed it up without warning at the end. It was great being back on stage, it whetted my appetite for more. Unfortunatly, I dont think that will happen here.
Soon afterward, we helped them stack the chairs that they had set up, and got back on the bus for the trip back.
Rangsit campus is quite alot fancier than Tha Prachan (where i go to school), however it is quite removed from the city, so I'm glad to be at the city campus even if it has far less amenities. Also the dorms there have a midnight curfew, which is one of the stupidest things I have heard. The idea is that you will go back to your room in time and study or sleep. In reality, lets be honest, everyone either finds out what friends have nearby appartments or they just say "well its past midnight, looks like we have to party till 5am. we have no other choice, WE CANT GO HOME" I get frustrated just thinking about such an inane rule.
Anyhow, we arrived at the rice field which was about the size of the NWU greenspace and have to sign in. It turns out each 'faculty' (which is like a college when a university is broken into different colleges of study) sent 10 people to harvest the rice. Rice is a big deal in Thailand, its in about half of all thai dishes (the other half use noodles...rice noodles usually), and the harvest is done as a community. The festival started out with speeches by some important people in the university who I did not know. Some bits and pieces were translated for us exchange students. Next we got a folk music performance, not translated, but we got to yell syllables during the call and response part. Im sure we were actually saying words, but i didnt know what i was saying. Then the hand held sickles were handed out and we were shown how to harvest.
It was really easy actually. The rice grows in a clump, so you grab the stems with your left hand, and then with the sickle in your right hand (or vice versa if you are a southpaw) you pull towards you and then you throw the rice into a pile that gets loaded into a truck and processed later.
All the groups spread out across the field and started working across. I started off working near a bunch of Thai students. They kept showing me how to do it. Often when they demonstrated they had more trouble than I did. After the first 5 people showed me how to do it I thought to myself "If one more person shows me how to do this very simple task I'm going to stop trying to integrate and go work by the rest of the foreigners." I relocated nearby my classmates within ten minutes of starting the harvest.
Perhaps it was just to prove that i knew what I was doing to the condescending Thai students but I felt like I worked at a very good speed. But the rest of our group was cutting their way across the field quite rapidly as well. As we worked the band continued to play Thai folk songs, giving us an appropriate soundtrack for our work. After what i would estimate was about an hour, but i really have no clue, we made it to the end of the field. One of the Thai professors came over to us chuckling. "how is it," he asked "that the Farang harvest rice faster than the Thai?" Looking over the field, some groups were only halfway. The area that was trying to tell me how to do it right was not that far behind, us but it was still noticeable how far ahead we had finished (and didnt do anything incorrect) so we all felt proud and I felt personally vindicated.
This also put us first in line for food. the ever appropriate Pad Thai was served, wrapped in a banana leaf. It was quite good tasting.
As we ate, the band and speaker did some closeing ceremony stuff that was lost on me since it was in Thai. Then the MC came over to all of us exchange students and said they wanted us all to sing a song. We figured out that most of us knew Stand By Me, which we got up and sang.
It was then requested that we do another. Most people had sat back down so i performed Lean On Me with the band. They didnt know the song but were able to follow the key that iw as in very well, even when i changed it up without warning at the end. It was great being back on stage, it whetted my appetite for more. Unfortunatly, I dont think that will happen here.
Soon afterward, we helped them stack the chairs that they had set up, and got back on the bus for the trip back.
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