slacker

ok, i have to admit that ive been a huge slacker ever since chris got here and have basically disappeared off the face of my work-related activities. i've tried to get back into the swing of things today though, and am proud at myself for editing a pretty poorly written paper, writing three work-related emails, and taking out charts i'm supposed to review (even if i haven't started really looking at them yet).

it was a huge relief to be back together with chris and it took almost no time at all to adjust from living alone in my roomy studio apt to living with chris again. he brought our wedding album and all our pics (so ive looked many many times at them and shared them with a bunch of people), nutter butters, and a foam topper for the mattress and new sheets :). he's also more attuned to cleanliness than i am, so the apt has been kept relatively clean between the maid visiting and me cleaning up to make the room presentable for my teacher when she comes to teach me thai. big news in the past few weeks includes:

1) motorcycle purchase. aum ( a nurse from the MA project) and gig (her bf) took us to buy a used motorcycle last weekend. we paid about $500 for a used automatic bike (yamaha nuovo) and it's in super good condition. i just got an oil change and tune-up at the yamaha garage for $7. craziness.

chris almost made me fall off the bike the first day we got it while we were practicing riding around, but i saved myself. he's getting better everyday and is the main driver as i'm scared of traffic and can't really balance him on the back of a bike.

it is REALLY nice to have an independent mode of transportation rather than take songtaews (or red trucks) everywhere. gas isnt that expensive for bikes either (we spend maybe 100 baht a week, or less than $3) on gas a week, vs a little less than a dollar for both of us to go on one ride anywhere in the city.

dont worry, we always wear helmets :).

2) loy krathong

loy krathong (festival of light) was also celebrated last weekend during the full moon. in the north it's also called yee peng and it's a BIG deal. you can read more about the history and significance of loy krathong in this article here. basically, the festival is to pay respect to water and its centrality in people's lives (main theme in lots of Thai traditions, including the New Year Festival, Songkran).

chris and i attended two parades with intricate floats and also made our very own krathong (float) in a lanna village (did you ever have colonial days in your elementary school? this was exactly like that, but nicer - basically, they set up a platform with people playing traditional lanna music, weaving traditional cotton clothes, making traditional desserts, etc. there was also a station where you could make your own krathong). lanna is how northern Thai people refer to themselves and their culture. lan in thai means one million, and na means fields (ie rice paddies)...so one million rice fields (guess what people used to do here for a living). anyway, krathong are really cool and are made from environmentally friendly materials, mostly from the banana tree. the base of our float was made from a banana stalk and then it was covered with banana leaves. i am bad at folding, so chris took cues from aum as to how to fold strips of banana leaves into triangles that are supposed to resemble lotus petals. i assembled the banana leaves onto the base and added some flowers they had there. finally, we topped off our float with a homemade candle and three incense sticks (for the Buddha, the Dharma (the Buddha's teachings, and the Sangha (the monastic order and those who follow the Buddha's teachings). although real thai people probably thought our krathong was really crappy looking, we were proud of it just the same. :)

after making the krathong, we bought a khom loei (or floating paper lantern...you basically light a candle under these things and wait for it to produce enough hot air until it rises into the night air like a hot air balloon...see pics in the slideshow for more) and then drove to the Ping River to float our krathong and light the khom loei. Floating a krathong with your partner is supposedly good luck and will ensure happiness and good fortune together. Before letting our krathong float down the river, we each put a strand of our own hair in it and a coin. Putting your hair in your float supposedly helps to wash away the bad things in your current life and helps you start afresh. You can also pray and/or make wishes before letting your float go in the water. Chris and I decided to wish for a happy future together and good health for both of our families. Luckily, our krathong floated without any problems and the candle did not burn out (it is bad luck to have your candle burn out before it leaves your sight). Hopefully our wish will come true :).

After floating our krathong, we lighted the khom loei and let it go with Aum and Gig. You also get to make wishes and hope that 'badness' floats away with the khom loei. the night sky during loy krathong is amazing because of all the khom loei in the night sky (like lanterns everywhere).

enjoy one of our loy krathong slideshows here :)

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

3) new work-related project. vit and i went to check out m-plus, a drop-in center and clinic offering free std and hiv testing for male commercial sex workers. the director wasn't there and they weren't really expecting us, so we didnt stay long, but i was able to join a meeting the m-plus coordinators had with rihes (the research institute where i work) this past week. im going to check out more opportunities there next week and maybe will volunteer to teach english (much like i did at empower during my last yearlong stay in thailand).

4) celebrating accountability. chris and i watched election day coverage on cnn all day in Thailand and celebrated the democratic takeover of both the senate and the house. unfortunately, proposition 2 (banning affirmative action in Michigan) passed despite our absentee ballots.


ok, those are the main things for now. ill update more after our weekend trip to lampang with aum and gig :).