Teerak, My Mom Is Ill And I Want Income (4)

Delivery by pick-up truck: July 47.30am and I'm waiting outside my building with my car and driver. No Neung and no Khun Ying, her brother. So I guess I just have to wait oh well, it's Thailand. I get an sms and this indicates the taxi they called could not find their position so they're going to be very late. Mai pencil rai.8.15am Neung and Ying occur carrying 6 huge bags of pet food. Hmmm, that is looking exciting. Nearly sure how this 1 gets discussed. We set out for Rangsit. Neung describes about the pet food. Her mother had four College Softball Recruiting. The neighbor has been serving them but went out of food 4 days previously, therefore the cats have not eaten. Ok, that explains the cat food well enough!9.15am we go begin to see the neighbors and reach the house in Rangsit. Cats occur, fast! We give them some food and then they are registered by the neighbor's dog, who generally seems to eat cat food as willingly as she takes dog food. Well, it is Thailand!We are going to do tambuun at your house. Neung explains that sometimes people do it at the temple but it's deemed "luckier" to do it at the individuals home. Anything regarding releasing the spirit. I really do not pretend to understand but no problem. If the monks can occur I ask. Around 11am I'm told which, naturally, indicates 11.30am. Many people are usually late here. All of the monk's presents have now been organized. Money in backgrounds, plants and the most common container of treats - cleaning dust, toothpaste and therefore on.10.30am and the monks arrive. What is going on here? No-one in Thailand is ever early. We'll get back to this quickly, however it turns out to be about food. The monks arrived, all nine of these, in the rear of a pickup. Dressed up in their red robes it's a notably surreal world. The strangest collection shipping I've ever seen! We are in possession of nine monks seated on the ground of the home, with about 25 visitors seated throughout the area. The traditions start with an of water to the monks. The candles are lit, the string is unwound, we all calm down and the chanting begins.I can not be sure however it seemed to me that the chanting was much the same as at the funeral ceremonies. It is really interesting to view and listen. It's melodic without being musical and slightly hypnotic. Since I was in agony from sitting with crossed legs hypnosis could have been beneficial. My joints are shot from an excessive amount of running at the gymnasium and I find these very fundamental sitting postures extremely difficult to control. So, for me personally, the chanting is an exercise in pain and the continuous thought running through my mind of "how much longer?"A number of dogs wander in and out even as we sit and just a little 2 year old women concerns join us, holding her arms up in the praying place. It is a very lovely landscape. She gets bored rapidly, as 2 year olds do, and determines to look at and disassemble the padlock to the yard gate. Then she decides to test every one else's sneakers, sandals, high heels, they are all similar interest. I find my eyes wandering a lot more to her compared to the business at hand.The chanting stops and why the monks arrived early now I learn. We're their meal. I'm informed that the monks eat twice each day, morning meal and lunch and that they may not eat after noon. They resulted in early to be certain that they could get lunch. Well which makes perfect sense to me. After all, this region a lot more than most, marches on its stomach. Lunch is just a banquet. Quite a few different foods. They consume, we wait. Everybody seems pleased and there is a great deal of joking from everyone.I am, of course, the only real farang and the object of some attention. Most are wondering Neung if I am her partner. She says no, only a friend and that I'm homosexual. Hmmm, ok. Now where did that come from? Neung describes. They'll wonder why u are here so I called u my gay friend If I say u are my friend (puan). Hmm, ok. Why not say I am r ex boyfriend. No way she says. If I say that I lose face. Therefore the price of perhaps not losing face is that I am now gay. Life could possibly be worse!Chanting resumes but this time it's quite short, only five minutes. Their goodies are collected by the monks, rise in to the pickup and off they go. Procedures are around with. Neung's mother is now at peace.Lunch begins for all your visitors. We divided into two groups. I sit with Neung, Khun Ying and seven other ladies. The majority are inside their 50s and 60s and I am an object of fascination. They see me struggling with the sitting postures and so, to a lot of laughing, a stool appears and I'm told to remain. My cheeks are red but the pain is gone therefore it is a good tradeoff. Then the true challenge begins. Am I likely to eat the food? Thankfully I love Thai food at least as much as kon Thai and so the food isn't any problem for me personally. They also begin to understand that I speak quite reasonable Thai.Everything is certainly going well until we arrived at the durian combined with coconut milk and sticky rice. Durian is obviously OK to eat but this one is not ready enough. Sticky rice is not something I enjoy. The mixture altogether? Well I manage not to provide but only just and, of course, the entire team sees this very engaging, myself just about integrated. These are typical good people. They're having a great time. They're being very enticing to me. It has been an excellent day so far.The food is cleared away and we all begin to get rid of. Neung pays for the food which means, always that I pay for the food. There a thousand bottles of beer appear is plenty of celebrating and five minutes later what seems. Appears I offered a good suggestion too! So now everybody really loves us.It is time to move, time to farewell, to perform many wais and to drive home. Neung is leaving for Amsterdam tonight to pay 10 days with his Dutch sweetheart and her homosexual Thai friend. She tries to insist that she will not be paying the entire 10 days getting a new sweetheart but doesn't seem too credible. Mai pen rai, this isn't my problem anymore. I am happy too if she's happy then. She may be my ex but she is still my friend and she has had a difficult few months.The first Thai funeral I attended was for Neung's mother and it's for her also that I have made my first tambuun. It has been still another intriguing experience. Death is managed by the Thai people with plenty of respect, humor, tact and sophistication. That is an unusual mix of words probably nonetheless it is definitely an suitable mix. I like the direction they do this and I like to believe that Neung's mother could have been happy with what she saw today. I do not pretend to understand Buddhism or Thai tradition, but what I do see I like extremely much.As for Neung it has been an arduous time. Her mother was her only family. Her father did not turn up today and has apparently been asking her for cash. Her stepfather, aged 75, has been trying to move his affections for her mother to Neung herself.She has been unhappy and she's cried alone a lot. I've not been able to pay long with her. Currently she looks happier than I have seen her in a long time. Partly it's because she is planning to Amsterdam but I believe it's more than that. She has finally learned to state goodbye to her mother.Thailand might be certainly a crazy place. Mad but fantastic and so very much alive, even in death. I am lucky to be here.The end. Initial guide offered at []