I am still just as happy but I have no had time to learn a bit more about the village! They are not all fisherman and they are not necessarily saving the ocean! For example, I was carrying a kayak to the sea and I see a little girl finish her bag of chips and toss it on the street! First of all they have TONS of little kanom shops/convenience stores all around! Second, she just tossed it! So I said ‘mai di’ (not good!) and she picked it up with a grin. I’m sure the minute I turned back around, she just tossed out out again. Also, the other thing was that no one fishes! Still haven’t figured out what everyone does here and neither has the Norweigan guy who has lived here for 5 years! He’s pretty cool. He can’t stay away from the water and he found this place exploring, loved it, and stayed. He has a pretty cool mindset and lifestyle but I’ll spare the details.
Right now, I am sitting in the living area doing my reflections that are due tomorrow. It’s times like these that I realized how incredible/ridiculous my situation is. Mah I running around the village chasing fat Bookah and she comes in and puts out a little wood floor table for me to do my hw. Then she asks if she can go chase down Book. I am sitting in this thatched house writing about how the coastal area shapes this village while listening to the children yelling outside, adults chatting, and Mah yellng after Book. The monsquitoes are terrible and I am being eaten alive. Mah just put out the incent to repel the mosquitoes. This is really just a surreal experience because it is completely immersive.
As I am writing, all the little kids are shooting at me with fake guns yelling Pi Don Caow (my name)! Don’t worry, I stopped writing this to play for a bit. They come after me every day! Pi Don Caow is their main vocab. Bpai ti nai???
One of the little boys (Ja ron) just jumped on me with a gun in my face! They love to play! I love it too but sometimes I need a break! They are still yelling my name! In the morning too! They come in before I leave for the pier asking Pi Don Caow, ti nai?!? Where are you??
Now, one of the kids just grabbed my whistle from around my neck and blew it (we have to wear them for safety). I should get back to work but I wanted to explain my surroundings as it happens because otherwise its hard to understand or explain!
Oh ok!! Can’t stop yet…Nong Salina just came in and said Pi D.C. tam gan ban (do hw) and she slapped the little boys and they started crying! Anyone could tell it was all Ja Ron could do to keep crying and then the little one started. I felt so bad! They just wanted to play!
After this fiasco, I just did my work, I listened to Salina speak/read Thai to me and realized she was trying to figure out what I was doing tomorrow (going to the Natural Resource Management office). It was so funny because the booklet was in Thai and English and I saw national park and said ‘oh ani!!’ She was so proud of herself!
Day by Day
The past days haven’t been very academic heavy! Today (11/30) we sea kayaked for the first time. We were driven by longtail boat to the mouth of the river tributary and then we did some transect study of mangroves in the river and kayaked throughout, back into the ocean and back to the pier. We tested pH and looked to see what invertebrates, tree types, etc were around and had to ID them all! WE had to do forest and field transects already and this was by far the most fun!
Yesterday (11/29) was family day! I went to the school with Mah to give the ids lunch! I felt like a celeb because they all wanted to talk to me, touch me, play, etc. But they were also really shy! So cute and so overwhelming. I knew some of the kids from the village who are always at my house! When we got back and the kids came home, they were all so excited to see me and they never leave me alone! After school (only an hour of the day), I asked Mah if anyone around fished and she basically said no which was confusing! I was trying to understand the village…the point of family day! **when I explain conversations, I explain in English but they are ALL in Thai…which is why sometimes I have awkward/confusing situations!
Since I couldn’t do anything related to fishing, I just walked around to find other friends! Eventually, I found Janelle and then Caro and Grace! We just swam in the ocean for 3 hours or so, which was great! We then had to meet back at the Ran Ahan to learn how to wet exit kayaks!
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