Parents, Part Two

On Monday we went our separate ways: my parents went on an eco-tourist adventure in the jungle, and I trudged through the treacherous terrain of Thai secondary school. While my parents rode elephants, I battled the beast of uninterested students. Then, I woke up to the sound of machine guns on Wednesday. On my walk to school I realized that the scary machine guns were, in fact, fun red firecrackers. The noise scares away evil spirits who bring bad luck on the eve of the Chinese New Year. After school I went to Chinatown in Bangkok with one of the Chinese teachers and rang in the Year of the Rat. While wandering through the congested streets, we saw crowded Chinese temples, the color red everywhere, people burning gold paper, and more!

Mom and Dad arrived in Nakhon Chaisi on Friday afternoon. They observed my teaching expertise (hah! a third of the students showed up five minutes before class ended). They looked in amazement at the giant Valentine's Day poster I made. They graciously greeted my fellow teachers who were shocked by Dad's height. They endured the stares of curious Thai students who had never seen so many Westerners (with such pointy noses!) at once. They waited patiently and sighed through waves of frustration at the school's slow internet connection. It was the complete afternoon of 'a glimpse into Becky's daily life.' Then we went to the river and fed the catfish. We ate pomelo, my town's famous sweet grapefruit-like commodity. Then we ate the world's best pad thai and a variety of other Thai delicacies (kao lam or honey-infused sticky rice in bamboo, a Thai dessert of taro in milk, roti, et cetera, et cetera).

On Saturday we went to Ratchburi's floating market, visited the Siriraj Hospital Museum, and indulged two-hour Thai massages. Over the course of these excursions, we gathered many memories and funny stories about the culture clash between East and West. Finally, on Sunday we went to the Grand Palace and the flower district. We spent dinner with my friend Peach and her parents. I think everyone really enjoyed this gathering despite the language barrier. I couldn't help but smile through the delicious home-cooked Thai meal as I was surrounded by five of my favorite people from around the world. The evening made it all the more difficult to bid farewell to my parents, who headed to the airport as I headed to school this morning.