Meet the Family

Two weekends ago, I met the family. It seemed like everytime I turned around there was a new family member to greet. It began Saturday morning, when Grandma and I were the only ones home. I was upstairs in my room reading when all of a sudden I hear a baby cry. Hmm... After much deliberation-- who are these people? Do they want to meet me? Should I pretend that I am sleeping? Do they know I can hear them? Do they speak any English?-- I went downstairs. There was a young couple with a small girl eating lunch, playing, and chatting with Grandma. I had no idea who they were. They did not know English. Thankfully, I occupied myself with eating the beautiful spread that was on the table. Soon, the rest of my family came home, and I immediately noticed the resemblance between the mystery woman and my Meh, after which Meh told me about her family. But there was little time to socialize because Meh, Fai, and I had to take off. We went to pick up Laurie, another student from DU who is living with Fern's best friend's family. Then Laurie and I were dropped off at Ban Tawai. It's an area with rows and rows of stalls and shops selling mostly wood carvings and products, and antiques. Some also sell other home decor items such as vases, paintings, pillows and tapestries; while some sell clothing or gift items. The stuff is really beautiful and the handiwork is really impressive. It makes me really want a private plane to bring back stuff in and a new house to decorate. So we spent a couple of hours happily looking around and picking up a few goodies and gifts.

Later that night, my family and I went out to dinner. The "restaurant", like many others here, consisted of a makeshift kitchen set up essentially on the sidwalk with a few small tables and plastic stools set out in front. With the cars zooming by on the four lane road 15 feet from us, we enjoyed the tasty food. When we returned home, more family! However, I wasted no time in recognizing the ears sticking straight out from the man's head-- definitely related to my Paw. The man was Paw's brother and his wife was there as well. It was late though, and everyone was showering and getting into their pajamas. People seemed to be gathering in the master bedroom, which was a pretty weird concept to me--socializing in my parents bedroom, so I retreated to my room. But soon, Meh came and got me. I joined my sisters, Meh, and my aunt in the big bedroom. The men were elsewhere. So the five of us hung aournd on the bed and mattresses, watching a Thai soap opera, attempting to communicate, and giggling like crazy. Slumber Party! And so much fun... When it came time to go to sleep, I noticed that the visiting Aunt and Uncle were not going to use the spare bedroom next to mine. Instead, a thick blanket was laid out on the floor in the big bedroom, next to my sisters' mattresses which are on the floor next to the big bed. I guess that's culture for you.

The next day, we had big plans. We were going to drive to Lampang, a province about an hour away from Chiang Mai, to see...family, of course! So in the morning we packed up the pick-up truck with plenty of pillows and snacks to make the long journey, and piled in (including Grandma). The drive was fun and we arrived before I knew it. We pulled up into the driveway of a house with alot of people gathered around the large front porch. After waiing and greeting everyone in sight-- I learned what was going on. This house, the one next to it, the one behind it, AND the one behind it but kitty-corner were all occupied by family (a common occurrence in Thailand). Apparently my Grandma is one of 7 children, and 3 of them live there in Lampang. Also, her mother lives there! I was told she was only 83 years old and she looks very well. I even wached as she hopped on the back of a motorcycle, side-saddle, and drove off with my Meh. Anyways, there were alot of poeple hanging around and I didn't always know the relationship of everyone. But it was really great to see my Grandma so happy. You could tell she loved being around her siblings and family. It's great that my family lives relatively close, since they are able to make this trip 2 or 3 times a month. No one knew English very well but Meh spent some time fascilitating and translating some basic conversation. And often I would hear my Grandma proclaim to everyone except me, "Pi Julie yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah." Which was always followed by a huge explosion of laughter. I don't think they use pronouns all that much here, so I can always tell when they are talking about (or laughing at) me, but rarely understand what is actually being said. I also spent some time with Fai playing with the giant chickens, bunnies, and dogs in the backyard. One of the family's houses had a "restaurant" out front, which is where Meh prepared our lunch.

Then, in the afternoon, Paw, Meh, my sisters and I went to an Elephant show! There is an Elephant Conservation Center only a few minutes away. The place has a ton of land, so when we arrived he hopped on a little shuttle that took us to where the elephants were bathing in a pond. After, we moved to the show grounds and watched as the elephants showed off their tricks. They kicked, pulled, and stacked logs. They played some musical instruments. They took bows and placed hats on poeples' heads. And they even painted pictures. The handlers would dip the paintbrush and stick it in three of the elephants' trunks and then the elephants produced immpressive pictures of trees, of flowers, and of an elephant. They are pretty funny animals and you definitely catch yourself wondering if they might actually know what is going on-- they seem very intelligent.

Anyways, it was a fun weekend and I got to learn alot about my family. I'm so thankful that they are so willing to share their lives with me and to welcome me into their family. This past week also brought about many adventures, but I do not have time to write about them now. So I will try to get that up when I can!