Thailand in a betelnut shell:
First day I set off to see the things that one must see in Bangkok, starting my day with a ride on a motorcycle taxi - pressing my right leg right up against the exhaust pipe resulting in my first and hopefully last "farong burn" The burn bubbled up later into the largest blister I have ever had in my life. I took the boat down the river to visit Wat Pho, the reclining Buddha and a wat also famous for it's long lasting role as a center for traditional thai medicine. The highlight of visiting here for me (other than being in awe of the reclining Buddhas toes) was that they had an area where the ceramic roofing shingles were piled up and you could write whatever you wanted on the underside of tile and that tile would be used in the roofing renovation... I quickly made a tribute/prayer tile... and then went back to make another donation and another tile for First Nations @ UW with the names of members and wishes of success for the graduates of last year and this coming June.
I went on to the Grand palace and to see the emerald Buddha. I had to borrow a sarong because my long shorts were not acceptable atire. Beautiful place, the mosaics that create the flowers and intricate designs, oh and the murals, I could go on and on. The clouds above had been threatening rain, and a little while after I sat down to gaze up at the emerald Buddha in his summer clothes (they change his outfits) the downpour began. A group of novice monks, young boys, had come inside and were ushered to the front where their chanting made my visit even more memorable. The picture above of the juice cooler/fridge with the chief logo is outside of the palace where I bought some chocolate milk.
I was hoping to make it to a meditation class at Wat Mahathat, but it seemed to be closed (turns out I was in totally the wrong place...and listened to the wrong person about the time that the meditation class would happen the next day) so I went to see one last Buddha, a large standing one, before taking the boat back up to Bangsue.
The next day I went and found where the meditation classes take place, but was late and really had the impulse to give up on the meditation idea, not knowing why I was there and confused about the class going on not being in English. Soon the director of Section 5 (the meditation instruction building) welcomed me in, a small smiling monk who has probably had plenty of farong come in with little to no knowledge of Buddhism. How embarrasing to me now, my assumptions that the classes I read about would be just like any other cutesy relaxation or "wandering through a beautiful forest when you come upon a clear stream, approach the stream..." -type meditation I had come across in my life, completely detached of Buddism. I needed a bubble above my head reading "oops, I think my judeo-christian upbringing is showing".
So Phra gave me a booklet to read on meditation technique. He said if I read it he would teach me more, and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to leave and read it and come back or read it right there, but he pointed out a place I could sit. I asked again, for some obnoxious reason, about group classes in English. Phra smiled and reminded me in Thailand, where the language is Thai. How horrible of me, it's part of a larger realization that I agonized over needing to learn more Spanish, but not once put any thought towards learning any Thai. Good grief.
I read the booklet, some things made sense, others were like nothing I had ever really thought about before, and when I returned to the Phra's desk expecting an immediate lecture he instead asked if I had eaten breakfast. Catching me offguard I told him no, and he took me to the kitchen for a plate of melon and sweet ginger tea. I came back to his desk again "full? happy? we have to eat to be happy!" He talked with me about Buddhism and meditation training, but mostly about America and mental health in America... Contributing factors to the mental health problems. I am not sure if this is his usual approach, but I did tell him that I study public health. ((I am trying to keep this a brief over-view, which seems impossible to me so I will speed through the following)) The Phras assistant gave me a one on one in walking and sitting meditation, and afterwards I was invited to have lunch there as well. Delicous food and a very good immersion experience. I think I'll be going back.
I did a few more sight seeing activities before going back to Bangsue to visit with Ruth and Isabelle. They have started running in the park in the 40 C heat and I decided to join them. The park was an oasis surrounded by bustling city. Running in the extreme heat was intense to say the least, and I basically walked jogged one km, walked one, jogged one. To keep on going I applied what was in the meditation booklet about "walking fast" and just focusing on the moment, the impact, the movement of right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. When I really felt like giving up on jogging I saw the fountain marking where we had began on the loop, and there is nothing like seeing the finish line to give you knew energy. Later, when I was sitting down next to the pond sweating buckets and wishing for water, I thought about how this is true for my travels as well. I know the day that I am returning to Seattle and it is coming near. I can see the finish line and it is giving me new energy in my travels. I bought my ticket for Chiang Mai that night and went out to the night bazaar because Ruth and Isabelle had a going away get together to make an appearance at (this was kind of dreadful) and I was a bit too tired and am a bit too DONE with shopping to enjoy much more of the Bazaar. It was really great for observing other tourists though.
The next day the big event was getting my hair cut -read- butchered. I had many reasons for wanting to cut my hair, it had grown very long as hair tends to do. By any standards it needed a trim, and ---wait, before I go on and on about my hair I should probably preface this information by telling you that my hair for the last 10 years or so has always been cut straight across and I have had it grown out long for a good deal of that time. Just know that for some cultural, some personal, some reasons cutting my hair is kind of a big deal to me. The last people to have cut my hair were Alyssa (miss you girl!) and my cousin Andy. I don't know how to do a proper preface with such a broad audience so I will try to work in this information a bit more. Basically, I wanted to cut my hair differently for many reasons, the one I will describe to you being one that is most pressing in my mind at the moment.
While I was in New Zealand I did a lot of thinking and talking about identity, about the ways that identity politics create divisions in our communities, especially when you have a group of students of all different backgrounds uniting under the shared identity of Native American/First Nations, sometimes coming to a loss as to what is actually shared between individuals across that grouping. I had the much enjoyed experience of going to the Auckland museum with a new friend, Malia :), a doctorate student studying education with a focus on native education, and talking with her about her undergrad experiences at stanford ((where they have a native house run by the school?!?!)). We talked about the ways that some students (selves included) feel more of a need to make their native identity more visible when coming to university and the wide range of reasons for this reaction. "The bandanas come out (okay, she's a little before my time hehe) the hair grows longer..." and in thinking about how I experienced this, and how my long hair had become more of a symbol to others of my identity than holding the meaning, the sacredness that my hair also meant to me... somewhere along this thought process I decided it was time for change. I don't know if any of that will make sense to anyone, but there are ways in which increased comfort with my identity has caused me to feel the need to let go of the ways that I have marked my identity out for others.
Never has a haircut of mine involved a razor. Great plan Emma, get your hair cut by someone you cannot communicate with. I truly had to let go, and here I am today with the results of some trimming, razor cutting and a whole lot of thinning scissor work... It's not that dramatically different to most, but it's different to me and the really huge difference is that I just had to sit down in that chair and let go.
Tempted to delete all this hair business.
Other fun events of that day include making a shirt for Ruth's boyfriend in England based off of his idea to have a shirt that reads Similar Similar instead of same same. I'll have to get a photo from her of him wearing it because I forgot to take a picture. When it was time for me to take my night train to Chiang Mai I got a motorcyle ride all the way across several tracks right up to my platform, and the train ride was a blast. Oh I loved it, my little sleeping compartment. my blanket and pillow and all. If only I had had sleeping compartments on the overnight bus rides in South America!!!
(I am in Sukhothai now and want to head back to my cute little bungalow before it gets too late, the rest of the update will be on getting invited to join in on a procession, a blessing by monks and elders, being adopted into a thai family, meditation retreat, "thai beauty school", going to Chiang Rai... time up in the hills... okay must go, but much to tell)
