Baby Business - More Days At The Hospital

A recent blog entry concerned itself with Udonthani General Hospital. Today's blog will be about Kumphawapi Hospital and will provide more insight into Thai life or more specifically - Isaan life.

Duang's daughter is 8+ months pregnant and is due to deliver in three weeks.

On Saturday she came into Udonthani to have an Ultra-Sound scan. Isaan is different than locations that I have lived in the USA. There are many private places throughout the city where you can go in and have a Ultra-Sound - unless it is a Saturday or Sunday!

Manchester United Football (Soccer) Team has a slogan "You will never walk alone". Their team paraphernalia is very popular over here including apparel with the team slogan. That slogan only needs to be slightly modified to describe life here in Isaan - "You will never be alone". Beside all of Duang's relatives (92 cousins), there is a very strong sense of community in Isaan. These two factors create an atmosphere that is unlike any I have experienced elsewhere.

Duang's daughter, her husband, Duang, Duang's son, his girlfriend, and I all piled into the pickup truck and headed into the city center in search of an Ultra-Sound Clinic. There seems to be an Ultra-Sound Clinic every 5 blocks in the city center. Unfortunately the clinics are not open on the weekend. The clinics have signs written in Thai - a sort of Sanskrit script rather than Roman script that English is written in. Often the signs will be written in green and at times will have a green cross to indicate medical related. As we drove around and around the city in our quest, I developed or thought that I had come to an understanding of what the writing for a clinic looked like. As we went along one street, I looked to the side and saw a clinic. I motioned Duang's son to pull up to the place. As we approached, we realized that the clinic was open, had ultra-sound scanning, but was a veterinary clinic. We all had a good laugh - well everyone except for Duang's daughter. Late term pregnant women don't have the greatest senses of humor. My honest mistake was not mitigated any by Duang's son's continual hysterical laughing. I did point out that ultra sound scanning a dog was the same as scanning a woman and most likely much cheaper. This only encouraged Duang's son to laugh more once she had translated to everyone. The quip did not amuse her daughter.

After wandering around the city for about an hour, we went to one of the private hospitals in Udonthani. We went to the scanning room and everyone was allowed in. The ultra-sound was much better resolution than the ones that I remeber for my sons thirty years ago. We could see ribs and internal organs in addition to counting the number of fingers as well as toes. Oh yeah - the baby is a boy. The cost of the Ultra-Sound scan with report for the doctor was $35 USD.

On Monday morning we got a call that Duang's daughter was in the hospital with pain. I drove Duang to the Kumphawapi Hospital about 25 miles from our home. One of my earlier blogs in August was about the Maternity Ward of this hospital. The parking lot was filled so I dropped Duang off at the front of the hospital and drove off to find a parking spot elsewhere. Duang told me to meet her where we had gone before.

After parking the truck, I went into the neo-natal ward where we had visited before. I entered the ward and walked around looking at every patient to see if she was Duang's daughter. No one seemed to mind me wandering around although it was obvious that most were curious about a falang walking around. After assuring myself that she was not there I walked outside and headed towards the main administration/reception building. On the way, Duang's son-in-law saw me and brought me to the new area where she was.

Duang's daughter was in the labor ward along with three other pregnant women. The ward is very spartan - a sort of first aid type facility for a large industrial plant. The room had concrete walls covered with a sort of plastic paneling riveted on to it. There was a completely exposed nurse's station consisting of two desks, two chairs and one computer set in the ward by the entrance.

There were 10 beds in the labor ward. The beds were rather spartan as well - metal frames with a plywood base with a 3 inch thick foam mattress on top. There were two air conditioning units in the ward that cooled and heated the room. Since it is now cold (63F) at night the units warmed the room. The room also had a single fetal monitoring machine which was being used for one of the other patients.

At one end of the labor room was the birthing suite(?). The birthing suite was a large room that to me resembled a cross between the autopsy rooms shown on TV and a barber shop. The room had three chairs with stirrups in a row - side by side. The room was drab without any semblence of decoration or sense of high technology. I was a little concerned that there were four women in the labor room and only three birthing stations.

Duang's daughter was not in labor and after about two hours she was released with some antacid and some pills.

We returned home and about two hours later received a call that Duang's daughter was back at the hospital. We went back to the hospital with Duang's son and son's girlfriend.

Since it was now night time, people were setting up for the night. Just like Udonthani General Hospital, patient's families camp out at the hospital. Duang's son-in-law and his mother had claimed one of the concrete benches along the outside open aired corridors to spend the night. They had brought some sahts, blankets, and plastic bags with clothes and food for the night. Other people were setting up their spots throughout the complex. This hospital was different from Udonthani General in that there were hospital cats wandering the area.

There were three other women in the labor room. One was hooked up to a fetal monitor machine. Another patient was in advanced labor and was tended by her mother and husband. She was in pain but kept her suffering in silence.

The third patient was in labor and was tended only by her mother. She was in very much pain but like the second patient was fairly quiet.

After awhile, the woman with the fetal monitor was discharged - so now there were three women for three birthing stations. I was more at ease.

We stayed there and gave support to Duang's daughter. She was going to spend the night in the hospital but was not in labor yet. In no time at all we knew the conditions of the other patients and they knew about Duang's daughter. I am continually amazed at the openness and resulting lack of privacy of Isaan society. The people love to talk, chat, and gossip and there are few topics not up for discussion.

We returned to the hospital this morning. Duang's daughter was still in pain but not in labor. She will spend two more days in the hospital.

The biggest news was that the two other women had their babies. We went over to the neo-natal unit to check them out. One woman had a little girl. Since she was a cesarean birth, the baby was not birth molded at all although she was in an incubator. The mother was in a bed about fifteen feet from the incubator which was in the aisle way from the ward entrance across form the nurse's station. The proud grandmother and father were also visiting so Duang got into an involved conversation about the birth.

The other baby was more serious - he was born with a heart defect and had already been transferred some 40 miles south to a specialty hospital. We found all this out from the Grandmother. After awhile the new mother walked out carrying two bags of clothing with her husband. Isaan women are definitely tough. They were going down to see their son at the new hospital.

It is eye opening to see the medical facilities that are available to so many people in the world.

It is also a revelation to see how little care is available to people.

Here in Isaan there is no air of mysticism or invulnerability associated with medicine or medical care. Healing, birthing, and dying are not hidden behind doors in pastel walled, brilliantly lit rooms in the company of strangers.

Injured patients and post operative patients are wheeled along outside aisle ways filled with children, toddlers, and adults of all ages. Doctors, nurses, and cleaning personnel are indistinguishable in their uniforms. Each one has a job to do. Each job being just as important as the other.

Some of this may be attributable to the Buddhist attitude towards life and death ... "The Buddhist spends their entire life preparing for the moment that they know will come - the moment of their death."

In the Wast, many of us spend all our life trying to avoid or deny the moment that will come for all of us. Our faith in our percieved medical capabilities and facilities helps support our efforts.

11 January 2009 - Hello

Hello

I am expanding my horizons by developing this blog in conjunction with the creation of my website that focuses upon my photography. www.hale-worldphotography.com

I have been maintaining a blog at www.myspace.com/aahale but I am looking for the abilitiy as well as capability to reach a larger audience.

The first blogs are be copies of the previously posted MySpace blogs with the addition of a photograph for some of them.

If this effort is successful and meets my needs, my blogs will be dedicated soley to this site.

7 Juanuary 2009, Busted Up In Isaan

Busted Up In Isaan
7 January 2009

This is my second attempt to write this blog. On Sunday, I spent a couple of hours composing the blog only to lose all my work on MySpace by hitting an incorrect key - Grrrrr!

I will now try resurrecting it from memory and first write it in Word so that all I have to do is paste it into MySpace.

We had to go into Udonthani Sunday morning for a family emergency. Duang had gotten a phone call that one of her relatives had been in an accident and was now hospitalized. I have written before about the number of her relatives. Here in Isaan it seems that just about everyone is an aunt, uncle, cousin or “cousin of my cousin”.

In Isaan, one’s family extends beyond what we typically define as immediate family in the USA. For me family was made up of aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and their children. I am not even familiar with the term for the “cousin of my cousin”. But this is Thailand and things are different.

In preparing to rewrite this blog after a day of sulking or perhaps mourning over my lost original work, I sat down with Duang to get a better understanding of just how many relatives that she has. I restricted my questioning to just aunts, uncles and cousins. I was shocked but developed a better appreciation for how so many people seem to be family for her. Duang has 7 uncles, 9 aunts, and 92 cousins. Now I understand – a little bit.

Duang has difficulty with possessive pronouns – your, my, his, her, our, and their. This leads to some interesting but interesting conversations. Sunday was one of them. She informed me, if I remember correctly, that “cousin of you uncle of my sister” have accident last night.

She assured me that I knew the victim and that he had “taken care of me the other day at party”. “Take care” of someone means to say hello to them. Since half of the village was at the party, I am certain that the victim had spoken to me but I had no idea who he was. I decide to just wait and find out once we were at the hospital.

Her relative, “cousin of you uncle of my sister”, was at Udonthani General Hospital. Udonthani General Hospital is similar to a county hospital in the United States. The farmers of Isaan go to that hospital because they do not have good medical insurance. When their condition can not be adequately handled at the more local facilities such as the Kumphawapi Hospital (Maternity Ward Blog) or the outlying clinic that I had previously described where Duang and her aunts had enjoyed a medicinal sauna, the patient is transferred to a facility in Udonthani.

Udonthani has five hospitals – one Army, three private, and one public. Udonthani General hospital is the public hospital.

Udonthani General Hospital is located across from the park in central Udonthani. The hospital is located on one of the main 4 lane divided streets in the city. The far side of the street is bordered by the park, a sidewalk, and a lane of pull up parking. The sidewalk is mostly taken up with sidewalk vendors and sidewalk restaurants as well pedestrians weaving their way through the gauntlet. The one row of pull up parking is no where adequate for area so people park in a single row perpendicular to the parked pull up spaces. This only uses about one-half lane of the street so there are one and one half lanes of vehicle street traffic. The Thais have a system for parking that seems to work rather well. People park behind other parked cars leaving their locked vehicle in neutral. If your vehicle is blocked, you just go up to the offending vehicle and push it out of your way – no problem, no emotion, no anger – it’s just the way it is here. Can you imagine this happening in the USA – blocking half lane of street traffic, blocking another car, and putting your hands on someone else’s vehicle? I think not – not in our lifetimes!

Duang’s son parked the truck in the single remaining pull up parking space a short distance up from the hospital. As we left I started to think about how difficult it would be to remove a blocking vehicle behind the truck if the offending vehicle was one of 4 or more parked bumper to bumper. When we eventually returned to the space, we were blocked. Maybe we were just lucky but there was room beyond the offending vehicle so we only had to push one car out of our way. Perhaps there is an unwritten code to park so that someone only has to push two cars to free up their vehicle. I’ll keep an eye out to understand what the system is – if there is one.

The other side of the divided street is similarly congested. The sidewalk is cluttered with street vendors, sidewalk restaurants, and pedestrians. There is no car parking on this side of the street but one half lane is occupied by parked somlaws (three wheeled passenger carrying motorcycles). The numerous somlaw drivers are scattered about hustling potential customers, eating, drinking, smoking, gossiping, or napping. Neighborhood and street dogs wander in and about the masses of people making their way to and from the hospital. It is quite a congested sight.

Udonthani General Hospital is a large complex of three story concrete structures reminiscent of 1960’s era urban school architecture in the United States. It is apparent that there was little advance planning in developing the hospital site. Buildings were shoe horned into the restricted sight as their need was identified. Each building is connected to others through a maze of open sided covered walkways. The combination of walkways and cantilevered balconies of each building creates many sheltered areas at ground level. Some of the sheltered areas have been turned into gardens with plants and benches along the edges. The other sheltered areas have been paved over with concrete.

The paved sheltered areas were occupied by many people. The people of Isaan who use Udonthani General Hospital are typically poor people from the outlying farming regions. There is no Ronald McDonald House for relatives of patients to stay at while their loved one is being treated. Transportation to and from the hospital is difficult and not convenient - pickup truck – up to 10 people per vehicle. No problem. The people of Isaan spend much of their time outdoors. So it is at the hospital. In the sheltered area families set up their sahts (woven reed mats) and camp out for the duration of their loved one’s stay. Atop the sahts, they place their woven baskets of sticky rice, plastic bags of other Lao food, plastic bottles of water, plastic bags of clothing, and plastic bags stuffed with blankets.

Typically the grandparents sort of hold down the fort at the sahts while watching over the grandchildren who are running all about trying to amuse themselves all the while annoying others and being nuisances. The children are so cute and precocious that they are easily tolerated.

There were not any elevators in the hospital. Access to the upper levels is by stairs or ramps. Since the ramps were congested with patients being transferred in wheelchairs or gurneys, we used the stairs.

Duang’s relative was in a typical 24 bed open ward. We were not the first ones to arrive at his bedside. With our arrival, he had 12 family members hovering around his bed. I had expected to see an older man before me and was surprised to see a 12 year old boy in the bed. He was hit by a pickup truck with no headlights on while driving his motorcycle across the road to visit his uncle. Twelve years old! Driving a motorcycle on a public road! No problem – this is Thailand. There were no arrests, no charges and the pickup driver will make restitution after the boy is discharged from the hospital.

We were not the only people in the hospital ward. The ward was about 1/3 filled with patients. Patients ranged in age from about 6 years old to 70 years old. Some were on machines to assist their breathing. Privacy was at a premium. Although there were curtains that could be drawn to isolate a bed, no one was using them. Each patient had about 8 family members tending to them. Family members perform many tasks that nurses do in the USA. Family members wipe brows, feed patients, and assist them with going to the bathroom.

Visitors brought their own food and drink for their consumption while visiting. Children of all ages visited along with their older relatives. It was all very free and open as well as somewhat chaotic. Once again the sense of family and community was very prevalent.

Thai people have a fascination with pain and suffering that at times I find rather disconcerting. On television news broadcasts it is common to see up close and intimate filming of accident or victims of crime. I have seen broadcasts where the film crew followed the victim into the ambulance focusing on the victim’s anguished face or injuries. At ambulance facilities they have display boards with photographs of the victims that they have assisted or those that they just ended up picking up off of the road. The photographs are very vivid and leave little to the imagination. They are also very popular. I always feel like an intruder when confronted with these types of displays. In fact, upon leaving the hospital, Duang, her son and his girlfriend made a point of looking at each and every photograph on the “Don’t Drink and Drive” display in the hospital lobby.

Duang’s family is no exception to morbid curiosity. When we arrived, a point was made to show us each and every injury that the boy had endured. The blood stain on the hospital bed was pointed out and hospital gown was adjusted as needed for full viewing as well as for the convenience of the onlookers. The boy had an injured knee and would be operated upon in about two hours. His other injuries amounted to scrapes, and some cuts that required stitches.

After our visit we went off for awhile and returned later to give some family members a ride back to Tahsang Village. If you have a vehicle in Isaan, you are often called upon or expected to provide transportation for family members. When we were walking towards the boy’s ward we were called up by Duang’s sister to the second floor of a different building. This building was apparently the surgery building. The second floor had a door that indicated that it was an Operating Room. The exterior of the Operating Room resembled the exterior of a 60’s era high school classroom – metal, and glass curtain wall within concrete structure. Access to it was by way of open air covered ramps. Abandoned gurneys and wheel chairs cluttered the walkways outside of the room. In a corner a large bin was overflowing with used hospital linen. The boy’s family was congregating on the second floor outdoor hallway outside of the operating room. There was no nurse’s station or any other sign of life around the room. The windows to the room were heavily tinted so I had no idea what was on the other side. After surgery the patients are wheeled outside to their ward.

We gathered up the clan and I drove them back to Tahsang Village – about 40 miles. The boy did fine and will be released from the hospital tomorrow.

01 January 2009 - Ants In Their Fish, Ants In My Pants

Ants In Their Fish, Ants In My Pants
02 January 2009

Yesterday was New Year's Day here in Isaan - a day of family gatherings just as in many other lands around the world.

We went to Tahsang Village at 10:00 in the morning for a "family" party. I should have suspected that it would be more than a simple family get together. I have often joked with Duang regarding the number of aunts, uncles, and cousins she has.

After a stop at the market in Kumphawapi to buy some squid and shrimp, we arrived in the village which was alive with the sounds of mahlam lao (Lao Music) and partying from several houses. We walked to a "cousin's" house which happened to be the house with the loudest music, and greatest amount of people.

People of all ages were enjoying themselves inside and outside of the house. To prevent accidents, a cousin had removed a portion of the sliding door. With the door removed people and dogs could freely wander about unimpeded.

Inside the house, toddlers were sitting or standing on the sofas along the wall. The adults were either sitting on the floor eating and drinking or dancing. Wherever they were, they were talking or more closely screaming with each other. It was apparent they had been partying for awhile. I later found out that they had started the night before and this was just a continuation of New Year's Eve festivities.

In the middle of the room were several large speakers and large amplifier. The television was showing Isaan karaoke videos - loud, pounding, and driving beat. A microphone was passed among the revelers to participate in the "singing". People were very friendly but several kept forgetting that they had previously wished me a Happy New Year and drank a toast with me.
People sat on sahts placed on the floor in the center of the room drinking beer and whiskey along with eating Isaan food - chopped up raw beef with chili, marinated fish, broiled fish, dried fish, sticky rice, pauk pauk, and assorted green things.

It was an overwhelming scene. Our contributions of a bottle of whiskey, shrimp, and squid were welcomed and quickly dispatched. After about one and one half hours, I was in the groove and comfortable. Our glasses were never empty.

One of Duang's female cousins, who is a real party animal, told us that she wanted to be "Village Headman". The Village Headman takes care of some aspects of village life in Thailand. I have to get a letter from our Village Headman stating that I have been living in our home since September so that I can get a "House Book". My "House Book" will allow me to register a car in my name, and allow me to make contracts as well as agreements such as utilities in my name.

Running for office, Duang's cousin decided to organize an event for today's festivities. She chipped in some money with everyone else to hire the people who performed at the Christian Christmas party that we had attended the other night. Only in Thailand could you set up and organize a street party at 2:00 PM for that evening.

Duang and I took a little break from the partying and walked about the village. Walking around the village is always such an adventure. Unlike Americans, the people of Isaan live much of their life outdoors. If they are not out working in the fields, they are sitting outside. You can not walk by without stopping and having a little chat - especially if they are one of your relatives. The population of Isaan is more youthful than the USA which means there are many more babies around. Yesterday during our walkabout, I got to hold one month old, two month old, and four month old babies.

Duang and I eventually arrived at a home where the young men including her son were having their own celebration. The guys were outside busy drinking and preparing some food. Duang had told me that the boys had caught some "big" fish. I expected to see some large catfish around 25 pounds (10 Kg) or more. The "big" fish were definitely larger than the typical fish that I have seen in Tahsang Village - 1/4 pound or less but at around 3 pounds each I wouldn't consider them to be big. I guess size is in the eye of the beholder.

One young man was busy tending the cook fire. The fire was contained in a manufactured cook stove. The cook stove is a cylinder about 12 inches in diameter and 18 inches tall. It is lined with refractory material. There is a shelf in the center of the cylinder where about 6 small diameter sticks are burned to cook food that is placed in pots or pans at the top of the cylinder.

In addition to tending the fire, the young man stirred the pot of boiling water, garlic, and greens.

Another young man was busy drinking and preparing the "big" catfish. The fish had been dressed out when we arrived. The heads, entrails, skin, and fins were set aside in a container. I was initially surprised that they were not in the pot with the boiling water and greens to create an Isaan version of Bouillabaisse. The young man was sitting cross legged on a raised wood platform with a large chopping disk in front of him. He was using a heavy knife to chop the fish fillets into a paste - the same process used to prepare beef or pork. I noted that the fish paste was rather dry but surmised that when it was put into the pot of boiling water it would become juicier and might even be tasteful. Little did I imagine what was going to happen next!

There was some talk and I picked up the word "mot". "Mot" is Thai for "ant". From Duang I learned that the men needed to get some ants for their meal. I had seen Duang eat "kie mot" (ant eggs) with her fish before but today the actual ants were to be used. One of the young men, who had not been previously involved in the food preparation, took the lead and set off with two other guys to get the ants. This was something that I had to witness so I tagged along. We went to a couple houses and walked around their houses looking up into the bushes. We stopped at one bush and the young men grabbed a couples leaves. The leaves were covered with active and aggressive red ants. The ants were dumped and stripped into the bowl of fish paste. The ants bit the young men and they energetically swatted and brushed the furious ants off of them into the bowl.

At the last house that we stopped at, I saw the object of the young man's desire. Up in a bush, there was a large leafy mass that resembled a wasp's nest. The mass was about 12 inches long and 9 inches in diameter. The young men broke the twigs off that supported the nest and dumped the nest contents into the bowl of fish paste. The bowl exploded into a mass of red - red furious ants! Ants were everywhere. It reminded me of the scene where you step or dig into a fire ant mound in SE USA. The young men were also very much more animated at this stop - many more ants biting them. They threw away the nest, and the leader devoted his attention to killing the ants in the bowl by squeezing them into submission in the fish paste with his bare hands taking time to remove attacking ants from his body.

We returned to the cooking site to continue preparing the meal. I was busy telling Duang what had happened in the neighboring yards to get the ants so I don't know exactly happened next. The next time that I saw the ant/fish mixture was very moist - I don't know if this was attributable to the addition of the ants or water. Anyhow the young man was kept busy for the next five minutes squeezing the ant/fish paste to kill the remaing ants that were alive and to get the mass thoroughly mixed. The remaining ants did not go quietly into that good night. They fought to the end. Due to the intensity of the mixing activity, an ant flew up into the air and laded on my neck. It promptly bit me. The bite was like a small sting similar to a fire ant bite but without any swelling or blistering. It was just a plain ordinary bite - no toxins, or venom. I promptly swatted the ant and tossed it into the bowl.

Once the ants had been killed and mixed with the fish paste, the young man to the bowl to the boiling pot of greens and squeezed the liquid from the ant/fish mixture into the pot of boiling water. The removal of excess fluid was repeated three times.

Finely chopped fresh scallions, celery leaves, and some spices were added to the dewatered ant/fish mixture. I was appalled at the amount of MSG that was used. Earlier in the year I had some concerns over my heart. My concerns were over a period of five days. I finally got an idea what might have been the cause. I asked Duang what she was putting in the food that she was preparing. She told me that she was using "Vietnam Salt" (MSG). In Vietnam, MSG was sold in 5 kg bags (11 pounds!). Mystery solved - no further concerns. No more MSG in my food! Well yesterday I was concerned at how much MSG was used. Duang assured me that it was OK "Isaan not same as Falang". Perhaps the red ants counteract the effects of MSG.
The fish heads and other parts were placed into the pot of boiling greens. The soup chef seasoned and sampled the soup. He offered me a taste of the broth. I tasted it and found it to surprisingly astringant and bitter. It was edible and I could eat it although it did ot suit my tatse. I believe the bitterness came from some of the plants used in the soup. I have tried some Kao Lao (Lao Food) sticks and twigs before and found them to be bitter.

Duang and I continued our walkabout as the young men commenced to eat their feast. As a boy, it was our French-Canadian heritage to eat pork pie on New Year's Day. Perhaps Ant/Fish salad is an Isaan tradition as well. A tradition that I will not be adopting.

As we walked along the main road we came upon some squashed fruit and a small piece of road kill (a frog). The debris had red ants on it. We saw and recognized the ants but in no time at all we were getting attacked by the ants. My sneakers were crawling with angry red ants. My pant legs had several ants running around on them. Some ants were running up my socks. Other ants had rapidly made their way up my pants and were biting my legs. I responded by stomping my feet, jumping around swatting ants off of me - all to the amusement of a local family sitting outside across the street from us. Duang was also under attack but to a much lesser extent. We made our way to safety and the local family turned out to be cousins so we stopped. As was many stops that afternoon, we had to talk and drink a toast to the new year. The people of Isaan are very hospitable and definitely know how to party. While I was drinking my glass of whiskey, I got another bite on my bare leg just below the knee. Now I was getting very worried as the attacks became higher and higher up my legs. Fortunately that was the last as well as highest bite of the day. Everyone got a good laugh at my encounter with the ants. Duang said that ants like falang but not Isaan people - the same thing that she says about mosquitoes. It may very well be true. I get many more mosquito bites and more severe bights than her. She says that I am too sweet. Perhaps I should eat some of those bitter Kao Lao foods or pala (fermented fish). Better yet I will go find some "OFF" repellent.

At the midpoint of our walk we came upon a group of older men including Duang's brother the entertainer. They were drinking and playing petanque - a French version of Bocce Ball. I even got to toss a couple balls and did not embarrass myself or Duang. The newly elected government representative from the village was there. He ran on a campaign saying that he would fix the roads. On the way out Duang had remarked that the roads were bad - still. They were actually getting worse - the heavily loaded trucks of sugar cane just tear up the roads. Repairs consist of filling ruts and repaving - to be destroyed during the next harvest season. The sub base needs to be removed and replaced to do the job properly but is too expensive. Anyhow I had Duang tell the man that I wanted to buy a new truck but that with the way the roads were I was afraid to. He told us that the roads would be repaired in 5 months. We all enjoyed a good laugh. Everyone understood the joke as well as point.

We returned back to the original party sight just as the enertainment arrived - well not really the entertainment but the venue. We were to be the entertainment. The people that were hired provided a stage, lights, sound system, and karaoke system. It was awesome. They set up in the middle of the street in front of the Buddhist Wat in the village. The speaker system was the same that they use for their live shows. They played Isaan music and people went up and sang. They even had some English songs and had me go up and sing a couple songs. The highlight was Duang's brother and one of her female cousins. They perform for a living and last night they put on quite a show for us. It was very entertaining - singing, drinking, and dancing under the stars. We left at 8:30 PM. Today we found out that the party lasted until 2:30 AM - a party that had gone on for 32.5 hours - only in Thailand.

I am not sure about Duang's cousin becoming Village Headman. There was a pitiful man from the village that was a problem. He is insane and completely drunk. He was falling down, soiled himself, and was a danger to himself as well as others. He became a nuiscance and it appeared that there would be a fight if he remained. Duang's cousin who was in charge of the party ignored the situation and him. One of Duang's older aunts went up to him and escorted him away. I made a big deal out of it and had Duang tell her cousin that as Headman her job would be to take care of situations like that. She had not and I did not know if I could vote for her. Since the aunt took care of it, I would consider her for Village Headman. I then pantomimed looking at a ballot and then their faces, to end up checking off the Aunt's name on the imaginary ballot. We laughed like crazy and had another drink

It was a very nice way to welcome the New Year.

31 December 2008 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year – 2009
31 December 2008

New Years Eve is here and now in Thailand.

In less than 6 hours we will be in the year 2009.

We will be staying home tonight - New Year's Eve has never been one of my favorite holidays. I find that too many people use the night as a sloppy excuse to drink themselves into oblivion.
New Year's Eve in Thailand is similar to it is in the USA. There are organized parties at hotels and restaurants as well as family or friend get togethers.

Some people have jumped the gun already and set off some fireworks this afternoon. I expect that there will be many more later tonight. However I doubt that there will be as many as are set off in Curitiba, Brasil. When I lived in Curitiba, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve were pyrotechnical extravaganzas. Most of the fireworks were set off by private citizens.

Duang and I will have a celebratory toast or two and watch a recent DVD - save and sound from the madness outside.

Duang started the New Year's celebration early this morning. According to her 31 December is a good day - one-half old year and one-half old year. Yesterday she went to the local market and purchased flowers, fruits, and sweets to be used as offerings at our home. First thing this morning, Duang got up, showered, and put on some fine clothes.

Duang went outside to tend to the spirit houses that were placed in our front yard when we moved into our new home in September. Offerings of soft drinks, bananas, mandarin oranges, cookies, and coconuts were placed in front of the spirit houses to appease the spirit of the garden and the spirit of the house. This is not part of Buddhism but remains from original animist beliefs. After lighting candles, incense, and praying at the spirit houses, Duang repeated the ritual at the upstairs shrine in our home.

Newspapers and television shows here go over the past year and speculate at the prospects of the upcoming year. As can be expected most people are very happy that 2008 is over. The prospects of continued political unrest and a world economic crisis have most people very pessimistic over the upcoming new year. Most people are also focusing on the events that made 2008 such a bad year.

2008 was a year of big changes for Duang and me. We started the New Year in Halong Vietnam and yes I was one of the fools that drank themselves into oblivion that New Year's Eve.

In February, I visited the USA on a Rest and Relaxation Leave. Duang returned to Thailand to visit her family since she could not get a Visa to visit the USA. We reunited in Bangkok on my return to Vietnam and travelled back to our home in Vietnam together.

While in the USA I visited my oldest son and his family as well as my parents in Connecticut. I got to play with my grandson and granddaughter which was a treat. I had a quality visit with Mom and Dad back in Connecticut.

No matter how old you get to be, you are still their child and you can't fool Mom for sure. Along with viewing some of the videos, and photographs that I had taken in SE Asia, there were explanations of life choices that I had made. Their love remained true and although they may not have truly understood my actions, they gave me their support.

In March, my assignment in Vietnam was completed. At that time I made another life changing decision. Duang and I relocated to Isaan (Udonthani Thailand). I decided to retire and live in Thailand. In late April we returned to Vietnam as tourists to visit Sapa near the Chinese border. Upon returning to Isaan, I continued to photograph and document rural village life.

I returned to the United States in late May to complete moving out of my home in California, attend a court hearing regarding dissolution of my marriage, and meet my new grandson. On this trip I also was able to see my youngest son. I returned to Thailand with my Thai retirement visa - permission to remain in Thailand for a year.

In July, I started this blog to keep family and friends informed of life and culture in Thailand. Mom and Dad are not able to travel anymore so they will not be able to visit or experience the wonders of SE Asia. Sharing with them the photographs and narratives of this blog is a means for them to learn about life here. For people who are able to travel, the narratives and photos may help motivate them to travel and experience for themselves.

I returned to the USA in August to testify in a trial related to a construction claim. It was a fitting conclusion to closeout a matter that I had been deeply involved with during my last USA assignment.

While away for the trial, Duang had a motorbike accident. Her cheek and chin were scraped and cut. When I returned to Thailand, she greeted me at the airport with large scabs on her cheek and lower jaw. I was so happy that she had not been seriously injured. Her injuries healed without scarring apparently due to the herbal ointments that she applied.

In September we purchased and moved into our new home here in Udonthani.

At the end of December, my divorce was final. On Monday 29 December, Duang and I were married here in Thailand.

There were personal challenges, and personal disappointments during the past year. If we were to concentrate on these, we could become angry or bitter. But that would not change what has happened and would adversely affect the present that we have or the future that we expect. Getting angry or becoming bitter also will not change what has happened.

We do not forget the challenges and disappointments of the past year for they can be lessons learned and are part of our legacy. As I often told people at work "Otto Von Bismark used to state that the finest steel was tempered in the hottest flame".

So it is in life, we can use the challenges and disappointments of the past year to become stronger and better people. The events of the past year can also be used as springboards to a better life. The value of history is to have learned how to avoid the same mistakes from being repeated and knowing that life can and will go on despite the events occurring.

Our sincere hope for everyone is that the events of the past year will serve you well to achieve happiness in the coming year. Challenges and disappointments will occur in the upcoming year but we have the power to use them to our advantage to achieve what we realistically desire.

Happy New Year!

26 December 2008, Cultural Divides

Cultural Divides
Saturday 27 December 2008

Christmas for everyone is now over.

I hope that the holiday was satisfying for everyone. Our Christmas ended up being very different from what we had originally planned.

I decided to go to Bangkok to take care or some legal matters at the US Embassy. My appointment was set for 24 December at 08:45 AM. Rather than taking the overnight bus from Udonthani to Bangkok and arriving in Bangkok at 07:30 AM and then taking a cab to the Embassy, I decided to leave Udon on the morning before. That would give us Christmas Eve in Bangkok.

The hotel that we stay at is located one door down from the US Ambassador's residence and about two blocks fom the Embassy. It is very nice and through the Internet, we got a $160 a night serviced apartment for $62 a night including breakfast. The hotel is also located very close to a BTS Skyway station and is within walking distance to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar.
This blog is about cultural divides in addition it is about how Christmas is celebrated in a Buddhist country. Some of the differences started to show up on our December 23rd bus ride to Bangkok.

We left Udonthani at 08:00 aboard the Chantour's VIP bus. The cost aborad the VIP bus is about $13 USD each one way for the 8 hour trip including snacks. The VIP buses are a little more roomier than standard buses, are comfortable enough to sleep on, and most importantly - complete the trip 2 hours quicker than the standard bus. We now that to be true from painful and bitter experience! One time we took the first available bus - a standard bus. It was a mistake that will never be repeated. It seemed like the bus slowed down or stopped for any and all groups of people that happened to be standing along the road - a very long road.

As happened on a previous VIP bus trip to Bangkok, we had uniformed hostesses onboard. Their uniforms are a sort of 1960's retro airline stewardess ensemble complete with cap. What separates Thailand today from the airlines of 1960 or America is the fact that one of the "stewardesses" was a Katoehy (Lady Boy). Some Katoehys in Thailand are very attractive and in Pattaya there is a Beauty Pageant modeled after Miss Universe for Ladyboys. Our stewardess was more typical of American transvestites - she was not fooling anyone!

Many years ago on a BART train in the San Francisco Bay Area on an early Sunday morning, my family and me ended up sitting behind a couple of late Saturday night transvestite party goers. One of them was talking in a very affective and dramatic way. My son, who was five years old at the time, asked in a loud voice that everyone onboard could hear or at least we believed they could "Mommy. Mommy, I don't understand. HE looks like a man but talks like a woman". My wife was all embarrassed and said that he would understand later. I just laughed. I felt that if they couldn't fool a five year old they were the ones who could be embarrassed. Our stewardess despite her chic hot pink outfit was not fooling anyone.

Lady boys seem to be everywhere in Thailand. They have their own subculture. I have even seen them in the isolated farming villages such as Tahsang Village as well as in the metropolitan areas where you would expect to see them. I have not done a count but it appears to me that about 6% of Thai males are Lady Boys.

The lady Boy culture is very apparent. Many cosmetic counters are staffed with lady boys. Some Go-Go bars have Lady Boy dancers alongside the female dancers. Sometimes the only tip off as to who is who is the size of their breasts. Lady Boys have the bigger breasts! At Mahlam Lao shows there is always a contingent of Lady Boys up front strutting and dancing to the music. The Mahlam Lao shows always have comedy skits involving Lady Boys. The skits involving the Lady Boy characters are reminiscent of the old and now ill reputed minstrel or Amos and Andy shows in the USA. I would not go so far as to say that Lady Boys are universally accepted but they are definitely tolerated. It appears that the price for being tolerated is to be laughed at. The Lady Boys seem to relish the attention even if it is laughing and the attention seems to only encourage more outrageous behavior on their part. Our "stewardess" was not outrageous and was actually very professional although not attractive in the least bit.

After checking into our room we walked down to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. The night bazaar is one of Bangkok's big tourist attractions. I have been there several times in the past three years. Typically I do not last long there because of the crowed narrow aisles. This time it was different - very different. There was hardly anyone there. I could not believe how few tourists there were. I had read that hotel vacancy rate for the Christmas Holiday is typically around 60 to 70%. This year the occupancy rate is around 30%. This is due to the Thai political unrest and world economic situation no doubt. There are some reports of tourism being down 50% this year.

After dinner and purchasing some DVDs, we went to the Lumphini Boxing Stadium to watch Muay Thai boxing matches. We walked up to the ticket counter and I showed my Thai driver's license. In Thailand there are usually two prices for things - a price for Thais, and a higher price for "falang" foreigners. There is a pervading attitude that foreigners are rich and will be only here for a short time there the Thais need to get as much of their money as possible. Some foreigners find this to be insulting and get upset about it. The truth of the matter is that in general we are not talking about a great deal of money from a foreigner's standpoint. Foreigners pay more (about $3.00 USD) than Thais to visit museums. However Thais make much less money than the visiting foreigners. Many Thais earn less than $200 a month. Even professional Thais such as engineers earn less than one-half of an American in Thailand. Sometimes showing my Thai driver's license gets me in for the Thai price. Many times Duang will buy things with me out of sight so that we get the Thai price.

The quoted price for the boxing matches was 2,000 Baht for me and 880 baht for Duang. After some discussion we walked away - not angry but not willing to take the deal they offered. Soon I heard them calling after us and walking up to us with a new deal - 1,600 baht for me and Duang for free. We took that deal.

Lumphini Boxing Stadium is one of the Meccas of Muay Thai boxing. The foreigners who pay 2,000 baht or 1,600 baht have ringside seats. We ended up in the third row from the ring. The Thais sit in the cheaper seats. At times the action is hot and heavy in the cheap seats.

Gambling is illegal in Thailand just like prostitution. However ... as a match goes on, the people in the cheap seats get extremely animated yelling. waving hands, looking foe each other in the crowd, sticking various numbers of fingers in the air, and making various nods of the head. After the match you can see money being exchanged. If I did not know that gambling was illegal, I would say that they were gambling. They could not have been gambling because it is illegal and the police who were watching it going on did nothing about it.

After the featured match, most of the foreigners left and returned to their tour buses. Duang and I at the invitation of the usher went up to the first row. The last match ended up being the best match not necessarily due to the skills or ferocity of the combatants but the theater surrounding the match.

Muay Thai is a young man's sport. You will not find a 40 year old Muay Thai boxer competing. The boxers start their careers around age 8, reach their prime around 19, and retire around 25 years old. The last match involved two fighters about 14 or 15 years old.

To our right was a section reserved for the Press. With this being Thailand and late in the event, the section was just about empty save for an elderly man who seemed to be a sponsor, a middle aged man who appeared to be the father of one of the fighters, and a little boy 2 to 2.5 years old that was definitely the younger brother of one of the fighters. This little guy in a plaid short sleeve shirt and long pants was woth the price of admission.

As the fight progressed the little boy was yelling to the fighter who was his brother and slapping the ring with his hands just like the trainer andother handlers to his right. The little boy was completely focused and involved in the match.

During the break between rounds when there is a flurry of activity in the fighter's corner, the little boy would go up to the ring corner and try to give his advise and instructions to the fighter. When he was ignored, he went to his father or another adult and told them what he wanted them to tell his brother. he was very determined and it was obvious that he was convinced that he knew what he was doing - very much Burgess Meredith's character in the "Rocky" movies only much younger as well as much better looking.

The bout consists of five rounds. The combination od fatigue, lower skill level, and wetness from previous matches created several "knockdowns". When his brother fell down three times, the little boy would get all excited. He would make a face of disbelief, yell "Meiow! Meiow! (No, No)", and wave his hands from side to side to communicate to the referee and judges that it was not a real "knockdown".

When his brother was doing well, the little guy would yell up to him advise on how to finish off his opponent. The little guy demonstrated, as only a two year old can, a flurry of left, right combinations finishing off with a right elbow. He did this innumeral times. Duang and I just watched and laughed. It was great and very entertaining. I decided to help the little boy out. I pantomimed a series of left right combinations punctuated with a right and left elbow combination to the little guy. He saw me and showed me his two year old's combinations with a single elbow. I repeated my combination with two elbows and indicated that his brother should do that. With a twinkle in his eye, and a broad smile, he repeated my combinations and finished it with a big thumbs up gesture. He then tried several times to communicate it to his brother.

His brother won the match. As they headed for the locker room and we were leaving the stadium, I shook the little boy's hand and told him that he did a very good job. It was a very entertaining night.

The next day, Christmas Eve, I went to the US Embassy to handle my business. It took all of seven minutes and cost $50 USD. I had two one paged forms that I needed to be notarized. Seven minutes and it cost fifty dollars - a pretty good business for the US government. As an American citizen living overseas, I would have expected that me taking an oath, having a minor clerk sign and stamp the documents for a total of seven minutes would be for free. I then had to have the documents translated into Thai and recorded with the Thai authorities. As I exited the US Embassy, I was approached by a young woman who asked if I needed something translated. I confirmed and she brought me to a local second floor office. The company translated documents and provided legal assistance. I knew that I had to take the translated documents to The Department of Consular Affairs. The Legalization Division required three days to review and stamp the documents. As we say "TIT (This Is Thailand). This company could get the documents returned in one day for additional "fee". The amount of additional "fee" was less than spending another minimum day or possible 4 days in Bangkok. I agreed and paid the additional fees. The completed documents were available as promised at 16:00 - money well spent. To me the interesting points are the business climate and opportunities available in Thailand. I have written about the freedom of Thais to set up sidewalk restaurants, set up booths or blankets to sell items, and the general encouragement of people's entrepreneurial talents. The use of touts on "Embassy Row" is a public service as well as creates jobs for people. I even appreciate the opportunity to obtain expedited services for additional "Fees". I did not have to accept it but I considered the opportunity to have value and chose it.

After completing my business, we went to a big shopping center in Siam Square. As we experienced throughout Bangkok on this trip, Christmas carols sung by little children filled the air. I never realized how irritating children singing could be! Luckily Christmas is only once a year.

The main purpose of going to this shopping center was to visit a spice shop. I had visited it before and knew that it had many things that I can not find in Udonthani. I have been very confused over the amount of spices and seasonings in our kitchen. I had bought several jars of spices in Vietnam and bought several more in the USA that I imported into Thailand. I have been unable to locate all of them. While in the spice shop I told Duang what I was looking for and why I was buying new ones - I could not find the old ones. Duang got a funny look over her face and apologized. When she had been setting up and cleaning the kitchen, she didn't understand the expiration date and had thrown them out. At least now I don't have to feel so guilty about having thrown away her pala (fermented fish) in September. I thought that it was some old rotting stuff and heaved it in the garbage. I didn't realize that it is the basis and foundation of Lao cuisine!

Christmas Eve evening we had a reunion with one of our friends. She had worked with me in Sriracha, got to know Duang and has always been supportive. She lives and works in Bangkok. Although she now claims to be a "City Girl" she has not forgotten her Isaan roots. She loves the pala that Duang's mother makes so Duang had a couple of containers to give her. We had her come up to our room to talk as well as to catch up on old and new news. Duang and she opened up the pala to appreciate it. Immediately the room was filled with the overpowering stench fermented fish. Smells have always affected me throughout my life. That night was no different. I started to feel queasy and headed to the bathroom. I fell to me knees before the toilet and heaved my guts into the bowl while my eyes filled with tears.

Duang and Prawnee after first overcoming their shock laughed like crazy. When I rejoined them, we opened up the door to the patio and continued our conversation on the patio. We then took a short walk and had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant.

Duang woke up Christmas morning to a surprise - Santa Claus had remembered her. He had come into the room during the night and filled her sock (small) and hung it over the TV since there was no fireplace. Part of the morning was spent explaining Santa Claus, Christmas, and Christmas gift giving. Interestingly the TV had some of the Christmas Eve Mass from the Vatican. Many parts of the ritual, such as chanting, incense, statues, and blessings are similar to Buddhist rituals so it made explanations easier to understand. An interesting Christmas morning memory.

We took public transit to the Shangri-La Hotel for sightseeing, and Christmas Brunch. Christmas is a mostly normal workday in Thailand. Western companies are closed but all the Thai companies remain open. Prior to Brunch we walked around the Bangrak Market. I found people that I had photographed two years ago - they remembered and wished us a Merry Christmas.

Brunch was along the banks of the river and was excellent. It was a special location and meal on a special day.

We returned to Udonthani the next day by bus - again with a Lady Boy hostess along with two or maybe three other Lady Boy passengers.

The holiday did not go as we originally planned but ended up being wonderful and memorable.

Cultural differences were identified, appreciated and bridged.

21 December 2008 - Christmas Past, Present, and Future

Christmas - Past, Present, and Future
Sunday 21 December 2008

Christmas will arrive here in Thailand in 4 days. Since Thailand is predominately Buddhist, there is not much of the excitement and expectations leading up to the day that people experience in America, Canada, South America, and Europe.

The stores are even less decorated here than they were in Vietnam last year. I was surprised at the amount of decorations and holiday events in Vietnam - what used to be North Vietnam to be exact. I suspect that the Christmas preparations were more commercial in nature than religious or tradition.

Thailand actually has a duty on importing Christmas decorations so they are not readily available. I have not seen a pine, fir, or anything resembling an evergreen tree so there will be no Christmas tree in the house this year. I could decorate a coconut or banana tree but it just doesn't seem appropriate. It definitely does not maintain or even come close to respecting family tradition.

Even when I was in Algeria I had a Christmas tree or rather Christmas branch in my trailer. Prior to leaving Algeria, my wife at the time on one of her walks around the perimeter of the compound where we lived had ripped a branch off of an evergreen tree and put it in a vase inside our trialer for my Christmas. The 12 inch tall branch with the one homemade ornament that my sister sent maintained a holiday tradition.

I have spent Christmas in many places around the world. No matter where I lived; be it in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, Louisiana, California, Brasil, Malaysia, Canada, Algeria, Vietnam each Christmas has been special.

I expect that this one in Thailand will be special too.

One of the benefits of being away from the emotional drama and excessive expectations of the Christmas holiday in the USA, is that I can be more focused on the true significance and meaning of the day.

A recurring underlying theme of this blog is "optimism". Christmas in the Christian sense and true meaning of the day is a celebration of optimism. Through the birth of Jesus, Christians believe that they had received the gift of the promise of eternal salvation.

Here in Thailand, my focus will be on reflecting upon the true meaning of the day and remembering some of the previous Christmases. I will make a special meal of "kao falang" (foreigner food), call family to wish them well, and use the opportunity to explain a little about Christianity to Duang.

As a child, my Christmases were always a time of joy. My sister and I started to get serious about Christmas starting with Thanksgiving. The next big milestone on what seemed to be an endless wait to the big day was our special trip to Montgomery Ward store in New London. Each holiday season, Montgomery Ward would set up a separate store in downtown New London dedicated to Christmas toys. Dad and Mom would take us over to the store one evening to see the decorations and toys - a wondrous night for us.

We always had a nice Christmas tree decorated with old ornaments from Germany and the USA. At that time, China was starving and had no export industry. Japan was starting to export things but the quality was poor and the war had been over for less than 12 years. My favorite ornaments were tubes of liquid that when they were plugged in bubbled. Fire hazards no doubt but beautiful no less. My favorite task in family effort in decorating the tree was to place the "icicles" on the branches. We were advanced for the time - each year we recycled the icicles from previous holidays. Frugal? - Definitely. Environmentally conscious? - No, not yet - they were made out of lead. Yep - lead icicles to decorate the Christmas trees. To this day I miss the feel of those icicles - heavy and crinkled - substantial unlike the wispy emaciated strips of Mylar that is used today.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Swedish Smorgasbord. My favorite food was the Swedish bread - to this day I love the taste and smell of cardamon. The party was held at an old aunt of my Dad's in an old sea captain's house in a old whaling village - a perfect setting for what was usually a white Christmas. There were many relatives and family friends were there. My sister and I were busy with our numerous cousins for the entire evening. I had a favorite man, a cousin to my Dad that I enjoyed talking to each year. Many years later I learned why Mom and Dad always made sure that our conversations were always in public and why he had never married. These were things that were not openly discussed in the 1950's just as was his hospitalization. The interesting people at the gatherings included my second or perhaps third cousin. I considered her to be weird and suspected her to be an albino or what my eight year old mind imagined what an albino would look like. She was not weird because of her looks but to me was her interest in art. ART! That was weird - to me.

Forty years later, at another family get together upon my return from Algeria, unconsciously and unintentionally I extracted from an aunt another reason why she may have been wird - her Mom and Dad were first cousins. I thought that things like that happened only in the South, places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Mississippi - not in the heart of Yankee Land - CONNECTICUT! As embarrassing as it was for my aunt to divulge the family secret, it was amusing as how the secret was finally revealed to the next generation.

After Christmas Mass, we would have Christmas celebration with the French Canadian (Quebecois) side of the family. This was always a great time. I was always embarassed when after several drinks my Grandfather, my Dad, and my Uncle would sit on the sofa and harmonize. Only Dad remains. How great it would be to be so embarrassed again.

Those were the Christmases of my past youth - wonderful memories.

My first wedding was on Christmas Eve. For fifteen years Christmas was especially memorable with the additional celebration of an anniversary. During those years, a fond memory is that of my small sons waking up and running naked through the house to the Christmas tree with all the excitement, wonder, and optimism of small children on a Christmas morning before a pile of awaiting gifts. Now my oldest son has those moments to experience - his present Christmas.

As the year comes to a close, our present Christmas will become another Christmas past. Christmas future awaits us. Like the cycle of rice cultivation here in Isaan, the circle of life will continue.

Just as the first Christmas offered the gift of optimism to a needy and longing people, I hope that this Christmas provides everyone with hope for their future and comfort for the path that they have chosen.

Merry Christmas