At the Car Wash

Like so many others, today began a little unexpectedly. I had just finished breakfast and Stephanie was still up in the room because she wasn’t feeling so well. Earlier in the morning, Lam showed us how to wash our clothes, which turned out to be a lot easier than I had anticipated. Anyway, during this time she mentioned that we would be going to some meetings with her today. So after breakfast, one of the staff members Sangon, motioned for me to come with him on his moped to the meeting. Lam was nowhere to be found. I tried asking Om and Li if it was the same meeting Lam was attending and I thought they said that she was already there. I hopped on Sangon’s moped and whizzed off to the meeting, which was held on the vegetable farm under a hut. No Lam in sight. Now, for the most part, the flies in Plaboo are similar to any summer day in the US. There are a few buzzing around, but nothing too overwhelming. However, this particular hut reminded me of the inside of a frat house after the biggest party of the semester. The flies were literally coating the mats on the dirt floor. Even the other attendees of the meeting were commenting on the fly takeover. I don’t know exactly what they were saying, but I could tell the gist of it from their body language. To combat the pesky critters, the women coated wooden rods with this sticky rat poison and stuck them in the ground. The flies were all over it like, well, flies on shit.

I had no idea what was going on in the meeting, as Sangon and one other staff member of the Farmer Community School, Pui, were the only ones there who could speak English and theirs is very limited. I put together that it was a meeting of the farmers and that they were trying to do some team building activities. They all looked at me and laughed and talked to me in Thai, of course I had no clue what they were saying. There were about 20 farmers in the meeting, and we started by all sitting in a circle. Then they started going around and each saying something so when it got to me, I had no idea what to say. They weren’t giving their names or anything because they all already knew each other. I sorted of just talked in English, they laughed, and then moved on to the next person. If all else fails, improv. All of a sudden, Li showed up on her moped and told me to come home with her. It was a weird morning to say the least, but I had a good time.

I came back to the schoolhouse for a bit and worked on a game for our students. It is basically Bingo, only instead of numbers we are drawing pictures in each square. That way, after we teach them the words in English, we can have a little fun playing Bingo. Finally, Lam was back and said that we were supposed to go to the meeting I had already attended in the afternoon, not in the morning. So all of a sudden we were on our way back to the meeting. Things in Thailand, and especially in Plaboo, seem to occur this way, totally on the fly. On the way over, we learned more about the point of the meeting. Basically, 5 years ago, the land on which they currently farm was barren and the villagers living in Plaboo would buy vegetables from the market. As another extension of the Farmer Community School, Lam was able to secure funds for this area to grow their own vegetables. The money was used for seeds and the villagers in this area were also given pigs and cows from Heifer International. The crops are mainly used to feed the villagers who maintain the farm, however, if they have excess product, they sell it at the local market. All of the crops are organically grown, without any pesticides. Just as in the US, organic products are still considered to be specialized and are therefore a little tougher to sell in the market. The meeting we attended was the first day in a two-day workshop on bringing the farmers of this land together so that they can begin to think of themselves as a team, instead of individuals. This should enable them to best utilize the skills of each farmer and produce the greatest amount of product.

We got there just in time for lunch, which was the strangest meal so far. As at all other meals, everyone gathers around on the floor in a circle and the food is served family style. There is always sticky rice, the main crop of Plaboo. Usually there is some sort of soup. At this meal, it happened to be chicken soup, but not the kind from Grandma’s kitchen. Each bowl had a huge chicken hand in it, fingernails and everything. It was difficult to look at, but I couldn’t stop staring. You know, like a car accident. Next, out came a plate of these tiny little crabs and snails. Finally, the standards came out, spicy slaw, pork and vegetables, and hard-boiled egg soup. It was so hot out and the flies were still buzzing, so I was having a difficult time eating. I was mainly sticking to the rice, when Lam shoved a tiny crab in my face that was torn in half. She told me to eat the white part. I took a bite, expecting it to be the texture of crab, but it was crunchy on the outside with this blackish yellow ooze on the inside. Mind over matter, mind over matter – again went through my head. It was a rough one. 

Finally, the meal was over and we played a new game that was similar to hot potato, only if the ball land on you, you had to unwrap a piece of paper around the ball and do whatever was written. It landed on Stephanie first and the paper said to take baby powder and put it on the face of the people next to you, which was me of course. She did so and everyone got a kick out of the whitest girl in Thailand getting even whiter. The game continued on with various forms of the same powder treatment. By the end, everyone was covered in the stuff and laughing themselves to tears. Before we arrived in Thailand, I read that it was known as the Land of Smiles. It has been proved true time and time again on this trip, and no time better than at this meeting. The people were so welcoming and friendly, even when we had no idea what was going on. The Thai people have a certain way about them, a community spirit that is incredibly contagious. Even the few drunk farmers at the meeting (which Lam said every village has at least two of) were happy to participate in such a silly game in order to improve the connection of the team. It was really a great moment.

We learned an unfortunate fact after the meeting. Apparently, the land used for this farming is extremely rich in potassium. A Canadian company has been after the land for years. They want to come in and set up huge facilities to mine the potassium. The villagers are scared of how this will impact their lives and do not want to sell. However, the government technically owns the land and so it is not up to the village to decide. A final decision should be made in the next year.

After the meeting, we went with Lam to run a few errands in town. She took us to buy the supplies for American spaghetti, which everyone has been anxiously awaiting. Earlier in the day, we had some time to sit and talk with Lam. She spoke to us about the huge amount of stress she is under. Because her work in the past 5 years has been so successful, she is constantly contacted by government officials, teachers, professors, and other village leaders to bring this type of program to various other areas. She always accepts as she feels it is her duty to spread her passion. Because many are intimidated by the amount of work a program like this requires, they look to her to set everything up and lead. She is already the lead of way too many other projects, but has trouble telling others this. She spoke to us candidly about how she is finally starting to say no because she is afraid to lose her original focus. Additionally, followers of the Buddhist religion usually go to the temple for one week each year; where the only thing one does each day is walk in a circle and think. Buddhists use this time to reflect and refocus. Lam’s schedule has not allowed for this for the past couple of years and this has worn hard on her. She is hoping to go in February and I will be encouraging her to do so until then. She is in desperate need of this as her religion is very important to her. 

Back to my original thought; one of the errands we went on with Lam was to the car wash. While we were waiting for the car to be finished, we were able to receive some inspiring words from Lam. She spoke of her cousin, who lost his way in high school and developed an alcohol and drug problem. She said that he came to her when she started the Farmer Community School, looking for her to give him a job. She refused him and instead gave him some money to start a tiny business making noodles. She told us that one must look inside their own self in order to determine the right path. You cannot keep looking to others, asking for the right answer. You have to be sure of what is inside, and then you are able to give everything you have to the community and others around you. It is very important to her that those in her community are taken care of and are given every opportunity available. Her passion inspired her cousin, who is doing much better, to start a support group for high school dropouts, teaching them to farm in order to sustain their own lives.  Lam is truly the most selfless person I have ever met, whose motivation and passion has literally changed an entire community for the better. And all this at the car wash… not too shabby!

Riding this new Lam high, we returned home. A couple of the high school girls came up to the schoolhouse. One girl, Sao, a junior in high school, has been especially receptive to me. We spent the entire afternoon and evening going over English words, phrases, and even grammar. After our lessons, we were able to just talk. I found out she wants to be an actress and an English teacher. But let me tell you, the girl can act. A part of her English homework was to say the same phrase, but use different emotions. The girl is really good. She can cry on demand and has the most dramatic flair. She really is talented in acting. I told her this and I could tell it meant so much to her. She also told me about her boyfriend, something that she has kept secret from all the other volunteers. I felt a really great bond with her from the very start, and tonight made it even stronger. She told me she loves when I teach her and that she wants to do that for kids when she is older. It made me feel amazing, knowing that if nothing else, I will at least have an effect on one girl in my short time here. When she left for home, she said she couldn’t wait to come back tomorrow to learn more and to hang out with me. Honestly, I can’t wait either.