Sunday 9/4

Many more amazing experiences today, after we got the ego card we rode on motor bikes to the Banglepheu floating market. It is a real, not tourist market so that the tambons of Phrapradang can sell there goods. There were some One Tambon, One Product items there. Jit got some Nam Prick(sp) and some fish sauce. We all ate there and it was excellent and hot, not adapting to my poor mouth, thankfully. Jit let some fish and snails loose into the canal for merit. There were some large turtles that could also be let loose.

I saw some cool things today, a couple gathering some kind of nuts from the canals with a long bamboo pole with a net on the end. I also saw the person that went with us to Ranong last year, it was good to see him. More and more people are visiting. The feeling of the community is very different on the weekend. The kids are home from school and so are the parents. There is a sense of life and activity, people working, fixing up their houses, and having fun.

Jit's friend that went with us on the river boat yesterday came over and visited with three of her grand kids. Some of them spoke English words well, boat, smile, face, ABC's, probably 1 to 3rd grades, we all went to get some kind of iced treat and then walked around the park and fed the fish. The large lizard was swimming again in the middle of the lake. I am really curious about the lizard and want to see it up closer. As we were walking home we say by a community volley ball game, it was really relaxed and fun, I chickened out on playing. Everybody asks if I speak Thai and I can feel their disappointment that I can not speak Thai. My motivation is sure increasing. If I am going to be surrounded by people who do not speak English with any comfort I better learn to be at least monosyllabically functional. I sure do not have much confidence in myself though.

Another beautiful storm cloud sunset, it started to rain around 7:00. I can not imagine why people would want to leave the comfort of the community here. There is a sense of how people should live. Small town Thailand is not like Iowa, or even Auburn where I grew up.

As I wander around I get offered a drink of whisky at the most odd times, we were at the market and one of the vendors that Jit was talking with offered me a drink. Oh well, I am glad I quite, a little over 20 years ago, because if I didn't it would be very easy to waste your life away with alcohol.

I keep watching the dogs. Where I am staying the dogs are confident, seem to always be going someplace intentionally, and are wary of humans. They will watch to see if it is safe to pass me. The state of the dogs health are sometimes poor, but their psychology seems excellent. Just watching a dog walk, with a sense of purpose in interesting. Learning to train our dog Ava has given me a new appreciation for watching dogs in their natural state.

Oh today I also saw kids hula hooping, I have not seen that in years. I could never do that, even when it was a fade many years ago.

I will be writing a few hundred entries in this blog from thousands of experiences.