Mother's Day, Thai Way

Mother's Day (wan-maeh วันแม่) is celebrated on the Queen's birthday here in Thailand (likewise, Father's Day is celebrated on the King's birthday). Queen Sirikit is affectionately known as "Mother of the Country" so to celebrate her birthday, as well as to honor all mothers in the country, August 12th is a national holiday (which actually resulted in a four day weekend since it fell on a Tuesday this year). Queen Sirikit was born on a Friday, since the customary "color of the day" for Friday is light blue, light blue flags bearing her insignia are flown throughout the country in honor of her special day. Schools and temples host special events and ceremonies to honor mothers in the each community. To prepare for the ceremony at the schools, I was asked to teach the students an English Mother's Day song. I taught a simple song that I found on YouTube and even performed with the students at one of the ceremonies. At the Mother's Day Ceremony, I was truly touched and impressed by the sentiments of love and appreciation shown to the mothers.

First the mothers are seated
Then their children kneel before them
with an offering, a mini wreath.



The children present the mothers with the offering



Then bow three times to the mother's feet



Then they embrace :-)
This mother and son are my neighbors and like my
extended family. I usually have meals at their home and
the son is my bodyguard and stays with me if I'm ever home alone.
He's the most mature ten year old I know, it was nice to see
him embraced so sweetly with his mother on this day.



Kindergartners are always the cutest!



After the ceremony with Kru Ya (one of my co-teachers)



The flag of Queen Sirikit, Mother of the Country



The flag is flown all over the country in her honor.



Students learning mothers day songs,
traditional Thai song and then my English song



Practicing in small groups
(for some odd reason, the videos won't load)



The whole class practicing.
(I wish the videos would load!!)

In my previous post, I mentioned that I would be highlighting some of the individuals who have become near and dear to me over the past few months. It's only appropriate to start with my host mom. I call her Pii Noi - "Pii" is the prefix used to address/refer to older siblings, "Noi" is her nickname, which means little or tiny. It's been a bit over five months since Pii Noi opened her home to me and offered me her top floor, I was a stranger at the time, but I've felt welcomed and at home since day one. Since then, she's played a huge part in helping me to integrate into the community and settle into life here. Pii Noi is well known and respected, and has introduced me to many good-to-know people in the community. Although she doesn't speak any English, we communicate pretty well, she's patient with my broken Thai, we play charades from time to time, and more often than not, we understand each other.



Pii Noi and I at mother's day dinner :-)



 Just a few things about Pii Noi that I love:

• She is extremely kind, generous, caring, understanding, and intuitive.
• Her style balances simple and classy very well.
• She is strong and brave, I've seen her take on a snake and a scorpion!
• She has a great network of friends and family. She knows everybody and everybody knows her.
• She once was a cook, and cooked a lot when her children were young, not so much anymore, but when she does, it's great!
• She has a nice kitchen and keeps it open for others to use.
• She is a busy body and gets up with (if not before) the sun, every single day. Her energy is not quite contagious, but it is motivating.
• She was the only girl in her family and she has two sons, and so she's genuinely very happy to have a girl (me!) around. 



Pii Noi and I at the Sports Day where I was
dressed up in traditional Thai wear for
the opening ceremony.



Before I moved into my community, Peace Corps gave me a list of families in the community that I could potentially live with. For various reasons, circumstances and/or conditions at those homes were not exactly 'fit' when I got here. My supervisor told me that one of the officers at the hub lived nearby and had room in her house so I could stay there. That officer was Pii Noi, and her home has been my home ever since.

My first dinner at my new home with my new family

Recent breakfast with extended family members.

It is a Peace Corps requirment that volunteers live with a family in the assigned community for the initial three months, after which we may rent a home in the community. On day one, before she knew much about me, Pii Noi said that I could stay with her for the full two years if I wanted to. We've revisited the conversation a couple times since, and apparently she still feels the same way, I've even verified with third parties, and well, here we are five months later. 

Recent lunch at a Japanese restaurant
(occasionally we eat non-Thai food)

My host mom has been widowed for about three years, her youngest son studies in a neighboring province and the older is on his own, so it's usually just the two of us. We keep each other's company, we talk, we laugh, we have conversations; on the flip side, she also allows me to be my introverted self and she understands why (or at least accepts that) I don't wake up at 6:30am on the weekends. Overall, I'm happy and comfortable living with her. Sooner or later, I am sure that I will leave the nest, as the independent/introverted parts of me crave more of my own space, but no matter what, I'm sure that I will maintain a close relationship with Pii Noi.

Just chillaxing after a recent dinner



Honorable mention to my first host mom,
who taught me how to eat, sit, dress, and
carry/present myself the "riap-roy"
(Thai appropriate) way.

Extra Special Shout Out to my real mother, my birth mom,
who has encouraged and motivated me every day of my life.
This picture was taken my last night at home -
we went to dinner at a Thai restaurant.
I miss her very much.