Today’s cultural activities were very relaxing and memorable. We went to a local, natural hot springs and got foot massages. After taking a quick walk around the grounds where Jack pointed out some tree leaves you can eat, we all swam for 15 minutes in two of the hot springs, and then moved onto a long foot massage each. Jack got one with us all too.
I need to remember Jack. He is one-of-a-kind. All of the staff members are truly wonderful; each of them with their own strong, individual personality, but I want to take the time now to document Jack. It’s hard to put into words how much I like him really. His smile and energy is absolutely infectious. I find myself always happy when around him, no matter what the circumstance.
He is 26 and about 5 foot 6 with dark skin that looks almost Indian. His hair is styled slightly differently from day to day. His facial expressions are hilarious. He is both warm and silly. He once played around with my Chinese fan like a ladyboy and let me archive it by taking his picture. His cellphone’s ring tone is Sean Kingston’s, “Fire Burning,” but the only words he knows from the song are “Somebody call 911...” He is a GREAT dancer and loves to sing. He likes to learn new words in English and use them whenever he can. For example, I taught him ‘unanimous’ and he made sure to figure out a way to put that the word to use within the next day or so. When it rains he drives his moped wearing a silver moon suit. He is wealth of knowledge. He dies his hair black and helps Cha, our driver, with his hair dying needs as well. He shares everything without any expectations for something in return. He is the type of person that would be there for you in times of need and someone you’d want to be friends with for life. I feel lucky to know him.
It was wonderful hanging out getting massages together as a group and getting to just talk. After we finished we made our way back to the van in a downpour of rain and returned home in time to leave for a special dinner out with our school’s teachers. They wanted to take Rupal out since this week is her last one at the school. All the staff were there: the director, my kindergarten teacher Jin Tana, the male 3rd grade teacher, the 4th grade teacher, 5th/6th grade teacher, and more who help on an interim basis. It was a very full table.
Our teachers love to feed us. I brought Mama T made lunch to school the first few days, but now I eat with the teachers who all share with us. Rupal, David, and I have had delicious curry, duck, soups, noodles, salty fish, thai omelettes, aromatic salads, strange cookies with eggs, dragonfruit, pomello, and much more. I’ve loved it all except for the salty fish... it’s REALLY salty. Our dinner tonight was also delicious. We went to a restaurant enclosed by a beautiful garden and dined for a few hours. We took a lot of pictures and were kindly given special batik shirts in our favorite colors. In taking many pictures one of the teachers accidentally said “one, two, saam” instead of “one, two, three” which made for a boat load of laughs for the rest of the evening. I’m sure we’ll use that line again throughout my time here. I can’t believe how kind and generous the Thai people are.
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