Howdy2

Hey Everybody

This email connection is slow enough that I don’t want to go back to look at my last email to find out where I left off, so forgive me if I overlap or gap a little.

Since Saturday afternoon I’ve been in (the province, not the city of) Roi Et. Arrival here was a lot easier than I had feared. I am staying in a pretty nice house in a pretty poor village. I’m sharing a room with another American (Joe). He has been here about 10 months and has taught himself a remarkable amount of Thai. Also in the house are to Thai ladies, Maa and Fon. Both speak some English. Maa speaks pretty well.

Saturday afternoon some kids took me on a tour of the village. I provided great opportunities for laughs. They tried to feed me a pepper that apparently would have burnt my head off. Joe rescued me from that one. They did succeed in feeding me a fruit that dried out my mouth and left in numb for a little bit. Weird!

Sunday we had a service on the second floor of the English Learning Center (the place where I am staying). In attendance were the house residence and several kids (including two girls crippled by polio). They asked me to do special music in English. That was about the only thing in the service that I understood. Joe translated a few other bits and pieces for me. After the service everybody had lunch together. Sticky rice and Papaya salad. We all just dove in to a common dish with our hands. In the afternoon Joe gave an English lesson and I helped out.

Yesterday (Monday) was the day off here at the center. They took me to see a big temple. The internet connection is way too slow for pictures, and words, and even the pictures, fall far short. The temple was in a large courtyard with beautiful gardens and several towers. In the middle the temple rose far above the towers. Inside was a large room with pillars and a Buddha image. Up some stairs was another large impressive room with a beautiful stone floor and another image. Up some stairs the same was repeated. I’m not sure how many layers there were. But each was breath taking. It was overwelming to continue just going up and seeing more when what was below would have been enough.

In the market for dinner I got something cooked in a leaf. It tasted pretty good until someone told me it was fish eggs. After that It was harder to eat.

Thanks to all of you who have sent me emails. It is great to hear from you. I’m sorry that I have not responded. I hope to.

Peace

Micah