Perfect Day in Esaan - Jan 26th, 2015.

Sunrise

Jan 26th, 2015.

Today was a perfect day.  I would say that if I had a “Groundhog Day” type event happen, where I had to repeat the same day over and over again, I might say that today would be a fine one to have a few thousand times over.

I went to sleep early last night after a fun and not-too-serious local bike race, woke up early and went to the park for a light workout.  There was no one else there, and I got to enjoy the sunrise and the sound of the birds in the woods for about 30 minutes.  I went and had coffee with my good friend in front of the town market, and then bought some amazingly sweet guavas, of which the fruit seller gave me a few extra for free.

P Sieng and I at our last race (Suea Kao Yai - Pak Chong!)

I went home, made my usual 1.5 liter fruit and veggie shake (which today included Papaya, Mango, Coconut, Banana, Coconut water, Orange juice (real juice), Lime, Lettuce, Thai Basil, Lemon Basil, Dill, and Mint).  Then, I had enough time to read several more chapters than usual in the Bible.  It ended up being one of those days as well where it seemed like the chapters that I read were relevant, and helped to put me in the great mindset to live each day as if it might be my last.

I taught 3 hours this morning, and the kids were strangely attentive, ha!  One of those classes also happened to be my favorite class (Grade 5 Math), and they were in the mood to laugh more than usual.  3rd hour was Grade 3, and we had a good time jumping around practicing action vocab.

For lunch, I went with my two favorite ladies, Mae Maew and Mae Net (my two Thai moms), to my favorite restaurant in Chumpuang, and got to eat some tear-jerking Southern Curries; today the pineapple and squash yellow curry was specifically on point!, and she also brought out a free sampler of Bitter Gourd and Bamboo Shoots to eat with Nam Prik Gapi (a spicy Southern vegetable dip made with Shrimp), a dish she rarely makes.

Southern Food ... Lunch

After lunch, I went back to school for an hour of singing with Grade 2, then a rowdy class of games with Grade 1, but then had a surprise free 6th hour today as the 6th Graders had a special session with another teacher.

When I got back to my house, I read for about 45 minutes (Brief History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, such an informative and awesome book, highly recommend it!!), and then my good friend called me with a plan for a bike ride.  I had thought I would take a break after the race yesterday, but his enthusiasm, along with my thoughts from this morning, convinced me to jump up and grab my shorts and shoes.

We ended up riding 58km, and together recorded the fastest time that I have yet to ride.  We took a route that I have only taken once before, and we got to see several villages full of kids shouting “Teacher Joel!,” further boosting my spirits along the way.  The time that we made has actually been a milestone of mine for a bit more than a year; a ride of over 50km with an average speed of over 30km per hour.

We averaged 31.3kph, and it would have been higher if not for a confused herd of cows completely blocking the way :)  but that is always funny in its own way, no problem there!  Fun too to see the old man herding the cows laughing at a couple of bikers waiting for his cows to clear the road :)

Ride from our town to his hometown

As jazzed as I was after the ride, when we finally reached my friend’s house for dinner (our destination being his hometown, the next sizable town out from mine) his older sister had waiting for us a tray of Passion Fruit!  They had just picked them from their garden, along with TONS of vegetables, AND she had another favorite of mine on the grill; Esaan style catfish to be eaten with Nam Prik Bla Tu (an Esaan chili paste made with fish of which this lady is specifically a pro at preparing!)

So, dinner in total included; About 10 grilled catfish and 2 steamed snakehead fish, all fish from their own backyard, raised organically.  A platter of steamed vegetables all organic from their own backyard including Tamarind leaves, Chinese Spinach, Lady Fingers, Dok Kae (English? Its a sturdy white flower…), Pumpkin greens, Lettuce, Green Onions, Thai Basil, and for the first time in my life, Passion Fruit Greens!!  Yes they are awesome, also eaten with her amazing Esaan Spicy dip made with Mackarel (Nam Prik Bla Tu).

This was all to be eaten with brown rice, also organic as it was given to me by another teacher who's family grows it outside of my town.  Of all the negative fads taking place in the world today, luckily one wonderful fad in Thailand right now is to grow organic brown rice!  So cool!

Not done yet, as my friend’s older brother had also prepared a specialty dish;  Pad Krapow Kratae!

(I am looking it up online right now :)  I only know Kratae in Thai…ok, got it!)  Tree Shrew!  Ok, I was wondering why there was so little meat and such small bones :)  Awesome!*  Another first for me, to add to my list of animals…  Yes I do try to keep track…

We put our bikes in the back of my friend’s truck, but not before his sister gave me a to-go bag of mangoes, bananas, and more passion fruit (yep, again, from their own trees), we got back to my town before too long, and I was home before my bed time (which is 10pm these days).  A great day!  I was catching myself singing, “this is the day that the Lord has made” many times today, I know that the Lord made and makes every day of course, but sometimes you just gotta sing it out! :)

Sunset

To top it off, after I was home, I saw how the stars were blazing outside, and headed out for a quick 10 minutes of wonder, staring up into blackness.  Oh, also the moon was a cool orange disk low on the horizon.  Here’s a picture of that too.  Looot of cool things happened today.

Nothing makes me feel more at home here than to be enjoying the fruits of the earth with several generations all sitting at the same table, in a small town, a normal Esaan family in their own home, speaking their language with me freely, laughing together as the youngest boy knocks over his water cup for the Nth time because its the Thai way for kids to learn EVERYTHING for themselves.  Genuinely, 100% heart full of joy, happy day today.

Someone leave a comment about their perfect day!  And I hope everyone reading this has one of those days very soon!  Ok Good night!

-Joel

*Pad Krapow Gai (Basil Fried Chicken) is quite a well-known dish, but this variation was a first :)  This is the season where many, ill say ‘second-menu’ animals, things that aren’t most people’s first choice for meat, are out and about; and Esaan people make very good use of this time!  (This week I have already eaten normal Thai dishes made instead with Frog, Eel, Quail, and Field Mouse, instead meaning instead of the usual Chicken or Pork (not much Beef in Thailand)).  Actually, the frog dish I had, Pad Pet Gob, is one of the spiciest normal dishes that you can find in Thailand (normal meaning aside from specifically ordering a dish to be super spicy).  It is one of my favorite dishes here, one thats guaranteed to bring spiced out euphoria amidst tears, so I am not at all sad that this season has come around!