2ed July 1, 2010

I had a long and delightful dinner with the Norwegin family I have befriended here. I arrived at “time to chill bar” before they had ordered, and we enjoyed a long memorable evening together. There are the three (adult) sisters, their mother, and the oldest sister has a daughter Susana, who is just about the most beautiful child I have ever seen. I guess her father is African and her mother Norwegian, and she has big hair and big eyes and a big laugh. She is four years old. We chatted and I felt helpful to be able to share some of my knowledge about Thai culture, and stories from my time here. All the time, we were sitting in a lounge are behind back while a rain storm pelted down off the sea. It whipped and billowed the big green sheets at the front of the bar, even blowing over furniture. Once and a while we would get a tiny mist, but mostly our corner was cozy and dry. Over the night, and me and Susana were playing with a hammock. Its incredible how easily kids are amused! We must have made up two dozen little games over the evening. She was shy at first, but I had her devotion by the end of the evening.

At the end Pi Mut offered to take me home, because it was still raining and dark (our food for the six took much longer than I had planned for thinking it would be just me). We drove down the dark beach on his motorcycle, the rain and the waves rolling in off the sea and splattering our faces. I put out my umbrella, whippling and protesting in the wind, and held it forward up above us like a shield. I was laughing so hard. We must have looked so hilarious, and me with by big orange rain cover on my big backpack, too. Haha!

The days are starting to run and blear together – also to speed by. Whereas the first day I think lasted about a week, and I accomplished so much, I feel like now I barely wake up and its nightfall again. (and that’s saying something because I get up at 6:00!) I lay on a mat on the beach, and got started by big sand crabs out of the corner of my eye while I studied Thai this morning, read more on the Urak Lawoi, transcribed. I met Pi Mayoh this afternoon at one. She was hanging out on the porch / sitting area in front of her house with her husband, mother, and a friend named Ek. They were talking about topics that could have been from my project interview questions: gambling, fish from the reef, fish getting taken and sold by the aquarium trade, alcoholism, cultural changes… Possibly inspired by my presents/questions yesterday, but at least defiantly to each other and not for my benefit. I was mostly just getting a few abbreviated stories from Pi Mayoh now and again. For instance:

Urak Lawoi employees are hard to have because they don’t work as hard as the Burmese. They are used to being their own boss, and on their own time, and not used to having to work hard. Pi Mayoh would give one of her Urak Lawoi employees a three hour break to go home and rest, cook her husband something for dinner, and her employee would come back and say she didn’t have time to cook dinner she needed a longer break. However, Pi Mayoh’s friend had seen her playing cards the whole time. Once, and employee went for a three hour break and lost 10,000 Bhat. (three hundred dollars). Wow, I said that’s a lot! What was her salary per day? 8,000 Bhat a month! Said Pi Mayoh’s husband.

Apparently there used to be Dragon fish here. (which are like a sea horse with wavy crazy fins), but people from Ko Lanta took them and other fish for a aquarium Trade. Pi Mayoh said “I saw the shop and I saw the Dragon fish and I was think “there are no dragon fish in Ko Lanta!” I know the man who they pay to do this, too.” When was this? I ask. “maybe six years ago” she says.

Pi Mayoh took me for a walk to see the more old fashioned style Urak Lawoi village on the other side of the island. She took an umbrella for shade (and eventually for rain). We walked together and she pointed out places here and there where I could find people to interview. There was no one really around in the village since it was the middle of the day. The houses were much much smaller, made from more natural matericals like woven bamboo. They were closer together with just a scattering of trees and bushes inbetween.

we stopped by at a construction site where her friend is building a bar. He talked to us for hours about all of his experiences living in many countires like Saudi Arabia, sigapore, Philipeans, Candana...