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November 27, 2012
For Thanksgiving this year, we
celebrated at Ning’s village again. Last year, Sophie was in the hospital
hooked up to an IV, so she didn’t get to come, but this year, it was Ahna,
Jasmine me and Ahngun. We drove up in Jasmine’s new (to her) car and got to see
the famous Bua Tong flowers that are everywhere at this time of year. I love
the drive to Ning’s village because it’s so picturesque and just really
peaceful and beautiful. Definitely a fan of the new road, too. Last year, the
car almost got swallowed by potholes. We got to the village and headed up to
meet everyone at the church. Somehow we ended up in the 2nd row (why
does that always happen to us? I always feel like the foreigners are being put
on display and then because we are in the front of the room, it’s impossible to
slip out without seeming rude, even though we don’t speak the language at all,
so it’s hard to stay awake and pay attention.)
They had a variety of singers and
dancers from all age groups, including the kids from the children’s home run by
Ning and her sister Faa. They were so cute! After the performances, which took
about an hour, there was a sermon in Akha, for about an hour and a half, during
which most of the church emptied out to go cook food for Thanksgiving dinner.
THEN, there was a big auction of the rice, fruits and veggies (and fowl) that
had been grown that year. The money benefits the church, so it was fun to hear
people wagering and the prices going up. We got a bag of rice for Taw Saeng and
Jasmine bought a whole pack of stuff, including a live chicken! They killed and
cooked it for her there, and turned it into soup. She also got rice, pumpkins,
papayas, a variety of veggies we do not have the US and a nice bamboo basket to
take it all home in. And it only cost $20 for the whole thing.
After the auction, it was time to
eat! So much yummy food and so many people hanging out and celebrating
together. It was a fun time, and I ate SO much food. It is so much fun taking
Sophie to these things because she is like a totally different kid. She
chatters away in Akha and is so sweet, no trace of the moody teenager she can
easily be in the city.
Jasmine needed to get some
interviews from some villagers for a research project she is doing, so Ahna,
Sophie and I walked around the village and went down to the lake to work off
some of the calories from dinner. On the way back up the hill, Sophie
challenged us to a race up the hill. I won of course, because Ahna was in flip
flops, so she fell out early, and Sophie is just weak and has no endurance, so
I passed them both up pretty easily. I didn’t have to run fast, just outlast
the two of them! We headed back to the car, packed up our spoils and said
goodbye to the generous families. Jasmine stayed to continue her interviews and
we took the car back to the city. Best way to spend Thanksgiving, in my
opinion.
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