Today is New Year's Eve. We went to visit our friends at the local Wat. We received a copy of the Wat's annual calender. This is the cover page. At this point we cannot read the words, but we hope that will change soon!
This is a photo of the large sign that stands by the roadside in front of the Wat. The monks are travelers in life much as Peace Corps volunteers are. I only hope we can be as gracious and kind as they have been to us.
We scanned the month of January to show some of the international features. We are not certain, but could it be that this year is the year of the rat, or maybe the year of the mouse. There is a little creature pictured in the first box for the month. New Year's Day is highlighted as well as Martin Luther King Day. But also note the small image of The Buddha on the 1st, 7th, 15th, 22nd and 30th. We think these notations may be in tune with the cycles of the moon but still have to research this.
Today we brought gifts to the monks of some fresh fruit. We cannot do justice to Thai cooking as yet, so fruit and dessert are generally a safe bet. Oranges, raspberries and blueberries are kind of neutral - or so we hoped. After the monks have eaten all who are present are invited to share in the bounteous offerings of dishes. To the very left you can see a Thai pumpkin. We were told that you steam it first and then serve it with either sugar or sweet coconut as a topping. We have received much encouragement from all those who attend the Wat. Today I related a gaff I made while in New York at the Thai restaurant. We all had a good laugh. One poor lady was in tears she laughed so very hard! I would relate the error I made with the language but it was a little too salty for this journal! My face was red needless to say.
Here is one of the sweetest monks. He was walking through the kitchen area carrying clean robes that had been laundered. I told him I wanted to take his photo, so he put the laundry down, wrapped himself in his shawl (after telling me that this is what the monks in Thailand do when they are cold) and stood still for the photo.
I said to the monk, "Are monks not allowed to smile?" Very seriously he said not very often. Then he gave me this big smile. He laughed too when I mentioned to him that his "serious" look with the shawl was not enough to hide the bright yellow football jersey he was wearing to keep warm here in Augusta, GA. He said that monks in Thailand do not wear football jerseys.
2 comments:
I realize a lot of time has passed since you posted this, but, I am thinking of visiing Wat Santidham soon but I am nervous that I may the only person there who speaks English. It would be cool if you were still around.
Hi Tracy,
If you do nothing else this year -- you MUST visit this wat. All members of the surrounding community speak English. They feed the monks each day. The abbot in residence has been in the States for quite some time and speaks excellent English. You cannot meet a nicer, kinder, more sweet natured group than those who attend this wat. Unfortunately we left Augusta in January 2008. We would love to have accompanied you to the wat.
If you should have any questions please feel free to drop us a line.
June Hart
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