Trip to Green Lake

This week-end we went to "Green Lake" to celebrate Lahu Thanksgiving. The Lahu are one of the hill-tribes of northern Thailand. The Lahu originated in China and they often seem more Chinese than Thai to me. Green Lake (translated from the Thai Nang Kiaw) is a village of 600 people close to the Burma border. We were invited by a Lahu family in our church. Their son David, the boy in the pics with Gabe, goes to our preschool co-op. We went with our English friends, the Coes, who are Stanley's family. We arrived to a Lahu feast prepared by our hosts, who appeared to be reasonably well-off with a small cement house and numerous pigs & chickens. While the farang adults tried to figure out how not to offend, Gabe, Stanley & David ran and screamed. It's amazing how easily a little child can fit into any culture. After dinner, at about 8:00pm, we went to church. We all had to go, even the kids. The church was a simple cinder block structure with wooden benches. Women sit on one side and men on the other. Although Bronwen (Stanley's mom) and I sat with our children, David's aunt had to sit across the aisle from David and he was able get into all kinds of mischief. It's a great system for little boys who seem to take full advantage of their freedom. After numerous choral numbers by special groups in a church of about 200 people Stanley's dad spoke. He did very well as most people stayed awake, remarkable considering that it was 9:00 at night and most people had been out in the fields working on the harvest all day. For the first time, I felt I got a real glimpse of the joy of the harvest. Food was plentiful and varied, probably not usual for people who live at subsistence. That night after more singing, we finally went home, but it was impossible to go to bed as the Lahu friends stayed up talking, eating the harvest, and drinking tea. In a house the size we were staying in, avoiding the party wasn't an option. We were a bit worried about the kids as they were still up at 11:00pm and they don't take long afternoon naps like Thai children. Although they were harvesting many crops, we mostly snacked on fresh nuts. I've never eaten fresh nuts and they're quite different than the roasted kind. Fresh peanuts are almost juicy. People were in a very good mood as peanuts are selling at a high price this year. Most families will earn about $750 for their harvest, a huge sum for families who mostly live on what they can grow or find. This harvest truly was a time of Thanksgiving.

I have to admit, I'm one of those people who always thinks life would be less complicated if we all lived at subsistence level. Of course, it's very silly for me to think so since I've never actually had to live at subsistence, but I do like the simplicity of life. On the other hand, they are almost slaves to their animals and their land. They can never travel as the animals can't take care of themselves. You have to work nearly all day long to prepare & preserve the food that you harvest. It's a difficult life and not particularly peaceful. In the small house, everyone sleeps in one room. We were fortunate to be given the tiny bedroom, but since the walls don't go up to the ceiling, you can hear everyone. When everyone finally did go to bed, I thought we'd sleep well in the peace and quiet of the country, but roosters crowed all night and at 5:00 am our hosts were up feeding the squealing pigs who sounded like they were being murdered rather than eating. At various intervals during the night dogs got into fights, seemingly right outside our screenless window. Anyway, it just helps to remind me what a wimp I am. However, I was the only courageous farang who showered. Many people in this area of the world do not bathe inside. They wear a sarong and bathe in the open. It was a little weird, but it was great to be clean. On Saturday we attended more church services and a football match. On our way out of town, we tried to cross the border into Burma, but it was closed. Another attempt to travel outside of Thailand was foiled. On our way, we passed this nightclub which is certainly making a brave attempt at glamour, especially since by Thai pronunciation, it would be called "Hollywoose".