Learning Thai

Eliza and I got back this morning from a 5 day trip to southern Thailand. I'd been wanting to see this area, and since it's a 17 hour train ride from Bangkok, I figured it's not a trip we'll likely be taking with three young kids. We both had a great time - Eliza liked the beach, the monkeys, and the hotel room. I enjoyed the food, the freedom of exploring on a motorcycle, and the people that we met. We went just about as far as is considered safe (because of the rebel groups that have been fighting for independence from Thai control for the past four years in the southern 3 provinces). While we were there I read in the paper that there had been an attack on soldiers and teachers in the southern part of Songkhla province - an area I had that very morning been considering exploring. So, we stayed closer to town instead.

Here are a few pictures...

Songkhla province has a series of long sandy beaches which were surprisingly empty. It's apparently not a popular spot with foreign tourists and Thai people prefer to sit under the shade trees to eat and talk instead of sunbathing or playing in the water.

Friday, however, was a school holiday and when we walked down the beach we attracted this crowd of kids - all eager to see Eliza and to practice their English ("Good afternoon!" "Welcome to my school." How old are you?" "My name is?" (that last one is apparently the way that many Thai kids learn to ask "What is your name?")) Eliza is used to attracting a fair amount of attention in Bangkok - but in Songkhla it went to a whole new level.

For two days we rented a motorcycle and had a lot of fun exploring on our own. The first day we visited an island in the middle of a huge lake and on the way back decided to follow signs for a mangrove forest and cemetery (unusual in our part of Thailand since Buddhists cremate their dead). We never found the mangrove forest, but we did find the cemetery in the middle of a small Muslim fishing village. This place was markedly different from anything else that I've seen in Thailand. The streets were narrow, there was a mosque on the hill in the middle of town, and there were goats and sheep running around all over the place.

While we were driving through the village, a man greeted us from the sidewalk and I stopped to talk with him. He quickly invited us out to a little house built on stilts over the lake to rest and talk. He brought us some food and water and told us more about that area.

To get to this house on the water we had to walk across a series of logs with only a very rickety bamboo fence to aid with balance. Surajai carried Eliza on his back - good thing for her, because I'm not sure if I could have gotten her there and back safely!

Another day we drove south of town and met Man, a squid fisherman who lives in a small house just across the road from the beach. He invited us back to his house and had his mother-in-law boil these huge shellfish for us. Then we went to the beach with a small gang of kids and hunted for crabs and crabs in the surf. Eliza stripped down to her underwear and joined the kids in the water. Then we sat in the sand and ate the shellfish (and Man ripped apart the crabs they had just caught and ate them raw). It was a privilege to enjoy this kind of hospitality.

We also visited the Songkhla Zoo (Eliza's reward for patiently putting up with all of our running around). It had the typical pros and cons of a Thai zoo. A lot of the cages were empty, but on the bright side you could strip leaves off of the bushes and feed them to the giraffe. And we got to watch a black panther being fed a piece of chicken dangling far above his pen from a pulley system. The zoo keeper made him jump and miss a few times before putting the meat within range of his leap.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable vacation - and Eliza was a good traveling partner. Here she enjoys a fried chicken leg at sunset.

Now we're looking forward to having Candice and Claire back at the end of this week!

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We're now 3/5 of the way through our time apart and I think that we're all very anxious to see each other again. Claire and Candice have moved on from Delaware to Virginia and are busy with all manner of family activities, wedding preparations, and shopping. It's been especially fun to talk to Claire on the phone and hear her excitement at rediscovering America.

Eliza and I have been living a bachelor's life here. Lots of meals on the floor (meaning we sit on the floor, not spill our meals), minimal housecleaning, and Eliza somehow manages to stay up later than normal. We've been able to spend quite a bit of time hanging out at our landlord's house; he really enjoys Eliza's company. For some reason he's not showing as much interest in the Bible study we started - but I trust that God is continuing to work in his life. You can continue to pray for him and for the trouble that he continues to have with his eye.

Eliza has been a good sport about tagging along with me to a variety of meetings and appointments. She loves to ride on the motorcycle with me and almost without fail will begin singing made up songs in her high-pitched voice as we ride along. Next week there's a two-day Thai holiday, so we're planning to take advantage of that and go on a short vacation in the southern part of Thailand.

Again, thanks for your prayers for our family. We really appreciate it.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thailand has a series of "Learning TV" channels that often show classroom lectures on subjects such as math or English. Occasionally, I'll watch an English lesson because, since all of the instruction and commentary is in Thai, it doubles as a Thai lesson for me. The basic pattern is to present an English sentence that uses a certain word or phrase the students are supposed to learn and then translate it into Thai. The sentences are often not quite right, even if they are technically correct and understandable. Today, for example they taught "Knock at the door before getting into the room." Not the way we'd actually say it in English, but it gets the point across.

But this sentence, which I also saw today, is not even close: "She attended to be an air hostage."

The teacher then went on to explain (in Thai) that "she intended to be an air hostess."

When I encounter mistakes like this it makes me wonder how many equally ludicrous things I say in Thai on a regular basis.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a previous entry I mentioned a book written about Thailand 100 years ago and quoted from a section dealing with Thai marriage customs. Later in the same book the author describes his impressions of Buddhism and how it was practiced (or not practiced) in Thailand in the late 1800's. From what we've observed, I'd agree with almost all of what he says - except for the comparison he makes to Christianity. Here's his description:

"Every single town and village of Siam is crowded with temples...their number seems to be out of all proportion to the number of the population...[T]he reason for this superabundance of religious edifices is not to be found in the immense number of people who are popularly supposed to believe in the teachings of Buddha...no one who has lived in a Buddhist country will venture to assert that...the vast majority of the people do anything more than passively accept the superstitions of their forefathers without ever inquiring or even caring whether they are the true teachings of Buddha or not...It is not possible to call them Buddhists at all, if the term is to be used as comparable to the term Christian as applied to the believers in Christ in Western lands."

I'd say it's exactly the same as the state of Christianity in "Western lands." Whether we're talking about Christianity or Buddhism (or probably any other religion), a sizable percentage of people who identify themselves with that faith could not justifiably claim to be active, sincere disciples who are truly dedicated to the teachings and morals of the religion. All cultures contain some level of religious symbolism and tradition (Thai culture happens to include a lot). And even though many people are content to practice or observe only that "cultural religion" it is never the same as a true faith and commitment to the original teachings.

There are "true Buddhists" in Thailand and they bemoan the widespread hypocrisy and watering-down of their religion in the same way that "true Christians" in the West do.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Koh Si Chang

Eliza and I have survived a little over a week now on our own. Candice and Claire made it safely to America and are immensely enjoying their time there. We've had a bit of a rough week - Eliza has been sick with some sort of stomach ailment since last Sunday. It improved at the end of last week - long enough for us to make a quick trip to a beach on nearby island, but now today she is feeling worse again. Other than that though, we've been doing OK. We're buying even more meals than normal, cleaning less often, and Eliza's hair is freed from the constraints of barrettes and bands.

I'm still waiting to hear back about the English teaching job at the factory. In the meantime I'm getting more inquiries from private students but am trying to put them on hold until I know for sure about the other job. This afternoon I'm supposed to meet a friend for our first Bible study (we were going to start last week but I had to take Eliza to the doctor instead). Our team's method is to introduce the scriptures to Thai people and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide them (and us) in understanding as we read and study. That sounds good in theory, but as I look ahead a couple of hours and imagine all of the potential difficulties that could arise while studying Genesis 1 in Thai, I realize how much we are really depending on the Holy Spirit!

Thanks for your prayers for these ongoing Bible studies - and we'd also appreciate your prayers for health. In addition to Eliza's sickness, Anita has been diagnosed with dengue fever, and Sharon has been sick for a couple of days. Thanks for remembering us during these sometimes stressful and difficult periods of illness.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm currently reading The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe, written in 1898 by Ernest Young, an Englishman living in Thailand. One of the subjects he covers is Thai marriage traditions. At that time men were allowed to have many wives (in some cases, they still are) while women were not permitted the same "privilege." One reason he gives for this is that "there is a remarkable difference in the several dispositions of men and women; men, however many wives they have, and whatever their feelings towards them, would never desire to kill them, but if women had more husbands than one, they would wish to put to death all except the one they liked best, for such is their nature."

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Claire, Fred and Laci get up close and personal with a hippo at the Crocodile Farm.

This morning Eliza and I woke up to a very quiet house. After 11 fun-filled days with part of my family, they - along with Candice and Claire - left last night. They're still in the air, on the 17 hour flight to New York. So now it's just Eliza and I here for the next few weeks. The time with Gail & Del, Fred & Michelle, and their kids went quickly. Over the past few days we went to the crocodile farm, did a lot of shopping, and got to go out for individual couples' dates. It was hard for our family to say goodbye last night - we are all going to miss each other a lot!

Now Eliza and I will need to adjust to a new lifestyle - it will be interesting to see how it goes. We have some babysitting options but nothing regular set up at this point, so she'll probably just ride along with me for a lot of my errands, meetings, and teaching jobs. I'm also hoping to get a lot of reading and some longer-term planning done during this time.

Here are a few more random updates...

-My first two Bible studies with our landlord (Khun Seri) have gone well. He continues to show interest and ask questions. I've also invited Khun Yupin, a Christian lady from our neighborhood to join us. She does an excellent job of gently and winsomely witnessing to Seri and he really connects with what she says. I'm excited about the potential of working together in other Bible studies with Yupin. She is interested in our "simple church" approach and has many connections here in Thipawan. She told me that she has been praying for the past few years that many people here would come to know Jesus.

-I've applied for an English-teaching job at a local factory. I'm excited about this for several reasons. It would allow me to teach adults. It would be a regular job and would pay fairly well. And, it could provide opportunities for further interaction with factory workers - something that our team has been praying for. If I get the job it would start in early July.

-And for those interested in Thai politics..a group opposed to the current government has threatened to move their long-running protest onto the Government House grounds this afternoon. The police are apparently preparing for the threat of violence and no one knows for sure what will happen if the protesters do try to force their way in. Let's pray for peace!

And of course our family would appreciate your prayers over the next month. This is by far the longest amount of time that we've ever been separated and we're all going to need God's grace to get through it with our sanity intact.

-Tom

Posted by Tom & Candice Mast at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)