Winter in Thailand

The weather is cooling off. It even smells a little like fall in New England. There is a nice crispness in the air. I pulled out flannel pants and a sweater to wear to work today. It's nice to pull out some of the warmer items that have been sitting in my closet unworn. Like old friends I haven't seen in a while. The kids are wearing big jackets in class over their uniforms. Yesterday I was able to leave my house at 4:30 PM for a run while usually it is way to hot to leave before 5:30.

It's officially winter in Thailand. But I have yet to see the thermometer get below 75.

Things are pretty much life as usual. I am really settled into my life here. Still working on my Thai. I go to my tutors for an hour and 15 mins about 4 times a week. She is really sweet. I call her P Folk. 'P' literally means older sibling, but everyone in Thailand is Family, so I call everyone w/in 20 years older than me 'P' then their name. If I don't know someones name, or am at a restaurant I just call them 'P'. If they are younger it's 'Nawng.'

P Folk was named after a car brand. Can you guess which one? Volkswagen. But the Thais pronounce the V like an F. Her younger sister is named after a Thai car brand, and her youngest sister is named "Naam Man," which means motor oil. P Folk lives w her mom and sister and they all run a large afterschool English and Math tutoring program. P Folk speaks amazing English as she lived in Australia for a year. She loves teaching and is very dedicated, although she started her career as a nurse.

P Folk is in her late 30s and quite single. She works very hard and doesn't have time for a boyfriend She has said she doesn't want one and doesn't plan on getting married. Yet sometimes she acts as if she does want one. Occationally we are in Bangkok at the same time and her mom always says we should meet up and I should find P Folk a boyfriend. She means a white one. But P Folk is in Bangkok to do research for her Thesis. She is writing about the eating habits of youth in our town and why we have more fat kids than before.

I recently heard that Thailand is well above 50% women. I'm not sure why the men are dying off sooner as I assume it's close to 50-50 at birth. There hasn't been a big war recently. The only thing i can think of is accidents. This country isn't safety proofed the way America is, partially because there aren't lots of lawsuits. It would make sense that there are lots of accidents bc there is so much drinking. Thailand is one of the top 5 countries for alchohol consumption per capita. And certainly there are more men drinking than women. Anyway, i do see a lot of single women or women who share their husband w another woman. Lots of fatherless kids.

P Folk was one of those kids. Her father died when she was young. He was a lawyer and apparently he pissed someone off. One day he took P Folk and her sisters for a drive to a city about 45 mins from here and while they were at a red light a man walked up to the car and put a gun to her fathers head and killed him. P Folk is the only one that remembers it. She had to lean over and turn off the car. She was 8.

Apparenly there is the same gender split in nearby Laos. To try to increase the population of the country the government is encouraging every man to have 7 wives. I don't have any idea if it's happening or not, but probably there are lots of people who have a couple. It's the same in Thailand. The women don't really like it, but it's seen as a sign of prestige. If a man can support both wives than it's socially acceptable. I hardly see men w multiple wives.