Standing barefoot in front of the golden reclining Buddha, two Thai women prostrate in silence, Asa whispered to me, “I would pray too if I knew how.”
It was our first full day in Chiang Mai. Jetlagged, hot, disoriented, the spicy khao soi still fire on our lips, and yet he wanted to enter into every room in every crevice of that wat. Asa, who had been devouring any Hindu book he could get his hands on before our trip, began to pick up the influence of Hinduism on the development of Thai Buddhism. Today, it all became alive.
And that was the day. It was not without whining and moments of unsteadiness in our new surroundings.
Case in point: Chris trying/failing to figure out how to buy filtered water in a machine around the corner from our new house.
But it was as if I watched each kid evolve in one day. From the profound to the banal, from the discussion with the young monk studying AI on the nature of the mind, to riding in our first songthaew (prompting a discussion on ‘danger’ and how much a society ‘protects’ one from danger vs. one’s own autonomy to protect oneself), to our kids learning how to use the ‘bum gun’ instead of toilet paper (with just one mishap!), everything was new.
The first of many coconuts for Emmet
Obie rocking spicy food
First songthaew ride
We are not yet in our routines. We still fall asleep reading to our kids each night. We are starting exercise/Thai classes next week. I haven’t had a moment alone in days. And despite all of that, this new year feels pretty awesome.
Arrival at the airport in Chiang Mai!