Chaising Rainbows…reflections of a teacher and parent
The sun is soon to set and I’m missing my son. I said goodbye to him and his mother at Fashion Island shopping mall up on the northern outskirts of Bangkok, as they joined her cousin, who shall send them off on their Phuket bound flight at Don Muang airport tomorrow.
The past week with my son and his mother provided me with an opportunity to recharge my will batteries. Initially, I was to send them off to Bangkok yesterday, though by the time we got to the Bangkok van queue, downtown Maeklong, the evening congestion of Bangkok-going commuters prompted me to cancel the to-be-hassled trip; I wasn’t in the mood to commit three plus hours for a commute that regularly demands only an hour and some change.
As you might know already, roughly 55 percent of Thailand’s eligible voters casted their ballots in the country’s hyped National Referendum to adapt the 18th constitution in 75 years as a “Constitutional Monarchy”, narrowly revealing a divided nation with a 57-41 split. (2 percent invalid casts) And so many upcountry residents who are employed in Bangkok were in their home towns for the weekend. The result was a Sunday evening of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Thais on central Thailand’s road bunching up to get back to the city.
As the sun prepared to set yesterday evening, a short burst of showers rewarded the Samut Songkram skies with a rainbow that my son was determined to get his hands on. It’s so amazing to watch him grasp and embrace the world with so much curiosity and passion in his eyes, channeled through his strengthening limbs which manifest a clear desire to speak to and engage the world.
Went to the market last night for a final family meal–for at least several weeks anyway. Had some Satayed Pork on sticks with sweet peanut curry sauce along with a plate of crispy pork and rice and a glass of sweet Tomato smoothie, which was surprisingly refreshing. I was expecting it to taste like a salty-bitter tomato juice but it proved to emphasise the sweet and creamy essence of its tomato base.
Left Samut Songkhram by noon, arriving at Victory monument a little over an hour later, where we caught another van to Fashion island, arriving about 40 minutes later. As I waved goodbye to my son, Smokie Robinson’s “What’s so Good about Goodbye” crossed my mind. Soon I was on a van alone back to Victory Monument. I was reluctant to rush back to Mae Klong and called Jermy, which ensued into a detour to eastern Bangkok. Now I am here off of Sukhmwit Soi 62 blogging on his computer as he and Jussi try to remember how to sing the Soviet Union’s (and current Russia’s) national anthem, something they picked up from a movie I never saw nor am motivated to.
I’ve 6 ESL classes to teach tomorrow, but if I don’t get up in the wee hours tomorrow to make the 2 hour commute through Bangkok and back to Samut Songkhram, I might have to cancel–at least the first three hours.
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