I stopped in at another temple today. 
I passed it last night on my bicycle and took the time to jot down the location so that I could find it again. There was something special about this one. You must be thinking "What is he talking about? There's got to me something special about every temple in Thailand." And surely, there is but you have to understand that temples here are a dime a dozen. They're just about as prevalent as Starbucks in NYC. (Did you know that there are 200 Starbucks in Manhattan alone?) I didn't know anything about Wat Lokmoli because it was not mentioned in the guidebook but I'd say that its claim to fame is the absolute shiniest Buddha image I've seen. But more exciting than any of the temple amenities was the experience that I had within the walls. I played tourist by taking lots of photos but then I settled down at the end of a long table to do some studying. An hour into my work, I found myself surrounded by six Buddhist monk boys ranging in age from 11-13. They were enthralled with my work and seemed to want nothing more than to watch. I exhibited my freshly-polished Thai Phrase: "kun pôot paa-săa ang-grìt măi?" 
[Do you speak English?] But none of them did. So I continued to color diagrams with my colored pencils and they continued to watch. Later, another boy came over with a composition book in hand. He was a bit older than the others and had clearly joined the group in order to communicate with me. He proudly showed me the composition book filled with English vocabulary words. He's been studying English for two years and speaks beautifully. His name is Thep and he's been living at this particular temple for about a year now. He told me that he grew up in Mae Hong Son and I replied with details about the trip to that area that I have planned for next weekend. It was a delightful conversation. He was clearly excited to practice on someone and I was interested in the life of a monastic thirteen-year-old. He wanted to know all about the methods that were being used to teach massage. I tried to explain to him that it was likely very similar to the way that he was learning English. I am learning a new vocabulary of massage moves just as he is learning a vocabulary of words. He used his translation skills to help get Cha-Cha, the puppy, to pose with one of his friends. As I was observing, I came to believe that these boys are probably a lot more like you and me than you may initially think.
I passed it last night on my bicycle and took the time to jot down the location so that I could find it again. There was something special about this one. You must be thinking "What is he talking about? There's got to me something special about every temple in Thailand." And surely, there is but you have to understand that temples here are a dime a dozen. They're just about as prevalent as Starbucks in NYC. (Did you know that there are 200 Starbucks in Manhattan alone?) I didn't know anything about Wat Lokmoli because it was not mentioned in the guidebook but I'd say that its claim to fame is the absolute shiniest Buddha image I've seen. But more exciting than any of the temple amenities was the experience that I had within the walls. I played tourist by taking lots of photos but then I settled down at the end of a long table to do some studying. An hour into my work, I found myself surrounded by six Buddhist monk boys ranging in age from 11-13. They were enthralled with my work and seemed to want nothing more than to watch. I exhibited my freshly-polished Thai Phrase: "kun pôot paa-săa ang-grìt măi?" [Do you speak English?] But none of them did. So I continued to color diagrams with my colored pencils and they continued to watch. Later, another boy came over with a composition book in hand. He was a bit older than the others and had clearly joined the group in order to communicate with me. He proudly showed me the composition book filled with English vocabulary words. He's been studying English for two years and speaks beautifully. His name is Thep and he's been living at this particular temple for about a year now. He told me that he grew up in Mae Hong Son and I replied with details about the trip to that area that I have planned for next weekend. It was a delightful conversation. He was clearly excited to practice on someone and I was interested in the life of a monastic thirteen-year-old. He wanted to know all about the methods that were being used to teach massage. I tried to explain to him that it was likely very similar to the way that he was learning English. I am learning a new vocabulary of massage moves just as he is learning a vocabulary of words. He used his translation skills to help get Cha-Cha, the puppy, to pose with one of his friends. As I was observing, I came to believe that these boys are probably a lot more like you and me than you may initially think. 
I realize that I've mentioned very little about school thus far. It's going pretty well. There are frustrating days, of course. Yesterday, for instance, I felt as though I was doing everything wrong. Every time that I attempted a massage stroke, an elder would have to come over and adjust something or cordially nudge me aside so that they could demonstrate the correct approach. It's quite a lot of material to absorb in a short amount of time. But it does feel quite good once I'm able to get the technique into my body and to start moving with some grace and fluidity. Last week, I completed Level I with a score of 96%. Most of my peers appeared to have created quite a bit of anxiety surrounding the examination but I was surprisingly pretty calm. One of the instructors warned me that existing massage therapists tend to put the most pressure on themselves compared to the rest. In addition to massage, I'm learning a lot about how I can maneuver around first impressions and how I can sift through judgements and stereotypes in order to find something redeeming in a person. For the most part, the people are accommodating and respectful. There are a few exceptions but I'm getting along quite well with most of the kids there.
It's taken me about two full days in order to finally get that single Thai phrase into my vernacular. Learning a new language is not something that comes easily. I've known that since the days of Señora Crane and Madame Regli in Junior High. But I'm doing my best. I find it somewhat disrespectful and self-centered for me to expect everyone around me to speak my language. So I'm trying to nail down some critical phrases one at a time. But Thep (the boy from the temple,) was a hell of a lot more fluent in English than I am in Thai. The only things that I can say with any sort of confidence are "hello", "thank you", "yes", "no", and "do you speak English?" I'm packing my brain with Thai Massage (as I'm packing my belly with Thai food,) and there's very little room in there for anything else. But I'll try to acquire a few more important phrases over the course of the next few weeks. 
The street names are a completely different story. Learning to pronounce them is impossible for me. For starters, each street is often spelled at least two or three different ways. And you never quite know which is a variable spelling and which are two separate streets. For instance, in the center of town, you'll find the intersection of Ratchamankha and Ratchaphakhinai and you can also find each of them spelled differently depending on where they're listed. Streets are rarely labeled, to boot. Here's the full explanation from Lonely Planet. "The Thai word thanon means road, street, or avenue. Hence Ratchadamnoen Road (sometimes referred to as Ratchadamnoen Avenue) is always called Th. Ratchadamnoen in Thai. A soi is a small street or lane that runs off a larger street. So, the address referred to as 48/3-5 Soi 1, Th. Sukhumvit, will be located off Th. Sukhumvit on Soi 1. Alternative ways of writing the same address include 48/3-5 Th. Sukhumvit Soi 1, or even just 48/3-5 Sukhumvit 1. Some Bangkok soi have become so large that they can be referred to both as thanon and soi, e.g. Soi Sarasin/Th. Sarasin and Soi Asoke/Th. Asoke." Ugh!!
The street names are a completely different story. Learning to pronounce them is impossible for me. For starters, each street is often spelled at least two or three different ways. And you never quite know which is a variable spelling and which are two separate streets. For instance, in the center of town, you'll find the intersection of Ratchamankha and Ratchaphakhinai and you can also find each of them spelled differently depending on where they're listed. Streets are rarely labeled, to boot. Here's the full explanation from Lonely Planet. "The Thai word thanon means road, street, or avenue. Hence Ratchadamnoen Road (sometimes referred to as Ratchadamnoen Avenue) is always called Th. Ratchadamnoen in Thai. A soi is a small street or lane that runs off a larger street. So, the address referred to as 48/3-5 Soi 1, Th. Sukhumvit, will be located off Th. Sukhumvit on Soi 1. Alternative ways of writing the same address include 48/3-5 Th. Sukhumvit Soi 1, or even just 48/3-5 Sukhumvit 1. Some Bangkok soi have become so large that they can be referred to both as thanon and soi, e.g. Soi Sarasin/Th. Sarasin and Soi Asoke/Th. Asoke." Ugh!!
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