Life in Phana

Study Centre is Busy, Busy

After opening on 8th March, the Rin-Homhual Mahanil Study Centre in Phana was busy two days later when the Phana Bicycle Rally came by. Then there were a few quiet days when we wondered where everyone was who had said they would visit. Slowly ‘business’ picked up. The Director of Phana Suksa called in with a good luck gift to the Centre, for example, and several people stopped by to do a little weaving.

But this last week has been very busy and has been everything we had hoped the Study Centre would be: a place for people to study, to hold discussions and meetings, and to drop in to browse through the books and magazines and study the exhibits and ask questions about them.

Three groups of children on school holiday are now attending the Study Centre twice a week for English lessons and practice. The largest group (16 of them at the last count) are of Primary One age or a bit younger. One group of them comes in from a village about 7 kms away in/on this vehicle driven by the mother of one of them. I guess you would call this a little-people carrier.

The oldest group (M1) is currently the smallest, but these three girls are very keen. They are joined by ‘Judy’ in the background, a Phanasuksa student who has just returned from a year as an AFS student in Brazil. She is helping out at the Study Centre and especially helping me with the teaching.

The other group, about to double in numbers next week, is Primary 4 and 5. After their class finished on Thursday they stayed on to play some English-language games on the computer.

On Wednesday we hosted a group of teachers and students from Benjamah Mahavat School in Ubon. They were following up an earlier exploratory visit to assess Phana as a possible focus for their off-site study programme. We started the day early after they had had breakfast across the road at the house of Acharn Kalyani, who is involved in the running of the centre.

After introducing them to the centre and looking at the history and monkey exhibitions in some detail, we took them on a tour of other possible educational sites in the village.

The Traditional Medicine Centre had not been expecting us, but when we arrived they had just done a presentation to a group from Si Sa Ket, so they kindly repeated it for us.

 

At Fai Rong Hin the group was most interested in the cooking, using methane gas produced on site with the help of a lot of pigs… (APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE)

… and in posing for a group photo:

After lunch we visited the weaving co-operative in Moo 9. Again, they had not been expecting us and it turned out that a training session was in progress. But again, we were welcomed, given lots of attention and lots of answers to our questions, and a couple of the teachers were sold some cloth produced by the co-operative.

And finally, to Don Chao Poo, where we took them on the Path of the Buddha:

Then it was back to the Study Centre for a plenary discussion. It looks very likely that a group or groups of students from the school will be making a visit of several days to carry out a varied study programme using all the facilities we visited early in the new school year which starts in mid-May.

And finally, on Friday evening the first of a planned series of meetings took place at the Study Centre, organised this time by Khun Chorkdee Pornsri. The idea was to discuss the ways in which the traditional 12-month festivals were celebrated ‘in the old days’.

Thirty-two people turned up, but they didn’t get past the first month! The next meeting in two weeks time will be to listen to the Chao Kana Amphur (the chief abbot of the District) talking about his recent pilgrimage to the places in India associated with the life of the Buddha.

So, a very busy week at the Study Centre, and a very productive one which promises well for the continued use and interest in the Centre.

 

Study Centre Opening Day

 

The day finally came for the opening of the study centre last week. It was what all the work on renovating Pensri's parents' old house had been about: The Rin-Homhual Mahanil Study Centre and the Don Chao Poo Research Centre. As is often the case in Isan, most of the ceremony took place very early in the morning -- before breakfast. Monks were invited to the house instead of walking on the alms round, so they brought their bowls with them and food was placed in each bowl as it would have been on the alms round, although more food was offered after they had chanted.

(CLICK on the images to enlarge them.)

Many of the preparations were literally last-minute, but we had got the study centre ready for the ceremony AND in good shape to show off the various activities we are hoping to promote.

The number of people out and about and prepared to attend our ceremony at 6.30 in the morning was quite impressive. There were eight farangs in town and sitting on the floor too, which must be almost a record, I think, for this small town.

The moment when the holy water is sprinkled on the lay people as a blessing is enjoyed by everyone, especially the monk. Here, the abbot of Wat Don Khual was doing the honours.

 

While the monks were having their meal, the rest of us began the baci suk kwan. These were the youngest dancers I have seen performing the introductory dance, and very good they were too.

The dancers had an attentive and appreciative audience (we all applauded when they finished) and then they were suitably rewarded by Pensri.

Our four researchers from the UK were the recipients of the baci and hopefully the ceremony will have brought them the good luck and success that people wished them as they tied the sacred threads on their wrists.

The opening speeches were made by the District Officer (nai amphur), in the pink shirt below, and by my brother-in-law, Somnuk Choovichian.

After his opening speech, Khun Somnuk was invited to strike the gong (three times) …

… and then to draw back the curtains to reveal the name of the study centre and research centre, proudly displayed in Thai and English. And then most people went home or to work, while those of us who remained posed for the group photo.

In the photo below, Pensri and I are with Pensri’s elder sister Arunee and her husband Somnuk. They and their three children have been the driving force behind the renovation of the house and the setting up of the centre and they have been the major donors both in terms of cash and books and other items. But all the families of the descendants of Ta Rin and Yai Homhual Mahanil have contributed very generously, and so have several people here in Phana, most notably Ajarn Kulyani Singnak who has offered much valuable wood, furniture, and her enthusiasm, too. She will continue to play an important part in running the centre.

The Isan House that Moved

There is a house in Exeter, where I live half my time, known as 'the house that moved'. It was originally built in the late 16th or early 17th century and had to move to make way for a new road. Now there is a house that moved here in Phana; not quite so old, but old enough that lots of people are surprised we didn't demolish it and build a new concrete one. I have posted about this house at several stages of its reincarnation, Moving House in Isan Part 1 ,  and Moving House in Isan Part 2, and Keeping the ancestors informed . The work is finished now, and the upper storey is occupied, while we are still preparing the ground floor for a 'grand opening' on March 8th.

The renovation/restoration/refurbishment, call it what you will, has been carried out through donations from a large number of family members of descendants of Ta Rin and Yai Homhual Mahanil, as well as other relatives and neighbours in Phana. The generosity of all these people has been amazing, and those of us who have been closest to the work are most grateful to everyone who has donated.

These two pictures show the house as it now looks from the road:

Here we can see the ground floor after we moved some of the furniture into it, although when the picture was taken we hadn't finalised the arrangement.

The old doors at the back lead into an enclosed area that is part of the 'upstairs' accommodation. This largely open area on the ground floor is going to be a community study centre, containing a library, seating and meeting areas, a screen for showing DVDs, and temporary exhibitions. The opening exhibition will centre around the loom, with pictures and information about weaving and the process of indigo dying as it is practised in Phana.

Behind the closed doors at the back are these stairs and a shower room. The stairs lead to the accommodation we are providing for the Don Chao Poo Research Centre which will serve as the base for people conducting research into all aspects of the nearby forest known as Don Chao Poo, and especially in all probability into all aspects of the long-tailed macaques which live there.

At the top of the stairs is a 'kitchen area'. There is an electric hot-water jug, a 4-slice toaster and a double electric hot-plate.

 

The dining area is shown looking towards the front of the house. In the top right corner is the door to one of the three bedrooms. The doors and the bedrooms they lead to are the original ones, as are all the floorboards and the ouiter wooden walls and shuttered windows.

You can see our lab bench in the picture above, but here is a better view of it. The two microscopes were donated by Exeter University, and our other equipment at present consists of binoculars, a DVD video camera, a hand-held GPS, two stop-watches, and various glassware of a scientific nature.

And here, looking towards the back of the house. The kitchen area is to the right of the bathroom.

This is the sitting area. The chairs have been donated by a generous neighbour, Acharn Kalyani, who also gave us the old dooors downstairs, the stumps that form the front fence, the shuttered windows on the ground floor, and several other valuable pieces of wood that were used in the renovation. She has also provided the meeting table and chairs, three old wooden chairs and a small table, and lots of very interesting books -- all of which are in use on the ground floor. 

Next to the sitting area, towards the bedrooms and the front of the house, is this small library of reference books on academic subjects as well as local history, travel and so on. There are three bedrooms here, but we currently have four researchers in residence, so one has to sleep out in the main room as you can see. They have formed a rota so that this 'privilige' is shared among them.

As I mentioned previously, the bedrooms and their doors are original. Here is the middle bedroom door:

This is the bedroom that Pensri and I always stayed in back in the 1980s and 1990s. When I came to stay in the 1970s I wasn't senior enough to be given a bedroom, so like our fourth researcher I used to sleep on the floor.

Back downstairs, we are still in the process of arranging the study centre. We are presently awaiting a truck-load (!!!) of books being donated by family members in Bangkok. Also to come is a series of DVDs to help secondary school students to revise for exams in all their subjects. These have been offered by Pink, the daughter of a neice, who has just finished her secondary education and has been awarded a scholarship by a university in Japan, which she will take up later this year.

This view looks out towards a rice and noodle restaurant which our researchers have named 'The Shack'. They eat there a lot, especially at mid-day.

The blue house across the road is home to Panda, a white dog with black markings over his eyes. Panda was quite hostile to the researchers whenh they were staying at our house, but when they moved in here he had a change of heart.  In fact, he moved in as well, sleeping beneath the house for the first few nights. Now he has returned to the blue house, but he has become friendly and protective of the research centre and the researchers. Both have become part of his territory, no doubt.

 

I will post some more about the community study centre when we have got it ready for the opening on March 8th.

 

Education and social mobility in Isan

Social mobility, or the lack of it, is often cited as a reason for the discontent in Thailand, and in Isan particularly. The same goes for education, or the lack of it. And lack of education is the usual explanation given for the lack of social mobility.

At the last election I attended a meeting in a village in Phana district at which all the main candidates spoke to a crowd of villagers. Most of them mentioned the need for more educational opportunities for people in the area. This didn't really go down very well because the people of Phana are proud of their education, and make the most of their educational opportunities. Phana had the second government primary school in Ubon Province when Udomwitayakorn was started in 1910 (2453), 12 years after the first one in Ubon itself. People from this school became teachers in schools all over  Isan as the government gradually increased the number of schools in the region. And even before the government opened a secondary school in Phana in 1963, many people had gone from Phana to Bangkok to get degrees. Still today, education is highly valued here, and to become a teacher is a sure sign of social mobility.

Nowadays the number of students attending Phanasuksa School is almost 1500 and 98% of those complete the six years of secondary schooling and many go on to universities throughout Thailand. Quite a few girls and boys attend secondary schools in Ubon, too.

The woman pictured here is a good example of what can be done if parents have the determination to help their children get on though education. Pensri met her at Wat Burapha during the time that preparations were being made for the celebration of the abbot's promotion. Then she saw her again while out cycling and invited her to our house. She and her husband are farmers but she also weaves cloth, as has always been the tradition, especially in the dry season when there is little to do in the fields. She brought with her a selection of the silk cloth that she has woven.

 

 

 

The pieces of cloth are 2m long and 1m wide, but are cut from a piece 14m in length. She buys silk cloth from Korat and Surin and dyes it herself, using some natural and some chemical dyes deopending on the colour.  It usually takes her two days to weave a 2m length and she sells it for 1,500 baht. But those two days don't take account of the time she spends setting up the loom and dying the thread.

 

Pensri bought one piece and then brought out a piece she had bought at the Phana Weaving Co-operative a year or two ago. This is the classic Phana design and most of what this woman weaves is a variation on this basic design.

It turned out that the woman had woven this piece, too.

It seems that her youngest daughter is currently at university in Bangkok, taking a degree in education that will enable her to become a teacher in a secondary school. The money which her mother earns from her weaving is what is seeing her through her studies. It is not money which is easily earned, and not everyone has the talent and the ability to weave like this. But given talent, and determination, it is possible for people in Isan to provide an education for their children, and for that education to provide upward social mobility. But it needs hard work by parents and children (and some dedicated teachers) in order to succeed.

This woman's face seems to me to portray all that is best in Isan: she has the look of a strong, determined, intelligent and kindly person. She brought with her one of her grand-daughters. I am sure that she too will benefit from the education that she will get in Phana.

 

 

Who are you calling an ape?

Apes? Who gives a monkey's? Well, I do, for one.

The Tetsaban Phana website www.phanacity.com has this artist's impression of the planned study centre to be built in Don Chao Poo.  It looks good to me, but I am much less keen on an alternative design that features a large disney-like structure. We are hoping that the centre will be an educational resource as well as a fun place to visit. There is no reason to think that education and fun are mutually exclusive (though years spent in school might suggest that they are).

 

What worries me a little is that the series of pictures and drawings begin with the title "APE MUSEUM". Our monkeys are NOT apes. Apes have no tails. Ours have LONG tails. They are long-tailed macaques. I think everyone is agreed that the centre will contain exhibitions relating to monkeys other than macaques, and that will include apes. But while all apes are monkeys, not all monkeys are apes. 

Just before we left Thailand last month, Pensri and I visited Thailand's leading expert on primates, Professor Dr Suchinda Malaivijitnond, director of the Primate Research Centre at Chulalongkorn University. She had lots of good advice for us, and has agreed to take further part in the project to set up the centre. We mentioned to her that the Governor of Amnat Charoen felt that 'Primate' was not a word widely understood (hence the need for a study centre, in part) so he has suggested 'Ape' instead. Dr Suchinda agreed, but said that the best alternative to 'primate' would be 'monkey'. There is no problem with the Thai title, because as you can see above, it would translate as 'Monkey Museum'. So PLEASE, TETSABAN PHANA:  use the English word 'monkey' for the sake of accuracy.

Another academic, the first we got on board, is Dr Panee Wannitikul of Suranaree University of Technology, Korat. She suggested the name 'Centre for Monkey and Environment Studies'. She pointed out that in a conserved forest there will be plenty of other species (bird, amphibian, insect, plant, fish ...) that make this name appropriate and hopefully of interest to students of schools and universities.

Next week we have an appointment to see Dr Stephen Lea, Professor of Psychology at Exeter University. He specialises in animal behavior / animal social behaviour. His students study monkeys at a local zoo. We're hoping he can point us in the direction of useful audio-visual resources for exhibition. And we are hoping we can point him in the direction of some non-zoo monkeys in Phana. 

 

Buddhist Monk, Fashion Victim?

Thai Buddhist monks are not immune to the dictates of fashion, it seems. Not fashion as it refers to dress, of course, but fashion nonetheless. There was an example of this recently when the abbot of Wat Burapha in Phana celebrated his promotion to Phra Kru. Several of the local monasteries now have pictorial maps of their temple compound and the abbot let us know that he thought it would be a good idea if there was such a map for Wat Burapha.

The conversation he had was with Pensri and her friend Yupin. Both of them were students at Matayom Phana, a school which was held in the grounds of Wat Burapha for many years before the Ministry of Education set up Phana Suksa School. Former students of this school hold a meeting at least once a year and a newsletter has been circulated amongst them for several years now. The youngest of these former students are well into their sixties now.

The upshot of the abbot's conversation with Pensri and Yupin was that two maps were produced, one showing Wat Burapha as it is now, and one as it was in the days of Matayom Phana. Here are Pensri, Yupin and another former student, Charatchom, whose husband Samart supervised the production of the maps, offering the 'old' map:

 
And here is me, offering the new version:

 
And here is a clearer view of the two maps. You can click on the pictures to get a larger image.

 

A fad that has largely fallen into disuse in Phana is to inter cremated ashes in small that (the Lao form of chedi).

The problem with this fashion quickly became apparent: there was not enough space in temple compounds. Wat Phra Lao was an example of this, and nowadays the old custom has been reverted to: that is, ashes are interred inside the wall surrounding the compound.

Another fashion that is rapidly filing up space in some temple compounds is for statuary. Again, most of these contain the ashes of members of the family who have donated them. Here is the usbosot at Wat Burapha. If you enlarge the pic below by clicking on it, you will see the small commemorative plaques on the statues.

 
The whole area of donations to a temple is quite complicated. Monks are expected to accept whatever is offered to them, not expressing (or feeling) any liking or disliking. It is possible that a conversation regarding the appropriateness or otherwise of a planned donation can sometimes be skillfully manipulated to the benefit of the temple. This sort of skill is also used to 'suggest' what would be useful or acceptable to a monk, since he is not supposed to ask directly for anything. Lay people can make things easier for a monk by asking him whether there is anything he or the temple needs.

Chakri Day Action in Phana

Last week was a busy week of blogging for me. But my blogs last week had very positive responses and outcomes. I am always aware that people at the tetsaban read my blog, and they are always very helpful in providing me with information, and with photos when I need them. I am generally in favour of their initiatives and feel positively about their contribution to life in Phana (as it is lived, not just the blog). Although I am not their mouthpiece, I felt somewhat apprehensive about being critical about what was happening in Don Chao Poo forest with regard to the litter problem and the monkeys.

It seems that I needn't have worried. The response from the tetsaban and from lots of other people in Phana has been very positive. Pensri attended a meeting at the tetsaban on Thursday and distributed copies of a village development plan that was drawn up 46 years ago by her father and a noted abbot in Ubon (born in Phana). Half of this plan was to establish Don Chao Poo as a conservation area encompassing Buddhism, wildlife, traditional medicine and so on. The other half of the plan was to foster village unity through communal days on which the village would be cleaned, roads gradually  improved, ponds dug and so on. Over the years the idea of communal village/town action has diminished in importance as the tetsaban has taken over responsibility for many of these areas of life.

Nevertheless, the meeting, which involved all the village heads, kamnan, councillors and community representatives, agreed to revive the plan and to revise it as necessary. And action was immediate! The following Wednesday, Chakri Day, 6th April was declared a 'community action day' with the emphasis on cleaning up houses and streets. And it worked. People came out of their houses, got together and cleaned up. The mayor, in a cowboy hat (don't ask me why) drove an ice-cream motor-bike contraption around and gave free ice-cream to people out working. Good thinking; he's a real politician. I didn't get any pictures of most of the communal action because I was with Pensri and a gang of a few other adults and some young people in Don Chao Poo. The tetsaban sent a truck to take away our bin bags of rubbish and in the afternoon succumbed to our pleas for more active help. I think 95% of the task has now been completed.

Another turn for the better appeared on Friday. One of the English teachers at Phana Suksa came round to invite us to a meal with him and his colleagues on the Saturday, to celebrate his promotion to a higher grade. We weren't able to accept because we were going to Ubon for the wedding of one of our former volunteers to a young Thai man. But the teacher, Mr Prakong, came with us for alitter-picking session in Don Chao Poo, and afterwards he said that when the new school year began he would arrange for a group of students to pick litter there on a weekly basis as part of the new 'Community Involvement' section of the curriculum. A lucky break that augurs well.

Here is one section of our gang from yesterday:

 

The two girls were brilliant. They came out and worked with us on 5 days, so they deserve a bit of a close-up, I think. They used to come round to the house and learn English when they were at primary school, but they will be in M3 next year, สาวแล้ว, as they say, so they don't do that any more. But it was very nice to see them again, they are two lovely Phana girls.

For some the day's work was just a walk in the park ... or was it a walk on the wild side?

Whatever, at the end of the day it's just nice to put your feet up.

Which is precisely what I was glad to do after 7 days in the forest, helping to collect more than 100 bin bags full of rubbish.

With the wild things in Phana

 

Feeding the monkeys in Don Chao Poo forest, Phana, can be a very rewarding experience. But it can sometimes be an alarming experience. Sometimes the monkeys are calm and patient; sometimes they are greedy and aggressive. Sometimes we are calm, too, and sometimes we panic too easily and monkeys and humans become frightened.

One of the things that causes lots of people to panic is when a monkey starts to pull at your clothing, or to climb up it. But as you see here, there is no need to panic. But at times when they are particularly hungry perhaps, there will be a scramble to get food from visitors. But this does not always happen. If you have plenty of food to give, and especially if you can scatter it on the ground, it is much less likely to cause aggressive behaviour amongst the monkeys. And sudden, mock-aggressive movements by you, such as swinging the bag towards the invasive monkey, will make them keep their distance.

Human panic is one of the reasons that plastic bags get strewn about; someone less confident than this monk might allow a monkey to snatch the bag and run off into the forest with it. More often, though, it is humans who dispose of the bags they bring by throwing them down when empty. As I have mentioned in a previous post, the few bins there are in the forest are useless because the monkeys pull out all the litter and scatter it about.

 But you don't have to feed the monkeys to enjoy being with them. Early in the morning, round about mid-day and in the middle of the afternoon seem to be times when the monkeys are relaxed, not particularly searching for food, and you can walk and stand and even sit among them and enjoy a peaceful time with them. You can watch them at different times playing, grooming, mating, or just sitting quietly.

Here are some pictures I took on a Sunday afternoon at a sala next to the pond in the forest. The monkeys were happy to share the place with me, but there was no doubt in their mind that the tetsaban had provided the place primarily for their leisure.

 

It was an idyllic time for all of us, I think. I half expected one of them to start grooming me; I felt a little left out, actually.

Making History in Phana

Phana has just celebrated the third-month festival which is the annual festival for Wat Phra Lao. This year was a bit special because it is three hundred years since villagers began building the wat. The exhibition of words and pictures to mark the 300-year history of Phana (see my previous post) was visited by hundreds of people during the three days of the festival and many of them recorded complimentary comments on the boards we  provided.

Several people had also suggested that Phana could hold a bicycle rally (the first ever in Phana, although the Tour de Thailand came through a couple of years ago) and the idea was taken up enthusiastically by the director of Phana Hospital, Dr Pathompong Prupong and by the District Officer (Nai Amphur -- นายอำเภอ). A committee was formed that included them both together with people from Tetsaban Phana and Tetsaban Phra Lao plus Pensri, who was to combine the rally with the celebration of the 300th anniversary. The result was a rally that informed people of the story behind several sites in Phana and involved the collection of little snippets of information, some fun activities, some cultural activities -- and some traditional hospitality.

The rally was well advertised, by word of mouth to begin with, but posters appeared shortly before the big day.

Hundreds of people turned up and everyone had to register and be issued with a T-shirt, a 'passport' / question-sheet, an official entrance number to pin on the T-shirt and a leaflet outlining the aims of the rally and so on.

Who said Thais can't form an orderly queue?

I was a little startled to find this professional-looking competitor, but beneath it all was Acharn Kanok, retired teacher. Did he think fancy dress was required?

There was no fancy dress category, in fact, but there was a lot to compete for, including some impressive-looking trophies and cash prizes of Baht 2,500, 2,000 and 1,500.

These students from Phanasuksa School gave us some historical information (in Thai and English) relating to Don Chao Poo, where the rally was gathering and preparing to start.

 

People were getting a little impatient to get going, but naturally there were also some official opening speeches to hear first.

But finally the rally began, with small groups setting off at about 10-minute intervals.

Some people had an easier ride than others:

The monkeys of Don Chao Poo had been given a fruit and nuts banquet before the rally began, probably as compensation for so many people invading their territory so early in the morning. There were  lots of security men to make sure none of us got run over by  bigger vehicles. The organisers had also  provided helpful signs like this one to make sure nobody got lost or missed a checkpoint. I love the rally logo.

At several points along the route people had set up refreshment stops such as this one, offering much-needed liquid and some food, too. I saw several people trying to pay, but this was offered freely.

 

When riders reached a check-point they had to present their passport for stamping ...

 

and here at Wat Don Khual they had to take part in this activity and have their score recorded. Who would cheat under such watchful eyes? I was told that I would have to 'play hula hoop' here so I was pretty relieved to find I only had to throw a rubber ring. At two wats we got a stamp for going to 'wai phra' and at Wat Phra Lao everyone visited the exhibition.

 

 At Wat Burapha these young guides from Samaraki School told us about the history of this wat, the second oldest in Phana.

 

On leaving this wat, we were issued with a plastic bag containing a bottle of water and a straw, and three banana-leaf packages containing sticky rice, a chicken leg and some beef, and some chilli sauce. This was provided free by the organisers, Changwat, Amphur or Tetsaban funds, I'm not sure which.

 

Then it was out onto the open road again. The route took us behind the village along this track used to get to some of the rice fields. The gentleman you see here was the oldest rider, 76 years old, I am told.

 

The Phana Thai Traditional Medicine Centre was the last stop before we doubled back to the Amphur Office (ที่ว่าการอำเภอ) for the finish. The Mediicine Centre doesn't usually provide live music but a specially-composed mor lam about the rally was sung and played, and riders with any energy left were invited to dance ...
 

... or to watch these men at work on traditional crafts ...

 

... or invited to drink some of the herbal tea produced here.

 

Finally, after what was a fairly short ride but a very long day (what with the passport checking, finding clues, taking part in activities, taking refreshments and so on) I made it through the finishing arch with my team.

 

But it was this young man who claimed first prize in the individual event for youngsters, and his obvious pride in his achievement will make sure he remembers the day that he and Phana made history together in the first ever Phana Bicycle Rally.

 

My thanks go to Tetsaban Phana and their photographer on the day, Mr Tong, for allowing me to use their pictures.

Some clever visitors

This morning I was at a wedding breakfast by 7.15, too late for the monks' chanting, but just as the breakfast was being served. It was a good one, but my current diet restricted me a little. I was able to eat the laab, carefully avoiding the bits of skin, some of the vegetables, and the fried chicken legs. 'Fried' is not allowed by my diet, but I made an exception in the interests of doing my hosts the honour of eating their food.

One of the people I met there was Acharn Pannawadee who is currently Head of English at Phana Suksa. I first came across her in 1987 when she was a newly-qualified teacher and my father-in-law got her to translate his letters to our children. She remembers me from even further back, when she was a little girl. Apparently I was the first farang she had ever seen and she stared at me constantly while I was in Phana. This is Pannawadee as she was this morning, sitting on my veranda:

She brought three girls from Phana Suksa round to meet me at home. Here they all are, first with Pannawadee and then with me:

Now I knew that Pannawadee particularly wanted me to meet these three girls because they are all friends, and two of them have recently won prizes in an English-speaking contest. They got through to the Isan finals which were held in Udon Thani.

This is Nam Toey, who won first prize for story-telling. She is in Matayom 2 and is 14 years old.

This is a girl who rejoices in the nickname of WOW. Who gave her this nickname and how long she has had it, I am not sure. I don't suppose she has copyrighted it, so any reader who fancies renaming herself / himself can feel free to do so. Wow is 15 years old and is in Matayom 3. She lives in a village called Ban Saen Suk, which is actually in a neighbouring amphur and she has to leave home by bus at 6 a.m. every day to get to school in Phana.

The third girl is called Siwaporn, but her nickname is Judy.  Judy won 2nd prize in Udon for her impromptu speech. Acharn Pannawadee particularly wanted me to meet her because next month she is going to Brazil for a year on the American Field Service programme. Currently there are two AFS boys at Phana Suksa, a student in Matayom 3 and an older young man who is a teaching assistant. Wow is hoping to go on an AFS year abroad next year but she hasn't yet made up her mind where she would like to go. Here is Judy:

Judy is 15 years old and is in Matayom 3. She lives about 6 km from Phana, in a village called Ban Don Muang in Tambon Mae Klon. She has three sisters and one adopted brother. Her father has been confined to a wheelchair for several years now. I asked Judy why she had wanted to spend a year in Brazil and she said that she is interested in the Portuguese language and she loves football. I can't help thinking one of these reasons is much more likely than the other. The family she will be staying with in the town of Feiron de Santana also has three daughters, aged 6, 13 and 17, so AFS seems to have matched them pretty well.

It was lovely meeting these three girls and it was easy talking with them. You can see how much information I extracted from them in the short time they visited. And it is very pleasing to see that young people in Phana are looking outwards as well as preserving their own distinctive culture, and that they are being encouraged to do so by their teachers and their families.