Life in the Villa

Today was not an overly productive day. We spent most of the day here, catching up on some Zzzzz’s (which I don’t think we were really lacking, but oh well). We also went to stock up on snack foods, and of course corn flakes. We almost bought a toaster today, but completely forgot to go back and get it, so I guess we are not moving up in the world at all.

We hung out with SiJie and one of our students for the afternoon, catching up on the news from the past week and how everyone spent their Songkran.

This evening we ventured to the Villa which is a little over an hour away from here. We had to transfer busses half way and then walk a bit. Our final stop was at a food market so we got some real street vendor food, and Misty and I finally tried mango and sticky rice together. It was ok, but not something I would get all of the time. It was really sweet, so coconut milk was added, but personally I still think it tasted more like a dessert than anything.

All of the boys were at the villa tonight, saying farewell to one of the boys. He is going to attend a football (soccer) training school in the south of Thailand. It is my understanding that he has already been there for a few months and has been here on his holidays from school. The boys were all very happy to see each other as well. Half of them are living here now and half of them are at the villa, growing vegetables and working in the country. They have a very strict schedule which requires them to wake up early to do their morning cleaning chores. They work with the harvest from 9-11 and then again from 6-8 or so. I am not sure what they do for the rest of the day. They are all quite dark now because of the sun.

The villa is a remarkable place, and it is no wonder why the children love it so much. There is a place for them to go swimming, fishing for fish, prawns, mussels. There is also a trampoline for them to play on, soccer nets for them and so much area for them to just run around and be kids. I never saw them all so happy. Unfortunately, the villa is not all fun, but it is a lot of hard work. Also, the villa is not equipped with adequate cooking facilities, so someone is sent every day to the market to purchase enough food and water for everyone. Mercy only gives them so much money every few days which they have to stretch to make work, and then send someone for more. There are also a lot of mosquitoes, but the children do their best to try and fend them off, and they also sleep under a mosquito net at night. They were quite neat to see as they looked like little cages.

There is also a house on the property that is not furnished. It is for Father Joe; however he has never stayed there. It is completely made out of wood and is over 100 years old. Apparently it was taken apart, transferred and then rebuilt just for him. It is such a shame as it is a beautiful house.

I loved the villa. Although the farming area was much smaller than I expected, (it is the size of a small garden), the nature and peacefulness of it was superb. On the back of the property there is a large river that the community travels on by boat. There is also a board walk along both sides of the river, stretching as far as we could see. In the center of the property there is a huge pond, which the children spend lots of time swimming in. This would be a great way to cool off after a hard day at work.

Being at the villa reminded me so much of home. Although you could see billboards across the street, you could also see bats in the air. We did not get to see any stars tonight, but I do think this would be the place to see them. I think the villa may become my new place to escape to when I miss home. I will post pictures whenever I have a secure internet connection again.

Hope all is week in Canada. My computer tells me that it is 14 degrees now in Halifax. Not bad considering it is 3pm, but it does not compare to our 29 degrees, plus humidity at 1 am. On that note, I’m off to bed! Night!