Good Bye Aunt Betty

Aunt Betty and Moi.


Cedric, Chris, Misty and Me @ Dubliners

On Sunday we went to Father Joe’s for a farewell party for his sister and Aunt Betty. All of our girls were there preparing supper. Together with Ratina we showed them how to make spaghetti again. The girls were not too thrilled as they do not care for it, but they were good sports about it. I had to laugh when Aunt Betty commented “the spaghetti was good, but I never had peas in it before.” Misty and I had the same comment the first time we tried it as well.

Sister Joan also attended the party. It was nice to talk to her about the lifestyle of the slums, as she lives in the middle of it all. She told us some interesting stories. First off there is a difference in the genetic make up of Thai men, and western men. This difference accounts for Thai men being more feminine. There is also a similarity between the make up of men and women in Thailand. It is not uncommon to see Thai men with more voluptuous hips and thighs than even a western woman.

Another thing we have noticed is that boys at Mercy do not seem to be as keen about continuing on with school after a certain age. We have noticed that it is mostly girls who get the scholarships to study internationally. Sister Joan said that boys tend to change their focus around grade 6, off from schooling to motorbikes and money. This causes me to ask, what happens in those schooling years that turns boys away, and how can we change the curriculum so that more males are interested in learning and successful with learning.

Sister Joan also pointed out that many Thai women have children very young. This is often the result of pressure from their mothers. Once a young girl has a child she is expected to go off to work, therefore leaving the child in the care of the grandmother. However, this is enjoyed by the grandmothers because they are often at the age where they can start to enjoy their children as they did not get to enjoy their own as they were off working as well. It is almost like everything is a generation behind.

We also met one of the girls who returned from studying in the States. She is the same age as Misty and I. She was 12 years old when Father Joe took her away from her mother and brothers, to live with Father Joe’s sister in the US. Having a European father, she had very fair skin and blonde hair. Leaving her in Thailand where her mom lived in the slums was too risky, especially after she would hit puberty as the risk of being kidnapped was too high. Her mother, not completely understanding everything, made the biggest sacrifice of all when she gave her daughter up. Her brothers were both very mad and did not understand. When she moved to the states she did not say a word for the first year. Now 7 years later, she is educated and ready to take on the world. She comes home whenever she can to visit her family and to try and give back to Mercy.

We spent most of the afternoon at the gathering and then headed back to Soi 40. The boys snuck into our room for an impromptu dance party.

In the evening SiJie, Misty and I met up with Chris for some Swensens and conversation. All in all, another great day.