Greetings from Isan
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It is quite chilly in the morning when De Inquisitor sits down on his beloved outdoor terrace with the traditional coffee and laptop. Seventeen degrees, actually cold to quietly read newspapers and others. So quickly go upstairs and put on 'winter' clothes. Long pants, extra sweater and a hat. Another possibility would be to sit inside, but then De Inquisitor has no view of the large front garden, it seems as if he is back in his old homeland, if you also had to stay inside.
Moreover, it is nice to see nature awaken, six o'clock in the morning, dusk sets in and the sun rises quickly. Not a cloud to be seen, just beautiful weather for about three months, hardly any wind and certainly no rain. The love opens her shop, the three dogs are acting extremely crazy after a fresh night in the open air and are chasing each other, the cat Toulouse is meowing at the screen door, realizing that he cannot go outside as long as his archenemies roam free. In his fifth year, Isaan, The Inquisitor realizes that a lot of routine has come into being, habits have been cultivated that make life easier. The astonishment is gone, the surprising has disappeared.
Such as the annual short cold periods, which used to be a minor disaster. Not knowing where to sit, how to dress, how - without heating - to keep the house a little warm. Now he lets the house warm up nicely during the day, only ventilate it in the morning and then close the windows. Yes, around four o'clock in the afternoon the temperature indoors has risen considerably, but enough not to cool down too much by shower and bedtime. The new, much heavier hot water boiler does its thing, nice and hot water. Clothing is ready so that no search is necessary: long trousers, thicker shirts and sweaters, a hat, even socks. That tiring heap of textiles is replaced around ten o'clock in the morning so that he can move more freely. Nice at the end of January: shorts and T-shirt, flip flops. Armed against the thirty degrees that have been reached again around noon.
The Inquisitor has also adapted to the Isan mentality. No more worrying or fussing about the slow, the unexpected, the total unconcern about the future. Her sweet daughter is approaching sixteen, goes to a more expensive high school but learns nothing except to use lipstick. Well, that's The Inquisitor's opinion. It's not the girl's fault, it's the school. Every once in a while days off or sports days, no check on attendance, subject matter at the level of a twelve-year-old.
Daughter jump into the shop and make an invoice - calculator needed. In the past, De Inquisitor intervened once, let her try to calculate from memory, but that didn't work. Speaking English, an extra asset in the future, is hopeless. They only have to copy, really translate and understand, ... is not included. That hour a day of English with De Inquisitor has also been abolished, what was learned today was already forgotten tomorrow. For the rest of the subject matter: don't worry, you can't tube. At the end of the school year, 'extra lessons' are organized for those specific matters for which you fail. And so both the love and the daughter cherish the dream of the university. The Inquisitor cannot understand that there are entrance exams for that, and you can take it….
More adolescent calamities: her bedroom is a mess, how she finds space in her bed to sleep is a mystery to The Inquisitor. And he stopped helping to clean or motivate long ago. The Inquisitor simply does not enter that room, unless, like the day before yesterday, to clean the air conditioning, where he had more work to reach that device than to clean it. Ditto the downstairs bathroom, actually built especially for her. Dirty, there is no other word for it. And clutter, clutter.
Here too, De Inquisitor's motto is: do not enter, do not clean once in a while, do not insist or motivate.
Except yesterday: The Inquisitor planned a purchase round, the love gave a list of what she and daughter needed. There was shampoo, shower gel and toothpaste for my daughter. Bad luck for her, De Inquisitor had been to Makro a week or two ago and bought the same things there. So check in the bathroom in question. Yes, somewhere in the mess he dug up two cans of shampoo, a can of shower gel and three tubes of toothpaste... Liefje-sweet isn't worried about that at all, ergo, when De Inquisitor used to intervene there, he ended up having problems with the sweet . Because she felt unhappy at the bad mood that her daughter then displayed. But now: the dear happy, The Inquisitor happy.
Pontun Wichainsan / Shutterstock.com
And so De Inquisitor also looks with mild thoughts at how one raises a baby. Pang Phon, the now five-month-old son of brother Piak, is spoiled to the limit. Well, that's what The Inquisitor thinks. The sprout goes from arm to arm all day long, there is always someone to hold it. Even during his naps, someone stays with him all the time, they put him in the hammock of the sala at the shop so that he is within reach. Using a rope, they let the hammock rock back and forth until it wakes up.
Including breastfeeding, he is allowed to taste everything possible, and ice cream is already one of his favorite flavours. He already knows mobile phones, they keep them in front of his eyes as long as he remains fascinated. And on the rare moments when he almost produces tears, everything is done to avoid that.
Well, the little guy is happy and so is The Inquisitor.
And always around there is PiPi, the first son of Taai, wife of Piak. Five years old and even more spoiled than Pang Phon. Because PiPi can talk, can play emotions like the best. And so he walks around all day with sweets or cookies. Or cola, or lemonade, chocolate milk. Is he using Piak's cell phone, or Taai's? He goes where he wants, does what he wants, he is never called to order. The only one who can say a 'no' to him is De Inquisitor. If someone else does it, he'll either hide angrily or keep nagging until he gets what he wants.
Well, the toddler is happy and so is The Inquisitor.
And so De Inquisitor has adapted to everything that takes place here in the village and the surrounding area.
He no longer checks an overloaded pick-up truck, isn't it normal for people to transport as much as possible at the same time? A moped with four or five people on it – what's strange about that? Traffic? It's great, De Inquisitor has long since adapted to the driving style here and he prefers it much more than the European-imposed one. Police check? His biggest smile on, a few Thai words and hoopla, resolved again. Someone who arrives an hour late for an appointment? No problem, The Inquisitor himself was more than half an hour late. A snake popping up? Well, just delete it, as quickly and permanently as possible. Slaughtering a cow somewhere in a yard? Ha! Is there steak for sale at reasonable prices. Language errors in English on publicity boards? Funny but The Inquisitor himself couldn't even write anything in the Thai language so they do it better than him. Then again a contractor, a market vendor or shop assistant trying to get a farang price? Are you crazy, I'm not buying.
Hassle with insurance, visa? Oh dear, after living in Thailand for fourteen years, you have to know what and where.
Yes really, the surprise, the surprising, the exotic ... is gone.
The Inquisitor now looks up when people post comments or pictures of peculiar Thailand-own affairs on social media. He cares only about one thing: the fact that Isaan nowadays much attention is paid to it. For him it may remain “farang-quiet” here.
Nice story again and just think so small children small worries, big children big worries 🙂
The Inquisitor
Have always thought that cat = a she, the other way around a he, they call hangover.
I greet you
Mart
Yes, but in Flanders it is also used for a cat in general.
If you want to indicate the gender more, it is male for a he and female for a she.
There are more meanings for cat…. 😉
I always enjoy reading your pieces
Live just outside udon ,and have to smile often reading your bits
But the hat is really too much
Ok sometimes socks, long pants and a cardigan or something between 6 and ... until the sun really starts to warm up again
Don't hope that as a Belgian you are wearing a knitted hat
Gr Peter
INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE.!! I fully recognize myself in this, after 15 years of Thailand. Annoying yourself doesn't pay off.!! Exquisitely formatted text. THANK YOU, Inquisitor.
Beautifully written again!
I was only in your area (Wanon Niwat) for a few weeks and totally recognize it.
I hope you are well again…?
Regards, Rudy.
In a way, life here is so simple that sometimes it isn't simple anymore.
When I came to live here, an old long-stayer already gave me this wise advice. If you want to hold on here, there is only one remedy and that is to wipe your feet on everything and just do what you like to do. Thanks to this good advice, I have been able to survive here for more than 1 years.
Thank you for your story: very recognizable. You are on your way to becoming a real Thai!
Lived in Isaan (Lahansai) from mid 2002 to May 13, 2016 - with a 16 month break in 2007 on the dark side in Pataya - and indeed that's how you have to live there to survive... hope to get back there in a few years being able to settle in… simply blissful and back to basics…
What a beautiful story again, which I hope will be the (re)start of several beautiful stories from "our" Isaan. I must say that after almost 4 years now, the surprise may have stopped for me, but I still do not find myself in everything resigned. No doubt it will come with age…
Hello The Inquisitor,
That was a long time ago! Finally another story from you. Unless I've missed something in the past two months...
A long time… so a long story too!
My wife and I have been back in B since a week after a stay of 6 weeks in Thailand, most of which time in Isaan. And yes, the weather was beautiful. Sometimes more clouds, sometimes more wind, and the occasional drizzle of rain… Sometimes fresh in the morning, often hot during the day. Then I sometimes thought whether it would be the same at De Inquisitor as in the village where my wife comes from…
Looking at the photo at the top of the article, I have the impression that “the grass” in your region is longer and greener…
The Thai develop their own ways of organizing, storing and other actions. And yet they always manage to find something or to do it 'right'. In their way and according to their standards. In a way that we do not understand, because we have learned differently and therefore think differently.
I plan to learn to read Thai. Those who have read my previous responses know that I have Paiboon books and CDs for learning Thai. This time I bought Thai textbooks for primary school students (Maani Maana – complete series, phaasaa phaathii – 4th and 6th grade) to learn how to read as Thai children have been taught. This also gives me more insight into the way they are brought up at school. I find the stories in those textbooks very instructive. I also noticed that some rules for reading and writing are repeated in one or more later grades…
My wife's youngest sister also has a daughter, now 10 years old. He stays with my wife's parents most of the time and is therefore very happy when we are there. When we go to the big city (Khon Kaen) or shopping in the area, she is with us. Outside of school hours, of course. And yes, I think she has a lot of days off there too.
As an uncle, I am kind to her, but also tell her clearly when she does something wrong. And she understands that. I'm not just saying she's doing something wrong, but why and what the consequences could be. I also repeatedly told her that she needs to learn better and why. Study well => good job => more money => travel more like Loeng Phoeng (that's me).
When I saw her for the first time, 6 years (almost 7 now) ago, she was the smallest. Since 2 years she has a new niece who will walk with attention when there is one. But she does seem to have a maternal instinct already: preoccupies herself with it and plays with her younger niece. Like big sister and little sister. Nice to see.
It especially bothers me about the way the villagers clean up the fields and 'the grove' (there is a small grove just outside the village): in a heap and fire or just burn it to the ground. Also in the grove just outside the village, the bushes between the trees are burned down here and there. I love to see and photograph butterflies, but I fear that those arson attacks also damage the fauna. I've already told my wife, but she thinks it's normal. Over the past 2 years I have seen changes: less nature, more agriculture; fewer bushes along the road = “cleaned up”… What do I have to say then? I used to enjoy the walks just outside the village more.
Don't make an appointment at a quarter past nine or nine thirty or something like that. No, that's all 9 o'clock. Five to 10? no, that's still nine o'clock. 10 hours? Yes, that's ten o'clock, but that might just as well be a quarter to eleven… Drop the minutes, quarters and half hours: that's not in the dictionary of Thai daily life.
I still have to work for 10 years, so I can't stay in Thailand permanently yet. But by reading your stories, I can already prepare myself a bit for that. Little by little.
Greetings and enjoy the Thai beauties. You might learn a lot from them about how to do things differently 🙂
Daniel M.
Hello Daniel, I have often had a very difficult time with appointments, being on time for an appointment has always been very important to me when I was still working, that everyone comes on time with respect for the other person and if something comes up come, at least inform them that it can be later, a Thai does not know that, I had to give up and adapt to their habits.!!
And not only in terms of making appointments.!! After 15 years I have found peace by simply not reacting to anything anymore!
A Thai employed person also has to arrive on time, otherwise it will also cost his wages or his job. If you are your own boss, you naturally have more leeway. Outside of work, it will also depend on who, what, where. My Thai friends are usually at the agreed place around the agreed time. But with a looser invitation ('there's a party from ... o'clock') you can of course count on looser publication times.
Once that a Thai was almost an hour late, he also let us know by phone. He was stuck in traffic, I shrugged, can happen. My sweetheart was angry, she made it clear to him that she was not happy that he was so late and that he should have taken the traffic into account. When I asked what the problem was, she said that an appointment is an appointment, more than a few minutes late is not acceptable, she thought. But I admit: I sometimes teased her about being unThai. 555
Enjoyed your story again Inquisitor. You were lost on this stage for a while, but luckily you're back. I hope to read many more stories from you. They are always jewels.
Take care of yourself.
Your story, which you have written beautifully, agrees in many ways with what I also experience in the vicinity of Chiang Rai.
The short cold period becomes even worse when it is accompanied by a lot of rain, so that you do not see the sun during the day.
Within a short time everything feels cold and clammy indoors, so that I was often almost forced to choose the living room for the slightly warmer bed early in the evening.
Last year I brought a small electric radiant heater in my backpack, which brings the room to a comfortable temperature after a relatively short time.
Most Farangs, including the airport control, look very strange when you say that you are going to Thailand with a radiant heater, because they do not think it possible compared to their winter temperatures, that you experience it as cold there Farang is going to get so cold.
Also your experiences with your sweetheart's daughter seem to be widespread in Thailand, of which I sometimes feel that not only the bad education is to blame.
Many adolescents think almost exclusively of sanoek, like to play with their mobiles, have almost no perseverance in terms of actual learning, and often have a very low Interests mirror in this too.
Usually they have money for all kinds of useless toys, and when it comes to a textbook English, where instead of spending hours playing with their mobile, they can get quite a useful base for their English language, they are suddenly without money, or real Interest.
A useful booklet to learn at least the basics of a language can be had for a few Baht compared to their other games.
I myself, although I don't feel special at all, learned more Thai from a cheap lesson book in the beginning, than the rest of my Thai family has learned the English language until now.
Many dream of a good future, they say they would also like to learn English, but give up in no time due to lack of perseverance.
If a 3-year-old child happens to be able to say “thank you”, the whole Thai family starts to clap their hands in admiration and pride, and when you are 20 years later, you will often see that it has remained about these words .