11/16/10- WWOOFing in Bang Phra

This morning I sat on a little deck overlooking a pond on the property where Neil baths the water buffallo once a week (it's fun to watch him swim with the buffalo amongst the lilly pads). Crazy guy. There are 3 big white ducks with bubbly red bills that hang about the pond- pretty adorable ducks. Why is it that all the animals in Thailand are are so friggin adorable? Even the mangy ones I want to baby talk. So many dogs and kittens with the sweetest dang eyes you've ever seen- so grateful for the slightest pat on the head. Yes mum- I'm being careful not to touch just any animal ;) It takes about a 5-10 minute bike ride to get to an internet cafe from the farm. On the way there's a small pack of dogs that chase you and bark and threaten to nip your ankles as you peddle by. Hah! It's actually kind of funny, in a terrifying sort of way. Its a good time for me to practice "the rules of Ceasar" from the countless dog whisperer episodes that came of my hulu and netflix addiction. You just have to keep calm- stay steady- don't be afraid and peddle on by. Sheesh- it's tough sometimes though.

The mornings are peaceful and full of promise. Dahng is the first up every morning, preparing breakfast in the kitchen, on the farm. The other wwoofer's trickle in as they awake from their lacy mosquito net tents to help chop, crush, fry or mix things up. There is always a steady supply of hot water from an electric kettle that the wwoofer's religioulsy keep full for our powdered Nestcafe packets, which is quite good but doesn't act as a steadfast "shit show" like most coffee does for me. Maybe there are some things best left unshared.

Our farm is situated right across a train station that acts as an unwelcoming alarm clock- all I can do is laugh. Life is so different here. Work was long and hard today- but I was grateful for it since it's exactly the type of back breaking digging I was longing for! We dug out trees from another property for replanting on the farm- some as tall as maybe 20 feet- which meant more digging for the roots! I hung around the guys mostly today. They complain less and I love the way men like to work hard just for the sake of "working hard."

At night, a bit after dinner I lounge out and read on the couch. I could very well stare at the geckos on the ceiling all night (also really adorable)! Just counted 27 above me! One fell a minute ago with a clammy snap on the concrete floor. They crawl about on the ceiling catching mosquito's- my sweet vicarious revenge. Opp- now there's 30 above my head. wowza. I had, I think 3 generations of pet lizards named Elizardbeth as a kid- all dying an unfortunate death at the hand of smitten-7-year-old-Elise.

Dahng and Toom have 3 kids- Em is the oldest at I think 14 and speaks the best english. It's fun to teach eachother words. She tells me I'm "soy" -beautiful in Thai which makes me blush. Dahng makes a curvy geture with her hands and points at my bum and then points at hers and shakes her head. I wanted to try and explain that my bum might begin to look more like hers the more I work on the farm and eat more rice and sweat and avoid sugar and gluten and processed foods and develope a morning fitness routine that incorporates both mind and body and blah blah blah- but instead just smiled in translation. Aint no thang. The older I get the more pleased I am with my curves and southeat asia's fascination with them to-boot.

I've just got word that a farm in Chang Rai will accept me in two weeks- so I'll head there next. This weekend is some sort of fantastic local festival here that should be fun. Over and out.