Village Voice
Amy Salmon's E-Mail from Thailand (Part 11)
Today we had an Anuban program all morning for the King's birthday, which is next week, and that doubles as a Father's Day celebration. So there were four fathers that got honored along with their kids in a big ceremony, along with Thai dancing and singing. We had a similar shindig for the Queen's birthday/Mother's Day a few months back. They're fun to watch, but since they're all in Thai and I have no idea what they're saying, they get very long. The best part today was that there was a little skit to show all that fathers do, along with narration, and there was a little girl and her dad, who worked so hard for his little girl that he collapsed in the field and fainted. The little girl was very worried, and sat over him fanning him, until, fortunately, the nurse came to take care of him. Since Pam (who's fluent in Thai) was there I kept asking her what was going on. Apparently the teacher providing the narration kept saying things like, "Oh, no! Is her father going to die?!" And the nurse came because even though the man was poor, there is now a program that provides nurses to poor people, courtesy of the Thai King. The little girl fanning him and him falling down and lying prone on the stage, straw hat and all, had us in stitches. After he was cured he got up and then he and the little girl disappeared, and came back on stage accompanied by three more children, on hands and knees, one with a pig headpiece and two with chicken headpieces. According to Pam this was to celebrate another of the King's programs that provides animals to poor farmers. So he was actually a rich man!