What do you do when you want to spend time together? Why...you go to the temple of course. Ayutthaya being filled with ancient temples, ruins and modern temples we saw several. Because all schools were out their daughters, Mai (16) and Oma (8) came with. Their son, Ompa (14), was working but we stopped by his work site.
Mai and Gai are big hearted people and, how the connection was made I don't know, but somehow they ended up as "foster parents", unofficially of course, to 14 year old Poy. Her family destructed, perhaps father died and mother is in jail?...Gai talks broken English, rapid fire with a lisp, so, deaf as I am, I don't get it all. Any way Poy was also with us. She strikes me as a seemingly emotionally healthy 6th grader.
After a number of temples and a great Thai lunch, at my request we went to the market looking for insects. In my I Spy challenge with the Noble students they want a picture of me eating an insect. We couldn't find any so we moved on to a little mall.
Last year I'd turned down a request from Mai to buy her an ipad. With that in mind when she said she wanted to go to a particular store away we went. It was a new phone she was after, to which I said OK. As she was picking out her phone I could see Poy's face looking very downcast. I knew her phone was broken so I told her to pick one out too. That's when the tears came. She told Gai "No one except you has ever bought anything for me." Lump in my throat.......
Poy has bright smile but I noticed a small abscess on one of her front teeth. Gai agreed to take her to the dentist tomorrow at my (St. James) expense. I think there is still time to save that tooth.
Such is life in Ayutthaya.....
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| With Poy (my right) Oma, (front) and Mia. |
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| Meat for sale,,,fresh? |
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