The weather is still very cold. I can barely put my feet on the icy ground. It's already 9 o'clock in the morning. People already wake up. Every village will have a temple and the residents there will go to pray daily. They will walk to the temple because it is just stone's throw distance from their houses. This morning, the villagers also go the temple like what they usually do everyday. Sometimes, children will follow their parents to go to pray before they go to school. My cousin who already takes her cold shower busy putting talcum powder on her face. After a while, she combs her hair. My eyes fix on her every movements.Me, who is not used to the cold weather, still curl up in the blanket and observe everyone. My brother is still sleeping soundly. I turn on the television and watch TV alone. Watching the TV programme that I barely know and language that I don't seem to understand either. It's all Greek to me. So I just watch their facial expressions and gestures which I find quite amusing. Sometimes when the host's laughter is so infectious, I also laugh along. When my grandmother passes by, she will think that I understand the language which in reality I don't. She smiles from ear to ear after she notices me enjoying the TV show. Then she walks away and continues to do her chores.
This is a quiet village where I can hardly see any young adults here. All of them either go to work oversea like Korea, Taiwan or Singapore. Some will work at the capital of their country. The old folks' children play important role to bring home the bacon. People who are same age like me already get married and become the backbone of their family. Their culture is different. Not like us. Even my cousin who is 5 years younger than me says that most of her friends already tie the knot. Only two people in her classroom haven't get married. And she is one of the two people. My grandmother is kinda worried about her because of this. She is pretty but I think it is too young for her to get married.
For them, the parents there don't really concern about their children's education. They are busy working. Most of them are blue collars so life is not really a bed of roses for the kids. They don't really have time to study because they need to help their parents after they come back from the school. I realise that my cousin is very exhausted after school hour yet she still need to help my grandma to prepare food for us. By the time she finishes doing everything, it's already 9 p.m. which is very late for them already. She STILL have homework to do.
My cousin's parents have left the small town to work oversea. So, my grandmother plays the role as her grandchildren' mother and father.
My mother asks my cousin, "Do you still want to study?"
"Yes." She answers with tear-filled eyes.
"Good. Don't forget to take good care of grandma when we are not around." My mum looks at her fondly and gently she strokes my cousin's hair.
When I think of my cousin's situation, I feel that we are so lucky because we get the opportunity to study. However, we take things for granted and don't seem to study very hard. Like everything "cincai la....". They want to study but their parents need them so most of them can't really pursue their study. It's not that they are not clever. In fact they can do better than us.Thinking of we dissatisfied with what we have now, actually there are a lot of people out there have it worse.
Our kids here have smartphones, laptops, Mcd, KFC and whatever things that our kids are enjoying here but the kids there don't have. For them, all these are luxuries. However, they are living happily with their contented life where there is no attachment to material possessions which we really need to learn from them. :)
Somehow, I feel that I become healthier during my stay for the whole week. Days without internet make me feel that I can do lots of beneficial things during my leisure time. My brother and I cycle around the village every morning and evening. The villagers are very friendly. In Thailand, when we meet people we will greet each other by gracefully raising both hands near the head or chest and pressing our palms together like as in prayer and say “Sawadee Krub” if you’re a male or “Sawadee Ka”, if you are a female. This gesture is called a “Wai” and it’s their traditional and current way of greeting and showing respect to each other. Just like the Japanese, they will bow when they greet people. I really like this. Like *Wow! So polite.* I love to do Sawadee people. The people here really respect the elders. It's a long story if I want to tell you how they treat people nicely. What I can tell is they respect people in every ways.
I miss this kind of moment. I really miss them. We have tried several times to invite my grandmother to stay with us. Together with us. Forever. Unfortunately she still prefers the village's life, the dilapidated house and the hospitable neighbours.
"Ling..." Grandmother is calling. Breakfast is ready. I look at my grandmother who is busy serving us the breakfast then take a quick glance at my mother again. My mother and my grandmother both look alike. And I also look like both of them. When I think of the mouth-watering food which are cooked by my beloved ones..I feel so hungry right now.
"This is really delicious!" *aroi :)* I blurt while sipping my grandmother's cucumber soup. The cucumbers are planted by my grandma. Aww! She has greenfingers. I guess my mum inherits this from her either. Every food taste wonderful.
The people in the village grow up, move in and move out from the village. The village still remains the same. The breathtaking lake views, the dawn and the dusk. Every moments are very simple yet meaningful to me and they still linger on my mind. Last time I don't really like to stay in the rural areas. Now I start to like the nature. Lol.
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