Immediately after arriving in Thailand from our 10-hour flight from Tel Aviv last Tuesday, the group took an overnight train 12 hours out of Bangkok. In and around that area we had many opportunities to experience culture in new ways. Our
song-taew* driver took us many places: an introductory language lesson, a monk chat at a local Buddhist temple (which that day happened to include a funeral complete with rockets to set off the funeral pyre), prayer walking around an ancient stupa (which purportedly houses a piece of the Buddha, although no one can exactly say which part it is), prayer walking around a statue recently built for the upcoming 450th anniversary of the city, lunch and a party one evening with some local university students, and dinner in a traditional home another evening.
Note to parents: this next sentence may be difficult for you to read, so please keep in mind that this is what your child is studying at Northwestern. After our whirlwind travel the past few days, Ashley said she never wants to leave! I assured her that she was more than welcome to stay for as many years as she wanted. :)
*a
song-taew is a large covered pickup-like truck with two long benches down the sides. The one we were in was the perfect size to haul 18 people around town.
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