A Lesson in Buddhism

We decided to take N to visit the Buddhist Wat (temple) so he could officially practice his religion for the first time since coming to the United States and so we could learn a thing or two about his beliefs.

When we arrived at the Wat, we found some sort of ceremony going on and we were immediately invited to participate.  I have been working on not letting the fear of failure or the fear of doing something wrong and offending someone prevent me from trying something new so I agreed to participate to the fullest.

There were multiple Thai and Laotian persons visiting the Wat and they had brought loads of delicious Thai food to present to the monks.  The monks are only allowed to eat before noon.  We were invited to share in the feast and even though we had just came from breakfast we dug in.  We visited with a young monk who explained to us the differences in monks across cultures.  For example, monks in China practice martial arts but Thai monks do not.

At the end of the feast, N asked us to go with him to see the Abbot (the Wat’s head/administrative monk) and we agreed.  I had been trying to remember all that I had read about the Buddhist culture prior to and during our visit to Thailand in order to be as least offensive as possible.  I had remembered to take my shoes off upon entering the building, I had remember to kneel so as to keep my feet underneath me and covered, I had remembered not to point my feet at the Buddha and I had remembered that monks cannot touch women even to hand something to them.  I knew that it was appropriate to wai (bow with my hands in a praying position) to the monks, but I feared my wai would be in improper form and therefore offensive.  What if I did not bow far enough?  That would be a sign of disrespect.

The Abbot was very kind and asked us many questions about our Thai adoption.  We followed N’s lead and wai’ed to the Abbott three times.  By the time we left, we had been invited to share a Thanksgiving Day meal with the monks and we had been invited to return to the Wat any time.

In the Buddhist culture it is typical for all young men to become a monk for at least a short period of time.  After N finishes high school, he too will become a monk and then he will go to University, get a good job, and repay his parents for the cost of sending him to America.  One day he says he will send his son to America to learn to speak English also.

Here is a website that I think explains Buddhism in a fairly clear manner.

http://www.thaibuddhism.net/page1.htm

An F in US History and Tales of Shopping Chaos

We participated in our family Thanksgiving, which was actually a learning opportunity for all of us.  What we learned about our own culture was how few of us could actually explain why we celebrate Thanksgiving and its history.  Through a group effort, our story involved pilgrims, Lewis and Clark, Sacajawea and Christopher Columbus.  We were confused about the names of the ships because even though the Mayflower seemed like a familiar name we could not remember what that had to do with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria.  The most reliable version came from our 6 year old niece the worst came from our teenage niece and nephew.

I decided to show N firsthand the INSANE American tradition of Black Friday shopping.  After we finished stuffing ourselves with turkey we all loaded up to go shopping.  Some stores were opening at 10 PM and we had to get started.  N was very excited about this unusual activity and the chance to buy Nike products.  We went to the outlet mall and began shopping.  N bought five pairs of shoes and literally ran around the mall waving his credit card and kissing it. 

We left the mall at 12:30 am and got in line at Target to await their 4 am opening.  I had never participated in this myself so it was new for most of us.  There was nothing we actually even wanted to buy; we just wanted to experience the insanity.  So we waited in the cold and followed to mad crowd as they rushed into the store.  It was everything I had heard it would be; chaotic, hostile, exhausting, and crazy.

We wandered around the store taking in the madness and bought a few things (that we surely could have bought later in the day without the rush).  We called it quits at 5 am and went home to get some sleep.  After sleeping most of the day, N said that black Friday shopping was so much fun and would we do it again.  The answer is absolutely not.

An American Pastime

We spend many fall Saturdays supporting the local college football team.  This typically includes a week of menu planning, arriving at the game at least three hours prior to kickoff, tailgating and then cheering on the team.  It had not occurred to us how strange this tradition is until less than 48 hours after N arrived that we took him and another Thai exchange student to a game. 

On the way to the stadium we tried to explain tailgating and we quickly realized by the confused look on N’s face that this seemed like a strange custom.  The game could not have been colder.  We did our traditional tailgating and visiting and N hung right in there meeting people and socializing.  N did a great job trying to talk with people even though many of those people were quite intoxicated.

By the time the game and post tailgating were over, N was freezing.  He had learned about the use of hand warmers and he had cheered on our team even though he had no idea what was happening.  He was clear on one thing, our team was terrible.

And So It Begins...

My previous blog followed the journey of the adoption of our son from Thailand.  I had grand intentions of continuing blogging about our new family experiences, but time just got away from me and here we are eight months later and I wrote no new posts.

So what has been happening?  The short version is that we couldn’t be happier.  We are all adjusting to our new lives together and everyday is a new experience.  So what has finally motivated me to get back to the blog?  Well, I can’t resist a challenge and two weeks ago opportunity came emailing…

A fellow Thai adoptive family/former co-worker/current international exchange student host family coordinator emailed with an emergency situation.  Can you see where this is going?  Anyway within 24 hours we agreed to host a 15 year old exchange student from Thailand for the remainder of the school year.  Four days later, the student “N” was moving in.

When we agreed to become a host family we thought it would be a great opportunity to bring Thai culture into our home.  Now a week into the experience we have realized that it is also an opportunity to learn more about our own culture.  We are in experience seeking mode and so far it has been interesting for all of us.

It seemed like a good time to start a new blog to document these new adventures.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!