There's a restaurant down the road from my house that we call The Colorful Place. I eat there almost every day. The restaurant is a little hole in the wall place set up on the front porch of a house. The walls and furniture are all painted in bright rainbow colors. It's a little bit dirty and the chairs are all kind of rickety, but it's literally my favorite place in Thailand. I love it there. Their food is cheap and absolutely delicious, but that's not the main reason I love it. I love it because of the people.
There are three workers at The Colorful Place. Ba Yong is the older lady that does the cooking, Pii Doo is her daughter who helps wherever she's needed, and Ba Nah is the server and dishwasher. One of my favorite things about living in Thailand for these past three months has been getting to know these ladies. They're wonderful! None of them speak any English and I speak very little Thai, but despite the many awkward and incomplete conversations that we've had, these ladies have become my friends.
A few weeks ago, my teammate Lizzy and I were eating lunch at The Colorful Place like we do every day. The restaurant wasn't busy so we started having a conversation with Pii Doo in our limited Thai. After talking with her for a while, she said something in Thai about us coming to study there at the restaurant. This is something that Lizzy and I had hoped for and prayed about for several weeks! So we quickly paid for our meal then ran home to get our Thai books and came back. Pii Doo sat there with us for over three hours helping us practice our Thai. We learned a lot of Thai that day but we were also able to get to know Pii Doo and the other ladies much more. It was so great!
Ever since then, all three ladies get super excited when they see me or Lizzy. They like to joke with us and they love it when we try out our new Thai phrases. Ba Yong will come rub my arms (she loves my white skin) or she'll tickle my stomach (it's kind of weird, but I've grown to appreciate it). They notice if we're not acting like ourselves and they ask to make sure that we're okay. We may not speak much of the same language but we've been able to develop a really sweet relationship.
Today, for example, I had already finished eating lunch at The Colorful Place when Ba Yong called me from across the room "Uhmalee!" She waved for me to come over and sit with her. She offered me some of her Som Tum (papaya salad) as well as some dried fish. She also introduced me to some of her friends who I had never met before. I sat with them for a while, just enjoying their company. It might seem like a small thing for Ba Yong to call me over but it was a big deal to me. She made me feel so special and loved! That is why I love The Colorful Place!
I've had some hard times this past month with culture shock, homesickness, personal struggles, etc. but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I don't want to focus on the hard or bad things I'm facing. Instead, I want to focus on the things I love and the things I'm thankful for in Thailand. Today, I'm thankful for The Colorful Place. I'm thankful for a little old lady who tickles my belly and makes me feel loved even on the days where everything just seems bad. I'm thankful for these three women who make me feel welcome and wanted here in Thailand. I'm thankful for the way God has answered my prayers in giving me Thai friends and in providing a place to continually practice my Thai. I'm thankful that friendship is possible even with a language barrier.
