Sweet December

Is the name of a Karen holiday (actually, also celebrated by other ethnicities) observed on December 1st, but I think its an appropriate title for this particular month, overall.

I don't fully understand the holiday, but I think it is mostly in recognition of the beginning of a season of festivities. People gather for performances of singing and dancing, lots of music, and of course lots of food.

December 1st is also World AIDS Day, which we observed by going to Mae Tao Clinic to watch a drama presented by a troope of lady boys about the dangers of HIV.

December 5th is the King's Birthday, so portraits are being raised, and adorned, all over Thailand. The fun fair has been erected in Mae Sot, and a day of general (reverent) revelry is in store.

Today, Jade and I hired a truck and drove north through the mountains from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang. Its about a four hour journey, and we left in the early morning, enjoying the fresh clean views in the hills. It was a really lovely drive, though the road was in bad shape, winding through the rolling green hills, twisting between rice patties and banana groves. Rural country, farmed, or untouched, a nice change from the bustle of Chiang Mai and the border intensity of Mae Sot. We went to a meeting at a training center outside of town, without another building in site, perched on a crest overlooking corn fields, framed by mountains and the Salween river wending across the distance. Driving back into town for the night, the long rays of the afternoon sun made glow the mounds of harvested rice, spinning the straw into Rumplestiltskin's golden threads. This trip had come upon us without a large amount of notice, on a weekend when everything seemed to be happening at once, so we had approached it with a mindset of efficiency and duty. But the resplendence of this day, the mountains, the sun, the quiet, seeped into us, and we reveled in these unexpected moments of beauty, of appreciation, and restfulness.

Tomorrow a coworker of ours is getting married in Mae La refugee camp. We had planned to rise at 4 to drive down and attend the 8am ceremony. We were asked today, however, to remain at the meeting in Mae Sariang, and while I'm sad to miss the celebration, I have to admit, the chance to stay still for a few moments longer, to enjoy a peaceful Mae Sariang morning, to breakfast at the morning market, are extremely appealing, and I'm grateful for this small respite.

On Sunday we drive to Chiang Mai for a lunch meeting, and back to Mae Sot on Monday. Just a few days later, however, I have a visitor coming, and am looking forward to a few days exploring Thailand together, including a rafting trip and a visit to the world's '6th most beautiful waterfall' (which I find an incredibly funny advertising point). My friend and former Mae Sot-ite Kate is also coming that weekend, and a mere week after their departures, I return to the US for a 12 day visit. Sweet December indeed!