A Welcome Diversion

Grandma with her young graduands

I finished last week with a most welcome diversion.  Om, my great friend here, had me join his family at the beach where they all gathered for the occasion of a younger family member graduating from university.  I really enjoyed it.  For all I may share over the years on Thailand, where the country really works is at the level of the family.  Thais are like pigs in mud when they are with their family.  As an outsider, you just seldom get the opportunity to have an inside look. 

One of the special people in Om's family and one of the ones who makes time so special for me with them is Grandma.  Well, they call her grandma.  If I gather it correctly.  She is the oldest sister to Om's mum who died a few years ago.  Om tells me that in Thai culture when his mother died, her oldest sister took on the role of grandma in the family.  So she is grandma.  The few times that she sees me, she always shows me great affection, gives me a hug and has a bit of a dance with me.  I suspect she may have the hots for me but no worries about running away with her. 

What stays with me from my 24 hours at the beach with Om's family was grandma's care for me and the graciousness she showed me.  At dinner, I sat at her mat and, when I was given some chicken, I shared it with her for her to eat as she had been so kind already to me.  What happened next took me by great surprise.  Instead of eating the chicken, she started stripping off pieces of flesh and giving it to me to eat.  This was not my intention.  As an egalitarian Aussie, I wanted to tell her to stop but I didn't as I figured it was much more polite for me to accept her graciousness towards me. 

And that is what stays with me of the time away with Om's family - the graciousness of one of their highly respected and loved elders towards me.  What doubly stays with me is how she so naturally chose to do this for me.  Thailand does work at the level of the family and for obvious reasons.