Greetings from above earth! I am currently in flight from SLC to Portland where I have a layover and will then head to Tokyo en route to Bangkok. Delta now provides WiFi on some flights so i thought I'd take advantage of the free trial and blog from a different angle! :-)
I'm flying over the most magnificent snow covered mountains. They look so inviting from way up here! I'm tempted to book a snow trekking excursion to explore the beauties of the earth more closely. Snowshoeing across the powdery, marshmallow like snow or perhaps being pulled in a sled by dogs sounds so exciting!..but then I remember how frigid that would be and so I decide to enjoy the view from the warmth of the plane. How magnificent are God's creations!
I was a little nervous last night as I looked over all my purchases and gifts (a bed cover, new sheets, clothes, peanut butter, instant oatmeal, bath towels, etc.) and wondered if I could really make it all fit into my 2 suitcases! After some very strategic packing I made it work...but had a sick feeling that i was overweight. Upon arrival to the airport my fears were confirmed. I was 6 lbs over. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving behind the peanut butter so I found a way to fit it into the smaller suitcase which I then had to sit on to close and VOILA!!! I get to take all my happy new things!
Well...we are descending into Portland so I need to shut down. How fun to blog from the sky!
Shortly before I left the US to move to Thailand my little brother, Thomas, announced his engagement to Emily, a sweet, beautiful, talented woman that many of my family members had already had a chance to meet and grow fond of. Emily and Thomas have been friends for several years. Their friendship began before Thomas served as a missionary in Argentina. Emily wrote him letters while he was gone. He returned to the US and they continued their friendship. It was clear that Thomas was developing deep feelings for Emily but she decided that she too desired to serve the Lord as a missionary and Thomas supported her in that, knowing that she would return from the experience an even better woman...if that was possible, in his eyes. He didn't want to be a distraction to her, however, while she was focused on service to the people in the Midwest. Emily returned from her missionary experience earlier this year and the friendship that they had begun several years earlier picked up where they had left off and grew even deeper.
As you can imagine, I was so sad to think that I would not be able to attend my baby brother's wedding to be held on Dec. 22, 2009 in Salt Lake City at the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I would only have been in Thailand for 2 months and knew that the possibilities of being able to return to the US for the event would be slim to none. So, I said good-bye to my sweet little brother, gave him my telescope, my stereo system and my video camera as "wedding gifts" (actually they were just "spoiled baby brother" gifts) and I made the move overseas.
As time passed I heard that my supervisor preferred for people to take time off during the holidays since things in the office are typically slow and it was a great time to give people a much needed break so I approached her and asked if it was at all possible for me to also have some time off, despite being so new in the office. She not only said "yes" but encouraged me to take the time off. I sat down at the computer and began looking for a plane ticket to see if I would even be able to afford the trip. The prices I was seeing were more than I felt I could afford for a short visit. I sought help from a travel agency and the best they could do was to find a $2000 ticket....yikes! My hopes were melted in the reality that I would be unable to afford the luxury of being to Thomas' wedding and spending Christmas with family. With a prayer in my heart I got back on the computer and looked one last time to make sure it really would not be possible. To my surprise and absolute delight I found a ticket at what felt like a reasonable price and although I was unable to discuss this with my parents (as I am prone to do about just about every crazy thing I do in my life) I purchased the ticket and found it difficult to wipe the grin off my face!
It was several days before I was able to make contact with my parents and tell them the news. But I asked them to keep it a secret from my brother so I could surprise him. Keeping a secret in my family is no easy task! There are so many of us that someone is bound to slip up and accidentally leak the information. Knowing this I accepted the fact that Thomas would most likely learn of my intentions before I arrived. And to be sure that no one would accidentally post an "I'm so excited to see you" message on facebook, I also kept the information from my friends. I'm NOT a good secret keeper when it comes to my own news, especially when it comes to such exciting news as I had.
The night before I left I got a full hour of sleep after packing, showering and preparing for a 3:30 am departure! But I was sure I'd be able to sleep on the plane. During the 17 hours in flight sleep did NOT come! My mind was racing and my excitement allowed for no rest. I felt the headache that accompanies sleep deprivation and tried desperately to sleep but to no avail.
When I arrived to my aunt's house Friday evening after making a stop by my old office to say hello to dear friends, my niece, who also knew nothing of my arrival (had she known she would have almost certainly been unable to keep the secret) squealed and jumped on me. What a fun "welcome home!" that was! The Christmas spirit finally filled my soul as family and friends gathered around. And how thankful I was to be in much colder temperatures as are found in Thailand right now!
Last night I finally had the chance to see Thomas. He still knew nothing of my arrival although I was sure that the postings I had made to Facebookdropping slight hints of my upcoming arrival and the information my father sent out with details of the weeks events gave away the secret. Thomas was to arrive at my aunt's house shortly after many of us returned from a Christmas party in them home of my mother's sister. I waited with great anticipation and the excitement built as those of us at the house (my parents, sisters and nieces and nephews) discussed what his reaction might be. Thomas had been so disappointed that I would be unable to be to his wedding. Over the years as siblings we have developed a precious friendship. When he was young I would read to him, we would jump on the trampoline together and despite his declaration at one point that the reason he never obeyed me was because I "talk too much" we maintained our friendship. As the years passed and all the McConkie's married off one by one, it was Thomas and I that were left. There was solace in having each others company at family events where we would sneak off when the crowd became too loud or the discussions of each family's children became just a little boring. :-) As Thomas' relationship with Emily developed and the possibility of marriage became more and more obvious Thomas told me that it would be impossible for him to marry before I did since it just didn't seem right and HE wanted to be the last one! I thanked him for his thoughtfulness and encouraged him to follow his heart and marry the woman who had become his best friend although I knew that my relationship with him would change after his life changing event. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing little brother. He is the kindest, most thoughtful little brother a sister could ask for. Yes, it probably helps that he is my ONLY little brother. I love him so much and have to admit that it would be much harder to watch him move on with his life if I didn't love sweet Emily, his soon-to-be companion for life and eternity.
Finally, Thomas arrived to the house. The lights were low and placed myself on a Lazyboy recliner in the living room where he would enter to give out hugs to all in attendance. Those hugs were given and he walked by me to the fridge. We all giggled that he hadn't seen me. Several minutes went by and he became involved in other greetings and delivering updates to others in the room. "So, how was your day today?" I asked him. He began his reply as he looked in my direction and when he finally made the connection that it was me he was answering and that I wasn't "supposed" to be there his eyes widened and a very excited "HEY! What are you doing here?" belted from his mouth. As I lept up he swept me into his arm and off my feet (for those of you who haven't seen Thomas since his infancy...he is now somewhere around 6' 6"). We embraced and I found it difficult to hold back the tears. He really didn't know that I was coming and was so excited to see me. "I have to tell Emily!" he announced, and the phone call was made.
So, there it is. The surprise took place just as I had envisioned it! And now I can announce to all my friends that "I'm here!!!" I'll only be here a short time and won't have a chance to see you all but this trip is about family. I am so grateful for the tender mercies of a loving God who allowed for me to make this trip. A God who as provided me with so many blessings and wonderful opportunities in my life. This time of year I'm deeply grateful for my wonderful family who is so supportive and who make my life so sweet.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May we remember and focus our activities on the Christ whose birth we celebrate this time of year. The half-man-half-divine who lived his life as an example to us all of what the true meaning of life is and then sacrificed his life for us...for our sins...and made it possible for us to be baptized in his name so that we may be cleansed of sin and enter into his presence and the presence of God after we have proven ourselves worthy through our actions and our thoughts. I am so grateful for His influence in my life. I acknowledge that all I have comes from Him and I am truly blessed.
December 5 was the King's birthday. It is a national holiday. In fact, I get Monday off work since his birthday falls on Saturday...no complaints here! So, I decided to go and see what kind of festivities would be taking place by the Grand Palace. I took off in the early afternoon and decided to walk to the metro station instead of taking the skytrain one stop where it links up with the metro. On my walk I discovered some new shops. My favorite was a fair trade handicrafts fair. I decided to take the detour. I went into the air-conditioned building (always a nice break) and found some very beautiful handicrafts made by a variety of artists ranging from people with disabilities, women who had escaped the sex trade to a variety of Thai ethnic groups . I wandered around and decided this was a great place to purchase some Christmas gifts so I made some purchases (I'm not telling but whoever is getting gifts from here is super lucky!!!) and after my shopping adventure I stopped for an Italian lunch.
With bags now in hand I decided to head back to my apartment to unload and head out again. This time I actually made it to the metro station. I reached the last stop on the metro line and started walking. I had a general idea of the direction I needed to head. After meandering through the less than poetic streets I found myself in a flurry of activity! I kept walking and realized that I had reached a HUGE market in the heart of Chinatown. I started off walking through the meats, fish, veggies and before I knew it I was surrounded by cheesy, plastic, bulk items. You know, the kinds of cheesy things you always wonder "who buys this stuff anyway?" We're talking Hello Kitty items...and worse! wow! I just kept walking. For blocks and blocks this stuff went on and on! Finally I found my way out. Then I'm surrounded by tuk-tuk drivers who want to know where they can take me. "No thanks" I kept telling them as I continued to walk.
My first hint that I was reaching my destination was seeing buses packed full of people wearing pink shirts. You see, the King was born on a tuesday and the color of tuesday is pink so everyone wore pink shirts to show their love for their king. Many Thais only know this one king since he has been reining for over 60 years! Pretty amazing. I just started following the buses and people walking on the streets. Before I knew it I had reached the Grand Palace. The streets outside the palace were packed with people. School bands were marching and playing, street vendors were making a killing but didn't seem to have jacked their prices up as is normally done in the US.
At a major street I saw a huge crowd of people so I thought I'd join them to see what it was all about. We stood around for at least 20 minutes. I figured we must be waiting for the king to drive by. Then people started moving. There was a group of guys near me. One said to me in English, "we must go this way, follow us". Grateful to hear English I did as I was told and followed him. We didn't walk far before the military halted us and barricaded us again. My friend started speaking to me. "Did you come with someone?" I answered that I was alone. "Are you bored?" I told him no, that I was just interested in seeing the celebration. I found out that he was Cambodian. He had come to Thailand 6 months earlier to work. He had been able to get a job at a fine furniture factory where he made $5/day. This is better than he could have done in Cambodia. He lives with his sister and her family. He was so happy to have found someone to practice his English with. He says he learned English during his 4 years as a monk but hadn't had a chance to speak it for a long time. I told him I was happy to let him practice with me. He told me that he now spoke good Thai and that it was not difficult to learn. That gave me hope until he reminded me that Cambodian and Thai have many similarities. Then he grabbed my wrist and we joined the throngs of people crossing the street. You mean to tell me that all that waiting was just to cross the street? Indeed it was. But across the street was where the festivities were. I stuck with my 3 Cambodian friends (only 1 spoke English) and we stood around with the 20,000+ other people in the area. My friend stuck with me while his 2 friends disappeared for a bit and returned with cold drinks for all. How could I allow these guys who earn $5/day to buy me a drink? I offered to pay for mine but they wouldn't hear of it. I learned a lesson in selflessness and hospitality.
At last the festivities began. There were a few speeches, none of which I understood, and then everyone began singing and holding candles. Again, i have no idea what they were singing. I'm assuming one of the songs was the national anthem. Then there was gleeful shouting and then the fireworks began. The fireworks were set off from about 3-4 different locations. They were big and beautiful and numerous! It was all fun and games until the ash started falling and my eyes filled with ash...not conducive to contact lenses. There were lots of "aaahhhh"s and "ooohhh"s.
After the fireworks my friends and I began making our way through the crowds. In a large open field several stages had been set up with different performances. We weaved our way through the packed crowds (not an easy task) to the traditional Thai music stage. That didn't hold my guy friends' interest for long so then we pushed our way back through the crowds to the kickboxing ring. The King's Cup tournament was just getting started with 8 world renown boxers fighting for the cup. Two of the fighters were Thai and, of course, got the loudest cheers. We only endured one match before the noise and the pushy crowds became too much. We, again, made our way back through the crowds where we could see both the kickboxing and the rock band performing at the same time. Boy, does the King know how to throw a party! It was amazing. Unfortunately, i'm not as young as I used to be and the noise was just too intense for me. Besides, I had been on my feet since noon and it was now 10 pm and my feet were KILLING me! So, I said goodbye to my new friends after we exchanged phone numbers and the one who spoke English told me how much he had enjoyed meeting me. I thanked him for keeping me from being bored and we agreed to meet up another time.
I headed away from the throngs of people, the noise and away from the smoke of all the food vendors. There were people everywhere!! Buses headed away from the palace were stuffed, nearly bursting, with people. I figured i'd get away from the crowds a bit and then hail a cab back to the metro station. I figured wrong! By the time i got passed all the crowds all the cabs driving by were already filled with people. So, I had a little talk with my feet and they agreed to forgive me for the torture I was about to continue putting them through. I kept walking in what i hopped was the direction of the metro station. Just when I thought I'd escaped the crowds a new crowd appeared. Ah! Night markets! wow! markets everywhere!! I decided to avoid these markets and continue my journey home. Finally, after a 75 minute walk I reached the metro station. Success!!!
When I reached home I removed my shoes and fell into bed and drifted ever so quickly off to sleep.
So there you have it! The King's birthday celebration. Oh, and as a side note, my feet had not yet forgiven me when I woke up this morning and made them walk to church. And I have a feeling they aren't going to love me tomorrow when I take them for another adventure in a nearby town...sshh, we'll keep it a secret from them!
Posts
