YCAP Day 3 & 4

The toilet in Thailand.

Almost every farmer in Thailand raised buffaloes for labor, but right now it was dry season and we only saw them either wondering in the fields eating grass or resting on the side of the roads. We wondered how come the buffaloes wouldn't come out running on the street and hit by the car by accident, and the question was resolved after we learned that the farmers had to pay a huge amount of money for the lost of both the drivers and the buffaloes if such kind of accident happenes, so they must have some ways to keep their animals away from the street, or the buffaloes must be smart to learn by themselves.

In the morning we joined the local annual ceremony to worship the ancestors whom they believed would protect them and bring them good luck. The oldest person that still live to date in the village was 102 years old, and they thought it was because of the blessing from the ancestors. Everyone in the village had a day off in the morning to join the ceremony, including students. We sat on mats spread on a small ground surrounded by trees, waiting together with the villagers for the ceremony to begin. Then some people started walking around, passing food and drinks to us. The teachers said that these food were for good luck and health, and they must be finished during the ceremony. Some villagers started to play instruments while some of them started to dance, and we were invited to join them. There weren't a particular way to dance. They mostly just waved their arms, twisted their wrists and walked in circle. Some old women even started singing to the music. It was almost like a festival, not serious as I thought it would be like traditional Chinese ceremony. One special part of the ceremony was to have the elders to tie cotton strings on the juniors' wrists for good luck. They would say out loud their blessings for you while tying on the strings. It was very sweet and nice even though I couldn't understand them, I could tell by their facial emotions that they were praying for me sincerely.
I got five blessings! The strings must be worn for three days, and I kept some until I flew back to Taiwan, just for a safe trip.
Our host mom was there to give us blessings too.

It was a very special experience for all of us since it was held only once in a year, and we would not have such chance if we came with tourism group.

The student were excited to see us, some of them even took our photos using their cell phones and asked for our autographs like they'd never seen foreigners. We almost felt like celebrities. XD
In the afternoon we visited the local manufacturing of weaving. The old women's hands were all stained blue by the dyes they extracted from some plants. We tried weaving ourselves, and although it was not as hard as it seemed, it was definitely difficult to weave as fast and beautiful as they did.

Megan, from Georgia, USA, and me, sitting on the mat having dinner.

We woke up early the next morning and headed out toward the temple, waiting outside for the monks to passed by and put rice balls into their bowls. It was a daily routine for the villagers since Buddhism is very very important religion in Thailand, and to show respect for the monks, we must took off our shoes and knelt down as them passed by.
See and me, taking photo with a kind of banana that is not edible. See is a very sweet Thai student who had always tried her best to speak English and to understand us, sometimes failed sometimes succeeded. Either way, I like her very much^^

We arrived at KKU in the evening and went to the agricultural fair held by the Ministry of Agriculture and KKU. Activities at the fair included exhibition and contests on agriculture farming, agriculture food fair, agriculture career training and so on. There were also many booths selling Thai dresses and bags,their prices much lower than the shops outside.