Well, it's been a few days since I posted. Since I got to Chiang Mai, things have just been going at a slower pace. Mostly, I've been doing family stuff and seeing people I haven't seen for years and it's really probably only interesting to me. It is kind of weird, being back here. I mentioned before, I think, that I never actually lived in the house my parents are in now. So I'm sleeping on the floor in my sister's old room which is now my parents' office. It is really strange to have to ask for rides and things again. (Chiang Mai, sadly, has no Sky Train or regular public transportation, and their house is kind of far out of town.) But my mom has been taking me places and it's been fun.
We went to the market the other day. It was very strange actually. There were so few people! My mom said it was probably because it was still early in the day, but later she commented that it might also have to do with the economic/political situation. I had remembered crowds of people, but there just weren't too many. I was politely told I could not take pictures inside the shops, which was disappointing, but understandable, I guess.
I really, really, really, want to know where to find the pink shirts. It seems odd to me that so many people wear them, yet I don't see them for sale. Obviously, they must be for sale SOMEWHERE but I'm just not sure where to look. There are large sections of the market that I did not get to this past week so I will try and explore there more. I did find some blue shirts (which honor Her Majesty) and since her birthday is next month it makes sense that they would be more accessible. (I found it interesting because we asked the shop ladies if the shirts were for the Queen's birthday and she said yes, referring to the Queen as "mother." As in, the country's mother, I think.)
Last night I met a friend at the mall and there were hordes and hordes of screaming high school girls. (You can tell by their school uniforms.) Turns out, there were some Korean pop stars performing. I was disappointed I couldn't see the singers because of the crowds. It was an interesting contrast, and I wondered how important any of the things I've been looking at and for (in terms of culture and politics) are to the younger people of Thailand. I guess there are times and ages when Korean pop stars are just the most important thing in the world. And that might be a good thing, in some ways.
Maybe you could make your own pink shirt? It might not be "official" but it would be easy. Like tie-dye, only with just one color.
ReplyDeleteWell very rare are teenagers who are aware of much beyond their own little bubble of pop stars or movies or twitter or whatever the kids like these days (I'm totally old now). Also I think people make a concious (or unconcious) effort to wrap themselves in the normal whenever they can, even when things are going badly, to drown out all the bad that's going on.