Sunday, April 09, 2006

kham is Lao (afterall)

it's not for me or any other white person to say what makes someone Lao and what makes them american. but if eating a fried frog (khiat) can be a thermometer of sorts, then kham is Lao afterall. ...and there wasn't even a moment of hesitation; kham knew that that frog was destined to be breakfast, and it was consumed in one confident bite. (and i should also note, that as kham realizes his Lao-ness, he is beginning to correct me on my pronunciation of Lao words. for example, he told me last night that i said chicken butt wrongly... and don't ask, but i did have a good reason for saying that word.)

yesterday, we toured around the Nong Khai area. i think we saw all but 5 of Nong khai's temples (wats), and each had there own claims of uniqueness. the most interesting had a replica of a Buddha that originated from Laos. When the people tried to bring it across the Mekong, a storm arose and sunk the boat and its Buddha to the bottom of the river. The belief is that the Buddha did not want to come to Thailand. Now, in the Hoh where its replica is housed, an inexplicable leak drips continuously from the ceiling. Attempts have been made to discover its source and to repair the leak, but to no avail... so the water is considered sacred, and it is used for blessings. (see the photo of kham's cousins and the pottery).

when i tried to walk into the building i hit my head on a wood pole going across the entry. i was subsequently informed by kham's cousin, Noy, (in the white jacket)that "those who don't believe slam their heads into the wood." (and i hadn't said anything!!)

we also went to the Nongkhai version of Viengchanh's Buddha park. those who have seen the one in Laos will recognize the work - its by the same man. he escaped the communists in Laos and continued his "interesting" sculpture work in Nongkhai. and this park actually contains his body- he died about 12 years ago. he is enshrined in the main building on a stand decorated with lights, shiny paper, and tinsel, with a glass globe covering his body.

and a word about the heat: it is really hot. what else can i say? it is really really hot. yes, jacob, i mean really hot. but when you sit in the back of a truck all day, with all the cousins, eating pineapple and corn on the cob, its not all that bad.


its early here right now; we got up at 5 am. we are leaving for Laos around noon. i think we are gonna stop by a market first and maybe find some fruits to eat that i have never seen before. but the biggest lament of the trip: no mangosteen... its out of season. but mangos are everywhere. they are not yet ripe, but that never stopped anyone. you can eat them "heum" with salt and chili pepper. and i will.

9 comments:

jacob said...

I only have one thing to say - frogs are totally "meat!"

jrm said...

FROGS ARE NOT MEAT!!! they are too crispy to be meat. in fact, they are just like potato chips... so the next time you eat a potato chip (after lent i am sure), just know you are eating a frog, cause they are the exact same thing...

Cindy Bean said...

Did you not see The Muppet Movie? Did you not feel the same anxiety and torment Kermit felt when he realized that the legs that people were going to eat were those of his kin?

Anonymous said...

Yes, poor Kermit and his kin...I agree with Jacob, frogs are meat...but I also agree with Joseph that they are tasty meat...perhaps you can also market soy frog substitute along with your soy crickets...Bon Apetit!

ewesa said...

If I can see it's thigh muscles, I can't eat it. thigh muscles and eyeballs. did you eat them jrm?

ewesa said...

oh! and little kneecaps! I can see little kneecaps!

jrm said...

OF course i ate them sam i am... i WILL eat them in a train and rain and all that stuff...

Anonymous said...

Well, to support Jacob, clearly eating an animal is eating meat. I'm sure if you fried pieces of any animal you could create a potato chip-like snack.


The worst part are the little frog fingers, and how they are reaching at the diner.

ewesa said...

totally. and they are crispy and tourtured-looking.
this picture actually kept popping into my head last night when I couldn't sleep. I very much believe it was giving me nightmares.