Day 24: Getting Weary

I did not feel so well this morning and finding a hair in my breakfast did not make me feel any better. I went back to my room, finished “Thai Women in Buddhism” (written by the abbess when she still taught at Thammasat University), and then promptly fell asleep until 10:30 am. I helped out before and after lunch by cleaning the plates. This meal was better, even though it was pretty spicy. I have learned that if I eat something spicy, my taste buds go numb for a bit and I no longer taste the spiciness. The cooks joke that I can eat much more Thai food now, which is definitely true.

I checked my email in the library and at 1 pm, three samaneris came into the room and mentioned English class. I did not think I would start again until July 18^th, but I decided to just wing it. We ended up talking about some relevant topics, like religion. Apparently Thais think that all Americans are Christian, Catholic, or Protestant? They all seemed very surprised and excited to hear that I consider myself Buddhist. I found it a little amusing to think that I would come all the way to a Buddhist wat in Thailand and chant verses in Pali every morning and night for two months as a Christian.

At 3:45 pm, it started to rain heavily. I ran back to my room and opened the package from home. Elena made me a white, linen outfit to wear at the wat and I was overjoyed to see that it fit perfectly for what I need here. 

Attempted picture in my room after wearing the new outfit that day

I took a shower, washed some clothes, put on my new outfit, and ate dinner before chanting. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy tonight’s meditation. My back and neck hurt, making it hard to sit through the dharma talk in Thai. When I got back to my room, I read the 7^th Harry Potter and I actually became too scared to sleep with the lights off. I decided to keep them on and I woke up at some point in the night and felt safe enough (or just sleepy enough) to turn them off.