Softening

Originally written on 1/17/10
After only thirteen hours here, I can already feel myself soften into life in Thailand!
I met a sweet woman named Fai on the plane ride from Hong Kong to Bangkok who invited me to her home! She had a sweet smile, a contageous giggle, and as we talked about massage, she started massaging me right in the plane! So, I decided to go for the authentic Thai experience, and accept invitation to stay with her in a suburb of Bangkok.

Fai lives with her husband in Winnepeg, but has family here in Thailand, so she was just excited to get out of the chilly weather, and chatted and giggled the whole way home with her sister who picked us up. When we got to her home, I rolled out my yoga mat, and she followed along, giggling and sighing with the poses she had forgotten after her yoga class "long time ago". We showed pictures of our family and friends to each other over tea, and I fell asleep with a heart full of gratitude.

I woke up to hearing Fai laughing and chatting on the phone, and my rumbling belly was feeling ready for some Thai food! So, we walked into the sunny day to the market for some fresh fruit, rice and veggie soup, sweet treats, slippers for her and a pair of sunglasses for me (I was the only blonde there!) We ate the food on her front porch and enjoyed the birds that came by for a visit. Fai was a little too excited to eat Thai food that she ate a bit too much and had a stomach ache, so I offered her a reflexology foot massage and she said yes and ran off to the washroom to wash her feet, and shortly her stomach ache melted away. She then gave me a nice shoulder massage as we chatted about how important touch is (Fai is trained as a nurse, and learns from receiving massage).

She then brought me to a little salon where I melted into the table as the woman's lovely hands gently massaged my face, ending with sliced cucumbers gently placed on my face. We had lunch at her sister's family home where Fai translated for me, so I could answer her curious questions about my trip, and how I can take so much time away from work. She understood that I am here to learn more about touch, and that I will be returning to the states with more to offer... but what exactly I will be bringing home, I am not sure of... but I think I'm on the right track...