A few days ago, I was walking to the nearest laundry machines because I had sweat probably a gallon into each article of clothing.  A lot of families in Thailand will convert their homefronts into some kind of store, be it a drink place, school supplies, clothes etc.  I came here with very little clothes, so I stopped at one of these hoping there might be some items to expand my wardrobe.  

It happened that just as I had walked in, the mother and her two daughters were preparing to have dinner at table in front of the store.  In a wordless exchange, she invited me to have dinner with them!  Mind you I had never met any of these people, they were just acting on pure generosity.  I would have been foolish to turn such an opportunity down, so I accepted the offer.  The meal included a variety of meats and vegetables including some kind of dried skinny sardine like fish, fried fish, a type of beef sausage, some kind of ground meat mixed with broccoli, Som Tam and of course rice.  It was a peculiar meal being that literally NOTHING could be said, because neither spoke the other’s language.  I won’t deny that I felt a tad awkward in the complete silence.  We all smiled a lot, and I said the few words I know pertaining to food “aroi” for delicious “gai” for chicken “mu” for pork.  It turns out the youngest daughter was a student at my school, although not in the grade I teach.  The three of them were just a kind, beautiful group of women and I felt so lucky to be here in Thailand, experiencing the kindness of these strangers (corny).  It was a moment for sure. 

Near the end of the meal, another young girl arrived and upon introducing myself, they promptly asked for my facebook.  Facebook is pretty huge here, as in people are posting MULTIPLE statuses throughout the day, and everyone friends everyone, and people like to “like”.  Once the meal had ended, I thanked them all, and went on my merry way.  This meal gave me a powerful sense of gratitude.  Even though nothing was said, I experienced such a strong human connection, perhaps made that way DUE to the absence of words.  It reinforced the feeling that cultures, languages, and beliefs aside, there is great capacity and a natural tendency for human kindness and my heart was left feeling full of it.

The kind women