Ernest Rodriguez (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ernestswhirrled) wrote,@ 2004-12-23 19:01:00 |
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Christmas Plans
Pong lives and works in Bangkok. His family lives in a small village near the Cambodian border south of a city called Buri Ram in an area of the country called Isaan. His family does not know he has a boyfriend. They don't know that we live together. For 12 years of his life (age 12 to 24) Pong lived in a Temple; First as a Dek Wat (Temple boy whose job is to assist the Monks in all daily tasks), then as a Novice Monk, then as a fully ordained Monk. Letting his family know that he has a boyfriend is a BIG deal for him. I lived in the "closet" for the first 39 years of my life, so I understand his situation.
We had talked about going to visit his family and even started to make plans and arrangements. But 2 days ago Pong said 3 important words to me, " I'm not ready.". I could have made a big deal about it and gone off saying, you don't love me! Or some other stupid thing like that, but I really do understand his situation. Even though homosexuality is pretty well accepted here in Thailand it still is a stressful thing for Pong to come to grips with. For 12 years the people of his village have held him in high respect and have wai-ed to him and have been very proud of him. Pong is worried that if they know he has a boyfriend that they will think differently of him. You know, small town boy goes to the big city and gets corrupted by ____________________ (fill in the blank). I decided to let Pong know that I was disappointed but that I loved him and did not want to pressure him to make this decision, When he is ready he will let me know.
Instead of going to Buri Ram we are going to Phuket, pronounced Poo-ket. Phuket is an island in southern Thailand that is a big resort destination. People from all over the world go there for vacation. Pong has a friend named Joy. I like him a lot. He is funny and goofy and very sweet and thoughtful and polite. I asked Pong if he wanted to invite Joy to come to Phuket with us and at first he said he wants to spend time alone with me (how sweet). I said that we could bring Joy and he would understand if Pong and I want to go off alone for a few hours each day. Joy is very easy going and I'm sure won't be offended. Pong agreed and so the three of will leave tomorrow night, Christmas Eve.
One big problem... we still don't have a place to stay in Phuket. My travel agent said that booking on line would be too expensive and I could just show up at the hotel reservations desk at the airport in Phuket and get a better deal that way. Many times really nice hotels have last minute cancellations and they sell off the rooms to "room brokers" at the airport who try to fill them. A room rented out for a cheaper price is better than an empty room. So we will see where we end up.
I plan on taking LOTS of photos of our trip. I'll be out of Bangkok for about 5 days so I may not be updating again until I get back.
Take care and as one of my students said to me today...
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!!!
Ernest
Pong lives and works in Bangkok. His family lives in a small village near the Cambodian border south of a city called Buri Ram in an area of the country called Isaan. His family does not know he has a boyfriend. They don't know that we live together. For 12 years of his life (age 12 to 24) Pong lived in a Temple; First as a Dek Wat (Temple boy whose job is to assist the Monks in all daily tasks), then as a Novice Monk, then as a fully ordained Monk. Letting his family know that he has a boyfriend is a BIG deal for him. I lived in the "closet" for the first 39 years of my life, so I understand his situation.
We had talked about going to visit his family and even started to make plans and arrangements. But 2 days ago Pong said 3 important words to me, " I'm not ready.". I could have made a big deal about it and gone off saying, you don't love me! Or some other stupid thing like that, but I really do understand his situation. Even though homosexuality is pretty well accepted here in Thailand it still is a stressful thing for Pong to come to grips with. For 12 years the people of his village have held him in high respect and have wai-ed to him and have been very proud of him. Pong is worried that if they know he has a boyfriend that they will think differently of him. You know, small town boy goes to the big city and gets corrupted by ____________________ (fill in the blank). I decided to let Pong know that I was disappointed but that I loved him and did not want to pressure him to make this decision, When he is ready he will let me know.
Instead of going to Buri Ram we are going to Phuket, pronounced Poo-ket. Phuket is an island in southern Thailand that is a big resort destination. People from all over the world go there for vacation. Pong has a friend named Joy. I like him a lot. He is funny and goofy and very sweet and thoughtful and polite. I asked Pong if he wanted to invite Joy to come to Phuket with us and at first he said he wants to spend time alone with me (how sweet). I said that we could bring Joy and he would understand if Pong and I want to go off alone for a few hours each day. Joy is very easy going and I'm sure won't be offended. Pong agreed and so the three of will leave tomorrow night, Christmas Eve.
One big problem... we still don't have a place to stay in Phuket. My travel agent said that booking on line would be too expensive and I could just show up at the hotel reservations desk at the airport in Phuket and get a better deal that way. Many times really nice hotels have last minute cancellations and they sell off the rooms to "room brokers" at the airport who try to fill them. A room rented out for a cheaper price is better than an empty room. So we will see where we end up.
I plan on taking LOTS of photos of our trip. I'll be out of Bangkok for about 5 days so I may not be updating again until I get back.
Take care and as one of my students said to me today...
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!!!
Ernest
