Get Cultural Month Begins...

...with major surgery! Unfortunately, the "fetus" (as some have termed it) growing by my right ear turned out to be pretty serious, so I had to go under the Thai knife on Tuesday! After a week of antibiotics and dressing changes, the infection still wasn't going away so I headed to Bangkok Hospital - one of the city's finest - to get their opinion. The next day I was under general anesthesia for surgery! The infection at the surface was actually masking a sebaceous cyst, which Dr. Prasert (my adorable little Thai doctor) drained and removed.

So, really there is no better start to Get Cultural Month than to spend the first nine days of 2008 observing, engaging in and seeing how Thailand's medical system works firsthand! Dr. Prasert said the surgery went well, and hopefully, I should be on the road to recovery. The best part? Under general anesthesia, I didn't even say anything incriminating (as opposed to last time when I commented the surgeon who took my wisdom teeth out was hot. Oops!)

All those hospital visits didn't deter me from my vow to get cultural (and suspend my nasty shopping habit) for the month of January. Lauren and I headed into Bangkok on Sunday to do just that! We headed over to Khao San Road - a notorious tourist trap but one of those things you just have to see at least once. Filled with sidewalk vendors, restaurants, shops and mini-markets, it was a cute little place. We decided to grab some sushi for lunch at a Japanese place just off the main road. Traveling abroad, I have really acquired a taste for world cuisine! A few months ago I detested fish, and now I am eating it raw! (***Note the attractive gauze pad on my right ear, referred to by most as my "earmuff").

After lunch, we ventured into the back streets of Bangkok to find a very exclusive neighborhood which is famous for making monk bowls! Let me back up and explain...Buddhist monks are very revered in Thailand. Every male in Thailand is actually expected to serve as a monk for at least three months in his life, or their family faces societal shame. Without an income, these brightly colored figures subsist on the food donations of Thai people, who give them offerings after prayer.

There are only a handful of families left in the whole of Thailand who still make baats, or monk bowls (the bowls with which they receive those food donations), the traditional way - pounding out the steel and painting these beautifully ornate bowls by hand. Most monk bowls are now mass-produced in China (no surprise there). Lauren and I wanted an authentic monk bowl so we hunted through Soi Bon Baat to find one such family. Although extremely poor, these families have passed on the ancient art of making baats and are extremely proud of what they do. Exquisite!

After getting pretty cultural exploring the art of making monk bowls, Lauren and I headed over to the Grand Palace to see one of the most important sites in all of Bangkok. Yes, we admit we are embarrassed it took us four months to do so. On the way, we had the most hilarious tuk-tuk driver! As we were cruising to the Grand Palace, he was trying to make the point that he, "I Buddhist," and Lauren and I, "You Christian." To clarify his point, he proceeded to put his hands out in the shape of the cross and act out Jesus' crucifixion! Please don't get religiously defensive about this little anecdote, because it was sooo funny!

We arrived at the Grand Palace only to find that in order to get in, you had to be wearing black and white. Let me back up again...the King's sister passed away last week, which means the country is in 15 days of official mourning where citizens are expected to wear black and white. Since Loporn and I forgot about this, we were not allowed into the Grand Palace. However, we were still allowed into Wat Phra Kaew - the temple on the Grand Palace's grounds. Housing the famous "Emerald Buddha," it is the only temple in which the King himself personally changes the Buddha's clothes four times a year!

Our Grand Palace trip hit another snag! To enter Buddhist temples in Thailand, it is mandatory to wear full-length pants or skirts. Since I was wearing capri pants, I had to rent this trendy turquoise gecko-printed skirt to enter the temple for 50 baht (about $1.50). I felt totally fashion-forward sporting this ankle-length beauty around the temple grounds all the while sporting one large white earmuff. Don't I look fab?

All joking aside, this temple was by far my favorite! Meaning "Temple of the Emerald Buddha," Wat Phra Kaew sprawls with monuments, temples and other shrines, which all gleam and glitter in the sun! The golds, reds, greens and other bright colors used in the temple are absolutely gorgeous! The main building is the central ubosoth, which houses the actual Emerald Buddha. Around the temple is a large white wall which is painted with scenes of the Thai Ramayana myth and inside even features a mini replica of Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple! Here is the wondrous skyline of Wat Phra Kaew!

All in all, I would have the say for the first week of January, we definitely got cultural! Now, I have to admit I am pretty exhausted from surgery (I slept most of the day yesterday and a bit today too!). Tomorrow I have another check-up appointment and then back to teaching the kiddies at school! The good news? Bangkok Hospital has a Starbucks which means for every hospital visit to the doctor, a latte for me! Hope you are all faring a bit better in 2008 than I, and take care everyone!