I am fascinated by dinosaurs. Even as a child, I was the dino kid in my class (every elementary class has one). That interest waned as I got older, but then was reignited with repeat viewings of the Jurassic Park movies. Then, come to find out, Thailand has had a fair number of fossil discoveries, including an entirely new species of dinosaur.
At the mention of Peace Corps, many people in the U.S. think of mud huts, no electricity, no running water and being out in the bush. Nothing could be further from my Peace Corps reality. I live in a cement row house, with electricity and running water pretty much constantly in a rural community. But that doesn’t mean that Thailand, and more specifically my village, is not in a state of development.
Thailand is well known for its silk. It’s made from silkworms’ cocoons that are turned into thread and woven into beautiful and intricate patterns. But what is this fabric used for? How is it worn? Traditional Thai clothing, and what is understood to be traditional Thai clothing, is a really interesting topic with a somewhat unsuspected history.
Thailand is famous for fabrics, specifically its silk. In the video I made showing the process of making silk from the silkworm to the loom, you can see one woman weaving a somewhat intricate pattern. Traditionally, there are some main patterns that are used in Thai fabrics.
I recently had the chance to go to the Jim Thompson Farm, where they cultivate silk worms to produce Thailand’s famous silk. It was really cool to peak into every step of the process that goes into making silk. Check out the video!
Of all the textiles that are made in Thailand, silk is far and away the most well known. The visibility and reputation of Thai silk was carefully curated by both Queen Sirikit and Jim Thompson. But how is Thai silk made? Where does it come from?
When I went back to the U.S. for the Top Bloggers’ Tour, one of the things I did was give 15 minute presentations to elementary school students about Thailand. With such a short amount of time, I decided to tell the kids about one aspect of Thailand that it is famous for: its textiles and fabrics, and so I passed around examples of different kinds of scarfs and gave them an opportunity to dress up in some of the Thai clothes that I have. There is a lot going on in the textile, fabric and fashion world here in Thailand.
สวัสดีปีใหม่ (sa-wat-dii bpii mai) or Happy New Year to you and yours! Like most everywhere, here in Thailand we celebrated the turning of a calendar year with countdowns, fireworks and lots of people getting together. However January 1st is not the only New Year in Thailand, we have a couple of celebrations for that; three of them in fact.
I’m on vacation, but my fellow volunteer and friend Carly just wrote this amazing post about Thai weddings with some stunning pictures and videos. I haven’t had a chance to attend a wedding and probably won’t in the next three months, so please click through to read more about Thai weddings.
Back in July, I went to my first Thai wedding! Since I’ve attended many Thai funerals during my service, this was a very welcome change. Wedding ceremonies differ quite a bit from those back home in America, so it was a fascinating experience! Especially considering I didn’t know what was happening, or why, the majority of the time. However, thanks to some discussions with my counterparts and neighbors after the events, I was able to understand some of the traditions and customs of a traditional Northeast Thailand, a region known as Isaan, wedding ceremony. Also, if you want to read more about Thai wedding traditions from a Thai perspective, check out this fantastic blog! It was a big help in piecing together the missing parts of the puzzle.
Last year, for Christmas, I went to my friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer Jill’s site. She held a great Christmas camp for the students at her school and I decided I wanted to do something at my school. So this year, I enlisted the help of the teachers at my school and planned out some Christmas festivities. One of the lessons was learning Christmas carols, which you can see here!