We are in Hat Yai, in the Songkhla province of southern Thailand. We are here for the Thai new year, also known as the Songkran water festival. On Songkran, people line the streets with buckets and super soakers and soak anyone who passes by. Other people pack the backs of pickup trucks and engage in water fights with the people lining the streets. Nicholas and I took a stroll around downtown Hat Yai with aunt Kat. Everyone was soaked within a few minutes.




Nicholas has spent a lot of time at his great-grandmother's traditional Thai house between the cities of Hat Yai and Songkhla. He has met many, many cousins, friends, and other relatives. He has quite a few relatives who are children, and they have been very outgoing about sharing their toys and inviting him to play. His great grandmother and grandfather have been delighted to see him. One day, he took a nap at their house, and his great grandmother took advantage of the pause in his activity to look very closely and lovingly at his face for a few moments, which was very touching. Ying gave her grandmother a photograph of her graduation from Central Washington University.

Coming from the international metropolis of Bangkok to this more remote area, we are experiencing quite a culture shift. There is much less English spoken here, and many signs don't have a transliteration. The Thai itself is different here, too, since people speak a southern dialect. One thing that hasn't changed is that there seems to be a 7-11 every few blocks. There's even one a short distance from Ying's grandmother's house.

We have met many friends and relatives after a long time. Along with Kat and her husband Tii, we had dinner with Ning and Ma, a couple we know from our time in Iowa. They live in Hat Yai, where Ma teaches English and communication and Ning works at an office of foreign affairs.