. . . And a House for All Your Ghosts, Too

This is the spirit house outside my house. Or, technically, it's two spirit houses. They always come in pairs, one higher than the other, and the lower with a ladder leading up from the ground. The story behind these cute little things? In traditional Thai culture, giving a spirit a house of their own prevents them from haunting you. If they have a house, they don't need to enter yours. You'll find them outside just about every building in Thailand.

This wasn't the first view that greeted me when I got to Doembangnangbuat (or, as the mouthful shortened here, Doembang). The spirit houses are actually in the back yard. But that window you see in the background? That's my kitchen. Or something like a kitchen. I don't have anything that actually goes in a kitchen besides a table, a fridge, and an electric kettle (which is a recent addition). Beyond the wall, there's a rice field. Or I assume it's a rice field. Currently it's something like a lake. With herons, and sometimes ducks. But back to the house. To be honest, when I first got there, the thought that struck my mind was: holy crap, I'm going to be living like I'm at girls' camp for a year. This could be because while I have a bed and electricity, I didn't have air conditioning that first day. (It was installed in my bedroom the day after I met the school director/principal, possibly because I was very obviously glistening with sweat for the whole interview.) Also, I could tell from the way the occasional gecko skittered across the kitchen wall that there were enough holes in various places to allow entrance to the entire mosquito population of Thailand. That window has a screen rather than glass, and the shutters get closed when it rains. But what felt most like camping was the bathroom. I've gotten used to it since, but it was a bit daunting the first day to walk in and find two basins under two dripping taps, and a toilet that requires water from one of the basins to flush. No hot water, no shower-head. But you don't really miss hot water when you live in a place as hot as Thailand, and bucket showers are growing on me.

It's been slow in coming, but I am getting to the point where I think of my little Doembang house as home. It makes for simple living. Although I did have a neighbor offer to do my laundry and clean the house a few times a week (for a fee, of course), I've been doing my own cleaning, and I hand-wash my laundry in a bucket. Okay, it's not the lifestyle for everyone, and I won't be sorry to go back to some of the things I'm used to after a year. But it's interesting to see what simplifying does to your life. It's interesting to see what you can go without. It made for a rather insightful Thanksgiving. That being said, internet and air conditioning still made my list!