Letter to Geoffrey - Nov. 22, 1993

November 22, 1993 (letter to Geoffrey)

Hey Bro!  How are you doing?  I am great!  I was all set to write you another urgent “Please help me…” letter, but you are off the hook.  My friends are planning a Christmas Party and they want it to be American style.  They are getting a turkey ( I suspect it will really be a chicken as turkeys are scarce here.  They want me to cook it like in California!  I think I can handle it!  We all went to my neighbor’s orchard for a picnic … next thing I know, I see, Somchai (a teacher) walk by with a chicken, wring its neck, and put it in a pot.  Three guys had it cleaned and plucked in minutes, they rubbed chili peppers all over it, and put a big metal can over it, yep, like an oven!  Then they piled dried rice straw over the top and lit it – about 30 minutes later we were enjoying the toughest chicken I ever loved.  It tasted great!  (turns out he was a fighting cock that was too old for business).  PeDome told her kids to ask me to show them how  to make cookies and cake.  Next thing I know an oven is being delivered to her house!  I panicked, we don’t have the ingredients here, or the recipes!  Mom sent me a readers digest and it had recipes in it for M&M cookies and brownies, so you are off the hook! Now we shall see if I can find the ingredients.  I have a lesson with my Thai Ajaan tonight, he speaks a lot of english, and can help me translate!

Sorry, I have nothing to ask for!  Everything solved itself.  You can send me some marshmallows.  Sitting around the fire at the picnic, I was trying to explain them to the kids.  They do understand hot dogs,  Mah rahn = dog hot!  Ooh send microwave popcorn, we can get popcorn in Bangkok, but butter and salt American Style aren’t so easy to come by!

I went to a Church (Buddhist) and was hit with a bit of Religious Science homesickness, a few tears, a treatment and I am smiling again!