Thailand Letter
(This was received as a paper letter and Bob scanned it and emailed it to the family)
August 3,1997 Bangkok, Thailand
Dearest Family,
WEINERTS - thank you SO much for your WONDERFUL letters... I am SO thrilled to hear from each one of you and Rick - what a treat to receive a letter from you. I appreciate your letters so very much and I promise to write to those of you who serve missions because that is the glue that holds missionaries together - Ha!!! Barji, thank you for sharing your "love life" with me. I think you and Boyd are very wise to "cool it" for now - I could give you a very long sermon but I'll wait until I can give it to you in person. Your work at Marie Calendars has been such a good experience for you and it's funny how one person can make things hard but that is the way life is. I am SO glad you are going to take private dance lessons this year - you are so talented and you should pursue every opportunity you have to keep improving your techniques, Ricky, whenever I look at the Elders who are serving here I think of you. One of the Elders played the piano & organ this morning and I promised myself that I would encourage all my grandsons to practice the piano so they can play on their missions. Mary Ann - you are much too young to be getting your wisdom teeth out - are you sure it is time? I'm SO proud of all of you who learned how to ski on one ski at Lake Powell - WOW - I missed a big event. Sarah - your Gym Camp sounds fun - are you still taking gymnastics? I'm proud of you for dropping one of your skis at Lake Powell too - you're all just getting too good!!! Jeannie and Rick - you are very smart to plan those Family Vacations - WOW - going to New York and having tickets for the Broadway Play, "Beauty and the Beast" - that's great. I can't believe you have been married for 21 years - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - AND HAVE FUN AT SUN VALLEY!!!
Annie - thank you so much for your last letter and all the clippings about the Sesquicentennial Events and the news about the Lehi Roller Mills. Virginia and I devoured the news!!! The church has really gone all out to commemorate the 150 year anniversary of the Pioneers coming into the Valley. I thought it was interesting to read how the people who re-enacted the trek through Wyoming were very happy when it was over - they got more than they bargained for!!!
The mail is coming through very easy now and I am SO RELIEVED!!! I was worried that the mailman wouldn't be able to find me. Please don't spend $4.95 to send me letters - it makes me feel bad when you do that. Ellen Mae is definitely not a letter writer and I had the longest letter from her last week. She and Mel attended our 50th" College Reunion at Utah State and they got some of my former classmates to write little notes to me - WHAT A TREAT!!! I haven't seen most of them for 50 year's and it was fun to know they still remembered me. I would have loved to have attended that - maybe I'll make the 75th one - Ha!!!
Church this morning was good. They had another baptism - a young lady. The two Lady Missionaries who are serving here are doing a great job and they speak Thai very fluently. They are both from California. When I watch them I try to envision some of my granddaughters serving missions and I know they would be great missionaries also as well as all my grandsons. They don't have anyone who can play the piano and organ for them and I tried to find time to practice this morning. The "instrument" they have is like a piano keyboard with different buttons to push to make it sound tike an organ. Middle C is not where it is on the piano - it's placed to the left a little and the keys play when you look at them so I don't know if I will be able to do it or not. The Elder does a great job but he doesn't want to play for Relief Society. Virginia and I take two buses to get there and we leave here about '7:30. It was SO funny this morning - Virginia fell in the aisle of the bus and went sliding down almost the full way. I tried to catch her but I couldn't. She didn't get hurt and the bus driver didn't even slow down. She is quite tall and it's hard for her to stand up in the buses - we take taxis most of the time.
I must tell you about an experience we had yesterday. One of the schools called and invited us to attend something in the morning - all we got out of the conversation was that it was kind of a fund raising event. We contemplated wearing pants because we thought it would be like a fair with games and booths, etc. We decided tourist wear casual clothes but fortunately I wore heels because they are more comfortable for me. I wore the $ 12 dress I bought at a little market and Virginia wore a skirt and blouse. WELL - if I had worn the suit I wore at John & Juliannas' wedding I would have felt comfortable. The teachers were dressed in their very best clothes with jewelry you wouldn't believe. We were honored guests and were introduced and had our pictures taken many times. There was a man there who is in the parliament of Thailand. He came in with six armed bodyguards. The event bad something to do with honoring the monks who serve in the "WAT" (temple) that is by this school. They came in and took their places on the stage and started chanting at about 10:30 and finished at noon and everyone was in a prayer position all that time. They had an orchestra playing from the school and all the students were in a prayer position too - I kept watching them thinking they would lower their hands but they didn't. About 12:30 they were served lunch on the stage and they ate on the floor in front of everyone. After this we were invited into the principal's dining room where we were served with the man from Parliament and other dignitaries. I was embarrassed but grateful I hadn't worn pants - the only ones I brought are the ones Ann discarded - that green outfit - Ha!!!
A lady who is big in the BMA and her husband took us to this event so we asked him why the man had all those bodyguards. She told us that he is very wealthy and several years ago his brother was kidnapped and they have never found him and then big sister was found murdered. He also told us that their Mother who was one of the wealthiest women in Thailand was very mean to the poor people and would kick the beggars!!!
This lady (Sallee) took us to a cosmetic place earlier in the week and then to the home of her daughter in law's mother who sells Thai silk. She had the most gorgeous material I have ever seen but I would never wear it any other place but Thailand. After the "Event" at the school the took us to an "Import Export" store in downtown Bangkok ~ I bought a jacket that is made from Thai silk but it isn't as "gaudy" as most of it. The sleeves are too short so I will have them cut off All the Thai women are SO tiny. I also bought a wallet - my old one, just wore out. The took us to the biggest "market" in Thailand and it was SO crowded we could hardly move. They kept telling us to guard our purses and watch out for pick pockets. I'm glad I have been to that market so I don't have to go again - Ha!!!
Virginia and I taught every day last week all day long. One day we were in non-air conditioned rooms all day and I wish you could have seen my hair. It looked like I had a Brillo pad!