Leung Vatt
One weekend Uncle came to visit us in Korat, instead of us going to the rice farm. Uncle Vatt traveled alone without his wife and four sons. Mom said he needed to help her with some work on the Air Force Base. I didn't know what work Noi did since she was gone when I was home or was asleep during the early mornings. I was not allowed to disturb her sleep. So on this Saturday morning, I woke up to find Uncle Vatt waiting for me while he visited with Auntie, his youngest sister. Noi would wake up in awhile to visit and discuss business with him, but until then Uncle wanted to teach me about our new yard and what I could eat and what was poisonous.
Uncle was the oldest in the family and had inherited the family rice farm. He was a very muscular large powerful man, standing at five feet eleven and weighing in at two hundred and twenty five pounds. Uncle was like a big immovable rock. He always made us feel protected whenever we were with him. Uncle was very sensitive and kind-hearted even though he was scary to other people. Uncle hardly ever smiled and had a stone cold face. He never gave the impression of weakness ever. Uncle treated me like a fragile rose, which I was compared to him and his four sons. But today, he intended to teach me how to survive and hunt for a bird, in case I ever found myself hungry and starving like him and Noi did growing up during the drought years on the rice farm. Noi was only younger by a year and a half. They were like best friends. Noi adored and followed Uncle around whenever she was near him.
Uncle had brought his very own handmade slingshot and began to show me how easy it was to fling rocks across the yard. He had made me my very own smaller slingshot that I could hold in my small hands. It wasn't before long that I could hit bananas hanging in my backyard. I had to stand quite close to hit my target, but I DID hit them! Uncle then showed me how to use the slingshot for survival and not just for fun target practice. Uncle began scouting birds to hunt for snack before lunch. He found two birds and shot off rapidly multiple stones at them, knocking them out of the tree. They were so tiny that I didn't know how I could ever be as great a slingshot sharp shooter like Uncle. The lesson given by Uncle was conveyed; and I understood that food was everywhere, if we knew how to look for it. The survival training would serve me well into adulthood when times would become lean. The mental, spiritual, and physical focus of that day's lesson from Uncle stayed forever with me.
We went over and retrieved the two small birds Uncle had knocked out of the tree behind my house. Uncle broke their little necks with one quick twist of his thumb and pointer finger holding their tiny heads. He began to bring a pot of water to a boil. Uncle then dipped the birds into the boiling water until the feathers easily fell off their bodies. I was given the task of de-feathering one of the felled birds. It was as easy as it looked and I was finished in ten minutes while Uncle watched on and uttered words of encouragement. Uncle then began to de-gut the little birds by slicing open their bellies. They were so tiny that there wasn't much to clean out. I had seen fish cleaned before; and the engrained experience of the slaughtered pig at the family rice farm cemented my survival cooking skills. The blood and guts didn't faze me anymore than seeing a green garden snake slide around the garden surrounding our new bungalow far away from tidy groomed American yards. Even in the middle of a busy city like Korat, the jungle insisted on remaining relevant.
Uncle then skewered the birds on their own wooden sticks to grill over the outdoor fire he had also built The birds were seasoned with garlic, salt, black pepper, white pepper. and some peanut oil. As the birds sizzled over the charcoal and wood fire, Uncle began to slice up Thai red and green chillies to be added to chopped up garlic, ginger, and palm sugar. He then added Thai fish sauce, lime juice, and a little dash of rice vine vinegar. Uncle had also washed some watercress and made sticky rice during the morning with Auntie while I had slept in. Saturdays were so blissfully free to wander and explore. Uncle and Auntie were spoiling me with attention on this special Saturday making me feel so blessed and giggly- of course.
The birds were done in twenty minutes and were not at all meaty.The crunchy brown grilled birds were tiny and bony. Auntie had made some Thai papaya salad and a fried egg omelette to add to the lunch Uncle had prepared. We all sat out in the yard sitting cross legged on the big bamboo table. The plastic picnic mat was spread out underneath us all and the food was laid out in the middle family style. We each had a small bowl of sticky rice and we picked what we wanted to eat from the middle. We shared everything. The tree birds, finches, were so small that their bones were like crispy crunchy chips. They were delicious dipped into the spicy sauce Uncle had made. The birds were not meant to be the main course, but rather an appetizer -kind of like spicy Buffalo chicken wings. Auntie scoffed at the tiny ridiculously meatless birds and didn't even bother eating any since she preferred REAL food! Uncle just teased her on how spoiled her life had been as the youngest baby in the family- kind of like I was being raised. That made me super happy to hear!!
I finished my meal quickly and felt full from the sticky rice expanding in my little tummy. Sticky rice always made everyone nap after dinner, when the sun is high up in the sky and the heat becomes to stifling to even breath. I started to feel groggy again as everyone went into hammocks to laze around during the afternoon's blinding glare. The hammocks were hung underneath our house where the cool breeze was trapped. I had my American Barbie dolls in my private playroom full of western toys Noi collected from the Air Force Base Exchange store. Noi had access to many things that no one had ever seen. Right on time, my new school friend from across the street had come over to play after lunch for a few hours with my Barbie and Ken dolls. We had such a late lunch that my friend also joined in for a little bit of lunch with us.
I had become fast friends with the girl across the street who also attended the same Catholic School as me. On some mornings, her mom would ask if she could ride to school with us. Auntie loved having another fun friend along for us to share our adventures with. As she was introduced, my friend became shy and anxious due to her physical difference. Uncle noticed and remarked on her having three thumbs, with two of them attached onto one hand like a crab claw. My new friend had been so happy that Uncle had likened her to a crab versus a monster that she beamed a big smile at him all afternoon. I had found in Thailand that birth defects were not hidden, but rather channeled into another being of reality as we know it. Reincarnation is a big theme of the Buddhist religion and this concept is woven into every fabric of our upbringing.
Later that afternoon, the usual explosive thunderstorms charged in and sprayed their heavy raindrops into every nook and cranny available to fill in. The constant drumming onto the typical tropical tin roof produced a lulling repetitive hymn; that eventually tucked us all into our little sleepy hammocks thru the rest of the afternoon's drenching rain. As I awoke, I noticed my friend must have just left and gone home after the rain had stopped. I could still see her freshly made muddy footprints across my yard leading her out the shuttered front gate. Everyone else was still asleep. Noi had just left for work and had awoken me up with a good bye kiss. Tomorrow we would all be off together and Uncle would attend temple with us. He will represent our family to our new temple friends. Noi, Auntie, and Me will now have Uncle to give us respectability in the eyes of our new neighbors. Uncle had decided this was the weekend to solidify our return from America as a successful homecoming for the women of his family. Uncle taught me that I could control my own destiny with the tools that were available. Confidence and strength welled up inside of me as I looked forward to spending tomorrow, Sunday with my favorite people in the whole wide big amazing complicated world.
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