Yes, a Massage!

Friday, 5 November 2004

After over a week of being sick, staying home one afternoon to sleep, blowing out my nose like there's not tomorrow, and nursing a sore throat with ginger tea and all the leftover theraflu and Dayquil I brought here, I decided it was time for a massage. Ajarn Linda, our American advisor who is a professor here at a local university, recommended her masseuse named Porn. She set up the two hour appointment for me, since Porn does not speak any English. She came to my house yesterday at 5:30 pm, and I had Matt help translate for me. It was interesting getting my first Thai massage. First, the fact that she came to my house was nice and convenient. That is the norm here. Second, it was like doing a bunch of yoga moves as she contorted my body in different ways. I was ready to be relaxed, although I am not so sure the massage was quite relaxing. Lying on the floor in my room at 5:30 pm on a Thursday afternoon, I could hear all the school children still playing outside (and when I say outside, I mean right outside my window - Remember I live on campus, right smack dab in the middle of classroom buildings), the train blaring by every half hour (the train that runs right behind our school - and when I say right behind, I mean, there's the campus, then there's a road parallel to that, and there are the train tracks), my cell phone ringing in the beginning of the massage (no one ever calls me, and then my phone has to go and ring 10 minutes into it!), and then people coming inside to interrupt twice to ask me questions. But, she did work some kinks out, and we "talked" yoga afterwards, which means I showed her pictures from my yoga book and demonstrated some poses, as our communication was pretty limited with her speaking no English, and my Thai still a little shaky. I paid her 300 baht ($7.50) for the 2 hour full body massage, and she even worked a little more on my shoulders. I hope to have her come once a week, or every other week. It's a nice treat, and you can't beat the price!

Plus, she needs the money. Linda told me that Porn's husband and college-age daughter have degenerative muscle conditions, something like Parkinson's Disease. So Porn got trained, and is certified to do massage. She is so good that hospitals often call her to do therapy, but she prefers to work on her own clients. Massage is her only income now to support her whole family, and so I'd rather give to her than to someone else. Hopefully, my Thai will improve so I can actually carry on more of a conversation with her next time.