A common question

Unlike the US where people are often surprised by how young we got married, here in Thailand, we get a different question. Let me share a conversation I had with a student yesterday. I wish I could show you how dissatisfied he grew with each of my answers! :) Ah... It's hard to break social norms...

Pat: Teacher, you pregnant?

Me: No.

Pat: Why not?!! (shocked expression)... You don't like children (huge eyes)

Me: I do like children. Just later. Maybe when we go back to America.

Pat: You aren't French? (Pat is one of my French students)

Me: No, I'm American. But I lived in France when I was younger.

Pat: So your house is in America?

Me: I don't have a house.

PAT: (Blank stare for a few seconds).... So you just (disgusted look) MOVE AROUND?????!!!!

Me: (Little laugh). Yes, for now.

Pat: But your family has house in France or America?

Me: Yes, my family has a house in the US. We used to live in France, now we live in America.

Pat: Hmmm. (Nod to dismiss me)

I had to laugh. But, it's true, everyone here asks us why we don't have kids. People have even asked us if we can't have kids. Apparently, the only reason people get married is to have kids, otherwise they just have girlfriends/boyfriends, so we are quite a puzzlement.

65 years ago...

You guys are good!

Alright, a little history lesson for those who didn't post a response to our little riddle. BTW, thanks, Julie, at least we know you love us and are reading our blog. :)

Here we go:

This year is the 65 year anniversary of the end of World War II. Most of us Westerners know quite a bit about WW2, but we realized last weekend that we really only know the Western half of it. Mostly we knew that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and that there was some sort of connection between Japan and Germany; other than that, I'm sad to say, our history was greatly lacking.

As we learned this weekend, around the same time as Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, they also started various attacks in Asia. They quickly began to conquer most of South East Asia: Thailand and all the countries surrounding, as well as smaller countries like Korea. After a while, the Japanese troops in Burma that were leading the campaign started running low on supplies. What with the allied submarines, the sea was a dangerous route, so the Japanese decided to build a railway from Burma to Bangkok to ship supplies across the land. When the allies forces in Singapore and the Indies were forced to surrender, the Japanese suddenly had 1000s of POWs at their disposal. They set up forced labor camps all throughout Thailand to construct this railway. The train ran through this channel.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to witness the Eastern side of WW2 up close and personal. We went to Kanchanaburi, a town 2 hours West of Bangkok, to a place known as Hellfire Pass. This was the worst section of the whole Death Railway. The Japanese constructing the railroad had very little knowledge of engineering, and the POWs had virtually no supplies. So, as hard as it is to believe, everything was done by hand.

You can see an original drill bit in the rock. If you look closely at the walls, you can see marks everywhere.

We went through the museum and learned about the horrible conditions of the POWs, about how they were forced to work on starvation rations in the scorching Thailand heat, how many of them died up disease, torture, and the dangerous work. After a while, so many of the POWs had died, that the Japanese started recruiting "paid" Asian laborers; in the end, even more Asians died that foreigners. I believe they said the death rate was 45%.

As the end of the war approached, and the Allies' bomb attacks started doing more damaged, the Japanese pushed the completion date for the railroad up by 6 months, starting a period known as "SPEEDO," when the guards forced the workers to labor around the clock. Once the sun set, they posted bamboo lanterns every 20 feet, thus giving the location the name "Hellfire Pass."

That night, we watched a light and sound show that reenacted the bombing of the bridge. The bridge that we saw was made specially for the movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" since the original was bombed by the Allied troops during the war. (Incidentally, it dawned on me for the first time how frustrating it must have been to have your own countrymen bomb the work that you were just forced to complete, and then you have to do it all over again. ) It really helped to cement it in our minds. They started with the peaceful life of the Thai people, then played the call to war of the various countries, and demonstrated the horrors of the war through sounds, lights on the bridge, spotlight, and bombs. It all culminated with huge-sounding explosions off the bridge, and ended with fireworks commemorating the end of the war.

We went home solemn and pensive, but I'm very glad we learned these things.

Oh, here's all of us crammed into a taxi, John sat behind the driver!

A Riddle

Here's a riddle...

What am I? Post your comments and we'll see who is closest...

Clue #1: I was made by hand.

Clue #2: People from many nations worked on me.

Clue #3: I am about 65 years old.

We'll post the answer in a few days.