Stay in at least a moderately populated area.
Run on one of the days of Songkran.
Get yourself wet before you start.
The whole idea is to have the wet clothes cool you down as you run. That was my idea anyway. Sweat is your body’s way of wetting you to cool you, so if you keep wet on the outside, the sweating shouldn’t happen. I was hoping there would be enough people with water to dump on me so I could stay wet the whole way. I didn’t realize how much fun it would be, though. This is how it went.
It’s about 3 pm on Wednesday and time to head home from Ban San Faan. Carefully I wrap my cell phone, flash drive, glasses in their case, and alphabet letters I had printed that day, in plastic bags and put them in my belt pack. At a restaurant Monday, I saw Thai people putting their things in plastic bags, so I thought that would work. One guy on a motor scooter yesterday was talking on his cell phone through its plastic bag.
Out in the back of BSF I soak my clothes and head with a hose, carefully keeping my belt pack, socks, and shoes dry. Somewhere I have heard that running in wet shoes and socks can give you blisters. After putting on the dry things, I jog the half-kilometer out to the main road. No one with water is on those side roads. My hair is already drying out after only going that short distance.
On the main road, about 100 yards away, I see the first group with water. Two teen-age girls are at this one. They are not
quite sure what to do with me, so I slowed to a walk and invited their water with my hands. They carefully pour it over my shoulders even though I point for some on my head. People are very respectful of the head here, especially of an elder. Finally, I guide one girl’s bucket up so the water goes on my head. Of course my shoes fill up with water, so much for dry feet! I wonder how far I make sloppy wet footprints on the ground.
Groups with water show up about every 100 to 200 yards. Mostly they focus on throwing water on passing vehicles, so sometimes they miss me. Usually they are surprised to see me jogging or walking up to them.
It is hot. The hot air is drying out my mouth and throat. I forgot about my shoulders being outside of my sleeveless shirt. Will the water keep them from getting sunburned?
During the space between water groups I start singing “The Joy of the Lord is My Strength” in my mind. I forget that I could sing it out loud and no one would hear me. It is a good jog pace song, and the verse “He gives me Living Water and I thirst no more” seems fitting.
Some people have abandoned their buckets for a while, seeking the shelter of shade away from the street and maybe resting from the exertion of the water throwing.
It’s been a bit long between stations when I reach an unmanned wide bucket of water with people sitting nearby. A lady there cautions me not to drink as I reach down and scoop up some water. She smiles when I splash it on my face. One of the young girls by her takes that cue and heads for the water with her bucket. I wait for her to come back and lean down a little as she carefully pours the water over my shoulder. They wave good-bye as I jog on.
The water fight at BSF yesterdaywas not so gentle. Everyone was throwing water at everyone without much regard for who it was or where it went. A few of us had water in our ears after that.
An older woman, in another family water group, takes my arm as I jog up. She leads me to where their big barrel is so they can pour water on me easier. A little boy is there with a bucket and I bend down so he can reachmy shoulder. Then they tell him to give me a kiss. He gives me a sweet little kiss, on my cheek. I’m glad I had the word for “kiss” in Rosetta Stone so I knew what they were asking him to do.
Farther on, a passing pickup hits me with a splash. It’s not so gentle, but it’s cold and refreshing and energizes my jogging again. Tosses from other pick-ups miss me.
A man and teen age boys are pouring water on my shoulders, again, after I asked for some on my head (La, pointing). Then, I take a small tub from their water barrel and put some on my head myself (“La, Laow,” a lady says). Then the man says, “I will help you,” and pours more down the back of my head. A couple of ladies nearby say, “Ap naam,” (shower). That’s my Thai lesson for the day. “La, Laow” must mean “here, now” or something like that.
Another group of ladies offer me some wine after wetting me down. Thinking of my dry throat, I ask for water, but they only have wine. I decline that and wave good-bye.
A couple of 20 something ladies are a little more aggressive. One grabs my arm to bring me to their water barrel. After a couple of sloshes from their ladle like buckets, I try to grab one. One girl mostly lets me have hers and I throw a scoop on each of them. They are soaked already, though.
Passing other water groups, I hear more “Ap naam” comments from ladies sitting there.
Finally, I reach the turn off for the back road around the main street corner. I’m wet enough to make it this way and stay cool enough, and I don’t think I would like the ice water on the main corner. Halfway round this back way something in my belt pack starts beeping. No water groups are out here, so I open my belt pack to check the things in the plastic bags. It isn’t my flash drive. It’s my cell phone. I get it out and open it up. I have nothing dry to wipe it with. Just then I pass a few towels hanging right by the road in front of someone’s storefront like home, so I wipe it a little on one of those. I turn it off too. That plastic bag is wet inside, so I turn it inside out, put the cell phone inside my glasses case and inside the plastic bag. I decide to be more careful for the last 2 kilometers of my run.
The bypass road ends at another main road. Most of the water groups here are focused on the road traffic again and ignore me going behind them. One group, near the turn off toward home, does see me and wets me down. I’m hoping they miss my belt pack, but no, they don’t. I open it and pour water out if it afterwards. That was the last one. There are no more water groups down the side roads to our house. Gary is kind enough to come out and take my picture before I take off my dripping clothes.
My printed alphabet letters stayed dry; my flash drive still works; and my shoulders didn’t get sunburned. Gary takes my cell phone apart and lets it dry out inside. Later in the evening we put it back together and it works again!
Thank You Lord for special blessings!
It went crazy about a day later after the battery had to be recharged. Now I have to see if it can be fixed. The plastic bag I used must have had holes in it.
Praise the Lord anyway! He is always Good!
:J
