Volunteer Reports

Street Party

by Sue

National Children’s day is a celebration in January. A new friend who speaks a little English invited me to a block party that she and her mother were hosting for their neighborhood kids. All the Thai I know is "hello" and "thank you" but I knew it would be fine because Thais are so warm and welcoming.

Every neighbor from one to one hundred was there. There are no yards downtown. The street and sidewalk become the place to celebrate. There was food and drink everywhere. The only thing I recognized was ice cream but I bravely tasted everything. To my delight it was delicious.

While the music blared we laughed and danced. Language was no problem. I can’t dance well but no one noticed. The children had many fun games to play. They were amazingly quick and graceful as they competed for many nice prizes. I really enjoyed the strong sense of community, the close ties within and between the generations.