channeling the spirits

As the only foreigner in my workplace, I’m getting really accustomed to not knowing what’s going on. Part of it is because I don’t speak or understand Thai fluently, & part of it is because of cultural work differences that are hard to adjust to. For example, our meetings are always loud & chaotic, & I need a translator. Everyone is yelling simultaneously in rapid-fire Thai. Someone across from me is applying makeup & the ladyboy next to me is simulating a blowjob on a corn cob. It’s the picture of ultimate chaos, but once everything’s been translated for me, I’m always amazed at how these people are really doing innovative & intelligent work.

So I am used to asking many questions & not always getting answers that I understand. While it does get frustrating at times, I’ve learned to just let it go & be prepared for anything.

They asked me to join a few of them on some day-outing for work, but I couldn’t quite understand what the purpose of the outing was. They kept saying “ghosts, you’ll see many ghosts.” After several attempts to get a different answer or more elaboration, I had to give up & assumed it was a bad pronunciation or translation problem on their part, or complete ignorance on my part.

But they really did mean ghosts!

It was a ceremony called fon pee mot (that's the phonetic spelling, I have no idea how to write in Thai!), a whole day when the community gathers together to eat, drink, smoke, dance & channel the spirits of their dead ancestors. What does this have to do with gay people? Ancient folklore attributes magical powers to some gay & transgendered people. So many of the participants were openly gay.

Of course the ceremony was Buddhist, & there I was in a sleeveless top, tattoos & bra straps glaring (strict Buddhists expect women to keep shoulders covered). Sigh, wrong attire yet again. Although no one seemed to mind.

The transition from "normal person" to "dead ancestral spirit" was fun to watch. Some random person in the audience would start crying loudly, in mourning for their dead loved ones. Then s/he would start hacking & coughing & dry heaving (When I first saw this happening, I leaned over with a tissue & asked if the woman was ok. She ignored me & continued to convulse). Then s/he starts dressing up in some elaborate, crazy costume. Then the "spirit" joins the dance. One by one, the dance floor crowded up with jolly, colorful ghosts.

And more often than not they were smoking a fat blunt & swigging whiskey.

It's just tobacco. But I bet they'll be hacking a lot more afterwards. Strangely, the "normal person" is usually not a smoker or drinker in real life, but when channeling the spirits, suddenly they're Amy Winehouse.

Not sure what this was about, but it looked super cool.

I was there to film the event, so I got right up into the mix, squatting & crawling in the middle of the dancefloor to get the perfect angles. One of the ceremony leaders noticed me & called me over & I thought shit, he wants to exorcise my evilness. But instead he "blessed" me by putting a strand of sampaguita (little white flowers) on me & one of the scarves from the offering table, & then made me join the dance! I was the only non-Thai & non-Buddhist there & also the only one who didn’t properly “channel” anyone by going through the convulsing motions. Thai dancing is so slow & totally foreign to me. The only way I know how to dance is to shake it Shakira-style (hahaha), so I did. I was the international ghost. J

I kept the scarf for blessings & good luck, & the ghosts probably followed me home. As long as they are friendly ghosts, I am fine with that.

What a totally unexpected, random day.