When New Years came, our village would have a special ceremony for the monks.

In the morning, the people would bring cooked food, fruit and sweets to the temple. Then the food was placed all around the monks and the monks began to pray.

After the prayer, the monks ate the food. When they finished, they would give the rest of the food to the people sitting in the temple.

Some of them would eat together and some would pick up their food to take home.

At night they would play taped music, mostly Isaan songs, but there were also a couple of western songs. The first time I heard western music, I really liked it.

This was the time for people in the village to get together, eat, drink, and dance.

I was always excited when I heard the advertising car pass through the village telling about the outdoor movie. They would usually come in the late afternoon, around four or five o’clock.

They would tell the time of the movie and where it would be shown. Often it was on my school’s soccer field. At that time nobody had electricity, so the movie was very special.

I would ask my Mom if we could go see the movie that night. She would say I want to, but I think we can’t because my father will not allow it.

So I would sneak away and go with people from the village. We had to walk to the outdoor cinema show, and I carried the mat we sat on.

Tickets were sold on a table next to the field. For me it was free because I was only five or six years old.

Usually I went with another family. We all sat on the mat I had carried. Many people came to watch the movie. Some sold nuts, sweet water, and sweet corn.

For me, I could not buy anything because most of the time I didn’t have any money.

When the movie started, some people enjoyed watching it while some people fell asleep.

I never fell asleep!

Sometimes after school my friend and I would dig for worms to catch fish in the rice fields.

We used bamboo sticks as fishing rods.

To make bamboo rods, first hone the bamboo to get a small slender trunk. Then put it on a fire to soften the curve.

When that is done, tie a string tightly at the top of the bamboo and tie a hook with a worm at the bottom of the string. Push the stick into the ground next to the water.

We used about forty or fifty sticks, then we went home and waited. After about three hours we came back to see if we had caught any fish, leaving the sticks in all night.

I had to wake up early to collect the sticks.

Sometimes I found fish to cook, but sometimes I got something else such as eels or frogs. I didn’t eat them!

My mother had saved and hid money for a long time, to buy me new school uniforms.

The first time I went to school, I was very excited to meet new friends.

I met a girl who lived in the same village, but I didn’t know her before. She became my friend when I was in school.

My first teacher was a woman. She had short hair and was very fierce. Most of the students were afraid of her.

I was a quiet and shy person. Other students liked to bully me.

I really did not like to go to school, but I had to.

When I went to school, I had to walk three kilometers. Some other students had a bicycle and did not have to walk.

After school I hurried home. Sometimes I ran.

When I got home, I had to wash my school uniform because I only had one.

Then I had to go get water to fill up three large jars. I used the water from the one in the kitchen to cook rice and later wash the dishes. I did my homework after dinner, by the light from an oil lamp.

We had three tamarind trees. One was in front of the house and the other two were in the back yard.

Mother would carry the tamarind fruit into the village and exchange it for rice.

Or sometimes we would find things such as small crabs, or vegetables and bananas from the rice field to sell at the Khmer border.

When I went to school, I had only rice with chili for lunch. Or sometimes if I was lucky, I would have an egg.

My mother told me to be strong, because she knew I didn’t have as many things as my friends.

In the winter, we had to build a fire to sleep outside because we don’t have blankets or thick clothes to wear.