Fishing!!!

One thing I love most about being here in Thailand is that I feel like I get to try a variety of new things. At least things that are new to me. I also feel like things happen spontaneously and that life is rarely dull. Another thing I like about my life here, is that I am around quite a few people every day - students primarily - and I find them interesting. I feel like I can learn a lot from them. It follows, then, that I like going out and doing things with students, which I got to do yesterday.

I have been here for five years and never gone fishing. I would hear about students going fishing after the fact, but I never got to go. Well, yesterday a small group of us went fishing up one of the small rivers near the farm. We mostly used a net, but one of the girls was an expert at using her hands to catch the fish. She would just reach her hand under the rocks and - snatch!

My contribution was throwing out the net a few times, dashing to hold down the net, and taking pictures.

The river we fished in.

Bancha dragging the net in.

Pulling the fish out of the net.

The initial catch.

Finding fish under the rocks.

Figuring out what was producing some big bubbles (a crab).

Learning how to throw the net.
(First time not so good - second time okay!)

We had maybe 25 small fish by the end. The students put them in soup that night for dinner. After this experience, I can finally see how fishing is a sport. We were all on the same team, against the fish I guess. And whenever someone got one we would cheer! Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon!