Frozen

Twice a day, there are these times when practically everyone stops what they're doing and just listens to the king's song. It happens at 8 AM and at 6 PM. Today, as I was walking through campus, I heard the beginning of the song and everyone just stopped...the motorcycles stopped, people stopped walking and talking and the flag was raised. It's amazing how extremely orderly it is considering how chaotic and unorganized most life seems here. One night I was at the market and there was a TV blaring somewhere. Suddenly everything in the market just stopped. I realized that I was the only person moving and so I stopped as well. I could barely hear strains of the song, but everyone was facing in the direction of the TV which showed images of the king helping Thai people. When the song ended, everyone just snapped back into motion. It was like a scene in a movie or a music video because it looked so choreographed.

The other time this song really interested me was when we had to listen to it before watching a movie at the cinema. Before the song even played, there was a little clip featuring a little Thai boy and a little foreign boy. The Thai boy gave some instructions in Thai and then the farang boy said, "Please stand and be respectful of the king." It was pretty cute especially since the boys were so young and both dressed in traditional Lanna clothes and holding hands. We all stood up and some of the Thais sang along as we watched these god-like images of the king floating in the clouds with the sun making a halo around his head. It was almost too much for me, considering the healthy distrust that most Americans harbor about their leaders. Even though it seems a bit extreme, sometimes I almost feel jealous because the king genuinely cares about his people and the people really love him. It is, I think, exactly how leadership should be. And I'm glad to know it still exists somewhere in the world.