Kiera Hurley, 135 YinD
My host mom during pre-service training (PST) deserves a gold medal for her mothering abilities. She is funny, caring, welcoming, an amazing cook, and slightly delusional in the best way. The basis of our relationship was formed during after school walks and cooking food together in the kitchen. I’ll never forget the first time we went on a walk together after I got home from training and she would point at things and say the word in Thai and I would repeat it back to her. We would walk alongside the rice fields that belonged to her during golden hour and we would both appreciate how beautiful the rice looked with the gold reflecting on the green. During these walks we would often stop to gather vegetables growing on trees or on the ground that would then be incorporated into dinner. Other times we would visit an elderly neighbor and bring them kanoms (treats) and just sit for a while to keep them company. Sometimes we had to ward off the street dogs together and she would find the biggest stick possible despite being no more than 5 feet tall to shoo them away.
(Walks together amongst the rice fields, all smiles here)
Cooking together was also always quite the adventure. She had me chopping meat, picking greens from the garden, frying chicken, making banana chips, etc. Directions consisted mostly of pointing but it was during these times when I was able to practice my Thai the most and we bonded over the shared chaos. She was determined to make sure I would be able to cook Thai food by myself if need be at my permanent site. My host mom is an incredible cook and I dearly miss the meals we would make together.
My host mom was also a gracious and welcoming host during PST. My home has a large backyard area and on weekends she would allow me to invite some of my friends over to do yoga. Sometimes she would cook food for us, just watch, or try to join in; but however she wanted to get involved she always had a smile on her face.
My host mom also loves to gab – my friends can attest to this statement. We always welcomed the conversation but most of the time we couldn’t understand what was being said and would frantically search our notes to try to understand. She would just laugh at us and repeat herself over and over with us still not understanding. It wasn’t until a bit later that my Thai host sister let me know that she never really understood what her mom was saying either. Despite the language barrier, we all felt the love and compassion in her energy.
Mostly, my host mom deserves a gold medal for all of the little things she did that made me feel so welcome in her home and life: bringing me frozen jackfruit on a hot summer day, letting me pick out trinkets from her store, outfitting me in stylish Thai clothes, and inviting my cohort over for one last hurrah at the house at the end of PST. She never failed to make me feel loved, included and special and for that I wish her the happiest Mother’s Day of all.
(Silly antics with the sweetest Mae out there <3)
Sticky Rice 
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