One day soon after we arrived in Ubon, Jared was running some errands while Justus got a much needed nap in our hotel room. When Justus woke up, I decided to take him for a walk. Placing him in my front-mounted baby carrier, I carefully covered him with a thin blanket to keep him from getting sunburned. It was a very hot day, but it felt good to get outside.
On the way back to the hotel, I stopped to browse in a small ceramic shop full of beautifully colored dishes. Suddenly the owner, an older Thai lady, saw Justus on my chest and started repeating something very emphatically in Thai. I stared at her blankly, not knowing what she was saying. “Hot!” she finally said in English. Realizing she was worried about how hot he was under the blanket, I pulled it off. To my surprise, she plucked him out of the carrier and began walking him around the shop and playing with him. He was happy to make a new friend, so I just watched.
When it was time for us to leave, I put Justus back in the carrier. When I tried to cover him again, the lady stopped me. Reassuring her that we didn’t have far to go, I said the name of the hotel and pointed down the street. At this she smiled and gave me an umbrella. I was confused and tried to give the umbrella back. She got a piece of paper and drew one arrow going to a box and then one coming back, explaining in Thai all the while. I could only guess that she was telling me someone at the hotel would bring the umbrella back. Since I could see that there would be no leaving this shop without the umbrella, I took it, smiled and thanked her in Thai. At the hotel, I discovered that they knew the lady and were more than happy to return the umbrella.
It amazes me how concerned and helpful everyone is here, especially when it comes to caring for Justus!

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