Chapter 24 second quarter

Nai Patong woke up before dawn.She hurriedly put on a sleeveless cotton dress, worshiped her Buddha statue, and quietly opened the front door without waking the rest of the family.The summer air is crisp and soft, with the scent of flowers and rich Thai spices in the breeze - and someone nearby is already making breakfast.Her sandals stepped on the dirt road without making a sound.Nai walked slowly, looking left and right to search for everything she was familiar with. Everything here will soon become a memory. "My last day," she thought, "at last the day has come." A few minutes later, she was on a gravel road leading to a small business district in Lamphun.In the early summer morning, everything was silent, and occasionally a bicycle passed by her, and the shops were still closed.

When approaching the temple, Nai saw two monks standing on both sides of the road.They were dressed in yellow robes and were begging for breakfast with a large metal bowl in their hands.In Thailand, all monks do this every morning.Right in front of Nai at the door of the shop stands a woman who puts some food in the monk's bowl.Neither of them spoke, and the monk showed no signs of gratitude. "They have nothing," Nye said to herself, "not even the robes they wear, but they are still happy." Nye quickly thought of a teaching: "Desire creates suffering." rich home.Kenji says his mother has everything but no peace because money can't buy peace.

Thinking about the huge Watanabe house, Nai almost forgot that she was walking on a rough path in Thailand.It wasn't very friendly to her there, Kenji's parents seemed to treat her as an uninvited guest, a foreigner who married their son without their consent.They treated her very coldly, without any enthusiasm, and questioned her family and education ruthlessly.Later, Kenji comforted her by saying that his parents would not go to Mars with them, which made Nai feel better. Nai stopped and looked across the street at the Temple of Queen Chamati.This is my favorite place in Chennai in town, possibly in all of Chennai Thailand.The oldest part of the temple is 1500 years old.The ancient stone guards tell its vicissitudes of history, and everything in modern times seems to come from two completely different worlds.

Nai walked into the temple and stood in the middle of the courtyard.It was a rare clear morning, and there was a strong light shining in the morning light, and Nai realized that it was Mars—her next destination.During her 26 years of life, she lived in the city of Lamphun without leaving her.And in six weeks she will spend the next five years aboard a giant spaceship on a space station on the red planet. Nai sat down on the lotus platform in the corner of the courtyard, and stared up at the bright spot in the sky. "What a coincidence that Sparks was looking at me this morning," Nye thought.She begins to breathe rhythmically, which is her prelude to the morning.She tried her best to concentrate and maintain a peaceful and calm state of mind, but today she was so excited that she couldn't be calm for a long time.

Eleven months ago, Nye decided to become a high school Chinese teacher, which interested her. Before starting class preparation that day, she wanted to read Chiang Mai Daily.She put the chip into the digital reader and scanned the titles quickly. A message in English on the last page caught her attention: Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Farmers: Feeling adventurous?Do you have the talent for multiple languages?Are you in good health? The International Space Agency is launching a major expedition to conquer Mars.Looking for outstanding talents with outstanding talents to live on Mars for five years.

The interview will be held in Chiang Mai on Monday, August 23, 2244. If you are interested, please contact Qin Guo Post and Telecommunications at 462-62-4930. When Nye submitted her application to the International Space Agency, she thought her chances were slim, and she always thought that she would not be able to pass the first review, let alone participate in the interview.To Nye's surprise, six weeks later, she received an invitation for an interview in her email.The notice also told Nye that according to the procedures, she could make consultations by email on issues of personal concern.

Nye posed a question via e-mail — while living on Mars, could a large portion of her income be transferred directly to her bank account on Earth?She also added that this was a basic prerequisite for her participation in the expedition. Ten days later, another email notification arrived. The content was simple and clear—"Yes, part of your income can be transferred to your bank account on Earth on a regular basis." However, Nai was required to clarify the allocation of the money. OK, no changes after leaving Earth. Living expenses in Lamphun are low, and the International Space Agency pays her as a language teacher on a Martian settlement almost double what it pays for her family.This young woman has a strong sense of responsibility.She has a family of five, a disabled father, mother and two younger sisters, and she is the only earner in the family.

Nai's childhood was very difficult, and the family struggled hard on the poverty line.During Nye's final year of college, disaster struck.First her father suffered a stroke and then her business-unconscious mother opened a small family craft store of her own, against the pleas of family and friends.In less than a year, this home has lost everything.Nai had to use her personal savings to pay for the family's food and clothing, and was forced to give up her dream of being a literary translator at a major publishing house in Bangkok. Nai teaches at the school from Monday to Friday, and she works part-time as a tour guide on weekends.The Saturday before her interview with NASA, Nai took a tour group on a tour in Chiang Mai, 30 kilometers from her home.There were several Japanese in her group, and one of them was a handsome young man in his early thirties who spoke fluent English and was very chatty.His name was Kenji Watanabe, and he always listened carefully to what Nai had to say, and asked some really smart questions politely.

At the end of the visit to the Buddhist holy places in Chiang Mai, the tour group took a cable car to visit the famous Buddhist temples on the top of Doi Suthep.After a day of touring, most tourists are exhausted.Kenji Watanabe did not, he insisted not to take the cable car but to climb up the long stone steps.When Nai told him the story of building the temple, he kept asking this and that.After descending the mountain, Nai was drinking tea in a cozy restaurant at the foot of the mountain. Kenji walked towards Nai instead of visiting the tourist souvenir shop with other tourists. "Can I sit down? I still want to ask some questions." He said in standard Thai, which really surprised Nai.

Kenji sat down and asked Nai how many languages ​​she could speak, and did she speak Japanese?Nai shook her head and said with a smile: "Only English, French and Thai. I can understand Japanese very slowly." They chatted happily, from the legend of the temple to the history of Buddhism.The radio interrupted their conversation later.The broadcast asked everyone to return to the cable car and prepare to return to the city.Nai stood up, and Kenji walked toward the cable car with the other tourists.Nai looked at him from a distance, thinking of his deep gaze: "His eyes are amazing, I've never seen such bright, curious eyes."

On Sunday afternoon, she went to Chiang Mai for an interview held by the International Space Agency, and that day she saw those bright eyes again.Nye was surprised to see Kenji sitting behind a desk with an "Official of International Space Agency" badge pinned to his shirt.Chennai felt that he was lost. "I didn't read your materials before Saturday." Kenji apologized to her, "I promise you, if I knew you were one of the applicants, I would join another tour group." The interview went well.Kenji is pleased with Nai's excellent studies and volunteer work for orphanages in Lamphun and Chiang Mai.Nye honestly admits that she has never had a "special, strong desire" for space tourism, other than "an adventurous spirit for nature."Plus, the salary offered by NASA for a teaching position was enough to support her commitment to her family, which is why she applied to take part in the Mars expedition. As the interview drew to a close, there was a pause in their conversation. "That's all?" Nye asked cheerfully, standing up from her chair. "One more thing," Kenji Watanabe said, suddenly looking awkward, "Can you explain dreams?" Nai smiled and sat down again.She said, "Please go on." Kenji took a deep breath: "On Saturday night I dreamed that I was running and running in the jungle very close to Doi Suthep we visited during the day, trying to find a way out. Suddenly, I saw a giant python wrapped around a big tree in front of me. "'Where are you going?' the python asked me. "'Find my girlfriend,' I replied. "'She's on the top of the hill,' said the python. "I walked out of the jungle and looked at the top of Doi Suthep in the sun - where my childhood sweetheart Keiko was standing there waving to me. I turned and looked back at the python. "'Look again,' it said. "When I looked up at the top of the mountain for the second time, the woman's face changed. It wasn't Keiko, it was you, standing on Doi Suthep and waving to me." Kenji paused for a while: "I've never had such a clear dream, I think maybe..." When Kenji told about his dream, Nai was so nervous that goosebumps appeared on her arms, and she knew before she finished talking that the result would be her.Nai leaned forward. "Mr. Watanabe," she said slowly, "I hope that what I said will not offend you..." After a pause, Nai summoned up her courage and said, "We have a famous idiom in Thailand." She avoided his burning gaze, "When a snake talks to you in a dream, it means that you have found your marriage partner." “Six weeks later I was notified,” recalls Nai, still sitting in the temple of Queen Chamati. “The package from the International Space Agency arrived three days later, along with the flowers from Kenji.” Kenji himself came to Lamphun the following weekend. "Sorry, I didn't call to inform you." He apologized, "If you don't go to Mars, I won't pursue our relationship." On Sunday afternoon, he proposed to her, and Nye readily accepted.Three months later, they got married in Kyoto.The Watanabe family generously paid for Nai's two younger sisters and her three Thai friends to travel to Japan for their wedding.Unfortunately, Nai's mom can't go and she has to stay and take care of her dad. Nai seriously recalled the changes in her life over the years, forced herself to get rid of distracting thoughts, and entered a state of tranquility.Half an hour later, Nai no longer worried about his uncertain fate.As the sun came out, more people began to gather in the temple.She walked around the temple slowly, savoring the last moment of leaving home. Look carefully at the life of Queen Chamati.Finally, the queen boarded the resplendent and magnificent chariot pulled by the heavenly horse and ran towards Nirvana together with the Buddha in her heart in the heavenly court.Watanabe Nai, the future resident of Mars, knelt in a temple in Lamphun, Thailand, and silently made a wish to the heroic spirit in her heart: "Dear Chamati, you have watched over me for 26 years. Now I am leaving to go to an unknown place. Please guide me with your wisdom as I go to this new and wonderful world. "