Nong

This past month we moved to the province of Nong Khai.  Nong Khai is one of a whole lot of places in Thailand, especially Isaan (Northeast Thailand), the has the term "Nong" in it.

Nong has two meanings.  One meaning is pus.  The other meaning--the one for which many places derive their names--is a swamp or bog.

The Korat Plateau, which is the landscape on which Isaan is located, consists of mostly undulating, low-relief landscapes.  Because of this, there are many areas from which water drains slowly or not at all.  Consequently, there are lots of swamps and ponds (some ponds are made with a little help from humans).  The only two provinces in Thailand that are named after nongs are both in Isaan: Nong Khai and Nong Bua Lamphu.  Sometimes they will name the nong after the creek (Huai) that is dammed up to make it--though it looks a bit funny to me to see a pond called a creek.

One of the cuter names here in Isaan is Nong Song Hong (หนองสองห้อง), which translates: Two-roomed swamp.  It gets this name because there is a pond with two main chambers located in the town.

Many of these nongs in Thailand are adorned with water lilies or lotus plants.

Here are a few of the nongs in Isaan:

Huai Kan Luang Reservoir
A Nong in Phon Phisai created by putting a dam on a low, flat area.

Nong Mon in Sakhon Nakhon Province

Nong Krok in Sisaket

Nong Sa-ang in Sisaket

Even my back yard in Connecticut had a nong in it.

Nong Russell in Wolcott, CT

One has to be careful with how one says the word "Nong".  The pronunciation varies only very slightly (it has a similar, but different tone) from a very common term meaning "younger" that is used to refer to people younger than oneself or to servers in restaurants.  Even the firstborn of twins would refer to his younger twin as nong.

A "Nong" preparing my coffee
Probably doesn't want to be called "swamp" or "pus"

Since we are in our upper years now, a lot of people we meet are younger than us, so we use the term nong a lot.

I'm not sure that these younger people would appreciate being called "swamp" or "pus", but perhaps they would be forgiving of a foreigner.  I don't think I have made this mistake yet, but, being a foreigner, I probably have.  If so, forgive me.

I'd like to think we'd have mastered this tone thing by now, having spent 6 years in Thailand already, but that is not the case.  Learning the Thai language is a constant thing, and now we will attempt to learn some Isaan dialect as well.  It is not that we have a need to be experts, but we do want to be able   to explain the gospel clearly in a way that people can understand.

I can echo the words of Paul (except the part about the chains):

³ And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴ Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Colossians 4:3-4 (NIV)