A night with the monks

So last night, I went to one of the wats (temples) down the street to teach English to the monks. A fellow volunteer, Jessica, and I split the group into beginners and advanced monks. I took the advanced monks and spent an hour conversing with them about everything from Buddhism to familes to where they are from.

And boy was I surprised by the conversation.

I learned that many boys here and in Laos become monks between the ages of 10 - 23. Many of them chose to become monks in order to get a better education. As a monk, they can get funding and enter the university. But their monk-hood is very different from my understanding of it -- at least from what I've seen in the U.S.. Many of these young monks don't know much about Buddhism. It is not until they get much older, or when they enter the university, that they really learn about it. So what do they do all day? They attend normal school and spend most of their time at the internet cafes. When I asked them what their long term goal is - most answered "I'm not sure". For the one who could answer it, he responded with "have a family and go into business." Yup, that's right peeps, they are only monks for a short period of time. I met one who is now a plain civilian once again - dressed in jeans, looking for love and concerned with his visa to the U.S. -- Just like a normal person.

Another point of interest was some of the questions I received from a 20 years old monk.
- "Are you single?"
- "Have you been married?"
- "Do you have a boyfriend?"
and the best of all..
- "Do you like Thai boys?"

Never thought I'd be getting this type of attention from monks.