A Green Wall

We have a rather Western kitchen, by Thai standards. It has granite counter (bench) tops, actual wall cabinets, and a stove with an oven. (Mind you, the beautiful granite tops stop at the middle of my thighs instead of just below my waist.) However, if I look out the small window above the uniquely shaped sink, I see, smell, and hear a whole different world.

When we first moved in, I was rather grieved with the loss of the kitchen window views of our previous homes. Usually, at least there were trees, birds, open grass spaces, or something interesting to hold my attention while standing at the sink. Not here! Here, I was greeted with a green mesh wall located approximately one foot away from the window. This green wall blocks my view, mostly, except for shadows that move about behind it…but doesn’t block my sense of smell or hearing. Through inquiring, I have discovered that the green wall is the boundary between our house and what the Thai’s call a dirty kitchen of our neighbor’s home. A dirty kitchen is simply the outside kitchen. Thai cooking is extremely hot, greasy, and very smelly. The outside kitchen keeps all the heat, grease, and odors out of the house and furniture. So for our neighbors, this is a good plan…for us…well, we get their heat, their grease and their odors (which are beyond any typewritten description) and all of their kitchen conversations. But, I am trying to look on the bright side…the opportunity to have a view into an extended Thai family life is right out my kitchen window!