Buddhist Holiday

Monday was a Buddhist holiday, and like many of our holidays, people celebrate in their own ways. I spent the day at a UNESCO sponsored conference on gender issues in Asian countries. One interesting presentation was a qualitative study on the economic and social impacts of street vendor businesses on women-owned vendor businesses in Thailand. Ok, not directly related to medication use, but for me, to learn about broader issues of a culture and society is important for putting one's own field of work into context. Later the same day, I had a great dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant with the Kulsomboon family. Then we went to a Wat (Buddhist temple) and participated in the holiday celebration. On the way home we ran into a Chinese opera on the street - very impressive!!! The atmosphere reminds me of the summer outdoor movies in Little Italy, Baltimore. But this was a live production. And all of that in one day!