You have HAIR!

One of the things that I was most looking forward to on my trip to Thailand (and Laos) was meeting up with a couple of my (ex)monk friends. By ex-monk, I mean that they have chosen to quit being a monk, and now live as a “normal” person. This is common. Most monks do not stay monks for their entire lives. In fact, most of my monk friends are no longer monks – one of them is even getting married next month (or so I hear)!!

Regardless, it was shocking not to see them dressed in the bright orange robes I became so used to seeing them in. But even more shocking than their new clothes, was their hair! As monks, they had to keep their heads shaved, so I had never seen them with more than half an inch of hair on their heads and now…well, you can see:

(Jack, me, and Gabe)

Another shock was being able to touch them...when they were monks, even a handshake or high five was off limits. Now I could not only shake their hands and give them high fives, but I could give them the hugs that I wasn't able to give the last time I left Thailand.