I'm sitting in a coffee shop in downtown NYC in my red Karen skirt and a couple of strings of beads I acquired in Baan Nam Hu. I don't feel at all uncomfortable, which surprises me. I got a compliment on my skirt while waiting for the subway, but other than that it feels pretty normal to be walking around in these fine threads.
What I keep wondering is if anyone recognizes them. Are there any anthropology professors roaming the streets with a history of working in Thailand? Did they silently register the Karen patten on the skirt and remember that the red color is for married women? Has a Thai woman passed me on the street with memories of her home village washing over her?
This city has so many secrets...
