Mutual assistance is naturally one of the manifest functions of an alumni association. So it is no small wonder that the Bangkok Branch of the ICU Alumni Association came to help me when I lost my husband at the end of1998. The customs of mourning in Thai society are quite unique and the significant role that the Bangkok branch of the ICU Alumni Association played in the process could be of some interests to the members living in other cultures.
Death is always sudden and unexpected.
So was the case with my husband, who died of diabetes. My sorrow was profound and my agony was immense, but I could not immerse myself in sorrow. I had to carry out funeral ceremonies for him in the proper way. I had been with him for 34 years of which some 20 years were spent within the Thai society. I had never lived with in-laws, and it was going to be my first Thai funeral.