Tomorrow I'm leaving Thailand. I can hardly wrap my mind around this. My last week at HOB was great. Read on, but be warned that I'm very tired and might ramble on a bit.
On Thursday, I taught my last English class with Melanie translating. It was with the third and fourth grade class. This was always my favorite group to teach because while I love all the kids, third and fourth graders are the perfect age to play the best games. Games were a big part of my lessons at the primary school. Most of the English teaching they've had has been notes and book work. I found that many girls (especially in high school) could read English quite well, but didn't understand a word. For this reason and the relatively short time I had to spend with them, I focused on basic conversational English and getting them comfortable talking out loud.
For a warm up, we played a version of hot potato where you have to remember the alphabet quickly and correctly. Then I would teach new vocabulary for a while, trying to make it as interesting and interactive as possible. The fifth and sixth grade class usually took notes during this time. Something that I liked in my french class in freshman year was going around with a paper and practicing basic conversation with different people, writing down their names and responses. I had the older kids try this on several different occasions. It worked pretty well, and I think they felt less shy and more comfortable speaking English. Of course, the hard part is memorization. Because I only taught each of the grade school classes once a week, it was hard to remember things learned in the last lesson. Another popular game was a sort of relay race. I would draw a picture next to some blanks hang man style, then put the kids into two teams a little ways away from the whiteboard. The first people in line raced to the board and wrote one letter at a time to spell the word. If it was incorrect, I'd erase it. Then they ran back and gave the marker to next person in line. First team with all the word spelled correctly wins.
The next day, Apun, a teacher at the primary school who speaks English, invited Melanie and I to go to lunch with the teachers to celebrate our work over the summer. First we went to the school, for the kids to say their goodbye. A representative of each class gave me a little thank you speech and everyone sang a very sweet song in Thai. Then they all lined up for hugs. By the end, I couldn't move an inch for a full five minutes because I was so surrounded in a massive group hug. I. Love. These. Kids. Some even drew me picture or gave me a stuffed animal.
Then we left with Apun and the 6 other teachers for lunch in Chiang Kham. Even the principle came. We had a great Thai lunch. I felt so honored that these teachers treated me so well when I was just a student myself! The principle is very nice also. He's trying to learn English. Then they gave Melanie and I gifts of these beautiful handmade purses and we all took pictures. Apun really is amazing. The next day, she invited me to join her class on a field trip to a nearby waterfall. I wish I had brought a camera! The waterfall was wonderful. Behind it was a lovely little hike through the jungle. The water was warm because of a hot springs above the waterfall so we swam a little. On the way home, I fulfilled my lifelong dream of sitting in the back of a pickup truck. If motorcycling is the number one way to travel in Thailand, squished in the back of a truck with 13 sixth graders comes in second (without the sixth graders, it falls to third place, behind these hilarious taxis called tuk-tuks).
Meanwhile at HOB, a dentist from Eugene visited. His name is Doctor Mike. Doctor Mike comes twice a year to work on the girls teeth! This is such a blessing, because it would be quite expensive otherwise. He trained about ten of the older girls including my friends Malee and Am (who help me translate and teach violin) to be his assistants and clean the girl's teeth. I think its so great that they can learn these skills for free! Doctor Mike will come back in January to work on cavities. For our last meal, we ate outside and had a little Thai style barbecue. Everyone sits on a mat outside around a big clay pot filled with burning coal. There is a metal lid on top with a water filled trench around it's edge. Around the pot are various raw meats and vegetables in bowls. Using chop sticks, you take whatever fish, vegetable, or noodle you want and put it in the trench to boil. For the beef and pork (by the way, I gave up my no red meat habits for the summer) you put it on the top part to grill. I hope this makes sense because it was a really excellent way to eat dinner. Kind of like Mongolian grill...
And now we finally get to this morning, when I said my goodbyes and left for Chiang Mai with Kittipong and Siriporn. I was hoping I'd cry. I have this awful habit of never crying when I ought to. I got my hundred hugs once more and drawings and notes as well, but it didn't sink in that I was really gone until we were driving away. The drive to Chiang Mai took four hours. I listened to my ipod, skipping the jarring happy songs. In Chiang Mai, we went out to lunch and the rested at the hotel. For my last evening in Thailand, Siriporn and I visited the vibrant night bazaar. It really is crazy there. We're back now, and tomorrow is a big day so I'd better get some sleep.
Finally, a fitting and necessarily melodramatic closing to my blog:
So ends the chapter of my Travels in Thailand. I have taught, I have learned, and I have loved. These girls are precious and lovely. Thank you for your prayers, support, comments, and especially, thank you for reading.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Market
I really should have written about Thai markets sooner. They are a very interesting part of life in Thailand. There are a few supermarkets, but I think most people buy the majority of their food at the markets. There are a few different kinds. Some, like the night bazaar in Chiang Mai, have beautiful handmade bags and things for visitors to buy. Everything is cheap and well made for the most part. Then there are the food markets in morning and afternoon. The day starts early in Thailand. The girls get up at 5 for morning worship and prayer time, and the markets open around that time as well. I like the morning market best. It isn't hot yet, so people just lay out their goods on blankets on the street. You'll find everything here. There's fruits, vegetables, spices, fish that are still alive, snails, some kind of huge grasshopper...you get the picture. I'll admit, the smell of raw meat is a little overwhelming at times, but you get used to it. The morning market closes as the day begins to get hot, and then there's another market in the afternoon. This is the one I usually go to. It's similar, but mostly indoors and not as nice. Here are some pictures I took around the afternoon market.
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| Temple across the street |
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| spices |
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| LYCHEE!!! |
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| bugs...Would you eat these? |
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| Siriporn |
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| I'm not sure what kind of bugs these are, but apparently they taste good and they're as long as my thumb! |
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
New Pictures of the Girls
Lately I've been helping translate the girls stories to help them get sponsors. If you or anyone you know wants to sponsor a child, this is a great place to do it! It costs $40 for a girl to stay at Home of Blessing per month. Right now, about half of the girls have sponsors. The more sponsors, the more girls can live here! There is also the option to team up with other sponsors if you aren't able to pay the whole $40. In this case, two sponsors would each pay $20 a month or something like that. If you are interested in seeing some pictures of the girls that need sponsors and their stories, let me know!
I've been having alot of fun learning more about the girls through this. They come sit down with us, the I ask questions and write down what they say with Siriporn translating. Some have very sad stories. What always amazes me is their dedication to Jesus. If someone had asked me what I like to do in my free time when I was 8, "pray" or "read my bible" probably wouldn't have been on the list. Praise God! Here's some pics I took of the girls in their Hmong outfits. They are so cute!
I've been having alot of fun learning more about the girls through this. They come sit down with us, the I ask questions and write down what they say with Siriporn translating. Some have very sad stories. What always amazes me is their dedication to Jesus. If someone had asked me what I like to do in my free time when I was 8, "pray" or "read my bible" probably wouldn't have been on the list. Praise God! Here's some pics I took of the girls in their Hmong outfits. They are so cute!
More School Pics
Today was my last English lesson with the first and second graders.
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| 6th Grade |
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| The new library |
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| Off to lunch! |
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| Nurse's office |
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| Classroom |
Monday, July 25, 2011
Burma Part II
Well, I did go to Burma again. I brought Siriporn's camera, but it ran out of batteries. Oh well. You're not missing too much though. The markets weren't nearly as cool as those in Thailand. It went pretty much the same as last time... we walked around looking through the imitation ray bans and rolex watches for anything interesting or useful to buy. Things are very cheap there, so Siriporn did end up buying some watches for the girls and I reluctantly got a set of chopsticks to take home with me. We ate some Burmese food. It was nothing to Thai of course, but good in its own way. Many Burmese dishes consist of noodles in a broth of some sort with meat. You eat it with chopsticks and those funny asian spoons. I got a curry soup (made with coconut milk) and it was good. You might be laughing at how dreary I make this place sound, but I'll say it again... Thailand > Burma.
The Team
Sorry I haven't posted in so long! There hasn't been internet access in a while. The team was really nice. We had a little welcoming ceremony, (in which I took the role of photographer, so I'm missing here...) The girls are divided into ten groups here. Each group is assigned a different chore in the mornings. The groups are named after women in the bible. As there were ten people on the team, each had a group to spend time with for the remainder of their stay. The team was introduced, then the girls gave them flowers. Then everyone split up into their group for further introductions and games.
They stayed for one week, working in the rice fields and spending time with the girls. The first day I planted rice with them, but had to stop to teach at the primary school. Planting rice is one of the most fascinating, unusual, and slightly tedious things I've ever done. Some people took pictures, but I don't have access to any right now. An empty rice field is usually in a square or rectangle shape. It is filled with rain water about a foot deep, and bordered by grassy pathways a foot to two feet wide to get from field to field. The team had bought boots and hats in preparation, but I was forced to go at it Thai style...in my socks. This was mud as you've never seen in it. Inches deep and with a silky, slimy texture. No boots turned out to be easier anyway; by the end of the time, most of the others had discarded theirs as well. Everyone stands in a line while a length of string is stretched across the field to keep the lines straight. Everyone holds a bundle of small rice "shoots" (?) and taking a small amount, plunges it deep into the mud where it can take root. When the row is completed, The string is moved a yard or so further and we start again. After this, we fill in the rows with smaller rows of four until the field is covered. After three hours, the novelty had worn off and we welcomed the lunch break. Then it was back to work for two more hours. This time there was no cloud protection, and I got a rather spectacular burn. That first day, we got four or five fields done in the back of HOB. The rest of the week, the team and a some of the girls completed all the fields in the back and front. Here is the finished rice field:
In the evenings, the team would spend about an hour with the girls playing games, singing, praying, dancing etc. We taught them ninja (a great success as you might imagine) and the chicken dance. As long as they stayed, Siriporn and her sister (who visited to help with the cooking and cleaning because Siriporn broke her wrist) cooked less northern style food and more traditional things like pad thai, curry etc. I was glad of this because while northern food is great in its own way, it can be very strange at times. I think when you're travelling and you meet someone from your country, you tend to get along pretty well. I was a little shy of the team at first because I was less accustomed to seeing and speaking with Americans, and also because they were almost all in college. We did end up becoming friends however. You can't really plant rice for five hours without getting to know people. I got some books to read (finally!) and tore through them in a couple days. By the last night, we were staying up till one giggling over pride and prejudice and saying the actors lines for them. (Lucky I thought to bring it huh?) Overall, I was sorry to see them go.
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| Pastor Sayan introduces the team |
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| Suay |
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| the girls give the team roses |
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| Mon and Lee |
They stayed for one week, working in the rice fields and spending time with the girls. The first day I planted rice with them, but had to stop to teach at the primary school. Planting rice is one of the most fascinating, unusual, and slightly tedious things I've ever done. Some people took pictures, but I don't have access to any right now. An empty rice field is usually in a square or rectangle shape. It is filled with rain water about a foot deep, and bordered by grassy pathways a foot to two feet wide to get from field to field. The team had bought boots and hats in preparation, but I was forced to go at it Thai style...in my socks. This was mud as you've never seen in it. Inches deep and with a silky, slimy texture. No boots turned out to be easier anyway; by the end of the time, most of the others had discarded theirs as well. Everyone stands in a line while a length of string is stretched across the field to keep the lines straight. Everyone holds a bundle of small rice "shoots" (?) and taking a small amount, plunges it deep into the mud where it can take root. When the row is completed, The string is moved a yard or so further and we start again. After this, we fill in the rows with smaller rows of four until the field is covered. After three hours, the novelty had worn off and we welcomed the lunch break. Then it was back to work for two more hours. This time there was no cloud protection, and I got a rather spectacular burn. That first day, we got four or five fields done in the back of HOB. The rest of the week, the team and a some of the girls completed all the fields in the back and front. Here is the finished rice field:
In the evenings, the team would spend about an hour with the girls playing games, singing, praying, dancing etc. We taught them ninja (a great success as you might imagine) and the chicken dance. As long as they stayed, Siriporn and her sister (who visited to help with the cooking and cleaning because Siriporn broke her wrist) cooked less northern style food and more traditional things like pad thai, curry etc. I was glad of this because while northern food is great in its own way, it can be very strange at times. I think when you're travelling and you meet someone from your country, you tend to get along pretty well. I was a little shy of the team at first because I was less accustomed to seeing and speaking with Americans, and also because they were almost all in college. We did end up becoming friends however. You can't really plant rice for five hours without getting to know people. I got some books to read (finally!) and tore through them in a couple days. By the last night, we were staying up till one giggling over pride and prejudice and saying the actors lines for them. (Lucky I thought to bring it huh?) Overall, I was sorry to see them go.
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