One Hundred Hugs

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.