Sweet December

The noodle dish we had for dinner

Yesterday the doctor from Burma’s wife invited me to go to the Sweet December celebration with them. I had never heard of Sweet December before, but they explained it is the kickoff of December and celebrating Christmas. Kind of like our day after Thanksgiving sales kick off shopping, however, it has a more Christian sentiment. They told me not to eat because we would eat there and that there would be all kinds of things Thai and Karen to buy and help support the church and the things they outreaches would do for Christmas.

the bible institute performing

So, with money in my purse and my camera in hand I met them at 6 at their house and we headed over to the church. We had a noodle dish for supper, and then I went around to all of the stands and bought the different things. Many of them I had had before in Chiang Rai, but there were several that were Karen/Burmese that I had for the first time. Some of my students were at several of the stands, so I was happy to support them in their endeavors. They also had someone from the church who owns a shop that was selling Christmas decorations. I got 4 strands of garland for about 85 cents each, and two strings of lights for $1 each, and a cute little headband with a Christmas hat on it for $1. Altogether it was just over $6 and I’ll have a good start at decorating my house, plus help out the church. Everyone wins J

another group performing

Around 7 we found some seats and watched as a group from the hospital sang some Christmas songs in Thai to kick off the night. They were followed by group after group that presented a song or two. Most groups came up several time over the next few hours. The students that I taught at the bible institute were there, and they had several things they did, they sang a few songs, and did several skits. One brought tears to my eyes as it was a depiction of sin and how it separates us from God. The students from the bible institute were all wearing shirts that in Thai said Jesus (heart) Me on the front and Jesus (heart) You on the back. I thought they were so cool and turns out they were selling the shirts for $5, so I bought one as a Christmas present to me.

one of the skits by the bible institute students

We watched for about two hours, and I walked around and bought some more things as I had eaten the ones I bought as I was watching the show. We left a little after 9, and as they dropped me off at my house, we wished each other a

Happy Sweet December, Christmas is Coming.

My Saturday

my student with her papaya

This morning I talked to my family, then went to the school. I had casually talked to a guy about helping teach for Vision Trust on Saturday mornings. Vision Trust is a child sponsorship program that many of my students are in. They are sponsored, and receive funds for their school uniforms and I’m not sure what else. However, I do know that they come every Saturday morning for a Sunday school type thing. They have one hour of tutoring, then an hour of bible school. I like to go and watch and talk to the teachers. I hope at some point to be able to join one of the classes so that I can increase my bible knowledge in Thai. I figure learning at the students level should be about the right level to develop my Thai biblical language skills.

I ended up talking to our chaplain for about an hour, and he was telling me that most of our students study here for kindergarten through sixth grade, and learn about the bible and have a lot of head knowledge. However, they don’t have the faith and understanding to accept Jesus as their lord and savior and to be baptized. He said usually only the ones who grow up in Christian homes end up as Christians, even though they all learn the same at the school. This is something I will have to start praying about and ask that you would do the same as well. That the students would be able to find a faith in Jesus Christ for themselves and that it would be a faith they can build upon over time. Not just head knowledge that is never acted upon once they leave our school.

me with my papaya, so good and so fresh :)

I came home and started cleaning my house. I finally took everything out of my suitcases and put it away. I put the suitcases in my extra bedroom. I then swept the upstairs and as I was finishing up, a girl showed up to help me clean. So, we swept the downstairs and she mopped while I did some cleaning in the kitchen. I think my house is finally ready to take pictures and give you the grand tour. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have time to put that together J

After we finished cleaning, I got a papaya a teacher had given me out of the fridge and we cut it in half, then in quarters and each ate a quarter. It was so good.

 

Agricultural Fair/Thanksgiving

the entrance of Pattanarak

Today the fifth and sixth graders went to an Agricultural Fair in a village near the school. It was at a place called Pattanarak. As they were loading up the first truckload of students to take them to the place they called me over so that I would go with them and watch the students once we got there. I hadn’t been in that direction yet, so I watched out the windows as we drove and observed the houses and living environments that some of my students come from.

the market area getting set up

the sign in English that explains it a little bit

When we got there we walked up a little drive, and arrived at the area where they had set up a little market area. They had stands making food, and drinks, some plants that were already growing, as well as selling watermelons and a few other fruits. We waited there for another teacher to get there. We then started going through the different stations they had set up. There was one place that was worms, and at that station they had one long trench of dirt where the worms lived, and then another trench that was filled with a clear liquid. My students told me that it was worm pee. I was really baffled as I was sure you couldn’t collect worm pee, let along that much of it at one time. There was another area where they were displaying ways to grow vegetables if you didn’t have much space using pots and other things as planters. I met up with an American who has been working there about a year and a half, and she showed me around. I asked her about the worm pee, and she took me over to the station to ask the guy, and it turns out its just regular water. She showed me where they had a video playing of local people singing Karen songs about planting using traditional Karen instruments. We then looked where they are raising catfish, then onto a two story building that had almost full grown pigs on the bottom, then about half grown ones on the top, plus about 100 chickens in a small area. When we left there, we saw where they raise frogs in old tires stacked 3 high, then onto the mushroom hut where they raise mushrooms, and finally a pen where they had ducks, and 3 turkeys, one a HUGE tom. It was almost torture to see a turkey on Thanksgiving and not be able to eat it. However, I had gotten up early this morning and biked to the Thursday morning market and bought a piece of grilled chicken for supper to go along with the lime jello and spiced apples I had made last night.

The turkey I wasn't allowed to eat

She was called away, so I met up with some teachers from my school and we took a group of students over to watch a demonstration on something. I understood most of it, but don’t know how to describe it in English… It was kind of like a fertilizer/cleaner that each student got to make a bottle of after listening to the twenty minute talk.



the mushroom house growing area

After that, it was time for lunch, so we headed to the market area. There was a lady selling Karen outfits, and so I think I ordered a shirt to be made for me. The pattern that I liked was too big for me, so they are going to make one my size, but a little longer as the one that was my size in a different pattern was too short. I then sat with the teachers and we ate lunch.

the students making their cleaner in bottles

After lunch, I was taken by motorcycle to the school so that I could meet up with my ride to go to the Bible Institute to teach in the afternoon. I had a wonderful time teaching them and we had a lot of laughs and I was impressed when the students felt comfortable enough to say they didn’t get it yet, and we went over it another two or three times until they got it. Thais don’t usually do that, but the Burmese did, I was proud of them. I found out one of the students who just sits in the back and looks lost, or puts his head down had never been to school before he started at the institute this year. So, he can’t read or write Karen, is learning Thai, plus reading and writing Thai, and English right now is just beyond his ability. So, after the others explained that to me, I wasn’t as concerned about him because he has other things that are more meaningful for him to learn more than English.

the minion watching the green beans cook

I was brought back to the school, and I changed and played badminton with some teachers and students until 6. At 6, my new friend came and brought me some green beans but said she had to get back to get ready for tomorrow as the fair still has 3 or 4 more days left. I gave her some of the spiced apples I made, and told her the recipe so she could make them at home if she wanted to. After she left, I got down to cooking my Thanksgiving dinner. I cut up the green beans and boiled them with a little salt, then I heated the chicken, and got out the sticky rice, jello, and spiced apples. I had planned on making French toast to put the spiced apples on like an apple pie, but decided that I already had enough and could do that tomorrow for breakfast J

before we ate

I set everything out on the table, and even set up a place for the minion so I wouldn’t have to eat by myself. I took a before and an after picture. I was quite proud of my substitutes for a Thanksgiving dinner and was able to enjoy them all and thank God for all of the things that he has given me. While it was a little lonely to eat Thanksgiving all by myself I couldn’t help but thank God for the opportunity I have to be here and to be His hands and feet at this school and in this village. I haven’t even been here a month and I feel so welcome and I feel like I am starting to form really good relationships with some of the teachers, and with many of my students. I often wonder what God’s plan is for me here. Is it really for a year and a half? Two years? Longer? I don’t know that I have ever felt so close to God and so at peace with my life as I have here. I have so much to be thankful for. As I ate dinner I thought about how less than 2 months ago I wasn’t sure if I would come here or not. I realize that had I chosen to not come here it would have been the biggest mistake of my life. I’m so thankful that God didn’t allow me to make that mistake and that in the end He made it clear to me that this is where I was supposed to be for now.

getting ready to eat

I wish I could say the minion helped me
eat everything, but I'm afraid it was all me :)

On Monday I had led morning devotions for the teachers and talked about Thanksgiving and shared the list I had made of things I was thankful for. Then, on Tuesday I talked about Thanksgiving with my sixth graders, and shared my list with them. I had them write what they were thankful for in Thai, then translate 5 things into English. I was really impressed by the amount that some of them wrote in Thai. Some had a whole page, some a good sized paragraph, while others could barely think of three of four things. Part of that I think is the difference between genders, and part of it is the difference between living situations. Some of my students have lost both parents, some have parents who have left them to be raised at a home, or the dormitory at the school. I only know a little bit of the background of a few of my students. However, I can see the hurt that some of them have been through in their eyes, in the way that they interact with others, in the way they seek attention, in the way they withdraw and are shy.

As I ate my Thanksgiving dinner alone, I thought of my students and was grateful for the opportunity to be here for them and to get to know them. Many of the students had said they were thankful for me. I think some of them were just saying that to earn bonus points, but I have to hope that by the end of my time here I will have had a positive impact on the lives of the people and students here. That in two years if they are asked what they are thankful for they will mention my name and truly mean it from the bottom of my heart, as I already can say that about many of them.

Clothes Check

the boys who didn't pass inspection checking their names

This morning after the morning assembly they had a check to see if the students were wearing the right uniform. The teachers went around and checked and everyone who had all parts of their scout uniform and were wearing them correctly was sent back to their room. The rest had to check their name with another teacher, and I think they said the students who weren’t dressed properly were going to be marked late or absent. I would say 80-90% didn’t pass the inspection. I’m not sure if they have lost parts of the uniform, or if they don’t have the money to buy them. However, if I understand it right this is the practice and there will be greater consequences the next time they check if they don’t have everything then.

the girls being checked

New Bike

Tonight as I was trying out Zumba for the first time with my door shut and locked I heard someone outside talking. So, I opened the door, and there was my school manager, with a brand new bike for me in the back of his truck. They had taken me to buy one the first week, and I tried to get them to give me someone’s old one because I don’t need everything brand new. I’m not sure exactly what was going on, if they couldn’t get the bike fixed, or if it was going to be too expensive, etc… However, now I have a brand new bike. It is a very typical Thai bike, with a seat for a passenger on the back. I haven’t ridden it yet, but I’m sure I will often as to go to the market and begin to explore my new community.

I couldn’t help but be amazed at the timing, with Thanksgiving coming in a few days. What a blessing it will be, and something I can be thankful for as I will now be able to provide for myself better as I can go and get food and supplies that are available here. I will also be able to exercise and go places in my community that are beyond walking distance.

Human Monkey

You never know what you are going to encounter here in Thailand, or what amazing feats the people are going to be able to do. Today after school I came out and this guy who is kind of like the janitor but takes care of all sorts of things around the school was up in a tree getting down this type of nut I would call it. They call the nut “mat” and they chew it like gum. I tried it once and it was awful. I told them it was going to make me puke and they laughed at how well I pronounced the word for puke in Thai. Then I was allowed to go and spit it out.

Anyways, this guy had climbed up the tree just like a monkey and was picking the nuts in bunches and dropping them down. He climbed at least 3 different trees before he said he was too tired to climb the next one. I was so impressed by his climbing skills. Later in the day I saw a child practicing climbing a tent pole with the same technique. The child was maybe five or six years old and made it to the top and was swinging from the cross beam.

he caught me taking this one and smiled

Flexibility

they had to mark how far you could reach

After my last class today, I walked to the office to take notes of my lessons and see what was going on. Outside of the office students were testing their flexibility. I had absolutely no idea what they were doing. There was a box that had lines 1 centimeter apart up to 45 centimeters. They would put their feet against it, then two people would hold their knees down, and they would have to try to reach as far as they could, and two other students were watching their fingertips to see how far they were able to reach. When they were all done, they wanted me to give it a try. I was really afraid I wouldn’t even be able to touch the box, however, I was surprised when I got a 13. That’s about the same as what most of the students were getting, more than some of them got, and I’m twice their age. They also stretched and practiced, and I did it cold. Here are a few pictures of me testing my flexibility.

I had to do it a second time to get this picture.
Definitely something you should stretch before doing

Creepy Crawly

This morning when I came downstairs I almost stepped on this guy. See if you can find him and identify what it is. You’ll be proud to know I just watched him cross the floor as I ate my breakfast and wasn’t worried about it or anything. By the time these two years are up, bugs won’t bother me anymore…at least I hope that’s what happens. However, for now I just hope that the 2 inch cockroaches and giant spiders stay away from my house. In the last week I’ve found a two inch cockroach in my electric skillet twice when I came downstairs to make breakfast.

My Cleaning Crew

sweeping and mopping

Yesterday and today about 7 students showed up on my doorstep saying a teacher had assigned them to do good deeds for people and get their notebook signed. So, I asked them what they wanted to do. Both days they got right to work sweeping my house, then mopping it, while others washed my dishes, and then today they scrubbed my bathroom. I don’t think there was any part of it that stayed dry, walls, floor, everything. They were so happy while doing it. I think they had more fun scrubbing my bathroom than most kids in the US do taking a bath.

washing my dishes

cleaning the bathroom. I've never seen so much
laughter and smiles while cleaning. They
loved that I let them use some bathroom cleaner.

After they cleaned yesterday I let them do puzzles and play games that I had brought from home and put in a basket for kids to play with. We played at least 15 games of old maid until I finally told them I had work to do and they needed to leave after they had been here for 2 hours.  They then went to the next teacher’s house and did work for them.

making Christmas cards. Give me your address
if you would like me to send you one.

Today, I asked them to make Christmas cards for me to send to people back home. So, they got right to work and made about 20 cards. They are so cute, some are backwards, some I’m not sure where I’ll be able to write messages at, one has Adam and Eve on the front of it, and one has what I think is a moon drinking something with a hat on that looks like an umbrella. Last year I bought Thai Christmas cards to send home, this year I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get anywhere that sells Christmas cards. So, I figured people would enjoy getting cards made by Thai students. Send me your address and I’ll get one on its way to you J

SInging Sensation...

During the last week, a teacher at the school had asked me if I would sing a special with them at church this week. So, after not hearing anything else about it, we practiced last night for the first time. We sang an English song I had never heard before called Two Hands, One heart.

Church today lasted about 2.5 hours from 11 until 1:30. There were 8 different specials sung in 4 different languages, Karen, Thai, Burmese, and English. Only the sermon was translated into Thai, so I didn’t really know what was going on most of the time, plus it was hot and I had a hard time concentrating. However, we sang our song and it was a good opportunity for me to connect with teachers I haven’t really connected with much yet. Here’s the two pictures my neighbor took for me of our performance.

It Snowed in Thailand

building the snowman

This morning as I was cleaning I was going through my fridge and found that he freezer door wouldn’t close because there was frost/ice built up in its way. So, I got out a knife and chipped it away so that the door would close. In the process, I made lots of ice scrapings that were just like snow. Of course, I then had to build a snow man with it. Sure, it’s small, but it was made with love and I used tea for the face and buttons. I really enjoyed my little piece of home and showed my neighbor and some students. They were impressed by my work and played with it until it was left on the plate and melted. Here are some pics for you to enjoy of my Snowman that I made in Thailand. I must say I did convince some of the students that it had snowed at my house the night before and I made the snowman from the snow I collected. It was so funny to see their faces as they believed that it had snowed here.

the finished product once I used tea
for his face and buttons

showing off my new friend and letting him see the
front yard

English Paper Piecing

Mai Pai working on my paper piecing

Here’s an update on my English paper piecing. As of today I have 7 almost 8 flowers completed. This evening after using the internet, I was watching students practice volleyball for some upcoming competition, and working on paper piecing. One of my students Mai Pai who has fairly good English because he lives at a children’s home where they have a lot of foreign volunteers came over to talk to me. From the first time he saw me working on it he has always asked if/told me I was making the blanket for him. We joked that he was going to help me work on it, then he took it from me and did it almost perfectly. I seriously think there is nothing this kid can’t do. After doing a few sides with me turning the corners and changing the thread, he got to a point where the thread got into a knot and then he wouldn’t touch it again afraid he had broken it and would break it again. While we were sitting there talking I found out more about him and where he has come from. I don’t feel like I should share it on here, but I will say that as I’m getting to know my students and this area more. I’m finding that there are many many students who live in children’s homes for one reason or another. Please pray for them as God is working in their lives and providing for them, and for me that I would be able to pour love on them and connect with them, as well as teach them not only English, but about their Father who loves them.

This is how far I am right now

Oops, I guess this didn’t turn out to be about my paper piecing… However, here is a picture of the ones that I have done so far, the one is just one piece away from having 8 completed. As I laid them out and showed Mai Pai how many I had done and told him that it had been 3 weeks since I’d been working on it he told me I would need much longer than a year to finish it for him. Always joking with me that boy.

Sports Week

lining up for the parade, these were the mini drum majors

This last week was sports week. Monday morning they had the parade, then in the afternoon and through Thursday they played sports all day every day. Everyone had a great time, in the opening ceremony, they say that some of the goals are to understand winning, losing, and tying. It was a lot of fun to watch as they played and competed with each other. Because of the age differences in each grade, they played by age group instead of grade level. It gave the older ones a chance to play against children their own age, and the younger ones a chance to do well against ones their age. However, younger ones were allowed to help fill older teams if they were good enough.

the boys marching in the parade

My goal for this week was to make friends, and get to know the teachers and students better. I was assigned the pink team, so I went to as many evens for the pink team as possible, and also tried to go to games for the oldest age group when I could to build relationships that will hopefully extend into the classroom as well. Plus, they were the most skilled and interesting to watch. I cheered GO PINK who knows how many thousands of times, and it got to the point that even students from the other teams would yell GO PINK with me.

By Wednesday they decided it would be good if I announced the volleyball games in English as another teacher did in Thai. So, I began my announcing career which wasn’t long lived. I found it’s very difficult to announce when you don’t know their names, the 9 and 10 year olds can’t make it over the net, and you have to speak very simple English so they can understand/learn the words. They asked me to announce soccer, but luckily I was able to avoid that. I would have had no idea what to say as I’ve never really watched soccer and am not really much of a fan of the sport.

the ASEAN flags

Thursday when everything was done, they had an awards ceremony. They pulled out all of the old trophies the school has ever won, and then announced first, second and third place for each age group in each sport, and someone from the team came up and received the trophy and took it back to their team. Afterwards, they were allowed to take pictures with the trophies, and then they were all put back in the office. Notice the picture of them all on the table. It just shows, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on prizes, the students were more than happy to receive them for 5 minutes and return them.

Friday we had our regular classes, then after school was over, they handed out certificates for those who tried even though they weren’t really good at the sport. (Or at least I think that’s what it was for). They awarded one certificate for each age and sport, and the students got a bag of chips or cookies as well.

raising the flags for each color

Overall, I would say it was a successful sports week. I got to know many teachers and students better, and we had a lot of fun playing and spending time together. It was nice to not have to teach for a week and just spend quality time with people to get to know them. Since the day I got here I’ve been going non-stop teaching, planning, and just trying to survive. This week gave me a chance to relax and just live. What a welcome break it was. However, now it’s time to get back to teaching and learning because I’m sure the next interruption is going to come sooner than expected as is life in the second semester of the Thai school year.

lighting the torch

 

the older kids helping the kindergarteners play soccer

the pink team playing Tagraw

two of the pink boys who wanted their picture taken while
we were handing out snacks

cheering for the pink team in handball. If you've never
watched handball, you should. It's intense.

my debut as volleyball announcer

running events

more running. They made the track 100 meters diagonally across
the soccer fields.

lining up for the awards ceremony

pink receiving an award

some boys from the pink team and a purple team boy
wanted their picture taken with me after the awards ceremony.
These are some of the students I was able to connect with
this week.

all the trophies that were handed out, read to be put back on the
shelves til next year.

the certificates being handed out on Friday