Jodie, Misty and SiJie before heading out.
Shot #1
Here the singer is singing a song to SiJie about his love for her.
Introducing the band!!! I think we are in the middle of playing a song.Monday, March 31, 2008
Dubliner's Part 2
Jodie, Misty and SiJie before heading out.Shot #1 Here the singer is singing a song to SiJie about his love for her. Introducing the band!!! I think we are in the middle of playing a song.
Dubliner's on Friday Night
Pattaya Pattaya
Toronto? or Pattaya?
This is one of the other islands, I'll post the name later.
Here are some of the villagers digging for food.More Pattaya
Our swimming hole.
This picture was my reaction to Pattaya. Not flattering I know, but I cannot depict the same thought with words.
There were so many shells attached to everything they could possibly attach to. A Westerner decided to snorkel in this section and found himself stranded on the rocks with these shells...bright one.
This bottom picture was taken on our way back to Pattaya. The ferry ride was an hour long and the water was quite rough so I got a little seasick.
Pattaya Pics!
This is a picture of the main beach on Pattaya. The picture looks a lot better than it really is, as the water is dirty and the vendors are annoying. I wouldnt recommend this place.
In the background you can see some of the city of Pattaya.
This is a picture of Walking Street which is a street full of go go bars and stippers. 
This was taken from the ferry. It is a picture of one of the islands we sailed by on the way to Koh Larn.
"Good guys go to heaven, bad guys go to Pattaya"
The above quote was written on a shirt that a man in Pattaya was wearing. Here are a few more.
“I have sex on the first date.”
“I buy drinks for sex.”
Saturday morning we woke ourselves up at 8 and packed for our weekend away in Pattaya. We took a bus which took about two hours to get here. We had some expectations of what the place would look like from what we read but the place was nothing like we expected.
Our room looked like a dorm room. Even though it had a shower, it was not that glamorous. It is located upstairs off of one of the backrooms, which looks like a storage room. After coming back from a walk, I opened the door to the other room before you enter our room and there were a bunch of fat old westerners smoking and gambling. Very nice.
The beach was crowded and the water was quite dirty. It was also not that deep. I also felt like we were shopping, just this time the shops came to you instead of you go to them. I was getting quite annoyed by all of the traveling vendors.
I just got out of the shower. As much as I was complaining about Pattaya, that shower just made the whole trip worthwhile. It was the first hot shower we had since leaving Nova Scotia. It was so hot that I actually had to turn it down. I wonder if it was actually that hot, or if it just felt hot in comparison to all of cold showers we have been having. Also the water pressure was out of this world! The water came straight out of the shower head with moderate pressure, as opposed to a few twinkling streams.
Sunday in Pattaya
After sleeping in a little this morning we decided we are going to leave Pattaya and venture by boat to one of the smaller islands to seek out more sun and a little more privacy. While walked to the pier we stopped for breakfast at a tiny restaurant that claimed great food, small prices. Well the food was not that great and the prices were okay. I ordered a boiled egg. She asked me how long I wanted it boiled for, 1 minute or 2. I told her 2 minutes and my egg came back with the white as runny as the yolk. I was going to give them a few tips on how to boil eggs but I decided against it. The toast was okay so that held me over.
We boarded the local ferry for 20 Baht and within about 45 minutes we found ourselves on beautiful Koh Larn This place was more what we were looking for, white sand beaches, clear water and hot hot hot! There was a bit more to do here including sailing, tubing, boating or seadooing. We were just happy relaxing on the beach. We rented a chair for 20 baht a day and moved it into the sun for some sun bathing. Don’t worry, this time we applied plenty of sunscreen numerous times. I think we used so much that it wouldn’t even rub in anymore. The temperature of the water was amazing, way warmer than any beach or pool water in Canada, and even warmer than our “shower” water back in Bangkok. This is to be expected as the temperature of the air was in the high 30’s without factoring in the humidity. Every once in a while we took a dip in the water to cool off as it was just too hot. We also treated ourselves to a Heiniken in the late afternoon. The day passed by at a nice pace as we sat back and read our books, thinking of how nice it is to be sitting on a beach on the other side of the world when we normally would have been at home preparing for a day of teaching. (We made sure to prepare as much as we could before we left).
We caught the last boat back at 4 pm. From what we could tell, people do not actually live on the island and there are no places for people to stay, so if you miss the last boat you are out of luck. The boat ride back was not as smooth as the ride there and I got a little sea sick. After moving in the shade and having a few sips of warm water I made it to shore and was mostly fine from then on.
We walked past all of the go go bars to our room on Soi 13. After having a cold shower (I know, all this time I wanted a warm shower and now that I have one I am taking cold showers..) we decided to grab some supper at Pizza Hut. I know, not really Thai but a girl needs a nice break from Thai food, so these weekends away are our treats. The serving sizes were much smaller than what you would get at home, again not surprising. It was quite good thankfully. During our meal there was a table beside us of three American men with Thai women and 2 gay men. They were discussing where they thought we were from, and they finally decided on Germany. As we were leaving we made sure they knew we were not German, but in fact were from Canada. I think they were pleasantly surprised.
We did a little shopping around the streets and in the mall, I guess I should call this browsing as I am on a no buying record for some reason. Misty got a new pair of sandals, quite nice.
That sums up our day, so I’ll tell you a little about Pattaya. Our overall impression of Pattaya itself is not good. The books are right, people come here for the sex industry as there is not much else here to do. Walking along the street as dusk sets there are far too many young Thai girls wearing far not enough. I watched one of them approach an older male yesterday, starting off with the “Hey, where are you from?” and it went from there. Walking further down walking street everything is go go bars and bars and show girls. Literally, every door is another entrance to a bar. Some bars are open where women sit around doing their make up, wearing next to nothing and waiting for their prey. The look on men’s faces is absolutely disgusting. They look at women as if they are a piece of meat, offering no respect what so ever. Older men just gawk at women as they walk by. I think our experience in the slums has helped me look at this whole scene differently. I understand that for some women this is simply a way of life and a way of surviving. Misty and I wonder what happens when you do not like the person you are paid to be with, or when you cannot really make conversation. I wouldn’t say it is an easy job, and I do not want to find out. No thank you.
The main beach of Pattaya is crowded with chairs and is a common ground for walking vendors. This makes the whole experience rather annoying and not at all relaxing. The water is quite dirty and the sand between your toes feels more like slimy mud. I do not even want to know what all goes in there. We only went in the water once as we were quite disgusted but really needed to cool off. I would suggest that if you want to visit a close beach to Thailand, venture out this way but sail off to one of the Islands during the day and go to bed early to avoid the sex industry. (or bring some movies you can watch in your room).
Tomorrow we are checking out of here in the early morning and then heading back to our little island of Koh Larn for our last few hours of rest and relaxation before we catch the bus back to the city for a full work week. This week is going to be extra busy as the seagypsies are coming so our afternoons are going to be full once again. I was enjoying our little break.
Monday – We woke up a little earlier this morning to enjoy our last showers, pack and then head out to paradise island. We had a wonderful western breakfast at our hotel and then walked to the ferry. We just relaxed in the sun and shade and went swimming for the day. I some how managed to get something in my eye so my afternoon was not that enjoyable, even after trying numerous times to flush it out. We just arrived back in Bangkok and are at one of the McCafe’s attempting to steal wifi. No plans for the evening besides wash off and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day as the seagypsies are coming.
Good night all, or should I say good morning!
Jodie
I'll post pictures as soon as I can, we are at a McCafe now and only have 30 minutes
“I have sex on the first date.”
“I buy drinks for sex.”
Saturday morning we woke ourselves up at 8 and packed for our weekend away in Pattaya. We took a bus which took about two hours to get here. We had some expectations of what the place would look like from what we read but the place was nothing like we expected.
Our room looked like a dorm room. Even though it had a shower, it was not that glamorous. It is located upstairs off of one of the backrooms, which looks like a storage room. After coming back from a walk, I opened the door to the other room before you enter our room and there were a bunch of fat old westerners smoking and gambling. Very nice.
The beach was crowded and the water was quite dirty. It was also not that deep. I also felt like we were shopping, just this time the shops came to you instead of you go to them. I was getting quite annoyed by all of the traveling vendors.
I just got out of the shower. As much as I was complaining about Pattaya, that shower just made the whole trip worthwhile. It was the first hot shower we had since leaving Nova Scotia. It was so hot that I actually had to turn it down. I wonder if it was actually that hot, or if it just felt hot in comparison to all of cold showers we have been having. Also the water pressure was out of this world! The water came straight out of the shower head with moderate pressure, as opposed to a few twinkling streams.
Sunday in Pattaya
After sleeping in a little this morning we decided we are going to leave Pattaya and venture by boat to one of the smaller islands to seek out more sun and a little more privacy. While walked to the pier we stopped for breakfast at a tiny restaurant that claimed great food, small prices. Well the food was not that great and the prices were okay. I ordered a boiled egg. She asked me how long I wanted it boiled for, 1 minute or 2. I told her 2 minutes and my egg came back with the white as runny as the yolk. I was going to give them a few tips on how to boil eggs but I decided against it. The toast was okay so that held me over.
We boarded the local ferry for 20 Baht and within about 45 minutes we found ourselves on beautiful Koh Larn This place was more what we were looking for, white sand beaches, clear water and hot hot hot! There was a bit more to do here including sailing, tubing, boating or seadooing. We were just happy relaxing on the beach. We rented a chair for 20 baht a day and moved it into the sun for some sun bathing. Don’t worry, this time we applied plenty of sunscreen numerous times. I think we used so much that it wouldn’t even rub in anymore. The temperature of the water was amazing, way warmer than any beach or pool water in Canada, and even warmer than our “shower” water back in Bangkok. This is to be expected as the temperature of the air was in the high 30’s without factoring in the humidity. Every once in a while we took a dip in the water to cool off as it was just too hot. We also treated ourselves to a Heiniken in the late afternoon. The day passed by at a nice pace as we sat back and read our books, thinking of how nice it is to be sitting on a beach on the other side of the world when we normally would have been at home preparing for a day of teaching. (We made sure to prepare as much as we could before we left).
We caught the last boat back at 4 pm. From what we could tell, people do not actually live on the island and there are no places for people to stay, so if you miss the last boat you are out of luck. The boat ride back was not as smooth as the ride there and I got a little sea sick. After moving in the shade and having a few sips of warm water I made it to shore and was mostly fine from then on.
We walked past all of the go go bars to our room on Soi 13. After having a cold shower (I know, all this time I wanted a warm shower and now that I have one I am taking cold showers..) we decided to grab some supper at Pizza Hut. I know, not really Thai but a girl needs a nice break from Thai food, so these weekends away are our treats. The serving sizes were much smaller than what you would get at home, again not surprising. It was quite good thankfully. During our meal there was a table beside us of three American men with Thai women and 2 gay men. They were discussing where they thought we were from, and they finally decided on Germany. As we were leaving we made sure they knew we were not German, but in fact were from Canada. I think they were pleasantly surprised.
We did a little shopping around the streets and in the mall, I guess I should call this browsing as I am on a no buying record for some reason. Misty got a new pair of sandals, quite nice.
That sums up our day, so I’ll tell you a little about Pattaya. Our overall impression of Pattaya itself is not good. The books are right, people come here for the sex industry as there is not much else here to do. Walking along the street as dusk sets there are far too many young Thai girls wearing far not enough. I watched one of them approach an older male yesterday, starting off with the “Hey, where are you from?” and it went from there. Walking further down walking street everything is go go bars and bars and show girls. Literally, every door is another entrance to a bar. Some bars are open where women sit around doing their make up, wearing next to nothing and waiting for their prey. The look on men’s faces is absolutely disgusting. They look at women as if they are a piece of meat, offering no respect what so ever. Older men just gawk at women as they walk by. I think our experience in the slums has helped me look at this whole scene differently. I understand that for some women this is simply a way of life and a way of surviving. Misty and I wonder what happens when you do not like the person you are paid to be with, or when you cannot really make conversation. I wouldn’t say it is an easy job, and I do not want to find out. No thank you.
The main beach of Pattaya is crowded with chairs and is a common ground for walking vendors. This makes the whole experience rather annoying and not at all relaxing. The water is quite dirty and the sand between your toes feels more like slimy mud. I do not even want to know what all goes in there. We only went in the water once as we were quite disgusted but really needed to cool off. I would suggest that if you want to visit a close beach to Thailand, venture out this way but sail off to one of the Islands during the day and go to bed early to avoid the sex industry. (or bring some movies you can watch in your room).
Tomorrow we are checking out of here in the early morning and then heading back to our little island of Koh Larn for our last few hours of rest and relaxation before we catch the bus back to the city for a full work week. This week is going to be extra busy as the seagypsies are coming so our afternoons are going to be full once again. I was enjoying our little break.
Monday – We woke up a little earlier this morning to enjoy our last showers, pack and then head out to paradise island. We had a wonderful western breakfast at our hotel and then walked to the ferry. We just relaxed in the sun and shade and went swimming for the day. I some how managed to get something in my eye so my afternoon was not that enjoyable, even after trying numerous times to flush it out. We just arrived back in Bangkok and are at one of the McCafe’s attempting to steal wifi. No plans for the evening besides wash off and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day as the seagypsies are coming.
Good night all, or should I say good morning!
Jodie
I'll post pictures as soon as I can, we are at a McCafe now and only have 30 minutes
“We only planned on grabbing something to eat; we ended up in a band.”
Friday was by far one of the best days we have had in Thailand so far. We were able to leave all the rules and worries of Mercy behind and just enjoy the environment, the way we want.
We got dressed up and headed out to watch the International Dance Festival with SiJie at our favorite park. There were dancers from all over the world performing a variety of different types of dances from the tango, to hip-hop to ballet. The talent was amazing. The show runs all weekend.
We left the festival and thought we would head to the Dubliner, an Irish Pub down the street from the park that Father Joe has recommended on several occasions. One of our students works there so we decided to grab something small to eat as it is quite expensive and see if she was working. The Pub is three floors and was very crowded – always a good sign. We found Ged and spoke with her for a few minutes. As we went back downstairs to eat a man seated us at our table, so we asked him if he was the Wayne Father Joe told us to look for. Turns out he was! He is the manager at Dubliners. As soon as he found out he worked for Father Joe he was thrilled. He spoke very high praises of Father Joe and his work. I guess they have known each other for years, and ironically, Father Joe and his “right hand” were just there for lunch today. He seated us at a table and asked us if he could get us something to drink. We all ordered a Heiniken, and he came back with a glass that could probably hold 2 beers, and it was filled to the very top. He also gave us VIP cards so that every time I go there we will always get 10% off of our meal and drinks. He also brought another man to our table, a man named John. Well it turned out that John is the owner and he told us to order what we want, drink what we want, enjoy ourselves as tonight was on the pub! He also added that there will be lots of music, lots of shots and maybe some drunkenness. Well as soon as he walked away from the table our first three shots of many showed up. He asked that we come to the table full of all of his friends at the front – a table that everyone in the whole pub could see us. He then introduced us on the microphone for EVERYONE in the bar to know who we were and what we were doing in Thailand. For the rest of the night we had people coming up to us and telling us about their experiences with Father Joe, the organization and how great they think we are.
Our meal showed up, and it was the BEST meal I have had since I have been here. My meal included asparagus, corn, MASHED POTATOES, and half a chicken! There was so much food I could not even eat it all, but it was sooo good. I was so excited to finally have potatoes. We have been day dreaming about them randomly throughout the past month. Father Joe told us we could buy them at Tesco, but we do not have anything to cook them in.
At Dubliner’s, we also met a few fellow Canadians who were now living in Thailand which was fun. They shared some tips and stories of their experiences here so far.
As we began to enjoy more of the live music played by an Irishman, we decided it was time to get out of our seats and break out our dance moves. Most of the songs were classics such as “Brown Eyed Girl, some Bryan Adams, Johnny Cash, etc.” I guess you can say they are classic considering I knew all the words to all of the songs. It was not long before we had instruments in our hand and were dancing and playing along with the singer. We were quite the entertainment, so much so that he asked for our number so he can notify us of upcoming shows at the pub.
Throughout the whole evening we were taken care of, from our drinks, to our food to just plain hospitality. It was wonderful. We felt like royalty. I imagine when we go back again, which we will; there will still be many many free perks. We tried to leave about 3 or 4 times and we were always persuaded to stay. We wanted to but we had already had other plans with friends and this was supposed to be a grab and go kind of meal. However we do have plans to go back very soon. When we were in Dubliner’s it felt like we were back at home in a pub somewhere in Nova Scotia. This experience will help me get through the next couple of rough weeks we have coming up.
We finally said goodbye to our new family and were off to our next adventure in a taxi. At this point it was 12 am and traffic was stalled. We had a great taxi driver who spoke some English and changed the radio to songs that we would know. His name was KiRat. So if you are ever in Bangkok, look for him (I know Bangkok is huge but he is soo worth it!) I think we even told him we would miss him when we dropped us off at RCA.
So we are now at RCA, Radio City Avenue, a street FULL of bars that cater to our age group. Each bar had a huge outside patio type of thing that was full of people. Instead of buying drinks here, you bought the whole bottle of liquor and mix and did it on your own. Each bar showcased different kinds of music, and you had to be 20 years old to get in. We went to the hiphop bar to meet Cedric, another volunteer at one of the preschools and some of his friends. We managed to find him quite quickly. We grabbed a couple of stools and brought them over to a table. However, I had a bad stool and when I picked it up the bottom separated from the seat and it fell on my foot. Ouch! Its pretty colors today.
After sitting outside and catching up we went inside to dance. We came to the quick realization that Thai people do not go to the bar to dance, but go to stand around like a bunch of sardines in a can. We got up on the stage and tried to change that quickly. Before we knew it, we had everyone around us dancing with us and having a good time. Most of them spoke English so it was nice to have some small conversations on the side. I was offered ecstasy which was interesting. No I didn’t take it! But I had no idea what she was giving me so my reaction was quite humorous. Don’t worry mom, I made you proud. After much dancing, it was 2 am and they were kicking us out. Back to the taxi and back to Mercy we went. Time for bed.
We got dressed up and headed out to watch the International Dance Festival with SiJie at our favorite park. There were dancers from all over the world performing a variety of different types of dances from the tango, to hip-hop to ballet. The talent was amazing. The show runs all weekend.
We left the festival and thought we would head to the Dubliner, an Irish Pub down the street from the park that Father Joe has recommended on several occasions. One of our students works there so we decided to grab something small to eat as it is quite expensive and see if she was working. The Pub is three floors and was very crowded – always a good sign. We found Ged and spoke with her for a few minutes. As we went back downstairs to eat a man seated us at our table, so we asked him if he was the Wayne Father Joe told us to look for. Turns out he was! He is the manager at Dubliners. As soon as he found out he worked for Father Joe he was thrilled. He spoke very high praises of Father Joe and his work. I guess they have known each other for years, and ironically, Father Joe and his “right hand” were just there for lunch today. He seated us at a table and asked us if he could get us something to drink. We all ordered a Heiniken, and he came back with a glass that could probably hold 2 beers, and it was filled to the very top. He also gave us VIP cards so that every time I go there we will always get 10% off of our meal and drinks. He also brought another man to our table, a man named John. Well it turned out that John is the owner and he told us to order what we want, drink what we want, enjoy ourselves as tonight was on the pub! He also added that there will be lots of music, lots of shots and maybe some drunkenness. Well as soon as he walked away from the table our first three shots of many showed up. He asked that we come to the table full of all of his friends at the front – a table that everyone in the whole pub could see us. He then introduced us on the microphone for EVERYONE in the bar to know who we were and what we were doing in Thailand. For the rest of the night we had people coming up to us and telling us about their experiences with Father Joe, the organization and how great they think we are.
Our meal showed up, and it was the BEST meal I have had since I have been here. My meal included asparagus, corn, MASHED POTATOES, and half a chicken! There was so much food I could not even eat it all, but it was sooo good. I was so excited to finally have potatoes. We have been day dreaming about them randomly throughout the past month. Father Joe told us we could buy them at Tesco, but we do not have anything to cook them in.
At Dubliner’s, we also met a few fellow Canadians who were now living in Thailand which was fun. They shared some tips and stories of their experiences here so far.
As we began to enjoy more of the live music played by an Irishman, we decided it was time to get out of our seats and break out our dance moves. Most of the songs were classics such as “Brown Eyed Girl, some Bryan Adams, Johnny Cash, etc.” I guess you can say they are classic considering I knew all the words to all of the songs. It was not long before we had instruments in our hand and were dancing and playing along with the singer. We were quite the entertainment, so much so that he asked for our number so he can notify us of upcoming shows at the pub.
Throughout the whole evening we were taken care of, from our drinks, to our food to just plain hospitality. It was wonderful. We felt like royalty. I imagine when we go back again, which we will; there will still be many many free perks. We tried to leave about 3 or 4 times and we were always persuaded to stay. We wanted to but we had already had other plans with friends and this was supposed to be a grab and go kind of meal. However we do have plans to go back very soon. When we were in Dubliner’s it felt like we were back at home in a pub somewhere in Nova Scotia. This experience will help me get through the next couple of rough weeks we have coming up.
We finally said goodbye to our new family and were off to our next adventure in a taxi. At this point it was 12 am and traffic was stalled. We had a great taxi driver who spoke some English and changed the radio to songs that we would know. His name was KiRat. So if you are ever in Bangkok, look for him (I know Bangkok is huge but he is soo worth it!) I think we even told him we would miss him when we dropped us off at RCA.
So we are now at RCA, Radio City Avenue, a street FULL of bars that cater to our age group. Each bar had a huge outside patio type of thing that was full of people. Instead of buying drinks here, you bought the whole bottle of liquor and mix and did it on your own. Each bar showcased different kinds of music, and you had to be 20 years old to get in. We went to the hiphop bar to meet Cedric, another volunteer at one of the preschools and some of his friends. We managed to find him quite quickly. We grabbed a couple of stools and brought them over to a table. However, I had a bad stool and when I picked it up the bottom separated from the seat and it fell on my foot. Ouch! Its pretty colors today.
After sitting outside and catching up we went inside to dance. We came to the quick realization that Thai people do not go to the bar to dance, but go to stand around like a bunch of sardines in a can. We got up on the stage and tried to change that quickly. Before we knew it, we had everyone around us dancing with us and having a good time. Most of them spoke English so it was nice to have some small conversations on the side. I was offered ecstasy which was interesting. No I didn’t take it! But I had no idea what she was giving me so my reaction was quite humorous. Don’t worry mom, I made you proud. After much dancing, it was 2 am and they were kicking us out. Back to the taxi and back to Mercy we went. Time for bed.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Flowers!!
Me and Pi. Ning.
This is a picture of Pi Eaty and Pi Ning, two of the staff we have become very good friends with in PR. 
We are off to our last class and then to RCA tonight (street of bars), then to see the international dance festival and then in the morning off to Pattaya for some sun baking and swimming. Have a great weekend!!!
Hello Everybody,
Just wanted to upload some pictures from this morning. These flowers were delivered to the office as a thank you to the PR department. This place is usually filled with flowers and food. Anyways, we told SiJie that the flowers were delivered to me from one of the security guards who everyone believes is in love with me. The funny part is, everyone in the office went along with it.
We are off to our last class and then to RCA tonight (street of bars), then to see the international dance festival and then in the morning off to Pattaya for some sun baking and swimming. Have a great weekend!!!
Jodie
Rom Klao Preschool
One of the boys at preschool. He has the most interesting hair cut I have ever seen. He has this rat tail starting at the top of his head, braided and dyed blonde. It's very entertaining.
This is the inside of the preschool, like I said in the post it just looks like the inside of what we know to be a house. What you are looking at is a classroom, no desks, no chairs.
This picture was taken right behind the previous picture. A number of classes are held in the same room.
If you look closely you can see a man riding an elephant. This picture was taken along one of the main roads here on our walk to Tesco. To see an elephant in the streets is not really uncommon anymore.I don't have much time to write as we are heading to lunch. To update you on the weather, it is getting hotter here by the day. It is almost noon now and is 35 degrees, but feels like 43 with the humidity. This weekend the weather is going to be great for the beach averaging around 38 degrees without factoring in the humidity. I say it is great for the beach because it is deadly to work in it. With time, it will only get hotter. :S
Preschool Pictures
This is one of the toilets that we often come upon in public washrooms...how you are actually supposed to use it is beyond me. The blue bucket is for rising or "flushing" the toilet after you are finished. These are pretty intimidating.
These are some of the children from our Thursday preschool class. The little girl beside me in the blue and white striped dress Pleaw, a student I also teach Tuesday and Thursday mornings. These children are soo adorable.
Some of the boys coloring their butterfly after they lined the dots with the ABC's.
More bous, the younger one close to the crayons is always in our class, however I think he just kind of hangs out with the older boys. He's very cute but bad.
Not Much Excitement
Not too much exciting news here, another regular day at Mercy. I woke up this morning sick, but determined. I decided that even if I make it to Mercy and am unable to teach, I will go to the doctor. I still have a fever, but with the help of some Advil, the headache is mostly gone.
We taught at the preschool again this morning. They make my week. We went over the alphabet with them and then introduced them to some common animal vocabulary words. We got them to do a dot to dot alphabet worksheet which makes a butterfly and then the children colored it. We also worked on the colors and then did some dancing to English children’s songs to end the class. The children especially love the chicken dance.
It was nice to see the children again. When we arrive they all come over and hug us and talk Thai to us. I really wish I knew what they were saying. When we leave they all say “Thank you teacher” and then give us the traditional Thai wai as a gesture of their thanks.
After walking back to Mercy I was greeted by my student, who also happens to be in our preschool class. I did not realize this until today so I had similar work planned for her. Thankfully I am pretty quick at thinking on my feet. After class she joined us for lunch in the staff cafeteria. We had a chance to talk to our new volunteer, volunteer coordinator. Her name is Emma and she moved here with her husband in December. She is originally from England but spent the last few years in Singapore with his work. It was nice to have another conversation with someone who is fluent in English.
After lunch we taught another class and then took a motorbike taxi home. At this point I should also mention that I’m seriously considering getting a motorbike when I am ready to trade my car in. I love them. I guess I am my mother’s daughter.
I slept for most of the afternoon…okay all of the afternoon until it was time to go back and teach our final class of the evening. After waiting over an hour and none of the students showing up we decided to walk to Tesco to get some western groceries (bread, milk, corn flakes) and then caught the bus home. We are pretty proud of our bus adventures. We have kind of figured out the bus system which will save us a lot of money from taxis.
I am going to end this here as I do not feel well at all. Oh and Misty and I are meeting a member of the Canadian Embassy for lunch soon. He is a nephew from my neighbor in Amherst. It’s a small world.
We taught at the preschool again this morning. They make my week. We went over the alphabet with them and then introduced them to some common animal vocabulary words. We got them to do a dot to dot alphabet worksheet which makes a butterfly and then the children colored it. We also worked on the colors and then did some dancing to English children’s songs to end the class. The children especially love the chicken dance.
It was nice to see the children again. When we arrive they all come over and hug us and talk Thai to us. I really wish I knew what they were saying. When we leave they all say “Thank you teacher” and then give us the traditional Thai wai as a gesture of their thanks.
After walking back to Mercy I was greeted by my student, who also happens to be in our preschool class. I did not realize this until today so I had similar work planned for her. Thankfully I am pretty quick at thinking on my feet. After class she joined us for lunch in the staff cafeteria. We had a chance to talk to our new volunteer, volunteer coordinator. Her name is Emma and she moved here with her husband in December. She is originally from England but spent the last few years in Singapore with his work. It was nice to have another conversation with someone who is fluent in English.
After lunch we taught another class and then took a motorbike taxi home. At this point I should also mention that I’m seriously considering getting a motorbike when I am ready to trade my car in. I love them. I guess I am my mother’s daughter.
I slept for most of the afternoon…okay all of the afternoon until it was time to go back and teach our final class of the evening. After waiting over an hour and none of the students showing up we decided to walk to Tesco to get some western groceries (bread, milk, corn flakes) and then caught the bus home. We are pretty proud of our bus adventures. We have kind of figured out the bus system which will save us a lot of money from taxis.
I am going to end this here as I do not feel well at all. Oh and Misty and I are meeting a member of the Canadian Embassy for lunch soon. He is a nephew from my neighbor in Amherst. It’s a small world.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Down and Out -Update Since Tuesday
Tuesday
This morning we got up around 5:45. For some reason our alarm went off earlier this morning and I did not realize it was too early until after I came out of the “shower.” I taught my adult class at 8 and then made lesson plans until my next class at 11:30. Two of my 4, 11:30 students showed. They were such a pleasure to teach. I was teaching them prepositions using hand signals, and after showing them a few times I wanted them to repeat it themselves, so I started back with the ‘on’ preposition, and said “so.” And just as the word came out of my mouth, the children did the exact same thing and said “so.” Sometimes I feel like I am creating little robots as they copy and repeat everything we say. It is funny sometimes.
My other two students showed up at the end of the class, so I redid the class for them as it was only my noon hour. They were quite the handful as they are only 4 years old and do not understand much English. The little boy is a character, looking at my stickers and winking for me to give him some.
After that class we had the older students. One of them was incredibly difficult to engage, and just shut down at the end of class. He is incredibly shy and does not like to speak much English. Sometimes we are able to get through to him, and other times he doesn’t say a word.
We took a motorbike taxi home. It was a little scarier then normal as there were some big trucks on the road and a few times we were swerving in some pretty tight places.
When we got home we grabbed something to eat, and as I was drinking water, Misty made fun of me and said I drink water like her mom. Just as fast as she took the bottle from me to show me how her mom drank, Misty started chocking and coughing up the water. I think Karma came around and hit her good. Linda, I don’t know how you managed to teach her a lesson from so far away, but well done.
We came home and slept for a few hours and then hopped back on a songtheaw and went back to Mercy to teach an evening class. As we were sitting at one of the longer stops, our three students came on the songtheaw as they were coming home from school. It was nice to ride with them, even if it was only for a few minutes.
We taught our last class of the evening, walked around the slums for a bit, checking out the night vendors and local markets and then took a songtheaw home.
We booked our hotel for the weekend. The whole weekend away is going to cost around $30 CDN, minus the food (which shouldn’t be more than $15 CDN for the whole weekend). This includes our transportation to and from Bangkok and our hotel. The place we are staying has 3 swimming pools, a hot shower, air conditioning and a King Sized bed.
We also called to book a room in Chaing Mai for the week of Songkran, which is the Thai New Year. It was once just a way that people were blessed with water, but it has now become a huge water fight that everyone must take part in, whether you want to or not. Since Chaing Mai is in the utmost Northern Part of Thailand and takes over 11 hours on a bus, we decided to go here for our extra long weekend and everything in Thailand shuts down from Thursday to Wednesday. This trip would be a little too much for a weekend. We are also talking about staying until the next Tuesday as we would only miss 2 days of school, and going to Burma and Laos for a few days as they border along the north.
We were worried that we were already too late for booking as some of the people we worked with told us that everyone would be booked up by now. When we called one place they said they might be all booked up, but joked with Misty, saying that we could stay in their house. Needless to say we were able to get a room there in the end, and not in their house.
An interesting thing about Thailand is that they do not ask for a Visa or way of paying in advance. When you stay at a hotel at these vacation destinations, they just ask you for your first name and only once have we ever been asked for our phone number. When you arrive they hand you the room key and do not ask for any kind of billing information, but just tell you that you can pay when you check out. So basically they hand over the key, knowing only your first name, and trusting that you will give it back in person so that you can pay.
When we were in Ko Chang, at the end of the stay when we were checking out, they asked us if we used the mini bar, but never actually went to look. Also, everything is paid in cash, so even if you did use more than you said, there is no way they can later take money away from you. It’s so strange for us to see that people are so easily trusting here. Hopefully people wouldn’t take advantage of it, but it would be very easy to if someone wanted to. A downside to this is that sometimes when you call ahead and reserve a room, they can still give it away on a first come first served basis. To avoid this we usually call a couple of times, and then call again on the way to confirm that we are indeed on our way there and give them notice as to what time they should expect our arrival.
Wednesday is going to be a pretty okay day for us. We teach classes from 8 – 2, and then are done for the day as we are now alternating our university prep classes with another volunteer. He teaches them math every other day and we teach them English in the odd days.
Speaking of Schedules, I will share my new schedule with you.
Monday – off (it has been hard to maintain this as our off day, but we have just had to stand our ground and be firm about not taking on anymore classes. I think many times if we did not say no more we would be there all hours of the day. Thankfully, we were warned of this before we came and again from American staff here)
Tuesday –
8:00-9:00am = Adult English with the Accounting Class. I teach 5 students, 4 from the Accounting Department at Mercy and a male who is the head of maintenance and building repairs. Two of the students speak English very well, two are quiet but do understand English and one is at a lower level than the others, but tries hard.
11:30-12:30 = Mercy 6 children. I teach 4 children, ages 4-6. Their English level varies greatly. One child is a niece from one of the workers. Two of the children are quite the handful as they have a very short attention span, which is even shorter when learning a different language.
Sometimes on Tuesday we also teach the evening English class from 3:00-4:00, depending on how our schedule goes with the other volunteers. However, we have tried to keep our Tuesday afternoons relatively free so that we can begin to take Thai language lessons.
Wednesday –
This day by far is the most challenging.
8:00-9:00 am = Adult English
10:00-11:00 am = Recreation for the older children. This class is a handful as the boys like to be typical boys; running around and playing. It makes explaining things very difficult.
11:00-12:00 = Recreation for the younger children. This is more of a drop in basis activity, most weeks we have over 50 children between the two groups. The first group is the younger children and children from Mercy 6.
1:30-3:00 = Seagypsies. These children are from the Southern Part of Thailand, Phukett. They were hit by the tsunami. They are only staying for the month of April so we will begin teaching them next week. All we really know is that they never really had any formal schooling as most of them spent their whole lives working on fishing boats with their families. This should be an interesting class. I am expecting it to be a lot of work to just keep under control.
3:00-4:00 = Evening students. We teach English to 3 students. We focus mostly on grammar and vocabulary as well as reading comprehension and normal conversational language. These students are teenagers. They enjoy learning English but are not at a very high level yet. One of the students is incredibly shy so it makes class hard as often times it is like pulling teeth to try and get him to talk. He often shuts down half way through class and it is hard to get him to come back. One time we taught him one on one and it was so much more enjoyable. We had him laughing as we were telling jokes and doing silly things.
5:00-6:00 pm = Evening University Prep Girls again
Thursday –
8:00 – 9:00 = English Adult Accounting Class
9:00-10:00 = tutoring a 19 year old girl in social studies as she prepares for her GED. She is very good in English as she studied in Singapore for a few years, however dropped out in her final year because of family problems. She is the oldest child in the family and since her mother’s passing, she has taken on the parenting role, which often means that she puts everyone else before herself.
10:00-11:00 = Rom Klao Preschool. This is located about a 10-15 minute walk from Mercy, so we have to make a mad dash for it. It is a preschool located in the heart of the slums. It is actually quite difficult to find as it is hidden in some back alleys. The children here are very easy to teach as they repeat back every word to you. I think most of them are around 5 years old. I am guessing that there are about 40 children in the classroom because it is summer holiday. For more information about the preschools, please see the blog from last Thursday and Friday.
11:30-12:30 = Back to Mercy to teach the Mercy 6 children again.
1:30-3:00 = seagypsies again
3:00-4:00 = Evening English students again
5:00-6:00 = university prep girls again
Friday –
8:00-9:00 = Adult English with Accounting class
10:00-11:00 = Fat 12 Preschool. This school is a little closer to Mercy than the other but is still a good walk. The facilities are much nicer. The children seem a bit older, minus the three year old who is in the summer class, but does not speak a word yet. The staff here are very helpful so we can do more with the children. The staff also write down the words to the songs we teach, or translate things for themselves so they can teach the children when we are not around. One teacher is the mother from one of the students we teach in the Evening class.
1:30-3:00 = Seagypsies
3:00-4:00 = Evening English
5:00-6:00 = university prep girls.
Saturday –
10:00 – Mass
Off, however most Saturdays are filled with activities at Mercy, so it may not always be a day off.
Sunday –
Off.
Wednesday
Everything has finally caught up to me. I figured it would sooner or later, but today it hit. I have not been 100% since Sunday, and it seemed that every day I started to feel a little more and more useless. Finally on Wednesday it was the day my body decided to keep me home. So that also means that I have nothing new to report besides a few bed sores.
Having a sick day here is not a luxurious thing. The boys are so loud that it is near impossible to fall asleep, and you cannot just stay up and watch tv all day because we do not have a tv. Also, the thought of soup or toast, can only remain a thought as there are no real cooking facilities and one would laugh in your face if you requested chicken noodle soup. I miss my mommy.
Today was not eventful at all. Stayed in bed all day, as able to keep crackers down. Watched a movie with Misty when she came home, talked to SiJie when she called and then went back to bed for the night.
Since I don’t really have any news to report, I should tell you a bit more about Thailand. Thai people revolve most of their social activities around food. Even though they eat all of the time, they are still stick thin. Misty did an activity with her adult class, asking about what food they thought was healthiest, and we were both surprised to find out that Thai people think western food is healthier. Yes, in some cases it may be more sanitary; however, Thais do not fry a lot of their food in grease. Most of their food is made from scratch, and they do not eat a lot of processed food. The children are more likely to grab a fruit and a fruit juice as opposed to a bag of chips and pop.
Also, a lot of people eat out. It is cheaper for a smaller family (3 or less) to buy all of their food at the street vendors than to buy all of the ingredients and prepare it at home. I would not be surprised if half of the houses do not have cooking facilities. Also, cooking is usually done in a pot or wok on top of a charcoal fire, or propane burner. I do not remember seeing any ovens.
It is also a well known thing that Thai people like to do as little walking as possible. Not only will they tell you this, but it is also evident when you do any length of walking with them. Most people will grab a taxi or bike if something is just down the street. However, one can often find Thai people exercising in the early hours of the morning or in the evening as the weather is cooler. Exercises include aerobics or a brisk walk or jog at one of the local parks.
Thursday – So far today is looking a little better then yesterday. I was awake from 4 am onward with the splitting headache again. After taking some Advil and knocking myself out I was able to sleep until it was time to shower. I am still not the best, but I am going to attempt to go in today, and if anything I will go to the doctor.
This morning we got up around 5:45. For some reason our alarm went off earlier this morning and I did not realize it was too early until after I came out of the “shower.” I taught my adult class at 8 and then made lesson plans until my next class at 11:30. Two of my 4, 11:30 students showed. They were such a pleasure to teach. I was teaching them prepositions using hand signals, and after showing them a few times I wanted them to repeat it themselves, so I started back with the ‘on’ preposition, and said “so.” And just as the word came out of my mouth, the children did the exact same thing and said “so.” Sometimes I feel like I am creating little robots as they copy and repeat everything we say. It is funny sometimes.
My other two students showed up at the end of the class, so I redid the class for them as it was only my noon hour. They were quite the handful as they are only 4 years old and do not understand much English. The little boy is a character, looking at my stickers and winking for me to give him some.
After that class we had the older students. One of them was incredibly difficult to engage, and just shut down at the end of class. He is incredibly shy and does not like to speak much English. Sometimes we are able to get through to him, and other times he doesn’t say a word.
We took a motorbike taxi home. It was a little scarier then normal as there were some big trucks on the road and a few times we were swerving in some pretty tight places.
When we got home we grabbed something to eat, and as I was drinking water, Misty made fun of me and said I drink water like her mom. Just as fast as she took the bottle from me to show me how her mom drank, Misty started chocking and coughing up the water. I think Karma came around and hit her good. Linda, I don’t know how you managed to teach her a lesson from so far away, but well done.
We came home and slept for a few hours and then hopped back on a songtheaw and went back to Mercy to teach an evening class. As we were sitting at one of the longer stops, our three students came on the songtheaw as they were coming home from school. It was nice to ride with them, even if it was only for a few minutes.
We taught our last class of the evening, walked around the slums for a bit, checking out the night vendors and local markets and then took a songtheaw home.
We booked our hotel for the weekend. The whole weekend away is going to cost around $30 CDN, minus the food (which shouldn’t be more than $15 CDN for the whole weekend). This includes our transportation to and from Bangkok and our hotel. The place we are staying has 3 swimming pools, a hot shower, air conditioning and a King Sized bed.
We also called to book a room in Chaing Mai for the week of Songkran, which is the Thai New Year. It was once just a way that people were blessed with water, but it has now become a huge water fight that everyone must take part in, whether you want to or not. Since Chaing Mai is in the utmost Northern Part of Thailand and takes over 11 hours on a bus, we decided to go here for our extra long weekend and everything in Thailand shuts down from Thursday to Wednesday. This trip would be a little too much for a weekend. We are also talking about staying until the next Tuesday as we would only miss 2 days of school, and going to Burma and Laos for a few days as they border along the north.
We were worried that we were already too late for booking as some of the people we worked with told us that everyone would be booked up by now. When we called one place they said they might be all booked up, but joked with Misty, saying that we could stay in their house. Needless to say we were able to get a room there in the end, and not in their house.
An interesting thing about Thailand is that they do not ask for a Visa or way of paying in advance. When you stay at a hotel at these vacation destinations, they just ask you for your first name and only once have we ever been asked for our phone number. When you arrive they hand you the room key and do not ask for any kind of billing information, but just tell you that you can pay when you check out. So basically they hand over the key, knowing only your first name, and trusting that you will give it back in person so that you can pay.
When we were in Ko Chang, at the end of the stay when we were checking out, they asked us if we used the mini bar, but never actually went to look. Also, everything is paid in cash, so even if you did use more than you said, there is no way they can later take money away from you. It’s so strange for us to see that people are so easily trusting here. Hopefully people wouldn’t take advantage of it, but it would be very easy to if someone wanted to. A downside to this is that sometimes when you call ahead and reserve a room, they can still give it away on a first come first served basis. To avoid this we usually call a couple of times, and then call again on the way to confirm that we are indeed on our way there and give them notice as to what time they should expect our arrival.
Wednesday is going to be a pretty okay day for us. We teach classes from 8 – 2, and then are done for the day as we are now alternating our university prep classes with another volunteer. He teaches them math every other day and we teach them English in the odd days.
Speaking of Schedules, I will share my new schedule with you.
Monday – off (it has been hard to maintain this as our off day, but we have just had to stand our ground and be firm about not taking on anymore classes. I think many times if we did not say no more we would be there all hours of the day. Thankfully, we were warned of this before we came and again from American staff here)
Tuesday –
8:00-9:00am = Adult English with the Accounting Class. I teach 5 students, 4 from the Accounting Department at Mercy and a male who is the head of maintenance and building repairs. Two of the students speak English very well, two are quiet but do understand English and one is at a lower level than the others, but tries hard.
11:30-12:30 = Mercy 6 children. I teach 4 children, ages 4-6. Their English level varies greatly. One child is a niece from one of the workers. Two of the children are quite the handful as they have a very short attention span, which is even shorter when learning a different language.
Sometimes on Tuesday we also teach the evening English class from 3:00-4:00, depending on how our schedule goes with the other volunteers. However, we have tried to keep our Tuesday afternoons relatively free so that we can begin to take Thai language lessons.
Wednesday –
This day by far is the most challenging.
8:00-9:00 am = Adult English
10:00-11:00 am = Recreation for the older children. This class is a handful as the boys like to be typical boys; running around and playing. It makes explaining things very difficult.
11:00-12:00 = Recreation for the younger children. This is more of a drop in basis activity, most weeks we have over 50 children between the two groups. The first group is the younger children and children from Mercy 6.
1:30-3:00 = Seagypsies. These children are from the Southern Part of Thailand, Phukett. They were hit by the tsunami. They are only staying for the month of April so we will begin teaching them next week. All we really know is that they never really had any formal schooling as most of them spent their whole lives working on fishing boats with their families. This should be an interesting class. I am expecting it to be a lot of work to just keep under control.
3:00-4:00 = Evening students. We teach English to 3 students. We focus mostly on grammar and vocabulary as well as reading comprehension and normal conversational language. These students are teenagers. They enjoy learning English but are not at a very high level yet. One of the students is incredibly shy so it makes class hard as often times it is like pulling teeth to try and get him to talk. He often shuts down half way through class and it is hard to get him to come back. One time we taught him one on one and it was so much more enjoyable. We had him laughing as we were telling jokes and doing silly things.
5:00-6:00 pm = Evening University Prep Girls again
Thursday –
8:00 – 9:00 = English Adult Accounting Class
9:00-10:00 = tutoring a 19 year old girl in social studies as she prepares for her GED. She is very good in English as she studied in Singapore for a few years, however dropped out in her final year because of family problems. She is the oldest child in the family and since her mother’s passing, she has taken on the parenting role, which often means that she puts everyone else before herself.
10:00-11:00 = Rom Klao Preschool. This is located about a 10-15 minute walk from Mercy, so we have to make a mad dash for it. It is a preschool located in the heart of the slums. It is actually quite difficult to find as it is hidden in some back alleys. The children here are very easy to teach as they repeat back every word to you. I think most of them are around 5 years old. I am guessing that there are about 40 children in the classroom because it is summer holiday. For more information about the preschools, please see the blog from last Thursday and Friday.
11:30-12:30 = Back to Mercy to teach the Mercy 6 children again.
1:30-3:00 = seagypsies again
3:00-4:00 = Evening English students again
5:00-6:00 = university prep girls again
Friday –
8:00-9:00 = Adult English with Accounting class
10:00-11:00 = Fat 12 Preschool. This school is a little closer to Mercy than the other but is still a good walk. The facilities are much nicer. The children seem a bit older, minus the three year old who is in the summer class, but does not speak a word yet. The staff here are very helpful so we can do more with the children. The staff also write down the words to the songs we teach, or translate things for themselves so they can teach the children when we are not around. One teacher is the mother from one of the students we teach in the Evening class.
1:30-3:00 = Seagypsies
3:00-4:00 = Evening English
5:00-6:00 = university prep girls.
Saturday –
10:00 – Mass
Off, however most Saturdays are filled with activities at Mercy, so it may not always be a day off.
Sunday –
Off.
Wednesday
Everything has finally caught up to me. I figured it would sooner or later, but today it hit. I have not been 100% since Sunday, and it seemed that every day I started to feel a little more and more useless. Finally on Wednesday it was the day my body decided to keep me home. So that also means that I have nothing new to report besides a few bed sores.
Having a sick day here is not a luxurious thing. The boys are so loud that it is near impossible to fall asleep, and you cannot just stay up and watch tv all day because we do not have a tv. Also, the thought of soup or toast, can only remain a thought as there are no real cooking facilities and one would laugh in your face if you requested chicken noodle soup. I miss my mommy.
Today was not eventful at all. Stayed in bed all day, as able to keep crackers down. Watched a movie with Misty when she came home, talked to SiJie when she called and then went back to bed for the night.
Since I don’t really have any news to report, I should tell you a bit more about Thailand. Thai people revolve most of their social activities around food. Even though they eat all of the time, they are still stick thin. Misty did an activity with her adult class, asking about what food they thought was healthiest, and we were both surprised to find out that Thai people think western food is healthier. Yes, in some cases it may be more sanitary; however, Thais do not fry a lot of their food in grease. Most of their food is made from scratch, and they do not eat a lot of processed food. The children are more likely to grab a fruit and a fruit juice as opposed to a bag of chips and pop.
Also, a lot of people eat out. It is cheaper for a smaller family (3 or less) to buy all of their food at the street vendors than to buy all of the ingredients and prepare it at home. I would not be surprised if half of the houses do not have cooking facilities. Also, cooking is usually done in a pot or wok on top of a charcoal fire, or propane burner. I do not remember seeing any ovens.
It is also a well known thing that Thai people like to do as little walking as possible. Not only will they tell you this, but it is also evident when you do any length of walking with them. Most people will grab a taxi or bike if something is just down the street. However, one can often find Thai people exercising in the early hours of the morning or in the evening as the weather is cooler. Exercises include aerobics or a brisk walk or jog at one of the local parks.
Thursday – So far today is looking a little better then yesterday. I was awake from 4 am onward with the splitting headache again. After taking some Advil and knocking myself out I was able to sleep until it was time to shower. I am still not the best, but I am going to attempt to go in today, and if anything I will go to the doctor.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Exciting News!
Hello All,
I have a post written up for today but it is at home, so I am just going to give a short update while I am here. We just got some exciting news that Heather and some of the others doing their placements in China will be coming to Thailand for a weekend in May! We are both super psyched and hopefully can get all of the same days off so we can enjoy some Canadian company, relaxing on the beach.
Also, more good news. Our fellow Mercy runaway has been found. She was found at 10 am this morning at one of the major bus stops. When she was found she was okay but hungry. She is back here at Mercy well and doing great.
Some of my students in Accounting gave me a little more information about her. She came to Mercy a few months ago after having been raped by her father on several occasions. When she first arrived she was scared of everything and often hid in cupboads or dark places. They spent a lot of time looking for her. They think a lot of the psychological problems go back to the incidents with her father, which is no wonder. Since arriving at Mercy she has taken on the mothering role to one of the children on Mercy 6. Even though she seems to be well liked by her peers, she spends a lot of time alone and does not engage with them as much as she could. You can often see her watching other children have fun from the outside, but she needs to really be encouraged to join in.
Another thing I want to add. It may seem weird that we can just tell you the life story of the children here at Mercy. However, the Thai culture and the culture here at Mercy is very different than what we know. The way Mercy runs, if you know a story about someone, you share their story with others. It is not uncommon for us to be walking around Mercy and for someone to randomly tell us someone's history. You can also read a lot of their histories in Father Joe's Book "Welcome to the Bangkok Slaughterhouse" or online on the Mercy Centre Webpage. The only way to raise awareness about what goes on in the world, and what children have to experience in places like Khlong Toey is to share their stories.
We are heading home in a few minutes to do some more planning for our weekend getaway. Misty and I have plans to head to Pattaya for another relaxing beach weekend. Pattaya is only about 2 hours on the bus from Bangkok. We are both excited about the beach but are doing a lot of research while booking as it is also a popular spot for foreigners to go to pay for women; not only Thai women but people from all around the world. An International House is not an international house as we know it, but a place for men to go to find women from all over Asia. This should be an interesting weekend. Hopefully we can avoid it all by staying on one of the more family friendly beaches.
Sending Love from Thailand!!
I have a post written up for today but it is at home, so I am just going to give a short update while I am here. We just got some exciting news that Heather and some of the others doing their placements in China will be coming to Thailand for a weekend in May! We are both super psyched and hopefully can get all of the same days off so we can enjoy some Canadian company, relaxing on the beach.
Also, more good news. Our fellow Mercy runaway has been found. She was found at 10 am this morning at one of the major bus stops. When she was found she was okay but hungry. She is back here at Mercy well and doing great.
Some of my students in Accounting gave me a little more information about her. She came to Mercy a few months ago after having been raped by her father on several occasions. When she first arrived she was scared of everything and often hid in cupboads or dark places. They spent a lot of time looking for her. They think a lot of the psychological problems go back to the incidents with her father, which is no wonder. Since arriving at Mercy she has taken on the mothering role to one of the children on Mercy 6. Even though she seems to be well liked by her peers, she spends a lot of time alone and does not engage with them as much as she could. You can often see her watching other children have fun from the outside, but she needs to really be encouraged to join in.
Another thing I want to add. It may seem weird that we can just tell you the life story of the children here at Mercy. However, the Thai culture and the culture here at Mercy is very different than what we know. The way Mercy runs, if you know a story about someone, you share their story with others. It is not uncommon for us to be walking around Mercy and for someone to randomly tell us someone's history. You can also read a lot of their histories in Father Joe's Book "Welcome to the Bangkok Slaughterhouse" or online on the Mercy Centre Webpage. The only way to raise awareness about what goes on in the world, and what children have to experience in places like Khlong Toey is to share their stories.
We are heading home in a few minutes to do some more planning for our weekend getaway. Misty and I have plans to head to Pattaya for another relaxing beach weekend. Pattaya is only about 2 hours on the bus from Bangkok. We are both excited about the beach but are doing a lot of research while booking as it is also a popular spot for foreigners to go to pay for women; not only Thai women but people from all around the world. An International House is not an international house as we know it, but a place for men to go to find women from all over Asia. This should be an interesting weekend. Hopefully we can avoid it all by staying on one of the more family friendly beaches.
Sending Love from Thailand!!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Just another regular Monday
Hello Everyone,
I hope you are not too snowed in or stuffed from turkey. After having such a great Easter weekend, we decided to take it easy on Monday. We slept in until a little before noon (I think Misty was impressed as I have finally been able to sleep past 730 am). However, I was awake on and off all morning. The food I had to eat yesterday did not agree with me. When ordered, I did not think about Father Joe’s words of wisdom: when you start to eat red meat again you are going to have diarrhea. Maybe I should have been reminded of this when I ordered meat sauce on my pasta. I think most of it is out of my system now.
We decided we would attempt to find an internet café that is close to here. However, we soon learned that there is no such thing. The closest internet café is at Emporium, which is a few sky train stops away. We hopped on a bus and then took a taxi the rest of the way and we were there. The internet was incredibly slow so once again I apologize for the lack of pictures. I was on the internet for an hour and that is all I was able to post.
We went upstairs for a smoothie (which is my new addiction) and then decided we should go see a movie. We went to see “I Can’t Be Your Woman” (I think that is what it was called). This was one of the cheesiest movies I have ever seen. I do not recommend anyone waste their time and money to see it.
The movie theatre was decked out a lot different than the last one. There were curtains on the walls and the seats were like lazy boys and reclined. There was an old white man, who Misty and I would guess was 300 pounds who sat in front of us with a very young Thai girl. Every time a good looking girl came on, he made grunting sounds. This was incredibly disgusting.
After the movie we went into some of the stores and then went for a walk around our favorite park and then grabbed a cab home. In the evening we reheated our second Italian meals and then worked on lesson plans.
Things I’ve gotten used to in the past month:
10. Being surrounded by AIDS
9. Feeling constantly lost, even while in a taxi
8. Seeing Misty 24/7
7. Bugs - everywhere
6. People constantly staring and horns beeping at us
5. The blank look on people’s faces when they don’t understand you
4. Cold “showers”
3. The heat
2. Rice, rice and more rice. Oddly, when I’m really hungry now, I crave rice
1. Never feeling completely clean
I hope you are not too snowed in or stuffed from turkey. After having such a great Easter weekend, we decided to take it easy on Monday. We slept in until a little before noon (I think Misty was impressed as I have finally been able to sleep past 730 am). However, I was awake on and off all morning. The food I had to eat yesterday did not agree with me. When ordered, I did not think about Father Joe’s words of wisdom: when you start to eat red meat again you are going to have diarrhea. Maybe I should have been reminded of this when I ordered meat sauce on my pasta. I think most of it is out of my system now.
We decided we would attempt to find an internet café that is close to here. However, we soon learned that there is no such thing. The closest internet café is at Emporium, which is a few sky train stops away. We hopped on a bus and then took a taxi the rest of the way and we were there. The internet was incredibly slow so once again I apologize for the lack of pictures. I was on the internet for an hour and that is all I was able to post.
We went upstairs for a smoothie (which is my new addiction) and then decided we should go see a movie. We went to see “I Can’t Be Your Woman” (I think that is what it was called). This was one of the cheesiest movies I have ever seen. I do not recommend anyone waste their time and money to see it.
The movie theatre was decked out a lot different than the last one. There were curtains on the walls and the seats were like lazy boys and reclined. There was an old white man, who Misty and I would guess was 300 pounds who sat in front of us with a very young Thai girl. Every time a good looking girl came on, he made grunting sounds. This was incredibly disgusting.
After the movie we went into some of the stores and then went for a walk around our favorite park and then grabbed a cab home. In the evening we reheated our second Italian meals and then worked on lesson plans.
Things I’ve gotten used to in the past month:
10. Being surrounded by AIDS
9. Feeling constantly lost, even while in a taxi
8. Seeing Misty 24/7
7. Bugs - everywhere
6. People constantly staring and horns beeping at us
5. The blank look on people’s faces when they don’t understand you
4. Cold “showers”
3. The heat
2. Rice, rice and more rice. Oddly, when I’m really hungry now, I crave rice
1. Never feeling completely clean
Randoms
The first two pictures are from our home. The second last one is from Khoa San Road, and the last is Ronald McDonald doing a traditional Thai Wai.
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