I wish I could say I taught them everything they know, but I cannot even get the position of the hand down for Thai dancing.Dew
Rose
Cherri
Rose
Rose
Cherri
Rose
This is my boss, Nitaya, and one of the PR staff, Nut.
Our girls performing on the stage.
Boome
Preparing for the show. She did all of the hair and make up for all of the girls.
Dew and Boome, two of our scholarships students that Misty and I teach every day.
Sunday May 11, 2008
I couldn’t sleep last night. I don’t know why, but I kept waking up all night. This morning I decided I couldn’t lay in bed any longer so I played around on the computer for a bit, wishing we had a better internet connection.
We spent most of the day in bed, watching movies and listening to the rain outside. We also made some plans for our upcoming month. We have been planning on going to Laos at the end of the month, but our visa will expire 7 days before we go. Since we are flying to Laos we will be fined at the airport for staying in the country too long, which could end up costing us 500 Baht a day. Our best bet is to travel out of the country and renter on a tourist stamp, so tomorrow we are traveling to Cambodia for a visa run. SiJie went today and said it was a terrible experience where people were demanding that she pay money. Also the 100 baht bus ride was only 100 baht for Thai people, and she was required to pay the 200 baht foreigner fare. Thankfully she went today and took pictures of the place so we know what to expect when we go tomorrow. We did not travel together as we did not realize this morning that our visa expires so soon. We also have the option of going to Laos earlier but that would mean we miss a whole week off work and we need to leave next weekend which is not an option. This Thursday we are throwing a birthday party for one of the boys, with financial help from some sponsors. Also, Saturday is the Staff sports day which we have been told about since we arrived here, and it is a day not to be missed.
I started burning our pictures to CD’s today. However, I was unable to finish as we have way more pictures than CD space. Looks like we may be paying a visit to Tesco in the near future. I just fear that we may come in contact with a virus at one of the internet cafes and lose all of our pictures.
Tonight we plan on going out for a nice supper, I’m craving something very healthy.
Our girls performing on the stage.
Boome
Preparing for the show. She did all of the hair and make up for all of the girls.
Dew and Boome, two of our scholarships students that Misty and I teach every day.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I hope you have a wondeful day mom, wish I was there with you.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
I was greeted this morning with a nice sweaty hug from Gelong. Even though it was not that pleasant to get a sticky hug, it felt very rewarding. It is good to have him back as he has been away for summer holiday.
I began my morning with a refreshing conversation with someone back home who actually ‘gets it.’ Even though I am excited to come home, I am worried that I may have trouble connecting with people as I think a lot differently now. It is hard to explain, but I think that the only people who will really understand are people who have also experienced the same things either in their own lives, or with people close to them. Thank you for the conversation, and venting session. :)
We spent most of the day doing laundry. Laundry is such a long process here. Even though there is a washing machine, it is very rare that you have enough running water to fill it, so we usually end up filling it with buckets of water that we fill at the same time. The washing machine just spins the clothes but does not rinse them when it is finished. We have to manually open the valve to let the water drain and also to fill the washer or set the spin cycle. After the clothes spun around enough we take them in small amounts and put them in the spin dryer. To get the soap out we turn the water on and switch it so it runs through the dryer part and goes through our clothes. After there does not appear to be anymore soap coming out of the hose we let it spin so it is almost dry and then we hang it. It usually takes about 45 minutes for a wash, 45 minutes for us to rinse and spin dry the wash and by the time we are done with the last items the first ones are already air dried. Usually it takes a whole day to go through all of our clothes, which we do about every 2 weeks.
I was pretty mad today. Bird, one of the boys who I suspect has Autism was very upset. The boys from the villa came to Soi 40 after mass to have lunch. We went out to one of the street vendors to eat with one of the house parents. When we came back Bird was crying on his bed. He is always so upset when the boys are here because he wants to go back to the villa with them and they will not let him. I understand that he is a little more challenging, but he usually entertains himself, which is a characteristic of Autism. However, their argument is that they do not have the proper care or attention for him there. My argument is that they do not have it here for him either. Most of the time he is just out casted or left on his own. There would be no difference if he was alone there or alone here. Hopefully with my educational session on Autism, that I will be presenting, all of the staff will understand him better and feel more comfortable working with him, including those at the villa.
It is so strange to think that the boys already understand the concept of money and trading. Today when doing laundry, SiJie witnessed two of the boys come into the room where they sleep. One child gave the other child 50 baht in exchange for a small toy, and just as quick as the exchanged occurred it was over and both boys quietly walked out of the room like nothing just happened. You may be wondering where the boys would get this kind of money from (50 baht is equivalent to around $1.50 CDN, which can provide 2 big meals at a street vendor). The boys are given 20 baht each day from Mercy. What they chose to do with the money is up to them, whether they want to spend it on a 7 baht songtheaw drive to and from school, a snack at school, or save it for future purposes.
The children here are very smart. The other day when SiJie was teaching our preschool class she had the honor to join the ‘gossip group’ at the lunch table. Three girls were talking. One child says “Do you know the price of the rice went up?” Another replies “Ya, I heard it was 80 Baht per kilo.” Another again “No, it is 90 Baht per kilo now. So we have to finish all of this rice.” SiJie, having a few small pieces left of rice on her plate was told “Your plate is not clean; you have to finish all that rice, rice is expensive now!” A pretty interesting lunch conversation for three 5- year- olds, don’t you think?
Here is another funny story to tell you. The other day when we took some of the children for ice cream and a drink at McDonald’s, Folk asked for a special kind of milk shake. Folk was so excited about everything on the menu and wanted it all. To make it fair we would only allow the boys to get a drink and an ice cream. After Folk was finished eating he asked again for a hamburger. Remembering Vanessa gave him about 40 Baht before she left, we told him that if he really wanted a hamburger he could buy it with that money. Folk goes over to the counter, asks how much a hamburger would cost and decided he did not want one anymore. When he turned back to the table we asked him why he decided against it, as he had enough money for it. His response “It is too expensive.” Amazing that a 7 year old understands the concept of money. I bet he would have went for that hamburger if we paid for it. J
This afternoon we went to Central World, which is a high-so shopping mall to watch the girls perform. The festival was the World Music Festival. There were entertainers from all over the world, and vendors selling food from all over as well. I had chicken kabobs from Australia. We looked for a Canadian booth, but there wasn’t any. Canada we are disappointed. I wonder what kind of food would really represent Canada anyways. The girls did great, however I was beginning to wonder if their Thai dance was more of a rain dance, as it started raining towards the end of their routine.
After their performance the MC asked them to talk about Mercy. The host described Father Joe as “God’s little brother.” One of the girls described Mercy as her home and that Father Joe was the most important person in her life. Their answers were very touching, despite the fact that SiJie had to translate them into English for us. We can only assume she translated correctly. I am so glad we went to watch the girls perform. Out of the eight girls, six of them were our students. Dew was very nervous with the camera. We could really joke around with Boome as she is not a girly girl and here she was wearing a traditional Thai costume and lots of make up. Boome is the type of girl who does not care about what other people think. When she first started at the International School a little over a month ago, she decided she did not want to wear the skirts that all of the girls at school wear, so when she was buying her school uniform, she bought pants. She told us that she is the only girl in the school that wears pants, and she does not care. Many comments have been made to her for being a Tom Boy, and that she was a lesbian. But Boome continues to wear her pants to school and to hold her head up high. The other day she came home to tell us that she thinks one of the girls in her class has a crush on her because “she looks at me the way only girls should look at guys.” We all had a good laugh about that, even confident Boome.
After our boss sent the girls back home she joined us for a few beer. We met the Israel Ambassador who is also a sponsor at Mercy. We were entertained my music from the Natives as well as several dancers. There was a vendor there from Hong Kong who was selling Chinese food. Misty and I were a little surprised to see that the pork he was serving still looked very much like a baby pig, ears and all. Don’t worry guys, I definitely took a picture of this one for you. We tried some delicious Thai desserts, but the name left me as soon as I heard it, sorry. Whatever it was, it was good. We also tried some kind of fried fish eggs, which had the fishiest taste I’ve ever experienced. I think it was one of those things that you can say you tried, but that’s about as far as that will go for me.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
I was greeted this morning with a nice sweaty hug from Gelong. Even though it was not that pleasant to get a sticky hug, it felt very rewarding. It is good to have him back as he has been away for summer holiday.
I began my morning with a refreshing conversation with someone back home who actually ‘gets it.’ Even though I am excited to come home, I am worried that I may have trouble connecting with people as I think a lot differently now. It is hard to explain, but I think that the only people who will really understand are people who have also experienced the same things either in their own lives, or with people close to them. Thank you for the conversation, and venting session. :)
We spent most of the day doing laundry. Laundry is such a long process here. Even though there is a washing machine, it is very rare that you have enough running water to fill it, so we usually end up filling it with buckets of water that we fill at the same time. The washing machine just spins the clothes but does not rinse them when it is finished. We have to manually open the valve to let the water drain and also to fill the washer or set the spin cycle. After the clothes spun around enough we take them in small amounts and put them in the spin dryer. To get the soap out we turn the water on and switch it so it runs through the dryer part and goes through our clothes. After there does not appear to be anymore soap coming out of the hose we let it spin so it is almost dry and then we hang it. It usually takes about 45 minutes for a wash, 45 minutes for us to rinse and spin dry the wash and by the time we are done with the last items the first ones are already air dried. Usually it takes a whole day to go through all of our clothes, which we do about every 2 weeks.
I was pretty mad today. Bird, one of the boys who I suspect has Autism was very upset. The boys from the villa came to Soi 40 after mass to have lunch. We went out to one of the street vendors to eat with one of the house parents. When we came back Bird was crying on his bed. He is always so upset when the boys are here because he wants to go back to the villa with them and they will not let him. I understand that he is a little more challenging, but he usually entertains himself, which is a characteristic of Autism. However, their argument is that they do not have the proper care or attention for him there. My argument is that they do not have it here for him either. Most of the time he is just out casted or left on his own. There would be no difference if he was alone there or alone here. Hopefully with my educational session on Autism, that I will be presenting, all of the staff will understand him better and feel more comfortable working with him, including those at the villa.
It is so strange to think that the boys already understand the concept of money and trading. Today when doing laundry, SiJie witnessed two of the boys come into the room where they sleep. One child gave the other child 50 baht in exchange for a small toy, and just as quick as the exchanged occurred it was over and both boys quietly walked out of the room like nothing just happened. You may be wondering where the boys would get this kind of money from (50 baht is equivalent to around $1.50 CDN, which can provide 2 big meals at a street vendor). The boys are given 20 baht each day from Mercy. What they chose to do with the money is up to them, whether they want to spend it on a 7 baht songtheaw drive to and from school, a snack at school, or save it for future purposes.
The children here are very smart. The other day when SiJie was teaching our preschool class she had the honor to join the ‘gossip group’ at the lunch table. Three girls were talking. One child says “Do you know the price of the rice went up?” Another replies “Ya, I heard it was 80 Baht per kilo.” Another again “No, it is 90 Baht per kilo now. So we have to finish all of this rice.” SiJie, having a few small pieces left of rice on her plate was told “Your plate is not clean; you have to finish all that rice, rice is expensive now!” A pretty interesting lunch conversation for three 5- year- olds, don’t you think?
Here is another funny story to tell you. The other day when we took some of the children for ice cream and a drink at McDonald’s, Folk asked for a special kind of milk shake. Folk was so excited about everything on the menu and wanted it all. To make it fair we would only allow the boys to get a drink and an ice cream. After Folk was finished eating he asked again for a hamburger. Remembering Vanessa gave him about 40 Baht before she left, we told him that if he really wanted a hamburger he could buy it with that money. Folk goes over to the counter, asks how much a hamburger would cost and decided he did not want one anymore. When he turned back to the table we asked him why he decided against it, as he had enough money for it. His response “It is too expensive.” Amazing that a 7 year old understands the concept of money. I bet he would have went for that hamburger if we paid for it. J
This afternoon we went to Central World, which is a high-so shopping mall to watch the girls perform. The festival was the World Music Festival. There were entertainers from all over the world, and vendors selling food from all over as well. I had chicken kabobs from Australia. We looked for a Canadian booth, but there wasn’t any. Canada we are disappointed. I wonder what kind of food would really represent Canada anyways. The girls did great, however I was beginning to wonder if their Thai dance was more of a rain dance, as it started raining towards the end of their routine.
After their performance the MC asked them to talk about Mercy. The host described Father Joe as “God’s little brother.” One of the girls described Mercy as her home and that Father Joe was the most important person in her life. Their answers were very touching, despite the fact that SiJie had to translate them into English for us. We can only assume she translated correctly. I am so glad we went to watch the girls perform. Out of the eight girls, six of them were our students. Dew was very nervous with the camera. We could really joke around with Boome as she is not a girly girl and here she was wearing a traditional Thai costume and lots of make up. Boome is the type of girl who does not care about what other people think. When she first started at the International School a little over a month ago, she decided she did not want to wear the skirts that all of the girls at school wear, so when she was buying her school uniform, she bought pants. She told us that she is the only girl in the school that wears pants, and she does not care. Many comments have been made to her for being a Tom Boy, and that she was a lesbian. But Boome continues to wear her pants to school and to hold her head up high. The other day she came home to tell us that she thinks one of the girls in her class has a crush on her because “she looks at me the way only girls should look at guys.” We all had a good laugh about that, even confident Boome.
After our boss sent the girls back home she joined us for a few beer. We met the Israel Ambassador who is also a sponsor at Mercy. We were entertained my music from the Natives as well as several dancers. There was a vendor there from Hong Kong who was selling Chinese food. Misty and I were a little surprised to see that the pork he was serving still looked very much like a baby pig, ears and all. Don’t worry guys, I definitely took a picture of this one for you. We tried some delicious Thai desserts, but the name left me as soon as I heard it, sorry. Whatever it was, it was good. We also tried some kind of fried fish eggs, which had the fishiest taste I’ve ever experienced. I think it was one of those things that you can say you tried, but that’s about as far as that will go for me.
Sunday May 11, 2008
I couldn’t sleep last night. I don’t know why, but I kept waking up all night. This morning I decided I couldn’t lay in bed any longer so I played around on the computer for a bit, wishing we had a better internet connection.
We spent most of the day in bed, watching movies and listening to the rain outside. We also made some plans for our upcoming month. We have been planning on going to Laos at the end of the month, but our visa will expire 7 days before we go. Since we are flying to Laos we will be fined at the airport for staying in the country too long, which could end up costing us 500 Baht a day. Our best bet is to travel out of the country and renter on a tourist stamp, so tomorrow we are traveling to Cambodia for a visa run. SiJie went today and said it was a terrible experience where people were demanding that she pay money. Also the 100 baht bus ride was only 100 baht for Thai people, and she was required to pay the 200 baht foreigner fare. Thankfully she went today and took pictures of the place so we know what to expect when we go tomorrow. We did not travel together as we did not realize this morning that our visa expires so soon. We also have the option of going to Laos earlier but that would mean we miss a whole week off work and we need to leave next weekend which is not an option. This Thursday we are throwing a birthday party for one of the boys, with financial help from some sponsors. Also, Saturday is the Staff sports day which we have been told about since we arrived here, and it is a day not to be missed.
I started burning our pictures to CD’s today. However, I was unable to finish as we have way more pictures than CD space. Looks like we may be paying a visit to Tesco in the near future. I just fear that we may come in contact with a virus at one of the internet cafes and lose all of our pictures.
Tonight we plan on going out for a nice supper, I’m craving something very healthy.
No comments:
Post a Comment